Getting Started

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Guide

Getting Started

Background:

The island of Skira, a fictional location north of Japan, is hotly contested in the 21st century for its oil supplies. China moves in to dominate it as the current economic crisis takes hold and Russia mobilises to defend its territory. The US are asked to intervene, which is the reason we end up in the North Pacific with the USMC in Dragon Rising.

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Your Squad:

There are two types of team you can play as, USMC Infantry (Dagger) and Spec Ops (Saber). The former is an assault-based line-up where mid-range weaponry and anti-tank equipment often come as standard. The latter is a stealth-orientated set, frequently equipped with night-vision, infra-red cameras and high-range rifles. There are a variety of classes for your squad mates, including Medic, Sniper, Machinegunner and Engineer.

Weaponry:

The game picks a weapon set for you at the start of the mission (although co-op partners can pick between the remaining three classes), and frequently you will have to ditch your starting weapon for something more suitable. The game has ammunition dumps for you to get additional armaments from, while enemy corpses can also be searched to acquire their weaponry and equipment. Should a member of your team be incapacitated, you can also make the most of their loadout.

It is nearly always advisable to have a Marksman weapon with you. You can make shots over 400 metres with these weapons, though you need to account for the dip of the bullet. Sometimes explosive weaponry are also needed, such as to take down helicopters or enemy tanks.

Mission Objectives:

Missions vary from search and destroy and defending territory to extracting hostages. Missions always have a primary objective, most of which are set to some sort of timer. You are nearly always relying on other squads in missions either to extract you or provide you with support during the game, so you can't dawdle exploring the large (though often mostly inaccessible) island. Secondary objectives do not have to be completed, but often make getting the primary objective easier (such as, for example, flanking the enemy undetected, before taking them out). The missions are generally very open ended, and you can requisition vehicles to make life easier. It should be remembered, however, that Dragon Rising is a military simulator, and joy-riding around the island will not only annoy your superiors, but will undoubtedly get you killed!

Navigating the Map:

On Normal difficulty, the game features objective markers, showing you the location and current distance from the next objective. It also includes RV markers, which guide you through the recommended route through the level if you follow them, and checkpoints, which are usually (but not always) found near these markers.

Difficulty:

On Normal, the game provides many helpful tweaks to make the game easier, though the enemy placements and ability are identical across all three modes. On Hardcore, you have very few HUD elements, for example no cross-hair or information on your team's health. On Normal, as soon as you or your team see an enemy they are added to your map and on-screen compass, on Hardcore, you will never know where the enemy are until you can actually see them.

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Checkpoints:

On the Normal difficulty and in single player, if you hit a checkpoint then you can restart the level from that point if you die or fail the mission, rather than the beginning of the level. You can do this on Experienced too, but there are fewer checkpoints. In co-op, checkpoints only serve to add an additional two lives to your team's counter on Normal, and you begin with six lives. Experienced has you start with two, and Hardcore one death is game over for that player.

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Orders:

As a squad shooter, you need to be able to command your team and order them around the game map. On Hardcore this is made far more difficult by the fact that you may not know exactly where they are, what their health is, or even whether they are still alive. The game uses a Radial system, whereby you pick a topic and then a specific command to order.

The command radial is activated with R1/RB, and you then use the control stick to select a command. (note this only works when you are in the open and not looking at a context sensitive object like a building [this not applies to all the common commands – use the respective part of the radial menu to access these commands manually]).

Common Commands:

Move: Press Up on the left stick with the radial activated and your team will go to that location.

Move Fast: This isn't an essential command, but often your team will get slowed down behind you and you need them to catch up without being bogged down in bounding tactics (where two members move, and then cover the next one, halving movement speed). To order a fast move, press Right, Right, and then Up.

Follow Me: This is the basic command as it will set your AI team mates to permanently follow you around the map, covering you and moving like a team. While holding the radial button, press down

Change Roe: This alters whether you want your team to Fire at Will, Return Fire Only, Fire on My Lead or Hold Fire. This is especially useful for stealth missions where you don't want them to give your position away. To access the Roe settings, press Left, then Up (Tactical, then Roe). You can then pick the option you want. Note that if you choose Fire on My Lead, as soon as you open fire your team go weapons free, so remember to set them back to it again if you don't want them giving your position away.

Medic: You'll be needing this. It is located at Left (tactical) then down. If you happen to be injured, you can just push Up or Down.

Context Commands:

When you are looking at certain objects, the command radial will change. This can be annoying, for example if you just want to order your squad to follow you, once you are inside a building, but mainly it's a useful feature. The key ones to know are below:

Assault (Building): When looking at an enemy on your map (very useful) or in open play, or a building, you can order your team to assault. If it is an enemy, they'll employ real tactics to flank and attempt to take it out. If you order them to assault a certain enemy and ignore another though, they may be left open to attack. With buildings they will slowly move up to them and then enter and clear it. Push up to give the order.

Treat Wounded (Medic): When looking at an injured team mate, push up to order one of your squad to help them out.

Additional Commands:

Other commands to use in general play include Suppress, which will keep an enemy pinned down allowing another player to flank; Flank Left/Right, which works similarly but you will need to do the suppressing as your team moves; Formation, where you can change from a Vee to a Wedge to a Line to a Column and Spreads, which keep these formations Normal, Combat or Tight. Fall Back will get your squad to lay smoke grenades and leave the immediate area, and Defend will have them hold position and stop any threats on the area. More commands will be covered as they are needed throughout the game, but it's worth spending some time in Mission One just to get used to them.