This is a simple guide used to showcase some of the tactics I use when playing Shadow Warrior. There is a wide array of weapons in this game so tactics tend to very pretty widely from player to player. This is my approach.

Do not neglect your ninja tools.

The sword is an excellent way to help save ammo. There are a few effective sword tactics to maximize its power. If you are facing off against an isolated ninja or two, you should be able to control the situation with just the sword and shrunken.

First, using the sword in combination with the smoke bomb has always served me well. The enemies just hold still for you while you cut them down.

Second, after gunning down a suicide bomber, quickly switch to the sword and start slashing the corpse. The ghost will not have the chance to rise and start flying around.

Other Tips:

When using Shurikens, those that miss enemies might get stuck in walls. This isn't only just a neat effect, you can actually pick these shurikens up again by standing in front of them at about crosshair height and pressing use. Not really that useful, but neat anyways.

The smoke bomb also not only makes the player invisible, it also servers as a "berserk pack" for your kung fu fists. It does not increase damage, but it does increase the range and the spread of the players fists significantly, allowing more enemies to be hit over larger distances by just looking in their general direction, rather than having to pinpoint your aim on them exactly.

Extremely useful to take out a large amount of ninjas of any kind, or hornets, which are a pain to hit normally. It also creates a red shockwave effect upon hitting an enemy. (Thanks Doom64Hunter for this tip!)

This is FPS training 101. In Shadow Warrior, this method applies in two areas. First, note that the Grenade Launcher has the ability to bounce rounds off of walls and around corners. Second, the gas grenade is also a choice weapon for breaching doors. Open the door, toss in the gas grenade, close the door, wait a while.

Don’t forget that pressing the 3 button switches the riot gun between one shot and a rapid four shot burst. The four shot burst is powerful, but it’s a mistake to use this mode exclusively. It uses ammo too quickly. The single shot option is ideal for dealing with the killer fish as well as the low level ninjas. In those situations, there isn’t much need to waste four shells per shot.

There are a great deal of secrets in Shadow Warrior. Pressing M to look at the map is a great way to find them. If you see a wall which looks like it might be a secret, check the map. You will see the hidden area already drawn on if it exists. There are several places in Shadow Warrior where the way to proceed is hidden. This is a skill you will need to master to complete this game.

Kung-Fu practice dummies can be found in a few places in the game. If you come across one while injured, switch to your bare fists and start punching to increase your health back to 100.

These are the tips of the user master_of_orion.


Additional information from one long time Shadow Warrior player:

1.) Health also replenishes when beating the Wing Chun wooden dummy (the one wooden stick-tree looking weird contraption, most often found in Dojos with the normal dummy).

2.) When you have above 100% of health, but below 200%, beating the dummies will replenish the health to 200%. This gives extra edge to the more patient players.

3.) Running over enemies with vehicles is fun and also the fastest way to eliminate them, but the vehicle will also crush any weapon they might leave behind. (In fact, any sprite based object will be eliminated.)

4.) Fire will damage opponents as well as yourself. This is helpful but is useful only on rare occations.

5.) Few high groud, hard to reach secrets in the game are accessed by jumping to them over sprite objects, so it is not wise to blow away all out all the time with big guns. In particular, the trash cans with lid will be pushed away from a player when fired with uzi or riot gun, making some secrets available, in 'Seppuku Station' or 'Automaul' for instance.

6.) Ripper hearts and guardian heads are at times obtainable from guardians and rippers, when killed with explosive weapons or with rail gun.

7.) Nukes are potent weapons at higher difficulty levels, best used to clear a room full of regular foes. My personal best:8 with a single blast. Also good for clearing a swarm of bees. These are readily available in secret locations, sometimes 2 or 3 in a level.

8.) Anime girls are not necessarily needed to be killed. You can jump on top of their heads to avoid their firing after Wangs 'Lo-liners'.

9.) The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog (encountered only twice in the game, only in secret areas; for those who do not know: the monster bunny from Monthy Pythons Holy Grail) will not attack Lo Wang, when faced while only armed with fists. A tactical opportunity!

10.) Flash bangs are often ignored, but can be helpful if surrounded by multiple enemies. (Mostly useful in harder difficulties).

(Contributed by master_of_orion)

I would like to thank the following contributors:

Doom64Hunter
Master_of_orion

Edit: 6/12/2013 - Added the Smoke Bomb and Shuriken tips provided by Doom64hunter. Thanks!
Edit: 6/30/2013 - Added "Acknowledgements" section and the "master_of_orion" section.
Edit: 7/10/2020 - In the section with words from masterof_orion, I deleted the portion which said I would integrate that into the rest of the guide soon. It's been 7 years. I probably won't ever get around to that. I'm satisfied to keep that portion as is now.