Breaking Point

Call of Duty: World at War Guide

Breaking Point

USA

Shuri Castle, Okinawa

May 29th, 1945

Co-op: Yes

This dramatic and daring assault on Shuri Castle is the final mission for the US campaign.

The assault on Shuri Castle begins

Follow your team underneath the burning arch and to the supply drop. Quickly pick up the Browning and Scoped Springfield and then head for the left hand wall. Take out as many as you can before the snipers begin picking you off, then move to the pile of white logs to the right. Shoot the snipers out of the trees and then sprint up the path to the shelter when prompted to get to cover.

This is one of the hardest openings in the game

Drop down inside the tunnel and force your way through. Use the Browning to take out the first few Japanese who will be unaware of you. Push on past their table and climb the ladder at the end. The ominous objective to 'Assault Shuri Castle' will appear and that's just what we need to do.

Move along the wall and you'll get attacked by a number of Banzai units. Take them out and concentrate on getting up the first set of stairs. This should trigger a checkpoint and is a welcome relief so as to avoid the tricky start to this section again. Take out any distant enemies you can see from the bottom of the wall (particularly the mounted gunner shown below), but always be ready to reflex with a melee attack to throw off any more Banzai attackers. If you stay in one place, you shouldn't trigger any to come running at you.

Make taking out this machine gunner a priority

Use smoke grenades to cover the move forwards, but watch out for the hatches that open, sending attackers in your direction.

TIP: Once you have eliminated the occupants of the hatches you can then use them for your own cover. Once in a hole your squad will push up around you and should draw any more Banzai attacks.

Use your sniper rifle from inside the foxhole pictured below to take out as many enemies as you can, then push up to the statue in front. Again, watch out for Banzai holes that may activate as you move. Fall back to your own hole if you set them off and let the AI deal with them.

Head straight up the middle, vaulting over the concrete objects and using the next one forward as cover. Head right up the main steps after your team once the central path is clear.

A video of one way to storm the castle (albeit slowly!)

As soon as you come out of the small corridor underneath the arch turn right and cover behind the object there. All the enemies are over the right hand side of the area, so bed in and begin to pick them off. It shouldn't be long before you get a checkpoint and then you can begin to relax! Use the ornamental pond and its surrounding scenery further left to cover in and take out the enemies on the roof and in the windows of the building ahead.

Push into the corridors of the building and clear the side-room. Exit up the stairs into the main castle complex as we receive the objective to destroy four mortar crews. This is made easier by the fact that you can just lob grenades over the walls to destroy them.

Throw a grenade here to take out the first crew

If you don't have grenades or fancy doing it the more fun way, follow the winding path round to pick up a mortar from the crate by the wall. You pick them up with the action button and then just throw them like a grenade, except they detonate on impact. Aim them in the direction of the sunken mortar pits to begin ticking them off your objectives. With the first two destroyed, head up the steps to the final pair.

There are some more mortars in a crate to your right at the top of the stairs and another batch nearer the final pit on the radar. To the right of the last pit is an oriental bungalow, which houses a Death Card.

DEATH CARD: Three of Diamonds (Berserker)

 - Find the Death Card inside the bungalow to the right of the final mortar pit.

With the card collected, head up into the main building (turn right out of the bungalow) and out of the other side. Take the path to the far left, shooting any enemies in the way. Watch out for enemies hiding behind statues as you continue to move up to the extreme left, against the wall. You should now be in a flanking position on a few of the Japanese defenders, so remove them and continue up the left hand path to the building. Hide amongst the ruins as cover for the final push.

When the notification flashes up, regroup with the squad by the large door into the building and follow them in once it is opened. Follow Roebuck through and get on the mounted gun when he stops. Mow down all those outside as your allies push through.

Get on the mounted gun

Shoot the explosive barrels dotted around to make things easier. With that area cleared, get off the gun and head right to where enemies are lurking in the room beyond. Go up the steps and left, then down into the tunnels with your squad. Shoot the explosive crate or lob a grenade into the first room you come to deal with the enemy within.

You will pass through one more room and then immediately following it is another full of enemies. Shoot the initial threats and then take the right hand side around the area. Watch out for Banzai attackers who frustratingly spawn at the sides (down the side-passages), and move underneath the scaffolding. Follow the path round and take the central exit out of the room. Clear the next area of Japanese with a little help from the explosives in the room and continue on until you get to the stairwell.

Deal with the enemies guarding it to allow the squad to move up. Head up the two flights of stairs and go out onto the balcony once the team open the door. Drop down to the left to see three Japanese soldiers surrendering. Make sure you are ready for action as the pair hassling the Sergeant will detonate a grenade which will actually kill Roebuck if you don't get them first.

Take out the pair of Japanese soldiers when you see the lone one begins to wrestle.

You will still lose a friend, but at least it's not Roebuck (there is an achievement for keeping him alive). Following this, Banzai attackers will come running out of the smoke, so be ready with a machine gun to deal with them.

TIP: With the sheer number of enemies it is advisable to have the Arisaka Bayonet in case you have to reload and melee quickly. You should be able to pick one up after you slay the first Banzai soldier.

Watch out for them coming from the right too (assuming you are covering towards the back-left corner of the area). They also go into 'last-stand' regularly, whereby they lie on the ground after they should rightfully be dead and use a pistol to attempt to take you out. Use the barricade on the left to hide behind and shoot the enemy in the back as they come running through. While a machine gun makes sense for sheer volume of bullets, using the Arisaka Bayonet as your primary weapon isn't a bad idea, as it allows you to fend off Banzai attacks without having to enter the often-fatal button-pressing mini-game.

Let Roebuck draw the fire while you're behind the barricade. He is invincible after all...

Before too long you should be given the laser designator from earlier in the campaign. Use it to target the northern building, then defend for thirty seconds until you can target the eastern one a couple of times. The first building should only take one strike, but the eastern one may take two or three. All the while make sure you stay in your barricade (if you are on Hardened or Veteran) and just defend until your strikes recharge. Make sure any downed enemies near you are in fact downed, and once the eastern building crumbles the level is complete.

Clearing out Shuri Castle

This concludes the US portion of the campaign!