How to Find and Use Motherboards and Chips in RoboCop: Rogue City
RoboCop’s trusty pistol can be upgraded with new motherboards throughout your adventure. There are penalties for using this mechanic incorrectly and this could have been better explained. That said, let me show you how to find and use motherboards and chips in RoboCop: Rogue City.
What are motherboards and chips in RoboCop: Rogue City?
At the beginning of the story, you will receive your first motherboard and can use it to install chips into your Auto-9 pistol. As you explore new areas, you will find other motherboards and also receive several as quest rewards. Each motherboard has a unique layout and offers different boosts.
The chips are used to complete the circuitry on each motherboard and are usually found in OCP containers scattered throughout the game. If you’re vigilant and explore your surroundings, you’ll quickly amass a decent collection.
How to Build the Perfect Motherboard in RoboCop: Rogue City
Motherboards are covered in nodes that provide boosts, and the strength of each boost is determined by which chips you place on top. The chips have 1 to 4 gates that allow energy to pass through and must be connected to an energy source to provide bonuses.
It’s important to remember that you don’t need a corresponding chip for every node. If you need an L shape to get around a corner, but you only have a piece with 3 or 4 gates, that’s totally fine.
The ultimate goal is to have valuable chips on each bonus without triggering red nodes.
Beware of fines
If you send power to a red node, you will incur a penalty that can be quite significant. The best way to avoid this is to use a dead-end node to prevent energy from entering the red node. Some motherboards are designed in such a way that you will have to incur penalties if you want to get all the improvements. Oddly enough, some of the motherboards you find later in the game are practically useless unless you want to activate some red nodes. In my experience, the payoff is rarely worth it, and even early game boards can be overshadowed by new ones.
What are the best components on a motherboard?
Weapon damage is probably the best node to aim for, and many motherboards have multiple nodes of this type. I recommend spending your inexpensive chips on nodes like Magazine Size. The Auto 9 comes with a 50-round magazine by default, which should be plenty.
The real turning points are highlighted in orange and are usually located at the edges of the track. These powerful bonuses include an automatic ammo feeder and penetrating rounds. There’s even an effect that enhances the bloodshed, and while it’s just a visual effect, we both know you need it!
What can I do with cheap chips?
You can use the “Merge Chips” feature on the Motherboard screen to merge multiple chips together. This feature is a great way to get rid of cheap chips. You can discard 3 chips to get a completely new one. In my testing, the result seems completely random. Adding high value chips seems to give the same quality as low value chips, so only spend low value chips on the merge.
