The Use and Abuse of Overdrives

You can equip up to six different Overdrives simultaneously, and each Overdrive can be upgraded to level 4 through spending more Badges.

The general idea behind Overdrives, unlike Amps, is that they’re a specialist tool. You use them to customize your character, so you become better at the game the way you prefer to play it.

If you enjoy sending out an army of minions to fight on your behalf while you sit on a rooftop and sip a mimosa, then equip Overdrives that give you higher Deployable ammo capacity and damage. If you’d rather stay at a high Style level and run around raising hell with Amps, there are a variety of High Style Overdrives that can do the job. If you’re about to head into a challenge mission where you’ll be fighting nothing but Fizzco Robots, use Overdrives that specifically enhance your damage against them. Just like everything else in the game, don’t be afraid to constantly tweak your Overdrive loadout to better suit yourself to whatever job’s at hand.

Combat

Combat Overdrives specifically improve your weapon damage or ammo capacity. You can invest in these to make combat-based missions easier, particularly Weapon Challenges.

Ammo Capacity - Automatic

Increases your maximum ammo capacity for all Automatic weapons.

Ammo Capacity - Deployables

Increases your maximum ammo capacity for all Deployable weapons.

Ammo Capacity - Single-Shot

Increases your maximum ammo capacity for all Single-Shot weapons.

Sacrifice - Automatic Weapons

You do more damage with Automatic weapons, but all your Deployable weapons do less damage.

Sacrifice - Deployables

You do more damage with Deployable weapons, but all your Single-Shot weapons do less damage.

Sacrifice - Melee Weapons

You do more damage with your melee attack and Dive Bomb, but do less damage with all weapons.

Sacrifice - Single-Shot Weapons

You do more damage with Single-Shot weapons, but all your Automatic weapons do less damage.

Sacrifice - Traps

You do more damage with Traps, but all your Weapons do less damage.

Sacrifice - Weapons

You do more damage with your Weapons, but all your Traps do less damage.

Trap Damage

Your Traps do more damage.

Weapon Damage - Automatic

Your Automatic weapons do more damage.

Weapon Damage - Deployables

Your Deployables do more damage.

Weapon Damage - Melee

Your melee weapon does more damage.

Weapon Damage - Single-Shot

Your Single-Shot weapons do more damage.

Hero

While this requires you to subscribe to a particularly generous definition of the word hero, Hero Overdrives let you tinker with your damage output or resistances.

Electric Damage

Your electrical attacks inflict more damage.

Fire Damage

Your fire attacks inflict more damage.

Fizzbot Killer

You do more damage to all Fizzco-brand robots.

Fizzbot Rival

You do more damage to all Fizzco-brand robots, but they do more damage to you.

Glass Cannon

You inflict more damage with every attack, but your maximum health is reduced correspondingly.

Health

Your maximum health increases.

Health Regen

You regenerate a small amount of health every second.

Less Damage - Fizzco Bots

You take less damage from all Fizzco robots.

Less Damage - OD

You take less damage from all OD.

Less Damage - Scabs

You take less damage from all Scabs.

OD Killer

You do more damage to all OD.

OD Rival

You do more damage to all OD, but they also do more damage to you.

Plus/Minus

Your health goes down every second, but you do more damage with all attacks.

The health drain from Plus/Minus is capable of killing you. You will want to make up for the drain somehow. If you keep the Health Regen Overdrive equipped simultaneously and upgraded to the same level, Regen restores more health per second than Plus/Minus takes, if only barely.

Scab Killer

You do more damage to all Scabs.

Scab Rival

You do more damage to all Scabs, but they also do more damage to you.

Style

To get the most out of your Amps, you need to maintain a high level of Style. These Overdrives make that easier by improving the rate at which your kills or moves generate Style and adding benefits to the higher Style levels.

Fierce Style - Style Level 2

It takes you more Style to reach level 2, but you inflict more damage while you’re at that level of Style.

Fierce Style - Style Level 3

It takes you more Style to reach level 3, but you inflict more damage while you’re at that level of Style.

High Style - Automatic Weapons

Kills made with Automatic weapons generate more Style.

High Style - Bounce

Bouncing generates more Style.

High Style - Deployables

Kills with Deployable weapons generate more Style.

High Style - Grind

Grinding generates more Style.

High Style - Melee

Kills with your melee weapon generate more Style.

High Style - Pole Swings

Pole Swings generate more Style.

High Style - Single-Shot Weapons

Kills with Single-Shot weapons generate more Style.

High Style - Style Generation

You receive a small bonus to all Style generated.

High Style - Undergrind

Undergrinds generate more Style.

High Style - Wall Run

Wall running generates more Style.

Quick Style - Style Level 2

It requires less Style to reach level 2.

Quick Style - Style Level 3

It requires less Style to reach level 3.

Resilient Style

You take less damage per level of your current Style.

Builds

One of the advantages to Sunset Overdrive’s particular kind of combat is that even without using Amps or Overdrives at all, you are not meant to be taking hits. You get knocked into next week by just about anything that makes contact, so you’ll always want to focus on avoidance. As such, using Overdrive builds that lower your own damage resistance aren’t the death sentence they look like. It is, after all, difficult to die in a fight if everything else is dead.

Maximum Damage

Use Glass Cannon, Plus/Minus, Sacrifice - Weapons, OD Rival, and OD Killer, with Health Regen to help compensate for the drain from Plus/Minus. Assuming all Overdrives are at level 4, you end up with a total 175% damage increase against OD, which is amazing in night defense during Chaos Squad. If you really want to make Scabs or Fizzbots die instead, that’s as easy as swapping out the enemy-specific Overdrives.

I Don’t Want To Die

Take Health, Health Regen, and swap out the various Less Damage Overdrives based upon what you’re fighting, or at least what you’re fighting the most. Use Resilient Style combined with the two Quick Style Overdrives to speed up the rate at which you achieve Style levels 2 and 3, assuring yourself a constant level of mild damage reduction whenever you’re in a real fight.

Trap Master

With Sacrifice - Traps, Trap Damage, OD Killer, and OD Rival, you’ll be well-suited to deal with whatever a night defense challenge can throw your way. If you’re using Tesla Traps, Electric Damage is a good pick; otherwise, Fire Damage may work better, particularly if you’ve set up Grind Cookers and Pyro Geysers.