To be honest, when I bought this game for the first time, I was shocked, because I had absolutely no idea, what there was actually demanded. I configured a team and went out and never came to any success.

To be honest again: even today, when I start the game, I have no real better insight. I configured a team and went out for the fist mission. Well, I tried to take out the first two guardians, right by the entrance after the only passage, but didn't success. The statistics afterwards told me, that I hadn't done one single shot, but I thought, that I really gave backfire.

It seems, that I do lack here some kind of insight already. I have equipped every of my four teammembers, two do have pistols, two do have shotguns, two scanners, two persuasion-weapons, every one has at least one medkit.

Personally I was looking, if there also has to be bought ammo, but didn't find nothing of that in the equip-menu, so - why does the statistic tell me, that I haven't done not one single shot? What is my mistake?

Of course I also will study the manual carefully this time and try to get the hang with that, but please feel free, to answer this question-post, if you have any idea or hint, what to do.

My second question is: what is better: to begin equipping weapons or to begin equipping mods? Or is it better to mix mods and weapons?

Thanks in advance.

Right click to shoot. Weapons can be reloaded between missions, it's cheaper than buying new ones. Watch your mini-map because you can't see through buildings so look where those enemy points are then shoot. Move cursor and your agents to that place and right click to shoot near that area when your cursor turns into red. Although it makes no further difference don't waste too many agents as initial team is most likely the only female agents you will get in the game. Other ones are only plot-related and can't be acquired.

Is it also necessary to load weapons after first equipment? Maybe I forgot this and therefore didn't loose one single shot during the mission, because the weapons were not loaded? And speaking of shooting with rightclick - which one is my aiming-cross? The red one? Or does the red color mean, that I am aiming at one of my teammates? Sometimes the aiming-cross was wihite, sometimes it was red. In todays games, red would mean, attention: friendly fire - but I don't know, what it is meaning in Syndicate.

Red cross means you spot target in agent's range and you are ready to shoot.

White means enemy is too far or line of sight blocked by something between or no enemy at all. Friendly fire? I always thought green or blue cross is your friend color.

New weapons are always full. Reloading is right near sell option when you click weapon in inventory.

Used weapons can't be reloaded during mission, only between on team selection screen. But you can throw used ones by right clicking them on them in inventory. You can pickup new ones when you hover your cross over weapon and cursor will change into pickup icon + it start flashing in agent's inventory.

Most important of all!

You can't shoot and kill persuaded people. Also if objective NPC needs to move/act on his/her own will if persuaded he/she no longer can play his/her scripted role in mission (escort, taking into transport etc) and restart mission is youre only option. Same for assassination-objectives, you need kill them, if you persuade them you can only restart mission. But you can persuade all enemy agents if mission briefing telling you to eliminate them all. Persuaded or killed means they are harmless and mission will be completed.

Security card serves no other purpose than making police stop shooting. But even having it in inventory you still need holster your gun. by left-clicking on it (de-select). Scanner works automatically even when not eqipped and increase number of details and range on minimap.

Are you literally not releasing bullets from the gun, or just not hitting things? If there's bullets spraying around all over the ground, then the guns are firing. Uzi's aren't especially accurate. Sometimes you just end up spamming bullets to kill something. Also, set your agent's "drug bars" all the way up before going into combat. You become very accurate.

I think weapons are cheaper, but mods are nice if you have the money. I usually at least buy level 1 arm mods for my agents, fairly soon after starting. IIRC level 1 mods are dirt cheap compared to level 2 and up.

No shots? You did unholster weapons by selecting them for each agent in the main game didn't you?

at MadOverlord and Korell
I selected the weapons with leftclick and shot with left and rightclick on red and white crosshair. While my agents were hit, they always were optically pushed back, while the guardians seemed completely untouched by my shots. OK, sometimes I think I had no direct line of sight, but I also shot at them in open place. I used shotgun with two of my members, both were killed during the gunfight - but of course, it was my first try after many years. And of course I will try another time. At least in the meantime I checked the group-function, so next time I will send in my agents together. But as the manual recommends, I will not make four agents for the first mission. And maybe, I will not use shotgun, but only pistols, but equip both of them with eyes, chest and arm (if I have enough money to equip two agents).

As for the shots not fired, I am rather sure, that it must be a very simple mistake. I tend to make often these kind of mistakes - as soon as I have found out, I will ask me, how I could have overseen that.

Well, as MadOverlord says, best way to get enemies gunned down is by using the drugs on your agents. I think if you press left and right mouse click at the same time it activates 'panic mode' which pumps all three of the drugs (red, green and blue) to maximum. This makes your agents automatically shoot at enemies who enter range of their currently held weapon and be more accurate with their shots. All you need to do then is move them around and let them shoot enemies on their own.

Be warned, though, the effect of the drugs wears off. The white line on each drug bar shows that agents current resistance to that drug. To bring the resistance back down you need to drop the drug bars below the line (the white line always gradually makes its way to the level of the drug). So, pump the drugs up, move the agents around taking down enemies. When you get a quiet moment, drop the drugs to full negative to bring resistance back down. Then repeat all over again.

4 agents with miniguns works quite nicely too, but you do need to watch out for snipers.