For any new players going the true route/pacifist. The best advice I can give is that the agility stat is the most important stat in most circumstances. The difference is between being caught on the first turn while trying to execute an attack, which then fails. Trying to cast cool body to avoid getting charmed, then getting charmed/puppettered/whatever before you cast it and now you have to cure that condition, before you can even start the combat. Failing to cure the condition, since you got caught. Struggling while also being under the condition... all this from a normal/regular encounter. An encounter which you could probably one–shot with a burst of your weapon, provided your agility was high enough.
The next most important stat in my opinion is vitality. So much hinges on being able to actually act strangely enough.
Most recovery actions/items will also be better for you. The whole battle flow goes smoother with more vitality, especially in boss fights.
Another little tip. Avoid getting over 40 in lust. Everything snowballs really quickly, if you don't take care of that, when you reach 40-50 in lust. Your attacks will miss a whole lot more at that stage. There will be also be a clear visual indication on the screen that something is "wrong".
One shotgun shell also costs the same as 15 regular bullets, if I recall correctly. Depending on your circumstances/upgrades they more than often do around 3-5 times more damage than a regular bullet weapon. The damage being slightly larger than a 3–burst from a modded pistol, but 5x as expensive. There is indeed a larger discrepancy between the machine-gun (not the assault rifle) when it's fully upgraded and the late game shotguns. For most of the game, that's not a concern. The shotguns will until you reach mid–late game be a money–sink putting you at a disadvantage, should you rely on them. They can also not be modded, which puts them at a further disadvantage.
