Catching Smoke

Learn how to power up Core Relays, liberate areas, and acquire new abilities like Meteor Slam, Sulfur Bomb, and Cinder Missile in Hyper Light Breaker.

Alright, so you've just cleared a checkpoint and now it's time to power up some Core Relays. Open up your map – just hit the Options button – and you'll see a bunch of points of interest. These are areas you can liberate from the DUP. Right now, two things are super important: those blue glowing dots and the star to the east of your current location. The blue dots? Those are Drones. Take 'em out for Shards, which you'll use to upgrade your powers. The star, though? That's your main objective.

Head for that star and start climbing the building. Get to the very top, and you'll find a couple of DUP guys chilling with a machine. They shouldn't give you too much trouble at this stage, so just deal with them however you see fit. Once they're down, destroy the machine and suck the power out of it. Boom! You've just unlocked the Meteor Slam attack. You'll even get to try it out right away. Jump off the building, hold down the attack button, and slam into the ground. It's a great way to incapacitate enemies with a fiery shockwave.

Not Done Yet

With that first bit done, there are two more objectives south of your current spot. Let's head for the southwest one first. Keep an eye out for a DUP outpost on your way – it's marked as a big red area on your map. You can totally go around it, but be aware, it might be a bit tougher than you're ready for right now.

This next objective is waiting for you in a parking lot. When you arrive, you'll run into a few DUP enemies. Most of them will be standard grunts, but a couple might have some basic Concrete powers. If you find yourself needing more smoke, don't worry, there are plenty of cars around to help you out. Take care of this small group, then take out the station just like you did the last one. This will unlock the "Sulfur Bomb" ability. It's awesome for non-lethal crowd control, exploding in small bursts – think about three-quarters of a car length in radius. If you can get the drop on your enemies, this is perfect for stunning large groups really quickly.

Final Objective

Now that you've got your smoke filled up, it's time to hit the rooftops and head east to your next objective. When you get there, you'll find the final objective is way down below in an alley. Get to the edge of the ledge and get ready. You're going to jump off and just blast a Sulfur Bomb or two into the alley. This should easily take out any guards trapped down there with no escape. Once they're dealt with, destroy the machine. This will grant you a new power: "Cinder Missile," which lets you shoot heavy smoke bombs at targets.

Your exit will be blocked by an APC. Use your new Cinder Missile to take out the APC in one hit and stun any enemies nearby. Once that obstacle is cleared, you'll have a quick chat with Reggie, things will cut away, and some time will pass.