New Game+

What actually persists

The carry-over list is specific. Aberrant upgrades persist, so hammer and blade work you did on the first run is not wiped. Combat abilities persist. Talents persist. Artifacts persist. Health and combat resource upgrades persist. If a system is not on that list, do not assume it survives. Story flags, map knowledge, and Assist Mode slider positions were not named in the New Game+ notes.

Play the first run as if those five categories are the savings account. Deluxe's Wallet Artifact and the pre-order Pickpocket's Tool count toward the Artifact cap that later becomes four. Assist Mode still does not gate trophies on a second run, because the trophy rule was never tied to New Game+.

Aberrant upgrades, combat abilities, Talents, Artifacts, and health plus combat resource upgrades persist. Story flags, map knowledge, and Assist Mode positions were not named in those notes, so do not assume they survive a second Manhattan.

Fourth slot, extra nodes, same-Resonant stacking

New flexibility is three published gifts. Additional talent nodes open on the tree. Same-Resonant ability stacking lets you double down on the boss class that gives the sequel its subtitle. A fourth Artifact slot raises the loadout cap from three to four. Together they turn New Game+ into a kit sandbox, not only a harder street.

Same-Resonant stacking is the combat hook. Resonants are the biggest, toughest enemies; stacking abilities that target that class is how the second run is supposed to feel different from 'do Manhattan again with a bigger hammer.' Pair Resonants for the threat class with the Gap for where the fourth Artifact is actually crafted.

Extra talent nodes, same-Resonant ability stacking, and a fourth Artifact slot are the three published gifts. Together they turn the second run into a kit sandbox around the boss class that named the sequel, not only a harder street with the same three Artifact holes.

The Gap still crafts the extras

Untapped Artifacts are still discovered in the world and crafted in the Gap, the dreamlike space connected to Dylan's psyche. New Game+ does not replace that loop with a vendor. It adds a slot. If you skipped Gap visits on the first run, the fourth slot will not magically fill itself. Carry Aberrant upgrades, combat abilities, Talents, Artifacts, and health upgrades across, then spend the extra talent nodes and the same-Resonant stack on the class that named the sequel. The fourth Artifact slot is the only new object hole; everything else is more of the kit you already earned.

Untapped Artifacts are still found in the world and finished in the Gap, the dreamlike space tied to Dylan's psyche. The fourth slot does not replace that loop with a vendor. Skip Gap visits on run one and the new hole stays empty on run two, with no vendor to skip the craft.

Finish a three-slot run first

A first run has three Artifact slots. Deluxe Wallet and Pickpocket's Tool can occupy two of them on day one. One Untapped drop then fills the cap until New Game+. Extra talent nodes and same-Resonant stacking do not arrive until that second run, so do not spend the first Manhattan waiting for a fourth hole that is not there yet.

Assist Mode still does not gate trophies after you carry over. Incoming Damage and Perfect Dodge Window remain available for a harder street. New Game+ is kit persistence plus three flex gifts, not a new story mode Remedy described in the notes. Steam also names a deep progression system on the store page; the New Game+ notes are the public split of that system into carry-over versus new flexibility. Persist five categories, gain three flex features, keep crafting in the Gap.

Deluxe Wallet and Pickpocket's Tool can occupy two of three first-run slots. One Untapped drop then fills the cap until New Game+. Extra nodes and same-Resonant stacking wait for that second run, with trophies still ungated by Assist Mode.