Starting from absolutely nowhere can make a Case last far longer than it needs to. You will need to handle your information with the utmost care and be ready for absolutely anything as the Case can take you anywhere. As you pick up more and more Cases, you will learn the best way to complete different Case types. But for those getting started on Shadows of Doubt, Vincent is here to help you learn of the importance of the Briefcase. Where to find it and how to use it. This will be your most important source of information in the Case as it is where all Investigations start.
Where to Find a Briefcase in Shadows of Doubt
The Briefcase is a key item you will regularly come across throughout your Detective career. It is used as the primary way of obtaining the basic Case information needed to begin your investigation upon picking up a new Case via the Job Bulletin Board. These are located inside Restaurants and other Building Establishments. Upon picking up a Case, you will input the correct Phone Number to receive details on your Case. This can be for example, to talk to a member of Staff or for you to locate the Briefcase immediately after hanging up the phone. Keep in mind that when calling for a Job Role, you will need to select the Case you are hitting in your Detective Menu Screen. This is relevant to those running multiple Jobs at once.
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After you have picked up a Case, you will be told where you can find a Briefcase to get your essential Case details from inside. These can spawn beside you at the Bulletin Board or more likely than not, inside a hard-to-find spot only detailed through an Address or Photograph. When this is the case, you will need to use what little information you have to find the Briefcase. This will always be placed in a tight space, typically standing upright and next to furniture. You can find these in Telephone Booths, in between Trash Containers, and inside Restaurants.
How to Use the Briefcase
Once the Briefcase is obtained and opened, you will get the bare necessities required to begin your Case. What is crucial to your Investigation however is to take the fingerprints off the Briefcase before or after using it so that you can use this information as an identifiable point for the person of interest who gave you the Case. This can be incredibly useful for locating Unknown Persons on their corresponding Unknown Person Case where knowing who gave you the Case can then lead you to the main suspect. This can also help for those who have figured out most of the identities of the residents in your city. Cases are often linked together and you may find patterns or links to previous people that you can ran into or dealt with in another Case.
Briefcases will only provide you with basic information, typically a few Identifiable Details such as Hair Color, Interest, Blood Type or Eye Color. These are your starting points for your Investigation and are where every Case will begin. Sometimes you are only given a single piece of information where other methods of Investigation is required, this is where using the Finger Print Scanner can really help you. The information is not given to you via documentation, rather you will find the Case Details under your Detective Menu and within the Case you are working on. All Cases begin as a single piece of paper in which you will expand on. Refer to Details for the Case Summary given through the original Telephone Call.
Destroying the Briefcase
Some Cases require you to destroy the Briefcase. The only real way to do so is to throw the Briefcase out into the water. This will automatically get ticked off the Objective for this Case Type. As this is not compulsory for all Investigations, however, you do not need to always throw the Briefcase out into the sea. However, we recommend that you get into a rhythm of doing so just in case the game updates where leaving your fingerprints around can result in other Detectives starting an Investigation on you. Therefore, be sure to throw away all Briefcases out into the sea.
When the option is there to destroy the Briefcase, be sure to do it. Never look in the Briefcase if the Case asks you not to as the Briefcase will blow up. Strangely, a lot of people are carrying explosives in this city. If you ever get tempted make sure that you save the game before opening.
That was our guide on where to find and use the Briefcase in Shadows of Doubt, we hope this guide was helpful. For more guides outside of Detective work, feel free to check out all of our articles and upcoming content, readily available here on Gamer Journalist.
