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_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_
		Lost Planet Multiplayer Guide
_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_


+-----------------------------------+
 |  Version 1.00                     |
 |  Author: Chris Vaughn       |
 |  Last Revision: 07/19/0      |
+-----------------------------------+


_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_
			Table of Contents
_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Section 1: Introduction
Section 2: Gametypes Overview
Section 3: Weapon Guide
		A: Infantry Weapons
		B: VS Weapons
		C: Grenade Usage
Section 4: Mech Usage
Section 5: Multiplayer Maps Overview
Section 6: General tips and tricks


_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_
			    Introduction
_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Anyone playing Lost Planet for the first time will surely realize that it 
doesn�t play like other shooters. It is arcadic and very unique. Some people 
say that it is similar to some of the older shooters. In addition, every 
weaponhas a specific strategy and gameplay element behind it. In other 
words, each weapon has a benefeit that can be exploited for kills.

There is no split screen or system link option in Lost Planet. The entire 
multiplayer aspect of the game takes place online.

Lost Planet has four game types and a currect 16 multiplayer maps. The original
game shipped with only nine and an additional map exclusive to the collectors
edition of the game. However, the exclusive map is now available via download
from Xbox LIVE to the public. There have been a total of three map packs for
the game. The first brought two maps by the names of Island 902 and Radar
Field. The second map pack continued the frantic online play with Hive Complex
and Trial Point. The third pack included three new maps; Lost Technology, 
Ice Drop, and Ruins.

Unlike many games, Lost Planet does not have a recovery system in multiplayer.
In addition to the fact that your health does not recover automatically, there 
is no possible way to recover your HP. Combined with the fact that every time
you die your score is decreased by 1,000 points (roughly the same amount of 
points you gain from killing someone) makes survival absolutely key in online 
success.

Roughly half of the weapons in Lost Planet require the use of thermal 
energy, a substance which powers your harmonizer in single player and 
maintains your body temperature at a safe level, both are things that you do 
not have to worry about online. Vital Suits also require a constant flow of 
thermal energy to use, otherwise they eject the pilot into the harsh, 
unforgiving environment.The multiplayer has you spawn with a set 2,000 
thermal energy.

Data posts play an important role online. These posts can be activated to not 
only give you thermal energy but to also mark nearby enemies on your radar. 
Thermal pools can also be found online. These appear as glowing yellow-orange 
circles of thermal energy that constantly replenish your T-Eng.

Killing another player earns roughly 1,000 points. A large amount of points 
are earned by destroying a mech with a player inside, slightly less are 
awardedfor destroying a mech and then tracking down and killing that player. 
500 points are added to the battle gauge every time you active a data post. 
Dieing results in a 1,000 point loss.


_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_
			Gametypes Overview
_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Gametype- Elimination

Objective- Fill your battle gauge by killing foe.

General tips- Survival is key in this game type because of the point loss. 
Corner camping is very rewarding, so long as you do it in an area that is 
commonly traveled. Obtaining new weapons makes encounters much easier. Watch 
your back often. There is an issue of other players spawning near you, which 
most likely results in your death because of their ten second invulnerability.


Gametype- Team Elimination

Objective- Deplete the enemy teams gauge before they deplete yours.

General tips- Suicide runs are possible in team elimination. Just make sure 
that your probable death is worth it. Situations tend to be less caustic 
because you have allies to protect you. Controlling territory is a little 
more important than elimination. Spawn killing is possible, if you manage to 
outlive their invulnerability.


Gametype- Post Grab

Objective- Raise all of the posts on the map with your team, or have the most 
posts raised when the time runs out.

General tips- Don�t corner camp unless you�re specifically protecting a data 
post. Try to make it to data posts with enough firepower to take it over. 
The final data post will most likely be at the other teams spawn. You�ll most 
likely need your entire team to raise it.


Gametype- Fugitive

Objective- Stay alive and kill enemy soldiers or hunt down and destroy 
the fugitive.

General tips- If your not the fugitive, stay in a group and hunt down data 
posts. That way, you can easily tell where the fugitive is. Eventually you�ll 
see a lone red dot on the map. Remember, a dim red dot means a change in 
elevation. Climb higher or drop down. As the fugitive, try to catch wanderers 
off guard. Corner camping works well. Sniping works well, but it often gives 
away your position. Just make sure to stay hidden.


_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_
			   Weapon Guide
_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_

		      --------------------------------------
		      ====Infantry Weapons====
		      --------------------------------------

Weapon- Machine Gun
Rate of Fire- Very Fast
Damage- Low
Prefered Distance- Medium-close range
Special- Continuous shots tend to stun the enemy

The machine gun. An all around weapon that you typically spawn with. It�s the 
default weapon and plays a large role in the game. It can be used in standard 
combat in many ways. One of the most common strategies is to toss a grenade at 
the foe and proceed to blow it out of the air on top of them. This strategy 
has been dubbed the �grenade shot� and it is what I will refer to from now on.

In close range the machine gun becomes much more accurate and its ability to 
render the target useless becomes important to your survival, with shotguns 
and the like around.

General tips for this weapon are as follows. Try for body shots. Head shots 
deal far more damage but it is more difficult to hit a moving foe in such a 
small area of the body. In the end, locking someone up with body shots proves 
more useful. The melee with this weapon (and most others) is useless.


Weapon- Shotgun
Rate of Fire- Fast
Damage- Average
Prefered Distance- Close range
Special- The shotgun occasionaly knocks foes down. The less distance between 
you and them, the greater the chance of a knock-down.

The shotgun is an excellent weapon in close range. Although you have to 
basically touch the opponent for it to be an instant kill, at slightly 
farther ranges it has a tendancy to knock the foe onto the ground. Any foe 
laying on the ground is invulnerable until they again stand. However, this 
gives you plenty of time to plan for their imminent demise.

Once an opponent falls down you have many more options available to you. 
In order of greatness:

#1 You can stick their immobilized body with a gum grenade. 
Proceed to run away.

#2 Sneak behind them for a final shotgun blast.

#3 Back off and throw a grenade of your choice at their feet with the 
intention of it blowing up when they stand (ala shoot it).

The melee on the shotgun is one of the better ones as you can follow it up 
with a shotgun blast for the kill, but I still advise against it.

The shotgun can also pull off grenade shots and is one of the few weapons 
that actually benefits from the plasma grenade. Toss the grenade in a 
manner so it bounces around the corner and immobilizes the enemy. Proceed 
to strut over to their defenseless person and pop them in the chest. 
Instant win.


Weapon- Rifle
Rate of Fire- Fast
Damage- High
Prefered Distance- Long Range
Special- N/A

Your typical sniper rifle. It comes with two levels of zoom and deals high 
damage to infantry. Any shot that lands at an opponents head yields an instant 
kill, obviously. Otherwise it kills in 1-3 shots to the body. It�s fast enough 
to pull off a stream of shots and holds a pretty large amount of ammunition.

The sniper is kind of unsteady so you�ll have to re-adjust your aim each time 
you fire.

The grenade shot is possible with the sniper rifle but it�s too difficult to 
hit your own grenades so don�t bother. The only exception to this is the disc 
grenade. The disc grenade has a long fuse and it can travel large distances. 
It has the added benefeit of being large enough and slow enough to snipe. 
Typically, anything the sniper can do with a grenade shot it can do better by 
simply firing at the target.

The sniper is another one of the few weapons that benefits from plasma 
grenades. Toss one towards a difficult to hit target and *hopefully* you�ll 
stun him long enough to pull off a headshot.

Also, the rifle does very little damage to mechs. Unless it�s a weaker mech 
or a haze, don�t even try.


Weapon- Rocket Launcher
Rate of Fire- Slow
Damage- Very High
Prefered Distance- Any
Special- Knock-down and stumble.

The rocket launcher in Lost Planet is very unique in that it has almost zero 
splash damage. It leaves a trail of smoke that tips others off to the rocket 
launchers current position. It deals high damage to both infantry and mechs. 
It�s only real disadvantage is that each individual rocket has to be loaded 
into the chamber before firing.

As if the rocket launcher wasn�t strong enough, it also has a tendancy to 
either knock opponents on the ground or make them stumble. Either way, it 
gives the rocket user enough time to reload another shot.

One way to increase the splash damage of the rocket launcher is to toss a 
grenade at the foe before firing. This almost always yields a kill.

Additionally, the rocket launcher benefits from stance. You gain greater 
accuracy while crouching. However, any shot fired while standing/crouching 
leaves you stationary for a second. Firing mid-air drops accuracy 
considerably but allows you to avoid standing still.

Logically, this means that it is best to crouch while fighting indirectly 
over large distances and to jump and fire when you fight head to head.


Weapon- Plasma Gun
Rate of Fire- Average
Damage- High
Preferred Distance- Medium-Long Range
Special- N/A

The plasma gun is a sniper rifle that requires thermal energy to fire. 
It doesn�t use ammo like the sniper but instead runs on your thermal 
energy. Each shot uses roughly 30-50 T-Eng per shot.

A few other differences exist between the sniper and the plasma gun. Where the 
sniper deals almost zero damage to mechs, the plasma gun does considerably more 
damage. Also, repeated headshots to the pilot of a VS tend to eject the pilot 
more often than the regular sniper.

The shots fired by the plasma gun are slightly larger than the bullet trail 
left behind by a sniper, so grenade shots are easier. The plasma gun is much, 
much, more accurate than the sniper in close quarters but the sniper beats the 
plasma gun at long range combat. Shots fired by the plasma gun are also 
slightly slower than a snipers bullet.

The mid-range accuracy of the plasma gun allows it to be used as a less 
effective shotgun in close quarters.


Weapon- Energy Gun
Rate of Fire- Slow-Fast
Damage- Variable
Preferred Distance- Any
Special- Tracking, VS Ejection, Knock-down

A very useful weapon. The energy gun uses up thermal energy every shot, just 
like the plasma gun. The two weapons, however, are extremely different. The 
energy gun fires small, slow-moving, blobs of energy that track foes for a 
considerable amount of time.

The energy gun is well sought after, so hold on to it if you find it lying 
around in multiplayer. The energy gun can be charged up and it�s purpose is 
best served fully charged. Fully charged blasts track extremely well, deal 
excellent damage to infantry, and any VS pilot who is struck by an energy blast
is ejected from the mech instantly, their current HP is cut in half, and the 
mech is damaged.

Despite the amazing tracking ability of the energy gun, there is a way to avoid 
any charged attacks completely for mech users and infantrymen. 

If you see a charged energy gun blast and you are on foot, you should roll 
towards the person who fired the shot just before the blast hits you. This will 
render you invulnerable to the attack, if done properly.

If you see a charged energy blast and you are a VS pilot, you should back pedal 
far enough so the attacker cannot throw grenades at you and then eject before 
the blast hits you. This will also halt any damage that the energy gun would 
have dealt to you.

However, if you are using an energy gun and someone starts rolling into your 
shots you should start rapid firing the weaker energy blobs at the person. The 
weaker ones cannot be timed out with invulnerability animations unlike the 
the larger ones.

The energy gun can pull off the grenade shot if you fire immediately after 
throwing a grenade.


		      ---------------------------------------
		      ====Vital Suit Weapons====
		      ---------------------------------------

Weapon- Gatling Gun
Rate of Fire- Very Fast
Damage- Average
Preferred Distance- Medium Range
Special- Stun
Infantry/VS- The gatling gun has better performance whilst on a mech.
_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_
Most of the VS weaponry can be used on foot or attached to any Vital Suits you 
find lying around. The gatling gun fires extremely quickly and deals medium 
damage to foes. Against mechs it deals lower amounts of damage but two gatling 
guns together will easily bring them down.

Overview- Infantry

The gatling gun can quickly take down opponents on foot and has a slight chance 
of achieving the stun effect from the standard machine gun. Disadvantages of 
the gatling gun are that it is difficult to keep a constant stream of bullets 
on the enemy because of its poor stability. In addtiton, the gatling gun cannot 
be fired unless you stop moving. This makes you an easy target for snipers or 
waiting foe.

This is one of the few mech weapons which can take advantage of the 
grenade shot.

Overview- VS

On a mech, the gatling gun serves backup purposes. (ie: keeping a constant 
stream of ammo on the enemy whilst reloading a secondary weapon) Any mech that 
can duel wield should consider picking up duel gatling guns because they can 
take out humans and mech easily. Hardballers (chainsaw/super mech) greatly 
benefeit from duel gatling guns because of their ease of mobility. Dodge 
incoming attacks and wear the foe down.


Weapon- VS Shotgun
Rate of Fire- Medium
Damage- Very High
Preferred Distance- Close-Medium Range
Special- Knock-down
Infantry/VS- Either

The mech shotgun is huge and powerful. It�s slower than the standard shotgun 
but usually yields a kill in a single shot. Like all VS weapons, your mobility 
is hindered while carrying it but the weapon makes up for it with its power.

Overview- Infantry

This is a great weapon to pick up if you like hiding around corners (near data 
posts, etc.) It stops your movement completely every time you fire as well as 
hinders your mobility like all mech weapons do. 

The weapon has a knock-down effect just like the smaller version. If you manage 
to down somebody with this weapon, circle behind them and fire when they get 
up. I don�t advise sticking them with gum grenades, etc.

Another of the few VS weapons which can benefit from the grenade shot.

Overview- VS

This is a beast of a mech weapon. Unlike when it is used on foot, the mech 
shotgun receives no penalty in mobility. It becomes all powerful at this 
level and can take out quite a few of the VS out there in just a few shots. 
This makes duel VS shotguns even scarier.


Weapon- VS Rocket Launcher
Rate of Fire- Very Slow
Damage- Insane
Preferred Distance- Medium-Long Range
Special- Knock-down, stumble
Infantry/VS- Either

The strongest weapon in the game, damage wise. A rocket from this bad boy will 
cleave through most Vital Suits and kill infantry in a single shot. Anything 
that doesn�t die will suffer from either a knock-down or a stumble. Mechs that 
receive damage will be momentarily stunned.

Overview- Infantry

Another weapon that is good, both on foot and on a mech. It�s role in the hands 
of a foot soldier is very similar to that of the VS shotgun. Sneak attacking 
people and causing all-around mayhem.

The weapon has horrible speed and has to be reloaded (slowly) every time you 
fire a shot. In addition to the fact that turtles, etc. can outrun you, this 
isn�t a weapon to run around with. If you get it, run to higher ground and wait 
for a nice firefight to break out below you. Proceed to blow everyone that�s 
fighting below away.

Overview- VS

A nice weapon to put on your mech. It pretty much wreaks havoc on all of the 
weaker mechs out there. I don�t recommed duel wielding these because of their 
slow speed and low ammunition count. Granted their hidden special takes place 
if you duel wield rockets, but in the end it isn�t worth it.

Firing two mech rockets simultaneously will �chain� the explosions together. 
All this means is that the splash damage carries over from one blast to the 
other, killing any infantry in the middle. This has a higher probability of 
occurring in medium range.

Weapons that the VS rocket tends to work well in combination with are the 
shotgun or gatling gun. 


Weapon- Grenade Launcher
Rate of Fire- Slow
Damage- Variable
Preferred Distance- Any
Special- N/A
Infantry/VS- Either

A very good, or horrible weapon. This one honestly makes no sense to me. It 
fires an arcing projectile that quickly explodes and rains bomblets over a 
small area. It seems to deal almost zero damage to mechs and infantry but has 
the possibility of dealing the highest damage of any weapon in the game. If 
all of the bomblets make contact with a hardballer then the mech will be 
destroyed in a single shot. In almost any other situation, the weapon deals 
little damage.

Overview- Infantry

This weapon can operate like a VS shotgun in close combat, but this risks 
receiving damage from the bomblets that the initial explosion releases. It 
can be rewarding to aim at the sky and fire in the direction of other players. 
The initial explosion should send bomblets raining down on anyone below. 
Hopefully one of them will hit someone.

Overview- VS

I personally cannot recommend this weapon on a VS although a few people have 
been able to make it work. The damage is too variable to be taken seriously and 
you�ll find yourself taking damage from your own explosion more than once. 
However, if you manage to find two of them then the resulting explosion could 
probably cover some of the smaller maps in a storm of bomblets.


Weapon- Missile Launcher
Rate of Fire- Medium
Damage- High
Preferred Distance- Medium-Long Range
Special- Knock-down, stumble
Infantry/VS- Vital Suit exclusive

This weapon is pretty awesome by itself. It fires slightly weaker rockets in 
relatively quick succession. The chamber holds four rockets but it reloads 
slowly. They can duel wield with anything but I recommend duel wieling two 
Missile launchers. This strategy should allow you to fire off rockets like 
you�re using a machine gun. The result is a lot of explosions.


Weapon- Cannon
Rate of Fire- Medium
Damage- Very High
Preferred Distance- Long Range
Special- Knock-down, stumble
Infantry/VS- Vital Suit exclusive

The mech version of the sniper rifle. It fires extremely fast and powerful 
rockets that arrive at the target in less than a second. These missiles deal 
high damage but must make direct contact with the enemy in order to affect the 
target. Any shots that land at infantry feet will simply knock them down.

Although the cannon fulfills the role of the mech sniper rifle, it does not 
have a scope so precise aiming is needed to kill targets in the distance.

A few mech have duel cannons but these are few and far between.


Weapon- Laser Rifle
Rate of Fire- Slow
Damage- High
Preferred Distance- Close-Medium Range
Special- N/A
Infantry/VS- Better performance on foot

A thermal energy based mech weapon. It fires a concentrates blue beam of 
thermal energy that kills foot soldiers in a single shot and does decent 
damage to enemy mech. Each shot can be charged up to deal more damage but the 
drain on the weapon increases. Each shot uses up roughly 80-130 thermal energy.

Overview- Infantry

It fulfills a role similar to the mech rocket launcher when used by infantry. 
Namely, sneaking up on people and 1-shotting them. However, because the beam 
travels a relatively far distance you can afford to run around with this 
weapon.

Overview- VS

I don�t recommend placing this weapon on a VS. The beam is difficult to judge 
when trying to hit infantry, which is it�s main purpose. There are better 
weapons to put on a mech, especially when your main concern is to take down 
anyone else who finds a mech of their own. The laser rifle just doesn�t deal 
enough damage to Vital Suits to take the place of other mech weapons.


Weapon- EM Laser
Rate of Fire- Slow
Damage- Very High
Preferred Distance- Close-Medium Range
Special- Mech Stun
Infantry/VS- Either

The big brother of the plasma rifle. This one benefits from being able to stun 
enemy mechs for around 3-5 seconds per shot. It�s a good thing the EM laser 
fires every 2-4 seconds because this means that it can render enemy mechs 
useless while chipping away large amounts of health each time. The beam itself 
is larger than the beam from a laser rifle. The EM laser can be charged up just 
like the laser rifle but instead of dealing more damage, it increases the size 
of the beam. Sadly, to compensate for the weapons usefulness the thermal drain 
per shot is somewhere around 400. 

Overview- Infantry

This weapon behaves exactly like the laser rifle when used on foot. It just has 
a larger beam at the expense of extra thermal drain. However, if you see a 
mechthis is one of the few weapons that will give you the complete advantage 
over it.

Overview- VS

Just like the laser rifle, the EM laser is too difficult to hit infantry with,
so focus on destroying enemy mech. The stun effect that the weapon applies 
should always be taken advatage of. 

Additionally, the EM laser has a tendancy of trapping mech pilots inside the 
mech so that the �Press A to escape command doesn�t even show up. It�s rare, 
but it happens.


Weapon- Laser Vulcan
Rate of Fire- Medium
Damage- Low
Preferred Distance- Close Range
Special- N/A
Infantry/VS- Vital Suit exclusive

This weapon is generally awful. It deals low damage to both mechs and infantry 
and doesn�t have the speed to make up for it. It�s better to consentrate fire 
on mech versus infantry because it tends to do more damage against Vital Suits.
It�s a really kind of pointless weapon because anything it can do, the gatling 
gun can do it better.

In the end, don�t use this weapon. It�s nothing more than a thermal energy 
drain.


Weapon- Homing Laser
Rate of Fire- Medium-Slow
Damage- Variable
Preferred Distance- Medium-Long Range
Special- Tracking, knock-down
Infantry/VS- Either

A king of weapons. This gun runs off of thermal energy and can be charged up. 
When facing an opponent, it locks on to up to four targets. These targets can 
be the same or different. (ie: four people, one each; one person, four on him; 
etc.) The lasers fired from this weapon launch into the sky and drop down on an 
opponent. It usually takes two lasers to kill infanty. The lasers do 
significantly less damage to mechs.

Overview- Infantry

This weapon plays the same role on foot and on a mech. However, because there 
is a thermal energy drain of roughly 100 per laser, maintaining your thermal 
energy is key. The easiest way to by-pass the thermal drain is to stand in a 
thermal pool. Otherwise, you�ll just have to activate data posts to get it 
back.

One important thing about the homing laser. You cannot injure a player that is 
close to you with the homing laser because the lasers will just go over their 
head. This is the only weapon that I recommend you use the melee with. If you 
hit the enemy they will fall down. This gives you the time to switch to a 
different weapon.

Overview- VS-

The only difference between on-foot use of the homing laser and Vital Suit use 
of the homing laser is that the weapon can be duel wielded. Two homing lasers 
means eight lasers will be shot out in search of enemies. However, with this 
comes a massive thermal drain of 800 points. You will need to find a thermal 
pool to even think of using two homing lasers.


_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_
			 Grenade Usage
_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Weapon- Hand Grenade
Damage- High
Throw Distance- Medium
Sticks- No
Detonation Time- Short

The most versatile grenade. Can be used to pull off easy grenade shots and can 
be thrown around corners.

Weapon- Gum Grenade
Damage- High
Throw Distance- Short
Sticks- Yes
Detonation Time- Long

Best type of grenade when using a shotgun. The only type that can affect a 
fallen enemy. Good for escaping as well. Toss to a nearby wall and keep 
running.

Weapon- Plasma Grenade
Damage- High
Throw Distance- Medium
Sticks- No
Detonation Time- Short

More of an annoyance than anything. The explosion size makes it far too easy to 
stun yourself and it fails as a mech destroyer because of it's tendancy to set 
off other plasma grenades before reaching the desired target. However, they can 
be used well with cooperative teammates who can quickly target jammed VS and 
serve a useful purpose when dealing with enemies who hide behind walls. Freeze 
them and turn the corner.

Weapon- Dummy Grenade
Damage- High
Throw Distance- Medium
Sticks- No
Detonation Time- Instant

Explodes on impact and deals huge damage. It also stuns mechs and allows 
on-foot players to take down VS. Can also be used to confuse a foes radar and 
can bounce around corners.

Weapon- Disc Grenade
Damage- High
Throw Distance- Far
Sticks- Yes
Detonation Time- Very Long

The grenade with the farthest range. Difficult to aim over long distances. 
Can stick to foes in a similar manner to gum grenades but throw duration is 
extended. Unlike most types of grenades it cannot bounce off of walls.

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_
			   Mech Usage
_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Mech- Hardballer
Speed- Very fast
Durability- Strong
Thermal Drain- Fast
Abilities- Hover, Dash, VS saw

The most versatile mech in the game. The hardballer is known as the 
�Super Mech� online. It is capable of using two weapons simultaneously. It is 
one of two mech that can run. The hardballer has a fast thermal drain so 
constant replenishing is necessary to maintain control of the mech.

The hardballer can jump rather high and maitain its height with its hover 
ability. The hover ability allows a pilot to maintain altitude for approx: 
5 seconds. Both jumping and hovering consume thermal energy at a faster rate 
than normal.

The Hardballer has a dash ability which allows it to increase it�s speed 
beyond the normal thresh hold. The thermal energy drain becomes more severe, 
however. The only mech that can outrun a dashing hardballer is the Evax.

The Hardballer can also use an exclusive weapon called the VS saw. This saw can
be activated or deactivated by holding �X�. Simply tapping �X� makes a slash 
with the saw. An activated VS saw consumes a massive amount of thermal energy, 
so get in the habit of slashing the inactivated blade. The blade can be used 
mid-air and deals high damage. An activated saw has far more accuracy than an 
inactive saw, and deals constant damage.

The Hardballer is one of the few mech that can take advantage of duel gatling 
guns. It�s agility allows it to dodge some of the more powerful attacks and 
wear down attackers.

One common strategy I use (if I can get it) is to duel wield a VS shotgun and 
an EM laser while using a hardballer. Of course, this means you�ll need to camp 
in a thermal pool to recover the massive drain on your thermal energy. 
If another mech user closes in on you, fire the EM laser at them and proceed to 
do as I say in quick succession.

Step one: After landing a hit on the foe with the EM laser, they should be 
temporarily stunned.

Step two: Close in on the foe and shoot them with the mech shotgun immediately 
after the EM laser hits them.

Step three: Slash the enemy with the chainsaw.

Step four: Repeat.

This means that the enemy will take massive damage from your mech but won�t be
able to do anything in return.


Mech- Nida
Speed- Very slow
Durability- Weak
Thermal Drain- Very Slow
Abilities- None

This mech is very slow and rather useless. It doesn�t protect you from a whole 
lot but benefits from duel mech weapons. It can be good in place of a 
machine gun, to put things in perspective. It�s only ability is to jump, and 
it does that miserably. The pilot of the mech is exposed and can be sniped out 
of the cockpit.


Mech- Faze
Speed- Fast
Durability- Average
Thermal Drain- Fast
Abilities- Double jump, long jump, reverse thrust, smoke bomb.

This is a great mech if you can gather the Thermal Energy to use it. The Haze 
is one of only two mech that can run, the other being the Hardballer. The Haze 
is built for vertical transportation and can jump in a variety of ways. Like 
all mech the Haze can jump. However, the Haze can jump a second time by 
activating its boosters mid-air. 

The Haze can also charge up for a long jump by pressing �Y�. The long jump 
travels farther than a well timed double jump, but takes time to activate. The 
reverse thrust can be activated by pressing �Y� after performing a long jump. 
The thrusters reverse direction and slam the mech into the ground, killing any 
ground targets instantly. 

A smoke bomb can also be deployed by pressing �X�. This mech gives you a lot 
of options. Use them to your advantage.


Mech- Cakti
Speed- Slow
Durability- Very strong
Thermal Drain- Average
Abilities- Hover, Slide, VS drill, Transform

This is one of the most unique mech in Lost Planet. It has two forms which are 
rather slow. This is the most defensive mech in the game. It takes a large 
amount of ammunition to destroy, and then you have to worry about the escaping 
pilot.

The first form is a four legged spider looking mech that has two permanent gun 
placements. A cannon and a laser vulcan. The cannon has thirty shots unlike the 
normal cannon which holds only fifteen shots. The laser vulcan is pointless, 
don�t even use it. It will eat up your thermal energy and distract you from 
achieving pinpoint accuracy with the cannon. 

Also, the spider mech can jump and hover, albeit slowly. It can also do a quick 
slide to the left or right. Although slow, it is very evasive.

The second form is its tank form. It loses its abilities to jump, hover, and 
slide but gains an exclusive attack. The VS drill is very powerful and deals 
constant damage. It takes a few seconds to revv up but the damage it deals is 
immense. It also gains a major speed boost for the short time that it is 
active. The tank form also loses the laser vulcan but no one really cared about 
that to begin with. The tank form sacrifices its agility for the removal of 
its weak points.


Mech- Granseed/Drio
Speed- Moderate
Durability- Strong
Thermal Drain- Average
Abilities- Hover, Slide

The Granseed is the same thing as the Drio. The only difference being that the 
Drio leaves the pilot exposed from above. They can take the same number of 
hits as a Hardballer but have decreased evasion.

These mechs have two common abilities. They can hover for around three seconds 
and can perform a slide similar to the one that the spider mech uses. Although 
they aren�t as powerful as the other VS, they are better than going on foot.


Mech- Evax
Speed- Very fast/slow
Durability- Very weak
Thermal Drain- Slow
Abilities- Transform, Hyper dash

The evax is the fastest mech in the game. Only the hardballer can keep up with 
it, which is a bad thing since this mech can hardly take a single grenade. 
The mech can only ever hold a single weapon. It has two forms. The upright 
position and its snowmobile position. The upright position gives the player 
a little bit more flexability as far as aiming is concerned, but its usually 
pointless to fight with this mech anyway. It�s fast, but not evasive.

The secondary form travels very quickly and has the ability to perform a hyper 
dash which activates its back thrusters and propels it through the air. Upon 
landing, the mech remains idle for a second.

I suggest using this mech when you need to get somewhere fast. It can out 
perform players on foot as long as they don�t have high powered weapons. 
Anything more than a grenade will send the pilot flying out of the mech. It can 
do a nice drive-by if you equip it with a VS shotgun. Holding �X� while driving 
this mech slows it down enough to turn on a dime.


Mech- Turntable
Speed- N/A
Durability- Strong
Thermal Drain- Very Slow
Abilities- None

The turntable is the turret of Lost Planet. The pilot is exposed from the back 
but can take a massive amount of damage from the sides. Like many mech the 
pilot can be ejected if they take multiple continuous shots to the front. The 
turntable can remove its back weakness thanks to the amazing speed in which 
it can turn. Although it cannot move, you can equip it with enough firepower 
to make it useful.


_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_
		     Multiplayer Maps Overview
_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Map- Pirate Fortress
Size- Small
Terrain- Mostly snow with some interiors.
Thermal Pools- No
Gamplay Gimmick- N/A

Quite possibly the most popular map. It was included in the multiplayer demo. 
This map takes place in a crimson snow pirate camp. The terrain is snowy and 
the land escalades to a lower section of the level, where most of the mechs 
spawn.

There are three buildings on this map. A large building that has three floors 
is on one side of the map. The second building is a small one-room building 
located next to the first structure. The third building has little exposure to 
the outdoors. Instead, it lowers down into a bunker.

The top section of the map is fairly flat and has plenty of reliable cover. 
A bridge lies dead center and leads over a canyon to a small, empty plot of 
land that is closed off by a large wall. Two metal towers lie on both sides 
of the map.

The middle section of the map faces a sharp drop from the top portion and has
a few trenches to make use of. There is usually either a series of destructible
cover or a large, destructible, metal tower here that houses the homing laser.
There is some reliable cover on one side of the map. The other side of the map
has a small wall that surrounds the three story building.

The lower section of the map faces a sharp drop from the middle section and is 
very unsafe. There is a large amount of destructible cover here as well. 
Depending on the map layout, sometimes a large metal toweris here as well. 
Most of the mechs spawn down here. There is also a large wall on the left side 
of the map. This wall can be climbed and is an excellent sniper spot.

General tips- There are usually energy guns located on the lower side of each 
building. One spawns inside some crates in the one-room building, while the 
other spawns behind some sandbags as you travel down the staircase.

Inside the bunker there are some excellent hiding spots where you can corner 
camp with a shotgun. One useful strategy is to grapple to the ceiling behind 
one of the pillars in this room near the data post. This makes you completely 
unnoticeable but gives you an easy shot at anyone who attempts to take the post.

The large wall that overlooks the lower section of the map is an excellent 
place to hang from with a sniper rifle.


Map- Dark Town
Size- Small
Terrain- Dark, underground, City filled with fog.
Thermal Pools- No
Gamplay Gimmick- N/A

A very kind, or unforgiving map, depending on your spawn. This map has two 
main areas. The first is a foggy, dark, underground room with no cover at all. 
The second area is a large open city with very few buildings in the middle, but 
the walls of the circular map are lined with buildings.

The bottom area is very unsafe but it can be slightly safer if you have a 
shotgun. The large, open spot in the middle of this part of the map is 
frequently a frag fest.

The top part of this map is quite the opposite. It is very open, with plenty 
of cover to boot. It frequently results in sniper combat. Two tunnels lead 
from the dark room below to the open part of the map above.

Two mech generally spawn on this map, although I�ve seen hardballers here, you 
mostly see Haze. The mech can be very difficult to take out but can be often 
times avoided, if you take advantage of all of the little nooks and crannies on 
the sides of the map. The buildings cannot be entered, but can be perched on 
top of, to take advantage of the sniper rifle.

General tips- In the lower room, it is wise to seek higher elevation. This 
removes the chance of fifteen + grenades landing at your feet. Three possible 
hiding spots exist. Above a large doorway that leads to a descending walkway is 
a great hiding spot. Above the doorway that lies in the dead center of this map 
is another, although it is difficult to reach. The final spot is actually in 
the bottom of the map, right in the middle of the mayhem. If you drop down from 
the shotguns spawn you�ll see a floodlight. Hiding behind it is a great hiding 
spot because the fog, combined with the blinding light makes you difficult to 
spot. It also protects you from any stray grenades.


Map- Crimson River
Size- Medium
Terrain- Volcanic area with lava pits and a large highway.
Thermal Pools- Yes
Gamplay Gimmick- N/A

It�s name is Crimson River because a river runs through it. A river of LAVA! 
This is an interesting map because of its layout. Generally, both teams spawn 
on opposite sides of the map, either on bottom or on top. The map can be 
divided into two three main parts. The ground level, the highway level one, 
and the highway level two. The two highways criss-cross but one of them is 
higher than the other.

A tidbit about lava. The ground level is very large and has three large bridges 
that lead over two rivers of lava. Lava kills you instantly unless you�re in a 
mech, which drops your Vital Suit�s health quickly. If your mech�s hp 
completely depletes while you are in lava, you will be trapped inside and melt, 
etc. If your thermal energy depletes while you are in lava, you will be ejected 
out of your safe Vital Suit and into a pool of lava. Stay away from it.

The rest of the ground level is very rocky and although it isn�t flat, 
everything is mostly the same height. A few mechs are housed here. Generally 
there will be two-four Haze on the map in addition to a Cakti.

The lower highway is very long and can be reached by grappling up one of the 
three bridges. The highway spans the entire map and has a few weapons, and 
sometimes spawns mech. There aren�t many places to take cover here. You�ll just 
have to make do with what you can.

The upper highway is shorter than the lower one but is much safer. This part of 
the map is an excellent sniper spot and has plenty of hiding spots. A few data 
post are up here as well.

General Tips- Unless you manage to steal a mech you should shy away from the 
bottom of the level. It�s unsafe because anyone with slight elevation above you 
will be taking shots at your face. Climb to the top as quickly as you can and 
find a sniper rifle or rocket launcher. You�re main goal is to hide from other 
snipers and fire at anyone fighting below you.

If you happen to spawn in the bottom tunnel, where you finish mission eight, 
you can climb underneath the staircase leading down to the rocky terrain and 
wait for people to walk by. It�s also one of the few spots to take cover in 
during sniper matches. Up top you can dangle off the bridge in any spot to 
protect yourself from anyone walking around above you. Just make sure to dangle 
in a spot that hides you from other snipers.


Map- Dilapidation
Size- Small
Terrain- Several tall buildings with a few underwater areas.
Thermal Pools- No
Gamplay Gimmick- N/A

The smallest map on the horizontal plane. This map is very tall and has three, 
very large, and very complicated buildings. Below them is a sort of 
�Why did I spawn here?� death zone. This death zone stretches all the way 
underwater and even into some underwater caverns.

The top of this map has two large buildings that face each other. In the 
middle of both, and off to the side, is a very tall circular tower that snipers 
can hide in. The top of this tower has a homing laser but it isn�t super useful 
on this map. 

The bottom of the map has a few pieces of destructible cover and the land is 
mostly flat. Compared to the rest of the map, this is easily the most dangerous 
spot. The land goes down into a pool of water that has a few small underwater 
tunnels that lead from one side of the map to the other. A single Haze is 
located in the water and can be very problematic to other players.

The structures in dilapidation are very large and complicated. Unless you have 
an active data post, it should be difficult to tell if anyone is sneaking up on 
you or corner camping. This means that you should pan the camera to see if 
anyone is behind a wall before you go past it. 

General tips- Tossing grenades around walls is a very good strategy here, just 
make sure that you avoid their grenades as well. This level sports a rather 
intricate system of navigable pipes. There are two pipe systems which are 
particularly useful because they allow you to safely travel do ends of the map 
and give you the ability to fire at people who helplessly wander down hallways.

There is also a small pipe system that is very useful in post grab game types. 
It is located on the lower roof of one of the buildings. You cannot travel 
through it but it�s small enough to throw a grenade down. This channels the 
grenade directly on to a data post below, killing anyone trying to activate it.


Map- Training Facility
Size- Small
Terrain- Fairly dark warehouse filled with crates and a maze.
Thermal Pools- Yes
Gamplay Gimmick- N/A

Another popular map. This level takes place inside a large warehouse filled 
with crates and a large maze. There are two large stacks of crates around the 
middle of the map. These can be navigated and usually hold data posts. The maze 
located near the middle of the map is the perfect spot for corner camping and 
is usually the safest place in the map. The entire level is completely flat.

The level sports an assortment of snowmobile mech and 1-2 hardballers. The 
harballers have a single gatling gun so finding a secondary mech weapon is key 
to the pilots survival. The snowmobile mechs are mostly for escape situations. 
Also, unlike the hardballers, they can go inside the maze.

The maze is filled with walls that can be perched on top of to do a diving 
shotgun blast. It�s great for catching people off guard. Lunge down upon them 
while firing a shotgun to knock them down. Proceed to stick them with a gum 
grenade and climb back over the wall before they can blow you up with them.

As far as weapons are concerned, plasma guns spawn in the corners of the map. 
Everything else is random but the EM laser, VS shotgun, and a sniper spawn 
inside the maze sometimes.

General tips- This is a bad map to be walking around the open on. Doing such 
will usually end with you getting mauled by a hardballer or sniped. The rockets 
are abused on this map as well, so unless you like fighting impossible 
odds�it�s probably best that you find either one of these weapons, or head to 
the maze. If you�re even feeling generous, grab the mech shotgun and drop it 
at the feet of a teammate who�s using a mech.

During rocket matches, you can be a pain to kill if you grab the energy gun 
and switch on the beam in the ceiling. This makes you difficult to hit, plus 
the energy gun doesn�t exactly require accuracy.

The best method for taking care of swingers is to get directly below them and 
fire upwards. This disengages their grapple and sends them plummeting.


Map- Canyon 810
Size- Large
Terrain- Snowy canyon with several campsites. Multiple bridges.
Thermal Pools- Yes
Gamplay Gimmick- N/A

This is a pretty difficult map to get used to. It takes place on the site of a 
huge canyon. The canyon runs straight through the level and has three bridges 
crossing it. There are four snow pirate base camps along the cliff face and 
they vary in size. Depending on the game layout there are a large variety of 
mechs. Typically, you see Haze, Snowmobiles, Cakti, and hardballers. Turntables 
are spread out along each side of the canyon.

The bridges are quite long and often dangerous to cross. The largest bridge can
fit two mechs across and is sometimes lined with thermal pools. The other two
are on opposite sides of the middle bridge and are barely large enough to carry
a person. To make things more difficult, both of the smaller bridges have a
small gap in the middle that you have to jump. However, crossing the small
bridges is rewarding, as each holds a homing laser.

The first camp is located all the way on one side of canyon, down near the 
cliff. It�s also the largest camp and has plenty of buildings. A plasma gun can 
be found on one of the buildings so look for it. 

The second camp is on the other side of the canyon, directly across from the 
first. It�s on the bottom of a steep slope so it�s difficult to spot. There is 
usually a thermal pool here and occasionally, three hardballers spawn here. 
It�s the smallest campsite, with only two buildings. 

The third camp is on the same side of the canyon as the first. It only has a 
few buildings but sports a small tunnel or two to help foot soldiers evade mech 
fire or snipers. Haze tend to spawn here.

The last camp and also the second largest is on the complete opposite side of 
the map as the first camp, however it lies in the middle of the canyon, just 
past where it ends. This camp has access to a large walkway overhead that leads 
to camp three.

General tips- If you don�t have a sniper rifle, find a mech. Snipers have a 
clear advantage on a long map like Canyon 810. You don�t want to run halfway 
across the map with people shooting at you when you cannot fight back.

This map has problems with spawn camping because of the ease of obtaining a 
mech. You can hide out in one of the small buildings until help arrives but you 
probably won�t receive any. Go figure.

Also, a Super Hardballer can be created on this map. This is the only map with 
two homing lasers. It also has a series of thermal posts located on the map. 
In a team game, you might be able to send two players out to obtain both homing 
lasers. The end results is extremely difficult to take down and the other team 
will have a hard time covering any ground.


Map- Lost Coast
Size- Medium
Terrain- Snowy area filled with large buildings and underwater caverns.
Thermal Pools- Yes
Gamplay Gimmick- Change in time of day.

This map is pretty amazing. It�s large and it sports three large buildings. 
There is a large ocean area to explore. There are underwater caverns and 
above ground caves. There is also a secret area that leads to the homing 
laser.

The map has three large buildings, similar to diplidation. All of them are 
complicated and sport multiple places to snipe from. Turntables exist on each 
of the buildings as well. Hardballers spawn in the underwater caverns where a 
thermal pool resides. On the arctic beach directly in front of the enterence to 
the water caves is a Cakti spawn. Also located near the water are two Haze, 
perched on top of a dock.

Snipers have to pay attention to the environment in this map. It changes from 
night to day over time and thick fog occasionally rolls in. It depends on the 
layout how often they occur.

This map cannot be broken down into sections so I�ll list some neat things 
instead.

#1 Underwater cavern- This cave leads to a hardballer spawn where a team is 
sometimes spawned as well. There are two exits in the cavern. One empties out 
into the bay, the other leads out onto the snowy terrain directly above ground.

#2 Building one- This building is the tallest of the group and has a sniper 
rifle on the roof. This is a good place to head towards at the beginning of the 
match. Mind you, there isn�t much cover. A bridge connects the mid-levels of 
buildings one and three. There are two turn tables on this building.

#3 Building two- This is a very large building and is the closest to the water. 
It has a bridge connecting the top of this tower to the top of building three. 
At the very bottom of this building that leads into an underwater tunnel that 
has a large stockpile of ammunition. Another great place to head towards when 
you spawn. There a single turn table on this building.

#4 Building three- This is the smallest building of the three. It�s not quite 
as tall as building one but it�s smaller than both towers. The bottom of this 
building has a very useful turn table if you can�t find a mech, as well as a 
secret enterence into the underwater tunnel and its weapon stockpile

#5 Upper cliffs- A team almost always spawns up here. There is a turn table on 
the cliff face as well as an enterence to the underwater tunnel. Just under the 
turn table is a small pool of water with a thermal pool inside. Next to the 
thermal pool is the fourth enterence to the underwater tunnel. The top portion 
of this map escalades down the map with a small waterfall on its side. This 
waterfall conceals the enterence to the mountain caves. There is also a small 
hole that drops down into the bottom of the mountain and empties you out near 
the bottom of building three.

#6 Underwater tunnel- A small underwater passage that leads from the bay shore 
to the cliff caverns. There is a large stockpile of weapons in this area of the 
map. The enterence from the thermal energy pool has an alternate route high on 
the wall that leads to the upper cliffs.

#7 Mountain caves- The mountain caves has three enterences. The first is right 
near the cliff spawn point. When spawning, face the rest of the level and look 
to your left. The second enterence to the mountain cave system is just behind 
the waterfall. The wall just behind the waterfall enterence is great for corner 
camping as a data post is right in front of you. The third enterence is very 
low and leaves you at the bottom of the cliff wall.

#8- Hidden cavern- Just under the cliff face and above the lower enterence to 
the mountain caves is a secret cavern. (Look between the waterfall and the 
third building) The enterence is covered with destructible wall so it�s 
difficult to spot. Destroy the wall with a gum grenade or standard fire and 
grapple into the opening. This cave spirals up towards the highest point in the 
map, where the homing laser can be found. To make progress more difficult, the 
cavern is host to many boulders. You can try to grapple over them or destroy 
them to get past, however the latter will require you to evade an avalanche. 
This is a great spot to hang around in during fugitive matches because the 
boulders can be destroyed to kill approaching players.

General tips- Don�t go anywhere near the middle parts of the map unless you 
have a good elevation. Even then, watch for snipers. The safest places in the 
map are the tunnels and they hold most of the weapons and mech.

Make use of the turn-tables. A few of them have good weapons like the cannon. 
Trust me, a turret has more firepower than your machine gun.

A good place to camp is in the hole that drops down into the underwater tunnel. 
Dangle down the hole and wait for people to appear on your radar. As soon as 
you here the data post move, jump down and kill them with a rocket launcher 
(if you have it) otherwise an EM laser, Dummy grenade, or shotgun can work.


Map- Frozen Wasteland
Size- Very Large
Terrain- Large snow field with series of highways and a single tall tower.
Thermal Pools- Yes
Gamplay Gimmick- Thick fog rolls in occasionally.

One of the largest maps in the game. The level is basically an enormous field 
of snow with a small base camp near the mountains and a large tower in the 
middle of the map. Two highway systems run along both sides of the map. One is 
smaller but has greater height and the other one is much longer but is easily 
accessable.

This map is full of mech, so unless you can find a good one, don�t go in the 
middle of the field. The safest places in this map are the far corners, each 
corner has very little action going on, although there aren�t many weapons of 
mech in those locations. It makes going to the middle of the map a risk versus 
reward situation.

The tall tower in this map takes a long time to climb and there is no cover at 
all, so you�re easy picking for snipers. However, the prize at the top is quite 
rewarding. A homing laser and a thermal energy pool. This means that you have 
height advatage over the entire map as well as a weapon with unlimited ammo 
that can track multiple foes. The base of the tower has a single room with a 
data post. The outside portion of the building houses either Hardballers or 
Haze.

The base camp is located in one of the corners of the map. It has a small 
tower with a little bit of cover. A thermal pool lies underneath the small 
tower as well as some low quality mech, snowmobiles, etc. A plasma gun 
sometimes spawns on the top of the small tower. Grab it if you�ve got 
the T-Eng.

One of the main spawn points in team games is located in the mountain area, 
directly across the map from the secondary team spawn, which is the elevated 
highway. Both spawn points have snowmobiles. They�re useless in combat but can 
get you to some of the more favorable equipment faster. This spawn point has an 
enterence that leads to the bottom of the mountain. The Cakti spawns down here 
sometimes. It beats Evax anyday.

General tips- Stay out of the middle of the map, unless you have a good mech. 
Seek higher elevation and longer ranged weapons. They�ll help considerably.


Map- Hive Complex
Size- Medium
Terrain- Vertically massive level that runs up the side of a mountain. 
Large cave system.
Thermal Pools- No
Gamplay Gimmick- N/A

The tallest map in the game. It�s also one of the most confusing maps in the 
game. This map has two main areas. The outside and inside of the mountain. 
This map takes place on a huge mountain that escalades into the sky. It�s 
very, very, tall and that makes traveling anywhere a pain. There are some 
weaker mech on the lower levels of this map. No hardballers, spawn on this map, 
there are no Caki either.

The mountain face is divided up into multiple sublevels but each is separated 
into two large parts of the mountain. A rope suspension bridge connects both 
parts. One piece is mostly flat while the other fights the skyline. The larger 
portion is very difficult to navigate and eventually reaches a slightly flat 
portion of the map. A tunnel leads down into the map from here. If you continue 
to head further up the mountain, there is a tall structure that points up into 
the sky. This is the highest point in the entire game. Looking down from here 
puts you at a 90 degree angle. Fall and you�ll fall all the way to the bottom 
so watch your step.

The rest of the level takes place in a series of tunnels that I�m pretty sure 
no one understands. It�s extremely confusing. I suggest grabbing a shotgun and 
some gum grenades or a rocket launcher if you plan on going under. Otherwise, 
you�ll have absolutely no advantages over your opponent.

The largest area in the underground hell is a large plant. Two data posts spawn
here. One underneath the structure and another on top of it. The bottom of this 
area is a neverending pit so watch your step. This is the safest place in the 
map if you can get here quickly with a good weapon. Otherwise, it�s just as 
dangerous as any other area.

General tips- If you�re good a sniping, hit higher ground and some cover. 
Otherwise, go into the tunnels. Make sure to toss grenades around walls in case 
someone is on the other side. Otherwise, you�ll just have to duke it out on 
your own. This is one of the hardest maps to get good at online.


Map- Trial Point
Size- Medium
Terrain- Large office building with multiple floors.
Thermal Pools- No
Gamplay Gimmick- Sprinkler system.

A very different map in Lost Planet. This one doesn�t even take place on 
EDN III. It takes place somewhere in Japan. Figures�

The map itself is a large company building with plenty of terminals and 
elevator shafts. There are some large rooms with choke points. The building has 
roof access. There�s also a crane on the top of the building which players can 
fight on. Anyone who holds control of the crane has a nice sniping spot down 
on a choke point below. The part of the building under the roof access is a 
huge warehouse. Another room that leads up to roof access has two escalators. 
It�s a big building.

The map has two major choke points. The lobby and the death room. The lobby is 
a large room with some higher elevation. A terminal passage leads one team to 
the another. They meet in the lobby so it�s a choke point. The other room is 
extremely complicated and anyone who goes it will surely die as consequence. 
It�s been dubbed the death room, and I really hate it.

This map has a pipe system similar to dilapidation. Except this time, the pipes 
have been replaced with ventilation shafts. Most of these are difficult to 
enter. To climb inside a ventilation shaft you need to destroy its cover with 
either gum grenades or standard fire. Once that�s done, crouch and fire your 
anchor at the bottom of the enterence of the ventilation shaft. This will throw 
you into the ventilation system, where you have to pull forward to stay inside 
the passage. Once inside, you can run around and shoot at peoples feet/heads as 
they walk by.

Another interesting aspect of this map is the sprinkler system. Sprinklers are 
all over the place. If you think that someone is around a corner, shoot one of 
these bad boys and it will start raining down on them, thus obstructing their 
vision. Their usually just a pain to deal with when a random explosion sets one
off. If you�re afraid of getting shot during a sniper match, fire a shot at a 
sprinkler and water will hide your character.


Map- Radar Field
Size- Small
Terrain- Large dome shaped building with a radar dish.
Thermal Pools- Yes
Gamplay Gimmick- N/A

The smallest map in the game, which of course means it�s big. This level takes 
place inside a large radar dome. You always spawn in little shields on the 
walls of the dome, thus requiring you to drop down to ground level. An elevated 
walkway goes around the entire base of the map, leading up several walkways in 
the middle of the map. There are strong weapons here, but most likely no one 
will ever pick them up because it�s way too dangerous. 

The bottom floor of this map has a few passages that can be walked through. 
Anyone that grabs a mech usually gets from point �A� to �B� using either the 
elevated walkway or these tunnels. They�re very tall for tunnels but have 
absolutely nothing in them. You�re time is better spent somewhere else, 
although they lead up to a data post and a decent sniping spot.

The bottom floor itself is very convolted and has about a million things that 
are dangerous about it. Grenades will bounce off of every piece of geometry 
down there and land at your feet. On one side of the map is a giant rectangular 
hole that players can jump down. There is usually either a data post or a 
thermal pool here. Most of the time, it�s too dangerous to make use of either 
one. The other side of the map has a separate obscure area with a single room. 
The EM laser likes to spawn here.

The rest of the level leads up to a large radar dish on the side of the map, 
there isn�t much here other than a data post in the worst spot possible but I 
suppose it could have some nice sniping spots along it.

General tips- Toss lots of grenades and strafe along the elevated walkway on 
the side of the map. Rocket launcher matchs are popular so jump a lot.


Map- Island 902
Size- Massive
Terrain- Enormous island chain with camps, a submarine, 
and an aircraft carrier.
Thermal Pools- Yes
Gamplay Gimmick- Large, destructible highway.

The largest map in the game. It�s absolutely enormous and takes at least 20 min 
to cross from one side to the other on foot. The map takes place on a series of 
island in the ocean. There are multiple unique areas to explore in addition to 
the fact that the entire bottom of the seafloor can be explored although it is 
riddled with bottomless pits.

It takes a long time to find anyone so you might as well seek out some good 
gear. Snipers, rocket launchers, and mech are good choices. The shotgun is a 
must have for the submarine. 

Now we list the big stuff in Island 902.

#1 Island Compound- The largest island on the level. This map could be a 
multiplayer map in itself. It features a huge island compound with many 
buildings. Turn tables and mech are everywhere. 

It has three main parts. There is a piece of land in the back that has a few 
buildings with mech and a data post. A canal separates this from the main part 
of the island. The second part is a piece of land that leads the main island 
to the submarine. This one is rather empty and the only thing on it is usually 
a plasma gun and a data post. The third and largest part of the island sports 
multiple buildings and a large dock with two turn tables and a thermal pool.

Players can travel from the island compound to the submarine, aircraft carrier, 
or use the highway to midway island.

#2 Submarine- A multi-level submarine that has a nice weapon cache. This 
submarine is reached from either the base camp or observatory island. Players 
can enter the submarine by climbing the surface of it and diving into the 
enterence up top. Players always land by stumbling because of the long and 
complicated fall. This is the perfect spot in the game to corner camp. Simply 
wait behind the staircase until someone approaches on your radar. If they start 
taking your data post (which is on top of the sub) then you can jump up and 
kill them while they are idle. However, for anyone who jumps inside the 
submarine, the automatic stumble will give you plenty of time to aim at the 
back of their head. The submarine itself is rather long and sometimes spawns 
a homing laser.

Players can travel from the submarine to the island compound or observatory 
island.

#3- Observatory island- A simple island with a lone tower that is great as a 
sniper spot. The island itself is rather simple and has almost no places to 
explore. Mech spawn near here. Although the surface of the island is simple, 
the underwater aspect of it is complicated and dangerous.

#4- Aircraft carrier- A large aircraft carrier that has been split in half. 
It has a good sniping spot up top but it�s most noticeable feature is it�s 
ability to spawn harballers. You have to make a brief underwater voyage to 
reach the ship, however. There is a small cabin that you can hide in, if you 
feel like hiding�

#5- Midway Island- This area is reached by following the highway across the 
ocean. There isn�t much here although a data post is in the middle. If you 
happen to fall into the water, there is a staircase you can take to get back 
up.

Players can travel from Midway Island to the Island Compound or the Base Camp.

#6- Base Camp- A well defended area. To reach the base camp, players have to 
travel along one of two underwater passages. One of them is extremely long, 
while the other is very dangerous. The only other way to reach the island is to 
travel along the highway. The highway is the fastest route as well as the best 
defended route because of it�s large walls. The camp has a rocky mountain wall 
to shield itself from attacks. A long staircase leads up to a turn-table that 
overlooks the bridge if you need to slow enemy progress.

A tidbit about bridges. The highway in Island 902 is long and an extremely fast 
method of transport from one side of the map to the other. It is also well 
defended because of the high walls on either side of the road. However, major 
explosion like rocket launcher or cannon fire will cause the bridge to 
collapse. The collapse of the bridge means that anyone on it will plummet to 
their deaths. The bridge does not collapse all at once. It does, however, 
collapse one piece at a time. This allows for players to attempt to outrun the 
collapse of the bridge in a very epic manner.

General tips- Try to stay on land. The ocean floor is very dangerous and you�ll 
receive fire from just about everyone. There aren�t enough mechs to compensate 
for the levels size so try to keep the ones you have alive.


Map- Ice Drop
Size- Large
Terrain- Large glacier with sprawling ice caverns.
Thermal Pools- No
Gamplay Gimmick- N/A

This is a very featureless, but beautiful map. It takes place on a large 
glacier during night time. Aurora borealis covers the sky in a rather 
spectacular effect. The map can be broken down into two parts. The surface of 
the glacier and the crystal caverns.

The surface of the glacier is very open and empty. Snipers have a complete 
advantage out here. Mech also spawn outside, but they�re not as problematic as 
a good sniper. If you don�t have a long range weapon yourself. Head into the 
caves. There is nothing for you out there.

In order to reach the crystal caverns players have to climb down the chasms 
that exist along the surface of the level. The chasms are very deep and require 
precise jumping to cross. To get back to the surface players must grapple up 
the walls of the chasm. Keep in mind that you will meet turntables and mech as 
you reach the surface.

The caverns are rather large and they wind around many corners. Shotguns are 
pretty essential down here. Otherwise, a rocket launcher will suffice. The 
caverns have a few data posts, as well as some bottomless holes. They aren�t 
a big deal but keep them in mind while wandering around. A surprise shotgun 
blast can be used to knock opponents down the bottomless pit if you need to get 
past them to reach data posts.

The main room of the cavern has multiple levels to it. Winding ice paths lead 
up to the higher levels of the cave. It is very easy to fall off these paths, 
so it�s best not to corner camp here. Doing so would require jumping after your
foe and meeting them after they have already stood up.

A data post sometimes stands on a floating platform in the middle of the room. 
Coupled with the fact that it is easy to gain an elevation advantage over your 
opponent in this room means that keeping the data post free from capture is 
quite easy. I personally enjoy hanging from the ceiling to later drop on top of
foes using the data post. An Energy gun and a shotgun often spawn below the 
data post.

The bottom floor of the cavern is filled with small tunnels and columns. You 
can corner camp behind tons of things down here so experiment with they give 
you. A data post sometimes spawns on top of a coffin in the corner of this 
room. There is also a secret passage here that leads up to the surface.

General tips- When fighting outdoors, use any possible terrain as cover from 
sniper fire and explosions. The data posts on this map spawn in easy to snipe 
locations so it�s pretty essential to grab all of the snipers on this map 
during a team game.

Roughly one-third of the data posts on this map spawn above ground. The rest 
spawn in the caverns and chasms. Keep that in mind if you get the lower spawn 
in post grab.


Map- Ruins
Size- Very Large
Terrain- Large jungle area filled with buildings and a seaport. 
A river runs through it.
Thermal Pools- Yes
Gamplay Gimmick- Coconut disaster.

This is another extremely large map. Smaller than Frozen Wasteland but taller 
in dimensions. This map takes place in a large jungle setting and has a river 
running through it. (Think Donkey Kong) The map starts at the beach and works 
it�s way up to a large Ruin at the top of the level.

There is a great selection of mech on this map. Hardballers, Cakti, Evax, Drio, 
and Haze are all present. Multiple variations of some are also present.

There are quite a few places to visit on Ruins. One of the major spawn points 
is a ship port near the ocean. There are multiple pillars in the port, as well
as plenty of things to take cover behind to block fire from across the bay. 
A few mech spawn here, although hardball and cakti spawn elsewhere.

Directly across the bay from the ship port is a large beach with two small 
cargo ships. The cargo ships provide shelter from fire across the bay. A few 
mech spawn here but they are usually Evax. Take advantage of their speed by 
being one of the first people to reach a hardballer or cakti.

Players who spawn near the port will have to pass through a few small ruin on 
the right side of the level. The ruins are very simple and there are only two 
of them. The first is dilapidated and a Cakti sometimes spawns near the river.
The second one appears to be a small forum. Past the second ruin is a small 
mountainous area. On the other side of the mountain is a small river dock. 
It�s a great place to snipe from because no one ever ventures near it.

Past the cargo beach is second river dock. Again, this is a good place to snipe
from because of its abundance of cover and the fact that few people visit here.
There are some barrels to hide in if you need to evade a mech encounter.

On the other side of the river from the mountains is an island compund. It has
a few buildings with multiple floors and a turntable on top. An open mech
warehouse stores some Drio if you need extra firepower. Near the island 
compound is a tall ruin that players can hide inside. It�s the best place in
the map to hide from mech if the need arises. 

At the very top of the level is the large ruin. Two data post usually spawn 
here, as well as a sniper or two. It�s large and has very little cover. A very
large path leads down to the murky river below. Under the main building is 
either a Hardballer or a Cakti. Take whatever is there if you have thermal 
energy.

General tips- The river is safe to run through, but the bay is an endless pit.
Avoid it if you don�t want to fall to your death. While in the river, it is 
easy to take out targets on shore because while you can see them�they cannot 
see you. A well placed dummy grenade can go far.Also, watch out for coconuts. 
The trees on this map can be taken down and when they fall the coconuts roll 
out. You can also shoot them out of the trees. Coconuts are dangerous as hell 
and will easily run you over.


Map- Lost Technology
Size- Medium
Terrain- It�s 8-bit gaming hell. Pixels engolf your character.
Thermal Pools- No
Gamplay Gimmick- 8-bit walls/ceilings/etc,  8-bit fire, 8-bit data posts, 8-bit
teleporters, 8-bit breakable walls.

One of the new maps. This one is a mouthfull.

Lost Technology gives props to the games of old with it�s unusual 8-bit art 
style. Everything from data posts to walls have been redone in 8-bit glory. 
Teleporters line the walls of each room, leading you from one to the other.

This map makes almost zero sense. You�ll have to play it a few times before you
even understand how to get to key areas. The map itself is fairly large but it 
is divided up into smaller sections that a player can jump around in by using 
teleporters. There are also a few bottomless pits to be concerned about.

Some of the walls in this level are shown cracked and can be opened with enough 
firepower. Also, there is a small passage with a fireball that jumps up and 
down. Don�t fall down its hole because lava lies at the bottom.

General tips- You can easily camp behind teleports to one-shot players running 
around the map.

Some of the darker character models will blend right in with the binary 
passages so they can be used to sneak attack other players. Grapple the corner
of the walkways ceiling.

There is a room that occasionally has two data posts on this map. It can be 
reached by following the green room�s teleporters. The first one lies to the 
left of the enterence to the light blue/white room.


Map- Battlegrounds
Size- Medium
Terrain- Large City with countless buildings to explore.
Thermal Pools- Yes
Gamplay Gimmick- N/A

This would be the collectors edition map. Now free to the general public, 
it receives a lot more love. This map spawns players in the lower areas of the
city. They can then reach the top of the level by using staircases and ceiling 
passages in each building. There are countless buildings in this map and almost 
all of them can be explored. 

A large portion of the level takes place on the ground level, in the streets of
the city. It�s extremely dangerous in the city streets so I would advise that
you avoid them. If you find yourself down there, try your best to reach higher
ground. There are some tunnels that you can crawl through to extend your life. 
Stick to one side of the street and travel behind cover, until you reach a 
doorway or window to escape through. 

The upper part of the level forms a large �U� that has many access points. 
From any location there are six ways to access the roof. Many different paths 
lead to these six locations which access the roof. They are as follows.

#1 The clock tower- There are three ways to reach the clock tower from the 
ground level. You can start by heading from the spawn point near the clock 
tower. The door to your left leads to a small room with a square hole on the 
ceiling. Up here is a data post on occasion. A doorway slightly farther down 
the street leads to the same room. A final elevated passage on the left side of 
this alley leads to the clock tower. 

#2 The sniper tower- There are two ways to reach the sniper tower. You can 
either head up to it from the bottom of the building or enter a higher doorway.
The small room on top of the sniper tower provides an excellent sniping spot.

#3 The elevated walkway- Next to the sniper tower is a walkway that crosses the
middle of the level you can grapple to the bridge from here.

#4 The elevated access- Just outside of a building attached to the elevated 
walkway is a small piece of terrain that you can stand on to grapple up to the 
second bridge.

#5 Bridge access- The main path of entry for anyone on the other side of the 
map. A small, desolate area of tundra leads to a complicated room with two 
stair cases. These staircases lead up to the rooftop. The elevated access also
leads to this room.

#6 Secret step- From the ground floor of the opposite side of the map you can 
grapple up to a small footstep next to the statue near the bridge. From here 
you can grapple up to the bridge as long as you keep moving to stay on the 
ledge.

The roof in Battlegrounds is composed of a single flat surface with two large 
elevated buildings on either side of a large central statue. A data post often 
spawns next to the statue. Both of the buildings overlooking the statue will 
provide support against the enemy. However, if you lose control of the top of 
the map in a team game you�ll have to fight to regain it, which is difficult.

General tips- Stay out of the bottom of the map. It�s very dangerous in the 
city streets. On top of things, Drio spawn in the streets. Just another risk 
that you can avoid altogether. However, hopping inside a mech isn�t a good idea
because the grenade launcher spawns on top of the map. Case in point, 
stay upstairs.

The rest of the time you should try to maintain control of the statue area.
If you lose contol of it, you can regain it by sneaking up behind the enemy
and attacking them from behind. This usually means dieing yourself, so make 
sure you make it worth your while.


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		       General tips and tricks
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So�what are the best tricks for survival in Lost Planet? I�ll list some of the
best ways to keep alive long enough to jump to first place in your online 
matches.

#1 Roll away from danger. Rolling makes you a lot more difficult to hit than
running and even has a brief moment during the animation where the player is
immune to standard fire. It also helps protect you from the stun effects of the
machine gun. While rolling things that would have killed you will sometimes
either knock you down or stun you.

#2 Crouch to avoid damage. Crouching has multiple purposes. It makes your
character model smaller so hiding behind corners and walls is easier. It also
makes it harder for the enemy to land a headshot. In some maps crouching allows
players to enter pipes or air vents. Crouching also reduces the chances of
being stunned by a machine gun. It is always appropiate to crouch and strafe
around another foot soldier. The only acception is when using the rocket
launcher because it leaves you temporarily idle.

#3 Jump to increase flexability. Jumping makes you more difficult to hit,
although it comes at the cost of decreased accuracy and the inability to throw
grenades. The shotgun benefits from jumping because of the speed boost it 
gives, plus the shotgun needs not worry about accuracy. The rocket launcher can
be fired and reloaded while jumping, otherwise you remain still.

#4 Correct grenade usage. Grenades are a great way to ensure a kill. While the
rocket launcher itself has horrible splash damage, combining the splash damage
with that from a grenade is more than enough to earn a kill. The grenade shot
can increase the damage dealt by standard weapons. Toss a grenade and shoot it
out of the air to increase the grenades splash damage. Another great use is to 
stick downed players with a gun grenade and run off, similar results occur by 
throwing grenades with a long fuse near a downed person and shooting it when 
they get up.

#5 Obtain key weapons. Every weapon has a purpose. The machine gun is a good 
all-around weapon, but it isn�t dominant in any areas. Grab a shotgun if you 
want to corner camp. The plasma gun is good for medium to long range maps. 
The rifle is good on long range maps. The rocket launcher can fulfill any 
role but corner camping. The energy gun can work well in medium range against
infantry, but its key role is in taking out mech. Combine weapons to ensure
you can compete in any range without limiting yourself.

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			         Closing
_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Thank you for taking the time to read my guide. Hopefully it answered most of 
your questions about multiplayer in Lost Planet. If not, please contact me with
the information listed below. 

I would like to thank Glassgiant.com for their Ascii generator and MegamanX50
for reminding me to roll. XD

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_
			     Contact Info
_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Email: [email protected]
Gamertag: Kaeporo

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			         Disclaimer
_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_

This FAQ is for personal use only. Use of this guide on any website with the 
intent of profit is strictly prohibited. Any recreation of this guide must
source the authors name and its original location at GameFAQ�s. Personal use of
this document is free from any and all legal action. Use of this document on
any other public website requires that you contact me prior to displaying the
guide.

Copyright 2007 Chris Vaughn