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Kanden FAQ

by papercut_

                           
  ____                    \/ Volt Driver Explody-Thing 
 /  \/\                   _______                         ___
/    " \  <---Kanden     / ~~~~~ \                       /'o'\          
|\   O /|____-----      / ~~~~~~~ \                     |     |
|\     /|____\\\\\     | ~~~~~~~~~ |                   /|\   /|\ <-Samus about
|/\/ \/\|    -----      \ ~~~~~~~ /                   /_|     |_| to get pwned
| /---\ |    /\Volt      \ ~~~~~ /                   /_/|/   \|_|
|\/\/\/\|      Driver     -------                        \   /
|/\/\/\/|                                                 |/\|  
                                                          ||||
Kanden says "RAWR, phear me"                              |||| 

 -----------------------
|Metroid Prime: Hunters |
|Kanden FAQ v1.31       |
|October 8, 2006        |
|Written by papercut_   |
 -----------------------

-------------------------
Part 1. Table of Contents
-------------------------

Part 1.    -------- Table of Contents
Part 2.    -------- Version History
Part 3.    -------- Introduction
Part 4.    -------- Kanden and the Stinglarva
Part 5.    -------- The Volt Driver (and other weapons)
Part 6.    -------- Kanden Vs. Strategies
 Part 6. I.   -------- Vs. Samus
 Part 6. II.  -------- Vs. Kanden
 Part 6. III. -------- Vs. Spire
 Part 6. IV.  -------- Vs. Trace
 Part 6. V.   -------- Vs. Sylux
 Part 6. VI.  -------- Vs. Noxus
 Part 6. VII. -------- Vs. Weavel
Part 7.    -------- Frequently Asked Questions
Part 8.    -------- Legal Stuff
Part 9.    -------- Special Thanks 
Part 10.   -------- Final Word

-----------------------
Part 2. Version History
-----------------------

10/08/2006. - V. 1.31 - Added Neoseeker as a site that can host this FAQ. 
                        Hooray! =D

10/05/2006. - V. 1.30 - Wow, it's been a while since I've updated this FAQ,
                        eh? I fixed some grammar related errors, and put my
                        email back in. This will probably be the last update,
                        unless I find something horribly wrong in it.

05/10/2006. - V. 1.27 - Took out my email, I'm getting too much of it these
                        days. Also fixed some stuff, notably the never
                        changing v.1.00 up there.

05/07/2006. - V. 1.26 - Took out my friend code, because I have too many
                        friends, fixed a few little things.

05/03/2006. - V. 1.25 - Fixed the Weavel section, added the "other weapons"
                        mini-section, put in my email.

04/23/2006. - V. 1.1  - Fixed some grammar issues, put in strategies and 
                        hints sent in by people.

04/18/2006. - V. 1.00 - Finished everything, with a few loose ends here
                        and there.

--------------------
Part 3. Introduction
--------------------

(Please ignore the horrible ASCII art up there.)

Hey there. Welcome to my first FAQ ever, dedicated to the hunter who is
probably the most underrated of all seven - Kanden. When playing wi-fi, all
I ever see being used (most of the time) is Trace, Sylux and Weavel some of
the time. I used to use Sylux and Trace most of the time, and felt the need
to pick another character that people underestimated.

Then one day, I witnessed the true power of Kanden. Then I thought, hey, why
don't I just try him out? And I did. I was amazed by the power of the Volt
Driver, and what a diverse weapon it was.

Well, I'll stop rambling on now, and get to the part you came for.

---------------------------------
Part 4. Kanden and the Stinglarva
---------------------------------

Kanden is a fairly well-rounded character. His Volt Driver is deadly 
when charged, due to its homing abilities, and he has an extremely useful 
alt form. 

The Stinglarva moves fairly quickly, and has bombs that, when dropped, home 
into the enemy before exploding. This is EXTREMELY useful, especially when
running away. Since it moves quickly, your opponent probably won't catch up.
But if they do, your bombs will stop them, and even do a fair amount of
damage. If you are low on health, and think your opponent is trying to snipe
you, move in unpredictable patterns until you find energy. Otherwise, they'll
predict your pattern and go for the kill.

While in biped form, Kanden is best used at medium-range. This is because the
Volt Driver can home into your enemies, and while their screen is fuzzy,
you can rapidly shoot your Volt Driver at them, and maybe even aim for a
headshot.

Kanden is kind of a big target, though. His upper-torso stands out from the
rest of his body, while his head is fairly small. This means it is harder for
your opponent to get a headshot, but easier to get a normal hit on Kanden.
But strafing around and jumping can easily help you avoid getting sniped, as
long as you're not jumping/strafing in a predictable pattern.

Kanden is good in large stages, such as Head Shot, due to (again) the Volt
Driver's homing ability. But this doesn't mean Kanden can't excel in the
smaller stages. In fact, I tend to do better in tiny stages like Processor
Core.

-------------------------------------------
Part 5. The Volt Driver (and other weapons)
-------------------------------------------

Kanden's affinity weapon, the Volt Driver, is a deadly weapon indeed. It does
a fair amount of damage when not charged, but when it is charged, it is
REALLY useful.

The most useful thing about the Volt Driver is the fact that it homes in on
your opponent. It can be useful long-range, medium-range and even short-range.
This makes Kanden useful in any level.

The Volt Driver is also really strong, taking off 50-60 damage charged, and
around 15 damage uncharged (thanks to Revoletion for the info). 
It also makes your opponent's screen all blurry, which helps you out in some 
cases (like in levels where you can fall off).

A simple strategy that I mentioned above and see a lot is charging up 
the Volt Driver, firing it at your opponent, and while their screen is blurry, 
fire rapid shots at them (hopefully getting a couple of headshots even). This
does a lot of damage if you can pull it off.

The Volt Driver is found in every level (except for Oubliette), and if 
not then there's always the affinity weapon pick-up.

Actually, here's the exact damage the Volt Driver does (thanks to 
MetaRidley276 for posting it):

Volt Driver: 14
Volt Driver-Headshot: 21
Volt Driver-Charge: 56

So as you can see, charged does about 56 damage, which means 4 fully charged 
Volt Driver shots will kill your opponent, and that's only if they have maxed 
out health to begin with.

A counter-strategy that most people use against the Volt Driver is going up
close to the Volt Driver user while they're charging it, so even if they get
hit, the user's screen will also go blurry. Don't let this stop you from using
the Volt Driver. As long as you can still screw them up for a bit, just use it. 
After all, to win, you'll have to make SOME sacrifices... (I heard that from 
somewhere, but can't remember exactly where right now lol.)

Here are some tips about the Volt Driver Lokarin let me use:
"The VoltDriver shot is a HUGE projectile, even without Kanden its impossible 
to dodge it in a small corridor... also, the shot is SOOO big it actually 
blocks your targets vision... and no, I don't mean the HUD distortion, I mean 
the projectile itself is hard to see through... ANYTHING could be behind 
it... a rushing Kanden... an Imperialist snipe... anything...

Another thing you may not know is that you are able to rapid fire AS SOON AS 
you release your charge... meaning you can cause your opponent to panicked 
even as soon as you fire...."
Credit goes to Lokarin.


Now getting to the other weapons...

--- POWER BEAM ---

The power beam is like a watered-down version of the Volt Driver. It is useful
to every hunter, since it has infinite ammo. Only use this if you don't have
the Volt Driver yet, or if you're saving up on ammo. It has the same firing
rate as the Volt Driver, so only use it if you're out on ammo or saving it up
for later.

--- MISSILES ---

Missiles have a pretty wide splash radius, but has a moderately-slow firing
rate. Don't bother charging it unless you're sure you'll hit. It does quite a 
lot of damage when charged, so go for it if you want.

--- MAGMAUL ---

The Magmaul is a powerful weapon when charged, but isn't that great if you're
not Spire, as he gets teh BURNINATOR as his affinity bonus. Another con is
that it fires on an arc, which means less accuracy unless you're a skilled
expert. In short, only use the Magmaul if you have to. Otherwise, it would be
smart to conserve your UA for other things.

--- IMPERIALIST ---

The sniper rifle of MPH, this weapon will come in handy to every hunter. The
Imperialist is the fastest weapon EVAR, it's so fast that if you get your last
kill with it you can still see the beam killing your opponent when it changes
to the overview screen. It's not only useful for sniping from afar, but also
comes in handy during close-up combat aswell. Also, a headshot with this thing
from far away is a one-hit KO. Awesome, eh? Well, it's not that awesome if
your opponent knows that you're trying to snipe them, so try not to miss, or
they'll see where the beam came from, giving you away entirely. Once they find
out where you are, they'll just strafe and jump like crazy, hoping you'll miss
them. Don't waste your ammo when they do that, because you'll need it for
later. Overall, I'd say the Imperialist is the best weapon in the game, and
that doesn't just go for Trace.

--- SHOCK COIL --- 

Ahh... The Shock Coil. Otherwise known as the weapon of mass destruction for
Syluxs case. But this weapon is not only useful for Sylux, as it can come in
handy for any hunter. One case where it comes in handy the most is when Weavel
goes alt. Just strafe around the halfturret using the Shock Coil to kill it
easily. The Shock Coil homes into your enemy, and does more damage over time,
which can kill your opponent in less than 15 seconds. One con about it is that
it's only close range, so keep that in mind.

--- JUDICATOR ---

The Judicator... Well I don't have much to say about the Judicator. Charged
shots fire three at a time for three ammo (what a deal!), and the shots
bounce around the walls before disappearing or hitting your opponent. This is
pretty useful in small hallways like the one in Combat Hall, but other than
that... I only find it useful when playing as Noxus. But that's just my
(stupid) opinion, so use it if you like.

--- BATTLEHAMMER ---

Last but certainly not least, the Battlehammer. The Battlehammer is an
underrated weapon, and has a really fast firing rate. It does a lot of damage
when used correctly, but can't be charged. Instead, when the fire button is
held, it fires rapid shots, which does a lot of damage if you can adjust to
the Battlehammer's arc shaped shots.

-----------------------------
Part 6. Kanden Vs. Strategies
-----------------------------

In this section, I will give a brief description of how to deal with each
hunter, and what to do in a certain situation (to the best of my ability =P).

--Part 6. I. - Vs. Samus--

Samus. A very well balanced character, with a deadly alt in the hands of an
expert. Samus's affinity is the missile, with which she can home in on you.

Try finding an Imperialist somewhere in the level, and try sniping her. Avoid 
her Morph Ball bombs at all costs. Or, if she tries to hit you with homing 
missiles from a far side of the level, and home into her with your Volt 
Driver. If she comes close up and fires endless missiles at you, either run 
for it or try using the Shock Coil if you have one. If you're dying, go into 
alt form and run, but don't alt spam right beside them and run around in 
circles, while they hopelessly die. Actually, NEVER alt spam, no matter who 
you're facing. It will probably piss them off and they'll either disconnect, 
or alt spam back.

Okay, back to running. When you drop your bombs, try timing them, so Samus gets
hit every time, or jumps right into one. If she's in alt form, then drop your
alt bombs like crazy. If you notice that she isn't following you anymore, go
for the nearest energy before she gets it (or them).

One simple strategy I notice most Samus players use is to boost into their
opponent, and then use a bomb. This does a lot of damage if done right, so
avoid letting Samus boost into you.

Overall, Kanden does best against Samus in large levels. And don't let Samus
abuse the Morph Ball bombs.

--Part 6. II. - Vs. Kanden--

Ever heard the saying "You're your own worst enemy"? Well, it's 100% true in
this case. But it's easy to predict what the other Kanden will do. All I can
tell you for this match up is to think about what you would do in the level
that you're playing in, or the situation you're in, and find its flaws. That
should work for you (most of the time, hehe).

--Part 6. III. - Vs. Spire--

First of all, before the match even starts, do NOT let Spire pick Alinos
Gateway (but only if you know they're gonna pick Spire). There's a glitch 
that let's him into a rock and snipe at you from
inside of the rock, while you can't do anything. And plus, Spire is
invulnerable to lava, so it would give him an advantage anyway. 

(NOTE: I've been told by Bitentili that you can shoot through the rock which
Spire can go in. I can't really test it because I'm busy, so can someone test
it for me?)

Spire's affinity is the Magmaul, which when charged can set you on fire. It
does a lot of damage, so avoid getting hit by it if you can. Spire is a pretty
big target, so he should be easy to hit. Try sniping him if the Volt Driver
doesn't work.

Spire's alt form is the Dialanche, which is harmful when used by the right 
player. One bad thing about it (well, bad for the Spire user, heheh) is that 
it's fairly slow, and it's a big target. But then again, it can climb walls, 
making it easier for them to escape an attack or run away. 

--Part 6. IV. - Vs. Trace--

The first thing you should do is not let the Trace user find an Imperialist.
If they do, they'll probably go to a remote location and try to snipe you.
One thing, though, is that since Kanden's head is fairly small, it becomes
harder for Trace to get a headshot on you with his Imperialist. This is good,
since headshot snipes are always 1-hit KO's.

The above part is for facing against a predictable Trace, though. A good Trace
will know not to use the Imperialist as much as other weapons. This can
either make it easier or harder for you, depending on what they do. All I can
say for this kind of Trace is beware of Trace's ability to become partially
invisible. You can miss them like that, especially if he's in alt form.

And speaking of alt forms, Trace's alt is annoyingly good. And by annoyingly
good, I mean that most Trace users will abuse it, instead of hide in a
corner and lunge at you when you come (which is a pretty good strategy, rather
than spamming it [unless the radar is on, obviously]). It does a lot of 
damage, and if there's a double damage somewhere in the level, GET IT 
BEFORE TRACE DOES. Trace's alt attack done twice + double damage = death for
you.

Here's an effective way of dealing with Trace, sent in by Purechaos13:
"When fighting Trace, a good way to hit a sniping Trace (especially an 
elevated one) is to charge up a volt Driver while jumping and strafing like 
crazy. Then point it in his general direction and fire. Trace probably won't 
be able to get out of the way fast enough, you won't have to aim, and 
jumping/strafing a lot reduces your chance of being headshotted."
Credit goes to Purechaos.

--Part 6. V. - Vs. Sylux--

I always have trouble against Sylux, especially in those smaller levels. Don't
let him keep the lock with the Shock Coil, or else he'll start draining damage
off of you. The get out of the lock, try jumping around and strafing, hoping
he doesn't have good aim with it. If it's a newb Sylux, it should be easy to
break out of. But if it's an expert, and you taking more damage than you're
dealing, go into alt form and run for your life.

Sylux's alt is the most abused alt ever. About 70% of the Syluxs I face just
go into alt, and spam the bombs. Also, watch out for tripwires that they'll
plant somewhere, in most cases near energy. If there's a tripwire, they're
probably somewhere near it, and once you go near it, they'll pop out of 
nowhere and use the last bomb to encase you in the tripwire triangle to deal
180 damage to you. This is almost an instant kill, so be very aware of that
tactic. 

Oh, and try not to let Sylux get the Shock Coil. Other than that, I can't
really help you out there. Just avoid alt spammers, and you'll be fine.

--Part 6. VI. - Vs. Noxus--

Noxus can be hard or easy, depending on if the user gets an Imperialist. If
they do, they can freeze you with the Judicator, then snipe you in the head
for an instant kill. This is a DEADLY combo. Don't let Noxus get an 
Imperialist, and try to stop them from getting a Judicator as much as you can.

When Noxus freezes you, they'll probably keep shooting at you to get as much
health off of you before you unfreeze. While you're frozen, charge up a
weapon, and fire it right at Noxus when you thaw. Also, some Noxus users
will try to charge up the Judicator right after you are frozen, attempting to
freeze you right after you thaw. This is a pretty cheap strategy, but then
again, nothing in this game is cheap. I don't think anything is cheap, because
after reading that article about scrubs (if you read it you'll know what I'm
talking about), creating imaginary boundaries in a game seems juvenile.

Anyways, sorry for my rambling. Meh. Okay, so avoid getting frozen by Noxus,
or else you'll die for sure (if the player has precise aiming).

Noxus's alt is strong. But after he hits someone with it, he has to wait a
while until he can throw his arm out again. Use this to your advantage, and
try to blur up his screen to bide you some time if you need it.

Here's some tips that Purechaos13 told me:
"When fighting Noxus, a good way to fight the freezing strategy is to charge 
up a Volt Driver and run as fast as you can backwards. As Noxus approaches, 
with his affinity weapon charged up, let it rip. It'll distort his vision so 
he may miss, and it'll definately hit (Noxus coming towards you + Volt Driver 
homing towards him = ouch.) 
Putting a lot of distance works great too, because a charged Volt Driver can 
home over distances so you won't miss, and he won't be able to freeze you.
Also, never overuse your alt form when playing Noxus. You'll get frozen."
Credit goes to Purechaos.

Part 6. VII.  - Vs. Weavel--

First of all, don't pick Combat Hall. Weavel will probably try to put his
turret in the center of the arena, or near the corner where the health is.
If you do happen to play in Combat Hall and Weavel uses that strategy, just 
let him do it, and kill it with rapid power beam shots while strafing around
and jumping.

Weavel's affinity is the Battlehammer, and it doesn't get much of an affinity
boost, only a bit more knockback and damage radius. Weavel will probably not
use the Battlehammer that much, though. He shouldn't be too hard, just avoid
those alt spamming newbs (or noobs) that always pick Combat Hall, and you'll
be fine.

Regardless of the level, whenever Weavel goes into alt, always kill the turret
first, before Weavel can pick it up again. Just strafe around it, the
Battlehammer isn't that fast. When you kill the turret, Weavel will have 1
health left, so go and kill him before he gets energy. 

Other than that, Weavel shouldn't be too hard.

----------------------------------
Part 7. Frequently Asked Questions
----------------------------------

Q: How do I unlock Kanden?
A: You don't, he's already in your roster to begin with.

Q: Why did you decide to write a Kanden FAQ?
A: Because I think he's one of the most underrated and under-used characters
   in the game. And I'm sick of seeing Sylux and Trace in every match, so I
   switched to something different.

Q: Kanden suxx!!
A: That's not a question.

Q: Are these real questions?
A: No, I just made them up. Bwahahahah!

Q: I was facing some guy (that was Spire) in Alinos Gateway, and he hid behind
   the glitchy rock. I can't do anything!! Can you help?
A: If they stay inside the rock sniping at you, just disconnect. But eventually
   they'll have to come out for ammo, so block the corner that they use to get
   in the rock.

   Eli Taylor told me that "you can shoot through the rock if you're close. Im 
   guessing the best thing to do would be to use the charged up volt shot 
   because it homes. Although you'd need to be far enough for it to home so you
   should use the top ledge." Thanks Eli Taylor!

Q: What's your email address?
A: Sorry, but I took it out. I'm getting too much mail, and only a few of them
   were actually regarding adding new things in the FAQ. Most of it was stuff
   that was already answered here somewhere, and the rest was asking if I could
   be the person's friend. So for now, I won't be putting my email here until
   I die. If you desperately need to talk to me, talk to me on the MPH boards
   on Gamefaqs. If you don't have a Gamefaqs account, then too bad. I'm sorry,
   but those useless emails are becoming annoying. And by the way, no, I don't
   have AIM or Yahoo, and even though I do have MSN, I only add people I know
   in real life. Sorry about that.
   
   UPDATE: Since it's been a while since I've updated this FAQ, I've decided
           to put my email back in here. If you want to contact me for
           questions regarding the FAQ in question (as in, no game-related
           questions,) please email me at [email protected].
 
Q: What's your friend code info and stuff?
A: Okay, I took out my friend code because I'm getting a lot of people asking
   me to add them, so no more friends that I don't know, okay? And by the way,
   if you emailed me and asked if I could add you, and I don't see you online
   for a while, I'll delete you, since I need all the space I can get in my
   friend list. Sorry.

   UPDATE: Well, I lost my cartridge of this game, so even if I wanted to add
           you, I can't. =( I'll miss you, MPH... You've been good to me.

Q: How good are you?
A: Not good enough.

-------------------
Part 8. Legal Stuff
-------------------

This FAQ may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, 
private use. You may not use this FAQ on your site unless I give you
permission (which is unlikely). The only websites allowed to host this FAQ
are GameFAQS, SuperCheats, and Neoseeker. NO OTHERS.

This FAQ is property of the author, papercut_, of GameFAQs. If you would like
to contact me, please email me at [email protected].

----------------------
Part 9. Special Thanks
----------------------

Special thanks go out to the following people:

-CjayC for making this awesome site.
-Revoletion for providing the info on how much damage the Volt Driver does.
-MetaRidley276 for also letting me use his damage info for the Volt Driver.
-Purechaos13 for telling me some tips for Noxus and Trace.
-Lokarin for letting me use some Kanden tips he posted.
-Bitentili for telling me the thing about the Spire glitch.
-Eli Taylor ([email protected]) for confirming the thing on the Spire 
 glitch.
-My friend Tom for persuading me to buy the game.
-Nintendo (obviously) for making this game.
-The Metroid Prime: Hunters board for being so cool.
-The Music: Rock board for also being cool (and harsh, at some times lol).
-Tool, for being a cool band.
-And last but certainly not least, YOU for reading this.

-------------------
Part 10. Final Word
-------------------

Well... That's it. Thanks again for reading this, and I hope it furthered your
interests in Kanden and teh Volt Driver... Well, I'll see you on the dark
side of the moon!



Copyright 2006 papercut_