The 2023 Dead Space remake is full of small surprises for fans of the original game — there are new side-quests that expand the story, new zero-g mechanics for exploring outside the ship, and new enemy variants waiting for players digging into the NG+ mode. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. One of the oldest tricks from the original game is still here. You can manipulate RNG and load up valuable ammo.
Like Resident Evil 4, Dead Space drops items semi-randomly. Some items you find in the environment are set-in-stone, while items from lockers, crates and item boxes are almost all completely randomized. You’re mostly only getting ammo for weapons you currently have equipped, and there’s a good reason for that. The same trick can be used to stock up on health items — if you aren’t carrying health items, the game is much more likely to spawn one from a downed enemy or in a locker.
Why does all this matter? Because on Hard Difficulty and beyond, you could save up points and stick to the all-powerful Plasma Cutter, buying nodes with your extra cash to deal maximum damage on enemies. We’ll explain in the full guide below.
More Dead Space guides:
Secret Ending Guide | Hidden Unlockables | All Weapon Locations | All RIG Upgrades | Whole Again Side-Mission Guide | Chapter 1 Collectibles
How To Manipulate Ammo RNG
RNG rules everything in Dead Space. The remake features a new “director” that can randomly generate scares as you explore the mining ship. This system also generates what items you’ll get from enemies. And there are ways to manipulate what items you get.
- Manipulating RNG: Like in the original Dead Space, the Dead Space Remake will only generate ammo for weapons you’re currently carrying. This includes both weapons you have equipped and weapons in your inventory. Weapons in storage don’t count.
- Using this trick is why you can earn the ‘One Gun‘ achievement / trophy. For this challenge, Isaac needs to complete the story only using the Plasma Cutter.
- Sometimes you’ll still encounter ammo for weapons you’re not carrying. These drops are pre-programmed and not randomized.
- Even on Hard and higher difficulties, you’ll still be able to manipulate RNG to get the ammo types you want. You’ll earn less ammo per drop less frequently, but you can still get the ammo you want.
Using this method, you can rely on just your Plasma Cutter weapon. By just using the Plasma Cutter, you’ll only get Plasma Cutter ammo. You can focus all nodes into the Plasma Cutter and unlock all upgrades early, giving yourself a huge boost. But the only way to get enough Plasma Cutter ammo is to purposefully ONLY carry this weapon.
You can also use this method to generate cash. By carrying a weapon you don’t want to use, you can sell the ammo at store kiosks.
- Selling Ammo: The most valuable type of ammo is Force Gun Ammo. This ammo type is available by Chapter 6 after acquiring the Force Gun. By carrying it and one other weapon in your inventory, you’ll get enough to fight enemies and sell off the rest. This basic setup can work for any weapon.
A block of x3 Force Ammo will sell for $1200 credits on Hard Difficulty. That’s $400 per ammo. That’s the best ammo profit in the game, but you can do this with any weapon and ammo. Every weapon you unlock in sequence will be more valuable than the last.
To make the most profit, you’ll also want to locate all the treasure items and valuable Peng! statue. Selling ammo helps — including selling items you never really need like Statis and Oxygen tanks.Combine all these tricks and you’ll be earning plenty for those bonus early nodes.
