High Poly to Low Poly - UV/Normals Workflow Questions.

Screamheart

Hello! I am working on a Warframe helmet. I finished my high poly model in Z-Brush(4r7), then used Maya (2017) to Quad Draw new low poly topology. I cut and sewed all of my UVs how I want them and laid them out in a 2:1 space (2048x1024 is what I need). Then I squished them into the 1:1 square in the UV editor. The model is symmetrical, so I deleted half of the model and used Duplicate Special to get my UVs doubled up on both sides.

My questions now:

1. Do I need to delete the extra UVs that are overlapping now? Or do I leave them stacked onto each other?
2. Last time I did this was my first model and it was all 1 solid model. So I am looking for the rest of the steps from here. I remember I need to save my low and high models and make a cage from my low model that is slightly bigger than my model. Then I take them to xNormal and create my normal map and whatnot. Any extra details, steps, or tips for any of that (Including texturing tips) are welcome!
3. Do you recommend taking the time to learn Substance Painter, or should I try using Photoshop? Texturing has been a lot of trouble for me previously.

Thank you! Any and all advice is welcome. I've also been looking for someone that I can Skype with for some more 'hands on' help. Let me know if you're interested!

Pictures:

kanga

Looking at your lowpoly I am pretty sure all your polys have to n be in one smoothing group. If you arnt using substance painter you ought to texture your model. If you are after a hand painted texture you could use photoshop. That will depend on what kind of textures you want. If you are going to use substance there is a good chance you wont need a cage for the bake.

musashidan

1. If baking then you will need to move the mirrored uvs out of 0-1 uv space or the bake will suffer z-fighting and bake incorrectly.

2. For this you will need to explode-bake (in S Painter this step is superceded by match by name)

3. Yes. It is industry standard. If you have the means/opportunity to learn it then you should.