Evil Genius 2 might have you focusing on setting up your lair and protecting it against pesky Forces of Justice agents, but you can’t (and shouldn’t) overlook your Global Operations on the World Stage. You are, after all, an evil person that’s looking to build a big weapon that subjugate most things and that’s pretty costly. Criminal Networks and Schemes act as a means of securing valuable assets for your operation.
A wise man did once say that money doesn’t buy happiness, but it does buy furniture, computers, minions, and Doomsday weapon parts. Global Operations in Evil Genius 2 can supplement your income at the cost of minions, Intel, and sometimes money. Luckily, there’s a continuous supply of fresh meat and plenty more money to make your initial investment worth it.
The path towards accessing the World Stage in Evil Genius 2 starts in the Room Type tab of the build menu. Under Control Room, you’ll find the Radio Repeater which provides a small boost to your Broadcast Strength and supports one Criminal Network. Next to it, you have the Computer Console that generates Intel. Plopping both down is a good way to start.
With them placed, you can click the Global Operations button in the lower-left corner of the screen. You’ll be taken to the world map, getting to choose between multiple regions in which to set up a Criminal Network. Clicking different regions shows the building costs, usually 3 Workers and 1 Broadcast Strength, alongside the enemy faction that you can expect to face and its strength in the region.
Once you’ve set up a Criminal Network, new markers will appear, pointing out that Evil Genius 2 Schemes are available in that region. Some grant various amounts of gold – the bigger the amount the longer they take to complete – but build Heat as they draw the attention of the Forces of Justice. Others reduce the quantity of Heat in that region. Should you reach your Heat cap, your network goes into temporary lockdown, rendering you unable to perform Schemes there for a time.
Criminal Networks start relatively humble in Evil Genius 2 but, luckily, you can upgrade them after researching Upgrade Criminal Networks in the Global Operations section of the Research menu. Clicking the flashing radio tower on the World Stage and looking on the left side of the screen reveals both the benefits and costs.
You’ll usually have to give up some of your upgraded minion types, but also need spare Broadcast Strength and Intel. That’s why you’ll need to think about assigning quite a bit of space for Control Rooms as you plan on increasing your presence on the World Stage. Higher-level Criminal Networks are more lucrative.
Schemes in Evil Genius 2 are also required for completing various main and side stories, but these aren’t very different from the ones that get you sweet cash, save for a potential cutscene you might get once they’re complete. Some Schemes can also get you specialized minions in exchange for cash or Diamonds which is used as fuel for the Doomsday Device.
With Evil Genius 2’s Global Operations, World Stage, Criminal Networks, and Schemes now covered, check out our other guides on Genius abilities and mod support.
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