Old newb returning to the source.

I just re-activated my account for the first time since Sony bought out Monolith and I'm pretty confused about what I'm doing, though I do remember the jist of things. Just a few questions;

1.) Under the new combat system, are my old clothes any good anymore? I mean, I've got a Spider Gi in my inventory, and I have vivid memories of people running around in the ugly things because they were leetsauce

2.) I left after I just hit level 25 and I'm not sure where to go to level. I try and level off of NPCs to get the good collector items, and occasionally I'll do a mission or two, but I don't remember the zones or levels anymore

3.) Is there a point to using a different stance while you're specced fully into one combat art? For example, I'm a Kung Fu master, and I need my opponent to be Dazed to do most of my special abilities, so why would I ever go Power or Grab instead of Speed? As far as I know, the rock-paper-scissors gameplay aspect is gone and it all depends on invisible forces now...


I remember this game was really fun, I hope I can get back into it.

1) From what I remember, a lot of the clothing changed from what's good to what's not. You'll probably have to do some searching for good clothing. Mainly just concentrate on well-rounded resistances.

2) Missions are the best way to level at your level, and you can even go through old storyline critical missions and play through those. They're available at archivist vendors, you can do any of them regardless of your org as they won't affect your reputation (Machine missions by the Midian park East hardline, Merovingian by the Apollyon Northwest hardline, and Zion by the Moriah Projects East hardline). Just look for the book icon on your map. They're great for XP (Especially the chapter 9 and 10 missions), and you get tokens you can use to turn into org collectors that will give you clothing or activatable effects.

3) Sometimes you'll start losing rolls on one tactic or another because of your opponent's tactics/special moves. If you're fighting an Aikido NPC or player for instance, chances are if they're on grab they're going to outroll your Kung Fu speed attack because of their much higher defense. So you might need to switch to grab to be able to hit them. Maybe you're in interlock with a hacker and want to finish things up quickly so you can get another NPC that's chipping away at your health, so you pop Martial Art prowess and switch to power. If you're out of IS, switch to block for a few rounds to get your IS back. There are a few Kung Fu moves later that take advantage of the other 2 states that will be of help when leveling.