I picked this up because I've always enjoyed dialogue in RPGs. However, I can't really be sure that I'm making effective use of it. Most times, the conversation will plod along until I can activate pheromones, and the person I'm talking to gives in. But I'm a bit baffled as to the more subtle aspects of it.
Alpha, Beta, Omega types – these light up when the other person is speaking, but what specifically is it trying to tell me? Do they correspond to the 'best' response choice? Do they imply something else?
For some characters (like Sarif) I get a little info box describing his personality, and when I'm talking various animations pop on screen, like a heart, lungs, what I imagine is epidermis – but there's little indication as to what these mean. For others, I only get the Alpha, Beta, Omega boxes (like O'Malley).
In short, I feel like I'm getting results because I can just use the pheromones to get what I want, but I want to understand why.
Best Answer
The heart/lung/skin temperature monitors are just frill, as far as I can tell - the same animation plays every time they show up.
However, the box at the upper right corner gives extremely useful information as to the target's personality type that will help you decide how to approach the topic, and the persuasion bar in the upper left will show you how effective your tack has been so far.
As for the alpha/beta/omega types, the various personality types react differently to certain kinds of pheromone influence. If you decide to use them, you need to make your choice of which pheromone to use based on which personality type the subject has demonstrated most strongly during the conversation.