===Table of Contents=== - [1] Introduction - [2] Getting Started -- [2.1] Menus -- [2.2] Recommendations -- [2.3] Tweaks - [3] Gameplay -- [3.1] Game Modes -- [3.2] Movement -- [3.3] Weapons -- [3.4] Pickups -- [3.5] Awards & Sprees -- [3.6] Vehicles -- [3.7] Bots -- [3.7.1] Bot List -- [3.7.2] Bot Tactics - [4] Campaign -- [4.1] Act I: Ronin -- [4.2] Act II: With Caesar's Coin -- [4.3] Act III: The Liandri Conflict -- [4.4] Act IV: Calculated Losses -- [4.5] Act V: Disposable Assets -- [4.6] Mission Index - [5] Cheats & Secrets - [6] Version History - [7] Legality, Contact & Credits === [1] Introduction === This is my first FAQ. The strategies and tactics employed are a detailing of my personal experience playing through the Campaign. I have played each chapter several times to discover what works best. Even so, I may have missed things. There may be situations unique to your experience which I cannot account for. The strategies may be obsolete with UT3 v1.1 and v1.2. My advice may require prerequisites that I am not aware of. Any of those cases require a degree of self-sufficiency, by you, which I cannot impart. It has been my intention to write this guide in a way that minimizes the amount of individual 'raw skill' required. It would be all too easy to write a guide that assumes a difficulty of 'Casual' and instructs you to 'just kill 50 guys.' Such a guide would be worthless to many. For that reason, the mission strategies detailed in this guide are assuming a difficulty of "Insane." When I began writing this guide, I was skeptical that I would be able to beat the game on Insane. Any strategy that worked for me on Insane should at least hypothetically work on lower difficulties. It is the only way to write a guide that might work for everyone. To that end, I have played every level on the hardest difficulty, and under the hardest circumstances possible for that map. There are three missions which I could not beat this way without playing a card so I apologize if I cannot provide a solution for you, should you find yourself stuck fighting Loque 4 vs. 6 on HeatRay with a locked Dark Walker. Remember that you can always play a card, select another mission, lower the difficulty and\or replay the chapter to take a different path. This is a first edition and as such there is likely to be a great deal of room for improvement. I've already begun work on several, but if I wait until it's perfect I will never release anything. If you have any questions, corrections or suggestions on how to improve the guide, you can contact me at [email protected] === [2] Getting Started === Before you can do anything else, you'll need to create a profile. This is very annoying, I know, but if you do not create a profile the game will not save your progress. Once you have done that, you will be taken to the main menu. === [2.1] Menus === Campaign - New Campaign -- Skill Level -- LAN Game - Continue Campaign - Replay Chapter - Join Campaign Instant Action - Game Mode - Map - Settings -- Bot Skill Level Choose the skill level of the AI bots. -- Number of Opponents If there are not this many humans, add bots. -- Goal Score Game score limit. 0 means none. -- Time Limit Game time limit in minutes. 0 means none. -- Force Respawn Force players to respawn? -- Record Demo Record a demo of the match? -- Mutators Specify which mutators you wish to load. -- Bots Specify which bots you wish to include. Multiplayer - Quick Match Instantly join a match of a specific type. -- Match Type Internet or LAN? -- Game Mode Desired game mode. -- Pure Server Exclude servers running mods\mutators? - Join Game Search for all servers with these settings. -- Match Type Internet or LAN? -- Game Mode Desired game mode. -- Pure Server Exclude servers running mods\mutators? -- Show Full Servers Show servers without open player slots? -- Show Empty Servers Show servers without any current players? -- Locked Server Show servers with password protection? - Host Game Create a server for others to join. -- Server Options Change the settings for your server. --- Server Type Internet or LAN? --- Dedicated Server Uncheck if the host wants to play too. --- Max Players Maximum number allowed players. --- Min Players Minimum number of players to start the match. --- Description Description to display on the server browser. --- MOTD Message of the Day shown to joining players. --- Server Password Password protection. Leave blank for none. Community - News View the latest UT3 community news from Epic. - Friends View\manage your friends list. - Messages View messages you have received. - Leaderboards View the online leaderboards. - Demo Playback Play back previously recorded match demos. Settings - Video -- Screen Resolution Change the number of pixels to process. -- Screen Mode Full screen, or windowed? -- Brightness Increase\Decrease the screen's brightness. -- Post Processing Change the type of post processing to use. -- Reduced Gore Toggle whether or not to have reduced gore. -- Subtitles Toggle whether or not to enable subtitles. -- Hardware Physics Enable or disable physics acceleration. -- Screen Percentage Change the amount of screen space to render in. -- Texture Detail Change the detail of textures in-game. -- World Detail Change the detail of world geometry in-game. -- Enable V-Sync Toggle whether or not v-sync is enabled. - Audio -- Hardware OpenAL Toggle whether or not to use hardware OpenAL. -- SFX Volume Weapons & Character sound effects. -- Music Volume Background music. -- Voice Volume Player\Bot voice reports. -- Ambience Volume Background & environmental sound effects. -- Announcer Volume The in-game-event announcer. -- Announcement Type Frequency of announcements in the game. -- Automatic Taunts Automatically play taunts? -- Mute Voice Disable voice chat in multiplayer. -- Text-to-Speech Mode Control which text is converted to speech. - Input -- Invert Y Inverting the Y axis when aiming. -- Auto Aim Toggle whether or not to aid aiming. -- Mouse Smoothing Enable or disable mouse movement smoothing. -- Mouse Sensitivity Tweak mouse sensitivity for the game. -- Configure Keys Customize controls. - Player -- Clan Tag Clan Tag displayed by your name. -- Network Connection Select your internet connection. -- Dynamic Netspeed Is your netspeed is dynamic? -- Allow Custom Characters Allow custom characters? -- Customize Character Create a custom character model for multiplay. - Weapons -- Crosshair Type Weapons use uniform or unique crosshairs. -- Weapon Switch on Pickup Automatically switch weapons upon pickup? -- Weapon Hand Select which hand you hold weapons with. -- Small Weapons Shrinks the weapons displayed in First-person. -- Display Weapon Bar Display your weapon bar.' -- Only Show Available Weapons Display the empty slots of your weapon bar. -- Weapon Priority - HUD -- Zoomed Minimap Default to a zoomed-in rotating minimap? -- Show Map Display the map on the HUD? -- Show Clock Display the match clock on the HUD? -- Show Scoring Display the scoring table on the HUD? -- Show Leaderboard Display the leaderboard on the HUD? -- Show Vehicle Armor Display the vehicle armor count on the HUD? Credits Exit Most of these probably don't need further explaining, but some of them might: 'Force Respawn' forces players who have died to respawn immediately. 'Mutators' are packaged code modules which alter the game mechanics. 'Post Processing' adjusts the way color and lighting effects are displayed. 'Hardware Physics' reduces the workload on the CPU by using a PhysX card. 'Screen Percentage' How much of your screen is dedicated to quality rendering. 'Texture Detail' controls the resolution of textures on surfaces. 'World Detail' controls the number of polygons, objects, and ambient effects. 'V-Sync' makes your monitor display only complete, rather than partial frames. 'Hardware OpenAL' is like Hardware Physics, only for 3D audio. Note that there is currently a problem with OpenAL which can cause UT3 to crash so it is recommended that this be turned off if you encounter any problems. === [2.2] Recommendations === - Video -- 100% Screen Percentage Lower percentages create a blurry seam around the edges of your vision which can be disorienting and artificially reduces your peripheral vision. -- Texture & World Detail As low as you can tolerate, to prevent unnecessary rendering hiccups. -- V-Sync Shouldn't make a huge difference, but turning it off may help maintain a smooth framerate. - Sound -- Volume I like to turn down music & ambience, while turning up SFX. It's important to hear when you are being fired at, or when the enemy has picked up an item nearby. Announcements are also important, particularly in warfare, since they keep you up-to-date on Core, Node, and Orb (or Flag) status. -- Automatic Taunts Annoying for other players if you're playing online. It makes your character verbally taunt after every kill. If everyone did this, it would be constant spam, and even one player doing it can be pretty severe. It's also very bot-esque and carries a 'noob stigma' similar to the name 'Player' since it was a default option which most novice players neglected to turn off in previous UT incarnations. Worse still, there is no way for other players to ignore your taunts without muting their voice volume. I suggest leaving this off if you plan to do any serious online playing, or if you are even the least bit interested in being polite. - Controls -- Auto-Aim I strongly suggest leaving Auto-Aim off. Becoming dependant on such handicaps is not a reliable way to accomplish anything, and it actually interferes with your ability to aim in some cases. -- Mouse Smoothing Isn't useful if you have a decent mouse, and it can also reduce your performance so it's generally best turned off. -- Mouse Sensitivity Personal preference. I have mine set at default so that I don't go into shock if I play someone else's computer and that generally aligns my character's movement with my own, but some people swear by a 360 degree wrist rotation which is arguably more efficient. -- Key Bindings -- Crouch = L-Shift. Having C set to crouch makes no sense. C is only a crouch button in games where crouch is a toggle. It isn't practical to hold down C while moving forward and strafing to the right, and it's really better to avoid situations where moving isn't practical. Left Shift can easily be held down while your other fingers are moving your character and it's on the side with the other non-essential keys. This also frees the C key to be bound to something else. -- Flak Cannon = 7 & C. -- Rocket Launcher = 8 & X -- Sniper Rifle = 9 & Z If you're using the now-standard WASD configuration, or the EDSF config that some people use, the 6-9 buttons used to select the better weapons all require you to move your hand uncomfortably far away from the movement keys. Using Z, X, & C for this purpose is much more convenient. You can use V this way as well if you move the command menu. - HUD -- Weapon Hand is probably best set to 'Hidden' to avoid the weapon model blocking your view. This can happen a lot when you are shooting up at the nodes, unable to see the defenders shooting rockets at you because your gigantic weapon & map are blocking your view at ground level. You can use small weapons as an alternative compromise. -- Weapon Bar I prefer my weapon bar to only show available weapons since it clears up screen space and keeps it reserved for useful information. -- Weapon Switch on Pickup This can be annoying, but if you've got your priorities arranged properly it's nice to avoid having to manually change from the enforcer every time you respawn. -- Zoomed Minimap I don't like this. I find it easier to learn map layouts if I have an objective & directional point-of-reference rather than a rotating & subjective one. I also find it more useful to have an overall view of the battlefield than only my immediate area. -- Clock & Leaderboard I don't find much use for either of these. Both are accessible by opening the scoreboard and that way you get to choose when they clutter your interface. Scoring is useful and compact enough to leave up though. -- Vehicle Armor This is equivalent to health when you're in one, and it's useful for knowing when to eject. -- Weapon Priority 1. Redeemer You only get it when you intend to use it. 2. Rocket Launcher Good, well-rounded weapon. Usually safe to switch to. 3. Flak Cannon Good weapon, but may not want to auto-switch from Rocket. 4. Stinger Minigun Good weapon, but may not want to auto-switch from Flak. 5. Link Gun Effective, but more useful as a tool than the Stinger. 6. Shock Rifle You only want to use it when you intend to. 7. Sniper Rifle Less reliable in mid-range than the Shock Rifle. 8. Bio Rifle Too circumstantial to auto-switch. Maybe #7. 9. Enforcer Starting weapon. Maybe better as #6 instead. 10. Longbow AVRiL You don't want to auto-switch to this. Ever. This may be more efficient to see it as matter of weapon range. If you're not in-combat it's safe to switch to any weapon and priority doesn't matter. If you are in combat, you probably won't want to auto-switch to longer range weapons. Those are specialized for long range combat and have corresponding behaviors. You might want to switch to closer range weapons though since most fights don't involve both players running backwards. === [2.3] Tweaks === For further (and more advanced) settings, you'll want to edit the INI files. To that end, TweakGuides has compiled a very thorough collection of options, including descriptions and their changes. I suggest checking it out and employing some of the adjustments to further optimize your system's performance. http://www.tweakguides.com/UT3_1.html === [3] Gameplay === === [3.1] Game Modes === - Deathmatch - Team Deathmatch - Duel - Capture the Flag - Vehicle Capture the Flag - Warfare === [3.2] Controls === Moving (W) Move Forward (S) Move Backward (A) Move Left (D) Move Right (C) Crouch (Space) Jump Attacking (Mouse 1) Primary Fire (Mouse 2) Secondary Fire Advanced Double Jump: Press space again at the apex of a jump to jump slightly higher. Dodge: Quickly tapping twice in any direction will cause the player to dodge. - Dodging is faster than strafing. Wall Dodging: Performing a dodge next to a wall performs a wall-dodge. - Wall dodges can be performed in the air, even after a double-jump. Boost Jump: Press jump at the top of a lift to increase your vertical momentum. Impact Jump: Use concussion to advantage by attacking the ground while jumping. - Also known as 'Rocket Jumping'. - Impact Jumping is best done with the Impact Hammer. - Combine the various Jumps & Dodges, to reach areas otherwise inaccessible. (F) Feign Death: Causes the player to ragdoll as if they have died. - Feigning players drop the flag\orb if they are carrying one. - Attackers do not receive a kill message. - Feigning players do not drop (or appear to drop) a weapon. - Feigned players can still be killed. - In version 1.0, feign death does not trick bots. === [3.3] Weapons === Impact Hammer The Impact Hammer, originally designed for sub-surface drift mining, can focus several hundred metric tons of pressure into the space of a few square centimeters. The impact, and resulting shock wave, easily destabilizes solid stone to speed ore separation and excavation. After several mining accidents highlighted the Hammer's devastating effect on the human body, the N.E.G. military took interest. To improve the Hammer's effectiveness against vehicles with shock-absorbing armor, an alternate electromagnetic pulse (EMP) mode was added. The EMP violently scrambles onboard computer systems, quickly leading to engine failure. Field testing showed the EMP has a similar effect on infantry powerups, knocking them off soldiers and enabling battlefield recovery. Enforcer For decades, the Enforcer pistol was the combat sidearm of choice. Veteran soldiers appreciated the lightweight handgun's power, accuracy, and balance. In recent years, the ever-burning desire for greater firepower led to general issue of the AR770 assault rifle. Military procurement officers were drawn to the AR770's higher cyclic rate and underslung M355 grenade launcher, but seasoned combatants missed the dependability of the Enforcer. Axon Research listened to the soldiers, and their new Enforcer MP ('Machine Pistol') model provides the best of both worlds. Side-fed magazines provide greater capacity, while balancing the shooter's aim when wielding two pistols. With a deadly accurate semi-automatic mode, and a selectable burst fire mode, the Enforcer is back, and the modern battlefield will never be the same. Bio Rifle The GES BioRifle processes Tarydium from its stable crystalline form into a reactive mutagenic sludge. It can rapidly disperse these toxins for wide-area coverage, or fire a virulent payload of variable, but usually lethal, capacity. In layman's terms, this means the BioRifle can pepper an area with small globs of biosludge, or launch one noxious glob at the target.�The BioRifle's ability to carpet an area with a toxic minefield makes it a notoriously effective defensive weapon. Shock Rifle The ASMD Shock Rifle has changed little since its first incorporation into the Liandri Tournament. The ASMD sports two firing modes:�a thin photon beam, and a sphere of unstable plasma energy.� These modes are each deadly in their own right, but used together they can neutralize opponents in a devastating shockwave.�The energy spheres can be detonated with the photon beam, releasing the explosive energy of the anti-photons in the plasma's EM containment field. Link Gun Riordan Dynamic Weapon Systems is best known for their all-purpose combat engineering weapon system, the Advanced Plasma Rifle v24. Its primary mode is a standard rapid-fire plasma weapon. But the alternate mode beam also serves a multitude of engineering uses on the battlefield, from repairing friendly vehicles to constructing power Nodes. The beam lens incorporates IFF detection, so that its dynamic energy matrix automatically switches to a deadly plasma stream when contacting an enemy vehicle or soldier. Contact with a friendly target switches to a harmless carrier stream, offloading energy from the onboard cells to the target. This boosts the output of any teammate who is linked to the rifle -- hence its nickname, the "Link Gun". Stinger Minigun Replacing the Minigun in this year's Tournament, the 'Stinger' is actually a Liandri mining tool converted into military service.�The Stinger fires shards of unprocessed Tarydium crystal at an alarming rate, raking opponents with a storm of deadly needles. The alternate fire shoots larger hunks of crystal that can knock back an opponent, sometimes even pinning them to walls. Flak Cannon Trident Defensive Technologies continues to tweak and refine the flak cannon with their newly released Mk4 "Peacekeeper." In spite of its new name, the flak cannon remains banned from most military conflicts for high incidences of maiming and collateral damage. Still, the flak cannon is the weapon of choice for unconventional warfare in urban terrain. The primary mode detonates the flak shell in the barrel, launching shrapnel forward in a deadly shotgun pattern but often deafening the operator. The cannon also lobs an explosive flak shell that detonates on contact, sending shrapnel in a dangerously wide and unpredictable radius. Rocket Launcher Each year, more accidental deaths are caused by the Trident Tri-barrel Rocket Launcher than in vehicular accidents and extreme sports combined. The kill radius for its standard dumbfire rocket is surprisingly high by design -- so accidentally firing upon a nearby wall, or a nearby enemy soldier, can be quite fatal for the operator. The alternate fire adds to this suicidal lethality by loading and firing up to three rockets at once, in a spread, tight spiral, or lobbed like grenades. Regardless of the grim statistics, veteran soldiers still consider the 'old 8 ball' the most expedient way to put explosive ordnance on target. Sniper Rifle The venerable Axon Research long-range target interdiction rifle is the weapon of choice for the discerning sniper.�Acquisition of a target at distance requires a steady hand, but the rewards merit the effort: the high-caliber round is lethal at any range.�With a precise headshot, the target will be neutralized by the super-sonic bullet long before they hear the report. As they say in the N.E.G. Marines: 'any shot you hear is nothing to be worried about.' Longbow AVRiL The Longbow Anti-Vehicle Rocket Launcher, a.k.a. the AVRiL', gives dismounted infantry a fighting chance in an armored conflict. Its solid fuel missile can be 'dumbfired' as an unguided rocket, but the AVRiL's famed kill percentages come from its optical tracking system. The alternate fire zooms and locks on to a vehicle, guiding the missile towards its target at inescapable speeds. The missile's microdappled control planes use increased surface area to give unprecedented turning radius, guaranteeing delivery of its shaped PolyDiChlorite charge into all but the most nimble vehicles. The AVRiL is notoriously slow to reload, so it should be employed with caution in a pitched battle. Note, the Longbow's targeting laser is standardized for most Axon military equipment, so it can be used in other battlefield applications such as directing spider mines. Redeemer 'Even your least effective soldiers will earn a respectable body count with this tactical nuclear device.' So said the original brochure for the Redeemer, still unchallenged in its role as the most powerful man-portable weapon system known throughout the galaxy. The slow-moving but utterly devastatic missile, affectionately known as "Lola" by veteran soldiers, now uses an Enhanced Radiation payload. This ensures maximum tissue failure without undue property damage, perfect for modern assault-and-capture tactics. The Redeemer's alternate fire mode fires the missile using the disposable fly-by-wire guidance system, though the manual recommends using this mode only in areas of relative safety. Translocator The Translocator was originally designed by Liandri R&D for rapid rescue of expensive mining equipment during tunnel collapses and related emergencies. The technology also saved countless lives, but not without cost; rapid deresolution and reconstitution led to synaptic disruptions, and the debilitating symptoms like Teleportation Related Dementia (TReDs). Today, after years of lucrative military development contracts, portable teleportation technology has been declared "sufficiently safe" for regular use by front-line infantry. === [3.4] Vehicles === - Infantry 100 Health 600 Speed ( 25 MpH) Standard infantry still have a place. Without access to a vehicle, the player can still pick up weapons, such as the AVRiL, Link Gun, or Sniper Rifle, which allow them to serve a valuable purpose even on a battlefield dominated by vehicles. They also have a tactical advantage in their ability to use powerups, exploit terrain, escape notice, and infiltrate areas inaccessible by vehicles. They are the only ones who can pick up or destroy Orbs, Build Nodes, or carry a Flag. The hoverboard and the ability to use teleporters helps ensure their speedy deployment to any area of the battlefield. Still, caution must be taken to avoid the crushing firepower of the new Necris and upgraded Axon technology. - Hoverboard 100 Health 900 Speed ( 38 MpH) Allies beat you to the Manta? Did that jerk drive off alone with the Hellbender again? Are you stuck between nodes after that idiot flipped your tank upside down? In place of a translocator, vehicle based game modes use the portable Hoverboard to quickly transport players from one area to another at 150% of their base movement speed. The primary fire creates a tow cable which latches onto friendly vehicles for even faster movement, allowing non- passenger (including flying!) vehicles to assist in transporting troops. Using the crouch key and the direction keys allows the rider to perform stunts. The hoverboard can be used to speedily transport flags and orbs. Be aware that any damage sustained while hoverboarding will cause a humiliating crash which may also lead to death and loss of flags. - Manta 200 Armor 1500 Speed ( 64 MpH) 30 Second Respawn The fast and maneuverable Manta hovercraft has long been a favorite for quick surprise attacks and it's various tactical applications. Aside from being able to endlessly harass nodes with it's shock cores or literally crush entire lines of infantry into the ground, a skilled Manta pilot can bring down a Goliath tank, or even a Leviathan with it's superior mobility. The primary fire shoots miniature balls of plasma, similar to the Shock Rifle. Crouch or the Alt Fire cause the manta to invert it's upward thrust and pull itself downward instead, bringing it down upon the head of an enemy in a maneuver affectionately called a 'Pancake' or lowering it enough to collide with them directly in one smooth motion. The jump button allows it to quickly boost it's thrust and propel itself upwards for a brief time and enabling it to traverse rough terrain even more quickly, reach areas otherwise inaccessible, or avoid projectiles and other obstacles. Unlike it's wheel-based counterparts, the Manta can also glide across water without sinking. Unfortunately, the Manta's light frame makes its pilots vulnerable to attacks by enemy snipers, and it's apparent lack of a seatbelt can cause the pilot to fall out when under the influence of a Dark Walker horn. - Scorpion 300 Armor 950 Speed ( 40 MpH) 30 Second Respawn The Scorpion has undergone some revision since it's last appearance. Gone are it's linked energy orbs, which have since been replaced by a grenade-like projectile globs. It's trademark retractable blades have been relocated onto the front bumper, somewhat decreasing their ability to find unsuspecting knees to sever. Additionally, due to the scorpion's popularity in community racing & stunt events, turbo boosters are now standard. Activating the boost (jump) can increases it's speed by 210%, enabling it to reach 2000 units per second (or 85 MpH). This drastically decreases it's handling, however, so it is best used on straight-aways. - Hellbender 600 Armor 800 Speed ( 34 MpH) 30 Second Respawn The Hellbender, too, has undergone revision to a more 'modern' style (which is centuries old in the Unreal timeline but whatever.) The twin laser turret has been replaced with a single non-charging one and the modified shock rifle mount has been integrated into the driver's seat, no longer requiring a co- pilot to man it. As a result, the Hellbender now only supports 2 crew members for full potential. The driver's primary fire sends out shock core projectiles. The driver can then detonate them with the alt fire, causing a chain reaction which detonates other nearby shock cores for wide-spread damage while the passenger's primary fire is a concentrated energy blast which deals more focused damage to a single target. - Raptor 300 Armor 2500 Speed (106 MpH) 30 Second Respawn? The Manta's big brother, analogous to the helicopter of today, and one of the few vehicles capable of flight and the fastest average speed of any vehicle, the Raptor remains mostly unchanged. Using the standard movement keys the pilot is able to move the Raptor in any direction, including up (jump) & down (crouch). The primary fire rapidly launches energy projectiles to constantly harass targets over long distances, while the alt fire sends out a guided missile which can lock onto other vehicles. - Circada 500 Armor 2000 Speed ( 85 MpH) 45 Second Respawn The Circada is essentially a flying missile battery. It was originally released as a bonus vehicle in UT2004. The primary fire rapidly launches missiles at the crosshair, while the alternate fire locks onto a specific location while it loads up to 16 missiles in a firing chain and when released, the missiles will travel to that location. The passenger's primary fire is a beam similar to a laser turret, while it's alternate fire drops an energy grenade. - Paladin 800 Armor 700 Speed ( 30 MpH) 45 Second Respawn Another vehicle released as part of a bonus pack in UT2004, This one has no passenger seats. The primary fire shoots a large shock core which detonates upon contact. The alt fire is an energy shield which absorbs up to 1200 damage. The shield recharges in about 3 seconds if it's not being used. Using the primary fire while the shield is up causes a large explosion in an area around the tank. This allows the Paladin to clear a path through enemy forces while simultaneously shielding itself and any allies following in behind. The primary fire is extremely slow, but very powerful, allowing it to demolish nodes and vehicles with a few well placed shots. - Hellfire SPMA 800 Armor 650 Speed ( 28 MpH) 45 Second Respawn The third of the 3 vehicles released in the UT2004 bonus pack. The Hellfire is tank, with stats almost identical to the Paladin. Although it has two seats, it only actually uses 1 at any given time. The primary fire shoots a shock core and the alt fire shoots a shock beam. Essentially a larger version of the shock rifle, the shock beam can of course detonate the shock cores in a shock combo. The Hellfire's main purpose is fulfilled when it switches into artillery mode (jump). This part can be a little confusing, and there are few things more annoying than a newbie hijacking the artillery and then using it like a Hellbender. When the Hellfire is in artillery mode, the primary and alt fire both fire an artillery shell. When a shell is fired, the camera follows the trajectory of the shell to show the driver a trace of where their shots are landing. Pressing either button a second time while the shell is in flight will make the shell convert itself into a floating (stationary) camera. At this point, the alt fire will bring the camera back down. Otherwise, the standard crosshair becomes a target marker on the ground (in the shape of a circle) with a line showing a prediction of the next shot's trajectory. You no longer have to adjust the angle of the barrel, as the gun will do that for you based on your desired target. Any new shots with the primary fire will arc to the marker and, at the apex, explode into a cluster bomb which rains shells down on the enemy like an extremely large Flak Cannon from space! - Goliath 800 Armor 520 Speed ( 22 MpH) 45 Second Respawn Although the Necris bring some new weapons to the table, the Goliath is still the king of the hill in most levels. It's been left mostly unchanged from UT2004 and even though it appears to have received a handling upgrade it's actually slower than it used to be, relative to infantry. The driver gets to man the main turret, the primary fire shoots a shell which is possibly the fastest projectile in the game, and does a tremendous amount of damage. (360 in a 40 ft. radius, enough to kill anyone within 10 feet of the blast.) The passenger controls a machine gun which is decidedly less exciting. The machine gun is still useful to offset the slow rotation of the main turret though, and the two compliment each other well. Both guns can also zoom in with their alt-fire. - Leviathan 6500 Armor 600 Speed ( 25 MpH) 120 Second Respawn The only one to earn the designation of 'Super-Vehicle'. The Leviathan is huge. Effectively a mobile battle platform, sporting 4 passenger turrets *and* it's main cannon. Each of the 4 turrets have their own Armor (1000) independent of the main vehicle, and each comes equipped with a shield (alt fire) that protects it from damage for 4 seconds. The front-left turret has a shock beam, similar to the Shock Rifle primary fire. The front-right turret fires 4 rockets in rapid succession. The back left turret fires stinger shards similar to the minigun, and the back right turret fires shock cores similar to the Manta. The main cannon fires a series of slow-moving bolt projectiles. It's a little tricky to hit infantry but it rips through larger targets with less mobility. The alt fire zooms the cannon in and out. The Leviathan also has the ability to transform into an Ion Cannon (jump). It cannot move while in this mode, and it takes 2 seconds for it's targeting laser to finish 'painting' but when it does, the primary fire becomes a devastating area-effect blast similar to a redeemer explosion. - Viper 200 Armor 1500 Speed ( 64 MpH) 30 Second Respawn The Necris Viper is analogous to the Axon Raptor and it's features are nearly identical. Instead of miniature shock-cores, the Viper fires a series of small yellow bolts which bounce off nearby walls. Very strange. The viper also has a self-destruct feature (activated by holding the jump button and pressing the alt fire) which causes it to hover in the air for a moment before it ejects the pilot, spirals forward, and detonates on contact. - Scavenger 200 Armor 700 Speed ( 30 MpH) 30 Second Respawn The Scavenger is perhaps the most unique of the New vehicles. It's a small (comparatively) walking tripod with a rotating body. The Scavenger can jump fairly high, allowing it some extra mobility. It can also crouch, which serves little purpose. They should have left in it's ability to climb walls. Oh well. The primary fire locks onto a target and sends out a light saber training remote which then orbits the target and zaps it with a laser. The alt-fire causes the tripod to curl up in a ball, which increases it's speed by 215% (to 1500, or 64MpH). Using the primary fire While in this mode causes the Scavenger to extend it's legs and use them as rotating blades to cut down infantry, much like the Scorpion's bumper-mounted retractable blades. - Nightshade 600 Armor 900 Speed ( 38 MpH) 45 Second Respawn This is an interesting one. It controls similar to the Manta, only much slower. The Nightshade becomes invisible whenever it is being driven, and can only be seen when it fires. The primary fire uses a link gun which can be used to repair nodes & vehicles or damage enemies. The alt fire toggles the cloak on and off. When the cloak is off, the Nightshade is visible (duh) and moves at full speed. When the cloak is on, the Nightshade only moves at 45% of it's normal speed (405 units/second or 17 MpH). In addition to the Link Beam, the Nightshade can also switch to 'Deploy Mode' (jump) and lay a number of different types of mines: The 'Spider-Mine Trap' releases several explosive robotic spiders which chase down and face-hug any enemies who come within range of the trap. The 'Slow Field Generator' causes anyone caught within it's radius to move in slow motion. The 'EMP Mine' disables any vehicles which pass nearby (including hoverboards) and the 'Energy Shield' intercepts any attacks which enter nearby (up to 4000 damage worth). The Nightshade cannot move while it is deploying mines, nor can it lay mines too close together. It also disables it's cloak in this mode. The Nightshade isn't a combat vehicle, it's primary fire is extremely weak but with infinite link gun ammo, traps, and the ability to avoid unnecessary combat, the Nightshade is easily among the most useful vehicles in Warfare mode.. If only it were on more maps. - Fury 400 Armor 1500 Speed ( 64 MpH) 30 Second Respawn The Fury is the Necris equivalent of the Raptor & Circada and it controls the same way. The primary fire uses a recharging energy beam which locks onto the target, dealing 200 damage over 1.5 seconds, but must cool down for 0.5 second between blasts. The alt fire activates a speed boost which increases the Fury's speed (in any direction) by ~2x for 1 second. - Nemesis 600 Armor 500 Speed ( 21 MpH) 30 Second Respawn The Nemesis is the Necris' attempt at creating a Tank. As such, it controls like an Axon tank. Additionally, this vehicle has 3 modes which somewhat alter it's statistics. By default, it moves at 500 units/second, roughly equivalent to 21 MpH. It's alternating lasers do 50 damage per shot and are capable of releasing almost 2.8 rounds per second. (138 Damage per Second). By pressing the crouch button, the driver is able to lower the turret of the Nemesis, nesting it between the treads. This increases it's speed by 220% (to 1100 or 47 MpH) but disabling the ability to rotate the turret independent of the vehicle. Pressing jump will raise the turret back to default. Pressing jump when the turret is at it's default position will cause the turret to raise up, diverting power from the engines and reallocating it to the lasers instead. This decreases the tank's speed by 250% to a measly 200 (9 MpH), but increases it's rate of fire by 33%, to 3.7 rounds/second (185 Damage per Second). This should make it's function obvious: Low to travel, default for light skirmishes, and high for defense & assault. - Dark Walker 1000 Armor 350 Speed ( 15 MpH) 45 Second Respawn War of the Worlds isn't even a subtle theme here. Easily one of the most intimidating vehicles, the Dark Walker towers over the battlefield. Along with it's little brother, the Scavenger, the Dark walker encompasses an entirely unique class of vehicles. Below the surface and cosmetic differences, the Dark Walker pilots much like a Tank. The 'body' of the Dark Walker functions as a turret, allowing it to rotate in 360 degrees. The Dark Walker can crouch, which actually does come in handy at times due to it's enormous height. The primary fire sprays a beam of molten metal which deals 120 damage over 1.5 seconds with a 1.5 second recharge rate. IE, it's damage is largely front- loaded, making it immensely powerful in a series of short exchanges, but somewhat average in prolonged encounters. The alt-fire is an ominous horn. Yes, a horn. The horn creates some kind of force around the Dark Walker which throws enemies backwards and creates temporary paralysis which causes them to fall down. This can even eject the pilots of some vehicles. The Dark Walker can also carry a passenger which gets access to a rapid-fire energy turret built with technology that suspiciously seems to have been present on the Skaarj mothership. Like the Goliath machine gun, the energy turret proves itself complimentary to the primary seize weapon and makes up for the Dark Walker's most obvious weakness. - StealthBender 900 Armor 900 Speed (38 MpH) 45 Second Respawn Unfortunately, the Stealthbender was not included with the game. Originally, it was intended to be part of the WAR-ColdHarbor mission. You were supposed to use the Stealthbender to sneak into the base, but the mission was never included on release and the Stealthbender was never completed. The game's source doesn't provide many details about what the Stealthbender was supposed to be able to do, other than that it could cloak and moved at 1/3 speed while doing so. It may have gone on to become the Nightshade, but that's just speculation. === [3.5] Pickups === - Health Vial +5 Health, 199 Max. 30 Sec Spawn. - Health Kit +20 Health, 100 Max. 30 Sec Spawn. - Super Health +100 Health, 199 Max. 1 Min Spawn. - Helmet +20 Armor, Protects against 1 Headshot. 30 Sec Spawn. - Armor Vest +50 Armor, 30 Sec Spawn. - Thighpads +30 Armor, 30 Sec Spawn. - Shield Belt +100 Armor, 1 Min Spawn. - Jump Boots Double-Jump Higher, Reduce Fall Dmg. 3 Uses. 30 Sec Spawn. - UDamage Double Damage. 30 Sec. 90 Sec Spawn. - Invisibility Player becomes transparent. 30 Sec. 90 Sec Spawn. - Berserk Full Ammo & Double Rate-of-Fire. 30 Sec. 90 Sec Spawn. - Invulnerability Immune to all attacks. 30 Seconds. 2 Min Respawn. === [3.6] Awards & Sprees === - First Blood Be the first person in the match to score a kill. - Double Kill Kill 2 people within 4 seconds of each other. - Multi Kill Kill a 3rd person within 4 seconds of a Double Kill. - Mega Kill Kill a 4th person within 4 seconds of a Multi Kill. - Ultra Kill Kill a 5th person within 4 seconds of a Mega Kill. - Monster Kill Kill a 6th person within 4 seconds of an Ultra Kill. - Killing Spree Score 5 Kills without dying. - Rampage Score 10 kills without dying. - Dominating Score 15 kills without dying. - Unstoppable Score 20 kills without dying. - Godlike Score 25 kills without dying. - Massacre Score 30 kills without dying. - Jackhammer 15 Kills with the Impact Hammer. - Gun Slinger 15 Kills with the Enforcer. - BioHazard 15 Kills with the Bio Rifle. - Combo King 15 Kills by Shock Combo. - Shaft Master 15 Kills with the Link Gun alt fire. - Blue Streak 15 Kills with the Minigun. - Flak Master 15 Kills with the Flak Cannon. - Rocket Scientist 15 Kills with the Rocket Launcher. - Head Hunter 15 Kills by HeadShot with the Sniper Rifle. - Big Game Hunter 15 Kills with the AVRiL. - Hat Trick Score 3 flag captures. - Node Buster Capture 10 Nodes with the Orb. - Bullseye Kill someone with the Viper self-destruct. - Headshot Score a kill by headshot with the Sniper Rifle. - Denied Kill a Flag\Orb carrier near an objective. (Also destroying Viper\Redeemer pre-detonation.) - Juggernaut Simultaneously control two Mega-Powerups. - Hit & Run Run over someone. - Road Rage Hit & Run with a killcount divisible by 4 (-2) - Vehicular Manslaughter Hit & Run with a killcount divisible by 4 (-1) - Road Kill Hit & Run with a killcount divisible by 4. - Road Rampage Run over 10 people. - Pancake Land on top of someone with a vehicle. - Carjacked Steal an abandoned enemy Car. - Hijacked Steal an abandoned enemy Vehicle. - Top Gun Shoot down one flying vehicle with another. - Eagle Eye Shoot down a flying unit with a tank projectile. === [3.7] Bots === === [3.7.1] Bot List === Ronin Agg CS Tac SA Acc Jump Favorite Weapon - Reaper 0.4 0.5 0.0 1.0 0.5 0.0 Rocket Launcher - Bishop 0.4 0.2 0.0, 0.0 0.0 0.0 Sniper Rifle - Othello 0.6 0.3 0.3, 0.0 0.0 0.0 Stinger - Jester 0.4 0.5 0.0, 0.2 0.0 0.4 Rocket Launcher - Arashi 0.4 0.2 0.0, 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Kensai 0.4 0.2 0.0, 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Rook 0.4 0.2 0.0, 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Ushido 0.4 0.2 0.0, 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Connor 0.4 0.2 0.0, 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Harkin 0.4 0.2 0.0, 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Hunter 0.4 0.2 0.0, 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Cassidy 0.4 0.2 0.0, 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Kira 0.4 0.2 0.0, 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Kai 0.4 0.2 0.0, 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Metridia 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None Iron Guard Agg CS Tac SA Acc Jump Favorite Weapon - Lauren 0.4 0.2 1.0 1.0 0.5 0.0 Shock Rifle - Barktooth 0.5 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Flak Cannon - Harlin 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0, None - Slain 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0, None - Cain 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0, None - Johnson 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0, None - Karag 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0, None - Wraith 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0, None - Blain 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0, None - Drake 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0, None - Kregore 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0, None - Talan 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0, None - Ariel 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0, None - Avalon 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0, None - Blackjack 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0, None - Desiree 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0, None Liandri Agg CS Tac SA Acc Jump Favorite Weapon - Matrix 0.4 0.2 1.0 1.0 0.4 0.25 Stinger - Aspect 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Cathode 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Enigma 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Collossus 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Entropy 0.5 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Flak Cannon - Monarch 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - OSC 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Evolution 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Mihr 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Raptor 0.7 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Shock Rifle - Syntax 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Torque 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None Krall Agg CS Tac SA Acc Jump Favorite Weapon - Scythe 0.4 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.5 Link Gun - Cerberus 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Gnasher 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Scorn 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Lockjaw 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Scar 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Sharptooth 0.4 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.5 Rocket Launcher - Worg 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Claw 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Bargest 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Blackfang 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Hellhound 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None Necris Agg CS Tac SA Acc Jump Favorite Weapon - Akasha 0.4 0.2 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.25 Shock Rifle - Loque 0.4 0.2 1.0 0.5 1.0 0.25 Sniper Rifle - Damian 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Kragoth 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Malakai 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Grail 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Judas 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Nocturne 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Samael 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Harbinger 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Pagan 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Thannis 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Alanna 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Arachne 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Freylis 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Malise 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Raven 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None - Visse 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 None === [3.7.2] Bot Tactics === Before I go into the campaign, I want to detail some differences between playing against bots and humans. This is important because strategies which are committed to instinct when playing online are obsolete when playing against a bot. The reverse is also true. A number of factors can be easily misunderstood as 'cheating' and are difficult to figure out by observation alone. This really comes down to the way the bots perceive the world. A bot does not have eyes or a monitor. While they do have a 'field of vision' the same way a player does, they don't have human limitations on that vision - such as reduction in quality over distance, camouflage, etc. What this means is that peeking out from behind an obstruction on the furthest reaches of the map does not make you any harder to see than you would be standing completely out it in the open. If they see you, even a small part of you, they see you. A bot does not have ears or a speaker. Yet they do 'hear' you. This is an important detail to be aware of. Whenever you do something in the level - Fire a shot, pick up ammo, jump, etc. The bot can 'hear' you. If you make a sound and they hear it, they will know exactly where you are (through walls, floors, etc) for the next several seconds. If you round a corner just in time to meet rocket that was fired before the bot had even seen you, that is why: They heard you and knew exactly where you were, and what direction you were headed. A bot does not have arms or a mouse. They do not much care how fast you are moving when they aim at you. They do not aim at where you are, they aim at where you are going to be based on vector calculations. Players do not have access to the coordinates & velocity of their target, nor can we do complex math in the middle of combat. This is one of the biggest gameplay differences. When you Dodge\Jump against a player, the sudden movement throws them off and they have to realign with your new location. If you time your attacks or adjust to your movement accurately, this gives you an advantage. A human may be smart enough to wait to fire until you commit to a jump\dodge in order to lead you more accurately, but this is an exception rather than the rule. With bots, it's the exact opposite. When you move in a specific direction, you become *more* vulnerable and the bot's prediction comes true. They intuitively wait until you commit to a dodge\jump and time their shots accordingly. It's not much harder for a bot to hit you while you are moving than it is to hit you when you're standing still. Moving before the bot fires just tells the bot -where- to fire. The game is running a script that tells the bots to increase their difficulty under different circumstances and decrease it under other circumstances. In deathmatch, this means that the better you do, the harder the enemy team becomes. This can quickly spiral out of control. Sometimes it is better to try *not* to get points, but to evade the enemy to avoid giving them points or increasing their difficulty (and indirectly giving them points) while you distract them so your allies can get points. In version 1.0, the bots also prioritize the player over other bots, which can become problematic when you are outnumbered, on a high difficulty, and\or playing with vehicles. There are several weapons (such as the redeemer alt fire) which transfer the player's identity into a camera. The bots will focus-fire on this as if it were the player, leading to them shooting down the redeemer or artillery camera with amazing consistency while more or less ignoring them when used by a bot (or with the primary fire). Bots also time the powerups much as a skilled player might. They know 5 seconds in advance when a powerup is going to spawn regardless of who picked it up last, when, or where the bot was when it happened. They do not understand the level layout, they only travel along pre-specified path nodes. Most of these things have a weakness which balance them out so equality isn't the problem. The reason these things matter is not because the bots are better than a human, but because the bots are different than a human, and require a different approach. To summarize: Don't attack targets simply because you see them. Avoiding unnecessary combat is extremely useful in Warfare & Capture the Flag. Even in Deathmatch, attacking at the wrong time just alerts the enemy to your presence. Don't make unnecessary noise outside of combat. Purposeless jumping gives away your location and is ultimately counter-productive. Don't put yourself out in the open, where you will be seen by many enemies, if you can avoid it. Don't try to move erratically against a bot. It doesn't trick them. Don't expose yourself to vehicle fire if you are not in a vehicle yourself. Don't put valuable vehicles in danger by trying to pilot them yourself. Never use the Redeemer alt-fire. Instead, try to sneak up on (or past) the bots. Only jump when it serves a purpose worth exposing yourself for. Stick to back alleys and hallways where the bots have trouble functioning intelligently. Strafe rapidly back and forth when fighting. - The bots can't predict your location if you keep changing your momentum. Offset the bot->player focus by using a quick & evasive fighting style, attacking from obscure locations where they can't reach you. Avoid lopsided combat and focus your efforts on the Orb & the Nodes to provide your allies with more vehicles, and your enemies with less. === [4] Campaign === Difficulty In theory, the difficulty you select for your campaign roughly corresponds with the difficulty of the bots you will be facing: Casual Experienced Normal Skilled Hard Inhuman Insane Godlike However, this is not concrete. A number of factors can change the difficulty of the bots: If they outnumber you, their skill decreases by 0.5 If you outnumber them, their skill increases by 0.75 If you are losing their skill decreases per point difference. (Min -1.25) If you are winning, their skill increases per point difference (Max +1.25) Loque receives an additional bonus of +0.75 Akasha receives an additional bonus of +1.50 Your allies only receive half the benefit of the handicap. (IE, Max +0.625) Your allies do not get any bonus/penalty for the number of opponents. Different game modes increase\decrease (based on score) at different rates. Deathmatch: 1 Point = +/- 0.25, 2 = 0.17, 3 = 0.12, and 0.1 for each thereafter Capture the Flag: 0.5 per point difference. Warfare: 0.0125 per 1% difference between PowerCores. The difficulty does not raise if you are losing, or lower if you are winning. Because of this, even on casual playing against Akasha means you will be fighting a Masterful bot after about 13 kills. On Normal she starts off as a Masterful bot and is Godlike after 13 kills. This is an incredible jump in difficulty considering the entire rest of the campaign you will be fighting Average-Skilled bots so keep that in mind when you begin. During the campaign you will get cards which can be played to influence settings on the next map. These are effectively mutators which can be selectively activated. I will list these in the appropriate chapter. You will also unlock characters and their meshes for use in customizing your own character model in multiplayer. Not all of the characters can be unlocked by playing through the campaign. For more details on those characters, see the Cheats & Secrets section. In the following sections I will detail each chapter of the campaign and the choices available to you for directing your course through the story. The map I have provided contains the map name and mission I.D. in parenthesis. Use the search function to quickly scroll between the chapter index and the corresponding mission ID. It's clumsy, I know. In future revisions I would like to rearrange the mission index to make it more organized and less redundant. === [4.1] Act I: Ronin === - Rising Sun (Mission 001) I'm not sure how they get away with calling this Act I. This is an introduction or prelude. They should have smashed this together with Act II and called *that* Act I, or let us play out TwinSouls. Actually they should have done that anyway. Whatever. There are 5 acts and 2 of them are disproportionately short. This is one of them. === [4.2] Act II: With Caesar's Coin === 002 003 004 005 006 |----------007----------| |----008----| 122 111 009 |----123----| |-112-| 010 124 130 113 118 011 125 131 114 120 |-012-| |-126-| |-132-| 116 119 013 107 127 126 133 136 115 121 014 109 128 120 134 137 117 015 108 129 119 135 138 110 121 (002) Shangri La (003) Reflection (004) Sinkhole (005) Market District (006) Tank Crossing (007) Kargo The first 6 missions are always the same. After that, you get to choose between Hydrosis and Torlan Delta. Hydrosis represents attacking Axon, while Torlan basically represents fortifying the Izanagi. (008) Hydrosis (111) vCTF-Suspense (009) Torlan (D) (112) WAR-Downtown (010) Suspense (113) Defiance (118) Diesel (011) Serenity (114) Serenity (120) Kargo (012) Downtown (116) Kargo (119) Serenity (013) Defiance (107) Diesel (115) Diesel (121) Torlan (D) (014) Kargo (109) Kargo (117) Torlan (L) (015) Torlan (L) (108) Serenity (013) Defiance (110) Torlan (D) (122) Torlan Delta (123) Hydrosis (124) Suspense (130) Serenity (125) Downtown (131) Suspense (126) Defiance (132) Downtown (127) Serenity (126) Diesel (133) Defiance (136) Diesel (128) Kargo (120) Kargo (134) Kargo (137) Kargo (129) Torlan (L) (119) Serenity (135) Serenity (138) Serenity (121) Torlan (D) The first two choices determine how you conduct the war against Axon. Because you make this choice twice, you basically have four options between Offense\Defense, Aggressive\Reserved. The third choice determines whether or not you accept Axon's surrender when you defeat them. Doing Hydrosis first means the enemy will be slightly stronger on Hydrosis. Hydrosis-Torlan means the enemy will be slightly stronger on Suspense. Doing Torlan first means an easy fight in Torlan (now and later). Torlan->Serenity means the enemy can't invade Torlan. Helps in later missions. Diesel gives you the 'Iron Guard Reinforcements' Card. Defiance gives you access to a Leviathan on the final Torlan mission. The hardest mission is Serenity #108. It's 4 vs. 8! The easiest path overall is Torlan #122, Serenity #13, and Diesel #136. This bypasses a 4 vs. 6 on Kargo, Torlan and Serenity in addition to the 4 vs. 7 on Torlan and the 4 vs. 8 on Serenity. This is also the best path, providing you the Iron Guard Reinforcements card, and makes the most sense in the context of the story. Cards Tactical Diversion: Beat Kargo (007) Reduces the # of opponents in the next match by 2. Enhanced Respawners: Beat Diesel (118, 107, 136) Increase your starting health by 25. Iron Guard Reinforcements: Beat Defiance (013, 133) or Serenity (114, 127) Gain 2 Iron Guard team members in the next mission. Unlockable Characters Lauren Beat DM-Diesel (107, 118, 136) === [4.3] Act III: The Liandri Conflict === (016) Arsenal (017) HeatRay (083) Dusk (018) Dusk (063) Islander (084) PowerSurge (019) PowerSurge (064) Dusk (020) Coret (020) Coret (021) HeatRay (057) CarbonFire (022) Islander (053) Containment (058) Containment (023) Strident (054) Strident (059) Islander (010) Gateway (052) Containment | | (060) Strident (055) Islander (056) Gateway (062) Gateway (061) HeatRay (064) Dusk (065) PowerSurge (072) Coret (066) Coret (073) Heatray (078) Containment (067) Containment | (074) CarbonFire (079) HeatRay (068) HeatRay (075) Strident (080) CarbonFire (069) Strident (077) Gateway | (082) Gateway | (070) CarbonFire (071) Gateway (081) Strident (081) Strident (084) PowerSurge (085) Heatray (095) Islander (086) Coret (096) HeatRay (087) CarbonFire (097) Coret (088) Containment (093) Islander (098) Containment (103) CarbonFire (089) Islander (094) Containment (099) Strident (104) Strident (090) Strident | (100) CarbonFire (106) Gateway | (092) Gateway | (102) Gateway | (105) Containment (091) HeatRay (101) Containment This chapter's layout is terribly confusing and seems to be unfinished. There are many junctions which give you the illusion of choice, many different missions which - although unique - are exactly the same as others. Some choices to visit containment which should be available aren't, and only one instance of HeatRay was done properly. You have dozens of options mostly pertaining to the order in which you play the missions. Unfortunately I was forced to separate the chapter map into three segments in order for it to fit. The most important choice you will make is whether or not you will play Containment before you attack Hyperion. You are also given several opportunities to play Gateway, but this isn't necessary or meaningful. Dusk, CarbonFire, Coret, Islander, Strident, Gateway, and Containment are pretty much always the same. PowerSurge and HeatRay are the only missions with major variations. HeatRay #017 -> Islander #063 leads to either PowerSurge #065 (a 4 vs. 8) or a locked Dark Walker on HeatRay #073 - the two hardest missions in the chapter, and among the hardest missions in the game. Dusk #083 -> Islander #095 leads to a locked Dark Walker on HeatRay. Unlike the other locked Dark Walker missions, this one has no alternative mission to avoid it, so once you beat Islander you're stuck. HeatRay #017 -> Islander #063 -> PowerSurge #065 -> HeatRay #068 -> Gateway #071 is the hardest path, including the aforementioned PowerSurge 4:8 and HeatRay 4:6 with Loque and a locked Dark Walker. Dusk #083 -> HeatRay #085 is the best path. It has the easiest versions of HeatRay & PowerSurge. Gateway is optional, and all the other missions are the same. (The only choice is whether to play Containment or Islander first.) Once again, the easy route also makes the most sense in terms of storyline. Cards Heavy Armor: Beat DM-Arsenal Increases the armor of your vehicles by 40%. Liandri Reinforcements: Beat CTF-Strident Gain 2 Liandri security bots in the next mission. Unlockable Characters Matrix Beat DM-Gateway === [4.4] Act IV - Calculated Losses === (025) Islander | (026) Market District / \ (027) Shangri La (049) Corruption / \ / \ (028) Corruption (046) Defiance (049) Suspense (051) Shangri La | \ / | | \ / | | (140) Deck--\ | | /--(139) Deck | (029) Suspense (047) Torlan Delta (050) Defiance |------------(045) BioHazard------------| (030) Onyx Coast (032) Avalanche (033) Deimos There aren't as many variations this time around. The two routes are reflections of each other. BioHazard is optional. The easiest route is probably Shangri La->Corruption->Suspense->Onyx Coast, since this gives you 4vs4 instead of 4vs6 on corruption and bypasses Torlan and the other deathmatch levels. On the other hand, Corruption -> Suspense -> Torlan might be easier for some people than the deathmatch. The hardest route would probably be Shangri La -> Defiance - Deck -> Torlan -> Bio Hazard since all but Torlan are deathmatch and Torlan is a hard mission anyway. I do suggest stopping off at the Decks to kill Scythe out of principle, however. Unlockable Characters Kragoth Beat WAR-Islander Damian Beat WAR-Islander Malakai Beat WAR-Islander Scythe Beat DM-Deck === [4.5] Act V - Disposable Assets === (034) Omicron Dawn (035) Sandstorm (036) Sanctuary (042) Fearless (148) Fearless (044) Sanctuary (038) Necropolis (039) Vertebrae (040) FloodGate (041) Sentinel Your only choice here is whether you do Fearless or Sanctuary first. If you do Sanctuary first, you'll have a lower kill limit and some different bots, but Fearless is exactly the same regardless of which order you play them in. Cards Instagib: Beat CTF-Necropolis Next mission is played using Instagib rifles. (Must be played now, if at all.) Unlockable Characters Loque Beat CTF-OmicronDawn Akasha Beat DM-Sentinel === [4.6] Mission Index === Mission 001 - Rising Sun ( DM-RisingSun ) Goal: 10 Kills Faction: TwinSouls Allies: None Enemies: Jester Map Details Tokaido, Ghost Legion training grounds. The legendary Samurai of Earth's Lotus Guard used to train within the walls of the Imperial Palace. This small section of the Kimpu Market District was built to mirror those courtyards, and now serves as the entrance to the Ghost Legion training grounds. Briefing Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Maintain battlefield control by holding the high ground. - Use audio cues to track enemy movement. Strategy & Tactics You start off in a secluded area that functions as a brief tutorial which you can skip by pressing ESC. Jester is waiting for you in the arena. If she were smart she would be collecting weapons and powerups while you're trapped in your cage. Anyway, take some time to get a feeling for the controls if you need to. When you're ready, double jump over the curbs and grab the shock rifle. Shoot the switches next to the door with your primary and then alternate fire. The door opens. Crawl under the door, and switch to your Impact Hammer. Smash the droid and continue on to another door that you must open with your shock rifle. At this point, Jester will activate and the match begins. Grab the link gun and head down the hallway to your left. Jester spawns on the opposite side of the courtyard where you entered, and will run straight for the rocket launcher in the center of the stage. This is a good opportunity to kill her before she can even leave the first hallway. From then on she will primarily run a Square or Triangle route between the Stinger, Link Gun, and Rocket Launcher (Her favorite weapon) via the trench or the corner buildings. The level puts a lot of focus on the mid range weapons, and she ignores the Shock Rifle for the most part. This creates tactical opportunities at both long & short range, which can be exploited. Like the briefing says, you'll want to monopolize the center of the map. The Body Armor, the Health Kits, the Flak Cannon and the vials up top. From here, you can also restrict her access to any of the weapons. There is no particular reason to visit the extreme edges of the map except the Flak Ammo near the Link Gun. There are health vials in the front side of the trench which should also be claimed. You can quickly run a circuit through the trench, up the stairs, loop through the left building to the Flak Ammo, and then elevator jump up to the vials above the Flak Cannon, or to the underside to collect the armor. You can also extend it to a half circle and integrate the vials in both hallways if you so choose but those hallways are vulnerable. By leaving the health vials in them, you encourage her to enter them. Once she enters she is very susceptible to splash damage and has to effectively walk into your projectiles in order to shoot back. I found the Bio Rifle and Flak Cannon to be particularly useful, but the Stinger can also be very effective. The game will continue regardless of whether you win or lose. Mission 002 - Shangri La ( DM-ShangriLa ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Kensai, Ushido Enemies: Talan, Kregore, Drake, Blain Map Details Tokaido, Shangri La sector The springtime blossoms of the Shangri La sector are universally renowned for their beauty and serenity. But the district sits along the northern shore of Tokaido, and the locals are forced to retreat into the sweltering heat of the underground mines to avoid the fierce cold snaps that leave the grounds largely abandoned during winter months. Briefing "Looks like we're stuck doing some crap jobs before the Izanagi trust us. We're headed up north to investigate some 'disturbances' along the coast. Axon scouts have been sneaking across the bay and setting up shop inside Tokaido. We've got a field respawner and a full weapons compliment, but the Izanagi set up some random captain to baby-sit us. Keep your cool and try not to use the UDamage against them. Much." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - UDamage powerup is located in the central courtyard. Strategy & Tactics This is one of the maps released for the UT3 beta demo. If you played it, then you already know the map layout. The main courtyard connects to the 2nd courtyard, the rooftops, and the Flak Room. The Flak Room connects with the Courtyard and the Rocket Launcher Room, which in turn connects to the 2nd Courtyard, and out to the Courtyard & Rooftops. There are also lots of acrobatic maneuvers you can do to take shortcuts. The main feature of the map is the UDamage which spawns in the main courtyard. You can reach it by dodging or double jumping from the bridge, from the rooftops, or by jumping up the ridges on the platform itself. You can also impact jump over the platform. There is a shield belt above the 2nd courtyard. I find it most useful to run straight to the Shield Belt - sometimes it spawns by the time you get there - and then circle around (in either direction) to the Armor\Jump Boots between the Rocket & Flak rooms. The Flak room is a good place to roam since it's roughly the center of the level. There is health nearby, and the ramp gives quick access to the rooftops, the 2nd courtyard, or the Rocket Launcher. The UDamage is nice, but the bots can be very annoying with precision weapons and they haunt the courtyard so I tend to avoid it unless I'm playing on Novice-Skilled. Because this is Team Deathmatch, your goal is about kills vs. deaths - not just kills, so teamwork is important. If you leave your allies to their own devices they will feed the enemy points. If you tell them to hold position, they will cluster together, run out of health\ammo, and lose by attrition. The best strategy seems to be to put your team on 'Cover Me' and quickly (but cautiously) lead them around the level. This should keep them reasonably healthy and well-equipped. It also ensures that if the enemy attempts to pursue you, they will have to do so one at a time, from the doorways where they are more vulnerable. Knowing how to time the powerups is very useful here. On Masterful and higher, the bots have a 5-second head start on powerup timing, so keep that in mind. Mission 003 - Reflection ( CTF-Reflection ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Cain, Johnson, Karag, Wraith Map Details Tokaido border territories Surrounded by tranquil waterfalls and traditional architecture, these grounds are known as the Reflection Gardens. They're buried deep in the heart of downtown Tokaido, where people can retreat to a place of quiet meditation amidst the bustle of a popular mining colony. Briefing "The Izanagi may not like us, but they like results. Bishop, Othello, welcome to the team. Intel picked up another Axon cell inside Tokaido. This one's dug in, with a field lattice generator powering their respawner. We need to work as a team to retrieve the enemy FLaG units, power down their respawner, and clear them out." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Link with a teammate to multiply the power of your Link Gun. - Translocators can teleport you across short distances. FLaGs can not be teleported. - The Helmet will give you 20 extra armor and protect you from a single sniper headshot. Strategy & Tactics This map is also fairly small and straight-forward. There are upper and lower levels, and a few diverging (and converging) side-paths. The bots will primarily stick to the main paths to and from the base. Jester is set to flag capture by default. She won't be much use on the lower levels so it may be better to put her on defense in that case to prevent her from running to her death and getting the enemy flag lost in the wilderness somewhere, but she can succeed on higher levels. Regardless, you'll want to stick to the outer-most paths for the most part. You can get all the way into the enemy's base without being noticed and, in some cases, all the way back out again. The Flak Cannon is particularly useful since the enemies will try to literally tackle you, begging you to lodge burning shrapnel in their face. Even though they took out dodge jumping, standard dodging and wall dodging seems to help speed up the egress. There is a 'Super Health' in the center of the map between the two bases, and an Armored Helmet up above it. I didn't find either especially useful since everyone else is so fixated on them that they actually became a distraction and a liability. There is no doubt that the extra health would be useful, so it may be wise to follow the main path to the entrance and check for it before crossing over to the outer path. I'm not sure I'd risk it on the return journey. Crossing center-field with the flag is almost guaranteed to result in a morbid display of affection. If you find yourself holding the flag without a flag to return it to - which is likely on such a small, fast-paced level - your best bet is to hide in the tunnels on either side of the flag platform and wait for your team to get the flag back. It's not particularly safe, but it gives you a little extra room to move if the enemy finds you. There is health - or a speedy capture - nearby for contingency. Mission 004 - Sinkhole ( WAR-SinkHole ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed ( No Orbs, No Hoverboard ) Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Talan, Kregore, Blain Map Details Downtown Tokaido, beneath Kimpu Market District These underground tunnels were discovered when Izanagi assessment teams first started their geological survey of Taryd, and they were used to house munitions and supplies for the first wave of colonists. As the surface cities expanded, the caverns were forgotten until large sink holes started to form, destroying large portions of the city above. Briefing "Axon scouts were discovered sneaking through the tunnels, and we've traced their movements to a central base of operations. Orders are simple: Destroy the base and seal the tunnels for good." Objectives - Link your Core to the Prime Node in the center of the sinkhole. - Destroy the enemy Core. Strategy & Tactics I'm not sure if it's an accident but you actually outnumber the enemy on this mission. The orders are indeed simple. Whenever Jester gets done talking about her anus, go take the prime node in the center of the map. If the enemy has the prime node, you'll need to destroy it. The safest way to do this is to climb up to the catwalk in your base and crouch. You should be able to get a clear line of fire on the node from quite a ways away, effectively safe from retribution. Once the node falls, keep it down until your allies start to construct one, then move in and heal it with the Link Gun, stopping to grab the shield if you like. Once you have a friendly node established, it's all about maintaining the node, so just continually repair the node. If you run out of link ammo and you think it's safe to do so, you can do a suicide mission into the enemy core (stealing their shield\berserk powerup on the way) and respawn in time to help protect your prime node. The Manta can help for defending the prime node, allowing you to head the enemy off at their base entrance and simply run them over. It also does a lot of damage to the prime node if the enemy tries to construct one. Just keep doing suicide missions into the enemy core to whittle away at it, or stay back and protect the node. - As long as you know how to stop the enemy from constructing one of their own, they won't have many opportunities to damage your core. Amusingly, you can stand idly on the Prime Node and the enemy will prioritize attacking the Node. When the node is destroyed, a new one will immediately begin construction (since you're standing on it) and the bots will immediately attack the new node instead of you. They'll even sit a few feet away from you in a Manta blasting away at the Node, oblivious to the futility of their existence. You can use this to destroy them with impunity. (Almost.) The UDamage & Berserk powerups on either side of the base exits will allow you to quickly destroy\repair a node. Mission 005 - Market District ( WAR-MarketDistrict ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Cain, Johnson, Karag, Wraith Map Details Downtown Tokaido, Kimpu Market District Life in Tokaido relies heavily on the infrastructure of the Kimpu Market District. People purchase food there, shop, gather for social occasions, and even buy their fuel in this one centralized location. In a surprise move, a terrorist cell has invaded the Market, scared off the locals, and shut down all business in and out of the district. Briefing "Time to take down another power core. The old market centers both have nodes powering defense turrets. If we can take them both, we'll overload the enemy core shields and their core will be raised and exposed. Then we use the turrets to finish them off from a distance. We're using the 'Node Buster' Orb and Hoverboards this time. Expect more intel on the field." Objectives - Control the Prime Node to access your enemy's Core. - Control Support Nodes to unlock mobile laser turrets. - Use the mobile turrets to protect the Prime Node. - Short Circuit the enemy Core's coolant system by controlling both Support Nodes simultaneously. - An overheated Core raises into the open air and is vulnerable to turret fire. Strategy & Tactics Another Warfare mission. This one is more like normal, although still not completely. You now have Hoverboards and the Orb. In this mission, you have 3 nodes. The prime node - in the center - needs to be under your control before you can damage the enemy core. The two support nodes on the side are not useful in that respect, but if you have all three nodes simultaneously it will raise the enemy core up onto the top of the base where it can then be attacked by turrets as an added bonus. The strategy works like this: You can focus on the prime node, but if the side nodes are left undefended the enemy will claim them both easily. Once they have both nodes, all they have to do is get their Orb carrier to your prime node and your Core is completely exposed. On the other hand, if you focus on the side nodes, the enemy can take the Prime node and assault your Core unopposed. The logical conclusion is to have a minimal force attack the support nodes - to prevent the enemy from controlling both - while your remaining forces (and the orb carrier) focus on taking and holding the prime node. If the enemy removes forces from the support nodes to fortify the prime node, you've successfully reversed the situation. You'll have the Prime Node, and both support nodes as a matter of course. If the enemy takes forces off the prime node to hold the support nodes, he'll still have trouble holding both of them and to make matters worse he won't have the necessary forces to do anything with them once he has them. Bishop is probably your least useful character on this level, so he'd make the best candidate for attacking the support nodes. The bots are completely inept with the Orb, so your job is to carry the Orb to the Prime Node. Once the node is in your control, do your best to push (or sneak) into the enemy base and attack their core. Their Orb carrier will charge straight for the Prime Node just about every time. On the lower difficulties you can win the level by just shutting down their orb carrier, but on the harder levels it's easier said than done. It'll probably be a tug-of-war for the Prime Node, making it difficult to tell when to push in and when to fall back. If you go back to your base and get a second Orb, you can use it to fortify the Prime Node and prevent the bots from taking it back, but not forever, and your bots aren't particularly good at infiltrating so this is slow at best. The enemy can still kill you and rush your core to quickly undo your gains as well. On the other hand, it's very difficult to get into the enemy base yourself and your bots aren't very good at holding the prime node either. The best bet seems to be to use your 'extra' health to attack the Core. If the Prime Node looks sturdy enough to suffer your absence for a moment, Go attack the Core. If you've just fought off a wave of enemies and have a little extra health to spare before you die anyway - attack the core. Just try to time it so that you make it back to the prime node with the orb before the enemy has a chance to make it to your core. If your allies manage to capture both the support nodes, you can attack the enemy core directly from the Prime Node platform with any long range weapon. (Like the Link Gun) Also, if you manage to get into the enemy base, you can stand behind the Core on the far side (Left, when facing the Core). The bots sometimes get confused and don't know how to get you, so you can deal quite a bit of damage before you, it, or the prime node are destroyed. The bots ignore the turrets. If you use them you can help defend the prime\support nodes. The west turret can attack the blue core, and any enemies approaching yours, while the east turret can attack the orb carrier approaching the prime node. This isn't incredibly useful on harder difficulties since your turret will be targeted and destroyed. The bots also ignore most of the powerups, so if you have time, you can take advantage of them yourself. - Especially the UDamage in the alley across the courtyard from the either core. Mission 006 - TankCrossing ( WAR-TankCrossing ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Johnson, Barktooth, Harlin, Cain Map Details Tokaido border territories This area serves as the demilitarized buffer zone between the Axon and Izanagi Corporations. Because the bridges along this narrow strip of land are the only roads that connect the two territories, the isthmus is considered a key military objective that must be controlled. Briefing "We need to blow the Axon core but - surprise - it's protected by blast doors. We can lower the doors if we can steal a heavy tank and drive it onto the pressure pad. Good news is there's a tank factory in the vicinity. Bad news? We need to get it across a drawbridge powered by the node underneath it. So Job One: Get the tank. Job Two: Hold the drawbridge and get the tank across. Job Three: Protect the tank while we take out the core. Job Four? Watch the fireworks." Objectives - Activate the Bridge Node to lower the drawbridge. - Drive your Goliath tank across the bridge. - Park the tank on the pressure pad to open the blast doors. - Destroy the enemy Core. Strategy & Tactics This is one of the missions they tried to make more reminiscent of Assault. There is only one Node here but rather than simply expose the core, it also lowers a bridge that allows your tank to cross the chasm into the enemy base. Once inside, you have to drive the tank onto a pressure pad to expose the core. Plow your turret into their core and blast it point-blank a few times to destroy it. This was a pretty easy mission even on Insane. Jester is on Orb duty. Normally I loathe to let bots do anything important, but it's either that or let them drive the tank. That doesn't mean you can sit up topside in your tank waiting for your bots to do all the work. Actually it probably does. But don't. That's rude. Near the bridge is a short staircase, and if you look down over the ledge you can see the bridge node. This is a good opportunity to interfere with the enemy. Once Jester arrives with the Orb, the bridge will lower and you can jump directly into your tank. Drive it across the bridge and down the left path. It's fairly linear. You'll reach a dead-end with a metal rectangle on the ground. Park on the rectangle and the core will open right in front of you. Blast it. There is a fence to your right and the enemy bots will annoyingly stare at you and throw things through the bars. If you have a bot in the tank with you, they can help gun down the hecklers, but otherwise you'll have to do it yourself. I'm not sure whether it's faster to switch and kill them with machine gun or to rotate the turret and make them swallow a mortar, but either way they have to die since there is a chance they would destroy your tank with their mischief if left to their own devices. Mission 7 - Kargo ( vCTF-Kargo ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Slain, Johnson, Talan, Drake Map Details Alluvion river valley The harbors of the Alluvion River are the primary entry points for colonial supply lines. These shipping lanes are shared by all factions, and monitored by an N.E.G. peacekeeping force. This port is a highly contested supply point on the edge of Axon territory, with the Izanagi mainland just across the bay. Briefing "These harbors are full of vehicles loading cargo, moving personnel, and maintaining the perimeter. To even the odds, supply requisitioned a few longbows for us. The Anti vehicle rocket launcher - A.K.A. the 'AVRiL Longbow' - fires armor piercing missiles using an onboard optical tracking system. If all that fancy tech works as advertised, it sounds like a sniper rifle for blowing up vehicles. Bishop, have fun." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Control the boat in the mid-ground to access a Goliath. - Line up a Scorpion boost to jump from ramp to ramp across the boat. Strategy & Tactics This map can be extremely irritating. The bots have this tendency to prioritize human players over other bots. Normally it's not too big of a deal, but it becomes obvious when you've got a large number of bots or in this case, a bot in a tank. The map has a neutral Goliath that spawns and travels along a conveyor before being deployed right in the middle of the level, in an enclosure. It's effectively a very large turret. Each team also has Hellbenders and Scorpions in their garage. Aside from the Tank, the middle of the map is also home to a shield belt and a redeemer. There are a few unique weapons on this level. The 'Slow Field Generator' is effectively a trap which, when activated, causes anyone caught within it's radius to move very slowly. Works for catching (or saving) flag runners. There is also an EMP mine, which disables vehicles. There are a few ways in\out of the base, but ultimately they lead to one of two directions. The 'Street' curves around and leads directly to the loading docks for which the level gets it's name. The other is more of a back-alley which circles behind some obstructions, making it (nearly) safe passage from the troll in the Tank. The back alley also has body armor - in both bases - and health along the way. You can use the Scorpion's Speed Boost to hit the pipes in the center of the Cargo bay and use them as a ramp to launch you onto the other side of the field, but since the bots use the street almost exclusively, it wouldn't be very wise to use it regularly. Generally, the best way is to just get into the base as quickly as possible and then use the back alley route as an escape. The enemy usually only has one bot defending the flag room with a link gun, flak cannon or shock rifle which is easy enough to get past, but the others will cut you off in the parking- garage-like buildings. You can use your hoverboard, but only after you've rounded a corner where the enemy has no line-of-sight, and only for a few seconds at a time. It's very easy to get knocked off the board when you think you're safe. If you can capture the flag one time, all you have to do is hold out for the remainder of the mission. Another option is to mercilessly seize and exploit the tank in the center of the map to make it virtually impossible for the bots to leave their base. This becomes most useful on the harder difficulties where flag running becomes ever more perilous. Somewhat counter-intuitively however, you don't want to actually kill the bots perpetually. If you kill them, they respawn in their base, and that means they'll attack your allies when they come to take the flag. You want to time it so that their flag gets taken while they are out front. They'll turn around to go ambush the flag carrier, and if you kill them they'll respawn at their base. Too far away to do anything about the flag runner, least of all without you forcibly sending them home again. If the Tank is destroyed it will begin respawning quickly - as in, within 20 seconds. I say 'begin' respawning because it has to travel along a conveyor which drops it onto the track. Beating this mission unlocks the 'Tactical Diversion' Card. Save it for a rainy day. After the mission you can choose between WAR-TorlanDelta (Mission 122) and CTF-Hydrosis (Mission 008). This is effectively a defense\offense decision, deciding whether you want to focus on the immediate war with the Axon, or prepare for a future war with the Necris. Taking CTF-Hydrosis first is not only a harder level but can lead to some of the hardest missions in the chapter - if not the entire campaign. This is not set in stone however. I suggest taking Torlan, both because it is an easier mission which leads to an easier campaign, and because it makes more sense in the context of the story that Reaper would be more interested in a long-term plan against the necris than this trivial war with the Axon. Mission 008 - Hydrosis ( CTF-Hydrosis ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop, Rook, Kensai Enemies: Harlin, Slain, Karag, Wraith, Kregore, Talan Map Details Alluvion river valley The canals of the Alluvion river are gated by this Axon hydro-facility, which serves as an emergency power backup and Tarydium processing plant. Destroying the plant would put serious stress on Axon energy production, but capturing it would mean diverting those essential resources for Izanagi use. Briefing "This should be a straightforward infantry assault. We take out their respawner and we're in control. Bishop, there's plenty of high ground and clear lines of sight, so provide cover when we cross the bridges. The rest of you, keep your heads up and watch for snipers." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The central bridge area has several dangerous sniping positions. - Protect the FLaG carrier to ensure their safe return. Strategy & Tactics This is a remake of a UT Classic map. The long open bridges, limited escape routes and higher number of bots means you're guaranteed to be shot at. The strategy for this map will be identical to the strategy for Mission 123, except that in this case the extra bot makes things harder, not easier. The enemy's extra bot will be guarding their flag. He always stands near the entrance on the bio-rifle side, although sometimes he lingers near the minigun after respawning. The extra bot means it's harder to even get -to- the flag, much less all the way back out with it, so it's kind of hit-and-miss. There are two main roads to and from the bases and a long narrow central courtyard between them, connected by a series of narrow bridges which span a chasm. Obviously, falling off the bridge is fatal. There are buildings on either side of the chasm which serve both as sniper bunkers and as medians to keep the two paths from the bases mostly separated. You can run between the chasm and the bunkers for a 'change up' but I find that dangerous and wasteful. If you don't have the flag, you can also translocate through the window of the bunker rather than run across the exposed bridge. The bots can (and will) do that as well. There are two paths, left and right, which will take you through separate routes before connecting in the middle (the flag room). The left path is shorter and generally less confusing, while the right path provides better cover, armor powerups, and a little bit of obscurity. The first room on the left path is a winding room with generators. There is health to the left of the door, and a few vials up on top of the first generator. There is a rocket launcher on top of the second generator. Beyond that room is a hallway that leads to the Bio Rifle and immediately past that, the enemy flag room with a stinger minigun on the ledge above the door and more health by the door opposite. Beyond that, there is another hallway which leads to the Link Gun, which in turn leads to another room. This room has the Body Armor in the center, and the Flak Cannon along the wall. It's easy to get turned around here, because the exit to the room is on the same wall you entered through. Once you know your way around, a dodge\translocate and a couple sharp turns will take you through this room before the bots have time to focus on you. Past that room is a small hallway which leads to the last room - the entrance to the 'right path' - which spawns the Shock rifle and the Armored Helmet. I prefer the right path for a couple reasons. On the left path, there is health right by the entrance - or exit - to the base, but if you already need health when you're first entering the base, or if you're low enough that it makes a difference when you're leaving, there is a good chance you'll die in the long courtyard anyway, and either way you're likely to be exposed to further damage for a while before you find more. The left path also has easy translocator shortcuts that you cannot use while carrying the flag, meaning the bots will have an easier time catching you should you attempt to exit along that route. The right path, on the other hand, can use the winding corridors to provide cover fire from the enemies for almost half of the journey, provides armor pickups to keep you shielded *and* has health inside the enemy flag room when you arrive (or to top off your health before the escape attempt). The biggest downside to this route is that you can get ambushed in the corridors. There are a couple 'secrets' on this level. Between the left & right path, immediately behind the entrance to the sniper bunkers near where the sniper rifle spawns, there is a ventilation shaft in the 'ceiling' which you can throw your translocator into. This will take you into the Flak\Armor room and bypass the Shock\Helmet room. On the wall behind the Bio Rifle, there is an access hatch which turns into the enemy Flag, allowing you to enter from 'behind enemy lines.' It's not incredibly useful, but the bots will use this. Finally - and this is the game winner - there is a Shield belt above the Stinger platform in either team's flag room. The stinger platform 'loops around' for no obvious reason, but if you look up there is a pipe running along the ceiling. If you translocate onto that, you'll find the shield belt. If it's already been taken, you can also wait there safely for it to respawn. You can get the shield belt in the red base and use it to get inside the blue base, stock up on health and replace the broken shield, and then grab the flag and make an escape with 100/100. If you take the right path, you can sometimes grab an Armor Vest and\or Helmet on your way out. This factor alone should allow you to make it outside and to the first bridge, where your team can (possibly) pick up where you left off if you die. Another useful trick is to use the Bio Rifle alt fire to clear the hallways if anyone tries to ambush you. A lot of people dislike the Bio Rifle, but in situations like this it can be more useful than the Flak Cannon. Quickly 'Zigzagging' is also a must, since it reduces the enemy accuracy by about 60%. If you're still having trouble with this, you can linger in your own base collecting the health vials on top of the generators, the armor helmet, vest, and belt until you're 175/199. That should give you enough energy to get into the blue base and replace your shield before attempting the capture. The 175 shield should get you outside, and the extra 99 health might help getting across the bridge. After the mission you have another choice: WAR-TorlanDelta (Mission 009) or vCTF-Suspense (Mission 111)? This is another defense\offence choice, the same as the last one. Now that you've attacked Axon, do you want to fortify your gains or push deeper into Axon territory? Suspense is the last bridge defending Oxida Nova, so if you take that you'll be within striking distance of their capital. Since you're already committed to attacking the Axon, attempting to turn around now leads to some of the hardest missions in the campaign. I suggest vCTF-Suspense. If you were going to take the Torlan Delta, you should have done it before you moved in hard against the Axon, Mission 009 - Torlan Delta ( WAR-Torlan ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop, Connor, Harkin Enemies: Cain, Karag, Kregore, Drake, Barktooth, Harlin Map Details Torlan river delta Thanks to stringent monitoring by the New Earth Government, all three Corporations have used the fields of the Torlan Delta to power their combined mining efforts. But with the recent threat of full scale war, N.E.G. forces have pulled out, and everyone is scrambling to take control of this valuable territory. Briefing "Advance teams established an improvised base on the border, but Axon forces are amassing a huge force across the central gorge. We need to destroy the enemy core to establish a firm command of the area. When the N.E.G. pulled out, they left a support node intact hidden underneath the bridge. If we can take that node, we'll get some extra firepower we can use against the core." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - A Support Node below the central bridge will provide your team with extra fire power. Strategy & Tactics Those of you who played Onslaught in UT2004 (or the Demo) are undoubtedly familiar with this remake of ONS-Torlan. This time it's linked differently, and there are two extra nodes, along with the Bonus vehicles from UT2004. The starting base for both teams have a Hellbender, Raptor, Manta, and an Orb. In the red base, the Hellbender is on the south-west side of the base near the gate, the Manta spawns on the northwest side along with the Orb, and the Raptor spawns up the stairs, near the PowerCore. There are also Laser turrets on the wall, but are only useful in a pinch. The Red Prime-Node is south-central, west of the Red Base. From there, you must take the West 'Road' Node, or the East 'Road' Node, both of which converge on the Blue Prime-Node in north-central. From there, you can attack the enemy core. There are three support nodes on this mission. Each Prime Node links to a 'Tank' Node in the Northeast or Southwest corner of the map. The third support Node is the 'Center' Node in the center of the map. The 'Bridge' Node isn't linked to any other node, so it can be attacked at any time. The Prime nodes spawn a Laser Turret, a Manta, and a Scorpion. The Northeast and Southwest 'Tank' Nodes spawn a Goliath and a Manta. The East and West nodes spawn SPMA Artillery and a Manta. The Center node spawns a Circada (Bridge), and a Scorpion (Bottom). The Orb can spawn at your base, the east\west Nodes, or the Center node. Finally, there are teleporters at the nodes which allow you to quickly transport to any node which is not being attacked. (You can't teleport with the orb, or a vehicle.) The bots will try to grab the orb and take it to the node north\south of their base. Usually this means that the Red team will have the South nodes, and East node, while the Blue will control the north and west. They will mostly fix their efforts on controlling the main nodes, so if they don't have both the East and the West node, they'll try to cut off your opportunities to attack their prime node while they attack yours. They don't pay much attention to the support nodes - the center node isn't linked to any others, and the corner nodes collapse when the prime node is destroyed - but they don't ignore them completely either. If they have both the east and west nodes, they'll focus on taking out your prime node and 'mopping up' the unclaimed nodes. If they succeed in doing so you'll have a hard time getting back up again. If they destroy your prime node, you'll have to claim it, hold it, claim a side node, hold it, and destroy their prime node. It's doable, but it'd be an upset. So the goal here is to destroy their prime node - as quickly as possible - before they destroy yours. It's not as important to actually claim and hold the enemy prime node as it is to keep it destroyed. Their tank node will collapse, and their East\West nodes will be useless until they get it back up. They will send their orb carrier to reclaim it, but while they are trying to recover their prime node, your allies will be sweeping their other nodes off the map. By the time they get their prime node rebuilt, you'll be in position to destroy it again with more nodes than you had last time. If you can actually claim their prime node, consider going and claiming their Tank node as well. With a Goliath so close to their base, you can all but prevent their orb carrier from reclaiming the prime node, and therefore win by attrition. Jester will be the assigned Orb carrier on this mission, and there is a good chance she'll beat you to the orb. She'll probably run to the east node, but since she's only got a Hoverboard, she'll probably be cut-off by an enemy - your evil counterpart - piloting a Manta. If she fails to construct a Red node there before the Orb respawns at the Red base, the enemy will be in great position to lay siege to your Prime Node. Initially I let her push the east node while I went and claimed the center node unopposed. There are a couple reasons to do this. The first is that, even if Jester dies, there is a good chance that the enemy will leave the node undefended, meaning she can make it back and claim the east node before the orb respawns. Another is that, when the center node is taken, the orb will respawn there instead of all the way back at the Red Base. It's faster than going back to the base, getting the orb, and coming all the way back. This worked like a charm for me, however in retrospect, this is very risky. Had she failed, the Orb may have respawned at the red base anyway (if the center node wasn't finished) and in either case I'd have to run it to the east node myself. Assuming I succeeded, I'd still have to destroy their prime node before they destroyed mine, which would be under attack by then. It's possible to recover from such a spectacular failure by -quickly- bringing the orb back to your prime node and finishing the assault on theirs, but it may be better to avoid this altogether and simply assist Jester in claiming the east node from the start. There are several approaches to this mission. You can pilot the raptor and attack the nodes from the air. Parking the raptor on the Tower in the center places you in a diamond of Nodes, all of which are important. This gives you a pretty clear vantage point to constantly wear away at the enemy nodes and prevent construction. You can also use the manta to do this from the ground, trading mobility (slightly) for speed, ground-cover, and the ability to participate in reconstruction. You can also forego the entire strategy and charge straight to the Tank node, using it as a battering ram of sorts. I found the Manta to be the most effective strategy because, on the harder difficulties, the tank and raptor seem to make you a larger, more exposed target and the manta is also faster, which is important. There are several places that let you attack the nodes from far away - usually too far away for the bots to hit you accurately - and if you sneak around the backside, you can reclaim nodes without drawing attention to yourself. Usually these locations are near the center of the map and out-of-the-way of Bot patrol routes. Most notably, you can attack the enemy prime node from near their tank node, or from the mountains in the center of the map. Using the 'edges' of the rocks as cover from enemy fire. The Link Gun and Shock Rifle are good at this, but if you can do it in a Raptor or a Manta it's even better. In general, just try to avoid the enemy troops without drawing attention to yourself and focus on destroying their nodes - especially the prime node - from places where they can't see or reach you and let your team mates pick up the slack. Mission 010 - Suspense ( vCTF-Suspense ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop, Ushido, Rook Enemies: Johnson, Wraith, Kregore, Blain, Slain, Barktooth Map Details Oxida Nova border territories Suspense is the only bridge across the Alluvion strong enough to support the weight of heavy combat vehicles. Without the bridge, it would take Axon forces several days to respond to any battles across of the river. As such, it is always under guard by an Axon mechanized division, with military checkpoints at each end. Briefing "We need to clear the military checkpoints at each end of this bridge. Izanagi recon took the southern point, and they called us to take the more heavily guarded northern point. So we'll sortie from the south to attack their respawner. We will have vehicle support. Bishop, the central bridge towers should make great sniper nests. Don't forget a longbow to take out enemy armor. Recon team also found a path under the bridge, so keep that in mind as our number-two option." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The towers of the bridge are ideal sniping positions. - There is a Redeemer on the lower path, under the bridge. Strategy & Tactics This is the vCTF mission included in the demo, and all the same tricks work. It's very simple geometrically, and it shouldn't take more than a couple minutes to learn the layout. You've got a Goliath and a Raptor on the East edge of your base, a Scorpion, Hellbender, and Manta on the West, and an SPMA Artillery in the Northwest. The sniper rifle spawns between the two halves, and another spawns up near the SPMA artillery. You can use the support cables on the bridge to run (or Hoverboard) up to the top of the bridge in a scene very reminiscent of FFX (except they didn't fall on their face and roll off the edge to their death.) Most of your weapons will be acquired from weapon lockers near your spawn point so there is much more emphasis on vehicles for this map. The biggest asset at your disposal will be the Super Health which spawns near the Sniper Rifle and SPMA Artillery, up the ramp from your flag and around the corner. Jester will pilot the Goliath, making her very useful. Trying to pilot the Goliath yourself just draws a ton of enemy fire, you lose the tank and it doesn't help your allies get the flag (since they basically can't). Hellbenders, and Scorpions will have to drive down the main road, making them very vulnerable. Mantas can get away with it to some extent, but it's still more vulnerable than the Raptor. You'll want to hop on over and get the Super Health on your side of the map first, then take your Raptor across and land it near theirs. It's much better to take the powerups in enemy territory to deprive them of the benefit. When you've got 199 health, discreetly (wait for the Goliath to pass if you need to) walk into the enemy flag room and take it. Run back up the ramp to where the Super Health spawns and take a sharp right. Run along the narrow ledge against the wall of the building. Jump across to the doorway on the bridge's support pillar and run inside. This puts you on the bridge. Take a left and run outside along the edge of the bridge, being careful not to fall off or leave yourself exposed to fire from behind you. You can use the pillars as cover to some extent, but you'll want to keep moving. Once you get inside the second doorway, you're almost home free. I've found it better to keep running straight for a short way after leaving the doorway rather than trying to cut across the bridge immediately. Either way, cross the bridge and put the flag away. No sweat. Then, just get the Super Health again and repeat the process. The redeemer spawns on the island under the bridge. Falling off the bridge can result in a ragdoll, dropping the flag, and possibly getting killed by the bots who like to play down there. If you survive you can climb the ramp on the opposite side and come up in about the same place as you would have if you'd run along the bridge. I tend to avoid the hoverboard on this map, but there are a couple opportunities to use it in brief intervals inside the buildings and around corners. Note: If you're playing Co-op you can use the Raptor and Hoverboard grapple to bring a friend into the enemy base with you, and quickly tow them back out with the flag. It may be possible to accomplish this kind of extraction with the bots as well, by piloting the raptor near them when they grab the enemy flag. Mission 011 - Serenity ( WAR-Serenity ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop, Hunter Enemies: Lauren, Slain, Johnson, Karag Map Details Alluvion river valley There's a small Tarydium mine buried deep in the trees of this old forest. While it's not large enough to be a major source of income for the Axon, they have been known to use it as a supply depot and refueling center for their shipping convoys. Briefing "With the Alluvion blocked, the Axon are trying to sneak their Leviathan super- vehicle behind our lines. That kind of firepower on our flank would *not* be pretty so we need to hit 'em quickly. Their convoy stopped near a supply depot to refuel, and it's ambush time. Our forces used dense forest cover to establish a small base and now Ronin does the real work. Don't forget the mine node. We can use it to construct our own Leviathan. That'd wake 'em up." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - When Tarydium stockpiles are maxed, Leviathan production begins automatically. - Proceed with caution, Axon forces already have a Leviathan at their disposal. Strategy & Tactics This one is pretty straightforward, but it introduces a new feature: Countdown Nodes. This time all of the nodes are connected in basically a straight line, and like the Torlan Delta, the center support node is not connected to any other nodes. Controlling the center node begins a 40 second countdown. When the countdown ends, a Leviathan spawns in the small canyon west of the Node for whoever completed the countdown. The enemy, however, already has a Leviathan up and running, and they will try to claim the Mine Node early to keep it under their control. This is the easiest version of Serenity. You actually outnumber the enemy, so you don't have to do much to win. Regardless, you should approach this level just like the harder versions. Your first order of business is to take the Mine Node away from the enemy. Then you have to destroy their leviathan. Once you have done those things, you'll be able to construct your own leviathan at the mine node. From there it's just a matter of driving it into the enemy prime node and on to their core. There isn't anything terribly unique to these steps, just use the Orb and then go after the Leviathan, either with a Goliath, an AVRiL or some other kind of long-range weapon. If you position yourself properly, you can hit the back-end of the Leviathan without any fear of retribution. The bots aren't very smart about piloting it so bringing it down is a matter of time more than anything. With you manning the Leviathan, your allies should be able to claim the prime nodes without a problem, and then all you have to do is push in and destroy the core. Mission 012 - Downtown ( WAR-Downtown ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Lauren, Harlin, Wraith, Talan Map Details Downtown Oxida Nova With the blockade on the Alluvion River, the warehouse district of Oxida Nova has been plunged into chaos. The storage facilities located there are the only remaining supply points available to Axon forces, and they've enforced martial law to ensure that their supplies remain unthreatened. Briefing "The Izanagi are taking Oxida Nova City and we're on point. I don't have to tell you about urban terrain, even 3:1 odds is rolling the dice - and today, we're straight up. We move downtown, flush the Axon into the open, and take out their power grid. The sooner we get heavy vehicles in play, the better - either by blowing the barricades outside the Axon base, or capturing the tank factory at the central node. Stay alert. We're on their home turf now and they'll use that to advantage." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - Use the shaped charge or Redeemer to destroy barricades. - With the barricades destroyed, heavy vehicles gain access to the main battlefield. - Axon forces have a strong foothold in this area. Defend your core at all costs. Strategy & Tactics WAR-Downtown will be harder than the other Warfare missions we've played so far. It's similar to WAR-Serenity, in that all of the nodes are linked in succession with an unlinked support node which, again, spawns a tank. This time, the tank is a Goliath, and there is an extra node in the middle to fight over. Furthermore, every node has an orb spawner, so it will be a tug of war between the orb carriers. Even worse, the enemy starts will all of the nodes already in their control, so your core is immediately vulnerable. Your role in this mission is to stabilize the situation, putting you in a support role. You're gonna be on defense this time, a defensive-offense, and your bots are all on offense by default. Jester will pretty much camp the orb, so it's difficult to get a hold of, and the enemy will be constantly pushing on your base as well. Your bots will basically ignore the tank node, and the Goliath it spawns, while the enemy team - Lauren in particular - will not. This means your first order of business is to take the Tank node and use the Goliath it spawns to help your allies push the enemy off your Prime Node and back to the center node. You can park your Goliath near your Prime Node, safely away from most of the fighting, and use it to shut down their Orb carrier, but they can circumvent this by taking the Tank node out from under you so it's better to be quick and try to get the center node back to neutral status. If you lose your goliath, go get another one. Taking out the center node is difficult because they've got a laser turret - and a number of Scorpions - which will decimate your tank. If you can just destroy the node whether or not you claim it yourself (using abandoned enemy vehicles as cover sometimes works) they will lose these vehicles until they can recover it, making it easier for you to capture and hold the node yourself. At this point, whoever controls the tank node is 'winning'. For the most part, the idea of the early game is to keep the Tank node under your control and use it as a counterweight to prevent the enemy from reclaiming anything your allies take from them. This is the hardest part. Once you've got control of both the center node and the tank node, the dynamics change. For one, you don't have to do anything else except maintain control and you will win by attrition if the time runs out. At this point you might find it better to switch entirely to defense using the Orb to shield & hold the center node while your allies fight over the enemy prime node. If the enemy prime falls, you can then run over and build a friendly node in it's place, and repeat the process there while your allies attack the enemy core. Another option might be to assist attacking the enemy prime node yourself, although this can be difficult and potentially costly if the enemy counter- attacks. Once you have their prime node, you can attack their core. On the easier settings I find this more productive than defending because the bots are so slow and it's easy to recover the node if they destroy it. On the harder levels there is less room to play around, I prefer to be conservative and let the enemy wear out slowly-but-surely, using my now-obsolete orb to defend the enemy prime node and preventing them from getting back up. If you have an opening between waves of enemies, you can run over and take the Tank node back at this point (if you lost it). You can actually park the Goliath inside the prime node building, making it impossible for the enemy to reclaim their node. If you decide to attack their base, there is an alleyway off the main road that leads to their core. You can get in and shoot it a couple times before the bots catch on. If you've got a secure hold on the prime node and the enemies are siege in their base, you can drive the Goliath through their front gate without much fuss as well. All-in-all the first 50% is the hard part and it's all downhill from there. Mission 013 - Defiance ( DM-Defiance ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Lauren, Barktooth, Harlin, Slain Map Details Downtown Oxida Nova Downtown Oxida Nova is a busy hub for Axon colonists. The area is surrounded by tall buildings, including the central rail station, employment offices, and shopping centers that are designed to resemble those back home on Earth. Briefing "Now that we've taken Oxida Nova, Axon defenses are crumbling. There's only a few pockets of resistance left, but that includes the Iron Guard. These guys are Axon-elite, ex-military--very experienced. And very pissed. They've got a make-shift command point near the transport center. Our job is to take control of the area before they spark a city-wide riot." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - The tight corridors of the lower level are very dangerous. - More powerful items can be found in the center's upper levels. Strategy & Tactics Hit & Run reigns supreme on this level, although the tunnels by the rocket launcher provide a nice campsite. I set up Jester and Othello on top of the ramps opposite the door, with Bishop on the rocket launcher, and myself up on the thighpads with the Sniper Rifle\Rocket Launcher. - This was extremely successful tactically, but it made too many 'economic' compromises to be a valid strategy overall. I also tried having the bots follow me, as per Shangri- La, but the level design didn't seem to accommodate that as well. The strategy from Arsenal and Carbon Fire seems to work the best: let your bots do what they want while you follow them around to distract the enemy. The rest of the time, stay out of the way and use guerilla tactics. Mission 014 - Kargo ( vCTF-Kargo ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Hellhound, Scorn, Gnasher, Cerberus, Scar, Worg Map Details Alluvion river valley The harbors of the Alluvion River are the primary entry points for colonial supply lines. These shipping lanes are shared by all factions, and monitored by an N.E.G. peacekeeping force. This port is a highly contested supply point on the edge of Axon territory, with the Izanagi mainland just across the bay. Briefing "I don't like what's going on here. The Axon are quiet - no attempts to recapture the Alluvion Corridor. Four recon teams went into Oxida Nova. Only one made it out. They reported I quote, "Overwhelming hordes of Krall mercenaries slaughtering everyone wholesale." Before we could get defenses online, the Krall crossed the bay and hit our supply-lines. We need to move quickly, or this entire op is going up in smoke. We've seen what these bastards can do first hand. This time, they don't have the element of surprise but we're still heavily outnumbered. Don't kid yourselves. Respawners or not, every time we fight the Krall, we're fighting for survival." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Control the boat in the mid-ground to access a Goliath. - Line up a Scorpion boost to jump from ramp to ramp across the boat. Strategy & Tactics You'll be outnumbered by two this time, making it significantly more difficult than last time. It can be hard to get even one capture on this mission and if you let your guard down the enemy can win very quickly. I didn't have much success using the tank because my bots could hardly get to the flag room let alone back out again. It's possible to score this way, but you could easily play to overtime without doing so and still lose on a rough transition. The best bet seems to be to alternate between the tank and a flag attempt. The tank keeps the enemy in line and prevents them from getting too many people on your side of the board, reducing the chance that somebody might capture your flag in the time between your tank's destruction and your flag run. It also reduces the likelihood that the tank will fall into enemy hands. For the actual run, the shield belt would help immensely if you can get a hold of it. Either way, you want to approach from the Hellbender side and stay away from midfield where the enemy vehicles congregate. Aside from avoiding a lot of unnecessary damage, it also provides you a small area to restock on health and armor before you enter the flag room. There will probably be two defenders guarding the flag since they can afford it. If you drop down into the scorpion garage and then use the jump pad in the back, you'll come up right in front of one of the defenders. If you turn around and step onto it, you can come up facing him and can gib him with the Flak Cannon before he has a chance to return fire. Then you can grab the flag and jump over the rail to the Hellbender exit. If you moved quickly out of the base - and especially if you have the shield belt - you should have enough time to use your hoverboard to get behind the crates. You may even be able to reach the garage. Take the same route home that you took to reach the base and hope the enemy didn't take the tank while you were away. If they did, you'll probably have to kill the tank and try again, but sometimes you can escape before it targets you. The redeemer can make short work of the tank, just don't use the alt-fire or they will shoot it down with their incredible aim. Mission 015 - Torlan Delta ( WAR-Torlan_Leviathan ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Hellhound, Scar, Worg, Lockjaw, Claw, Bargest, Blackfang Map Details Torlan river delta Thanks to stringent monitoring by the New Earth Government, all three Corporations have used the fields of the Torlan Delta to power their combined mining efforts. But with the recent threat of full scale war, N.E.G. forces have pulled out, and everyone is scrambling to take control of this valuable territory. Briefing "With three corporations at each other�s throats, the Torlan Delta's in chaos. Krall forces are swarming at the central Torlan gorge, looking to take advantage. All we've got is a forward observation post at the border. The outlying nodes will give us more vehicles, but intel says they're already corrupted by the necris. The Torlan Delta's about as strategic as it gets, so this isn't optional. We have to push out the Krall if we're gonna win this war. Good thing we picked up that Leviathan. Let's give the Krall a little surprise." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - A Support Node below the central bridge will provide your team with extra fire power. - Krall forces will attempt to overwhelm enemies by attacking in packs. - Some Nodes are already under the control of the Krall forces. Strategy & Tactics This mission is terrible. The bot AI is horribly buggy - but only for your allies. Meanwhile, the enemy outnumbers you almost 2:1, and they are organized, aggressive, and arguably better equipped. On higher difficulties they'll even use their Vipers to tow the Orb carrier between the nodes. You have no choice but to use the Leviathan. If you allow your bots to pilot it, they will almost certainly get stuck on the wall of the base. Even if they don't get stuck, they will drive it to the prime node where it essentially waits to be destroyed so you can start the level over. You want Jester and Othello on offense, and Bishop covering you. Bishop will get in the leviathan with you and man one of the turrets. We use Bishop because he is the most accurate and the least useful on foot. Othello will go to the Prime node, while Jester will carry the orb to the center node. If Othello has the orb, he will take it to the prime node like an idiot, but Jester will still go to the center node. If you have Othello *and* Bishop in the Leviathan, Jester will take the orb to the Center node and wait for the Prime Node to complete the construction that Othello never started - shutting down your entire strategy. You want to pilot the Leviathan to the center node. On your way to the center node, you will more than likely run into an enemy viper towing their orb carrier on their way to do the same thing. Killing them should not be a problem, but you have to kill them before they get their orb carrier to the node. If they get the node before you do, they will quite possibly kill your leviathan before you can recover it, push south and take your prime node before the leviathan respawns, and then reassemble at your prime node, in good position to kill your leviathan again and destroy your core. When the enemy prime node finishes construction. They will begin a huge push into the center node. You want to mobilize the Leviathan and use it's Ion Cannon to destroy everyone in the pass. When, and if things quiet down, go back into tank mode and drive toward the far side of the tunnel. The idea is to position the Leviathan so that Bishop can attack the enemy prime node, yet is still protected by the mountainside. Then you want to deploy again and use the Ion Cannon to keep a clear area in front of the Leviathan - so that the enemy can't get close enough to attack it. The point is NOT to push into the enemy Prime node, only to destroy it and keep it destroyed. At this point your Leviathan would probably not survive driving out into the open and you are too outnumbered to make the run yourself. Even if you did, the enemy could quickly and easily take it back. The purpose is to keep the enemy away from the center node as long as possible. What will probably happen - at least if you're playing on the higher difficulties - the Leviathan will be destroyed shortly after you start bombarding the prime node. You may or may not succeed in destroying the enemy prime, but it doesn't make a huge difference. Either way, you'll have to wait until the Leviathan respawns, and will be very vulnerable during this time. We pushed into their prime node so that they will have that much further to run before they are in -your- territory. The enemy will continue pushing into the center node. Since you are on foot now, grab the orb and use it to shield the node. The enemy will fire at you, so strafe around and shoot back. If the enemy kills you, respawn as quickly as you can. Because you were shielding the node, the enemy was not attacking the node itself. If you are quick enough, you can respawn at the center node before it gets attacked again and your orb will still be there. Quickly pick up the orb and shield\heal the node again. Repeat this for as long as you can. If the enemy orb carrier approaches the node, kill him (if you can) and use their orb to destroy it. If he kills you, respawn quickly so you'll appear back at the node. Your orb should still be there, and you may still be able to reclaim the node. If it works out, a new orb will appear on the spawner, and you can repeat the cycle. If the enemy succeeds in claiming the center node - and they probably will - things become more hectic. You can still recover, however. Just repeat this process at the Prime Node. They probably won't claim both before the Leviathan comes back online. Even if they do, when the Leviathan comes back online, you can recover your losses. When the Leviathan comes back online, you need to teleport back to the base immediately and get inside it. The only thing more important than this is destroying the blue orb at the center node, so do that first if necessary. If you still have the center node in your control, drive the leviathan in front of it and mobilize the Ion Cannon to keep the canyon clear of enemies, then push north to the enemy prime node again and destroy it like we did (or tried to do) last time. If the enemy managed to claim the center node while you were gone, mobilize the turret at the canyon entrance and shoot the Ion Cannon down at the ground in the center. This will kill the enemies respawning at the center node, and if you aim it properly it will damage the node as well. You can hold this position until the orb carrier reclaims the node, return to tank mode and drive up to assault the node directly, or get out of the Leviathan and let the bots pilot it while you follow in behind with the node yourself. If the enemy succeeded in pushing all the way south and captured your prime node, you still want to position your leviathan as above, where you can attack the Prime Node or the center node. Destroy the prime node (and the enemy dark walker). Make sure the enemies at the Prime Node are dead, and then get out of your leviathan and go to the Prime Node. Once your prime node is reconstructed, go grab your orb and\or catch up with your leviathan. The bots are probably driving it down the canyon to the center node. This is a perfect opportunity to repair it with your link gun. If the orb carrier dies you can pick it up and use the Leviathan as a shield on your way to the node. If the enemy destroys your leviathan while you're fighting over the Prime Node, you'll need to shift your focus to the Orb. You can't let the enemy have the Prime Node, so you'll want to carry the orb in and take the node back, and then use the teleporter to go get another Orb ASAP. At the very least you need to keep it out of enemy hands until the Leviathan returns. The goal is to stay alive until the time runs out. Once you're in Overtime, all you have to do is capture and hold the center node and their core will count down faster than yours will. If you can destroy their prime node, it's even faster. Using the Leviathan and the Orb as barriers for your Nodes should give you enough of a defensive advantage that they will lose their Nodes faster than you do, hold them for less time, and therefore suffer more attrition damage. Note: This strategy does not require playing a card, but this level is difficult enough that it may justify playing one. Mission 016 - Arsenal ( DM-Arsenal ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Bishop, Othello Enemies: Aspect, Collossus, OSC, Raptor Map Details Hyperion fringe territories The Arsenal is a former Liandri munitions plant whose remote location was intended to reduce collateral damage in case of an accident. As Hyperion expanded and modern plants came into operation, the Arsenal fell on hard times. All human colonists were pulled from the plant over a decade ago, and all robotics about a year later. Briefing "Alright listen up. The plant is well fortified. But if we can capture it intact, we'll have a perfect location for staging our assault on the Liandri. Malcolm wants us to eliminate any resistance. The main battle group is right behind us, and they'll move forward and establish a base when we give the all- clear." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Use the Jump Boots to access the Super Health. - Jump from a moving lift to gain momentum and access the UDamage. Strategy & Tactics Another deathmatch. The map is a little confusing at first so you may have to play it once or twice to learn your way around. The jump boots are on the bottom level, at a crossroad in the tunnels. The Super Health is up above them on top of the beam supporting the lights. You have to use the jump boots to reach the Super Health, so expect a lot of bot activity in this area. The Armor vest is straight down the hall from the Super Health, and the Shield Belt is only a short distance from the Armor Vest. You can form a fairly simple patrol route between these powerups. There is also a UDamage on a balcony you'll have to elevator jump to reach. There aren't a lot of strategies to use on this map. Just try to provide backup for your allies and use hit & run as much as possible to avoid giving the enemy points. Completing this level unlocks the 'Heavy Armor' card. Mission 017 - Heat Ray ( DM-HeatRay ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Aspect, Collossus, Enigma, Entropy, Monarch, Raptor Map Details Hyperion slums As Liandri operations on Taryd became more and more automated, the surface sectors of Hyperion were neglected and never received the technological upgrades available to the upper strata of the city. This maze of ground level buildings is now the slums of Taryd, still inhabited by the humans that maintain the largely automated Liandri workforce. Briefing "We need to secure the slums before we move into the heart of the city. Then we start climbing into the upper-atmosphere of Hyperion and strike into the heart of Liandri operations." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Use the Invisibility powerup and gain a tactical advantage. Strategy & Tactics This is one of the easier incarnations of HeatRay, although that isn't saying as much about it as it does about some of the other versions. You do have an advantage here in that the bots will stick to mid\close range weapons. This is a weakness which you can exploit with the shock & sniper rifles. Tell your bots to follow you and try to keep your distance from the enemy bots. It helps to keep track of the shield belt and the invisibility as well, but in general this is easier than some of the other deathmatch missions we've already seen - and some we will be seeing later. Mission 018 - Dusk ( WAR-Dusk ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Evolution, Mihr, Syntax, Torque, Monarch, Raptor Map Details Hyperion fringe territories Izanagi satellites only recently discovered this secretive distribution facility. Analysis of satellite images tells us that the facility is fully automated, and connected to a Liandri mining operation several levels below ground. Raw ore is transported to the surface where it's packaged and moved off for processing. Briefing "This facility is running low profile, so there's no heavy security. Izanagi expects us to walk in and pick up another tarydium mine for their stock- holders. If we can capture all the nodes surrounding the mine entrance, we'll open the security doors, giving us access to a Circada. The cores are vulnerable to aerial attack, so that airship would be a huge advantage." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - Control Nodes on both sides of the mine entrance to open the security doors and access the Cicada. - Use the shaped charge or a Redeemer to destroy barricades that block large vehicles. - Use the Orb to instantly take control of a Node. Strategy & Tactics Contrary to what the briefing says, you can pretty well ignore the center nodes for this mission. In fact, you can ignore virtually every node except the East Tank Node. What you want to do is hop topside and grab your orb - as quickly as possible - and hoverboard straight over to the southwest node. As soon as that is up, use the teleporter back to your Core, grab the orb again, and quickly hoverboard out to the East Tank node (Southeast Node). Sneak in and plant the orb on the node. If you felt like being mean, you could again go back and do the same on the north, but that kind of gloating is why villains always lose. Once you've taken the east tank node, all you have to do is defend it for a moment (preferably using the laser turrets) in case anyone tries to reclaim it. If Jester claims the northeast node and you still have control of the southeast node, jump out of the turret and go get in the nearby Circada. Fly that over to the enemy base, look down, and unload on their Core. I beat this mission 3 times in a row with this method, encountering 0-2 enemies. If that plan falls through, this can be a tricky mission. The enemy seems to want to attack with 3 and defend with 3. Since there are 6 of them, they can have 2 people on each path, while you have to choose a 2:1:1 ratio. Your bots will generally focus on the northern path, while the enemy will generally focus on the southern path. Bishop is usually the one going after the center nodes, and he will eventually succeed at this, but it's not a real substantial gain and the circada will probably be shot down before it can destroy either of the enemy prime nodes. Once the enemy gets a hold of a node, it's difficult to uproot them from it. They'll have 3 people attacking your core and 3 people healing the prime node. It's not pretty, and it's difficult to avoid. You can't be everywhere at once, and the enemy's superior numbers will inevitably succeed wherever you aren't. The Circadas can help with this, allowing you to fly between the northeast\southeast prime nodes and try to keep them pinned down while your allies move in. Still, this is an uphill battle. The early portions of the mission are very important. When a node switches teams, anyone assigned to defend it will no longer recognize it as a defensible location, and will shift their attention somewhere else. Similarly, anyone attacking the southern pass unsuccessfully will respawn at the northern pass where they will survive longer. As a result anyone from the southern pass that you uproot will naturally tend to migrate north. We cut them off at the southeast node, so the defenders default to the north node and the attackers are torn between them. Their entire army clumps itself together at the northeast node. What the plan above does is exploit their disorganization during that transition and use it to rush their core. If you wait at the south node, they will eventually get organized and sweep through the north, likely destroying your core before you can destroy theirs. This also puts you in an uncomfortable position since leaving the southeast node to aid the northern front means losing the only node that allows you to attack the enemy core, and possibly allowing them to sweep the south too. Take their prime node before they have a chance to mobilize in the south, and then use that as a springboard to attack the enemy core while it's vulnerable. Mission 019 - Power Surge ( WAR-PowerSurge ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Aspect, Collossus, OSC, Monarch, Mihr, Torque Map Details Hyperion fringe territories, Tarydium mine Located a half-mile below the planet's surface, the Dusk mine was established by Liandri scientists in an experiment to test self-sufficient Automaton management of resources. The overloaded systems often release a huge powersurge that vents up to the surface in order to protect the volatile Tarydium stockpiles below. Briefing "Intel says we can take control of the drill mech loading bay and send the mining bots into overdrive. As long as we hold that node, they'll keep working, and the resulting power surges will funnel right into the enemy core. Kaboom." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - Control the Mine Node to engage the mining drones. - The drones will automatically begin to mine and stockpile Tarydium. - The mine overload discharges a high voltage pulse that damages the enemy Core. - The East and West Tank Nodes hold important Goliath firepower. Strategy & Tactics The countdown node is the most important part of this mission. Every minute it will do 20% damage to the enemy of it's owner. The prime nodes are difficult to capture and hold on this mission, since they have another node and their core linking to it. Even if you take the 2nd node, their core can attack either of them, and only has to take the prime node for you to lose both.. Clearly the prime nodes are for defense, and the real battleground is the countdown node. There is an orb spawner at the countdown node and it's very existence provides the necessary instruction: Grab the orb and hold the countdown node. When the countdown finishes, rebuild the node with the orb and grab the new orb from the spawner. The enemy will focus on the prime nodes, only occasionally diverting to stop the countdown. This is fine. Your allies should be able to hold the prime node for the 5-10 minutes you require. Their orb carrier will occasionally make well-timed attacks on the node, so be alert. I stood in the doorway where I could be hidden from enemy fire while still shielding the node. Mission 020 - Coret ( CTF-Coret ) Goal: 5 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Cathode, Raptor, Syntax, Evolution Map Details Hyperion Strata, Coret Acquisition Center Prior to the war, the Coret Acquisition Center was a major social hub for all of Taryd's colonists. Since the fighting started, however, the militia is enforcing a strict curfew, and the facility empties out as the sun goes down. Briefing "We were sent here to meet a Liandri informant with sensitive data about something called: 'The Strident.' Something tipped off the Liandri and now we're doing this the loud way. Jester: Find that informant. Stay in close radio contact. We'll keep Liandri security busy for you." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - A UDamage powerup is located on the bridge spanning the central chamber. Strategy & Tactics Another remake from UT Classic. The pathing is decent enough that the bots will use all the paths available, although they do stop to use the translocator in a few places. It's not a very big map, so you're within a few translocations from everywhere. This makes it somewhat tricky to score a successful capture. The enemy will be very aggressive on this map, and trying to play defensively just lets them get away with it. Interestingly, you seem to find less opposition when entering through the front gate than you do coming from the sides. The same doesn't seem to be true in reverse though, and there is better cover on the side-paths anyway. Unless you can waltz in and waltz back out, the best bet seems to be assists. When your allies leave with the flag, the enemy will rush out to kill them, leaving the base undefended. You can follow your allies to provide cover fire, or you can wait inside the blue base while the enemy force chases your flag carrier. If you grab the flag when it's returned, the bot collective will turn toward you, but they are in the midfield and you can usually push further out of the blue base before they catch you. If you happen to be in red territory at that time, there is a chance your allies will hold off the enemies, complete the capture, or hold the flag long enough for you to reinforce them in turn. 5 captures wins the match, but chances are you'll have to win by the clock. Mission 021 - Heat Ray ( DM-HeatRay ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Loque, Scythe, Scorn, Gnasher, Cerberus, Lockjaw Map Details Hyperion slums As Liandri operations on Taryd became more and more automated, the surface sectors of Hyperion were neglected and never received the technological upgrades available to the upper strata of the city. This maze of ground level buildings is now the slums of Taryd, still inhabited by the humans that maintain the largely automated Liandri workforce. Briefing "The Krall saw the same tactical value in the slums that we did. Their initial wave of infantry is already in place and transport ships are in route. That means heavy weaponry and necris vehicles are on the way. So lets finish this. Quickly." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Necris vehicle reinforcements are already en route to Hyperion. - Use the Invisibility powerup and gain a tactical advantage. Strategy & Tactics This mission is stupid. Heatray is an interesting map, but the settings are ridiculous. First of all, the enemy outnumbers you 4-6. Second, they have Loque, who not only has high stats on his own, but he also has special code in the game to make him a higher difficulty than the other bots. Third, the enemy gets a DarkWalker. That wouldn't be a problem since that is a normal feature of HeatRay. The problem is that they are the only ones who *can* use the DarkWalker. It's locked if you try to get in, and even if they get in and back out again, it's still locked. Fourth and finally, the Insane difficulty puts the bot skill at Inhuman - Godlike. Whoever thought of stacking penalties like this needs to seriously demonstrate what he was thinking. As far as I can tell this mission, like that dragon you were just determined to fight, is a 'dead end' for bad decision making. It *is* beatable, but I'm not sure how you go about it on Insane, as even my best results were still ~8 points behind. The mission briefing suggests you use the Invisibility powerup for a 'tactical advantage' which probably means it wants you to use it to counter the Dark Walker, but the higher level bots can track you by sound even if you're invisible and they time the powerups themselves anyway. My only suggestion here is to go back to the mission selection screen and play CarbonFire instead. Mission 022 - Islander ( WAR-Islander ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Evolution, Mihr, Syntax, Torque Map Details Hyperion archipelago Liandri planners wanted an isolated communication station that wouldn't have to filter out background noise and interference from civilian signals. The islands of the northern archipelago met their communication needs but the limited space didn't allow for extensive defensive capabilities. Briefing "Izanagi H.Q. wants a foreward O.P. to monitor Krall activity in the north. They found a military comms facility on the Hyperion archipelago that's perfect. Except for the Liandri bots stationed there. This is a covert insertion so we'll have limited vehicle support. Shouldn't be a problem. Their only defenses are dismounted infantry and a few turrets." Objectives - Control the Prime Node to access the enemy Core. - Maintain control of this Node to shield your Core. - Use the shaped charge or Redeemer to destroy enemy barricades. - Watch for enemy turrets. They have a clear view of the central battlefield. - Control the Support Node to gain access to a Raptor. Strategy & Tactics Personally, I hate this map. It's one of the only asymmetrical maps. The red team gets all the nodes and most vehicles while the blue team gets all the turrets and a 'less vulnerable' core. This map can be frustrating at first since the PowerCore is difficult to even find. The nodes are on your side of the map so getting the orb to them is pretty easy. Although you really only need the prime node, you'll also want the Air Node, which is pretty easy to maintain control of. Just fly the raptor over to the enemy base and circle around the back. Their core is on ground level literally on the back side of their base. (Fly behind their base and look west.) I found this level to be easy compared to many of the previous levels. The bots spawn far away with little means to reciprocate against you. If you're feeling malicious you can even take the time to kill their orb carrier with the shock rifle from the other side of the level. The ones who actually make it to you are usually preoccupied with attacking the node and make themselves easy targets. Even if they kill you, you respawn less than 10 seconds away with an orb.. Mission 023 - Strident ( CTF-Strident ) Goal: 5 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Matrix, Cathode, Enigma, Entropy Map Details The Strident, beneath Hyperion The Strident has always been a mystery to the flesh and blood humans that work on the surface of Hyperion. These subterranean chambers appear to be the central focus of the mainframe that controls all Liandri operations on Taryd. Briefing "A robot army with a huge central brain has one weakness, right? If we can infiltrate and control the strident, we own all of Hyperion. Ronin's taking point on the assault. Once we give the all-clear, Izanagi techs will move forward and hack the mainframe." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Be aware of unstable FLaG bases. - Shifting magnetic forces within the Strident cause platforms to move. Strategy & Tactics Small and intense. 3 translocations can pretty much take you from one base to the other, and there are only a few ways into each. Even on Insane, the bots will largely ignore the Shield Belt in the center until after your 3rd capture, when they become particularly mean. The bots will have no problem getting into the enemy base and grabbing the flag, but they usually insist on taking the top route, where they will be harassed constantly and are unlikely to succeed. The best strategy seems to be to send your whole team on offense while you sneak in quietly and wait under the lift. Your allies will grab the flag and lure the enemies topside and away from the base. When they fail - which is almost inevitable - you can quickly grab the flag and run down the bottom route - left or right doesn't matter - and cut back in to the middle to pick up the shield or health if necessary before cutting back to the outside while remaining on the bottom level. Use the jump pad on the bottom floor of your base to come in through the top. It's worth trading a couple seconds of vulnerability for the insurance that you don't get trapped on the bottom floor if the lift raises. If you can secure a +3 lead in this way, switch your team to defense. You're unlikely to secure more flag captures once the bots go crazy, as their miniguns will strip your shield incredibly fast and they time the powerups to prevent you from getting another. The idea, instead, is to stop them from catching up in the time that remains. You can also refrain from making a 3rd capture at all, to prevent the bots going crazy while you maintain a +2 choke hold, but it doesn't really matter. Once you get 3, they're almost guaranteed to score at least 1 capture and it becomes a +2 choke hold anyway. If you successfully scored a 3rd capture during a +2 lead, you can score a 4th or 5th capture with the same lead so don't fret too much if they start scoring. If they close it to a +1 lead, go back on offense to try and widen\maintain the lead, and make them fight the battle on their turf. Mission 024 - Gateway ( DM-Gateway ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Othello Enemies: Matrix, Entropy, Cathode, Enigma Map Details Taryd, various locations. The Liandri Corporation has been working for years to perfect the portal technology used in the Tournaments. They're hoping to increase teleporter distances, and make the system useful on a global scale. This working prototype has portals that can instantly move personnel and equipment to any pre-programmed location on Taryd. Briefing "Matrix is our only known source for the Hyperion security codes. We've tracked him down but he won't surrender. He's afraid of being formatted and losing his last few human memories. He's been using Liandral portal tech to evade Izanagi forces so they called Ronin to finish the job. Without those protocols, we can't access the mainframe cores and Liandri technicians could sabotage our operations from anywhere on Taryd." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Jump Boots give you access to other, more vital powerups. Strategy & Tactics "He's afraid of being formatted.." Hehe. Anyway, this is an interesting level. Once again, you're outnumbered 2:1, so this can be a tricky mission. There are three battlegrounds connected by portals. The enemies will mainly congregate in the 'Jungle' and 'Sky-Platform' areas, and rarely venture into the 'Snowscape.' The Platform, in particular, as that is where the shield belt spawns. The major obstacle in this mission is Othello. He will constantly be dying and getting himself separated from you, where he will then die again and again. You can mitigate this somewhat by telling him to hold position in the snow area, where the bots rarely venture but being that he is a bot himself, he has difficulty making it there without passing the other bots and getting killed repeatedly. You can mitigate this further by telling him to cover you, and then camping in the snow area yourself. This helps quite a bit, but it is still unstable. Any deaths propel you \Othello into enemy territory and one death turns into many. The Jungle area is virtually worthless in terms of strategic value. You can spam the portal entrance with rockets and bio-goo, and it does have the stinger which can be useful, but having only mid\close range weapons when the enemy outnumbers you with long range weapons is not going to help you in the long run. The main battlefield - and the most important - is the Sky Platform. The Link Gun & Shock Rifle spawn out here, as does most of the Sniper Ammo. There is health on either end. Jumping into the fan on the far end near the health kits will propel you into the sky where you can reach the shield belt. This is a good place to tell Othello to hold position so he will camp the shield belt. If you have decent aim, you can camp here yourself and shoot any airborne bots who try to use the fan to reach you. You can also provide support to Othello should he die and attempt to return, and there is health down below as well. Ultimately though, you'll probably have to come down and fight the bots on the platform. Of all the weapons to use, the Shock\Sniper and the Stinger\Link Gun work the best since they aren't influenced at all by the change in gravity. There aren't a lot of special tricks you can use on this mission, other than to make sure you get the Shield Belt as often as possible and stay near Othello to provide cover, distract his enemies, and try to out-score the enemy. I used the shock rifle at long range for most of the mission but in retrospect it may have been easier to use the link gun to hit multiple targets on the narrow walkways and forget trying to keep distance in such a crowded area. Mission 025 - Islander Necris ( WAR-Islander_Necris ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Loque, Kragoth, Malakai, Damian Map Details Hyperion archipelago Liandri planners wanted an isolated communication station that wouldn't have to filter out background noise and interference from civilian signals. The islands of the northern archipelago met their communication needs but the limited space didn't allow for extensive defensive capabilities. Briefing "The necris lead a full-scale invasion of Taryd and they have complete control of the northern onyx territories. Their infection tubes are pumping the landscape full of nano-black, terraforming this planet into a necris stronghold. We stop this advance, we push them back, or we're done for. We're completely blacked out, and Izanagi H.Q. needs eyes for us to have a fighting chance in this war. Our orders are to retake this commo post, and that's what we're gonna do. No vehicle support, just whatever we can steal on the battlefield." Objectives - You are facing a dangerous and aggressive Necris force. - Nanoblack infected Nodes build Necris vehicles. - Control the Prime Node to access the enemy Core. - Control the Support Node to gain access to a Raptor. Strategy & Tactics Even though they build this level up like armageddon, it's not so bad. I had a CTD on this level whenever the Necris would speak, so I had to beat it without sound. Anyway, you can do pretty much whatever you want on this level. I chose to let my allies carry the orb so I could focus on the Air Node, but it turns out the Necris will sometimes leave vehicles abandoned outside the entrance to the Air Node, allowing you to hijack them (especially the Nemesis) and use it to shoot at their nodes\core from obscure places. Most notably, you can use the nemesis to destroy the air node from ground-level if you position yourself behind the rocks in front of their base. You can shoot up into the prime node from ground level down below, and you can also park next to the ramp leading up to their prime node and shoot their power core. Using dirty tricks like that, you can beat the level with minimal skill. If you prefer to be defensive, you can use the Sniper Rifle to kill the infantry and the Avril to kill vehicles while your team whittles away at the blue core, but then your allies have to carry your slack on offense. You can also be the orb runner yourself, although that just puts more pressure and responsibility on you - The best balance seems to be letting your allies do what they want and spending your efforts securing the Air Node to tip the balance in your favor. You really don't have to engage in much combat to do this. Just hoverboard over to the Air Node and use the jump pad. If there is someone up there, either kill them or ignore them and attack the node. If you die, repeat. Eventually they will leave it undefended and you can take it without a fight. Afterwards, use the jump pad up top to launch yourself within jumping distance of the prime node to initiate your assault on that. The same applies here: Either kill the guards yourself or let your bots do it, either way, you'll eventually destroy the node without much fighting and score some points on the core. Mission 026 - Market District ( WAR-MarketDistrict ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scythe, Nocturne, Samael, Bargest Map Details Downtown Tokaido, Kimpu Market District Life in Tokaido relies heavily on the infrastructure of the Kimpu Market District. People purchase food there, shop, gather for social occasions, and even buy their fuel in this one centralized location. In a surprise move, a terrorist cell has invaded the Market, scared off the locals, and shut down all business in and out of the district. Briefing "When the necris infected Taryd, they didn't draw the line between military and civilian targets. All the corporations are scrambling to defend their home colonies. The necris have Izanagi's Kimpu market district under siege and have imposed martial law. This is exactly why we signed up, Ronin." Objectives - Control the Prime Node to access your enemy's Core. - Control Support Nodes to unlock mobile laser turrets. - Use the mobile turrets to protect the Prime Node. - Short Circuit the enemy Core's coolant system by controlling both Support Nodes simultaneously. - An overheated Core raises into the open air and is vulnerable to turret fire. Strategy & Tactics The enemy seems a little more obsessive about the prime node this time, so it may be to your advantage to make a quick run to the support nodes before you join the main tug-of-war. The enemy will have no choice but to relocate forces to attack the support nodes or else suffer damage every time your orb carrier takes the prime node, ironically making it easier for you to accomplish exactly that. They'll usually send their next orb - or the one after - to a support node, but even at best that means their core will be exposed longer. It's not a huge deal if they claim one of the support nodes. I was enjoying shooting their core from the prime node so I took advantage of the slack they created and ruined their plans at the support node out of spite. This ended up working very well, but it wasn't necessary. You can ignore the support nodes as long as you maintain control of at least one. Same approach as last time basically. Mission 27 - Shangri La ( DM-ShangriLa ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Grail, Hellhound, Scar, Worg, (+1) Map Details Tokaido, Shangri La sector The springtime blossoms of the Shangri La sector are universally renowned for their beauty and serenity. But the district sits along the northern shore of Tokaido, and the locals are forced to retreat into the sweltering heat of the underground mines to avoid the fierce cold snaps that leave the grounds largely abandoned during winter months. Briefing "When the necris infected Taryd, they didn't draw the line between military and civilian targets. All the corporations are scrambling to defend their home colonies. This is exactly why we signed up, Ronin." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - UDamage powerup is located in the central courtyard. Strategy & Tactics It may be a bug but you're outnumbered now, so it's even harder than before. You'll want to use the same trick as last time. You can't afford to have your team running loose and isolated, nor can you afford to group them together in one place. The idea here is to lead your team around the outskirts collecting the good spam weapons: The Rocket Launcher, Flak Cannon, and Minigun so that your whole team has a good weapon. Then you want to continue along picking up health and ammo. If you know how to time the powerups, the shield is probably your best bet since it's in a more tactical location. If you're being pursued by enemies, pull your team in wide through a doorway or hallway and then circle back on the side of the entrance to ambush the enemy when they attempt to enter. They try to group together and you can find some great opportunities to kill them in groups when they storm the room. To some extent it's a matter of reflexes over strategy & tactics. I only won by 3 points and I got at least that many 'twitch points' which might have otherwise gone to the enemy. I also got 5 points from a perfectly executed ambush that killed their entire team near the end of the match. Curiously, there was an 'extra' bot present in this mission and I ended up fighting Kregore who had apparently allied himself with the Necris. Mission 028 - Corruption ( vCTF-Corruption ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scythe, Nocturne, Judas, Scorn, Gnasher, Cerberus Map Details Tokaido The Mitzushi Gardens were once a quiet retreat for the Tokaido citizenry, a tranquil place designed to help focus the senses and relax the mind. But this peaceful climate changed when the Necris invaded. Dark seemingly sentient clouds hover in the air, nanoblack poisons the water, and strange tentacles are actually growing out of the buildings. Briefing "The mitsushi gardens were a place of beauty and peace. Now they're a vector for the infection spreading across Tokaido City. HQ is finally giving us some credit, and they've specially requested Ronin to handle this one." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Powerful pickups are located underneath the lower waterfall. - Access caves to escape larger vehicles in the battlefield. Strategy & Tactics This one can be a little irritating, but it's not all that hard. Getting into the enemy base is easy. You've got tons of vehicles at your disposal and any of them are strong enough to plow through the opposition or fast enough to speed past it. One of the defending bots has this amusing tendency to guard the flag with his back to it, making it extremely easy to run him over when you're entering the base. Once you've got the flag, though, it's another story. It's a long way back to the Red Base, and you're on foot. The enemy has several vehicles which can outrun you, it's wide open and risky to use your hoverboard, while the enemy will certainly be using theirs. You also might run into the enemy attack force turning around to recover their flag. I didn't have much luck exiting out the east side of their base. Even if I entered that way, they always had men spawning or garrisoned up above who would drop down and attack me on my way out. They have a Nemesis which spawns there, which doesn't help, and it's in Range of their Dark Walker as well. Assuming you can make it past the perimeter, there are a series of caves you can enter which link together and take you all the way back into friendly territory. There is also an open field where you can sometimes run into a friendly Goliath who will cover your retreat. I had better luck with the west side though. I usually had time to get on my hoverboard before the defenders caught up with me, and the times that they did it was usually a Scavenger from Midfield who turned around to head me off. The hardest part of the run is double-jumping between the beams in the water mill, but after that you're home free. You can also support your allies on their flag runs. The enemy will frequently abandon their vehicles out in front of your base, in decent health, and can be freely hijacked. A Nemesis and a Goliath can guarantee safe passage for a withdrawing flag carrier. Even if the flag carrier dies, you can finish off the attackers and resume his run unopposed. It's more a matter of time than difficulty, so relax and try to be patient with the enemy vehicles focus- firing on you. Mission 029 - Suspense ( vCTF-Suspense ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Thannis, Pagan, Harbinger, Samael, Malakai Map Details Oxida Nova border territories Suspense is the only bridge across the Alluvion strong enough to support the weight of heavy combat vehicles. Without the bridge, it would take Axon forces several days to respond to any battles across of the river. As such, it is always under guard by an Axon mechanized division, with military checkpoints at each end. Briefing "We need to clear the military checkpoints at each end of this bridge. Izanagi recon took the southern point, and they called us to take the more heavily guarded northern point. So we'll sortie from the south to attack their respawner. We will have vehicle support. Bishop, the central bridge towers should make great sniper nests. Don't forget a longbow to take out enemy armor. Recon team also found a path under the bridge, so keep that in mind as our number-two option." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The towers of the bridge are ideal sniping positions. - There is a Redeemer on the lower path, under the bridge. Strategy & Tactics Same trick as last time, although it's a little harder due to the team difference. Use the raptor to get into the enemy base and land near the Super Health. Then sneak into the enemy flag room to get the flag, and run back up near your raptor. I like to park my raptor where it can provide cover for my retreat. Anyway, there is a ledge on the backside of the building you can run across and jump down to a platform on the main bridge. Follow the bridge edge back to the other building and you'll come out in friendly territory. Once you get to this point a capture is almost inevitable. Mission 30 - Onyx Coast ( WAR-OnyxCoast ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Loque, Harbinger, Pagan, Thannis, Samael Map Details The Onyx Coast The biting cold and fierce wind of northern Taryd has transformed the landscape into a freezing wasteland, but the Axon have turned the sharp obsidian talons and sub-zero temperatures of this region to their advantage. They've established several military installations along the coast that can be used for training and storage purposes. Briefing "Intel reports that Loque captured an Axon military base on the Onyx Coast. Perfect opportunity to put this Leviathan to good use. In the security facility there's a heavily defended node that controls the central bridge. If we can hold that long enough to get the Leviathan across, we can bring all that firepower right into their kitchen." Objectives - Drive the Leviathan into enemy territory and take control of the battlefield. - Control the Bridge Node to provide your Leviathan access to the enemy Core. - The enemy Core is reinforced by a modulated nanoblack barrier. Strategy & Tactics The biggest challenge in this one comes not from the enemy bots, but from your own. Sometimes they grab the orb and run back behind the red core to get stuck. Sometimes they all pile in the leviathan and sit at your base entrance with it in the deployed state. Sometimes they abandon the leviathan at a sliver of health and leave it there so it never respawns. Worse still, by the time you realize there is a problem it's probably too late to fix the damage it caused. Unfortunately this is a 'do it yourself' level, meaning your bots won't help you much and you have to be a superstar. To make matters worse, merely getting in the leviathan causes the entire universe to assault it, so you've got a few handicaps to contend with. Your best bet is to get an early start out on the nodes. One of your bots will probably grab the orb and head to your prime node. If they don't you should do so. The other bots will probably climb in the Leviathan and drive it out to the middle of the battlefield. It's up to you whether you go with the Orb carrier or the Leviathan crew. If you're on the orb crew, you'll want to take the prime node first. Your orb will respawn at that node, and you'll be in good position to charge the enemy prime node. Most of the fighting takes place between those two nodes. Once you take the enemy prime node you can take your orb up and use it to shield the node. The bots will use the jump pad to reach you, and you can get easy head- shots when they line up with your scope. You can also jump off the node you are shielding to make them think it's safe for them to take it. When they start moving predictably, shoot them and destroy their orb, then climb back up and get yours. You can also leave the orb business to your bots and go sneak onto the bridge node via the ramp on the far west side of the field, but this node is so vulnerable it's more of an afterthought. The downside of joining the orb crew is that your leviathan crew probably won't make it across the bridge without your help. If you join the leviathan crew, you'll want to edge cautiously out into the clearing. The enemy bots will focus all of their fire on you and despite having tons of hit points, you'll die fast. The idea in this case is to nose the leviathan out so that it's behind *some* cover while you shoot at the enemy prime node through the embrasure. You can target and destroy any of the nodes from the clearing, and that kind of suppressive fire should allow your bots free reign to capture the nodes. Once you have all the nodes, you're supposed to drive the leviathan across the bridge and use it to attack the enemy core. The downside of joining the leviathan crew is that the enemies focus-fire on you, and there's a good chance you'll be wasting a leviathan before it reaches the other side of the bridge. Ideally you would join the orb crew at the beginning to secure the nodes and then quickly transition over to the leviathan crew to pilot it across. This is easier said than done, and it turns out you're better off playing the orb game and only using the Leviathan as a battering ram to keep (or get) the nodes under control. This is counter-intuitive since you're doing basically the opposite of what you should be doing, but it's really the only way to make most of the two halves you've been given. I had a bad time on this level since my bots surrendered at the end, leaving me fighting the enemy team literally by myself. I almost lost as a result, but I managed to use the leviathan to destroy all three blue nodes and get an orb to one of mine. Attrition wore them out just a little faster (since they had no nodes, and I had 1). On the easier difficulties you can pilot the Leviathan without any such problems. Mission 031 - ColdHarbor ( WAR-ColdHarbor ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Nocturne, Damian, Judas, Grail Map Details Briefing "The necris found Axon's stealth research facility and want to shut it down. For once we've got fire support. Izanagi navy has the area under constant bombardment, but the necris are using the facility's anti-air defenses to hold off the attack. They want Ronin to sneak in and disable those defense cannons so the navy can do it's job. Axon loaned us a prototype 'stealth bender' vehicle -strictly off the record- to get us inside." Objectives - Link together Nodes and access the infected Core. Strategy & Tactics This mission was never included in the game. Mission 032 - Avalanche ( WAR-Avalanche ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Loque, Damian, Harbinger, Pagan, Thannis, Samael Map Details The Onyx Coast Necris troops flood down to Taryd every day through a massive Orbital Jumpgate. They've begun the process of terraforming the once barren lands of northern Taryd into a Necris stronghold. Strange structures are literally growing out of the snow, and nanoblack is pouring down from orbit to infect and change the landscape. Briefing "Alright listen up. We're winning this war Ronin. We've pushed the necris back to their ingress- that huge infection tube in the mountains. It connects to their orbital platform and a jumpgate to Omicron 6. Our dearest friend, the high inquisitor Akasha, recalled all teams for a delaying action while *she* heads home. Heh. Not on our watch. We're gonna break-ranks and take out their core before that bitch bugs out on us." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - Nodes inside the cavern are crucial to controlling the battlefield. - Simultaneously control both Cave Nodes to summon an infection tube that drains the Enemy Prime Node. - A shaped charge is available in emergency situations. - Use the shaped charge to release an avalanche that buries enemies and unlocks your Prime Node. Strategy & Tactics Avalanche is one of, if not -the- hardest WAR map you'll play. The enemy fights very aggressively for control of their prime node and once they have it, they'll do the same for the middle node. If their offense has a weakness, it's that they underestimate the value of the support nodes, and this weakness can be used to cripple them. - But you have to do it swiftly and decisively. Chances are your allies will grab the orb. It doesn't really matter this time. They will take it to your prime node, and the enemy will do the same at theirs. Then the two will begin fighting over the center node, and since the enemy out guns you they will probably win. They may even push north with their orb and take your prime node. None of this really matters. What you have to do - and quickly - is take the manta out to the support nodes and claim them for your team. Both of them. You might face some resistance from another enemy who is trying the same thing. It's important that you defeat them, and secure both nodes. Aside from giving your team access to a Goliath and a Dark Walker, this also damages the enemy prime node over time. Even if the enemy pushes all the way north in position to attack your core, the support nodes will destroy his prime node, and that will cascade back up north, releasing your prime node and the middle node as well. If you play your cards right, you can take the Goliath (or the Dark Walker) to the middle node and secure that one as well. If not, you have to hold the support nodes. This can be difficult, but once the enemy prime node falls, they will lose the center node and shift their focus back to their prime node, allowing you an opportunity to re-establish control of the support nodes. Once you've got the support nodes and the center node, the enemy will struggle to get back on it's feet by shielding their prime node with the orb carrier while they rebuild and then push north into the center node. They will also send units west to take the tank node. Your allies will blindly charge into the enemy prime node to no avail. The constant attack does a reasonably good job of keeping them from taking the middle node, but the support nodes are the key to this map and they are both left undefended. This means your job is to fortify and maintain control of the support nodes. The east node can only be reached by passing the center node, and the bots usually get distracted or killed there. The west node, however, has an alternate entrance and a 'secret tunnel' which the enemy will send their orb carrier through. The latter is nothing special, just a crystal tunnel that loops back behind their prime node. The former, however, is our garrison. The second tunnel to the west (Between the main tunnel and the crystal cave) has a clear shot at the enemy prime node. You can use the Goliath tank here to shoot down the tunnel and into the archway. This not only hits the prime node and damages it significantly, it also kills whoever was constructing it. You can easily get mega kills here, and this junction also allows you to head-off their orb carrier. Moreover, if they try to use the secret tunnel, you can rotate your turret and kill them with splash damage before they reach the western node. This effectively shuts down their construction efforts, but you have to make sure you stay back far enough that they don't destroy your tank. At this point, one of three things can happen: 1. Maintaining this choke-hold may give your allies enough footing to bring the orb and the dark walker down and secure the enemy prime node for your team. Once this is done you can move your tank down behind the prime node and shoot through the arch onto the hillside to continue shutting down their orb carrier. Your allies will be able to push into their core and possibly destroy it outright but even if they take back the prime node it will take them some time to reassemble their forces and launch an attack, and by this time you'll have a new tank. 2. The enemy will use the 'avalanche' for which the level is named, to free the prime node and both support nodes. This can seriously damage your strategy depending on the timing. At best you can quickly recover control of the support nodes and resume with a slight hiccup, but at worst they can use this to seize control of one, or both support nodes and probably the center node as well. If this happens you should ignore the center node and focus completely on recovering the lost support nodes. Sure - you could fight over the center node and -maybe- push them backwards, but if the enemy takes just one more node - out of the two they have available to attack with their new vehicle - they can turn the tides on you very quickly. On the other hand, if the enemy pushes north and takes your prime node while you're securing the support nodes, their entire formation will collapse on itself again. 3. The clock will steadily count down into Overtime. Because you own all but one of the nodes, your core will take only a little damage while the enemy who has no nodes at all will sustain much heavier damage. If you maintain the choke hold you will inevitably win. If you lose the choke hold, just try to hold onto each node as long as you can. The bots will get harder as their core ticks down, but they probably won't be able to reverse the situation before their core is destroyed. Mission 033 - Deimos ( DM-Deimos ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Loque, Grail, Nocturne, Thannis Map Details In orbit above Taryd Izanagi's Orbital Jumpgate technology forever changed the face of interstellar life. Now, the constant traffic of trade, transport, and vacationing tourists requires the support of small orbital stations, such as this one, on the leading edge of every Jumpgate throughout the galaxy. Briefing "We won the battle, but Akasha slipped through the gate and the necris are shutting it down. N.E.G. battle-cruisers are inbound to enforce the cease- fire, so we've only got a few minutes before this war 'officially' ends. But unofficially, this shit 'aint over until *I* say it's over. We are taking over this station, hijacking a ship, and going through that jump-gate to find Akasha." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Access the laser turret by teleporting to the orbiting shuttlecraft. - Erratic shifts in gravity are common in this region of space. Strategy & Tactics Diemos is similar to Hyperblast from UT99 & UT2004. It's apparently also the successor to the popular Phobos series. A curious addition to the deathmatch map is a laser turret attached to the back of a nearby space ship. There are some amusing tricks you can do on this level, and they work wonderfully well together. A few minutes into the match (or maybe when Reaper suffers his first death) he will say 'We need someone on that turret!', Jester insinuates that Bishop should take care of it, and Bishop consents to do so. He'll then run to the teleporter and get in the turret. The turret itself is vulnerable from attackers entering through the portal, so you'll want to follow Bishop. The first mean trick you can do, obviously, is to use the turret yourself, which I highly suggest after Bishop is ejected. The second trick is to stand on the inside of the portal with the Impact Hammer - an old trick. Anyone who enters is instantly hole-punched. This provides excellent protection for Bishop while he mans the turret and is also disturbingly funny. Mission 034 - OmicronDawn ( CTF-OmicronDawn ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Loque, Damian, Kragoth, Malakai Map Details In orbit above Omicron 6 This Jumpgate was originally set up by the N.E.G. in an attempt to encourage trade relations with the people of the Omicron sector. Trade negotiations eventually fell apart, and the Necris took control of the orbital station, retrofitting it with nanoblack couplings and architecture. Briefing "Akasha bugged out planet-side and our ship wasn't made for landing in atmosphere. If we're gonna get this bucket down in one piece, we need more power-cells to boost the shields. We've been disavowed by the Izanagi and we're already breaking every law in the books. S'hell, we might as well stop here and steal a few cells for the ship. I wouldn't be surprised if Loque's waiting for us -with a death squad- so be ready. Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Use caution while crossing bridges. They offer only limited protection. Strategy & Tactics First thing you'll want to do is order your team to attack. The enemy will probably score while you are learning the map layout, but it's not terribly hard to get that back once you do. The top route near the sniper rifle provides the least resistance on the way to the enemy flag room, and also brings you to the Flak Cannon. Once you have the flag, there is no point trying to be stealthy. Jump off the enemy flag platform and grab the health on your left as you exit the room (if you need it). In the following room, jump over the obstruction and go against the blue arrows on the wall. Jump over the second hurdle and head out toward the bridge. Like we did on CTF-Hydrosis, use the bridge pillars for partial cover during your run. Once you get into your base just follow the arrows and you'll effectively reverse the route you took on the way out of the blue base. On my run, my first capture came from picking up the flag after Othello dropped it on the bridge, and my second came from the reverse. My third capture was a complete run. I was being shot at up until the bridge, when the firing ceased. The bots are helpful, and they spend a lot of time fighting on the bridges, so once you make it to the bridge you've still got a chance of completing the capture even if you die. Mission 035 - Sandstorm ( vCTF-Sandstorm ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Nocturne, Judas, Grail, Samael, Harbinger, Pagan Map Details Omicron 6, Acidus desert The nomadic peoples of the Acidus Desert used to consider these lands an oasis. After the Great Awakening, Necris moved into the region and began to convert the area and its people. It now sits abandoned, the landscape forever changed. Briefing "Our plans for a covert insertion went up in flames the same time our ship did. They probably saw that contrail a hundred miles away. We can expect necris scouts at the crash site any minute, but there's a huge sandstorm on the way that should cover our movement." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Use the cover provided by sandstorms to mask your attempts at FLaG recovery. Strategy & Tactics While Sandstorm might be fun multiplayer, it is the single worst example of vehicle & bot AI in UT3. If you so much as stick your head around the corner at the wrong time, you die. The level consists of wide open areas for the omniscient bots to shoot at you in, with very little cover for you to utilize. Your bots are incapable of securing the flag - and it's no wonder. Even with all the tricks in the book it's difficult. Moreover, you're outnumbered. This is a big enough deal in deathmatch when you're fighting infantry, but it's even worse here. The Nemesis, Dark Walker, and Fury are particularly irritating because their weapons do not behave normally when bots use them and they can kill you at just about any time. Worse still, your bots do not follow you or assist you intelligently inside the enemy base. You have to get in, get the flag, and get all the way back to midfield (at *least*) before you can even capture the flag one time. You can use the Darkwalker and Nemesis to great effect on this level, keeping them pinned in their base and pre-emptively destroying their vehicles from up near the ruins. Unfortunately all this does is allow your bots to get *to* the flag so the enemy infantry can kill them. On easy\normal, where the bots are less perfect, you can use the Fury to fly over the wall and destroy their Nemesis, Fury, and Dark Walker before anyone even gets inside them - but on Hard\Insane they will shoot you out of the sky too quickly to justify that approach. Even on Easy\Normal, it's a useful tactic but the bots still can't secure any points for you so you'll have to get out at some point. Frontal assaults simply do not work. Again, the Dark Walker and Nemesis will kill you instantly if you peek around the wrong corner and they are designated to the main road. The only option that works is to fly over the wall and attack from behind. There are three ways to do this. On the inside of the big archway at the center of the level, there is a lift which will take you up on top of the wall. From there, you can go to the far end and jump off onto the stone buildings inside the blue base, and then to the ground. I don't recommend this. You have to expose yourself to hostile fire, it takes too long to get there, and you'll sustain damage doing so. The second is to fly over the wall directly with the fury and land it behind the blue flag building and the third is to use the Scavenger or Viper to jump up the ridges on the divider. Of the latter three, the Scavenger is the least viable. It takes longer to jump over the divider and is less survivable than the Fury. The best option is to either use the Viper to jump onto the divider and then down behind the enemy flag building, or fly over it with the Fury. The Viper seems a little bit faster and easier to use sneakily, but it's easier to defend yourself with the Fury. You'll want to stop on the wall for a while before actually jumping down. Watch the enemy Dark Walker and Nemesis. You don't want to jump down when they are in the blue base, so wait until they drive into the archway to attack your base. Once they are gone, they won't be able to shoot you when you grab the flag. When you actually do jump down, kill anyone near the flag by shooting them with the Fury or running into them with the Viper. There is usually one person with the rocket launcher standing near the flag. If you don't kill them, they will become a problem later in the run. When you kill them, they will respawn somewhere else, hopefully too far away to catch up with you. Grab the flag and - if you survive the massive wave of plasma that flies at you - hit the jump pad just slightly to the northeast of the flag. This will propel you up onto the upper level of the ruins, which has a long catwalk to some health. Don't use your hoverboard yet. Just run\dodge until you make it to the ramp, then pull out your hoverboard and hit the ramp, jump at the top of the ramp so you'll clear the gap, and put away your hoverboard in the air. The momentum should put you down on the other side, where you can continue your run. If you didn't kill the defender earlier, he'll cut you off here, along with any other infantry who's attention you've grabbed. Kill them if you can. Sometimes you get here before they do, and have time to pull out your hoverboard again to reach the archway. Otherwise just run serpentine. Backwards if you have to. Unfortunately this is a gamble no matter what you do. If your team mates love you, then the archway is clear and the cavalry will show their affection by melting the enemy's face. If they don't, then you'll round this corner and find yourself staring down the barrel of a Dark Walker\Nemesis' Turret. Sometimes it's a scavenger. If it's a scavenger, shoot it with the minigun until the pilot ejects and then shoot him with the minigun until his pilot ejects, etc. We use the minigun because it's more reliable damage than the rocket launcher- and you need all the insurance you can get to maximize the 'chance' that you'll succeed. If you die in the tunnel, you *may* get lucky enough that one of your bots will arrive and take the flag before the enemy can return it. Even if everything goes right, it can all vanish suddenly with a laser blast from the sky at the base of the red flag post when the enemy fury pilot comes to steal your flag. If you do manage to get one capture, switch all of your efforts to securing the tunnel. The enemy can't return the flag without passing through here, and you're better defended here than you would be elsewhere. It's much, much easier to defend than attack so it shouldn't be a problem to hold the flag until the timer runs out. In fact, by the time you succeed in capturing the flag, you'll probably already be in overtime. If you're playing multiplayer you can have your friend pilot the Fury while you leap the wall with the Viper. Grab the flag, and then grapple the fury for a quick extraction. Mission 036 - Sanctuary ( DM-Sanctuary ) Goal: 25 Kills Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Akasha, Damian, Kragoth, Malakai Map Details Omicron 6, Isle of Babel The Isle of Babel is a religious sanctuary for the Necris, a place where they can commune with the very essence of their being, and create a personal connection to the nanoblack coursing through their veins. Briefing "Akasha's been abandoned by the Phayder corporation *and* the military, so now she wants sanctuary from the church. The necris Scylla didn't fall for her deathbed conversion so they sent her to Babel to focus the spires and *prove* her faith. Instead, she barricaded herself in the sacred temple grounds and she's waiting for us. Time to show the necris her true colors." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Glowing spires alert you to the presence of a Redeemer on the distant platform. Strategy & Tactics The 25 kill goal is probably a mistake since the other version is 50. With 4 vs. 4, this will be a very short mission. Bishop goes topside with his sniper rifle, Jester goes inside with the shield belt and the rocket launcher, while Othello seems to fight inside the church as well. The enemy also seemed to mingle around the church - both because the shield belt spawns inside and because it's the center of the map. Your allies will all be using their preferred weapons for a change. You don't have to do anything special, and really you won't have time to, so just find a weapon you like and try to damage the enemy without dying yourself. If the redeemer spawns, go stand near it. When you see the greedy necris coming to take it, grab it and use it to punish them for being so selfish. Mission 037 - Searchlight ( CTF-Searchlight ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Loque, Judas, Grail, Samael Map Details Briefing "Akasha's last hope for sanctuary was here, on the island of the prophet, but when she got here the entire island was deserted. Sounds like she's cracking up, but don't underestimate her. I bet she's got a few last tricks up her sleeve." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. Strategy & Tactics This mission was not included with the game. Mission 038 - Necropolis ( vCTF-Necropolis ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Akasha, Malakai, Judas, Pagan, Thannis Map Details Omicron 6, downtown Absalom Absalom is the capital city on Omicron. It also serves as the center of religious faith for the Necris. Despite a very shallow pretense to the contrary, the Necris have slowly taken over control of the government, and it is predicted that within the next century every living soul on Omicron will have undergone the Necris conversion. Briefing "After losing the war, Akasha is about as popular here as we are. Malcolm's getting intel through a secret informant - probably a leak in the Phayder corporation. Akasha is hiding in the city of Absalom, surrounding herself with her last loyal crew of blackguard assassins. Lets see if they're willing to die for her." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The Darkwalker near the central aqueduct is available to both teams. - Shoot the lights to call a wave of flames that consumes enemies near power ups. Strategy & Tactics While not as bad as sandstorm, this one can be tricky too. As usual, the enemy auto-adjusts it's difficulty, and Akasha is already above-the-line. You're also outnumbered so you'll always have to fight at least one defender. Your allies can score with a little help, so you're not completely alone, but they aren't very good at it. Defense doesn't work very well on this level for a variety of reasons. They drive vehicles, they outnumber you, and they can make a quick getaway with the flag, so the best defense is a good offense. You want your guys in midfield, not huddling on one edge of the map. There is a dark walker in the middle of the map (on the east side) which can be used by anyone. You can actually march it north along the east wall and into the enemy's flag room. In fact, you can climb up the lower ledge and stand -on top- of their flag. It's amusing throwing the flag defender off the cliff with the horn, but not very useful. On the lower difficulties you can accomplish something similar with the Nemesis to clear out their flag room from below, but on the higher levels it gets destroyed too quickly to effectively pin the enemy down. The map has quite a few opportunities for weaving between upper\lower, left\right paths, but generally the top-center is the fastest, most direct, and curiously the safest route to take. I usually take the Dark Walker into the enemy flag room until it is nearly destroyed and then use the jump pad, grab their flag, run\dodge out of the room and then get on the hoverboard. You'll frequently run into an ally and\or the enemy flag carrier on the long bridge connecting the bases but most of your opposition will be behind you or shooting at you from below. If you've got vipers shooting at you, you can cross over to the opposite side of the bridge and use the floor as cover. If you're being attacked from the bridge itself though, you'd be better off dodging on foot than to risk dropping the flag at this point in the extraction. Hopefully you'll have gained enough of a head-start to reach the red base. If there are bots on the far end, you can kill them with the link gun or sniper rifle. For some reason they don't dodge intelligently from that far away. You can use this fact defensively as well. There is also health inside the buildings on the far end. If you're losing, tied, or winning by only 1 point, go for another capture. If you're winning by two points you should focus more on defense. Akasha goes crazy if you're winning by two, and can quickly tie\win the game. To make the most of this, you could consider letting Akasha score the first point. She will ignore your first capture. She'll respond to the second just as she would if you had scored first, and when you score the third time she will go crazy, but the game will be over. With no proper outlet for her anger, she is reduced to enraged sobbing and cutting herself with sharp stones. Beating this level unlocks the Instagib Card. The card must be played immediately if at all, but it's probably not a wise choice unless you are vastly superior to the bots. Mission 039 - Vertebrae ( CTF-Vertebrae ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Akasha, Thannis, Samael, Grail Map Details Omicron 6, beneath Absalom The broken strata and organic growth of these ruins mark the untold history of the Necris rise to power on Omicron. Just like the Prophet's philosophies during the Great Awakening, the Necris nanotech first spread out to cover existing architecture, and then used it as a foundation upon which to form its own. Briefing "She's running out of places to hide. Akasha and her last few Dark Phalanx blades are entrenched in the underbelly of old Absalom. The necris are letting us fight it out for now, but keep your eyes peeled for new combatants." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - More powerful pickups are located deep within the city. - Use your translocator to good advantage and avoid the lower levels entirely. - Interrupt enemy defenses by firing through the nanoblack shield that separates the FLaG chambers. Strategy & Tactics I'd been dreading this level since I started writing this guide, but it turned out to be fairly easy. It's an interesting design, in that it is primarily vertical rather than horizontal. You'll have to use your translocator if you intend to navigate quickly. One interesting feature is that the flag room contains a wall which you can shoot through but can't walk through. Another such wall has slits in it for you to throw your translocator through as a shortcut into enemy territory. The bots will use this. Jester successfully captured the flag while I was off goofing around with Akasha. She makes it pretty far on her own, so if you assist her you can complete any captures she fails. Once you learn the route you can make a pretty quick run yourself while the others guard your back. The enemy managed to get one capture when I was up by two, but the third capture was no harder than the second. Obviously the quickest way down is to fall, but you can throw your translocator to ground level as long as you're not carrying a flag. You can fall down\translocate up in increments. The elevators will also provide a quick way to the upper levels. I prefer the elevators. They seem to be both faster and easier. I imagine the bots don't use them because of pathing issues and their unreliability as a primary means of transportation. Especially in large numbers. For once, this gives you an advantage for being human. Mission 040 - Floodgate ( WAR-Floodgate ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Akasha, Loque, Damian, Kragoth Map Details Omicron 6, beneath Absalom The Necris don't build new cities, they grow them out of, on top of, and often directly through existing architecture. The deepest sublevels of Old Absalom are dank and corrupted, held together only by the intricate network of infection tubes that pump nanoblack through the walls like a circulatory system. Briefing "Akasha is moving deeper under the city, hoping her power grid will go unnoticed by the sentient nano-black and Absalom. If we can capture the central node, we'll let the nano-black infect her core, disabling her grid without having to fight past her defenses. This is her last spawner. If we can disable it, we put her down. Permanently. Then we start thinking about how the hell we're gonna get home." Objectives - Link through the Center Node to access the enemy Core. - Control the Floodgate Node to re-route a nanoblack wash and damage the enemy Core. Strategy & Tactics This is one of my favorite warfare maps. It has two prime nodes, a center node, and an unlinked support node called the 'Flood' Node for which the level is named. Each team will claim their prime node and then battle for control of the center node. Meanwhile one bot from the enemy team - usually Akasha - will attack the support node. The orb carrier should be dedicated specifically to linked nodes. You shouldn't take it to the flood node unless a flood is imminent. The enemy will occasionally divert their orb to the flood node, however. The enemy stands a reasonable chance of pushing you back to your core early because your orb carriers are clumsy and stupid. If this happens, you can afford to leave the flood node alone for a while and focus on getting your orb back to the prime, and then center nodes. Your core will take 20% damage every minute that the flood gate node is under enemy control, but it also has to be reconstructed between uses. As long as your core has at least 21% remaining, you can let them have control of the floodgate node - but only if you have to prevent your core from being exposed outright. The rest of the time you'll want to be fighting for control of the flood node. Basically, you want to use your soldiers and the center node as a buffer. When the buffer is gone and you're fighting for control of your prime node, you want to push the enemy back to -their- prime node (to reduce the time you spend running back and forth) and then go back to the floodgate. If you can get a handle on both the floodgate and the enemy prime node, then you should have no problem beating the rest of the level. Attacking the floodgate is easy. There is an elevator on the outside of the outer wall that will take you up to the second level of the flood node room. You can then shoot it with whatever weapon you like until it's destroyed since the bots can't shoot you from down below. When Akasha (or whoever) tries to heal\reconstruct it, kill them and go back to what you were doing. It helps to bring a vehicle, like the Viper, so that you can run over Akasha when she's preoccupied with the node. At the very least it provides you with some extra protection while you fight her. With only one defender, the node is easily taken and holding it isn't much worse. Mission 041 - Sentinel ( DM-Sentinel ) Goal: 20 Kills Faction: Necris Allies: Enemies: Akasha Map Details Omicron 6, Absalom This riverfront structure commands an impressive view of the Absalom skyline, and the Touched gather nearby to commune with the Prophet. There is a direct connection to the sublevels of Old Absalom here, and its endless supply of nanoblack. The architecture is constantly growing and transforming, rebuilding itself to an unknown purpose. Briefing "Akasha's been using this area as a safe-house. Hiding from us, the necris priests, even the phayder who sent her to Taryd in the first place. Now she's trapped. No support, no hope of escape. This is where it ends." Objectives - Kill Akasha. Strategy & Tactics Alright. This is it. Unreal Tournament has notoriously difficult boss fights and this is no exception. The mission runs a special script that makes sure the bot is always a skill above you. That means, even on 'Casual' you will be fighting a substantially more powerful bot than the one you signed up for. This is particularly obvious on the lower skill settings because the bot won't even behave like the other bots. If you've played through on Insane though, this fight isn't so different than what you may already be used to. First of all, trying to beat the map legitimately requires some degree of reflex and accuracy. There is no piece of advice I can give you that will allow you to quickly nail Akasha as she rounds a corner, or accurately arc your shots through windows and down stairs. However, there are several things you can do which will help ease the requirements on 'raw skill.' It's important to keep in mind that this is not going to be a short battle. Deathmatch, and UT3 in general, trains you to be impatient and aggressive so you hit the kill count quickly or lose but this is the opposite of what is required here. If it takes you 3 minutes to recover from a bad exchange and whittle down her defenses, that is what you have to do. It is important to know the level layout, so that you know where to retreat to, where the pickups are, and which weapons are applicable to the terrain in that area. It is important to know when and where to expect the powerups to be spawning. Finally, it is also important to understand her behavior, to know what she is most likely doing even when (or in fact, because) you cannot see or hear her. The shield belt and the UDamage are the most important powerups to keep tabs on. The health is the third, because you will be returning there frequently. Throughout most of the map, the best weapon to use is the Bio Rifle. If Akasha is far enough away to justify the shock\sniper rifles you should probably duck into a hallway because she is already thinking the same thing. If she is within range of the Minigun\Link Gun, Rocket Launcher she'll be throwing shock combos, and if she's close enough for the Flak Cannon it begs the question how she got that way and chances are she will switch to it and kill you in one fluid motion even if you do manage to hit her. Using the Bio Rifle allows you to respond to sudden threats while encouraging you to avoid disadvantageous encounters. It also has a few unique properties: It's alt fire can kill Akasha even if she has the shield. The bots do not know how to anticipate the release of the charge. The bots do not intelligently navigate around the goo, it allows you to attack around corners and secure hallways while you retreat, it can still damage them after you've died, and ammo for the Bio Rifle spawns all over the map. Akasha will go for the Shock Rifle - it's her favorite weapon - and she will spend most of her time using it. She will jump down from the shock rifle perch onto the bridge and get the shield belt. From there, she will go up the ramp, drop down behind it and crawl under to get the UDamage. She'll come out, hit the jump pad and grab the rocket launcher, and then continue along the back to get the Body Armor. Her next goal is the health vials down below - and she always comes from the trench and then takes the elevator up to the top. She may stop by and grab the Flak Cannon and Sniper Rifles along the way. She also takes that tunnel on her way to the Body Armor. Sometimes she will run through the trench and up the stairs to reach the shield belt - it depends on where she was in the level when she got the notice of it's impending spawn. All of this means she is almost certain to be somewhere in the triangle of the Shield, the Shock, and the UDamage. If she's not, then she is almost certainly on the 'inside' between the Armor and the Health Vials. The shield is a bad place to ambush her. She will shoot at you from the shock rifle window, the UDamage, or the stairs. In any of those cases you are more exposed than she is. If the UDamage is available, she -will- try to get it. There is only one way in, and she has to literally crawl through the mud and into a cage to reach it. This is a hilariously perfect time to kill her - either from the front or from the back with rocket-splash. The Armor\Vials\Health\Shock are the places you will fight her most of the time. In general you want to fire and retreat while you charge up another shot. This minimizes her opportunities to shoot at you and maximizes the amount of potential damage you deal per shot. If you hit her, she will probably die, and even if you miss you may still damage her. At the very least you won't die as often. Using this strategy I beat her 17-13 when time ran out and only 2 of those were 'skill' shots. Now, for those of you who are simply frustrated and want to beat the level by any means necessary there are a few exploits you can use in order of least- cheap. 1. Retreat: The match has a time limit. Simply run away, collect the powerups and evade her until the time is almost up. Kill her only when necessary to avoid dying yourself. 2. Deceive: Allow Akasha to kill you 14-16 times. The game will lower her skill. It won't start raising again until you tie her score, but by then it will be too late. 3. Hide: There is a platform outside of the shock rifle window. If you crouch behind the pillar she won't be able to see you except from down below. Reposition as necessary. 4. Trap: Using #3, charge the bio rifle and release it on the health vials, the shock rifle, or the shield belt. Akasha will stupidly walk through the slime and kill herself. 5. Suicide: Kill Akasha at least twice, then kill yourself. Force respawn is off on this mission, and Akasha cannot kill you if you don't respawn. Just wait for the time to run out. Mission 042 - Fearless ( DM-Fearless ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Necris Allies: Othello Enemies: Akasha, Thannis Map Details Omicron 6, downtown Absalom The secretive Phayder corporation has begun researching new applications of their nanoblack technologies. Some research has made significant progress, particularly in the field of battle armor and personal protection. Vaults such as this one serve as a testament to the dedicated research of this groundbreaking technology. Briefing "Akasha went to Phayder headquarters to steal the Invulnerability prototype. This thing covers the body in a modulated nano-black shield that absorbs any attack - which is the last thing *she* needs if we're gonna stop her. So lets follow her into the vault and beat her to it." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - An Invulnerability powerup is located in the direct center of the facility. Strategy & Tactics The central feature of this level, both literally and figuratively - is the Invulnerability powerup. The rest of the match is a typical deathmatch. Akasha is better than the other bots you have faced, but not so much that you won't be able to beat her if you've already made it this far. If you don't know how to time the powerups, this is the mission that will teach you. When they say 'Just keep it away from Akasha' they aren't kidding. Unlike previous missions, the object in this one is to get the powerup yourself and run directly at the enemy. Othello is good enough to hold his own without the powerup and it's dangerous to wait for him to grab it anyway. The bots don't 'understand' invulnerability. When a bot is invulnerable, the player knows to run away and avoid them until it expires (or to strip it with the impact hammer if you're quick). When the player is invulnerable, they know it's time to find the bots and spam them into oblivion. Do those things. The Link Gun Alt-Fire is useful when you're invulnerable, as is the minigun - anything that the enemy can't effectively dodge. The rest of the time you'll want to use the Bio Rifle\Flak Cannon and move backwards while the enemies will try and pursue you through the hallways with line-of-sight based weapons. This mission goes up and down quite a bit. You may find yourself 10 points behind and then 10 points ahead, 5 points behind, 5 points ahead, etc. This is because of the auto-adjusting difficulty trying to account for you being invulnerable. Overall, this mission isn't harder than any other, you just need to keep track of the powerup. Mission 043 - Searchlight ( CTF-Searchlight ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Reaper Enemies: Akasha, Thannis, Grail, Judas Map Details Briefing "Akasha's last hope for sanctuary was here, on the island of the prophet, but when she got here the entire island was deserted. Sounds like she's cracking up, but don't underestimate her. I bet she's got a few last tricks up her sleeve." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. Strategy & Tactics This mission was not included with the game. Mission 044 - Sanctuary ( DM-Sanctuary ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Akasha, Malakai, Harbinger, Pagan Map Details Omicron 6, Isle of Babel The Isle of Babel is a religious sanctuary for the Necris, a place where they can commune with the very essence of their being, and create a personal connection to the nanoblack coursing through their veins. Briefing "Akasha's been abandoned by the Phayder corporation *and* the military, so now she wants sanctuary from the church. The necris Schala didn't fall for her deathbed conversion so they sent her to Babel to focus the spires and *prove* her faith. Instead, she barricaded herself in the sacred temple grounds and she's waiting for us. Time to show the necris her true colors." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Glowing spires alert you to the presence of a Redeemer on the distant platform. Strategy & Tactics I beat this level with only 5 kills. 1/10th of my 4-man team. Othello got 20 so he was the one who picked up the slack - although some of those were probably stolen with his minigun. Bishop goes topside with his sniper rifle, Jester goes inside with the shield belt and the rocket launcher, while Othello seems to fight inside the church as well. The enemy also seemed to mingle around the church - both because the shield belt spawns inside and because it's the center of the map. Your allies will all be using their preferred weapons for a change. You obviously don't have to do anything special, so just find a weapon you like and do hit & run attacks while you look for health\ammo. If the redeemer spawns, go stand near it's spawn point and when you see the greedy necris coming to take it, grab it and use it to punish them for being so selfish. Mission 045 - Biohazard ( DM-Biohazard ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Necris Allies: Othello Enemies: Kragoth, Thannis, Scorn, Cerberus Map Details The Onyx Coast No one is quite sure how many hidden facilities the Axon actually have buried in the Onyx snow. This one was discovered when an Izanagi expedition noted trace amounts of Tarydium during a survey operation. Investigation revealed this storage facility where the Axon had been stockpiling massive amounts of Tarydium reserves. Briefing "Izanagi forces tracked a pair of necris assassins to a tarydium storage facility. Apparently the reps at HQ are scared shitless and they want Ronin to move in. We've clearly got bigger fish to fry, but lets keep following orders for now." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Necris assassins are highly trained and very aggressive. Strategy & Tactics I enjoyed this one, although it was pretty silly. You're outnumbered 2:1 again, but it's not as bad as the match against Lauren. This level has Bio Rifles everywhere, and the bots are terrible at avoiding them. I found myself spending most of my time in the small hallway with the two health kits, just above the bio rifle & jump pad (near the sniper rifle). The bots never seem to come in from the back hallway, but they do pass nearby. They mostly seem to come down the hallway outside the door furthest from the jump pad, then move across the room outside the nearer door. Then they drop down near the health and circle back to come up via the jump pad. I had a lot of fun shooting them out of the air with the sniper rifle, which is easy to do there since they basically line up for it. They bunch up here, and also outside the far door. Both are good places for a rocket launcher if you happen to find one. Otherwise, the bio rifle is a good choice. Especially since a lot of the time they'll wander through the sludge on their own. Try to fight the bots from around the corner. They don't avoid the goo if they don't know you're secretly attacking them with it. Mission 046 - Defiance ( DM-Defiance ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Bishop, Othello Enemies: Scythe, Malakai, Gnasher, Scorn Map Details Downtown Oxida Nova Downtown Oxida Nova is a busy hub for Axon colonists. The area is surrounded by tall buildings, including the central rail station, employment offices, and shopping centers that are designed to resemble those back home on Earth. Briefing "When the necris infected Taryd, they didn't draw the line between military and civilian targets. All the corporations are scrambling to defend their home colonies. The necris have Izanagi's Kimpu market district under siege and have imposed martial law. This is exactly why we signed up, Ronin." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - The tight corridors of the lower level are very dangerous. - More powerful items can be found in the center's upper levels. Strategy & Tactics Same strategy as before. Hit & Run reigns supreme on this level. The strategy from Arsenal and Carbon Fire seems to work the best: let your bots do what they want while you follow them around to distract the enemy. The rest of the time, stay out of the way and use guerilla tactics. Mission 047 - Torlan Delta ( WAR-Torlan_Necris ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Loque, Nocturne, Claw, Bargest, Blackfang, Lockjaw Map Details Torlan river delta Thanks to stringent monitoring by the New Earth Government, all three Corporations have used the fields of the Torlan Delta to power their combined mining efforts. But with the recent threat of full scale war, N.E.G. forces have pulled out, and everyone is scrambling to take control of this valuable territory. Briefing "With three corporations at each other�s throats, the Torlan Delta's in chaos. Krall forces are swarming the central Torlan gorge, looking to take advantage. All we've got is a forward observation post at the border. The outlying nodes will give us more vehicles, but intel says they're already corrupted by the necris. The Torlan Delta's about as strategic as it gets, so this isn't optional. We have to push out the Krall if we're gonna win this war." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - A Support Node below the central bridge will provide your team with extra fire power. - Necris forces will vastly outnumber Ronin in this battle. - Infected Nodes will only spawn Necris vehicles. Strategy & Tactics Ugh. Okay, so you're outnumbered by the Necris. They get Necris vehicles and you don't. It's ugly but it can be done. This mission is all about the orbs - more specifically, the orb at the enemy prime node. It doesn't matter if you own every other node on the map. They are almost certain to get their orb to their prime node; and when they do, they will immediately swarm in to destroy yours. If they destroy your prime node, the bulk of their forces will charge straight to your core, while the remainder will sit back and heal the prime node and\or take back whatever other nodes you've claimed. The bots first priority is to take the orb to the enemy prime node. That means the enemy bot will already be en-route to your prime node while their 'extra' two men go secure support nodes. It is extremely important that whatever else happens, you destroy their prime node before they destroy yours. Don't bother with the Raptor or any of the support nodes at this point. You need to chase down and kill their orb carrier at all costs, and then push north to help your orb carrier destroy their prime node. This means you'll probably want the Manta. It doesn't matter as much if you actually capture the prime node, what is important is that you define the enemy prime node as the battlefield. If the enemy gets their prime node online, destroy it by any means necessary before they have a chance to get their orb down to your prime node. The bots have a single-minded focus on this. You should too. You have some good options to accomplish this. About 2 minutes into the game, the Redeemer will spawn on top of the central tower. You can reach it with the raptor. You'll want to stand on the edge, aim carefully at their prime node, and use the primary fire. If you try to use the alt fire, the bots will shoot it out of the sky with their incredible aim because they mistakenly think the missile is you. Which it technically is. Anyway, the missile will take a while to reach the node, so you'll have to make this a priority if you plan to do it at all. If the enemy destroys your prime node while the missile is in transit, you've wasted it *and* lost your foothold. Another option is to fly your manta into the enemy prime node building and turn around. The enemy has a harder- than-normal time getting to you here, and you can dish out a lot of damage quickly. The raptor can shoot at it from the skies from quite a distance, and most long-ranged weapons (such as the shock rifle) can be used from the cover of the mountainside. The best option, though, is to pre-empt their orb carrier. If you find yourself with extra time and the prime node under your control, you'll want to use it to solidify your hold rather than push into the enemy core. The reason is that the enemy will almost certainly eject any 'fell swoop' attempts at destroying the core, and if they do, they'll have successfully dismantled your entire operation when they take back the prime node. If you have the support nodes on the other hand, they'll have to contend with a lot more vehicles spawning closer to their base and your bots may even be able to reclaim the node by themselves. The most important support node is the one in the center. It spawns a Goliath on the bridge, and moves the red team (and Orb) spawn point closer to the enemy prime node. The side nodes provide artillery, which can be used to keep the prime node suppressed. The corner nodes spawn Goliaths\Dark Walkers. Keeping the enemy prime node suppressed denies them access to Dark Walkers and the value of this cannot be understated. Solidifying your hold can be done very quickly by taking a manta around to activate all the neutral nodes. They will construct themselves while you're in transit to the next one. The enemy will probably have at least one support node on their side. Destroying and reclaiming an enemy node takes as much time as driving between all the neutral nodes, so don't try to do that *and* claim the neutral nodes at the same time, just save it for later, maybe with a redeemer. Other than that, you'll want to attack and defend the enemy prime node. If it's being attacked from the air, hide under the roof and heal it with the link gun. If the orb carrier is incoming, shoot him with the laser turret or spam him when he runs predictably toward the node. Destroy the orb if it gets close. Let your bots fight the enemy outside, and just focus on keeping the node intact as long as possible. If your allies punch through the defense and damage the core, great. Otherwise, hold it as long as you can. After you lose it, you have time to run and do something else briefly (such as get the redeemer, activate a neutral node, destroy an enemy support node) before you're needed back on the battlefront. Just don't allow the enemy orb carrier to reach your prime node. Even knowing all this, the mission may still be difficult. Mission 048 - Corruption ( vCTF-Corruption ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scythe, Kragoth, Hellhound, Worg Map Details Tokaido The Mitzushi Gardens were once a quiet retreat for the Tokaido citizenry, a tranquil place designed to help focus the senses and relax the mind. But this peaceful climate changed when the Necris invaded. Dark seemingly sentient clouds hover in the air, nanoblack poisons the water, and strange tentacles are actually growing out of the buildings. Briefing "The mitsushi gardens were a place of beauty and peace. Now they're a vector for the infection spreading across Tokaido City. HQ is finally giving us some credit, and they've specially requested Ronin to handle this one." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Powerful pickups are located underneath the lower waterfall. - Access caves to escape larger vehicles in the battlefield. Strategy & Tactics This one can be a little irritating, but it's not all that hard. Getting into the enemy base is easy. You've got tons of vehicles at your disposal and any of them are strong enough to plow through the opposition or fast enough to speed past it. Once you've got the flag, though, it's another story. It's a long way back to the Red Base, and you're on foot. The enemy has several vehicles which can outrun you, it's wide open and risky to use your hoverboard, while the enemy will certainly be using theirs. You also might run into the enemy attack force turning around to recover their flag. While I haven't played this one 4vs4, I did play it 4vs6. In that case, I didn't have much luck exiting out the east side of their base. Even if I entered that way, they always had men spawning or garrisoned up above who would drop down and attack me on my way out. They have a Nemesis which spawns there, which doesn't help, and it's in Range of their Dark Walker as well. Assuming you can make it past the perimeter, there are a series of caves you can enter which link together and take you all the way back into friendly territory. There is also an open field where you can sometimes run into a friendly Goliath who will cover your retreat. I had better luck with the west side though. I usually had time to get on my hoverboard before the defenders caught up with me, and the times that they did it was usually a Scavenger from Midfield who turned around to head me off. The hardest part of the run is double-jumping between the beams in the water mill, but after that you're home free. If I can score captures that way against six bots, I can't imagine it being much harder with two less. You can also support your allies on their flag runs. The enemy will frequently abandon their vehicles out in front of your base, in decent health, and can be freely hijacked. A Nemesis and a Goliath can guarantee safe passage for a withdrawing flag carrier. Even if the flag carrier dies, you can finish off the attackers and resume his run unopposed. It's more a matter of time than difficulty, so relax and try to be patient with the enemy vehicles focus- firing on you. Mission 049 - Suspense ( vCTF-Suspense ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Harbinger, Lockjaw, Claw, Bargest, Blackfang Map Details Oxida Nova border territories Suspense is the only bridge across the Alluvion strong enough to support the weight of heavy combat vehicles. Without the bridge, it would take Axon forces several days to respond to any battles across of the river. As such, it is always under guard by an Axon mechanized division, with military checkpoints at each end. Briefing "We need to clear the military checkpoints at each end of this bridge. Izanagi recon took the southern point, and they called us to take the more heavily guarded northern point. So we'll sortie from the south to attack their respawner. We will have vehicle support. Bishop, the central bridge towers should make great sniper nests. Don't forget a longbow to take out enemy armor. Recon team also found a path under the bridge, so keep that in mind as our number-two option." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The towers of the bridge are ideal sniping positions. - There is a Redeemer on the lower path, under the bridge. Strategy & Tactics Same trick as last time, although it's a little harder due to the team difference. Use the raptor to get into the enemy base and land near the Super Health. Then sneak into the enemy flag room to get the flag, and run back up near your raptor. I like to park my raptor where it can provide cover for my retreat. Anyway, there is a ledge on the backside of the building you can run across and jump down to a platform on the main bridge. Follow the bridge edge back to the other building and you'll come out in friendly territory. Once you get to this point a capture is almost inevitable. Mission 050 - Defiance ( DM-Defiance ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Bishop, Othello Enemies: Grail, Damian, Lockjaw, Worg Map Details Downtown Oxida Nova Downtown Oxida Nova is a busy hub for Axon colonists. The area is surrounded by tall buildings, including the central rail station, employment offices, and shopping centers that are designed to resemble those back home on Earth. Briefing "When the necris infected Taryd, they didn't draw the line between military and civilian targets. All the corporations are scrambling to defend their home colonies. The necris have Izanagi's Kimpu market district under siege and have imposed martial law. This is exactly why we signed up, Ronin." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - The tight corridors of the lower level are very dangerous. - More powerful items can be found in the center's upper levels. Strategy & Tactics Same strategy as before: Hit & Run reigns supreme on this level. The strategy from Arsenal and Carbon Fire seems to work the best: let your bots do what they want while you follow them around to distract the enemy. The rest of the time, stay out of the way and use guerilla tactics. Mission 051 - Shangri La ( DM-ShangriLa ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Necris Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Pagan, Claw, Scar, Bargest Map Details Tokaido, Shangri La sector The springtime blossoms of the Shangri La sector are universally renowned for their beauty and serenity. But the district sits along the northern shore of Tokaido, and the locals are forced to retreat into the sweltering heat of the underground mines to avoid the fierce cold snaps that leave the grounds largely abandoned during winter months. Briefing "When the necris infected Taryd, they didn't draw the line between military and civilian targets. All the corporations are scrambling to defend their home colonies. This is exactly why we signed up, Ronin." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - UDamage powerup is located in the central courtyard. Strategy & Tactics This is the same as Mission 002. Tell your bots to follow you and try to lead them to good weapons. If the enemy begins to pursue you, lead them into an open room and then ambush them in the doorway. Try to time the shield belt so the enemy bots don't get it, and stay away from the courtyard where the bots can pick you off. Mission 052 - Containment ( vCTF-Containment ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Evolution, Monarch, Mihr, Torque Map Details Hyperion fringe territories Little is known about this remote facility other than it is maintained by the Liandri Corp. Satellite images show some sort of cage in the center and Intel believes it holds a recovered Darkwalker vehicle. The Liandri have always wanted access to Necris technology, and this could be their chance to make some advancements in nanotech research. Briefing "The Liandri captured a necris 'Dark Walker' vehicle and they've hidden it in a well guarded research facility. Izanagi techs want that walker. Bad. If we steal it we could learn enough about necris technology to train our combat forces. That means we could hijack necris vehicles directly off the battlefield and use the bastards' own technology against them." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The Darkwalker in the central chamber cannot be moved, but its powerful weapons are available to either team. Strategy & Tactics I wasn't very happy with this level. The Dark Walker in the middle is supposed to sway the balance of power, but if you try to pilot it, the bot->player focus really messes things up. The heavier vehicles are not applicable for you to pilot because they move too slowly, the bots focus on them, and ultimately it just hurts you and your team. While the raptor *can* work, it's mobility also makes it vulnerable. It's best to just go straight for the manta. Your bots can't pilot those very intelligently anyway, and it's your only realistic chance of avoiding the borg. The best route to take is the far left\right paths, which snake into the center. You can't go through the side tunnels in the center because they have barriers, but past those are some ruined walls to use for cover and beyond *those* is a tunnel you can jump into. This usually puts you out-of-the-way of their main force. They will sometimes park the Goliath in front of the tunnels momentarily before they drive it into the center tunnel, but that is an exception rather than the rule. Once you get into the enemy base, try to smash anyone guarding the flag while you park your manta on their platform. Grab the flag and jump off the nearest ledge. You'll want to be careful with the hoverboard - the bots have incredible aim and easily dismount you if you use it for anything other than exploiting the straightaway after a sharp corner. I usually jump off the hoverboard to make sharp turns and jump back on to take advantage of the broken in line-of-sight. Don't try to stay on the hoverboard if the enemy is shooting at you, the odds are they will hit you and effectively kill you. If you jump off the hoverboard, they still won't be able to gain on you without sacrificing their ability to shoot and there's a good chance you'll round the next corner before they do, and can resume using your hoverboard to further your lead. You should be able to secure at least two captures this way, and then it becomes a matter of stopping the enemy. I put my team on offense just for the off-chance that they secure a capture, but really, their efforts mostly just helped keep the center clear of enemies. I'm curious if telling a bot to Hold Position on the Dark Walker's spawn point would help your team maintain control of it, or if the bots would be too stupid to actually use it. There is a shield belt on top of the dark walker containment, and a portal to the raptor you can use to reach it in the back of your base. Mission 053 - Containment ( vCTF-Containment_SP ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scythe, Lockjaw, Cerberus, Gnasher Map Details Hyperion fringe territories Little is known about this remote facility other than it is maintained by the Liandri Corp. Satellite images show some sort of cage in the center and Intel believes it holds a recovered Darkwalker vehicle. The Liandri have always wanted access to Necris technology, and this could be their chance to make some advancements in nanotech research. Briefing "The Krall found out about the Liandri facility holding a necris dark walker, and they overran the defenses. The Krall could use that walker to destroy the facility, laying the groundwork for a full-scale invasion. If the necris can establish a beach-head on taryd's surface, we'll have much more to worry about than Krall mercenaries." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The Darkwalker has been released and can now roam the battlefield. Strategy & Tactics This mission is identical to the other Containment levels, except that now the shield protecting the Dark Walker has been penetrated. This doesn't make a huge difference to gameplay. I wasn't very happy with this level. The Dark Walker in the middle is supposed to sway the balance of power, but if you try to pilot it, the bot->player focus really messes things up. The heavier vehicles are not applicable for you to pilot because they move too slowly, the bots focus on them, and ultimately it just hurts you and your team. While the raptor *can* work, it's mobility also makes it vulnerable. It's best to just go straight for the manta. Your bots can't pilot those very intelligently anyway, and it's your only realistic chance of avoiding the borg. The best route to take is the far left\right paths, which snake into the center. You can't go through the side tunnels in the center because they have barriers, but past those are some ruined walls to use for cover and beyond *those* is a tunnel you can jump into. This usually puts you out-of-the-way of their main force. They will sometimes park the Goliath in front of the tunnels momentarily before they drive it into the center tunnel, but that is an exception rather than the rule. Once you get into the enemy base, try to smash anyone guarding the flag while you park your manta on their platform. Grab the flag and jump off the nearest ledge. You'll want to be careful with the hoverboard - the bots have incredible aim and easily dismount you if you use it for anything other than exploiting the straightaway after a sharp corner. I usually jump off the hoverboard to make sharp turns and jump back on to take advantage of the broken in line-of-sight. Don't try to stay on the hoverboard if the enemy is shooting at you, the odds are they will hit you and effectively kill you. If you jump off the hoverboard, they still won't be able to gain on you without sacrificing their ability to shoot and there's a good chance you'll round the next corner before they do, and can resume using your hoverboard to further your lead. You should be able to secure at least two captures this way, and then it becomes a matter of stopping the enemy. I put my team on offense just for the off-chance that they secure a capture, but really, their efforts mostly just helped keep the center clear of enemies. I'm curious if telling a bot to Hold Position on the Dark Walker's spawn point would help your team maintain control of it, or if the bots would be too stupid to actually use it. There is a shield belt on top of the dark walker containment, and a portal to the raptor you can use to reach it in the back of your base. Mission 054 - Strident ( CTF-Strident ) Goal: 5 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Matrix, Cathode, Enigma, Entropy Map Details The Strident, beneath Hyperion The Strident has always been a mystery to the flesh and blood humans that work on the surface of Hyperion. These subterranean chambers appear to be the central focus of the mainframe that controls all Liandri operations on Taryd. Briefing "A robot army with a huge central brain has one weakness, right? If we can infiltrate and control the strident, we own all of Hyperion. Ronin's taking point on the assault. Once we give the all-clear, Izanagi techs will move forward and hack the mainframe." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Be aware of unstable FLaG bases. - Shifting magnetic forces within the Strident cause platforms to move. Strategy & Tactics Small and intense. 3 translocations can pretty much take you from one base to the other, and there are only a few ways into each. Even on Insane, the bots will largely ignore the Shield Belt in the center until after your 3rd capture, when they become particularly mean. The bots will have no problem getting into the enemy base and grabbing the flag, but they usually insist on taking the top route, where they will be harassed constantly and are unlikely to succeed. The best strategy seems to be to send your whole team on offense while you sneak in quietly and wait under the lift. Your allies will grab the flag and lure the enemies topside and away from the base. When they fail - which is almost inevitable - you can quickly grab the flag and run down the bottom route - left or right doesn't matter - and cut back in to the middle to pick up the shield or health if necessary before cutting back to the outside while remaining on the bottom level. Use the jump pad on the bottom floor of your base to come in through the top. It's worth trading a couple seconds of vulnerability for the insurance that you don't get trapped on the bottom floor if the lift raises. If you can secure a +3 lead in this way, switch your team to defense. You're unlikely to secure more flag captures once the bots go crazy, as their miniguns will strip your shield incredibly fast and they time the powerups to prevent you from getting another. The idea, instead, is to stop them from catching up in the time that remains. You can also refrain from making a 3rd capture at all, to prevent the bots going crazy while you maintain a +2 choke hold, but it doesn't really matter. Once you get 3, they're almost guaranteed to score at least 1 capture and it becomes a +2 choke hold anyway. If you successfully scored a 3rd capture during a +2 lead, you can score a 4th or 5th capture with the same lead so don't fret too much if they start scoring. If they close it to a +1 lead, go back on offense to try and widen\maintain the lead, and make them fight the battle on their turf. Mission 055 - Islander ( WAR-Islander ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scorn, Hellhound, Cerberus, Gnasher Map Details Hyperion archipelago Liandri planners wanted an isolated communication station that wouldn't have to filter out background noise and interference from civilian signals. The islands of the northern archipelago met their communication needs but the limited space didn't allow for extensive defensive capabilities. Briefing "The necris lead a full-scale invasion of Taryd and they have complete control of the northern onyx territories. Their infection tubes are pumping the landscape full of nano-black, terraforming this planet into a necris stronghold. We stop this advance, we push them back, or we're done for. We're completely blacked out, and Izanagi H.Q. needs eyes for us to have a fighting chance in this war. Our orders are to retake this commo post, and that's what we're gonna do. No vehicle support, just whatever we can steal on the battlefield." Objectives - Control the Prime Node to access the enemy Core. - Use turrets to control the central battlefield. - Control the Support Node to gain access to a Raptor. Strategy & Tactics Curiously, this mission is presented as if it were the same as Mission 025. It even instructs you to use turrets, yet you are on the vehicle side and have no turrets, the Necris have not invaded, and you're fighting the Krall. Whatever. This map can be frustrating at first since the PowerCore is difficult to even find. The nodes are on your side of the map so getting the orb to them is pretty easy. Although you really only need the prime node, you'll also want the Air Node, which is pretty easy to maintain control of. Just fly the raptor over to the enemy base and circle around the back. Their core is on ground level literally on the back side of their base. (Fly behind their base and look west.) I found this level to be easy compared to many of the previous levels. The bots spawn far away with little means to reciprocate against you. If you're feeling malicious you can even take the time to kill their orb carrier with the shock rifle from the other side of the level. The ones who actually make it to you are usually preoccupied with attacking the node and make themselves easy targets. Even if they kill you, you respawn less than 10 seconds away with an orb.. Mission 056 - Gateway ( DM-Gateway ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Othello Enemies: Matrix, Entropy, Cathode, Enigma Map Details Taryd, various locations. The Liandri Corporation has been working for years to perfect the portal technology used in the Tournaments. They're hoping to increase teleporter distances, and make the system useful on a global scale. This working prototype has portals that can instantly move personnel and equipment to any pre-programmed location on Taryd. Briefing "Matrix is our only known source for the Hyperion security codes. We've tracked him down but he won't surrender. He's afraid of being formatted and losing his last few human memories. He's been using Liandral portal tech to evade Izanagi forces so they called Ronin to finish the job. Without those protocols, we can't access the mainframe cores and Liandri technicians could sabotage our operations from anywhere on Taryd." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Jump Boots give you access to other, more vital powerups. Strategy & Tactics "He's afraid of being formatted.." Hehe. Anyway, this is an interesting level. Once again, you're outnumbered 2:1, so this can be a tricky mission. There are three battlegrounds connected by portals. The enemies will mainly congregate in the 'Jungle' and 'Sky-Platform' areas, and rarely venture into the 'Snowscape.' The Platform, in particular, as that is where the shield belt spawns. The major obstacle in this mission is Othello. He will constantly be dying and getting himself separated from you, where he will then die again and again. You can mitigate this somewhat by telling him to hold position in the snow area, where the bots rarely venture but being that he is a bot himself, he has difficulty making it there without passing the other bots and getting killed repeatedly. You can mitigate this further by telling him to cover you, and then camping in the snow area yourself. This helps quite a bit, but it is still unstable. Any deaths propel you \Othello into enemy territory and one death turns into many. The Jungle area is virtually worthless in terms of strategic value. You can spam the portal entrance with rockets and bio-goo, and it does have the stinger which can be useful, but having only mid\close range weapons when the enemy outnumbers you with long range weapons is not going to help you in the long run. The main battlefield - and the most important - is the Sky Platform. The Link Gun & Shock Rifle spawn out here, as does most of the Sniper Ammo. There is health on either end. Jumping into the fan on the far end near the health kits will propel you into the sky where you can reach the shield belt. This is a good place to tell Othello to hold position so he will camp the shield belt. If you have decent aim, you can camp here yourself and shoot any airborne bots who try to use the fan to reach you. You can also provide support to Othello should he die and attempt to return, and there is health down below as well. Ultimately though, you'll probably have to come down and fight the bots on the platform. Of all the weapons to use, the Shock\Sniper and the Stinger\Link Gun work the best since they aren't influenced at all by the change in gravity. There aren't a lot of special tricks you can use on this mission, other than to make sure you get the Shield Belt as often as possible and stay near Othello to provide cover, distract his enemies, and try to out-score the enemy. I used the shock rifle at long range for most of the mission but in retrospect it may have been easier to use the link gun to hit multiple targets on the narrow walkways and forget trying to keep distance in such a crowded area. Mission 057 - Carbon Fire ( DM-Carbonfire ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Aspect, Collossus, OSC, Raptor Map Details Hyperion strata Work days on Taryd are notoriously long and difficult, leaving little time for the mundane chores of day-to-day life. As an incentive to potential colonists, the Liandri Corp. offers a complimentary Mark I domestic robot to each family that moves to Taryd. The Carbonfire production facility even offers daily tours and incentives to first time customers. Briefing "We keep capturing mines but we don't have the manpower to run them at full capacity. Liandri domestic bots are pretty rugged, and HQ thinks they can be retooled for mining work. Ronin's job is to take over the Carbon-Fire production facility and reroute all shipments to Izanagi territory." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Trap enemies within the disposal chute, or retrieve the powerups for your team. Strategy & Tactics The idea on this mission is to keep the powerups out of enemy hands. I suggest letting one of your allies have the powerups and then following them to provide a distraction for their enemies. A high-level bot with berserk and double damage can quickly turn the tide, but they have to survive. On higher difficulties, the bots have incredible aim and so offense powerups really come down to who shoots first. This is where you come in: The enemy bots will automatically shoot at you. Since you can evade the bots better than other bots can, you'll be able to 'deflect' attacks that might have been directed at your ally. The effect is similar to doing a flyby with an M134. Mission 058 - Containment ( vCTF-Containment ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Matrix, Evolution, Mihr, Syntax Map Details Hyperion fringe territories Little is known about this remote facility other than it is maintained by the Liandri Corp. Satellite images show some sort of cage in the center and Intel believes it holds a recovered Darkwalker vehicle. The Liandri have always wanted access to Necris technology, and this could be their chance to make some advancements in nanotech research. Briefing "The Liandri captured a necris 'Dark Walker' vehicle and they've hidden it in a well guarded research facility. Izanagi techs want that walker. Bad. If we steal it we could learn enough about necris technology to train our combat forces. That means we could hijack necris vehicles directly off the battlefield and use the bastards' own technology against them." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The Darkwalker in the central chamber cannot be moved, but its powerful weapons are available to either team. Strategy & Tactics I wasn't very happy with this level. The Dark Walker in the middle is supposed to sway the balance of power, but if you try to pilot it, the bot->player focus really messes things up. The heavier vehicles are not applicable for you to pilot because they move too slowly, the bots focus on them, and ultimately it just hurts you and your team. While the raptor *can* work, it's mobility also makes it vulnerable. It's best to just go straight for the manta. Your bots can't pilot those very intelligently anyway, and it's your only realistic chance of avoiding the borg. The best route to take is the far left\right paths, which snake into the center. You can't go through the side tunnels in the center because they have barriers, but past those are some ruined walls to use for cover and beyond *those* is a tunnel you can jump into. This usually puts you out-of-the-way of their main force. They will sometimes park the Goliath in front of the tunnels momentarily before they drive it into the center tunnel, but that is an exception rather than the rule. Once you get into the enemy base, try to smash anyone guarding the flag while you park your manta on their platform. Grab the flag and jump off the nearest ledge. You'll want to be careful with the hoverboard - the bots have incredible aim and easily dismount you if you use it for anything other than exploiting the straightaway after a sharp corner. I usually jump off the hoverboard to make sharp turns and jump back on to take advantage of the broken in line-of-sight. Don't try to stay on the hoverboard if the enemy is shooting at you, the odds are they will hit you and effectively kill you. If you jump off the hoverboard, they still won't be able to gain on you without sacrificing their ability to shoot and there's a good chance you'll round the next corner before they do, and can resume using your hoverboard to further your lead. You should be able to secure at least two captures this way, and then it becomes a matter of stopping the enemy. I put my team on offense just for the off-chance that they secure a capture, but really, their efforts mostly just helped keep the center clear of enemies. I'm curious if telling a bot to Hold Position on the Dark Walker's spawn point would help your team maintain control of it, or if the bots would be too stupid to actually use it. There is a shield belt on top of the dark walker containment, and a portal to the raptor you can use to reach it in the back of your base. Mission 059 - Islander ( WAR-Islander ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Torque, Monarch, Aspect, Enigma Map Details Hyperion archipelago Liandri planners wanted an isolated communication station that wouldn't have to filter out background noise and interference from civilian signals. The islands of the northern archipelago met their communication needs but the limited space didn't allow for extensive defensive capabilities. Briefing "Izanagi H.Q. wants a foreward O.P. to monitor Krall activity in the north. They found a military comms facility on the Hyperion archipelago that's perfect. Except for the Liandri bots stationed there. This is a covert insertion so we'll have limited vehicle support. Shouldn't be a problem. Their only defenses are dismounted infantry and a few turrets." Objectives - Control the Prime Node to access the enemy Core. - Maintain control of this Node to shield your Core. - Use the shaped charge or Redeemer to destroy enemy barricades. - Watch for enemy turrets. They have a clear view of the central battlefield. - Control the Support Node to gain access to a Raptor. Strategy & Tactics Personally, I hate this map. It's one of the only asymmetrical maps. The red team gets all the nodes and most vehicles while the blue team gets all the turrets and a 'less vulnerable' core. This map can be frustrating at first since the PowerCore is difficult to even find. The nodes are on your side of the map so getting the orb to them is pretty easy. Although you really only need the prime node, you'll also want the Air Node, which is pretty easy to maintain control of. Just fly the raptor over to the enemy base and circle around the back. Their core is on ground level literally on the back side of their base. (Fly behind their base and look west.) I found this level to be easy compared to many of the previous levels. The bots spawn far away with little means to reciprocate against you. If you're feeling malicious you can even take the time to kill their orb carrier with the shock rifle from the other side of the level. The ones who actually make it to you are usually preoccupied with attacking the node and make themselves easy targets. Even if they kill you, you respawn less than 10 seconds away with an orb.. Mission 060 - Strident ( CTF-Strident ) Goal: 5 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Matrix, Cathode, Enigma, Entropy Map Details The Strident, beneath Hyperion The Strident has always been a mystery to the flesh and blood humans that work on the surface of Hyperion. These subterranean chambers appear to be the central focus of the mainframe that controls all Liandri operations on Taryd. Briefing "We've been giving the Krall a beating. They're attacking less often, but they seem better coordinated *and* more focused. I'd wager the necris are pulling in the reigns after their recent losses. They timed their move perfectly. Just when we attacked the Liandri and distracted them, the Krall snuck a force into the strident unnoticed. They put a necris virus in the system that could lower the sky-shield and leave us all defenseless. So let's go play doctor." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Be aware of unstable FLaG bases. - Shifting magnetic forces within the Strident cause platforms to move. Strategy & Tactics Small and intense. 3 translocations can pretty much take you from one base to the other, and there are only a few ways into each. Even on Insane, the bots will largely ignore the Shield Belt in the center until after your 3rd capture, when they become particularly mean. The bots will have no problem getting into the enemy base and grabbing the flag, but they usually insist on taking the top route, where they will be harassed constantly and are unlikely to succeed. The best strategy seems to be to send your whole team on offense while you sneak in quietly and wait under the lift. Your allies will grab the flag and lure the enemies topside and away from the base. When they fail - which is almost inevitable - you can quickly grab the flag and run down the bottom route - left or right doesn't matter - and cut back in to the middle to pick up the shield or health if necessary before cutting back to the outside while remaining on the bottom level. Use the jump pad on the bottom floor of your base to come in through the top. It's worth trading a couple seconds of vulnerability for the insurance that you don't get trapped on the bottom floor if the lift raises. If you can secure a +3 lead in this way, switch your team to defense. You're unlikely to secure more flag captures once the bots go crazy, as their miniguns will strip your shield incredibly fast and they time the powerups to prevent you from getting another. The idea, instead, is to stop them from catching up in the time that remains. You can also refrain from making a 3rd capture at all, to prevent the bots going crazy while you maintain a +2 choke hold, but it doesn't really matter. Once you get 3, they're almost guaranteed to score at least 1 capture and it becomes a +2 choke hold anyway. If you successfully scored a 3rd capture during a +2 lead, you can score a 4th or 5th capture with the same lead so don't fret too much if they start scoring. If they close it to a +1 lead, go back on offense to try and widen\maintain the lead, and make them fight the battle on their turf. Mission 061 - Heat Ray ( DM-HeatRay ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Loque, Scythe, Scorn, Gnasher, Cerberus, Claw Map Details Hyperion slums As Liandri operations on Taryd became more and more automated, the surface sectors of Hyperion were neglected and never received the technological upgrades available to the upper strata of the city. This maze of ground level buildings is now the slums of Taryd, still inhabited by the humans that maintain the largely automated Liandri workforce. Briefing "The Krall saw the same tactical value in the slums that we did. Their initial wave of infantry is already in place and transport ships are in route. That means heavy weaponry and necris vehicles are on the way. So lets finish this. Quickly." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Necris vehicle reinforcements are already en route to Hyperion. - Use the Invisibility powerup and gain a tactical advantage. Strategy & Tactics A Dark Walker spawns about 2 minutes into the mission. No matter what else you are doing, you need to be there to greet it when it arrives. The Invisibility powerup spawns 30 seconds before that, and the shield belt 30 seconds before that. The other powerups (The Thighpads and Armor Vest) are available from the start, so the best bet is to run a spiral circuit immediately when the mission starts - from the Armor Vest to the Thigh Pads, to the Shield Belt, to the Invisibility and then to the Dark Walker. This should take you to each powerup shortly before it spawns. It helps to tell your bots to Cover you, so that they won't be wandering alone. They'll provide some cover for you while you ruin your circuit, support\heal you when you get in the Dark Walker, and will be nearby to claim the powerups when\if it gets destroyed. Once you get in the Dark Walker, try to stay in the corner of the main area. If you go further down the road in either direction it widens the turning radius required to hit the enemies who will be attacking you from both directions. Ideally you would position yourself where they only have one way to reach you, but the only place where that might be possible is on the platform the Dark Walker spawns at, which (probably intentionally) hinders it's ability to fire, so that isn't very defensible or productive. Kill as many bots as you can with the Dark Walker, and when it gets destroyed, try to use long distance combat to hit & run. You don't want to get cornered in any prolonged encounters because more enemies are always on the way. A second Dark Walker will spawn about 2 minutes from the time the first one was killed. Ideally you would claim this one as well and win the level easily, but you can still win if the enemy gets there before you do. The invisibility helps for taking down the Dark Walker. Just hit it with everything you've got as quickly as possible so that your allies will assist you in destroying it. If it wins that exchange, you'd be better off avoiding it for the remainder of the match since it's probably almost over at this point. It can't get inside the buildings, and any of the main weapons in the level can be used to spam corridors. Pull your bots up into the room near the Invisibility. The enemy has no way to enter except single file, on foot, through a narrow corridor. You don't want to remain here forever. You'll eventually run low on health\ammo and your allies will be respawning outside and vulnerable, giving the enemy more kills. When the invisibility respawns, you can attempt another assault on the Dark Walker for it's powerups or, if you're lucky, the enemy may have even abandoned the Dark Walker to raid your campsite upstairs. If they did, you can steal it out from under them and use it against them. Mission 062 - Gateway ( DM-Gateway ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Othello Enemies: Matrix, Entropy, Cathode, Enigma Map Details Taryd, various locations. The Liandri Corporation has been working for years to perfect the portal technology used in the Tournaments. They're hoping to increase teleporter distances, and make the system useful on a global scale. This working prototype has portals that can instantly move personnel and equipment to any pre-programmed location on Taryd. Briefing "Matrix is our only known source for the Hyperion security codes. We've tracked him down but he won't surrender. He's afraid of being formatted and losing his last few human memories. He's been using Liandral portal tech to evade Izanagi forces so they called Ronin to finish the job. Without those protocols, we can't access the mainframe cores and Liandri technicians could sabotage our operations from anywhere on Taryd." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Jump Boots give you access to other, more vital powerups. Strategy & Tactics "He's afraid of being formatted.." Hehe. Anyway, this is an interesting level. Once again, you're outnumbered 2:1, so this can be a tricky mission. There are three battlegrounds connected by portals. The enemies will mainly congregate in the 'Jungle' and 'Sky-Platform' areas, and rarely venture into the 'Snowscape.' The Platform, in particular, as that is where the shield belt spawns. The major obstacle in this mission is Othello. He will constantly be dying and getting himself separated from you, where he will then die again and again. You can mitigate this somewhat by telling him to hold position in the snow area, where the bots rarely venture but being that he is a bot himself, he has difficulty making it there without passing the other bots and getting killed repeatedly. You can mitigate this further by telling him to cover you, and then camping in the snow area yourself. This helps quite a bit, but it is still unstable. Any deaths propel you \Othello into enemy territory and one death turns into many. The Jungle area is virtually worthless in terms of strategic value. You can spam the portal entrance with rockets and bio-goo, and it does have the stinger which can be useful, but having only mid\close range weapons when the enemy outnumbers you with long range weapons is not going to help you in the long run. The main battlefield - and the most important - is the Sky Platform. The Link Gun & Shock Rifle spawn out here, as does most of the Sniper Ammo. There is health on either end. Jumping into the fan on the far end near the health kits will propel you into the sky where you can reach the shield belt. This is a good place to tell Othello to hold position so he will camp the shield belt. If you have decent aim, you can camp here yourself and shoot any airborne bots who try to use the fan to reach you. You can also provide support to Othello should he die and attempt to return, and there is health down below as well. Ultimately though, you'll probably have to come down and fight the bots on the platform. Of all the weapons to use, the Shock\Sniper and the Stinger\Link Gun work the best since they aren't influenced at all by the change in gravity. There aren't a lot of special tricks you can use on this mission, other than to make sure you get the Shield Belt as often as possible and stay near Othello to provide cover, distract his enemies, and try to out-score the enemy. I used the shock rifle at long range for most of the mission but in retrospect it may have been easier to use the link gun to hit multiple targets on the narrow walkways and forget trying to keep distance in such a crowded area. Mission 063 - Islander ( WAR-Islander ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Monarch, Torque, Syntax, Mihr Map Details Hyperion archipelago Liandri planners wanted an isolated communication station that wouldn't have to filter out background noise and interference from civilian signals. The islands of the northern archipelago met their communication needs but the limited space didn't allow for extensive defensive capabilities. Briefing "Izanagi H.Q. wants a foreward O.P. to monitor Krall activity in the north. They found a military comms facility on the Hyperion archipelago that's perfect. Except for the Liandri bots stationed there. This is a covert insertion so we'll have limited vehicle support. Shouldn't be a problem. Their only defenses are dismounted infantry and a few turrets." Objectives - Control the Prime Node to access the enemy Core. - Maintain control of this Node to shield your Core. - Use the shaped charge or Redeemer to destroy enemy barricades. - Watch for enemy turrets. They have a clear view of the central battlefield. - Control the Support Node to gain access to a Raptor. Strategy & Tactics Personally, I hate this map. It's one of the only asymmetrical maps. The red team gets all the nodes and most vehicles while the blue team gets all the turrets and a 'less vulnerable' core. This map can be frustrating at first since the PowerCore is difficult to even find. The nodes are on your side of the map so getting the orb to them is pretty easy. Although you really only need the prime node, you'll also want the Air Node, which is pretty easy to maintain control of. Just fly the raptor over to the enemy base and circle around the back. Their core is on ground level literally on the back side of their base. (Fly behind their base and look west.) I found this level to be easy compared to many of the previous levels. The bots spawn far away with little means to reciprocate against you. If you're feeling malicious you can even take the time to kill their orb carrier with the shock rifle from the other side of the level. The ones who actually make it to you are usually preoccupied with attacking the node and make themselves easy targets. Even if they kill you, you respawn less than 10 seconds away with an orb.. Mission 064 - Dusk ( WAR-Dusk ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Evolution, Mihr, Syntax, Torque, Monarch, Raptor Map Details Hyperion fringe territories Izanagi satellites only recently discovered this secretive distribution facility. Analysis of satellite images tells us that the facility is fully automated, and connected to a Liandri mining operation several levels below ground. Raw ore is transported to the surface where it's packaged and moved off for processing. Briefing "This facility is running low profile, so there's no heavy security. Izanagi expects us to walk in and pick up another tarydium mine for their stock- holders. If we can capture all the nodes surrounding the mine entrance, we'll open the security doors, giving us access to a Circada. The cores are vulnerable to aerial attack, so that airship would be a huge advantage." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - Control Nodes on both sides of the mine entrance to open the security doors and access the Cicada. - Use the shaped charge or a Redeemer to destroy barricades that block large vehicles. - Use the Orb to instantly take control of a Node. Strategy & Tactics Contrary to what the briefing says, you can pretty well ignore the center nodes for this mission. In fact, you can ignore virtually every node except the East Tank Node. What you want to do is hop topside and grab your orb - as quickly as possible - and hoverboard straight over to the southwest node. As soon as that is up, use the teleporter back to your Core, grab the orb again, and quickly hoverboard out to the East Tank node (Southeast Node). Sneak in and plant the orb on the node. If you felt like being mean, you could again go back and do the same on the north, but that kind of gloating is why villains always lose. Once you've taken the east tank node, all you have to do is defend it for a moment (preferably using the laser turrets) in case anyone tries to reclaim it. If Jester claims the northeast node and you still have control of the southeast node, jump out of the turret and go get in the nearby Circada. Fly that over to the enemy base, look down, and unload on their Core. I beat this mission 3 times in a row with this method, encountering 0-2 enemies. If that plan falls through, this can be a tricky mission. The enemy seems to want to attack with 3 and defend with 3. Since there are 6 of them, they can have 2 people on each path, while you have to choose a 2:1:1 ratio. Your bots will generally focus on the northern path, while the enemy will generally focus on the southern path. Bishop is usually the one going after the center nodes, and he will eventually succeed at this, but it's not a real substantial gain and the circada will probably be shot down before it can destroy either of the enemy prime nodes. Once the enemy gets a hold of a node, it's difficult to uproot them from it. They'll have 3 people attacking your core and 3 people healing the prime node. It's not pretty, and it's difficult to avoid. You can't be everywhere at once, and the enemy's superior numbers will inevitably succeed wherever you aren't. The Circadas can help with this, allowing you to fly between the northeast\southeast prime nodes and try to keep them pinned down while your allies move in. Still, this is an uphill battle. The early portions of the mission are very important. When a node switches teams, anyone assigned to defend it will no longer recognize it as a defensible location, and will shift their attention somewhere else. Similarly, anyone attacking the southern pass unsuccessfully will respawn at the northern pass where they will survive longer. As a result anyone from the southern pass that you uproot will naturally tend to migrate north. We cut them off at the southeast node, so the defenders default to the north node and the attackers are torn between them. Their entire army clumps itself together at the northeast node. What the plan above does is exploit their disorganization during that transition and use it to rush their core. If you wait at the south node, they will eventually get organized and sweep through the north, likely destroying your core before you can destroy theirs. This also puts you in an uncomfortable position since leaving the southeast node to aid the northern front means losing the only node that allows you to attack the enemy core, and possibly allowing them to sweep the south too. Take their prime node before they have a chance to mobilize in the south, and then use that as a springboard to attack the enemy core while it's vulnerable. Mission 065 - Power Surge ( WAR-PowerSurge ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scythe, Blackfang, Bargest, Claw, Lockjaw, Worg, Scar, Hellhound Map Details Hyperion fringe territories, Tarydium mine Located a half-mile below the planet's surface, the Dusk mine was established by Liandri scientists in an experiment to test self-sufficient Automaton management of resources. The overloaded systems often release a huge powersurge that vents up to the surface in order to protect the volatile Tarydium stockpiles below. Briefing "We've stopped the necris at every turn and it looks like they're getting desperate for tarydium. They sent every Krall they've got into the Dusk Mine. They tried flooding the underground structure to trap Izanagi forces inside. Luckily, one of the mining tributaries collapsed, opening a back door just big enough for a small commando force - like us. Now lets link up with our boys, and clear the mine." Objectives - Necris forces have inflicted serious damage to your core. - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - Control the Mine Node to engage the mining drones. - The drones will automatically begin to mine and stockpile Tarydium. - The mine overload discharges a high voltage pulse that damages the enemy Core. - The East and West Tank Nodes hold important Goliath firepower. Strategy & Tactics This is one of those levels where it may be *possible* to win outright, but on insane it is really much better to use a card. Once everyone takes the nodes which belong to them, the enemy will send a couple guys after the Mine node. The bulk of their forces - including their orb carrier - will be attacking your prime node. If you ignore the Mine Node, you hand it over to the enemy and effectively that gives you only 5 1/2 minutes (or so) to destroy the enemy core before the overloads destroy yours. The enemy can afford to position 1-3 guys on the mine node and still have you outnumbered at the prime node so holding the enemy prime node isn't very plausible. If you try to divide your forces while you focus on the mine node by yourself, the enemies will roll right over your forces at the prime node and destroy your core within ~3 minutes. You may be able to successfully hold the Mine node during this time, but chances are you will need to use your orb to do so, and that means your allies won't be able to use it to reclaim the prime node. Even if you successfully hold the mine node, you have to *also* hold the prime node. It seems like the most likely solution would be to either A) claim the mine node and then shift your focus over to the prime node while the mine node counts down. or B) Run the orb to the Mine Node, and then from there to the Prime Node. But either way, you need to be able to secure both in order to stand a chance and you can't do that while you're defending the mine node. I was able to get the enemy core to 40% by shielding the mine node, but it took the enemy no effort to take 70% off my core. If you're lucky your allies might be able to hold out an extra two minutes. I didn't have any luck reclaiming the prime node after the enemy had taken it. I strongly suggest playing either the Tactical Diversion or Iron Guard Reinforcements card to even the odds. Mission 066 - Coret ( CTF-Coret ) Goal: 5 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Cathode, Enigma, Entropy, Collossus Map Details Hyperion Strata, Coret Acquisition Center Prior to the war, the Coret Acquisition Center was a major social hub for all of Taryd's colonists. Since the fighting started, however, the militia is enforcing a strict curfew, and the facility empties out as the sun goes down. Briefing "We were sent here to meet a Liandri informant with sensitive data about something called: 'The Strident.' Something tipped off the Liandri and now we're doing this the loud way. Jester: Find that informant. Stay in close radio contact. We'll keep Liandri security busy for you." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - A UDamage powerup is located on the bridge spanning the central chamber. Strategy & Tactics Another remake from UT Classic. The pathing is decent enough that the bots will use all the paths available, although they do stop to use the translocator in a few places. It's not a very big map, so you're within a few translocations from everywhere. This makes it somewhat tricky to score a successful capture. The enemy will be very aggressive on this map, and trying to play defensively just lets them get away with it. Interestingly, you seem to find less opposition when entering through the front gate than you do coming from the sides. The same doesn't seem to be true in reverse though, and there is better cover on the side-paths anyway. Unless you can waltz in and waltz back out, the best bet seems to be assists. When your allies leave with the flag, the enemy will rush out to kill them, leaving the base undefended. You can follow your allies to provide cover fire, or you can wait inside the blue base while the enemy force chases your flag carrier. If you grab the flag when it's returned, the bot collective will turn toward you, but they are in the midfield and you can usually push further out of the blue base before they catch you. If you happen to be in red territory at that time, there is a chance your allies will hold off the enemies, complete the capture, or hold the flag long enough for you to reinforce them in turn. 5 captures wins the match, but chances are you'll have to win by the clock. Mission 067 - Containment ( vCTF-Containment ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Aspect, OSC, Raptor, Evolution Map Details Hyperion fringe territories Little is known about this remote facility other than it is maintained by the Liandri Corp. Satellite images show some sort of cage in the center and Intel believes it holds a recovered Darkwalker vehicle. The Liandri have always wanted access to Necris technology, and this could be their chance to make some advancements in nanotech research. Briefing "The Liandri captured a necris 'Dark Walker' vehicle and they've hidden it in a well guarded research facility. Izanagi techs want that walker. Bad. If we steal it we could learn enough about necris technology to train our combat forces. That means we could hijack necris vehicles directly off the battlefield and use the bastards' own technology against them." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The Darkwalker in the central chamber cannot be moved, but its powerful weapons are available to either team. Strategy & Tactics I wasn't very happy with this level. The Dark Walker in the middle is supposed to sway the balance of power, but if you try to pilot it, the bot->player focus really messes things up. The heavier vehicles are not applicable for you to pilot because they move too slowly, the bots focus on them, and ultimately it just hurts you and your team. While the raptor *can* work, it's mobility also makes it vulnerable. It's best to just go straight for the manta. Your bots can't pilot those very intelligently anyway, and it's your only realistic chance of avoiding the borg. The best route to take is the far left\right paths, which snake into the center. You can't go through the side tunnels in the center because they have barriers, but past those are some ruined walls to use for cover and beyond *those* is a tunnel you can jump into. This usually puts you out-of-the-way of their main force. They will sometimes park the Goliath in front of the tunnels momentarily before they drive it into the center tunnel, but that is an exception rather than the rule. Once you get into the enemy base, try to smash anyone guarding the flag while you park your manta on their platform. Grab the flag and jump off the nearest ledge. You'll want to be careful with the hoverboard - the bots have incredible aim and easily dismount you if you use it for anything other than exploiting the straightaway after a sharp corner. I usually jump off the hoverboard to make sharp turns and jump back on to take advantage of the broken in line-of-sight. Don't try to stay on the hoverboard if the enemy is shooting at you, the odds are they will hit you and effectively kill you. If you jump off the hoverboard, they still won't be able to gain on you without sacrificing their ability to shoot and there's a good chance you'll round the next corner before they do, and can resume using your hoverboard to further your lead. You should be able to secure at least two captures this way, and then it becomes a matter of stopping the enemy. I put my team on offense just for the off-chance that they secure a capture, but really, their efforts mostly just helped keep the center clear of enemies. I'm curious if telling a bot to Hold Position on the Dark Walker's spawn point would help your team maintain control of it, or if the bots would be too stupid to actually use it. There is a shield belt on top of the dark walker containment, and a portal to the raptor you can use to reach it in the back of your base. Mission 068 - Heat Ray ( DM-HeatRay ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Loque, Scythe, Blackfang, Barget, Claw, Lockjaw Map Details Hyperion slums As Liandri operations on Taryd became more and more automated, the surface sectors of Hyperion were neglected and never received the technological upgrades available to the upper strata of the city. This maze of ground level buildings is now the slums of Taryd, still inhabited by the humans that maintain the largely automated Liandri workforce. Briefing "The Krall saw the same tactical value in the slums that we did. Their initial wave of infantry is already in place and transport ships are in route. That means heavy weaponry and necris vehicles are on the way. So lets finish this. Quickly." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Necris vehicle reinforcements are already en route to Hyperion. - Use the Invisibility powerup and gain a tactical advantage. Strategy & Tactics This mission has two versions. I'm not sure why they did it this way when all the other versions are separate mission IDs. If you played Containment the Dark Walker will be pilotable. If you didn't, then only the enemy will be able to pilot the Dark Walker. In the former case, this mission is fairly easy. A Dark Walker spawns about 2 minutes into the mission. No matter what else you are doing, you need to be there to greet it when it arrives. The Invisibility powerup spawns 30 seconds before that, and the shield belt 30 seconds before that. The other powerups (The Thighpads and Armor Vest) are available from the start, so the best bet is to run a spiral circuit immediately when the mission starts - from the Armor Vest to the Thigh Pads, to the Shield Belt, to the Invisibility and then to the Dark Walker. This should take you to each powerup shortly before it spawns. It helps to tell your bots to Cover you, so that they won't be wandering alone. They'll provide some cover for you while you ruin your circuit, support\heal you when you get in the Dark Walker, and will be nearby to claim the powerups when\if it gets destroyed. Once you get in the Dark Walker, try to stay in the corner of the main area. If you go further down the road in either direction it widens the turning radius required to hit the enemies who will be attacking you from both directions. Ideally you would position yourself where they only have one way to reach you, but the only place where that might be possible is on the platform the Dark Walker spawns at, which (probably intentionally) hinders it's ability to fire, so that isn't very defensible or productive. Kill as many bots as you can with the Dark Walker, and when it gets destroyed, try to use long distance combat to hit & run. You don't want to get cornered in any prolonged encounters because more enemies are always on the way. A second Dark Walker will spawn about 2 minutes from the time the first one was killed. Ideally you would claim this one as well and win the level easily, but you can still win if the enemy gets there before you do. The invisibility helps for taking down the Dark Walker. Just hit it with everything you've got as quickly as possible so that your allies will assist you in destroying it. If it wins that exchange, you'd be better off avoiding it for the remainder of the match since it's probably almost over at this point. It can't get inside the buildings, and any of the main weapons in the level can be used to spam corridors. Pull your bots up into the room near the Invisibility. The enemy has no way to enter except single file, on foot, through a narrow corridor. You don't want to remain here forever. You'll eventually run low on health\ammo and your allies will be respawning outside and vulnerable, giving the enemy more kills. When the invisibility respawns, you can attempt another assault on the Dark Walker for it's powerups or, if you're lucky, the enemy may have even abandoned the Dark Walker to raid your campsite upstairs. If they did, you can steal it out from under them and use it against them. If you did NOT play containment, however, the Dark Walker is locked and only accessible by the enemy. It is virtually impossible to win under those conditions. My only suggestion here is to either go back and play containment, replay the chapter and make different choices, play a card do your best and hope for a good roll, or lower the difficulty and skip the mission. Mission 069 - Strident ( CTF-Strident ) Goal: 5 Captures Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scythe, Scorn, Gnasher, Cerberus Map Details The Strident, beneath Hyperion The Strident has always been a mystery to the flesh and blood humans that work on the surface of Hyperion. These subterranean chambers appear to be the central focus of the mainframe that controls all Liandri operations on Taryd. Briefing "We've been giving the Krall a beating. They're attacking less often, but they seem better coordinated *and* more focused. I'd wager the necris are pulling in the reigns after their recent losses. They timed their move perfectly. Just when we attacked the Liandri and distracted them, the Krall snuck a force into the strident unnoticed. They put a necris virus in the system that could lower the sky-shield and leave us all defenseless. So let's go play doctor." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Be aware of unstable FLaG bases. - Shifting magnetic forces within the Strident cause platforms to move. Strategy & Tactics Small and intense. 3 translocations can pretty much take you from one base to the other, and there are only a few ways into each. Even on Insane, the bots will largely ignore the Shield Belt in the center until after your 3rd capture, when they become particularly mean. The bots will have no problem getting into the enemy base and grabbing the flag, but they usually insist on taking the top route, where they will be harassed constantly and are unlikely to succeed. The best strategy seems to be to send your whole team on offense while you sneak in quietly and wait under the lift. Your allies will grab the flag and lure the enemies topside and away from the base. When they fail - which is almost inevitable - you can quickly grab the flag and run down the bottom route - left or right doesn't matter - and cut back in to the middle to pick up the shield or health if necessary before cutting back to the outside while remaining on the bottom level. Use the jump pad on the bottom floor of your base to come in through the top. It's worth trading a couple seconds of vulnerability for the insurance that you don't get trapped on the bottom floor if the lift raises. If you can secure a +3 lead in this way, switch your team to defense. You're unlikely to secure more flag captures once the bots go crazy, as their miniguns will strip your shield incredibly fast and they time the powerups to prevent you from getting another. The idea, instead, is to stop them from catching up in the time that remains. You can also refrain from making a 3rd capture at all, to prevent the bots going crazy while you maintain a +2 choke hold, but it doesn't really matter. Once you get 3, they're almost guaranteed to score at least 1 capture and it becomes a +2 choke hold anyway. If you successfully scored a 3rd capture during a +2 lead, you can score a 4th or 5th capture with the same lead so don't fret too much if they start scoring. If they close it to a +1 lead, go back on offense to try and widen\maintain the lead, and make them fight the battle on their turf. Mission 070 - Carbon Fire ( DM-Carbonfire ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Matrix, Cathode, OSC, Mihr Map Details Hyperion strata Work days on Taryd are notoriously long and difficult, leaving little time for the mundane chores of day-to-day life. As an incentive to potential colonists, the Liandri Corp. offers a complimentary Mark I domestic robot to each family that moves to Taryd. The Carbonfire production facility even offers daily tours and incentives to first time customers. Briefing "We keep capturing mines but we don't have the manpower to run them at full capacity. Liandri domestic bots are pretty rugged, and HQ thinks they can be retooled for mining work. Ronin's job is to take over the Carbon-Fire production facility and reroute all shipments to Izanagi territory." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Trap enemies within the disposal chute, or retrieve the powerups for your team. Strategy & Tactics The idea on this mission is to keep the powerups out of enemy hands. I suggest letting one of your allies have the powerups and then following them to provide a distraction for their enemies. A high-level bot with berserk and double damage can quickly turn the tide, but they have to survive. On higher difficulties, the bots have incredible aim and so offense powerups really come down to who shoots first. This is where you come in: The enemy bots will automatically shoot at you. Since you can evade the bots better than other bots can, you'll be able to 'deflect' attacks that might have been directed at your ally. The effect is similar to doing a flyby with an M134. Mission 071 - Gateway ( DM-Gateway ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Othello Enemies: Matrix, Entropy, Cathode, Enigma Map Details Taryd, various locations. The Liandri Corporation has been working for years to perfect the portal technology used in the Tournaments. They're hoping to increase teleporter distances, and make the system useful on a global scale. This working prototype has portals that can instantly move personnel and equipment to any pre-programmed location on Taryd. Briefing "Matrix is our only known source for the Hyperion security codes. We've tracked him down but he won't surrender. He's afraid of being formatted and losing his last few human memories. He's been using Liandral portal tech to evade Izanagi forces so they called Ronin to finish the job. Without those protocols, we can't access the mainframe cores and Liandri technicians could sabotage our operations from anywhere on Taryd." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Jump Boots give you access to other, more vital powerups. Strategy & Tactics "He's afraid of being formatted.." Hehe. Anyway, this is an interesting level. Once again, you're outnumbered 2:1, so this can be a tricky mission. There are three battlegrounds connected by portals. The enemies will mainly congregate in the 'Jungle' and 'Sky-Platform' areas, and rarely venture into the 'Snowscape.' The Platform, in particular, as that is where the shield belt spawns. The major obstacle in this mission is Othello. He will constantly be dying and getting himself separated from you, where he will then die again and again. You can mitigate this somewhat by telling him to hold position in the snow area, where the bots rarely venture but being that he is a bot himself, he has difficulty making it there without passing the other bots and getting killed repeatedly. You can mitigate this further by telling him to cover you, and then camping in the snow area yourself. This helps quite a bit, but it is still unstable. Any deaths propel you \Othello into enemy territory and one death turns into many. The Jungle area is virtually worthless in terms of strategic value. You can spam the portal entrance with rockets and bio-goo, and it does have the stinger which can be useful, but having only mid\close range weapons when the enemy outnumbers you with long range weapons is not going to help you in the long run. The main battlefield - and the most important - is the Sky Platform. The Link Gun & Shock Rifle spawn out here, as does most of the Sniper Ammo. There is health on either end. Jumping into the fan on the far end near the health kits will propel you into the sky where you can reach the shield belt. This is a good place to tell Othello to hold position so he will camp the shield belt. If you have decent aim, you can camp here yourself and shoot any airborne bots who try to use the fan to reach you. You can also provide support to Othello should he die and attempt to return, and there is health down below as well. Ultimately though, you'll probably have to come down and fight the bots on the platform. Of all the weapons to use, the Shock\Sniper and the Stinger\Link Gun work the best since they aren't influenced at all by the change in gravity. There aren't a lot of special tricks you can use on this mission, other than to make sure you get the Shield Belt as often as possible and stay near Othello to provide cover, distract his enemies, and try to out-score the enemy. I used the shock rifle at long range for most of the mission but in retrospect it may have been easier to use the link gun to hit multiple targets on the narrow walkways and forget trying to keep distance in such a crowded area. Mission 072 - Coret ( CTF-Coret ) Goal: 5 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Evolution, Mihr, Syntax, Torque Map Details Hyperion Strata, Coret Acquisition Center Prior to the war, the Coret Acquisition Center was a major social hub for all of Taryd's colonists. Since the fighting started, however, the militia is enforcing a strict curfew, and the facility empties out as the sun goes down. Briefing "We were sent here to meet a Liandri informant with sensitive data about something called: 'The Strident.' Something tipped off the Liandri and now we're doing this the loud way. Jester: Find that informant. Stay in close radio contact. We'll keep Liandri security busy for you." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - A UDamage powerup is located on the bridge spanning the central chamber. Strategy & Tactics Another remake from UT Classic. The pathing is decent enough that the bots will use all the paths available, although they do stop to use the translocator in a few places. It's not a very big map, so you're within a few translocations from everywhere. This makes it somewhat tricky to score a successful capture. The enemy will be very aggressive on this map, and trying to play defensively just lets them get away with it. Interestingly, you seem to find less opposition when entering through the front gate than you do coming from the sides. The same doesn't seem to be true in reverse though, and there is better cover on the side-paths anyway. Unless you can waltz in and waltz back out, the best bet seems to be assists. When your allies leave with the flag, the enemy will rush out to kill them, leaving the base undefended. You can follow your allies to provide cover fire, or you can wait inside the blue base while the enemy force chases your flag carrier. If you grab the flag when it's returned, the bot collective will turn toward you, but they are in the midfield and you can usually push further out of the blue base before they catch you. If you happen to be in red territory at that time, there is a chance your allies will hold off the enemies, complete the capture, or hold the flag long enough for you to reinforce them in turn. 5 captures wins the match, but chances are you'll have to win by the clock. Mission 073 - Heat Ray ( DM-HeatRay ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Loque, Scythe, Scorn, Gnasher, Cerberus, Hellhound Map Details Hyperion slums As Liandri operations on Taryd became more and more automated, the surface sectors of Hyperion were neglected and never received the technological upgrades available to the upper strata of the city. This maze of ground level buildings is now the slums of Taryd, still inhabited by the humans that maintain the largely automated Liandri workforce. Briefing "The Krall saw the same tactical value in the slums that we did. Their initial wave of infantry is already in place and transport ships are in route. That means heavy weaponry and necris vehicles are on the way. So lets finish this. Quickly." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Necris vehicle reinforcements are already en route to Hyperion. - Use the Invisibility powerup and gain a tactical advantage. Strategy & Tactics This mission is stupid. Heatray is an interesting map, but the settings are ridiculous. First of all, the enemy outnumbers you 4-6. Second, they have Loque, who not only has high stats on his own, but he also has special code in the game to make him a higher difficulty than the other bots. Third, the enemy gets a DarkWalker. That wouldn't be a problem since that is a normal feature of HeatRay. The problem is that they are the only ones who *can* use the DarkWalker. It's locked if you try to get in, and even if they get in and back out again, it's still locked. Fourth and finally, the Insane difficulty puts the bot skill at Inhuman - Godlike. Whoever thought of stacking penalties like this needs to seriously demonstrate what he was thinking. As far as I can tell this mission, like that dragon you were just determined to fight, is a 'dead end' for bad decision making. It *is* beatable, but I'm not sure how you go about it on Insane, as even my best results were still ~8 points behind. The mission briefing suggests you use the Invisibility powerup for a 'tactical advantage' which probably means it wants you to use it to counter the Dark Walker, but the higher level bots can track you by sound even if you're invisible and they time the powerups themselves anyway. My only suggestion here is to go back to the mission selection screen and choose containment instead. Mission 074 - Carbon Fire ( DM-Carbonfire ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Aspect, Collossus, OSC, Raptor Map Details Hyperion strata Work days on Taryd are notoriously long and difficult, leaving little time for the mundane chores of day-to-day life. As an incentive to potential colonists, the Liandri Corp. offers a complimentary Mark I domestic robot to each family that moves to Taryd. The Carbonfire production facility even offers daily tours and incentives to first time customers. Briefing "We keep capturing mines but we don't have the manpower to run them at full capacity. Liandri domestic bots are pretty rugged, and HQ thinks they can be retooled for mining work. Ronin's job is to take over the Carbon-Fire production facility and reroute all shipments to Izanagi territory." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Trap enemies within the disposal chute, or retrieve the powerups for your team. Strategy & Tactics The idea on this mission is to keep the powerups out of enemy hands. I suggest letting one of your allies have the powerups and then following them to provide a distraction for their enemies. A high-level bot with berserk and double damage can quickly turn the tide, but they have to survive. On higher difficulties, the bots have incredible aim and so offense powerups really come down to who shoots first. This is where you come in: The enemy bots will automatically shoot at you. Since you can evade the bots better than other bots can, you'll be able to 'deflect' attacks that might have been directed at your ally. The effect is similar to doing a flyby with an M134. Mission 075 - Strident ( CTF-Strident ) Goal: 5 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Matrix, Cathode, Enigma, Entropy Map Details The Strident, beneath Hyperion The Strident has always been a mystery to the flesh and blood humans that work on the surface of Hyperion. These subterranean chambers appear to be the central focus of the mainframe that controls all Liandri operations on Taryd. Briefing "A robot army with a huge central brain has one weakness, right? If we can infiltrate and control the strident, we own all of Hyperion. Ronin's taking point on the assault. Once we give the all-clear, Izanagi techs will move forward and hack the mainframe." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Be aware of unstable FLaG bases. - Shifting magnetic forces within the Strident cause platforms to move. Strategy & Tactics Small and intense. 3 translocations can pretty much take you from one base to the other, and there are only a few ways into each. Even on Insane, the bots will largely ignore the Shield Belt in the center until after your 3rd capture, when they become particularly mean. The bots will have no problem getting into the enemy base and grabbing the flag, but they usually insist on taking the top route, where they will be harassed constantly and are unlikely to succeed. The best strategy seems to be to send your whole team on offense while you sneak in quietly and wait under the lift. Your allies will grab the flag and lure the enemies topside and away from the base. When they fail - which is almost inevitable - you can quickly grab the flag and run down the bottom route - left or right doesn't matter - and cut back in to the middle to pick up the shield or health if necessary before cutting back to the outside while remaining on the bottom level. Use the jump pad on the bottom floor of your base to come in through the top. It's worth trading a couple seconds of vulnerability for the insurance that you don't get trapped on the bottom floor if the lift raises. If you can secure a +3 lead in this way, switch your team to defense. You're unlikely to secure more flag captures once the bots go crazy, as their miniguns will strip your shield incredibly fast and they time the powerups to prevent you from getting another. The idea, instead, is to stop them from catching up in the time that remains. You can also refrain from making a 3rd capture at all, to prevent the bots going crazy while you maintain a +2 choke hold, but it doesn't really matter. Once you get 3, they're almost guaranteed to score at least 1 capture and it becomes a +2 choke hold anyway. If you successfully scored a 3rd capture during a +2 lead, you can score a 4th or 5th capture with the same lead so don't fret too much if they start scoring. If they close it to a +1 lead, go back on offense to try and widen\maintain the lead, and make them fight the battle on their turf. Mission 076 - Containment ( vCTF-Containment ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Cathode, Enigma, Monarch, Syntax Map Details Hyperion fringe territories Little is known about this remote facility other than it is maintained by the Liandri Corp. Satellite images show some sort of cage in the center and Intel believes it holds a recovered Darkwalker vehicle. The Liandri have always wanted access to Necris technology, and this could be their chance to make some advancements in nanotech research. Briefing "The Liandri captured a necris 'Dark Walker' vehicle and they've hidden it in a well guarded research facility. Izanagi techs want that walker. Bad. If we steal it we could learn enough about necris technology to train our combat forces. That means we could hijack necris vehicles directly off the battlefield and use the bastards' own technology against them." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The Darkwalker in the central chamber cannot be moved, but its powerful weapons are available to either team. Strategy & Tactics I wasn't very happy with this level. The Dark Walker in the middle is supposed to sway the balance of power, but if you try to pilot it, the bot->player focus really messes things up. The heavier vehicles are not applicable for you to pilot because they move too slowly, the bots focus on them, and ultimately it just hurts you and your team. While the raptor *can* work, it's mobility also makes it vulnerable. It's best to just go straight for the manta. Your bots can't pilot those very intelligently anyway, and it's your only realistic chance of avoiding the borg. The best route to take is the far left\right paths, which snake into the center. You can't go through the side tunnels in the center because they have barriers, but past those are some ruined walls to use for cover and beyond *those* is a tunnel you can jump into. This usually puts you out-of-the-way of their main force. They will sometimes park the Goliath in front of the tunnels momentarily before they drive it into the center tunnel, but that is an exception rather than the rule. Once you get into the enemy base, try to smash anyone guarding the flag while you park your manta on their platform. Grab the flag and jump off the nearest ledge. You'll want to be careful with the hoverboard - the bots have incredible aim and easily dismount you if you use it for anything other than exploiting the straightaway after a sharp corner. I usually jump off the hoverboard to make sharp turns and jump back on to take advantage of the broken in line-of-sight. Don't try to stay on the hoverboard if the enemy is shooting at you, the odds are they will hit you and effectively kill you. If you jump off the hoverboard, they still won't be able to gain on you without sacrificing their ability to shoot and there's a good chance you'll round the next corner before they do, and can resume using your hoverboard to further your lead. You should be able to secure at least two captures this way, and then it becomes a matter of stopping the enemy. I put my team on offense just for the off-chance that they secure a capture, but really, their efforts mostly just helped keep the center clear of enemies. I'm curious if telling a bot to Hold Position on the Dark Walker's spawn point would help your team maintain control of it, or if the bots would be too stupid to actually use it. There is a shield belt on top of the dark walker containment, and a portal to the raptor you can use to reach it in the back of your base. Mission 077 - Gateway ( DM-Gateway ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Othello Enemies: Matrix, Entropy, Cathode, Enigma Map Details Taryd, various locations. The Liandri Corporation has been working for years to perfect the portal technology used in the Tournaments. They're hoping to increase teleporter distances, and make the system useful on a global scale. This working prototype has portals that can instantly move personnel and equipment to any pre-programmed location on Taryd. Briefing "Matrix is our only known source for the Hyperion security codes. We've tracked him down but he won't surrender. He's afraid of being formatted and losing his last few human memories. He's been using Liandral portal tech to evade Izanagi forces so they called Ronin to finish the job. Without those protocols, we can't access the mainframe cores and Liandri technicians could sabotage our operations from anywhere on Taryd." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Jump Boots give you access to other, more vital powerups. Strategy & Tactics "He's afraid of being formatted.." Hehe. Anyway, this is an interesting level. Once again, you're outnumbered 2:1, so this can be a tricky mission. There are three battlegrounds connected by portals. The enemies will mainly congregate in the 'Jungle' and 'Sky-Platform' areas, and rarely venture into the 'Snowscape.' The Platform, in particular, as that is where the shield belt spawns. The major obstacle in this mission is Othello. He will constantly be dying and getting himself separated from you, where he will then die again and again. You can mitigate this somewhat by telling him to hold position in the snow area, where the bots rarely venture but being that he is a bot himself, he has difficulty making it there without passing the other bots and getting killed repeatedly. You can mitigate this further by telling him to cover you, and then camping in the snow area yourself. This helps quite a bit, but it is still unstable. Any deaths propel you \Othello into enemy territory and one death turns into many. The Jungle area is virtually worthless in terms of strategic value. You can spam the portal entrance with rockets and bio-goo, and it does have the stinger which can be useful, but having only mid\close range weapons when the enemy outnumbers you with long range weapons is not going to help you in the long run. The main battlefield - and the most important - is the Sky Platform. The Link Gun & Shock Rifle spawn out here, as does most of the Sniper Ammo. There is health on either end. Jumping into the fan on the far end near the health kits will propel you into the sky where you can reach the shield belt. This is a good place to tell Othello to hold position so he will camp the shield belt. If you have decent aim, you can camp here yourself and shoot any airborne bots who try to use the fan to reach you. You can also provide support to Othello should he die and attempt to return, and there is health down below as well. Ultimately though, you'll probably have to come down and fight the bots on the platform. Of all the weapons to use, the Shock\Sniper and the Stinger\Link Gun work the best since they aren't influenced at all by the change in gravity. There aren't a lot of special tricks you can use on this mission, other than to make sure you get the Shield Belt as often as possible and stay near Othello to provide cover, distract his enemies, and try to out-score the enemy. I used the shock rifle at long range for most of the mission but in retrospect it may have been easier to use the link gun to hit multiple targets on the narrow walkways and forget trying to keep distance in such a crowded area. Mission 078 - Containment ( vCTF-Containment ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Enigma, Entropy, Evolution, Aspect Map Details Hyperion fringe territories Little is known about this remote facility other than it is maintained by the Liandri Corp. Satellite images show some sort of cage in the center and Intel believes it holds a recovered Darkwalker vehicle. The Liandri have always wanted access to Necris technology, and this could be their chance to make some advancements in nanotech research. Briefing "The Liandri captured a necris 'Dark Walker' vehicle and they've hidden it in a well guarded research facility. Izanagi techs want that walker. Bad. If we steal it we could learn enough about necris technology to train our combat forces. That means we could hijack necris vehicles directly off the battlefield and use the bastards' own technology against them." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The Darkwalker in the central chamber cannot be moved, but its powerful weapons are available to either team. Strategy & Tactics I wasn't very happy with this level. The Dark Walker in the middle is supposed to sway the balance of power, but if you try to pilot it, the bot->player focus really messes things up. The heavier vehicles are not applicable for you to pilot because they move too slowly, the bots focus on them, and ultimately it just hurts you and your team. While the raptor *can* work, it's mobility also makes it vulnerable. It's best to just go straight for the manta. Your bots can't pilot those very intelligently anyway, and it's your only realistic chance of avoiding the borg. The best route to take is the far left\right paths, which snake into the center. You can't go through the side tunnels in the center because they have barriers, but past those are some ruined walls to use for cover and beyond *those* is a tunnel you can jump into. This usually puts you out-of-the-way of their main force. They will sometimes park the Goliath in front of the tunnels momentarily before they drive it into the center tunnel, but that is an exception rather than the rule. Once you get into the enemy base, try to smash anyone guarding the flag while you park your manta on their platform. Grab the flag and jump off the nearest ledge. You'll want to be careful with the hoverboard - the bots have incredible aim and easily dismount you if you use it for anything other than exploiting the straightaway after a sharp corner. I usually jump off the hoverboard to make sharp turns and jump back on to take advantage of the broken in line-of-sight. Don't try to stay on the hoverboard if the enemy is shooting at you, the odds are they will hit you and effectively kill you. If you jump off the hoverboard, they still won't be able to gain on you without sacrificing their ability to shoot and there's a good chance you'll round the next corner before they do, and can resume using your hoverboard to further your lead. You should be able to secure at least two captures this way, and then it becomes a matter of stopping the enemy. I put my team on offense just for the off-chance that they secure a capture, but really, their efforts mostly just helped keep the center clear of enemies. I'm curious if telling a bot to Hold Position on the Dark Walker's spawn point would help your team maintain control of it, or if the bots would be too stupid to actually use it. There is a shield belt on top of the dark walker containment, and a portal to the raptor you can use to reach it in the back of your base. Mission 079 - Heat Ray ( DM-HeatRay ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Loque, Scythe, Hellhound, Scorn, Worg, Gnasher Map Details Hyperion slums As Liandri operations on Taryd became more and more automated, the surface sectors of Hyperion were neglected and never received the technological upgrades available to the upper strata of the city. This maze of ground level buildings is now the slums of Taryd, still inhabited by the humans that maintain the largely automated Liandri workforce. Briefing "The Krall saw the same tactical value in the slums that we did. Their initial wave of infantry is already in place and transport ships are in route. That means heavy weaponry and necris vehicles are on the way. So lets finish this. Quickly." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Necris vehicle reinforcements are already en route to Hyperion. - Use the Invisibility powerup and gain a tactical advantage. Strategy & Tactics A Dark Walker spawns about 2 minutes into the mission. No matter what else you are doing, you need to be there to greet it when it arrives. The Invisibility powerup spawns 30 seconds before that, and the shield belt 30 seconds before that. The other powerups (The Thighpads and Armor Vest) are available from the start, so the best bet is to run a spiral circuit immediately when the mission starts - from the Armor Vest to the Thigh Pads, to the Shield Belt, to the Invisibility and then to the Dark Walker. This should take you to each powerup shortly before it spawns. It helps to tell your bots to Cover you, so that they won't be wandering alone. They'll provide some cover for you while you ruin your circuit, support\heal you when you get in the Dark Walker, and will be nearby to claim the powerups when\if it gets destroyed. Once you get in the Dark Walker, try to stay in the corner of the main area. If you go further down the road in either direction it widens the turning radius required to hit the enemies who will be attacking you from both directions. Ideally you would position yourself where they only have one way to reach you, but the only place where that might be possible is on the platform the Dark Walker spawns at, which (probably intentionally) hinders it's ability to fire, so that isn't very defensible or productive. Kill as many bots as you can with the Dark Walker, and when it gets destroyed, try to use long distance combat to hit & run. You don't want to get cornered in any prolonged encounters because more enemies are always on the way. A second Dark Walker will spawn about 2 minutes from the time the first one was killed. Ideally you would claim this one as well and win the level easily, but you can still win if the enemy gets there before you do. The invisibility helps for taking down the Dark Walker. Just hit it with everything you've got as quickly as possible so that your allies will assist you in destroying it. If it wins that exchange, you'd be better off avoiding it for the remainder of the match since it's probably almost over at this point. It can't get inside the buildings, and any of the main weapons in the level can be used to spam corridors. Pull your bots up into the room near the Invisibility. The enemy has no way to enter except single file, on foot, through a narrow corridor. You don't want to remain here forever. You'll eventually run low on health\ammo and your allies will be respawning outside and vulnerable, giving the enemy more kills. When the invisibility respawns, you can attempt another assault on the Dark Walker for it's powerups or, if you're lucky, the enemy may have even abandoned the Dark Walker to raid your campsite upstairs. If they did, you can steal it out from under them and use it against them. Mission 080 - Carbon Fire ( DM-Carbonfire ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Aspect, Evolution, OSC, Syntax Map Details Hyperion strata Work days on Taryd are notoriously long and difficult, leaving little time for the mundane chores of day-to-day life. As an incentive to potential colonists, the Liandri Corp. offers a complimentary Mark I domestic robot to each family that moves to Taryd. The Carbonfire production facility even offers daily tours and incentives to first time customers. Briefing "We keep capturing mines but we don't have the manpower to run them at full capacity. Liandri domestic bots are pretty rugged, and HQ thinks they can be retooled for mining work. Ronin's job is to take over the Carbon-Fire production facility and reroute all shipments to Izanagi territory." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Trap enemies within the disposal chute, or retrieve the powerups for your team. Strategy & Tactics The idea on this mission is to keep the powerups out of enemy hands. I suggest letting one of your allies have the powerups and then following them to provide a distraction for their enemies. A high-level bot with berserk and double damage can quickly turn the tide, but they have to survive. On higher difficulties, the bots have incredible aim and so offense powerups really come down to who shoots first. This is where you come in: The enemy bots will automatically shoot at you. Since you can evade the bots better than other bots can, you'll be able to 'deflect' attacks that might have been directed at your ally. The effect is similar to doing a flyby with an M134. Mission 081 - Strident ( CTF-Strident ) Goal: 5 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Matrix, Cathode, Enigma, Entropy Map Details The Strident, beneath Hyperion The Strident has always been a mystery to the flesh and blood humans that work on the surface of Hyperion. These subterranean chambers appear to be the central focus of the mainframe that controls all Liandri operations on Taryd. Briefing "A robot army with a huge central brain has one weakness, right? If we can infiltrate and control the strident, we own all of Hyperion. Ronin's taking point on the assault. Once we give the all-clear, Izanagi techs will move forward and hack the mainframe." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Be aware of unstable FLaG bases. - Shifting magnetic forces within the Strident cause platforms to move. Strategy & Tactics Small and intense. 3 translocations can pretty much take you from one base to the other, and there are only a few ways into each. Even on Insane, the bots will largely ignore the Shield Belt in the center until after your 3rd capture, when they become particularly mean. The bots will have no problem getting into the enemy base and grabbing the flag, but they usually insist on taking the top route, where they will be harassed constantly and are unlikely to succeed. The best strategy seems to be to send your whole team on offense while you sneak in quietly and wait under the lift. Your allies will grab the flag and lure the enemies topside and away from the base. When they fail - which is almost inevitable - you can quickly grab the flag and run down the bottom route - left or right doesn't matter - and cut back in to the middle to pick up the shield or health if necessary before cutting back to the outside while remaining on the bottom level. Use the jump pad on the bottom floor of your base to come in through the top. It's worth trading a couple seconds of vulnerability for the insurance that you don't get trapped on the bottom floor if the lift raises. If you can secure a +3 lead in this way, switch your team to defense. You're unlikely to secure more flag captures once the bots go crazy, as their miniguns will strip your shield incredibly fast and they time the powerups to prevent you from getting another. The idea, instead, is to stop them from catching up in the time that remains. You can also refrain from making a 3rd capture at all, to prevent the bots going crazy while you maintain a +2 choke hold, but it doesn't really matter. Once you get 3, they're almost guaranteed to score at least 1 capture and it becomes a +2 choke hold anyway. If you successfully scored a 3rd capture during a +2 lead, you can score a 4th or 5th capture with the same lead so don't fret too much if they start scoring. If they close it to a +1 lead, go back on offense to try and widen\maintain the lead, and make them fight the battle on their turf. Mission 082 - Gateway ( DM-Gateway ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Othello Enemies: Matrix, Entropy, Cathode, Enigma Map Details Taryd, various locations. The Liandri Corporation has been working for years to perfect the portal technology used in the Tournaments. They're hoping to increase teleporter distances, and make the system useful on a global scale. This working prototype has portals that can instantly move personnel and equipment to any pre-programmed location on Taryd. Briefing "Matrix is our only known source for the Hyperion security codes. We've tracked him down but he won't surrender. He's afraid of being formatted and losing his last few human memories. He's been using Liandral portal tech to evade Izanagi forces so they called Ronin to finish the job. Without those protocols, we can't access the mainframe cores and Liandri technicians could sabotage our operations from anywhere on Taryd." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Jump Boots give you access to other, more vital powerups. Strategy & Tactics "He's afraid of being formatted.." Hehe. Anyway, this is an interesting level. Once again, you're outnumbered 2:1, so this can be a tricky mission. There are three battlegrounds connected by portals. The enemies will mainly congregate in the 'Jungle' and 'Sky-Platform' areas, and rarely venture into the 'Snowscape.' The Platform, in particular, as that is where the shield belt spawns. The major obstacle in this mission is Othello. He will constantly be dying and getting himself separated from you, where he will then die again and again. You can mitigate this somewhat by telling him to hold position in the snow area, where the bots rarely venture but being that he is a bot himself, he has difficulty making it there without passing the other bots and getting killed repeatedly. You can mitigate this further by telling him to cover you, and then camping in the snow area yourself. This helps quite a bit, but it is still unstable. Any deaths propel you \Othello into enemy territory and one death turns into many. The Jungle area is virtually worthless in terms of strategic value. You can spam the portal entrance with rockets and bio-goo, and it does have the stinger which can be useful, but having only mid\close range weapons when the enemy outnumbers you with long range weapons is not going to help you in the long run. The main battlefield - and the most important - is the Sky Platform. The Link Gun & Shock Rifle spawn out here, as does most of the Sniper Ammo. There is health on either end. Jumping into the fan on the far end near the health kits will propel you into the sky where you can reach the shield belt. This is a good place to tell Othello to hold position so he will camp the shield belt. If you have decent aim, you can camp here yourself and shoot any airborne bots who try to use the fan to reach you. You can also provide support to Othello should he die and attempt to return, and there is health down below as well. Ultimately though, you'll probably have to come down and fight the bots on the platform. Of all the weapons to use, the Shock\Sniper and the Stinger\Link Gun work the best since they aren't influenced at all by the change in gravity. There aren't a lot of special tricks you can use on this mission, other than to make sure you get the Shield Belt as often as possible and stay near Othello to provide cover, distract his enemies, and try to out-score the enemy. I used the shock rifle at long range for most of the mission but in retrospect it may have been easier to use the link gun to hit multiple targets on the narrow walkways and forget trying to keep distance in such a crowded area. Mission 083 - Dusk ( WAR-Dusk ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Evolution, Mihr, Syntax, Torque, Monarch, Raptor Map Details Hyperion fringe territories Izanagi satellites only recently discovered this secretive distribution facility. Analysis of satellite images tells us that the facility is fully automated, and connected to a Liandri mining operation several levels below ground. Raw ore is transported to the surface where it's packaged and moved off for processing. Briefing "This facility is running low profile, so there's no heavy security. Izanagi expects us to walk in and pick up another tarydium mine for their stock- holders. If we can capture all the nodes surrounding the mine entrance, we'll open the security doors, giving us access to a Circada. The cores are vulnerable to aerial attack, so that airship would be a huge advantage." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - Control Nodes on both sides of the mine entrance to open the security doors and access the Cicada. - Use the shaped charge or a Redeemer to destroy barricades that block large vehicles. - Use the Orb to instantly take control of a Node. Strategy & Tactics Contrary to what the briefing says, you can pretty well ignore the center nodes for this mission. In fact, you can ignore virtually every node except the East Tank Node. What you want to do is hop topside and grab your orb - as quickly as possible - and hoverboard straight over to the southwest node. As soon as that is up, use the teleporter back to your Core, grab the orb again, and quickly hoverboard out to the East Tank node (Southeast Node). Sneak in and plant the orb on the node. If you felt like being mean, you could again go back and do the same on the north, but that kind of gloating is why villains always lose. Once you've taken the east tank node, all you have to do is defend it for a moment (preferably using the laser turrets) in case anyone tries to reclaim it. If Jester claims the northeast node and you still have control of the southeast node, jump out of the turret and go get in the nearby Circada. Fly that over to the enemy base, look down, and unload on their Core. I beat this mission 3 times in a row with this method, encountering 0-2 enemies. If that plan falls through, this can be a tricky mission. The enemy seems to want to attack with 3 and defend with 3. Since there are 6 of them, they can have 2 people on each path, while you have to choose a 2:1:1 ratio. Your bots will generally focus on the northern path, while the enemy will generally focus on the southern path. Bishop is usually the one going after the center nodes, and he will eventually succeed at this, but it's not a real substantial gain and the circada will probably be shot down before it can destroy either of the enemy prime nodes. Once the enemy gets a hold of a node, it's difficult to uproot them from it. They'll have 3 people attacking your core and 3 people healing the prime node. It's not pretty, and it's difficult to avoid. You can't be everywhere at once, and the enemy's superior numbers will inevitably succeed wherever you aren't. The Circadas can help with this, allowing you to fly between the northeast\southeast prime nodes and try to keep them pinned down while your allies move in. Still, this is an uphill battle. The early portions of the mission are very important. When a node switches teams, anyone assigned to defend it will no longer recognize it as a defensible location, and will shift their attention somewhere else. Similarly, anyone attacking the southern pass unsuccessfully will respawn at the northern pass where they will survive longer. As a result anyone from the southern pass that you uproot will naturally tend to migrate north. We cut them off at the southeast node, so the defenders default to the north node and the attackers are torn between them. Their entire army clumps itself together at the northeast node. What the plan above does is exploit their disorganization during that transition and use it to rush their core. If you wait at the south node, they will eventually get organized and sweep through the north, likely destroying your core before you can destroy theirs. This also puts you in an uncomfortable position since leaving the southeast node to aid the northern front means losing the only node that allows you to attack the enemy core, and possibly allowing them to sweep the south too. Take their prime node before they have a chance to mobilize in the south, and then use that as a springboard to attack the enemy core while it's vulnerable. Mission 084 - Power Surge ( WAR-PowerSurge ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Evolution, Mihr, Syntax, Monarch Map Details Hyperion fringe territories, Tarydium mine Located a half-mile below the planet's surface, the Dusk mine was established by Liandri scientists in an experiment to test self-sufficient Automaton management of resources. The overloaded systems often release a huge powersurge that vents up to the surface in order to protect the volatile Tarydium stockpiles below. Briefing "Intel says we can take control of the drill mech loading bay and send the mining bots into overdrive. As long as we hold that node, they'll keep working, and the resulting power surges will funnel right into the enemy core. Kaboom." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - Control the Mine Node to engage the mining drones. - The drones will automatically begin to mine and stockpile Tarydium. - The mine overload discharges a high voltage pulse that damages the enemy Core. - The East and West Tank Nodes hold important Goliath firepower. Strategy & Tactics I like this map. Each core connects to two nodes, which also connect to each other. The western tips of the resulting triangles also link with each other. The 'countdown' node in the center will overload the enemy core, doing 20% damage. The enemy will focus primarily on this in the beginning, but if you take their prime node they will dedicate their efforts to getting it back. This is also useful because it provides a buffer between the enemy and your prime node, and the necessary time to respond to threats from that direction. The Prime Nodes do not have orb spawners - only the PowerCore and the Countdown node have orb spawners. Therefore, the goal is to use the orb to claim the countdown node, and then take the orb that spawns there and push into the enemy prime node. At that point, it's all about maintaining control. There is a goliath that can help prevent the enemy orb carrier from reclaiming their prime node. That basically settles it. Mission 085 - Heat Ray ( DM-HeatRay ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Aspect, Collossus, OSC, Raptor Map Details Hyperion slums As Liandri operations on Taryd became more and more automated, the surface sectors of Hyperion were neglected and never received the technological upgrades available to the upper strata of the city. This maze of ground level buildings is now the slums of Taryd, still inhabited by the humans that maintain the largely automated Liandri workforce. Briefing "We need to secure the slums before we move into the heart of the city. Then we start climbing into the upper-atmosphere of Hyperion and strike into the heart of Liandri operations." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Use the Invisibility powerup and gain a tactical advantage. Strategy & Tactics This is the easiest incarnation of HeatRay. It also seems to be easier than the other Deathmatch maps. You have an advantage here in that the bots will stick to mid\close range weapons. This is a weakness which you can exploit with the shock & sniper rifles. Tell your bots to follow you and try to keep your distance from the enemy bots. It helps to keep track of the shield belt and the invisibility as well. You should be able to run circles around them at this point even without the powerups. Mission 086 - Coret ( CTF-Coret ) Goal: 5 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Entropy, Cathode, Evolution, Mihr Map Details Hyperion Strata, Coret Acquisition Center Prior to the war, the Coret Acquisition Center was a major social hub for all of Taryd's colonists. Since the fighting started, however, the militia is enforcing a strict curfew, and the facility empties out as the sun goes down. Briefing "We were sent here to meet a Liandri informant with sensitive data about something called: 'The Strident.' Something tipped off the Liandri and now we're doing this the loud way. Jester: Find that informant. Stay in close radio contact. We'll keep Liandri security busy for you." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - A UDamage powerup is located on the bridge spanning the central chamber. Strategy & Tactics Another remake from UT Classic. The pathing is decent enough that the bots will use all the paths available, although they do stop to use the translocator in a few places. It's not a very big map, so you're within a few translocations from everywhere. This makes it somewhat tricky to score a successful capture. The enemy will be very aggressive on this map, and trying to play defensively just lets them get away with it. Interestingly, you seem to find less opposition when entering through the front gate than you do coming from the sides. The same doesn't seem to be true in reverse though, and there is better cover on the side-paths anyway. Unless you can waltz in and waltz back out, the best bet seems to be assists. When your allies leave with the flag, the enemy will rush out to kill them, leaving the base undefended. You can follow your allies to provide cover fire, or you can wait inside the blue base while the enemy force chases your flag carrier. If you grab the flag when it's returned, the bot collective will turn toward you, but they are in the midfield and you can usually push further out of the blue base before they catch you. If you happen to be in red territory at that time, there is a chance your allies will hold off the enemies, complete the capture, or hold the flag long enough for you to reinforce them in turn. 5 captures wins the match, but chances are you'll have to win by the clock. Mission 087 - Carbon Fire ( DM-Carbonfire ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Evolution, Monarch, Mihr, Syntax Map Details Hyperion strata Work days on Taryd are notoriously long and difficult, leaving little time for the mundane chores of day-to-day life. As an incentive to potential colonists, the Liandri Corp. offers a complimentary Mark I domestic robot to each family that moves to Taryd. The Carbonfire production facility even offers daily tours and incentives to first time customers. Briefing "We keep capturing mines but we don't have the manpower to run them at full capacity. Liandri domestic bots are pretty rugged, and HQ thinks they can be retooled for mining work. Ronin's job is to take over the Carbon-Fire production facility and reroute all shipments to Izanagi territory." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Trap enemies within the disposal chute, or retrieve the powerups for your team. Strategy & Tactics The idea on this mission is to keep the powerups out of enemy hands. I suggest letting one of your allies have the powerups and then following them to provide a distraction for their enemies. A high-level bot with berserk and double damage can quickly turn the tide, but they have to survive. On higher difficulties, the bots have incredible aim and so offense powerups really come down to who shoots first. This is where you come in: The enemy bots will automatically shoot at you. Since you can evade the bots better than other bots can, you'll be able to 'deflect' attacks that might have been directed at your ally. The effect is similar to doing a flyby with an M134. Mission 088 - Containment ( vCTF-Containment ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Matrix, Monarch, Mihr, OSC Map Details Hyperion fringe territories Little is known about this remote facility other than it is maintained by the Liandri Corp. Satellite images show some sort of cage in the center and Intel believes it holds a recovered Darkwalker vehicle. The Liandri have always wanted access to Necris technology, and this could be their chance to make some advancements in nanotech research. Briefing "We keep capturing mines but we don't have the manpower to run them at full capacity. Liandri domestic bots are pretty rugged, and HQ thinks they can be retooled for mining work. Ronin's job is to take over the Carbon-Fire production facility and reroute all shipments to Izanagi territory." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The Darkwalker in the central chamber cannot be moved, but its powerful weapons are available to either team. Strategy & Tactics I wasn't very happy with this level. The Dark Walker in the middle is supposed to sway the balance of power, but if you try to pilot it, the bot->player focus really messes things up. The heavier vehicles are not applicable for you to pilot because they move too slowly, the bots focus on them, and ultimately it just hurts you and your team. While the raptor *can* work, it's mobility also makes it vulnerable. It's best to just go straight for the manta. Your bots can't pilot those very intelligently anyway, and it's your only realistic chance of avoiding the borg. The best route to take is the far left\right paths, which snake into the center. You can't go through the side tunnels in the center because they have barriers, but past those are some ruined walls to use for cover and beyond *those* is a tunnel you can jump into. This usually puts you out-of-the-way of their main force. They will sometimes park the Goliath in front of the tunnels momentarily before they drive it into the center tunnel, but that is an exception rather than the rule. Once you get into the enemy base, try to smash anyone guarding the flag while you park your manta on their platform. Grab the flag and jump off the nearest ledge. You'll want to be careful with the hoverboard - the bots have incredible aim and easily dismount you if you use it for anything other than exploiting the straightaway after a sharp corner. I usually jump off the hoverboard to make sharp turns and jump back on to take advantage of the broken in line-of-sight. Don't try to stay on the hoverboard if the enemy is shooting at you, the odds are they will hit you and effectively kill you. If you jump off the hoverboard, they still won't be able to gain on you without sacrificing their ability to shoot and there's a good chance you'll round the next corner before they do, and can resume using your hoverboard to further your lead. You should be able to secure at least two captures this way, and then it becomes a matter of stopping the enemy. I put my team on offense just for the off-chance that they secure a capture, but really, their efforts mostly just helped keep the center clear of enemies. I'm curious if telling a bot to Hold Position on the Dark Walker's spawn point would help your team maintain control of it, or if the bots would be too stupid to actually use it. There is a shield belt on top of the dark walker containment, and a portal to the raptor you can use to reach it in the back of your base. Mission 089 - Islander ( WAR-Islander ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Aspect, Collossus, Torque, Raptor Map Details Hyperion archipelago Liandri planners wanted an isolated communication station that wouldn't have to filter out background noise and interference from civilian signals. The islands of the northern archipelago met their communication needs but the limited space didn't allow for extensive defensive capabilities. Briefing "Izanagi H.Q. wants a foreward O.P. to monitor Krall activity in the north. They found a military comms facility on the Hyperion archipelago that's perfect. Except for the Liandri bots stationed there. This is a covert insertion so we'll have limited vehicle support. Shouldn't be a problem. Their only defenses are dismounted infantry and a few turrets." Objectives - Control the Prime Node to access the enemy Core. - Maintain control of this Node to shield your Core. - Use the shaped charge or Redeemer to destroy enemy barricades. - Watch for enemy turrets. They have a clear view of the central battlefield. - Control the Support Node to gain access to a Raptor. Strategy & Tactics Personally, I hate this map. It's one of the only asymmetrical maps. The red team gets all the nodes and most vehicles while the blue team gets all the turrets and a 'less vulnerable' core. This map can be frustrating at first since the PowerCore is difficult to even find. The nodes are on your side of the map so getting the orb to them is pretty easy. Although you really only need the prime node, you'll also want the Air Node, which is pretty easy to maintain control of. Just fly the raptor over to the enemy base and circle around the back. Their core is on ground level literally on the back side of their base. (Fly behind their base and look west.) I found this level to be easy compared to many of the previous levels. The bots spawn far away with little means to reciprocate against you. If you're feeling malicious you can even take the time to kill their orb carrier with the shock rifle from the other side of the level. The ones who actually make it to you are usually preoccupied with attacking the node and make themselves easy targets. Even if they kill you, you respawn less than 10 seconds away with an orb.. Mission 090 - Strident ( CTF-Strident ) Goal: 5 Captures Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scythe, Scorn, Gnasher, Cerberus Map Details The Strident, beneath Hyperion The Strident has always been a mystery to the flesh and blood humans that work on the surface of Hyperion. These subterranean chambers appear to be the central focus of the mainframe that controls all Liandri operations on Taryd. Briefing "We've been giving the Krall a beating. They're attacking less often, but they seem better coordinated *and* more focused. I'd wager the necris are pulling in the reigns after their recent losses. They timed their move perfectly. Just when we attacked the Liandri and distracted them, the Krall snuck a force into the strident unnoticed. They put a necris virus in the system that could lower the sky-shield and leave us all defenseless. So let's go play doctor." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Be aware of unstable FLaG bases. - Shifting magnetic forces within the Strident cause platforms to move. Strategy & Tactics Small and intense. 3 translocations can pretty much take you from one base to the other, and there are only a few ways into each. Even on Insane, the bots will largely ignore the Shield Belt in the center until after your 3rd capture, when they become particularly mean. The bots will have no problem getting into the enemy base and grabbing the flag, but they usually insist on taking the top route, where they will be harassed constantly and are unlikely to succeed. The best strategy seems to be to send your whole team on offense while you sneak in quietly and wait under the lift. Your allies will grab the flag and lure the enemies topside and away from the base. When they fail - which is almost inevitable - you can quickly grab the flag and run down the bottom route - left or right doesn't matter - and cut back in to the middle to pick up the shield or health if necessary before cutting back to the outside while remaining on the bottom level. Use the jump pad on the bottom floor of your base to come in through the top. It's worth trading a couple seconds of vulnerability for the insurance that you don't get trapped on the bottom floor if the lift raises. If you can secure a +3 lead in this way, switch your team to defense. You're unlikely to secure more flag captures once the bots go crazy, as their miniguns will strip your shield incredibly fast and they time the powerups to prevent you from getting another. The idea, instead, is to stop them from catching up in the time that remains. You can also refrain from making a 3rd capture at all, to prevent the bots going crazy while you maintain a +2 choke hold, but it doesn't really matter. Once you get 3, they're almost guaranteed to score at least 1 capture and it becomes a +2 choke hold anyway. If you successfully scored a 3rd capture during a +2 lead, you can score a 4th or 5th capture with the same lead so don't fret too much if they start scoring. If they close it to a +1 lead, go back on offense to try and widen\maintain the lead, and make them fight the battle on their turf. Mission 091 - Heat Ray ( DM-HeatRay ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Loque, Scythe, Gnasher, Hellhound, Worg, Claw Map Details Hyperion slums As Liandri operations on Taryd became more and more automated, the surface sectors of Hyperion were neglected and never received the technological upgrades available to the upper strata of the city. This maze of ground level buildings is now the slums of Taryd, still inhabited by the humans that maintain the largely automated Liandri workforce. Briefing "The Krall saw the same tactical value in the slums that we did. Their initial wave of infantry is already in place and transport ships are in route. That means heavy weaponry and necris vehicles are on the way. So lets finish this. Quickly." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Necris vehicle reinforcements are already en route to Hyperion. - Use the Invisibility powerup and gain a tactical advantage. Strategy & Tactics A Dark Walker spawns about 2 minutes into the mission. No matter what else you are doing, you need to be there to greet it when it arrives. The Invisibility powerup spawns 30 seconds before that, and the shield belt 30 seconds before that. The other powerups (The Thighpads and Armor Vest) are available from the start, so the best bet is to run a spiral circuit immediately when the mission starts - from the Armor Vest to the Thigh Pads, to the Shield Belt, to the Invisibility and then to the Dark Walker. This should take you to each powerup shortly before it spawns. It helps to tell your bots to Cover you, so that they won't be wandering alone. They'll provide some cover for you while you ruin your circuit, support\heal you when you get in the Dark Walker, and will be nearby to claim the powerups when\if it gets destroyed. Once you get in the Dark Walker, try to stay in the corner of the main area. If you go further down the road in either direction it widens the turning radius required to hit the enemies who will be attacking you from both directions. Ideally you would position yourself where they only have one way to reach you, but the only place where that might be possible is on the platform the Dark Walker spawns at, which (probably intentionally) hinders it's ability to fire, so that isn't very defensible or productive. Kill as many bots as you can with the Dark Walker, and when it gets destroyed, try to use long distance combat to hit & run. You don't want to get cornered in any prolonged encounters because more enemies are always on the way. A second Dark Walker will spawn about 2 minutes from the time the first one was killed. Ideally you would claim this one as well and win the level easily, but you can still win if the enemy gets there before you do. The invisibility helps for taking down the Dark Walker. Just hit it with everything you've got as quickly as possible so that your allies will assist you in destroying it. If it wins that exchange, you'd be better off avoiding it for the remainder of the match since it's probably almost over at this point. It can't get inside the buildings, and any of the main weapons in the level can be used to spam corridors. Pull your bots up into the room near the Invisibility. The enemy has no way to enter except single file, on foot, through a narrow corridor. You don't want to remain here forever. You'll eventually run low on health\ammo and your allies will be respawning outside and vulnerable, giving the enemy more kills. When the invisibility respawns, you can attempt another assault on the Dark Walker for it's powerups or, if you're lucky, the enemy may have even abandoned the Dark Walker to raid your campsite upstairs. If they did, you can steal it out from under them and use it against them. Mission 092 - Gateway ( DM-Gateway ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Othello Enemies: Matrix, Entropy, Cathode, Enigma Map Details Taryd, various locations. The Liandri Corporation has been working for years to perfect the portal technology used in the Tournaments. They're hoping to increase teleporter distances, and make the system useful on a global scale. This working prototype has portals that can instantly move personnel and equipment to any pre-programmed location on Taryd. Briefing "Matrix is our only known source for the Hyperion security codes. We've tracked him down but he won't surrender. He's afraid of being formatted and losing his last few human memories. He's been using Liandral portal tech to evade Izanagi forces so they called Ronin to finish the job. Without those protocols, we can't access the mainframe cores and Liandri technicians could sabotage our operations from anywhere on Taryd." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Jump Boots give you access to other, more vital powerups. Strategy & Tactics "He's afraid of being formatted.." Hehe. Anyway, this is an interesting level. Once again, you're outnumbered 2:1, so this can be a tricky mission. There are three battlegrounds connected by portals. The enemies will mainly congregate in the 'Jungle' and 'Sky-Platform' areas, and rarely venture into the 'Snowscape.' The Platform, in particular, as that is where the shield belt spawns. The major obstacle in this mission is Othello. He will constantly be dying and getting himself separated from you, where he will then die again and again. You can mitigate this somewhat by telling him to hold position in the snow area, where the bots rarely venture but being that he is a bot himself, he has difficulty making it there without passing the other bots and getting killed repeatedly. You can mitigate this further by telling him to cover you, and then camping in the snow area yourself. This helps quite a bit, but it is still unstable. Any deaths propel you \Othello into enemy territory and one death turns into many. The Jungle area is virtually worthless in terms of strategic value. You can spam the portal entrance with rockets and bio-goo, and it does have the stinger which can be useful, but having only mid\close range weapons when the enemy outnumbers you with long range weapons is not going to help you in the long run. The main battlefield - and the most important - is the Sky Platform. The Link Gun & Shock Rifle spawn out here, as does most of the Sniper Ammo. There is health on either end. Jumping into the fan on the far end near the health kits will propel you into the sky where you can reach the shield belt. This is a good place to tell Othello to hold position so he will camp the shield belt. If you have decent aim, you can camp here yourself and shoot any airborne bots who try to use the fan to reach you. You can also provide support to Othello should he die and attempt to return, and there is health down below as well. Ultimately though, you'll probably have to come down and fight the bots on the platform. Of all the weapons to use, the Shock\Sniper and the Stinger\Link Gun work the best since they aren't influenced at all by the change in gravity. There aren't a lot of special tricks you can use on this mission, other than to make sure you get the Shield Belt as often as possible and stay near Othello to provide cover, distract his enemies, and try to out-score the enemy. I used the shock rifle at long range for most of the mission but in retrospect it may have been easier to use the link gun to hit multiple targets on the narrow walkways and forget trying to keep distance in such a crowded area. Mission 093 - Islander ( WAR-Islander ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Entropy, Collossus, Raptor, Mihr Map Details Hyperion archipelago Liandri planners wanted an isolated communication station that wouldn't have to filter out background noise and interference from civilian signals. The islands of the northern archipelago met their communication needs but the limited space didn't allow for extensive defensive capabilities. Briefing "Izanagi H.Q. wants a foreward O.P. to monitor Krall activity in the north. They found a military comms facility on the Hyperion archipelago that's perfect. Except for the Liandri bots stationed there. This is a covert insertion so we'll have limited vehicle support. Shouldn't be a problem. Their only defenses are dismounted infantry and a few turrets." Objectives - Control the Prime Node to access the enemy Core. - Maintain control of this Node to shield your Core. - Use the shaped charge or Redeemer to destroy enemy barricades. - Watch for enemy turrets. They have a clear view of the central battlefield. - Control the Support Node to gain access to a Raptor. Strategy & Tactics Personally, I hate this map. It's one of the only asymmetrical maps. The red team gets all the nodes and most vehicles while the blue team gets all the turrets and a 'less vulnerable' core. This map can be frustrating at first since the PowerCore is difficult to even find. The nodes are on your side of the map so getting the orb to them is pretty easy. Although you really only need the prime node, you'll also want the Air Node, which is pretty easy to maintain control of. Just fly the raptor over to the enemy base and circle around the back. Their core is on ground level literally on the back side of their base. (Fly behind their base and look west.) I found this level to be easy compared to many of the previous levels. The bots spawn far away with little means to reciprocate against you. If you're feeling malicious you can even take the time to kill their orb carrier with the shock rifle from the other side of the level. The ones who actually make it to you are usually preoccupied with attacking the node and make themselves easy targets. Even if they kill you, you respawn less than 10 seconds away with an orb.. Mission 094 - Containment ( vCTF-Containment_SP ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scythe, Scar, Lockjaw, Bargest Map Details Hyperion fringe territories Little is known about this remote facility other than it is maintained by the Liandri Corp. Satellite images show some sort of cage in the center and Intel believes it holds a recovered Darkwalker vehicle. The Liandri have always wanted access to Necris technology, and this could be their chance to make some advancements in nanotech research. Briefing "We keep capturing mines but we don't have the manpower to run them at full capacity. Liandri domestic bots are pretty rugged, and HQ thinks they can be retooled for mining work. Ronin's job is to take over the Carbon-Fire production facility and reroute all shipments to Izanagi territory." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The Darkwalker has been released and can now roam the battlefield. Strategy & Tactics This mission is identical to the other Containment levels, except that now the shield protecting the Dark Walker has been penetrated. This doesn't make a huge difference to gameplay. I wasn't very happy with this level. The Dark Walker in the middle is supposed to sway the balance of power, but if you try to pilot it, the bot->player focus really messes things up. The heavier vehicles are not applicable for you to pilot because they move too slowly, the bots focus on them, and ultimately it just hurts you and your team. While the raptor *can* work, it's mobility also makes it vulnerable. It's best to just go straight for the manta. Your bots can't pilot those very intelligently anyway, and it's your only realistic chance of avoiding the borg. The best route to take is the far left\right paths, which snake into the center. You can't go through the side tunnels in the center because they have barriers, but past those are some ruined walls to use for cover and beyond *those* is a tunnel you can jump into. This usually puts you out-of-the-way of their main force. They will sometimes park the Goliath in front of the tunnels momentarily before they drive it into the center tunnel, but that is an exception rather than the rule. Once you get into the enemy base, try to smash anyone guarding the flag while you park your manta on their platform. Grab the flag and jump off the nearest ledge. You'll want to be careful with the hoverboard - the bots have incredible aim and easily dismount you if you use it for anything other than exploiting the straightaway after a sharp corner. I usually jump off the hoverboard to make sharp turns and jump back on to take advantage of the broken in line-of-sight. Don't try to stay on the hoverboard if the enemy is shooting at you, the odds are they will hit you and effectively kill you. If you jump off the hoverboard, they still won't be able to gain on you without sacrificing their ability to shoot and there's a good chance you'll round the next corner before they do, and can resume using your hoverboard to further your lead. You should be able to secure at least two captures this way, and then it becomes a matter of stopping the enemy. I put my team on offense just for the off-chance that they secure a capture, but really, their efforts mostly just helped keep the center clear of enemies. I'm curious if telling a bot to Hold Position on the Dark Walker's spawn point would help your team maintain control of it, or if the bots would be too stupid to actually use it. There is a shield belt on top of the dark walker containment, and a portal to the raptor you can use to reach it in the back of your base. Mission 095 - Islander ( WAR-Islander ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Entropy, Raptor, Torque, Monarch Map Details Hyperion archipelago Liandri planners wanted an isolated communication station that wouldn't have to filter out background noise and interference from civilian signals. The islands of the northern archipelago met their communication needs but the limited space didn't allow for extensive defensive capabilities. Briefing "Izanagi H.Q. wants a foreward O.P. to monitor Krall activity in the north. They found a military comms facility on the Hyperion archipelago that's perfect. Except for the Liandri bots stationed there. This is a covert insertion so we'll have limited vehicle support. Shouldn't be a problem. Their only defenses are dismounted infantry and a few turrets." Objectives - Control the Prime Node to access the enemy Core. - Maintain control of this Node to shield your Core. - Use the shaped charge or Redeemer to destroy enemy barricades. - Watch for enemy turrets. They have a clear view of the central battlefield. - Control the Support Node to gain access to a Raptor. Strategy & Tactics Personally, I hate this map. It's one of the only asymmetrical maps. The red team gets all the nodes and most vehicles while the blue team gets all the turrets and a 'less vulnerable' core. This map can be frustrating at first since the PowerCore is difficult to even find. The nodes are on your side of the map so getting the orb to them is pretty easy. Although you really only need the prime node, you'll also want the Air Node, which is pretty easy to maintain control of. Just fly the raptor over to the enemy base and circle around the back. Their core is on ground level literally on the back side of their base. (Fly behind their base and look west.) I found this level to be easy compared to many of the previous levels. The bots spawn far away with little means to reciprocate against you. If you're feeling malicious you can even take the time to kill their orb carrier with the shock rifle from the other side of the level. The ones who actually make it to you are usually preoccupied with attacking the node and make themselves easy targets. Even if they kill you, you respawn less than 10 seconds away with an orb.. Mission 096 - Heat Ray ( DM-HeatRay ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Loque, Scythe, Blackfang, Bargest, Claw, Lockjaw Map Details Hyperion slums As Liandri operations on Taryd became more and more automated, the surface sectors of Hyperion were neglected and never received the technological upgrades available to the upper strata of the city. This maze of ground level buildings is now the slums of Taryd, still inhabited by the humans that maintain the largely automated Liandri workforce. Briefing "The Krall saw the same tactical value in the slums that we did. Their initial wave of infantry is already in place and transport ships are in route. That means heavy weaponry and necris vehicles are on the way. So lets finish this. Quickly." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Necris vehicle reinforcements are already en route to Hyperion. - Use the Invisibility powerup and gain a tactical advantage. Strategy & Tactics This mission is stupid. Heatray is an interesting map, but the settings are ridiculous. First of all, the enemy outnumbers you 4-6. Second, they have Loque, who not only has high stats on his own, but he also has special code in the game to make him a higher difficulty than the other bots. Third, the enemy gets a DarkWalker. That wouldn't be a problem since that is a normal feature of HeatRay. The problem is that they are the only ones who *can* use the DarkWalker. It's locked if you try to get in, and even if they get in and back out again, it's still locked. Fourth and finally, the Insane difficulty puts the bot skill at Inhuman - Godlike. Whoever thought of stacking penalties like this needs to seriously demonstrate what he was thinking. As far as I can tell this mission, like that dragon you were just determined to fight, is a 'dead end' for bad decision making. It *is* beatable, but I'm not sure how you go about it on Insane, as even my best results were still ~8 points behind. The mission briefing suggests you use the Invisibility powerup for a 'tactical advantage' which probably means it wants you to use it to counter the Dark Walker, but the higher level bots can track you by sound even if you're invisible and they time the powerups themselves anyway. My only suggestion here is to either replay the chapter and make different choices, play a card do your best and hope for a good roll, or lower the difficulty and skip the mission. This kind of thing frustrates me. There is no indication leading up to this point that justifies such severe penalties. The story of the chapter isn't explained well enough for the player to understand that they will be outnumbered and facing a locked Dark Walker unless they make certain choices which in this case are too late to make anyway. Containment wasn't even presented to us at this point in the plotline and even if it were, there is no suggestion unless you actually -play- containment that it leads to unlocking the Dark Walker on Heatray. There is no reason to make the player be outnumbered *and* facing an enhanced bot, *and* a locked Dark Walker, with no alternative missions to mitigate the difficulty. Unless failure is being used as a plot mechanism, there should always be a reasonable way out of it. In this case, there are none. Once you beat islander, you are stuck until you somehow beat HeatRay on these impossible settings. Lower the difficulty or play a card and cross your fingers. Mission 097 - Coret ( CTF-Coret ) Goal: 5 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Aspect, Collossus, OSC, Raptor Map Details Hyperion Strata, Coret Acquisition Center Prior to the war, the Coret Acquisition Center was a major social hub for all of Taryd's colonists. Since the fighting started, however, the militia is enforcing a strict curfew, and the facility empties out as the sun goes down. Briefing "We were sent here to meet a Liandri informant with sensitive data about something called: 'The Strident.' Something tipped off the Liandri and now we're doing this the loud way. Jester: Find that informant. Stay in close radio contact. We'll keep Liandri security busy for you." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - A UDamage powerup is located on the bridge spanning the central chamber. Strategy & Tactics Another remake from UT Classic. The pathing is decent enough that the bots will use all the paths available, although they do stop to use the translocator in a few places. It's not a very big map, so you're within a few translocations from everywhere. This makes it somewhat tricky to score a successful capture. The enemy will be very aggressive on this map, and trying to play defensively just lets them get away with it. Interestingly, you seem to find less opposition when entering through the front gate than you do coming from the sides. The same doesn't seem to be true in reverse though, and there is better cover on the side-paths anyway. Unless you can waltz in and waltz back out, the best bet seems to be assists. When your allies leave with the flag, the enemy will rush out to kill them, leaving the base undefended. You can follow your allies to provide cover fire, or you can wait inside the blue base while the enemy force chases your flag carrier. If you grab the flag when it's returned, the bot collective will turn toward you, but they are in the midfield and you can usually push further out of the blue base before they catch you. If you happen to be in red territory at that time, there is a chance your allies will hold off the enemies, complete the capture, or hold the flag long enough for you to reinforce them in turn. 5 captures wins the match, but chances are you'll have to win by the clock. Mission 098 - Containment ( vCTF-Containment ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Matrix, Enigma, OSC, Syntax Map Details Hyperion fringe territories Little is known about this remote facility other than it is maintained by the Liandri Corp. Satellite images show some sort of cage in the center and Intel believes it holds a recovered Darkwalker vehicle. The Liandri have always wanted access to Necris technology, and this could be their chance to make some advancements in nanotech research. Briefing "The Liandri captured a necris 'Dark Walker' vehicle and they've hidden it in a well guarded research facility. Izanagi techs want that walker. Bad. If we steal it we could learn enough about necris technology to train our combat forces. That means we could hijack necris vehicles directly off the battlefield and use the bastards' own technology against them." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The Darkwalker in the central chamber cannot be moved, but its powerful weapons are available to either team. Strategy & Tactics I wasn't very happy with this level. The Dark Walker in the middle is supposed to sway the balance of power, but if you try to pilot it, the bot->player focus really messes things up. The heavier vehicles are not applicable for you to pilot because they move too slowly, the bots focus on them, and ultimately it just hurts you and your team. While the raptor *can* work, it's mobility also makes it vulnerable. It's best to just go straight for the manta. Your bots can't pilot those very intelligently anyway, and it's your only realistic chance of avoiding the borg. The best route to take is the far left\right paths, which snake into the center. You can't go through the side tunnels in the center because they have barriers, but past those are some ruined walls to use for cover and beyond *those* is a tunnel you can jump into. This usually puts you out-of-the-way of their main force. They will sometimes park the Goliath in front of the tunnels momentarily before they drive it into the center tunnel, but that is an exception rather than the rule. Once you get into the enemy base, try to smash anyone guarding the flag while you park your manta on their platform. Grab the flag and jump off the nearest ledge. You'll want to be careful with the hoverboard - the bots have incredible aim and easily dismount you if you use it for anything other than exploiting the straightaway after a sharp corner. I usually jump off the hoverboard to make sharp turns and jump back on to take advantage of the broken in line-of-sight. Don't try to stay on the hoverboard if the enemy is shooting at you, the odds are they will hit you and effectively kill you. If you jump off the hoverboard, they still won't be able to gain on you without sacrificing their ability to shoot and there's a good chance you'll round the next corner before they do, and can resume using your hoverboard to further your lead. You should be able to secure at least two captures this way, and then it becomes a matter of stopping the enemy. I put my team on offense just for the off-chance that they secure a capture, but really, their efforts mostly just helped keep the center clear of enemies. I'm curious if telling a bot to Hold Position on the Dark Walker's spawn point would help your team maintain control of it, or if the bots would be too stupid to actually use it. There is a shield belt on top of the dark walker containment, and a portal to the raptor you can use to reach it in the back of your base. Mission 099 - Strident ( CTF-Strident ) Goal: 5 Captures Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Matrix, Cathode, Enigma, Entropy Map Details The Strident, beneath Hyperion The Strident has always been a mystery to the flesh and blood humans that work on the surface of Hyperion. These subterranean chambers appear to be the central focus of the mainframe that controls all Liandri operations on Taryd. Briefing "A robot army with a huge central brain has one weakness, right? If we can infiltrate and control the strident, we own all of Hyperion. Ronin's taking point on the assault. Once we give the all-clear, Izanagi techs will move forward and hack the mainframe." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Be aware of unstable FLaG bases. - Shifting magnetic forces within the Strident cause platforms to move. Strategy & Tactics Small and intense. 3 translocations can pretty much take you from one base to the other, and there are only a few ways into each. Even on Insane, the bots will largely ignore the Shield Belt in the center until after your 3rd capture, when they become particularly mean. The bots will have no problem getting into the enemy base and grabbing the flag, but they usually insist on taking the top route, where they will be harassed constantly and are unlikely to succeed. The best strategy seems to be to send your whole team on offense while you sneak in quietly and wait under the lift. Your allies will grab the flag and lure the enemies topside and away from the base. When they fail - which is almost inevitable - you can quickly grab the flag and run down the bottom route - left or right doesn't matter - and cut back in to the middle to pick up the shield or health if necessary before cutting back to the outside while remaining on the bottom level. Use the jump pad on the bottom floor of your base to come in through the top. It's worth trading a couple seconds of vulnerability for the insurance that you don't get trapped on the bottom floor if the lift raises. If you can secure a +3 lead in this way, switch your team to defense. You're unlikely to secure more flag captures once the bots go crazy, as their miniguns will strip your shield incredibly fast and they time the powerups to prevent you from getting another. The idea, instead, is to stop them from catching up in the time that remains. You can also refrain from making a 3rd capture at all, to prevent the bots going crazy while you maintain a +2 choke hold, but it doesn't really matter. Once you get 3, they're almost guaranteed to score at least 1 capture and it becomes a +2 choke hold anyway. If you successfully scored a 3rd capture during a +2 lead, you can score a 4th or 5th capture with the same lead so don't fret too much if they start scoring. If they close it to a +1 lead, go back on offense to try and widen\maintain the lead, and make them fight the battle on their turf. Mission 100 - Carbon Fire ( DM-Carbonfire ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Aspect, Collossus, OSC, Raptor Map Details Hyperion strata Work days on Taryd are notoriously long and difficult, leaving little time for the mundane chores of day-to-day life. As an incentive to potential colonists, the Liandri Corp. offers a complimentary Mark I domestic robot to each family that moves to Taryd. The Carbonfire production facility even offers daily tours and incentives to first time customers. Briefing "We keep capturing mines but we don't have the manpower to run them at full capacity. Liandri domestic bots are pretty rugged, and HQ thinks they can be retooled for mining work. Ronin's job is to take over the Carbon-Fire production facility and reroute all shipments to Izanagi territory." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Trap enemies within the disposal chute, or retrieve the powerups for your team. Strategy & Tactics The idea on this mission is to keep the powerups out of enemy hands. I suggest letting one of your allies have the powerups and then following them to provide a distraction for their enemies. A high-level bot with berserk and double damage can quickly turn the tide, but they have to survive. On higher difficulties, the bots have incredible aim and so offense powerups really come down to who shoots first. This is where you come in: The enemy bots will automatically shoot at you. Since you can evade the bots better than other bots can, you'll be able to 'deflect' attacks that might have been directed at your ally. The effect is similar to doing a flyby with an M134. Mission 101 - Containment ( vCTF-Containment_SP ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scorn, Gnasher, Cerberus, Hellhound, Worg, Lockjaw Map Details Hyperion fringe territories Little is known about this remote facility other than it is maintained by the Liandri Corp. Satellite images show some sort of cage in the center and Intel believes it holds a recovered Darkwalker vehicle. The Liandri have always wanted access to Necris technology, and this could be their chance to make some advancements in nanotech research. Briefing "The Krall found out about the Liandri facility holding a necris dark walker, and they overran the defenses. The Krall could use that walker to destroy the facility, laying the groundwork for a full-scale invasion. If the necris can establish a beach-head on taryd's surface, we'll have much more to worry about than Krall mercenaries." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The Darkwalker has been released and can now roam the battlefield. Strategy & Tactics This mission is identical to the other Containment levels, except that now the shield protecting the Dark Walker has been penetrated. This doesn't make a huge difference to gameplay. A much bigger fact is that you are now outnumbered by two, so after your team fights it's way through the enemy ranks, you still have to contend with the two guys just sitting in the back of their base relaxing. This is one of the hardest versions of Containment. I wasn't very happy with this level. The Dark Walker in the middle is supposed to sway the balance of power, but if you try to pilot it, the bot->player focus really messes things up. The heavier vehicles are not applicable for you to pilot because they move too slowly, the bots focus on them, and ultimately it just hurts you and your team. While the raptor *can* work, it's mobility also makes it vulnerable. It's best to just go straight for the manta. Your bots can't pilot those very intelligently anyway, and it's your only realistic chance of avoiding the borg. The best route to take is the far left\right paths, which snake into the center. You can't go through the side tunnels in the center because they have barriers, but past those are some ruined walls to use for cover and beyond *those* is a tunnel you can jump into. This usually puts you out-of-the-way of their main force. They will sometimes park the Goliath in front of the tunnels momentarily before they drive it into the center tunnel, but that is an exception rather than the rule. Once you get into the enemy base, try to smash anyone guarding the flag while you park your manta on their platform. Grab the flag and jump off the nearest ledge. You'll want to be careful with the hoverboard - the bots have incredible aim and easily dismount you if you use it for anything other than exploiting the straightaway after a sharp corner. I usually jump off the hoverboard to make sharp turns and jump back on to take advantage of the broken in line-of-sight. Don't try to stay on the hoverboard if the enemy is shooting at you, the odds are they will hit you and effectively kill you. If you jump off the hoverboard, they still won't be able to gain on you without sacrificing their ability to shoot and there's a good chance you'll round the next corner before they do, and can resume using your hoverboard to further your lead. You should be able to secure at least two captures this way, and then it becomes a matter of stopping the enemy. I put my team on offense just for the off-chance that they secure a capture, but really, their efforts mostly just helped keep the center clear of enemies. I'm curious if telling a bot to Hold Position on the Dark Walker's spawn point would help your team maintain control of it, or if the bots would be too stupid to actually use it. There is a shield belt on top of the dark walker containment, and a portal to the raptor you can use to reach it in the back of your base. Mission 102 - Gateway ( DM-Gateway ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Othello Enemies: Matrix, Entropy, Cathode, Enigma Map Details Taryd, various locations. The Liandri Corporation has been working for years to perfect the portal technology used in the Tournaments. They're hoping to increase teleporter distances, and make the system useful on a global scale. This working prototype has portals that can instantly move personnel and equipment to any pre-programmed location on Taryd. Briefing "Matrix is our only known source for the Hyperion security codes. We've tracked him down but he won't surrender. He's afraid of being formatted and losing his last few human memories. He's been using Liandral portal tech to evade Izanagi forces so they called Ronin to finish the job. Without those protocols, we can't access the mainframe cores and Liandri technicians could sabotage our operations from anywhere on Taryd." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Jump Boots give you access to other, more vital powerups. Strategy & Tactics "He's afraid of being formatted.." Hehe. Anyway, this is an interesting level. Once again, you're outnumbered 2:1, so this can be a tricky mission. There are three battlegrounds connected by portals. The enemies will mainly congregate in the 'Jungle' and 'Sky-Platform' areas, and rarely venture into the 'Snowscape.' The Platform, in particular, as that is where the shield belt spawns. The major obstacle in this mission is Othello. He will constantly be dying and getting himself separated from you, where he will then die again and again. You can mitigate this somewhat by telling him to hold position in the snow area, where the bots rarely venture but being that he is a bot himself, he has difficulty making it there without passing the other bots and getting killed repeatedly. You can mitigate this further by telling him to cover you, and then camping in the snow area yourself. This helps quite a bit, but it is still unstable. Any deaths propel you \Othello into enemy territory and one death turns into many. The Jungle area is virtually worthless in terms of strategic value. You can spam the portal entrance with rockets and bio-goo, and it does have the stinger which can be useful, but having only mid\close range weapons when the enemy outnumbers you with long range weapons is not going to help you in the long run. The main battlefield - and the most important - is the Sky Platform. The Link Gun & Shock Rifle spawn out here, as does most of the Sniper Ammo. There is health on either end. Jumping into the fan on the far end near the health kits will propel you into the sky where you can reach the shield belt. This is a good place to tell Othello to hold position so he will camp the shield belt. If you have decent aim, you can camp here yourself and shoot any airborne bots who try to use the fan to reach you. You can also provide support to Othello should he die and attempt to return, and there is health down below as well. Ultimately though, you'll probably have to come down and fight the bots on the platform. Of all the weapons to use, the Shock\Sniper and the Stinger\Link Gun work the best since they aren't influenced at all by the change in gravity. There aren't a lot of special tricks you can use on this mission, other than to make sure you get the Shield Belt as often as possible and stay near Othello to provide cover, distract his enemies, and try to out-score the enemy. I used the shock rifle at long range for most of the mission but in retrospect it may have been easier to use the link gun to hit multiple targets on the narrow walkways and forget trying to keep distance in such a crowded area. Mission 103 - Carbon Fire ( DM-Carbonfire ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Mihr, Syntax, Torque, Monarch Map Details Hyperion strata Work days on Taryd are notoriously long and difficult, leaving little time for the mundane chores of day-to-day life. As an incentive to potential colonists, the Liandri Corp. offers a complimentary Mark I domestic robot to each family that moves to Taryd. The Carbonfire production facility even offers daily tours and incentives to first time customers. Briefing "We keep capturing mines but we don't have the manpower to run them at full capacity. Liandri domestic bots are pretty rugged, and HQ thinks they can be retooled for mining work. Ronin's job is to take over the Carbon-Fire production facility and reroute all shipments to Izanagi territory." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Trap enemies within the disposal chute, or retrieve the powerups for your team. Strategy & Tactics The idea on this mission is to keep the powerups out of enemy hands. I suggest letting one of your allies have the powerups and then following them to provide a distraction for their enemies. A high-level bot with berserk and double damage can quickly turn the tide, but they have to survive. On higher difficulties, the bots have incredible aim and so offense powerups really come down to who shoots first. This is where you come in: The enemy bots will automatically shoot at you. Since you can evade the bots better than other bots can, you'll be able to 'deflect' attacks that might have been directed at your ally. The effect is similar to doing a flyby with an M134. Mission 104 - Strident ( CTF-Strident ) Goal: 5 Captures Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scythe, Scorn, Gnasher, Cerberus Map Details The Strident, beneath Hyperion The Strident has always been a mystery to the flesh and blood humans that work on the surface of Hyperion. These subterranean chambers appear to be the central focus of the mainframe that controls all Liandri operations on Taryd. Briefing "We've been giving the Krall a beating. They're attacking less often, but they seem better coordinated *and* more focused. I'd wager the necris are pulling in the reigns after their recent losses. They timed their move perfectly. Just when we attacked the Liandri and distracted them, the Krall snuck a force into the strident unnoticed. They put a necris virus in the system that could lower the sky-shield and leave us all defenseless. So let's go play doctor." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Be aware of unstable FLaG bases. - Shifting magnetic forces within the Strident cause platforms to move. Strategy & Tactics Small and intense. 3 translocations can pretty much take you from one base to the other, and there are only a few ways into each. Even on Insane, the bots will largely ignore the Shield Belt in the center until after your 3rd capture, when they become particularly mean. The bots will have no problem getting into the enemy base and grabbing the flag, but they usually insist on taking the top route, where they will be harassed constantly and are unlikely to succeed. The best strategy seems to be to send your whole team on offense while you sneak in quietly and wait under the lift. Your allies will grab the flag and lure the enemies topside and away from the base. When they fail - which is almost inevitable - you can quickly grab the flag and run down the bottom route - left or right doesn't matter - and cut back in to the middle to pick up the shield or health if necessary before cutting back to the outside while remaining on the bottom level. Use the jump pad on the bottom floor of your base to come in through the top. It's worth trading a couple seconds of vulnerability for the insurance that you don't get trapped on the bottom floor if the lift raises. If you can secure a +3 lead in this way, switch your team to defense. You're unlikely to secure more flag captures once the bots go crazy, as their miniguns will strip your shield incredibly fast and they time the powerups to prevent you from getting another. The idea, instead, is to stop them from catching up in the time that remains. You can also refrain from making a 3rd capture at all, to prevent the bots going crazy while you maintain a +2 choke hold, but it doesn't really matter. Once you get 3, they're almost guaranteed to score at least 1 capture and it becomes a +2 choke hold anyway. If you successfully scored a 3rd capture during a +2 lead, you can score a 4th or 5th capture with the same lead so don't fret too much if they start scoring. If they close it to a +1 lead, go back on offense to try and widen\maintain the lead, and make them fight the battle on their turf. Mission 105 - Containment ( vCTF-Containment_SP ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scar, Worg, Lockjaw, Bargest, Blackfang, Claw Map Details Hyperion fringe territories Little is known about this remote facility other than it is maintained by the Liandri Corp. Satellite images show some sort of cage in the center and Intel believes it holds a recovered Darkwalker vehicle. The Liandri have always wanted access to Necris technology, and this could be their chance to make some advancements in nanotech research. Briefing "The Krall found out about the Liandri facility holding a necris dark walker, and they overran the defenses. The Krall could use that walker to destroy the facility, laying the groundwork for a full-scale invasion. If the necris can establish a beach-head on taryd's surface, we'll have much more to worry about than Krall mercenaries." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The Darkwalker has been released and can now roam the battlefield. Strategy & Tactics This mission is identical to the other Containment levels, except that now the shield protecting the Dark Walker has been penetrated. This doesn't make a huge difference to gameplay. A much bigger fact is that you are now outnumbered by two, so after your team fights it's way through the enemy ranks, you still have to contend with the two guys just sitting in the back of their base relaxing. This is one of the hardest versions of Containment. I wasn't very happy with this level. The Dark Walker in the middle is supposed to sway the balance of power, but if you try to pilot it, the bot->player focus really messes things up. The heavier vehicles are not applicable for you to pilot because they move too slowly, the bots focus on them, and ultimately it just hurts you and your team. While the raptor *can* work, it's mobility also makes it vulnerable. It's best to just go straight for the manta. Your bots can't pilot those very intelligently anyway, and it's your only realistic chance of avoiding the borg. The best route to take is the far left\right paths, which snake into the center. You can't go through the side tunnels in the center because they have barriers, but past those are some ruined walls to use for cover and beyond *those* is a tunnel you can jump into. This usually puts you out-of-the-way of their main force. They will sometimes park the Goliath in front of the tunnels momentarily before they drive it into the center tunnel, but that is an exception rather than the rule. Once you get into the enemy base, try to smash anyone guarding the flag while you park your manta on their platform. Grab the flag and jump off the nearest ledge. You'll want to be careful with the hoverboard - the bots have incredible aim and easily dismount you if you use it for anything other than exploiting the straightaway after a sharp corner. I usually jump off the hoverboard to make sharp turns and jump back on to take advantage of the broken in line-of-sight. Don't try to stay on the hoverboard if the enemy is shooting at you, the odds are they will hit you and effectively kill you. If you jump off the hoverboard, they still won't be able to gain on you without sacrificing their ability to shoot and there's a good chance you'll round the next corner before they do, and can resume using your hoverboard to further your lead. You should be able to secure at least two captures this way, and then it becomes a matter of stopping the enemy. I put my team on offense just for the off-chance that they secure a capture, but really, their efforts mostly just helped keep the center clear of enemies. I'm curious if telling a bot to Hold Position on the Dark Walker's spawn point would help your team maintain control of it, or if the bots would be too stupid to actually use it. There is a shield belt on top of the dark walker containment, and a portal to the raptor you can use to reach it in the back of your base. Mission 106 - Gateway ( DM-Gateway ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Liandri Allies: Othello Enemies: Matrix, Entropy, Cathode, Enigma Map Details Taryd, various locations. The Liandri Corporation has been working for years to perfect the portal technology used in the Tournaments. They're hoping to increase teleporter distances, and make the system useful on a global scale. This working prototype has portals that can instantly move personnel and equipment to any pre-programmed location on Taryd. Briefing "Matrix is our only known source for the Hyperion security codes. We've tracked him down but he won't surrender. He's afraid of being formatted and losing his last few human memories. He's been using Liandral portal tech to evade Izanagi forces so they called Ronin to finish the job. Without those protocols, we can't access the mainframe cores and Liandri technicians could sabotage our operations from anywhere on Taryd." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Jump Boots give you access to other, more vital powerups. Strategy & Tactics "He's afraid of being formatted.." Hehe. Anyway, this is an interesting level. Once again, you're outnumbered 2:1, so this can be a tricky mission. There are three battlegrounds connected by portals. The enemies will mainly congregate in the 'Jungle' and 'Sky-Platform' areas, and rarely venture into the 'Snowscape.' The Platform, in particular, as that is where the shield belt spawns. The major obstacle in this mission is Othello. He will constantly be dying and getting himself separated from you, where he will then die again and again. You can mitigate this somewhat by telling him to hold position in the snow area, where the bots rarely venture but being that he is a bot himself, he has difficulty making it there without passing the other bots and getting killed repeatedly. You can mitigate this further by telling him to cover you, and then camping in the snow area yourself. This helps quite a bit, but it is still unstable. Any deaths propel you \Othello into enemy territory and one death turns into many. The Jungle area is virtually worthless in terms of strategic value. You can spam the portal entrance with rockets and bio-goo, and it does have the stinger which can be useful, but having only mid\close range weapons when the enemy outnumbers you with long range weapons is not going to help you in the long run. The main battlefield - and the most important - is the Sky Platform. The Link Gun & Shock Rifle spawn out here, as does most of the Sniper Ammo. There is health on either end. Jumping into the fan on the far end near the health kits will propel you into the sky where you can reach the shield belt. This is a good place to tell Othello to hold position so he will camp the shield belt. If you have decent aim, you can camp here yourself and shoot any airborne bots who try to use the fan to reach you. You can also provide support to Othello should he die and attempt to return, and there is health down below as well. Ultimately though, you'll probably have to come down and fight the bots on the platform. Of all the weapons to use, the Shock\Sniper and the Stinger\Link Gun work the best since they aren't influenced at all by the change in gravity. There aren't a lot of special tricks you can use on this mission, other than to make sure you get the Shield Belt as often as possible and stay near Othello to provide cover, distract his enemies, and try to out-score the enemy. I used the shock rifle at long range for most of the mission but in retrospect it may have been easier to use the link gun to hit multiple targets on the narrow walkways and forget trying to keep distance in such a crowded area. Mission 107 - Diesel ( DM-Diesel ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Othello Enemies: Lauren, Barktooth, Harlin, Slain Map Details Downtown Oxida Nova Several maintenance facilities just like this one are required in order to keep a city running smoothly, especially a city the size of Oxida Nova. The Iron Guard have commissioned this particular structure as their own little playground, and use it to test out new Axon tech, like advanced weapons and upgraded respawners. Briefing "Alright here's how it went down. We gave Axon a serious beating and they offered a truce. Their factories are still intact and we *need* their vehicle tech. So the corporations signed a limited merger. Malcolm took control of the coalition forces and we're heading into Hyperion - the Liandri city. Lauren and her Iron Guard want to train us with new equipment. Sounds more like a hazing ritual. Either way, take it seriously." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Color-coded lights alert you when the UDamage powerup is available. - Enemy forces have the advantage of Axon's improved Respawner technology. Strategy & Tactics Unfortunately there isn't a lot of advice I can give on this level. You're outnumbered 2 to 1, and - at least on insane - these guys aren't playing around. I tried a number of different tactics on this map to see which approach worked the best. The best strategy seems to be to follow Othello. Normally I would suggest having Othello follow you, but there are several reasons to follow him instead: First, on harder difficulties especially, he times the powerups. While a skilled player will know how to time the powerups, they probably won't have access to an internal clock which tells them when it's about to spawn regardless of who picked it up last and when. If he is following you, he will largely ignore powerups and weapon pickups unless you pick them up also. Second, the bots will target you whenever they see you. If Othello is following you, this will cause him some confusion if you die as a result. If you are following him, however, he will continue to fight and moreover, he will be able to kill them more easily while they are distracted. Third, you're going to want to be evasive here, which means you're going to be chased. If he attempts to follow you while you are being chased he'll basically be running into the enemies arms. On the hardest difficulty the bots become so 'accurate' here that they will be shooting at you before they can even see you, and they will perform amazing feats such as shooting you in the head through tiny windows from the other side of the level, while jumping. Unless you are better than I am, you'll want to avoid exposed locations and prolonged encounters. I found the minigun to be especially useful since it spawns near two good ambush sites and is simply easier to use while zigzagging and shooting at dodging targets. It's also useful to weaken targets for Othello. The Bio Rifle is also useful for killing enemies with powerups. There are several good places to ambush the enemy on this mission. The health on the crates near the stinger is attractive and often leads to bots getting stuck while trying to climb the boxes. The stairwell nearby is difficult for them to ascend while being attacked since they must align themselves with the doorway you're attacking through. Beyond that, the Shield Belt spawns on top of some more crates which the bots also become stuck on while trying to climb up. Another good place is the ramp near the rocket launcher (the one near the health kits) because the bots almost always attempt to come in from that direction. If you win the level, you get the "Iron Guard Reinforcements" card. Mission 108 - Serenity ( WAR-Serenity_Necris ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Hellhound, Cerberus, Gnasher, Scar, Worg, Lockjaw, Claw, Bargest Map Details Alluvion river valley There's a small Tarydium mine buried deep in the trees of this old forest. While it's not large enough to be a major source of income for the Axon, they have been known to use it as a supply depot and refueling center for their shipping convoys. Briefing "Intel has proof the phayder corporation is backing the Krall army, supplying them with necris vehicles and technology. Just what we need: Bestial psychotic killers with high-grade tech. Latest news is that the Krall hijacked an Axon supply convoy including - oh that's just great - including a Leviathan super vehicle. Ronin, we're on damage control. That Leviathan could turn the tide of the war, and we'd better be on the right side of the wave when it hits." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - When Tarydium stockpiles are maxed, Leviathan production begins automatically. Strategy & Tactics This mission may not be beatable without playing a card. I've come pretty close, but my bots drove the Leviathan off the cliff while I was repairing it at the enemy prime node. Anyway, the goal here is to hold the Mine Node. There are several reasons. Most importantly, it keeps the Leviathan out of enemy hands, while providing you with one instead. It distracts the enemy, and spawns your orb closer to battlefield. It also provides you an alternate respawn location. The Core layout is such that having to return there is very unhelpful. The Mine & Prime node both have portals within fairly close reach, so if you spawn at one you can quickly return to the other. If the enemy gets a leviathan, there is really no hope. There are too many bots for you to try and pilot the Leviathan yourself, so the idea is to run the Orb north to the Mine Node. If your bots get the Orb - and they probably will - it can be inconvenient, but don't worry about it. Just go claim the Mine Node and keep it alive. The enemy will probably attack it, so try to kill them while they attack the node. If the orb is used or destroyed before you get the mine node finished, it will respawn back at the core. You can teleport back there and get it if you like, although this risks letting the enemy interrupt the leviathan construction. If you get the mine node finished quickly enough, the orb will respawn at the mine node instead. Having the Orb at the Node is useful. It not only shields the node from enemy attacks, but also allows you to reclaim the node immediately when the Leviathan finishes construction and the node returns to neutral. Then you can go get another orb and repeat. I decided it would be best to let my bots pilot the Leviathan on this map, both so that I could focus on making sure the enemy didn't get a hold of it (The Leviathan can disappear if the node changes hands) and because the enemy bots aren't as aggressive at attacking a leviathan piloted by another bot. Up to this point the process isn't particularly difficult, but by now the enemy has probably taken your prime node and because you've been holding the orb at the mine node, your bots won't be able to take it back. That means you have to recapture your prime node with the orb now, which means leaving the mine node undefended and possibly losing the leviathan. If you try to pilot the Leviathan, the Nemesis tanks and laser turrets, and scorpions and link-gun- bots will annihilate it before you can reach your prime node. The only way it will work is if you sneak your orb in and recover your prime node. It helps to Hug the wall while you circle around so that the bots can't shoot at you when you approach. The enemy in the laser turret is especially annoying. You want to reclaim your prime node before the Leviathan crew decide they have to do it, and before the enemy can mobilize to reclaim it. If you've got control of your own prime node, follow the Leviathan into the enemy prime node with your orb while you heal it with your link gun and you use it for cover from enemy fire. It should be more than sufficient to destroy the prime node and build a friendly one in it's place. Once you get control of the enemy prime node, go get another orb and use it to shield\reconstruct the enemy prime node, or use the Laser turret to kill the enemy orb carrier. Your leviathan should go attack the Core. If it gets destroyed, your bots should have enough of a handle on the map at this point to go seize the mine node, or, while the enemy is doing so, to attack their core. Unfortunately, this is where my bots drove the Leviathan off the cliff, so I wasn't able to complete the operation before the enemy took the Prime & Mine nodes. It may also be possible to use the enemy's strength against them by allowing them to have the Leviathan. When they pile in and drive toward your core, circle around behind and take your prime node out from under them. The Leviathan will have to turn around and go back to the Prime Node, leaving only 3 of their numbers to defend the prime & mine node. If you can take the Prime Node, the Leviathan will have to drive even further, and you can use this time to attack their core. Even if they reclaim their prime node, you can wait until the Leviathan leaves and do this again. I managed to accomplish something similar, causing the enemy team to lose 3 pilots in the trees somewhere northwest of my core, but I've yet to reproduce it reliably. Mission 109 - Kargo ( vCTF-Kargo ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: claw, Bargest, Blackfang, Scorn, Cerberus Map Details Alluvion river valley The harbors of the Alluvion River are the primary entry points for colonial supply lines. These shipping lanes are shared by all factions, and monitored by an N.E.G. peacekeeping force. This port is a highly contested supply point on the edge of Axon territory, with the Izanagi mainland just across the bay. Briefing "I don't like what's going on here. The Axon are quiet - no attempts to recapture the Alluvion Corridor. Four recon teams went into Oxida Nova. Only one made it out. They reported I quote, "Overwhelming hordes of Krall mercenaries slaughtering everyone wholesale." Before we could get defenses online, the Krall crossed the bay and hit our supply-lines. We need to move quickly, or this entire op is going up in smoke. We've seen what these bastards can do first hand. This time, they don't have the element of surprise but we're still heavily outnumbered. Don't kid yourselves. Respawners or not, every time we fight the Krall, we're fighting for survival." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Control the boat in the mid-ground to access a Goliath. - Line up a Scorpion boost to jump from ramp to ramp across the boat. Strategy & Tactics You're outnumbered, but only by 1 bot. This isn't as hard as some incarnations. You'll want to focus on the Tank in the center of the map to keep it out of enemy hands. You can use this to keep the enemy pinned in their base, but your allies will have difficulty getting to the flag if the entire enemy team is there. To combat this, you can let a few of the enemies escape to where they think they are on offense. When your allies sneak in and get the flag, go ballistic (literally) and start destroying the enemies at midfield. They'll go back to their base where they are hopefully too far away to do any good. If your tank gets destroyed, try to sneak into the enemy base for a capture. The shield belt will help immensely with this, so grab that first if you can. You want to approach from the Hellbender side and stay away from midfield where the enemy vehicles congregate. Aside from avoiding a lot of unnecessary damage, it also provides you a small area to restock on health and armor before you enter the flag room. There will probably be two defenders guarding the flag since they can afford it. If you drop down into the scorpion garage and then use the jump pad in the back, you'll come up right in front of one of the defenders. If you turn around and step onto it, you can come up facing him and can gib him with the Flak Cannon before he has a chance to return fire. Then you can grab the flag and jump over the rail to the Hellbender exit. If you moved quickly out of the base - and especially if you have the shield belt - you should have enough time to use your hoverboard to get behind the crates. You may even be able to reach the garage. Take the same route home that you took to reach the base and hope the enemy didn't take the tank while you were away. If they did, you'll probably have to kill the tank and try again, but sometimes you can escape before it targets you. The redeemer can make short work of the tank, just don't use the alt-fire or they will shoot it down with their incredible aim. Mission 110 - Torlan Delta ( WAR-Torlan ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Liandri Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Matrix, Cathode, Enigma, Entropy, Aspect, Collossus Map Details Torlan river delta Thanks to stringent monitoring by the New Earth Government, all three Corporations have used the fields of the Torlan Delta to power their combined mining efforts. But with the recent threat of full scale war, N.E.G. forces have pulled out, and everyone is scrambling to take control of this valuable territory. Briefing "Turns out the Liandri cleared the Krall out of Torlan for us. Unfortunately that means the most vital supply center on the planet is lousy with Liandri bots. We need to take it for ourselves if we're ever gonna fend off a necris assault. We're rolling in full force and we can expect a quick response from the Liandri board." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - A Support Node below the central bridge will provide your team with extra fire power. Strategy & Tactics This can be a little tricky. You'll want to be very aggressive with the Orb, so having control of the center node is important. The enemy will take their prime & tank nodes and then usually focus on the west support node, more or less allowing you to take the east one. Then they will attack your prime node. If the enemy destroys your prime node, you'll want to go recover it with the orb, then immediately teleport back to your core and get another orb to reclaim the node if it gets destroyed again, or to shield the node while your allies push back to mid-field. If you destroy the enemy prime node first, you'll want to continue being aggressive with the orb, taking any remaining nodes on the map. If you're not in a position to do that, try to establish a line-of-sight on their prime node and attack it to keep it suppressed. It shouldn't be too terribly difficult to keep the enemy pinned in their base this way while you or your team takes the remaining nodes. The SPMA Artillery can be useful for this purpose. Controlling both side nodes is important because you don't want to lose the ability to attack the enemy prime node. Controlling the center node is important because you want the orb to be within range of the enemy prime node. If your allies manage to destroy the prime node while you've got all the other nodes under your control, you can push the orb up into their prime node and then teleport back to retrieve a second, which you can then use to shield the node. It's a bit of a tug-of-war, but your allies can occasionally get in and damage the core while you are doing this, and if you make it to overtime you'll be able to win on attrition. Mission 111 - Suspense ( vCTF-Suspense ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Bishop, Othello Enemies: Cain, Johnson, Karag, Wraith Map Details Oxida Nova border territories Suspense is the only bridge across the Alluvion strong enough to support the weight of heavy combat vehicles. Without the bridge, it would take Axon forces several days to respond to any battles across of the river. As such, it is always under guard by an Axon mechanized division, with military checkpoints at each end. Briefing "We need to clear the military checkpoints at each end of this bridge. Izanagi recon took the southern point, and they called us to take the more heavily guarded northern point. So we'll sortie from the south to attack their respawner. We will have vehicle support. Bishop, the central bridge towers should make great sniper nests. Don't forget a longbow to take out enemy armor. Recon team also found a path under the bridge, so keep that in mind as our number-two option." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The towers of the bridge are ideal sniping positions. - There is a Redeemer on the lower path, under the bridge. Strategy & Tactics This is the vCTF mission included in the demo, and all the same tricks work. It's very simple geometrically, and it shouldn't take more than a couple minutes to learn the layout. You've got a Goliath and a Raptor on the East edge of your base, a Scorpion, Hellbender, and Manta on the West, and an SPMA Artillery in the Northwest. The sniper rifle spawns between the two halves, and another spawns up near the SPMA artillery. You can use the support cables on the bridge to run (or Hoverboard) up to the top of the bridge in a scene very reminiscent of FFX (except they didn't fall on their face and roll off the edge to their death.) Most of your weapons will be acquired from weapon lockers near your spawn point so there is much more emphasis on vehicles for this map. The biggest asset at your disposal will be the Super Health which spawns near the Sniper Rifle and SPMA Artillery, up the ramp from your flag and around the corner. Jester will pilot the Goliath, making her very useful. Trying to pilot the Goliath yourself just draws a ton of enemy fire, you lose the tank and it doesn't help your allies get the flag (since they basically can't). Hellbenders, and Scorpions will have to drive down the main road, making them very vulnerable. Mantas can get away with it to some extent, but it's still more vulnerable than the Raptor. You'll want to hop on over and get the Super Health on your side of the map first, then take your Raptor across and land it near theirs. It's much better to take the powerups in enemy territory to deprive them of the benefit. When you've got 199 health, discreetly (wait for the Goliath to pass if you need to) walk into the enemy flag room and take it. Run back up the ramp to where the Super Health spawns and take a sharp right. Run along the narrow ledge against the wall of the building. Jump across to the doorway on the bridge's support pillar and run inside. This puts you on the bridge. Take a left and run outside along the edge of the bridge, being careful not to fall off or leave yourself exposed to fire from behind you. You can use the pillars as cover to some extent, but you'll want to keep moving. Once you get inside the second doorway, you're almost home free. I've found it better to keep running straight for a short way after leaving the doorway rather than trying to cut across the bridge immediately. Either way, cross the bridge and put the flag away. No sweat. Then, just get the Super Health again and repeat the process. The redeemer spawns on the island under the bridge. Falling off the bridge can result in a ragdoll, dropping the flag, and possibly getting killed by the bots who like to play down there. If you survive you can climb the ramp on the opposite side and come up in about the same place as you would have if you'd run along the bridge. I tend to avoid the hoverboard on this map, but there are a couple opportunities to use it in brief intervals inside the buildings and around corners. Note: If you're playing Co-op you can use the Raptor and Hoverboard grapple to bring a friend into the enemy base with you, and quickly tow them back out with the flag. It may be possible to accomplish this kind of extraction with the bots as well, by piloting the raptor near them when they grab the enemy flag. Mission 112 - Downtown ( WAR-Downtown ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Lauren, Barktooth, Talan, Kregore Map Details Downtown Oxida Nova With the blockade on the Alluvion River, the warehouse district of Oxida Nova has been plunged into chaos. The storage facilities located there are the only remaining supply points available to Axon forces, and they've enforced martial law to ensure that their supplies remain unthreatened. Briefing "The Izanagi are taking Oxida Nova City and we're on point. I don't have to tell you about urban terrain, even 3:1 odds is rolling the dice - and today, we're straight up. We move downtown, flush the Axon into the open, and take out their power grid. The sooner we get heavy vehicles in play, the better - either by blowing the barricades outside the Axon base, or capturing the tank factory at the central node. Stay alert. We're on their home turf now and they'll use that to advantage." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - Use the shaped charge or Redeemer to destroy barricades. - With the barricades destroyed, heavy vehicles gain access to the main battlefield. - Axon forces have a strong foothold in this area. Defend your core at all costs. Strategy & Tactics WAR-Downtown will be harder than the other Warfare missions we've played so far. It's similar to WAR-Serenity, in that all of the nodes are linked in succession with an unlinked support node which, again, spawns a tank. This time, the tank is a Goliath, and there is an extra node in the middle to fight over. Furthermore, every node has an orb spawner, so it will be a tug of war between the orb carriers. Even worse, the enemy starts will all of the nodes already in their control, so your core is immediately vulnerable. Your role in this mission is to stabilize the situation, putting you in a support role. You're gonna be on defense this time, a defensive-offense, and your bots are all on offense by default. Jester will pretty much camp the orb, so it's difficult to get a hold of, and the enemy will be constantly pushing on your base as well. Your bots will basically ignore the tank node, and the Goliath it spawns, while the enemy team - Lauren in particular - will not. This means your first order of business is to take the Tank node and use the Goliath it spawns to help your allies push the enemy off your Prime Node and back to the center node. You can park your Goliath near your Prime Node, safely away from most of the fighting, and use it to shut down their Orb carrier, but they can circumvent this by taking the Tank node out from under you so it's better to be quick and try to get the center node back to neutral status. If you lose your goliath, go get another one. Taking out the center node is difficult because they've got a laser turret - and a number of Scorpions - which will decimate your tank. If you can just destroy the node whether or not you claim it yourself (using abandoned enemy vehicles as cover sometimes works) they will lose these vehicles until they can recover it, making it easier for you to capture and hold the node yourself. At this point, whoever controls the tank node is 'winning'. For the most part, the idea of the early game is to keep the Tank node under your control and use it as a counterweight to prevent the enemy from reclaiming anything your allies take from them. This is the hardest part. Once you've got control of both the center node and the tank node, the dynamics change. For one, you don't have to do anything else except maintain control and you will win by attrition if the time runs out. At this point you might find it better to switch entirely to defense using the Orb to shield & hold the center node while your allies fight over the enemy prime node. If the enemy prime falls, you can then run over and build a friendly node in it's place, and repeat the process there while your allies attack the enemy core. Another option might be to assist attacking the enemy prime node yourself, although this can be difficult and potentially costly if the enemy counter- attacks. Once you have their prime node, you can attack their core. On the easier settings I find this more productive than defending because the bots are so slow and it's easy to recover the node if they destroy it. On the harder levels there is less room to play around, I prefer to be conservative and let the enemy wear out slowly-but-surely, using my now-obsolete orb to defend the enemy prime node and preventing them from getting back up. If you have an opening between waves of enemies, you can run over and take the Tank node back at this point (if you lost it). You can actually park the Goliath inside the prime node building, making it impossible for the enemy to reclaim their node. If you decide to attack their base, there is an alleyway off the main road that leads to their core. You can get in and shoot it a couple times before the bots catch on. If you've got a secure hold on the prime node and the enemies are siege in their base, you can drive the Goliath through their front gate without much fuss as well. All-in-all the first 50% is the hard part and it's all downhill from there. Mission 113 - Defiance ( DM-Defiance ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Lauren, Barktooth, Harlin, Slain Map Details Downtown Oxida Nova Downtown Oxida Nova is a busy hub for Axon colonists. The area is surrounded by tall buildings, including the central rail station, employment offices, and shopping centers that are designed to resemble those back home on Earth. Briefing "Now that we've taken Oxida Nova, Axon defenses are crumbling. There's only a few pockets of resistance left, but that includes the Iron Guard. These guys are Axon-elite, ex-military--very experienced. And very pissed. They've got a make-shift command point near the transport center. Our job is to take control of the area before they spark a city-wide riot." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - The tight corridors of the lower level are very dangerous. - More powerful items can be found in the center's upper levels. Strategy & Tactics Same strategy as before. Hit & Run reigns supreme on this level. The strategy from Arsenal and Carbon Fire seems to work the best: let your bots do what they want while you follow them around to distract the enemy. The rest of the time, stay out of the way and use guerilla tactics. Mission 114 - Serenity ( WAR-Serenity ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Lauren, Slain, Johnson, Karag Map Details Alluvion river valley There's a small Tarydium mine buried deep in the trees of this old forest. While it's not large enough to be a major source of income for the Axon, they have been known to use it as a supply depot and refueling center for their shipping convoys. Briefing "With the Alluvion blocked, the Axon are trying to sneak their Leviathan super- vehicle behind our lines. That kind of firepower on our flank would *not* be pretty so we need to hit 'em quickly. Their convoy stopped near a supply depot to refuel, and it's ambush time. Our forces used dense forest cover to establish a small base and now Ronin does the real work. Don't forget the mine node. We can use it to construct our own Leviathan. That'd wake 'em up." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - When Tarydium stockpiles are maxed, Leviathan production begins automatically. - Proceed with caution, Axon forces already have a Leviathan at their disposal. Strategy & Tactics This one is pretty straightforward, but it introduces a new feature: Countdown Nodes. This time all of the nodes are connected in basically a straight line, and like the Torlan Delta, the center support node is not connected to any other nodes. Controlling the center node begins a 40 second countdown. When the countdown ends, a Leviathan spawns in the small canyon west of the Node for whoever completed the countdown. The enemy, however, already has a Leviathan up and running, and they will try to claim the Mine Node early to keep it under their control. This mission shouldn't be too difficult. Your first order of business is to take the Mine Node away from the enemy. Then you have to destroy their leviathan. Once you have done those things, you'll be able to construct your own leviathan at the mine node. From there it's just a matter of driving it into the enemy prime node and on to their core. There isn't anything terribly unique to these steps, just use the Orb and then go after the Leviathan, either with a Goliath, an AVRiL or some other kind of long-range weapon. If you position yourself properly, you can hit the back-end of the Leviathan without any fear of retribution. The bots aren't very smart about piloting it so bringing it down is a matter of time more than anything. With you manning the Leviathan, your allies should be able to claim the prime nodes without a problem, and then all you have to do is push in and destroy the core. Mission 115 - Diesel ( DM-Diesel ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Worg, Cerberus, HellHound, Gnasher Map Details Downtown Oxida Nova Several maintenance facilities just like this one are required in order to keep a city running smoothly, especially a city the size of Oxida Nova. The Iron Guard have commissioned this particular structure as their own little playground, and use it to test out new Axon tech, like advanced weapons and upgraded respawners. Briefing "We need to hold our ground until reinforcements arrive." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Color-coded lights alert you when the UDamage powerup is available. Strategy & Tactics This isn't as hard as 2v4, although it feels more crowded. The enemy will mostly stick together and run laps near the bio rifle\shield gun\stinger. They have fairly predictable routes on this map, so you can learn to cut them off pretty effectively - preferably with rockets. Telling your bots to follow you seems to work best. You would think that having 4 players on freelance would monopolize the powerups by default but that's really not the case. If you leave your bots to their own devices the enemy will pretty much march in and take whatever they want, and by the end of the game you'll have multiple enemies with the shield belt. The map is too small and crowded for hit and run to be as effective as it can be on Defiance for example, but you'll still want to withdraw to avoid lengthy encounters. I found the Flak Cannon and Minigun to be particularly useful. The Minigun spawns in a very useful place - although you can get shot down by enemy snipers pretty quickly. The Flak Cannon's ability to shoot around corners and over ledges makes it more versatile on this level than it is on larger, more open maps. It's primary fire also spans the entire hallway, making it almost unavoidable. The rocket launcher is also useful due to the way the enemies cluster together. The enemies frequently get stuck in groups next to the shield belt, the health by the stinger, and in the stairwell between the two, so that is a good area to stage an ambush. The enemy can be crazy with the sniper rifle on this map, so try to avoid wandering through the open hallways. Mission 116 - Kargo ( vCTF-Kargo ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Hellhound, Scar, Worg, Lockjaw, Claw, Bargest Map Details Alluvion river valley The harbors of the Alluvion River are the primary entry points for colonial supply lines. These shipping lanes are shared by all factions, and monitored by an N.E.G. peacekeeping force. This port is a highly contested supply point on the edge of Axon territory, with the Izanagi mainland just across the bay. Briefing "I don't like what's going on here. The Axon are quiet - no attempts to recapture the Alluvion Corridor. Four recon teams went into Oxida Nova. Only one made it out. They reported I quote, "Overwhelming hordes of Krall mercenaries slaughtering everyone wholesale." Before we could get defenses online, the Krall crossed the bay and hit our supply-lines. We need to move quickly, or this entire op is going up in smoke. We've seen what these bastards can do first hand. This time, they don't have the element of surprise but we're still heavily outnumbered. Don't kid yourselves. Respawners or not, every time we fight the Krall, we're fighting for survival." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Control the boat in the mid-ground to access a Goliath. - Line up a Scorpion boost to jump from ramp to ramp across the boat. Strategy & Tactics You'll be outnumbered by two this time, making it significantly more difficult than last time. It can be hard to get even one capture on this mission and if you let your guard down the enemy can win very quickly. I didn't have much success using the tank because my bots could hardly get to the flag room let alone back out again. It's possible to score this way, but you could easily play to overtime without doing so and still lose on a rough transition. The best bet seems to be to alternate between the tank and a flag attempt. The tank keeps the enemy in line and prevents them from getting too many people on your side of the board, reducing the chance that somebody might capture your flag in the time between your tank's destruction and your flag run. It also reduces the likelihood that the tank will fall into enemy hands. For the actual run, the shield belt would help immensely if you can get a hold of it. Either way, you want to approach from the Hellbender side and stay away from midfield where the enemy vehicles congregate. Aside from avoiding a lot of unnecessary damage, it also provides you a small area to restock on health and armor before you enter the flag room. There will probably be two defenders guarding the flag since they can afford it. If you drop down into the scorpion garage and then use the jump pad in the back, you'll come up right in front of one of the defenders. If you turn around and step onto it, you can come up facing him and can gib him with the Flak Cannon before he has a chance to return fire. Then you can grab the flag and jump over the rail to the Hellbender exit. If you moved quickly out of the base - and especially if you have the shield belt - you should have enough time to use your hoverboard to get behind the crates. You may even be able to reach the garage. Take the same route home that you took to reach the base and hope the enemy didn't take the tank while you were away. If they did, you'll probably have to kill the tank and try again, but sometimes you can escape before it targets you. The redeemer can make short work of the tank, just don't use the alt-fire or they will shoot it down with their incredible aim. Mission 117 - Torlan Delta ( WAR-Torlan_Leviathan ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scythe, Scorn, Gnasher, Cerberus, Blackfang, Lockjaw, Hellhound Map Details Torlan river delta Thanks to stringent monitoring by the New Earth Government, all three Corporations have used the fields of the Torlan Delta to power their combined mining efforts. But with the recent threat of full scale war, N.E.G. forces have pulled out, and everyone is scrambling to take control of this valuable territory. Briefing "With three corporations at each other�s throats, the Torlan Delta's in chaos. Krall forces are swarming at the central Torlan gorge, looking to take advantage. All we've got is a forward observation post at the border. The outlying nodes will give us more vehicles, but intel says they're already corrupted by the necris. The Torlan Delta's about as strategic as it gets, so this isn't optional. We have to push out the Krall if we're gonna win this war. Good thing we picked up that Leviathan. Let's give the Krall a little surprise." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - A Support Node below the central bridge will provide your team with extra fire power. - Krall forces will attempt to overwhelm enemies by attacking in packs. - Some Nodes are already under the control of the Krall forces. Strategy & Tactics This mission is terrible. The bot AI is horribly buggy - but only for your allies. Meanwhile, the enemy outnumbers you almost 2:1, and they are organized, aggressive, and arguably better equipped. On higher difficulties they'll even use their Vipers to tow the Orb carrier between the nodes. You have no choice but to use the Leviathan. If you allow your bots to pilot it, they will almost certainly get stuck on the wall of the base. Even if they don't get stuck, they will drive it to the prime node where it essentially waits to be destroyed so you can start the level over. You want Jester and Othello on offense, and Bishop covering you. Bishop will get in the leviathan with you and man one of the turrets. We use Bishop because he is the most accurate and the least useful on foot. Othello will go to the Prime node, while Jester will carry the orb to the center node. If Othello has the orb, he will take it to the prime node like an idiot, but Jester will still go to the center node. If you have Othello *and* Bishop in the Leviathan, Jester will take the orb to the Center node and wait for the Prime Node to complete the construction that Othello never started - shutting down your entire strategy. You want to pilot the Leviathan to the center node. On your way to the center node, you will more than likely run into an enemy viper towing their orb carrier on their way to do the same thing. Killing them should not be a problem, but you have to kill them before they get their orb carrier to the node. If they get the node before you do, they will quite possibly kill your leviathan before you can recover it, push south and take your prime node before the leviathan respawns, and then reassemble at your prime node, in good position to kill your leviathan again and destroy your core. When the enemy prime node finishes construction. They will begin a huge push into the center node. You want to mobilize the Leviathan and use it's Ion Cannon to destroy everyone in the pass. When, and if things quiet down, go back into tank mode and drive toward the far side of the tunnel. The idea is to position the Leviathan so that Bishop can attack the enemy prime node, yet is still protected by the mountainside. Then you want to deploy again and use the Ion Cannon to keep a clear area in front of the Leviathan - so that the enemy can't get close enough to attack it. The point is NOT to push into the enemy Prime node, only to destroy it and keep it destroyed. At this point your Leviathan would probably not survive driving out into the open and you are too outnumbered to make the run yourself. Even if you did, the enemy could quickly and easily take it back. The purpose is to keep the enemy away from the center node as long as possible. What will probably happen - at least if you're playing on the higher difficulties - the Leviathan will be destroyed shortly after you start bombarding the prime node. You may or may not succeed in destroying the enemy prime, but it doesn't make a huge difference. Either way, you'll have to wait until the Leviathan respawns, and will be very vulnerable during this time. We pushed into their prime node so that they will have that much further to run before they are in -your- territory. The enemy will continue pushing into the center node. Since you are on foot now, grab the orb and use it to shield the node. The enemy will fire at you, so strafe around and shoot back. If the enemy kills you, respawn as quickly as you can. Because you were shielding the node, the enemy was not attacking the node itself. If you are quick enough, you can respawn at the center node before it gets attacked again and your orb will still be there. Quickly pick up the orb and shield\heal the node again. Repeat this for as long as you can. If the enemy orb carrier approaches the node, kill him (if you can) and use their orb to destroy it. If he kills you, respawn quickly so you'll appear back at the node. Your orb should still be there, and you may still be able to reclaim the node. If it works out, a new orb will appear on the spawner, and you can repeat the cycle. If the enemy succeeds in claiming the center node - and they probably will - things become more hectic. You can still recover, however. Just repeat this process at the Prime Node. They probably won't claim both before the Leviathan comes back online. Even if they do, when the Leviathan comes back online, you can recover your losses. When the Leviathan comes back online, you need to teleport back to the base immediately and get inside it. The only thing more important than this is destroying the blue orb at the center node, so do that first if necessary. If you still have the center node in your control, drive the leviathan in front of it and mobilize the Ion Cannon to keep the canyon clear of enemies, then push north to the enemy prime node again and destroy it like we did (or tried to do) last time. If the enemy managed to claim the center node while you were gone, mobilize the turret at the canyon entrance and shoot the Ion Cannon down at the ground in the center. This will kill the enemies respawning at the center node, and if you aim it properly it will damage the node as well. You can hold this position until the orb carrier reclaims the node, return to tank mode and drive up to assault the node directly, or get out of the Leviathan and let the bots pilot it while you follow in behind with the node yourself. If the enemy succeeded in pushing all the way south and captured your prime node, you still want to position your leviathan as above, where you can attack the Prime Node or the center node. Destroy the prime node (and the enemy dark walker). Make sure the enemies at the Prime Node are dead, and then get out of your leviathan and go to the Prime Node. Once your prime node is reconstructed, go grab your orb and\or catch up with your leviathan. The bots are probably driving it down the canyon to the center node. This is a perfect opportunity to repair it with your link gun. If the orb carrier dies you can pick it up and use the Leviathan as a shield on your way to the node. If the enemy destroys your leviathan while you're fighting over the Prime Node, you'll need to shift your focus to the Orb. You can't let the enemy have the Prime Node, so you'll want to carry the orb in and take the node back, and then use the teleporter to go get another Orb ASAP. At the very least you need to keep it out of enemy hands until the Leviathan returns. The goal is to stay alive until the time runs out. Once you're in Overtime, all you have to do is capture and hold the center node and their core will count down faster than yours will. If you can destroy their prime node, it's even faster. Using the Leviathan and the Orb as barriers for your Nodes should give you enough of a defensive advantage that they will lose their Nodes faster than you do, hold them for less time, and therefore suffer more attrition damage. Note: This strategy does not require playing a card, but this level is difficult enough that it may justify playing one. Mission 118 - Diesel ( DM-Diesel ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Othello Enemies: Lauren, Barktooth, Harlin, Slain Map Details Downtown Oxida Nova Several maintenance facilities just like this one are required in order to keep a city running smoothly, especially a city the size of Oxida Nova. The Iron Guard have commissioned this particular structure as their own little playground, and use it to test out new Axon tech, like advanced weapons and upgraded respawners. Briefing "Alright here's how it went down. We gave Axon a serious beating and they offered a truce. Their factories are still intact and we *need* their vehicle tech. So the corporations signed a limited merger. Malcolm took control of the coalition forces and we're heading into Hyperion - the Liandri city. Lauren and her Iron Guard want to train us with new equipment. Sounds more like a hazing ritual. Either way, take it seriously." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Color-coded lights alert you when the UDamage powerup is available. - Enemy forces have the advantage of Axon's improved Respawner technology. Strategy & Tactics Unfortunately there isn't a lot of advice I can give on this level. You're outnumbered 2 to 1, and - at least on insane - these guys aren't playing around. I tried a number of different tactics on this map to see which approach worked the best. The best strategy seems to be to follow Othello. Normally I would suggest having Othello follow you, but there are several reasons to follow him instead: First, on harder difficulties especially, he times the powerups. While a skilled player will know how to time the powerups, they probably won't have access to an internal clock which tells them when it's about to spawn regardless of who picked it up last and when. If he is following you, he will largely ignore powerups and weapon pickups unless you pick them up also. Second, the bots will target you whenever they see you. If Othello is following you, this will cause him some confusion if you die as a result. If you are following him, however, he will continue to fight and moreover, he will be able to kill them more easily while they are distracted. Third, you're going to want to be evasive here, which means you're going to be chased. If he attempts to follow you while you are being chased he'll basically be running into the enemies arms. On the hardest difficulty the bots become so 'accurate' here that they will be shooting at you before they can even see you, and they will perform amazing feats such as shooting you in the head through tiny windows from the other side of the level, while jumping. Unless you are better than I am, you'll want to avoid exposed locations and prolonged encounters. I found the minigun to be especially useful since it spawns near two good ambush sites and is simply easier to use while zigzagging and shooting at dodging targets. It's also useful to weaken targets for Othello. The Bio Rifle is also useful for killing enemies with powerups. There are several good places to ambush the enemy on this mission. The health on the crates near the stinger is attractive and often leads to bots getting stuck while trying to climb the boxes. The stairwell nearby is difficult for them to ascend while being attacked since they must align themselves with the doorway you're attacking through. Beyond that, the Shield Belt spawns on top of some more crates which the bots also become stuck on while trying to climb up. Another good place is the ramp near the rocket launcher (the one near the health kits) because the bots almost always attempt to come in from that direction. If you win the level, you get the "Iron Guard Reinforcements" card. Mission 119 - Serenity ( WAR-Serenity_Necris ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scythe, Hellhound, Gnasher, Worg, Claw, Blackfang Map Details Alluvion river valley There's a small Tarydium mine buried deep in the trees of this old forest. While it's not large enough to be a major source of income for the Axon, they have been known to use it as a supply depot and refueling center for their shipping convoys. Briefing "Intel has proof the phayder corporation is backing the Krall army, supplying them with necris vehicles and technology. Just what we need: Bestial psychotic killers with high-grade tech. Latest news is that the Krall hijacked an Axon supply convoy including - oh that's just great - including a Leviathan super vehicle. Ronin, we're on damage control. That Leviathan could turn the tide of the war, and we'd better be on the right side of the wave when it hits." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - When Tarydium stockpiles are maxed, Leviathan production begins automatically. Strategy & Tactics A little bit different this time. The enemy doesn't start with a leviathan, which is nice, but they get a couple Necris vehicles and enter with a different strategy. The enemy will pay more attention to the mine node this time - probably because they have men to spare. The bulk of their forces will claim their Prime Node, and immediately push into yours. If they claim your prime node, they'll put more priority on getting a leviathan, which they will be in good position to do. It's much more difficult to turn the battle around on this map. Your forces will do the same. Whoever spawns closest to the orb will take it to the Mine node, sometimes bringing vehicle support. The rest will go to the Prime Node. Since both teams are doing basically the same thing, they will both construct their prime node at about the same time and the only difference in the first 30 seconds or so is who 'wins' control of the mine node. From there, both teams will try to use their orb as a battering ram to the prime node. If you defeat the enemy attempt on the Mine Node, you've got about a minute to spare which is best used attempting (at least) to push your orb into the enemy prime node by circling in from the north. If the attempt succeeds, congratulations. Otherwise, just head back to the Mine Node and get in your Leviathan. The enemy gets a Nemesis - roughly equivalent to a Goliath - and if everything goes well, it will arrive at your prime node just before your Leviathan completes construction. Nemesis are annoying, even with unskilled bot pilots, but on Insane it's.. Insane. This stage is delicate. If the leviathan gets exploded too soon, or at the wrong time, the enemy will capture your prime node, and you'll have to replace the Leviathan, thereby leaving your Core unprotected. In addition, the enemy orb carrier will probably be en- route to your Prime Node at this time as well. You'll want to drive the leviathan out just far enough to cut-off any opportunity for the enemy to reinforce it's assault on your base. Pay special attention to the laser turret, the nemesis, and the enemy orb. These are the backbone of the enemy plans. Once your prime node is secure and your allies start attacking the enemy prime node, follow in behind them and help destroy it. Once the prime node is down - just like last time - you can park in the road and shut down any attempt to reclaim it while your allies do the work, or you can crash through their front gate and damage the core yourself. Either way, you're in good position to maintain a strangle hold on their operations. Curiously, I also had success ignoring the Leviathan and charging into the enemy prime node with a Manta. This keeps them distracted attacking me and scrambling to defend their node, easing pressure off my defending allies and, amusingly, allowing my men to kill all of the distracted defenders and destroy the node anyway. When the manta exploded, I went and got the Leviathan and used it to destroy the enemy core. Mission 120 - Kargo ( vCTF-Kargo ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Cerberus, Gnasher, Scar, Worg, Bargest Map Details Alluvion river valley The harbors of the Alluvion River are the primary entry points for colonial supply lines. These shipping lanes are shared by all factions, and monitored by an N.E.G. peacekeeping force. This port is a highly contested supply point on the edge of Axon territory, with the Izanagi mainland just across the bay. Briefing "I don't like what's going on here. The Axon are quiet - no attempts to recapture the Alluvion Corridor. Four recon teams went into Oxida Nova. Only one made it out. They reported I quote, "Overwhelming hordes of Krall mercenaries slaughtering everyone wholesale." Before we could get defenses online, the Krall crossed the bay and hit our supply-lines. We need to move quickly, or this entire op is going up in smoke. We've seen what these bastards can do first hand. This time, they don't have the element of surprise but we're still heavily outnumbered. Don't kid yourselves. Respawners or not, every time we fight the Krall, we're fighting for survival." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Control the boat in the mid-ground to access a Goliath. - Line up a Scorpion boost to jump from ramp to ramp across the boat. Strategy & Tactics You're outnumbered, but only by 1 bot. This isn't as hard as some incarnations. You'll want to focus on the Tank in the center of the map to keep it out of enemy hands. You can use this to keep the enemy pinned in their base, but your allies will have difficulty getting to the flag if the entire enemy team is there. To combat this, you can let a few of the enemies escape to where they think they are on offense. When your allies sneak in and get the flag, go ballistic (literally) and start destroying the enemies at midfield. They'll go back to their base where they are hopefully too far away to do any good. If your tank gets destroyed, try to sneak into the enemy base for a capture. The shield belt will help immensely with this, so grab that first if you can. You want to approach from the Hellbender side and stay away from midfield where the enemy vehicles congregate. Aside from avoiding a lot of unnecessary damage, it also provides you a small area to restock on health and armor before you enter the flag room. There will probably be two defenders guarding the flag since they can afford it. If you drop down into the scorpion garage and then use the jump pad in the back, you'll come up right in front of one of the defenders. If you turn around and step onto it, you can come up facing him and can gib him with the Flak Cannon before he has a chance to return fire. Then you can grab the flag and jump over the rail to the Hellbender exit. If you moved quickly out of the base - and especially if you have the shield belt - you should have enough time to use your hoverboard to get behind the crates. You may even be able to reach the garage. Take the same route home that you took to reach the base and hope the enemy didn't take the tank while you were away. If they did, you'll probably have to kill the tank and try again, but sometimes you can escape before it targets you. The redeemer can make short work of the tank, just don't use the alt-fire or they will shoot it down with their incredible aim. Mission 121 - Torlan Delta ( WAR-Torlan ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scythe, Scorn, Gnasher, Cerberus, Hellhound, Scar Map Details Torlan river delta Thanks to stringent monitoring by the New Earth Government, all three Corporations have used the fields of the Torlan Delta to power their combined mining efforts. But with the recent threat of full scale war, N.E.G. forces have pulled out, and everyone is scrambling to take control of this valuable territory. Briefing "With three corporations at each other�s throats, the Torlan Delta's in chaos. Krall forces are swarming the central Torlan gorge, looking to take advantage. All we've got is a forward observation post at the border. The outlying nodes will give us more vehicles, but intel says they're already corrupted by the necris. The Torlan Delta's about as strategic as it gets, so this isn't optional. We have to push out the Krall if we're gonna win this war." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - A Support Node below the central bridge will provide your team with extra fire power. - Krall forces will attempt to overwhelm enemies by attacking in packs. - Some Nodes are already under the control of the Krall forces. Strategy & Tactics This can be a little tricky. You'll want to be very aggressive with the Orb, so having control of the center node is important. The enemy will take their prime & tank nodes and then usually focus on the west support node, more or less allowing you to take the east one. Then they will attack your prime node. If the enemy destroys your prime node, you'll want to go recover it with the orb, then immediately teleport back to your core and get another orb to reclaim the node if it gets destroyed again, or to shield the node while your allies push back to mid-field. If you destroy the enemy prime node first, you'll want to continue being aggressive with the orb, taking any remaining nodes on the map. If you're not in a position to do that, try to establish a line-of-sight on their prime node and attack it to keep it suppressed. It shouldn't be too terribly difficult to keep the enemy pinned in their base this way while you or your team takes the remaining nodes. The SPMA Artillery can be useful for this purpose. Controlling both side nodes is important because you don't want to lose the ability to attack the enemy prime node. Controlling the center node is important because you want the orb to be within range of the enemy prime node. If your allies manage to destroy the prime node while you've got all the other nodes under your control, you can push the orb up into their prime node and then teleport back to retrieve a second, which you can then use to shield the node. It's a bit of a tug-of-war, but your allies can occasionally get in and damage the core while you are doing this, and if you make it to overtime you'll be able to win on attrition. Mission 122 - Torlan Delta ( WAR-Torlan ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Lauren, Harlin, Drake, Wraith Map Details Torlan river delta Thanks to stringent monitoring by the New Earth Government, all three Corporations have used the fields of the Torlan Delta to power their combined mining efforts. But with the recent threat of full scale war, N.E.G. forces have pulled out, and everyone is scrambling to take control of this valuable territory. Briefing "Advance teams established an improvised base on the border, but Axon forces are amassing a huge force across the central gorge. We need to destroy the enemy core to establish a firm command of the area. When the N.E.G. pulled out, they left a support node intact hidden underneath the bridge. If we can take that node, we'll get some extra firepower we can use against the core." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - A Support Node below the central bridge will provide your team with extra fire power. Strategy & Tactics Compared to the other versions of Torlan, this one should be laughably easy. The strategy is the same as Mission 009, only with two less bots, making things much more casual and manageable. The bots will try to grab the orb and take it to the node north\south of their base. Usually this means that the Red team will have the South nodes, and East node, while the Blue will control the north and west. They will mostly fix their efforts on controlling the main nodes, so if they don't have both the East and the West node, they'll try to cut off your opportunities to attack their prime node while they attack yours. They don't pay much attention to the support nodes - the center node isn't linked to any others, and the corner nodes collapse when the prime node is destroyed - but they don't ignore them completely either. If they have both the east and west nodes, they'll focus on taking out your prime node and 'mopping up' the unclaimed nodes. If they succeed in doing so you'll have a hard time getting back up again. If they destroy your prime node, you'll have to claim it, hold it, claim a side node, hold it, and destroy their prime node. So the goal here is to destroy their prime node - as quickly as possible - to put them in that situation before they destroy yours. It's not as important to actually claim and hold the enemy prime node as it is to keep it destroyed. Their tank node will collapse, and their East\West nodes will be useless until they get it back up. They will send their orb carrier to reclaim it, but while they are trying to recover their prime node, your allies will be sweeping their other nodes off the map. By the time they get their prime node rebuilt, you'll be in position to destroy it again with more nodes than you had last time. If you can actually claim their prime node, consider going and claiming their Tank node as well. With a Goliath so close to their base, you can all but prevent their orb carrier from reclaiming the prime node, and therefore win by attrition. Jester will be the assigned Orb carrier on this mission, and there is a good chance she'll beat you to the orb. She'll probably run to the east node while Bishop and Othello go after the Prime & Tank nodes. The enemy will mirror this tactic. There isn't much use for you following Bishop and Othello to the prime node, and they will probably move north to the west node afterwards. The center node may be a viable target, and it will give you a good location for your orb to respawn, which you can then take to the (possibly undefended) enemy prime node. You can also follow Jester north to make sure she secures the east node, to help hold it if the enemy Goliath decides to head that way, and to give you a good position to quickly attack the enemy prime node. There are several approaches to this mission. You can pilot the raptor and attack the nodes from the air. Parking the raptor on the Tower in the center places you in a diamond of Nodes, all of which are important. This gives you a pretty clear vantage point (and a redeemer) to constantly wear away at the enemy nodes and prevent construction. You can also use the manta to do this from the ground, trading mobility (slightly) for speed, ground-cover, and the ability to participate in reconstruction. You can also forego the entire strategy and charge straight to the Tank node, using it as a battering ram of sorts. I found the Manta to be the most effective strategy because, on the harder difficulties, the tank and raptor seem to make you a larger, more exposed target and the manta is also faster, which is important. There are several places that let you attack the nodes from far away - usually too far away for the bots to hit you accurately - and if you sneak around the backside, you can reclaim nodes without drawing attention to yourself. Usually these locations are near the center of the map and out-of-the-way of Bot patrol routes. Most notably, you can attack the enemy prime node from near their tank node, or from the mountains in the center of the map. Using the 'edges' of the rocks as cover from enemy fire. The Link Gun and Shock Rifle are good at this, but if you can do it in a Raptor or a Manta it's even better. In general, just try to avoid the enemy troops without drawing attention to yourself and focus on destroying their nodes - especially the prime node - from places where they can't see or reach you and let your team mates pick up the slack. There are only 4 enemy bots in this mission, and this map is large enough that even 6 vs. 6 has quite a distance between targets so things should be fairly calm. Mission 123 - Hydrosis ( CTF-Hydrosis ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop, Rook Enemies: Slain, Kregore, Blain, Drake, Johnson Map Details Alluvion river valley The canals of the Alluvion river are gated by this Axon hydro-facility, which serves as an emergency power backup and Tarydium processing plant. Destroying the plant would put serious stress on Axon energy production, but capturing it would mean diverting those essential resources for Izanagi use. Briefing "This should be a straightforward infantry assault. We take out their respawner and we're in control. Bishop, there's plenty of high ground and clear lines of sight, so provide cover when we cross the bridges. The rest of you, keep your heads up and watch for snipers." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The central bridge area has several dangerous sniping positions. - Protect the FLaG carrier to ensure their safe return. Strategy & Tactics This is a remake of a UT Classic map. The long open bridges, limited escape routes and higher number of bots means you're guaranteed to be shot at. The strategy for this map will be identical to the strategy for Mission 008, only with one less bot on each team, making things somewhat easier. There are two main roads to and from the bases and a long narrow central courtyard between them, connected by a series of narrow bridges which span a chasm. Obviously, falling off the bridge is fatal. There are buildings on either side of the chasm which serve both as sniper bunkers and as medians to keep the two paths from the bases mostly separated. You can run between the chasm and the bunkers for a 'change up' but I find that dangerous and wasteful. If you don't have the flag, you can also translocate through the window of the bunker rather than run across the exposed bridge. The bots can (and will) do that as well. There are two paths, left and right, which will take you through separate routes before connecting in the middle (the flag room). The left path is shorter and generally less confusing, while the right path provides better cover, armor powerups, and a little bit of obscurity. The first room on the left path is a winding room with generators. There is health to the left of the door, and a few vials up on top of the first generator. There is a rocket launcher on top of the second generator. Beyond that room is a hallway that leads to the Bio Rifle and immediately past that, the enemy flag room with a stinger minigun on the ledge above the door and more health by the door opposite. Beyond that, there is another hallway which leads to the Link Gun, which in turn leads to another room. This room has the Body Armor in the center, and the Flak Cannon along the wall. It's easy to get turned around here, because the exit to the room is on the same wall you entered through. Once you know your way around, a dodge\translocate and a couple sharp turns will take you through this room before the bots have time to focus on you. Past that room is a small hallway which leads to the last room - the entrance to the 'right path' - which spawns the Shock rifle and the Armored Helmet. I prefer the right path for a couple reasons. On the left path, there is health right by the entrance - or exit - to the base, but if you already need health when you're first entering the base, or if you're low enough that it makes a difference when you're leaving, there is a good chance you'll die in the long courtyard anyway, and either way you're likely to be exposed to further damage for a while before you find more. The left path also has easy translocator shortcuts that you cannot use while carrying the flag, meaning the bots will have an easier time catching you should you attempt to exit along that route. The right path, on the other hand, can use the winding corridors to provide cover fire from the enemies for almost half of the journey, provides armor pickups to keep you shielded *and* has health inside the enemy flag room when you arrive (or to top off your health before the escape attempt). The biggest downside to this route is that you can get ambushed in the corridors. There are a couple 'secrets' on this level. Between the left & right path, immediately behind the entrance to the sniper bunkers near where the sniper rifle spawns, there is a ventilation shaft in the 'ceiling' which you can throw your translocator into. This will take you into the Flak\Armor room and bypass the Shock\Helmet room. On the wall behind the Bio Rifle, there is an access hatch which turns into the enemy Flag, allowing you to enter from 'behind enemy lines.' It's not incredibly useful, but the bots will use this. Finally - and this is the game winner - there is a Shield belt above the Stinger platform in either team's flag room. The stinger platform 'loops around' for no obvious reason, but if you look up there is a pipe running along the ceiling. If you translocate onto that, you'll find the shield belt. If it's already been taken, you can also wait there safely for it to respawn. You can get the shield belt in the red base and use it to get inside the blue base, stock up on health and replace the broken shield, and then grab the flag and make an escape with 100/100. If you take the right path, you can sometimes grab an Armor Vest and\or Helmet on your way out. This factor alone should allow you to make it outside and to the first bridge, where your team can (possibly) pick up where you left off if you die. Another useful trick is to use the Bio Rifle alt fire to clear the hallways if anyone tries to ambush you. A lot of people dislike the Bio Rifle, but in situations like this it can be more useful than the Flak Cannon. Quickly 'Zigzagging' is also a must, since it reduces the enemy accuracy by about 60%. If you're still having trouble with this, you can linger in your own base collecting the health vials on top of the generators, the armor helmet, vest, and belt until you're 175/199. That should give you enough energy to get into the blue base and replace your shield before attempting the capture. The 175 shield should get you outside, and the extra 99 health might help getting across the bridge. Mission 124 - Suspense ( vCTF-Suspense ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Cain, Johnson, Karag, Wraith Map Details Oxida Nova border territories Suspense is the only bridge across the Alluvion strong enough to support the weight of heavy combat vehicles. Without the bridge, it would take Axon forces several days to respond to any battles across of the river. As such, it is always under guard by an Axon mechanized division, with military checkpoints at each end. Briefing "We need to clear the military checkpoints at each end of this bridge. Izanagi recon took the southern point, and they called us to take the more heavily guarded northern point. So we'll sortie from the south to attack their respawner. We will have vehicle support. Bishop, the central bridge towers should make great sniper nests. Don't forget a longbow to take out enemy armor. Recon team also found a path under the bridge, so keep that in mind as our number-two option." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The towers of the bridge are ideal sniping positions. - There is a Redeemer on the lower path, under the bridge. Strategy & Tactics This is the vCTF mission included in the demo, and all the same tricks work. It's very simple geometrically, and it shouldn't take more than a couple minutes to learn the layout. You've got a Goliath and a Raptor on the East edge of your base, a Scorpion, Hellbender, and Manta on the West, and an SPMA Artillery in the Northwest. The sniper rifle spawns between the two halves, and another spawns up near the SPMA artillery. You can use the support cables on the bridge to run (or Hoverboard) up to the top of the bridge in a scene very reminiscent of FFX (except they didn't fall on their face and roll off the edge to their death.) Most of your weapons will be acquired from weapon lockers near your spawn point so there is much more emphasis on vehicles for this map. The biggest asset at your disposal will be the Super Health which spawns near the Sniper Rifle and SPMA Artillery, up the ramp from your flag and around the corner. Jester will pilot the Goliath, making her very useful. Trying to pilot the Goliath yourself just draws a ton of enemy fire, you lose the tank and it doesn't help your allies get the flag (since they basically can't). Hellbenders, and Scorpions will have to drive down the main road, making them very vulnerable. Mantas can get away with it to some extent, but it's still more vulnerable than the Raptor. You'll want to hop on over and get the Super Health on your side of the map first, then take your Raptor across and land it near theirs. It's much better to take the powerups in enemy territory to deprive them of the benefit. When you've got 199 health, discreetly (wait for the Goliath to pass if you need to) walk into the enemy flag room and take it. Run back up the ramp to where the Super Health spawns and take a sharp right. Run along the narrow ledge against the wall of the building. Jump across to the doorway on the bridge's support pillar and run inside. This puts you on the bridge. Take a left and run outside along the edge of the bridge, being careful not to fall off or leave yourself exposed to fire from behind you. You can use the pillars as cover to some extent, but you'll want to keep moving. Once you get inside the second doorway, you're almost home free. I've found it better to keep running straight for a short way after leaving the doorway rather than trying to cut across the bridge immediately. Either way, cross the bridge and put the flag away. No sweat. Then, just get the Super Health again and repeat the process. The redeemer spawns on the island under the bridge. Falling off the bridge can result in a ragdoll, dropping the flag, and possibly getting killed by the bots who like to play down there. If you survive you can climb the ramp on the opposite side and come up in about the same place as you would have if you'd run along the bridge. I tend to avoid the hoverboard on this map, but there are a couple opportunities to use it in brief intervals inside the buildings and around corners. Note: If you're playing Co-op you can use the Raptor and Hoverboard grapple to bring a friend into the enemy base with you, and quickly tow them back out with the flag. It may be possible to accomplish this kind of extraction with the bots as well, by piloting the raptor near them when they grab the enemy flag. Mission 125 - Downtown ( WAR-Downtown ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Lauren, Barktooth, Cain, Johnson Map Details Downtown Oxida Nova With the blockade on the Alluvion River, the warehouse district of Oxida Nova has been plunged into chaos. The storage facilities located there are the only remaining supply points available to Axon forces, and they've enforced martial law to ensure that their supplies remain unthreatened. Briefing "The Izanagi are taking Oxida Nova City and we're on point. I don't have to tell you about urban terrain, even 3:1 odds is rolling the dice - and today, we're straight up. We move downtown, flush the Axon into the open, and take out their power grid. The sooner we get heavy vehicles in play, the better - either by blowing the barricades outside the Axon base, or capturing the tank factory at the central node. Stay alert. We're on their home turf now and they'll use that to advantage." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - Use the shaped charge or Redeemer to destroy barricades. - With the barricades destroyed, heavy vehicles gain access to the main battlefield. - Axon forces have a strong foothold in this area. Defend your core at all costs. Strategy & Tactics WAR-Downtown will be harder than the other Warfare missions we've played so far. It's similar to WAR-Serenity, in that all of the nodes are linked in succession with an unlinked support node which, again, spawns a tank. This time, the tank is a Goliath, and there is an extra node in the middle to fight over. Furthermore, every node has an orb spawner, so it will be a tug of war between the orb carriers. Even worse, the enemy starts will all of the nodes already in their control, so your core is immediately vulnerable. Your role in this mission is to stabilize the situation, putting you in a support role. You're gonna be on defense this time, a defensive-offense, and your bots are all on offense by default. Jester will pretty much camp the orb, so it's difficult to get a hold of, and the enemy will be constantly pushing on your base as well. Your bots will basically ignore the tank node, and the Goliath it spawns, while the enemy team - Lauren in particular - will not. This means your first order of business is to take the Tank node and use the Goliath it spawns to help your allies push the enemy off your Prime Node and back to the center node. You can park your Goliath near your Prime Node, safely away from most of the fighting, and use it to shut down their Orb carrier, but they can circumvent this by taking the Tank node out from under you so it's better to be quick and try to get the center node back to neutral status. If you lose your goliath, go get another one. Taking out the center node is difficult because they've got a laser turret - and a number of Scorpions - which will decimate your tank. If you can just destroy the node whether or not you claim it yourself (using abandoned enemy vehicles as cover sometimes works) they will lose these vehicles until they can recover it, making it easier for you to capture and hold the node yourself. At this point, whoever controls the tank node is 'winning'. For the most part, the idea of the early game is to keep the Tank node under your control and use it as a counterweight to prevent the enemy from reclaiming anything your allies take from them. This is the hardest part. Once you've got control of both the center node and the tank node, the dynamics change. For one, you don't have to do anything else except maintain control and you will win by attrition if the time runs out. At this point you might find it better to switch entirely to defense using the Orb to shield & hold the center node while your allies fight over the enemy prime node. If the enemy prime falls, you can then run over and build a friendly node in it's place, and repeat the process there while your allies attack the enemy core. Another option might be to assist attacking the enemy prime node yourself, although this can be difficult and potentially costly if the enemy counter- attacks. Once you have their prime node, you can attack their core. On the easier settings I find this more productive than defending because the bots are so slow and it's easy to recover the node if they destroy it. On the harder levels there is less room to play around, I prefer to be conservative and let the enemy wear out slowly-but-surely, using my now-obsolete orb to defend the enemy prime node and preventing them from getting back up. If you have an opening between waves of enemies, you can run over and take the Tank node back at this point (if you lost it). You can actually park the Goliath inside the prime node building, making it impossible for the enemy to reclaim their node. If you decide to attack their base, there is an alleyway off the main road that leads to their core. You can get in and shoot it a couple times before the bots catch on. If you've got a secure hold on the prime node and the enemies are siege in their base, you can drive the Goliath through their front gate without much fuss as well. All-in-all the first 50% is the hard part and it's all downhill from there. Mission 126 - Defiance ( DM-Defiance ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Lauren, Barktooth, Harlin, Slain Map Details Downtown Oxida Nova Downtown Oxida Nova is a busy hub for Axon colonists. The area is surrounded by tall buildings, including the central rail station, employment offices, and shopping centers that are designed to resemble those back home on Earth. Briefing "Now that we've taken Oxida Nova, Axon defenses are crumbling. There's only a few pockets of resistance left, but that includes the Iron Guard. These guys are Axon-elite, ex-military--very experienced. And very pissed. They've got a make-shift command point near the transport center. Our job is to take control of the area before they spark a city-wide riot." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - The tight corridors of the lower level are very dangerous. - More powerful items can be found in the center's upper levels. Strategy & Tactics Hit & Run reigns supreme on this level, although the tunnels by the rocket launcher provide a nice campsite. I set up Jester and Othello on top of the ramps opposite the door, with Bishop on the rocket launcher, and myself up on the thighpads with the Sniper Rifle\Rocket Launcher. - This was extremely successful tactically, but it made too many 'economic' compromises to be a valid strategy overall. I also tried having the bots follow me, as per Shangri- La, but the level design didn't seem to accommodate that as well. The strategy from Arsenal and Carbon Fire seems to work the best: let your bots do what they want while you follow them around to distract the enemy. The rest of the time, stay out of the way and use guerilla tactics. Mission 127 - Serenity ( WAR-Serenity ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Lauren, Slain, Johnson, Karag Map Details Alluvion river valley There's a small Tarydium mine buried deep in the trees of this old forest. While it's not large enough to be a major source of income for the Axon, they have been known to use it as a supply depot and refueling center for their shipping convoys. Briefing "With the Alluvion blocked, the Axon are trying to sneak their Leviathan super- vehicle behind our lines. That kind of firepower on our flank would *not* be pretty so we need to hit 'em quickly. Their convoy stopped near a supply depot to refuel, and it's ambush time. Our forces used dense forest cover to establish a small base and now Ronin does the real work. Don't forget the mine node. We can use it to construct our own Leviathan. That'd wake 'em up." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - When Tarydium stockpiles are maxed, Leviathan production begins automatically. - Proceed with caution, Axon forces already have a Leviathan at their disposal. Strategy & Tactics This one is pretty straightforward, but it introduces a new feature: Countdown Nodes. This time all of the nodes are connected in basically a straight line, and like the Torlan Delta, the center support node is not connected to any other nodes. Controlling the center node begins a 40 second countdown. When the countdown ends, a Leviathan spawns in the small canyon west of the Node for whoever completed the countdown. The enemy, however, already has a Leviathan up and running, and they will try to claim the Mine Node early to keep it under their control. This mission shouldn't be too difficult. Your first order of business is to take the Mine Node away from the enemy. Then you have to destroy their leviathan. Once you have done those things, you'll be able to construct your own leviathan at the mine node. From there it's just a matter of driving it into the enemy prime node and on to their core. There isn't anything terribly unique to these steps, just use the Orb and then go after the Leviathan, either with a Goliath, an AVRiL or some other kind of long-range weapon. If you position yourself properly, you can hit the back-end of the Leviathan without any fear of retribution. The bots aren't very smart about piloting it so bringing it down is a matter of time more than anything. With you manning the Leviathan, your allies should be able to claim the prime nodes without a problem, and then all you have to do is push in and destroy the core. Mission 128 - Kargo ( vCTF-Kargo ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scorn, Gnasher, Cerberus, Hellhound, Scar, Blackfang Map Details Alluvion river valley The harbors of the Alluvion River are the primary entry points for colonial supply lines. These shipping lanes are shared by all factions, and monitored by an N.E.G. peacekeeping force. This port is a highly contested supply point on the edge of Axon territory, with the Izanagi mainland just across the bay. Briefing "I don't like what's going on here. The Axon are quiet - no attempts to recapture the Alluvion Corridor. Four recon teams went into Oxida Nova. Only one made it out. They reported I quote, "Overwhelming hordes of Krall mercenaries slaughtering everyone wholesale." Before we could get defenses online, the Krall crossed the bay and hit our supply-lines. We need to move quickly, or this entire op is going up in smoke. We've seen what these bastards can do first hand. This time, they don't have the element of surprise but we're still heavily outnumbered. Don't kid yourselves. Respawners or not, every time we fight the Krall, we're fighting for survival." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Control the boat in the mid-ground to access a Goliath. - Line up a Scorpion boost to jump from ramp to ramp across the boat. Strategy & Tactics You'll be outnumbered by two this time, making it significantly more difficult than last time. It can be hard to get even one capture on this mission and if you let your guard down the enemy can win very quickly. I didn't have much success using the tank because my bots could hardly get to the flag room let alone back out again. It's possible to score this way, but you could easily play to overtime without doing so and still lose on a rough transition. The best bet seems to be to alternate between the tank and a flag attempt. The tank keeps the enemy in line and prevents them from getting too many people on your side of the board, reducing the chance that somebody might capture your flag in the time between your tank's destruction and your flag run. It also reduces the likelihood that the tank will fall into enemy hands. For the actual run, the shield belt would help immensely if you can get a hold of it. Either way, you want to approach from the Hellbender side and stay away from midfield where the enemy vehicles congregate. Aside from avoiding a lot of unnecessary damage, it also provides you a small area to restock on health and armor before you enter the flag room. There will probably be two defenders guarding the flag since they can afford it. If you drop down into the scorpion garage and then use the jump pad in the back, you'll come up right in front of one of the defenders. If you turn around and step onto it, you can come up facing him and can gib him with the Flak Cannon before he has a chance to return fire. Then you can grab the flag and jump over the rail to the Hellbender exit. If you moved quickly out of the base - and especially if you have the shield belt - you should have enough time to use your hoverboard to get behind the crates. You may even be able to reach the garage. Take the same route home that you took to reach the base and hope the enemy didn't take the tank while you were away. If they did, you'll probably have to kill the tank and try again, but sometimes you can escape before it targets you. The redeemer can make short work of the tank, just don't use the alt-fire or they will shoot it down with their incredible aim. Mission 129 - Torlan Delta ( WAR-Torlan_Leviathan ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Blackfang, Bargest, Claw, Lockjaw, Worg, Scar, Hellhound Map Details Torlan river delta Thanks to stringent monitoring by the New Earth Government, all three Corporations have used the fields of the Torlan Delta to power their combined mining efforts. But with the recent threat of full scale war, N.E.G. forces have pulled out, and everyone is scrambling to take control of this valuable territory. Briefing "With three corporations at each other�s throats, the Torlan Delta's in chaos. Krall forces are swarming at the central Torlan gorge, looking to take advantage. All we've got is a forward observation post at the border. The outlying nodes will give us more vehicles, but intel says they're already corrupted by the necris. The Torlan Delta's about as strategic as it gets, so this isn't optional. We have to push out the Krall if we're gonna win this war. Good thing we picked up that Leviathan. Let's give the Krall a little surprise." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - A Support Node below the central bridge will provide your team with extra fire power. - Krall forces will attempt to overwhelm enemies by attacking in packs. - Some Nodes are already under the control of the Krall forces. Strategy & Tactics This mission is terrible. The bot AI is horribly buggy - but only for your allies. Meanwhile, the enemy outnumbers you almost 2:1, and they are organized, aggressive, and arguably better equipped. On higher difficulties they'll even use their Vipers to tow the Orb carrier between the nodes. You have no choice but to use the Leviathan. If you allow your bots to pilot it, they will almost certainly get stuck on the wall of the base. Even if they don't get stuck, they will drive it to the prime node where it essentially waits to be destroyed so you can start the level over. You want Jester and Othello on offense, and Bishop covering you. Bishop will get in the leviathan with you and man one of the turrets. We use Bishop because he is the most accurate and the least useful on foot. Othello will go to the Prime node, while Jester will carry the orb to the center node. If Othello has the orb, he will take it to the prime node like an idiot, but Jester will still go to the center node. If you have Othello *and* Bishop in the Leviathan, Jester will take the orb to the Center node and wait for the Prime Node to complete the construction that Othello never started - shutting down your entire strategy. You want to pilot the Leviathan to the center node. On your way to the center node, you will more than likely run into an enemy viper towing their orb carrier on their way to do the same thing. Killing them should not be a problem, but you have to kill them before they get their orb carrier to the node. If they get the node before you do, they will quite possibly kill your leviathan before you can recover it, push south and take your prime node before the leviathan respawns, and then reassemble at your prime node, in good position to kill your leviathan again and destroy your core. When the enemy prime node finishes construction. They will begin a huge push into the center node. You want to mobilize the Leviathan and use it's Ion Cannon to destroy everyone in the pass. When, and if things quiet down, go back into tank mode and drive toward the far side of the tunnel. The idea is to position the Leviathan so that Bishop can attack the enemy prime node, yet is still protected by the mountainside. Then you want to deploy again and use the Ion Cannon to keep a clear area in front of the Leviathan - so that the enemy can't get close enough to attack it. The point is NOT to push into the enemy Prime node, only to destroy it and keep it destroyed. At this point your Leviathan would probably not survive driving out into the open and you are too outnumbered to make the run yourself. Even if you did, the enemy could quickly and easily take it back. The purpose is to keep the enemy away from the center node as long as possible. What will probably happen - at least if you're playing on the higher difficulties - the Leviathan will be destroyed shortly after you start bombarding the prime node. You may or may not succeed in destroying the enemy prime, but it doesn't make a huge difference. Either way, you'll have to wait until the Leviathan respawns, and will be very vulnerable during this time. We pushed into their prime node so that they will have that much further to run before they are in -your- territory. The enemy will continue pushing into the center node. Since you are on foot now, grab the orb and use it to shield the node. The enemy will fire at you, so strafe around and shoot back. If the enemy kills you, respawn as quickly as you can. Because you were shielding the node, the enemy was not attacking the node itself. If you are quick enough, you can respawn at the center node before it gets attacked again and your orb will still be there. Quickly pick up the orb and shield\heal the node again. Repeat this for as long as you can. If the enemy orb carrier approaches the node, kill him (if you can) and use their orb to destroy it. If he kills you, respawn quickly so you'll appear back at the node. Your orb should still be there, and you may still be able to reclaim the node. If it works out, a new orb will appear on the spawner, and you can repeat the cycle. If the enemy succeeds in claiming the center node - and they probably will - things become more hectic. You can still recover, however. Just repeat this process at the Prime Node. They probably won't claim both before the Leviathan comes back online. Even if they do, when the Leviathan comes back online, you can recover your losses. When the Leviathan comes back online, you need to teleport back to the base immediately and get inside it. The only thing more important than this is destroying the blue orb at the center node, so do that first if necessary. If you still have the center node in your control, drive the leviathan in front of it and mobilize the Ion Cannon to keep the canyon clear of enemies, then push north to the enemy prime node again and destroy it like we did (or tried to do) last time. If the enemy managed to claim the center node while you were gone, mobilize the turret at the canyon entrance and shoot the Ion Cannon down at the ground in the center. This will kill the enemies respawning at the center node, and if you aim it properly it will damage the node as well. You can hold this position until the orb carrier reclaims the node, return to tank mode and drive up to assault the node directly, or get out of the Leviathan and let the bots pilot it while you follow in behind with the node yourself. If the enemy succeeded in pushing all the way south and captured your prime node, you still want to position your leviathan as above, where you can attack the Prime Node or the center node. Destroy the prime node (and the enemy dark walker). Make sure the enemies at the Prime Node are dead, and then get out of your leviathan and go to the Prime Node. Once your prime node is reconstructed, go grab your orb and\or catch up with your leviathan. The bots are probably driving it down the canyon to the center node. This is a perfect opportunity to repair it with your link gun. If the orb carrier dies you can pick it up and use the Leviathan as a shield on your way to the node. If the enemy destroys your leviathan while you're fighting over the Prime Node, you'll need to shift your focus to the Orb. You can't let the enemy have the Prime Node, so you'll want to carry the orb in and take the node back, and then use the teleporter to go get another Orb ASAP. At the very least you need to keep it out of enemy hands until the Leviathan returns. The goal is to stay alive until the time runs out. Once you're in Overtime, all you have to do is capture and hold the center node and their core will count down faster than yours will. If you can destroy their prime node, it's even faster. Using the Leviathan and the Orb as barriers for your Nodes should give you enough of a defensive advantage that they will lose their Nodes faster than you do, hold them for less time, and therefore suffer more attrition damage. Note: This strategy does not require playing a card, but this level is difficult enough that it may justify playing one. Mission 130 - Serenity ( WAR-Serenity ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Lauren, Slain, Johnson, Karag Map Details Alluvion river valley There's a small Tarydium mine buried deep in the trees of this old forest. While it's not large enough to be a major source of income for the Axon, they have been known to use it as a supply depot and refueling center for their shipping convoys. Briefing "With the Alluvion blocked, the Axon are trying to sneak their Leviathan super- vehicle behind our lines. That kind of firepower on our flank would *not* be pretty so we need to hit 'em quickly. Their convoy stopped near a supply depot to refuel, and it's ambush time. Our forces used dense forest cover to establish a small base and now Ronin does the real work. Don't forget the mine node. We can use it to construct our own Leviathan. That'd wake 'em up." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - Control the Mine Node to engage the mining drones. - The drones will automatically begin to mine and stockpile Tarydium. - When Tarydium stockpiles are maxed, Leviathan production begins automatically. - Proceed with caution, Axon forces already have a Leviathan at their disposal. Strategy & Tactics This one is pretty straightforward, but it introduces a new feature: Countdown Nodes. This time all of the nodes are connected in basically a straight line, and like the Torlan Delta, the center support node is not connected to any other nodes. Controlling the center node begins a 40 second countdown. When the countdown ends, a Leviathan spawns in the small canyon west of the Node for whoever completed the countdown. The enemy, however, already has a Leviathan up and running, and they will try to claim the Mine Node early to keep it under their control. This mission shouldn't be too difficult. Your first order of business is to take the Mine Node away from the enemy. Then you have to destroy their leviathan. Once you have done those things, you'll be able to construct your own leviathan at the mine node. From there it's just a matter of driving it into the enemy prime node and on to their core. There isn't anything terribly unique to these steps, just use the Orb and then go after the Leviathan, either with a Goliath, an AVRiL or some other kind of long-range weapon. If you position yourself properly, you can hit the back-end of the Leviathan without any fear of retribution. The bots aren't very smart about piloting it so bringing it down is a matter of time more than anything. With you manning the Leviathan, your allies should be able to claim the prime nodes without a problem, and then all you have to do is push in and destroy the core. Mission 131 - Suspense ( vCTF-Suspense ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Barktooth, Johnson, Kregore, Talan Map Details Oxida Nova border territories Suspense is the only bridge across the Alluvion strong enough to support the weight of heavy combat vehicles. Without the bridge, it would take Axon forces several days to respond to any battles across of the river. As such, it is always under guard by an Axon mechanized division, with military checkpoints at each end. Briefing "We need to clear the military checkpoints at each end of this bridge. Izanagi recon took the southern point, and they called us to take the more heavily guarded northern point. So we'll sortie from the south to attack their respawner. We will have vehicle support. Bishop, the central bridge towers should make great sniper nests. Don't forget a longbow to take out enemy armor. Recon team also found a path under the bridge, so keep that in mind as our number-two option." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - The towers of the bridge are ideal sniping positions. - There is a Redeemer on the lower path, under the bridge. Strategy & Tactics This is the vCTF mission included in the demo, and all the same tricks work. It's very simple geometrically, and it shouldn't take more than a couple minutes to learn the layout. You've got a Goliath and a Raptor on the East edge of your base, a Scorpion, Hellbender, and Manta on the West, and an SPMA Artillery in the Northwest. The sniper rifle spawns between the two halves, and another spawns up near the SPMA artillery. You can use the support cables on the bridge to run (or Hoverboard) up to the top of the bridge in a scene very reminiscent of FFX (except they didn't fall on their face and roll off the edge to their death.) Most of your weapons will be acquired from weapon lockers near your spawn point so there is much more emphasis on vehicles for this map. The biggest asset at your disposal will be the Super Health which spawns near the Sniper Rifle and SPMA Artillery, up the ramp from your flag and around the corner. Jester will pilot the Goliath, making her very useful. Trying to pilot the Goliath yourself just draws a ton of enemy fire, you lose the tank and it doesn't help your allies get the flag (since they basically can't). Hellbenders, and Scorpions will have to drive down the main road, making them very vulnerable. Mantas can get away with it to some extent, but it's still more vulnerable than the Raptor. You'll want to hop on over and get the Super Health on your side of the map first, then take your Raptor across and land it near theirs. It's much better to take the powerups in enemy territory to deprive them of the benefit. When you've got 199 health, discreetly (wait for the Goliath to pass if you need to) walk into the enemy flag room and take it. Run back up the ramp to where the Super Health spawns and take a sharp right. Run along the narrow ledge against the wall of the building. Jump across to the doorway on the bridge's support pillar and run inside. This puts you on the bridge. Take a left and run outside along the edge of the bridge, being careful not to fall off or leave yourself exposed to fire from behind you. You can use the pillars as cover to some extent, but you'll want to keep moving. Once you get inside the second doorway, you're almost home free. I've found it better to keep running straight for a short way after leaving the doorway rather than trying to cut across the bridge immediately. Either way, cross the bridge and put the flag away. No sweat. Then, just get the Super Health again and repeat the process. The redeemer spawns on the island under the bridge. Falling off the bridge can result in a ragdoll, dropping the flag, and possibly getting killed by the bots who like to play down there. If you survive you can climb the ramp on the opposite side and come up in about the same place as you would have if you'd run along the bridge. I tend to avoid the hoverboard on this map, but there are a couple opportunities to use it in brief intervals inside the buildings and around corners. Note: If you're playing Co-op you can use the Raptor and Hoverboard grapple to bring a friend into the enemy base with you, and quickly tow them back out with the flag. It may be possible to accomplish this kind of extraction with the bots as well, by piloting the raptor near them when they grab the enemy flag. Mission 132 - Downtown ( WAR-Downtown ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Lauren, Barktooth, Drake, Cain Map Details Downtown Oxida Nova With the blockade on the Alluvion River, the warehouse district of Oxida Nova has been plunged into chaos. The storage facilities located there are the only remaining supply points available to Axon forces, and they've enforced martial law to ensure that their supplies remain unthreatened. Briefing "The Izanagi are taking Oxida Nova City and we're on point. I don't have to tell you about urban terrain, even 3:1 odds is rolling the dice - and today, we're straight up. We move downtown, flush the Axon into the open, and take out their power grid. The sooner we get heavy vehicles in play, the better - either by blowing the barricades outside the Axon base, or capturing the tank factory at the central node. Stay alert. We're on their home turf now and they'll use that to advantage." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - Use the shaped charge or Redeemer to destroy barricades. - With the barricades destroyed, heavy vehicles gain access to the main battlefield. - Axon forces have a strong foothold in this area. Defend your core at all costs. Strategy & Tactics WAR-Downtown will be harder than the other Warfare missions we've played so far. It's similar to WAR-Serenity, in that all of the nodes are linked in succession with an unlinked support node which, again, spawns a tank. This time, the tank is a Goliath, and there is an extra node in the middle to fight over. Furthermore, every node has an orb spawner, so it will be a tug of war between the orb carriers. Even worse, the enemy starts will all of the nodes already in their control, so your core is immediately vulnerable. Your role in this mission is to stabilize the situation, putting you in a support role. You're gonna be on defense this time, a defensive-offense, and your bots are all on offense by default. Jester will pretty much camp the orb, so it's difficult to get a hold of, and the enemy will be constantly pushing on your base as well. Your bots will basically ignore the tank node, and the Goliath it spawns, while the enemy team - Lauren in particular - will not. This means your first order of business is to take the Tank node and use the Goliath it spawns to help your allies push the enemy off your Prime Node and back to the center node. You can park your Goliath near your Prime Node, safely away from most of the fighting, and use it to shut down their Orb carrier, but they can circumvent this by taking the Tank node out from under you so it's better to be quick and try to get the center node back to neutral status. If you lose your goliath, go get another one. Taking out the center node is difficult because they've got a laser turret - and a number of Scorpions - which will decimate your tank. If you can just destroy the node whether or not you claim it yourself (using abandoned enemy vehicles as cover sometimes works) they will lose these vehicles until they can recover it, making it easier for you to capture and hold the node yourself. At this point, whoever controls the tank node is 'winning'. For the most part, the idea of the early game is to keep the Tank node under your control and use it as a counterweight to prevent the enemy from reclaiming anything your allies take from them. This is the hardest part. Once you've got control of both the center node and the tank node, the dynamics change. For one, you don't have to do anything else except maintain control and you will win by attrition if the time runs out. At this point you might find it better to switch entirely to defense using the Orb to shield & hold the center node while your allies fight over the enemy prime node. If the enemy prime falls, you can then run over and build a friendly node in it's place, and repeat the process there while your allies attack the enemy core. Another option might be to assist attacking the enemy prime node yourself, although this can be difficult and potentially costly if the enemy counter- attacks. Once you have their prime node, you can attack their core. On the easier settings I find this more productive than defending because the bots are so slow and it's easy to recover the node if they destroy it. On the harder levels there is less room to play around, I prefer to be conservative and let the enemy wear out slowly-but-surely, using my now-obsolete orb to defend the enemy prime node and preventing them from getting back up. If you have an opening between waves of enemies, you can run over and take the Tank node back at this point (if you lost it). You can actually park the Goliath inside the prime node building, making it impossible for the enemy to reclaim their node. If you decide to attack their base, there is an alleyway off the main road that leads to their core. You can get in and shoot it a couple times before the bots catch on. If you've got a secure hold on the prime node and the enemies are siege in their base, you can drive the Goliath through their front gate without much fuss as well. All-in-all the first 50% is the hard part and it's all downhill from there. Mission 133 - Defiance ( DM-Defiance ) Goal: 50 Kills Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Lauren, Harlin, Barktooth, Slain Map Details Downtown Oxida Nova Downtown Oxida Nova is a busy hub for Axon colonists. The area is surrounded by tall buildings, including the central rail station, employment offices, and shopping centers that are designed to resemble those back home on Earth. Briefing "Now that we've taken Oxida Nova, Axon defenses are crumbling. There's only a few pockets of resistance left, but that includes the Iron Guard. These guys are Axon-elite, ex-military--very experienced. And very pissed. They've got a make-shift command point near the transport center. Our job is to take control of the area before they spark a city-wide riot." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - The tight corridors of the lower level are very dangerous. - More powerful items can be found in the center's upper levels. Strategy & Tactics Hit & Run reigns supreme on this level, although the tunnels by the rocket launcher provide a nice campsite. I set up Jester and Othello on top of the ramps opposite the door, with Bishop on the rocket launcher, and myself up on the thighpads with the Sniper Rifle\Rocket Launcher. - This was extremely successful tactically, but it made too many 'economic' compromises to be a valid strategy overall. I also tried having the bots follow me, as per Shangri- La, but the level design didn't seem to accommodate that as well. The strategy from Arsenal and Carbon Fire seems to work the best: let your bots do what they want while you follow them around to distract the enemy. The rest of the time, stay out of the way and use guerilla tactics. Mission 134 - Kargo ( vCTF-Kargo ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop Enemies: Scorn, Gnasher, Scar, Worg, Lockjaw, Claw Map Details Alluvion river valley The harbors of the Alluvion River are the primary entry points for colonial supply lines. These shipping lanes are shared by all factions, and monitored by an N.E.G. peacekeeping force. This port is a highly contested supply point on the edge of Axon territory, with the Izanagi mainland just across the bay. Briefing "I don't like what's going on here. The Axon are quiet - no attempts to recapture the Alluvion Corridor. Four recon teams went into Oxida Nova. Only one made it out. They reported I quote, "Overwhelming hordes of Krall mercenaries slaughtering everyone wholesale." Before we could get defenses online, the Krall crossed the bay and hit our supply-lines. We need to move quickly, or this entire op is going up in smoke. We've seen what these bastards can do first hand. This time, they don't have the element of surprise but we're still heavily outnumbered. Don't kid yourselves. Respawners or not, every time we fight the Krall, we're fighting for survival." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Control the boat in the mid-ground to access a Goliath. - Line up a Scorpion boost to jump from ramp to ramp across the boat. Strategy & Tactics You'll be outnumbered by two this time, making it significantly more difficult than last time. It can be hard to get even one capture on this mission and if you let your guard down the enemy can win very quickly. I didn't have much success using the tank because my bots could hardly get to the flag room let alone back out again. It's possible to score this way, but you could easily play to overtime without doing so and still lose on a rough transition. The best bet seems to be to alternate between the tank and a flag attempt. The tank keeps the enemy in line and prevents them from getting too many people on your side of the board, reducing the chance that somebody might capture your flag in the time between your tank's destruction and your flag run. It also reduces the likelihood that the tank will fall into enemy hands. For the actual run, the shield belt would help immensely if you can get a hold of it. Either way, you want to approach from the Hellbender side and stay away from midfield where the enemy vehicles congregate. Aside from avoiding a lot of unnecessary damage, it also provides you a small area to restock on health and armor before you enter the flag room. There will probably be two defenders guarding the flag since they can afford it. If you drop down into the scorpion garage and then use the jump pad in the back, you'll come up right in front of one of the defenders. If you turn around and step onto it, you can come up facing him and can gib him with the Flak Cannon before he has a chance to return fire. Then you can grab the flag and jump over the rail to the Hellbender exit. If you moved quickly out of the base - and especially if you have the shield belt - you should have enough time to use your hoverboard to get behind the crates. You may even be able to reach the garage. Take the same route home that you took to reach the base and hope the enemy didn't take the tank while you were away. If they did, you'll probably have to kill the tank and try again, but sometimes you can escape before it targets you. The redeemer can make short work of the tank, just don't use the alt-fire or they will shoot it down with their incredible aim. Mission 135 - Serenity ( WAR-Serenity_Necris ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop, Ushido, Kensai Enemies: Scythe, Cerberus, Blackfang, Bargest, Worg, HellHound Map Details Alluvion river valley There's a small Tarydium mine buried deep in the trees of this old forest. While it's not large enough to be a major source of income for the Axon, they have been known to use it as a supply depot and refueling center for their shipping convoys. Briefing "Intel has proof the phayder corporation is backing the Krall army, supplying them with necris vehicles and technology. Just what we need: Bestial psychotic killers with high-grade tech. Latest news is that the Krall hijacked an Axon supply convoy including - oh that's just great - including a Leviathan super vehicle. Ronin, we're on damage control. That Leviathan could turn the tide of the war, and we'd better be on the right side of the wave when it hits." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - When Tarydium stockpiles are maxed, Leviathan production begins automatically. Strategy & Tactics A little bit different this time. The enemy doesn't start with a leviathan, which is nice, but they get a couple Necris vehicles and enter with a different strategy. The enemy will pay more attention to the mine node this time - probably because they have men to spare. The bulk of their forces will claim their Prime Node, and immediately push into yours. If they claim your prime node, they'll put more priority on getting a leviathan, which they will be in good position to do. It's much more difficult to turn the battle around on this map. Your forces will do the same. Whoever spawns closest to the orb will take it to the Mine node, sometimes bringing vehicle support. The rest will go to the Prime Node. Since both teams are doing basically the same thing, they will both construct their prime node at about the same time and the only difference in the first 30 seconds or so is who 'wins' control of the mine node. From there, both teams will try to use their orb as a battering ram to the prime node. If you defeat the enemy attempt on the Mine Node, you've got about a minute to spare which is best used attempting (at least) to push your orb into the enemy prime node by circling in from the north. If the attempt succeeds, congratulations. Otherwise, just head back to the Mine Node and get in your Leviathan. The enemy gets a Nemesis - roughly equivalent to a Goliath - and if everything goes well, it will arrive at your prime node just before your Leviathan completes construction. Nemesis are annoying, even with unskilled bot pilots, but on Insane it's.. Insane. This stage is delicate. If the leviathan gets exploded too soon, or at the wrong time, the enemy will capture your prime node, and you'll have to replace the Leviathan, thereby leaving your Core unprotected. In addition, the enemy orb carrier will probably be en- route to your Prime Node at this time as well. You'll want to drive the leviathan out just far enough to cut-off any opportunity for the enemy to reinforce it's assault on your base. Pay special attention to the laser turret, the nemesis, and the enemy orb. These are the backbone of the enemy plans. Once your prime node is secure and your allies start attacking the enemy prime node, follow in behind them and help destroy it. Once the prime node is down - just like last time - you can park in the road and shut down any attempt to reclaim it while your allies do the work, or you can crash through their front gate and damage the core yourself. Either way, you're in good position to maintain a strangle hold on their operations. Really, this mission isn't any different than the Iron Guard 4 vs. 4, it just has more traffic and slightly different vehicles. Mission 136 - Diesel ( DM-Diesel ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Iron Guard Allies: Othello, Enemies: Lauren, Barktooth, Harlin, Slain Map Details Downtown Oxida Nova Several maintenance facilities just like this one are required in order to keep a city running smoothly, especially a city the size of Oxida Nova. The Iron Guard have commissioned this particular structure as their own little playground, and use it to test out new Axon tech, like advanced weapons and upgraded respawners. Briefing "Alright here's how it went down. We gave Axon a serious beating and they offered a truce. Their factories are still intact and we *need* their vehicle tech. So the corporations signed a limited merger. Malcolm took control of the coalition forces and we're heading into Hyperion - the Liandri city. Lauren and her Iron Guard want to train us with new equipment. Sounds more like a hazing ritual. Either way, take it seriously." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - Color-coded lights alert you when the UDamage powerup is available. - Enemy forces have the advantage of Axon's improved Respawner technology. Strategy & Tactics Unfortunately there isn't a lot of advice I can give on this level. You're outnumbered 2 to 1, and - at least on insane - these guys aren't playing around. I tried a number of different tactics on this map to see which approach worked the best. The best strategy seems to be to follow Othello. Normally I would suggest having Othello follow you, but there are several reasons to follow him instead: First, on harder difficulties especially, he times the powerups. While a skilled player will know how to time the powerups, they probably won't have access to an internal clock which tells them when it's about to spawn regardless of who picked it up last and when. If he is following you, he will largely ignore powerups and weapon pickups unless you pick them up also. Second, the bots will target you whenever they see you. If Othello is following you, this will cause him some confusion if you die as a result. If you are following him, however, he will continue to fight and moreover, he will be able to kill them more easily while they are distracted. Third, you're going to want to be evasive here, which means you're going to be chased. If he attempts to follow you while you are being chased he'll basically be running into the enemies arms. On the hardest difficulty the bots become so 'accurate' here that they will be shooting at you before they can even see you, and they will perform amazing feats such as shooting you in the head through tiny windows from the other side of the level, while jumping. Unless you are better than I am, you'll want to avoid exposed locations and prolonged encounters. I found the minigun to be especially useful since it spawns near two good ambush sites and is simply easier to use while zigzagging and shooting at dodging targets. It's also useful to weaken targets for Othello. The Bio Rifle is also useful for killing enemies with powerups. There are several good places to ambush the enemy on this mission. The health on the crates near the stinger is attractive and often leads to bots getting stuck while trying to climb the boxes. The stairwell nearby is difficult for them to ascend while being attacked since they must align themselves with the doorway you're attacking through. Beyond that, the Shield Belt spawns on top of some more crates which the bots also become stuck on while trying to climb up. Another good place is the ramp near the rocket launcher (the one near the health kits) because the bots almost always attempt to come in from that direction. If you win the level, you get the "Iron Guard Reinforcements" card. Mission 137 - Kargo ( vCTF-Kargo ) Goal: 3 Captures Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop, Kensai Enemies: Scar, Hellhound, Claw, Bargest, Blackfang Map Details Alluvion river valley The harbors of the Alluvion River are the primary entry points for colonial supply lines. These shipping lanes are shared by all factions, and monitored by an N.E.G. peacekeeping force. This port is a highly contested supply point on the edge of Axon territory, with the Izanagi mainland just across the bay. Briefing "I don't like what's going on here. The Axon are quiet - no attempts to recapture the Alluvion Corridor. Four recon teams went into Oxida Nova. Only one made it out. They reported I quote, "Overwhelming hordes of Krall mercenaries slaughtering everyone wholesale." Before we could get defenses online, the Krall crossed the bay and hit our supply-lines. We need to move quickly, or this entire op is going up in smoke. We've seen what these bastards can do first hand. This time, they don't have the element of surprise but we're still heavily outnumbered. Don't kid yourselves. Respawners or not, every time we fight the Krall, we're fighting for survival." Objectives - Disable the enemy Respawner by removing its FLaGs. - Control the boat in the mid-ground to access a Goliath. - Line up a Scorpion boost to jump from ramp to ramp across the boat. Strategy & Tactics You're outnumbered, but only by 1 bot. This isn't as hard as some incarnations. You'll want to focus on the Tank in the center of the map to keep it out of enemy hands. You can use this to keep the enemy pinned in their base, but your allies will have difficulty getting to the flag if the entire enemy team is there. To combat this, you can let a few of the enemies escape to where they think they are on offense. When your allies sneak in and get the flag, go ballistic (literally) and start destroying the enemies at midfield. They'll go back to their base where they are hopefully too far away to do any good. If your tank gets destroyed, try to sneak into the enemy base for a capture. The shield belt will help immensely with this, so grab that first if you can. You want to approach from the Hellbender side and stay away from midfield where the enemy vehicles congregate. Aside from avoiding a lot of unnecessary damage, it also provides you a small area to restock on health and armor before you enter the flag room. There will probably be two defenders guarding the flag since they can afford it. If you drop down into the scorpion garage and then use the jump pad in the back, you'll come up right in front of one of the defenders. If you turn around and step onto it, you can come up facing him and can gib him with the Flak Cannon before he has a chance to return fire. Then you can grab the flag and jump over the rail to the Hellbender exit. If you moved quickly out of the base - and especially if you have the shield belt - you should have enough time to use your hoverboard to get behind the crates. You may even be able to reach the garage. Take the same route home that you took to reach the base and hope the enemy didn't take the tank while you were away. If they did, you'll probably have to kill the tank and try again, but sometimes you can escape before it targets you. The redeemer can make short work of the tank, just don't use the alt-fire or they will shoot it down with their incredible aim. Mission 138 - Serenity ( WAR-Serenity_Necris ) Goal: 1 Core Destroyed Faction: Krall Allies: Jester, Othello, Bishop, Harkin, Connor Enemies: Scythe, Scorn, Gnasher, Cerberus, Scar, Lockjaw Map Details Alluvion river valley There's a small Tarydium mine buried deep in the trees of this old forest. While it's not large enough to be a major source of income for the Axon, they have been known to use it as a supply depot and refueling center for their shipping convoys. Briefing "Intel has proof the phayder corporation is backing the Krall army, supplying them with necris vehicles and technology. Just what we need: Bestial psychotic killers with high-grade tech. Latest news is that the Krall hijacked an Axon supply convoy including - oh that's just great - including a Leviathan super vehicle. Ronin, we're on damage control. That Leviathan could turn the tide of the war, and we'd better be on the right side of the wave when it hits." Objectives - Link together Nodes to access the enemy Core. - When Tarydium stockpiles are maxed, Leviathan production begins automatically. Strategy & Tactics A little bit different this time. The enemy doesn't start with a leviathan, which is nice, but they get a couple Necris vehicles and enter with a different strategy. The enemy will pay more attention to the mine node this time - probably because they have men to spare. The bulk of their forces will claim their Prime Node, and immediately push into yours. If they claim your prime node, they'll put more priority on getting a leviathan, which they will be in good position to do. It's much more difficult to turn the battle around on this map. Your forces will do the same. Whoever spawns closest to the orb will take it to the Mine node, sometimes bringing vehicle support. The rest will go to the Prime Node. Since both teams are doing basically the same thing, they will both construct their prime node at about the same time and the only difference in the first 30 seconds or so is who 'wins' control of the mine node. From there, both teams will try to use their orb as a battering ram to the prime node. If you defeat the enemy attempt on the Mine Node, you've got about a minute to spare which is best used attempting (at least) to push your orb into the enemy prime node by circling in from the north. If the attempt succeeds, congratulations. Otherwise, just head back to the Mine Node and get in your Leviathan. The enemy gets a Nemesis - roughly equivalent to a Goliath - and if everything goes well, it will arrive at your prime node just before your Leviathan completes construction. Nemesis are annoying, even with unskilled bot pilots, but on Insane it's.. Insane. This stage is delicate. If the leviathan gets exploded too soon, or at the wrong time, the enemy will capture your prime node, and you'll have to replace the Leviathan, thereby leaving your Core unprotected. In addition, the enemy orb carrier will probably be en- route to your Prime Node at this time as well. You'll want to drive the leviathan out just far enough to cut-off any opportunity for the enemy to reinforce it's assault on your base. Pay special attention to the laser turret, the nemesis, and the enemy orb. These are the backbone of the enemy plans. Once your prime node is secure and your allies start attacking the enemy prime node, follow in behind them and help destroy it. Once the prime node is down - just like last time - you can park in the road and shut down any attempt to reclaim it while your allies do the work, or you can crash through their front gate and damage the core yourself. Either way, you're in good position to maintain a strangle hold on their operations. Really, this mission isn't any different than the Iron Guard 4 vs. 4, it just has more traffic and slightly different vehicles. Mission 139 - Decks ( DM-Deck ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Krall Allies: Othello Enemies: Scythe, Cerberus, Scorn, Gnasher Map Details Oxida Nova, The Decks One unfortunate drawback to Tarydium is the large volume of toxic bio-waste that is created during the processing of raw ore. On Taryd, the bulk of this waste is sent to the Decks, an Axon-run storage and disposal facility on the outskirts of Oxida Nova. It is not recommended that you enter the building without a complete set of protective gear. Briefing "Izanagi forces trapped the Krall chieftain inside Hyperion's main waste- processing plant. He's a rabid cornered dog. He's dangerous, and we need to put him down. If we're lucky, losing the alpha-male will make the whole pack turn on each other." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - There are environmental hazards throughout the facility. - Powerful weapons and powerups are located in more dangerous areas. Strategy & Tactics So Scythe is the Clan Lord? Whatever. We've already dominated him several times. This is a standard-issue deathmatch. You're outnumbered, but if you know this level you should be able to lay waste to the 'Krall chieftain' (again) without Othello's help. The Flak Cannon is particularly useful since you'll end up spending most of your time in the surrounding hallways, but you can use whatever weapon you prefer, so long as you can dodge the enemy rockets long enough to score points. The enemy will spend most of their time near the Stinger, meaning on the central bridge near the elevators. You can fire rockets down the length of the bridge and kill them in groups when they do this, or you can come up behind them from the elevators or the adjacent hallway and use the Flak Cannon to similar effect. If they push you out of the doorway and manage to enter the hall, you can always retreat back up the ramp and shoot flak balls down at them and laugh while the stupid beasts slip and fall into the slime trying to get to you. Occasionally one of them will spawn or wander over near the Bio Rifle to get the Double Damage - which is an added benefit of the Flak Cannon. You can kill them easily if they enter the hallways below the elevator when they drop down to get the Jump Boots or the Shield Belt since they have no practical means of dodging you. You can also use the portal down there to get the Redeemer and kill them with that, the way you would with a rocket launcher. You can shoot them from around the corners in the hallways by aiming at the floor under the half-arch.. Mm. And shock combos. The Krall don't seem to be very proficient with long range weapons, so you may also be able to abuse the sniper roost as well. I found it easier to kill shielded bots than it was to get the shield away from them. Just tell Othello to follow you and stick to the surrounding hallways. Mission 140 - Decks ( DM-Deck ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Krall Allies: Othello Enemies: Scythe, Cerberus, Scorn, Gnasher Map Details Oxida Nova, The Decks One unfortunate drawback to Tarydium is the large volume of toxic bio-waste that is created during the processing of raw ore. On Taryd, the bulk of this waste is sent to the Decks, an Axon-run storage and disposal facility on the outskirts of Oxida Nova. It is not recommended that you enter the building without a complete set of protective gear. Briefing "Izanagi forces trapped the Krall chieftain inside Hyperion's main waste- processing plant. He's a rabid cornered dog. He's dangerous, and we need to put him down. If we're lucky, losing the alpha-male will make the whole pack turn on each other." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - There are environmental hazards throughout the facility. - Powerful weapons and powerups are located in more dangerous areas. Strategy & Tactics So Scythe is the Clan Lord? Whatever. We've already dominated him several times. This is a standard-issue deathmatch. You're outnumbered, but if you know this level you should be able to lay waste to the 'Krall chieftain' (again) without Othello's help. The Flak Cannon is particularly useful since you'll end up spending most of your time in the surrounding hallways, but you can use whatever weapon you prefer, so long as you can dodge the enemy rockets long enough to score points. The enemy will spend most of their time near the Stinger, meaning on the central bridge near the elevators. You can fire rockets down the length of the bridge and kill them in groups when they do this, or you can come up behind them from the elevators or the adjacent hallway and use the Flak Cannon to similar effect. If they push you out of the doorway and manage to enter the hall, you can always retreat back up the ramp and shoot flak balls down at them and laugh while the stupid beasts slip and fall into the slime trying to get to you. Occasionally one of them will spawn or wander over near the Bio Rifle to get the Double Damage - which is an added benefit of the Flak Cannon. You can kill them easily if they enter the hallways below the elevator when they drop down to get the Jump Boots or the Shield Belt since they have no practical means of dodging you. You can also use the portal down there to get the Redeemer and kill them with that, the way you would with a rocket launcher. You can shoot them from around the corners in the hallways by aiming at the floor under the half-arch.. Mm. And shock combos. The Krall don't seem to be very proficient with long range weapons, so you may also be able to abuse the sniper roost as well. I found it easier to kill shielded bots than it was to get the shield away from them. Just tell Othello to follow you and stick to the surrounding hallways. Mission 148 - Fearless ( DM-Fearless ) Goal: 40 Kills Faction: Necris Allies: Othello, Enemies: Akasha, Thannis Map Details Omicron 6, downtown Absalom The secretive Phayder corporation has begun researching new applications of their nanoblack technologies. Some research has made significant progress, particularly in the field of battle armor and personal protection. Vaults such as this one serve as a testament to the dedicated research of this groundbreaking technology. Briefing "Akasha went to Phayder headquarters to steal the Invulnerability prototype. This thing covers the body in a modulated nano-black shield that absorbs any attack - which is the last thing *she* needs if we're gonna stop her. So lets follow her into the vault and beat her to it." Objectives - Keep enemies in check until their Respawner charges are depleted. - An Invulnerability powerup is located in the direct center of the facility. Strategy & Tactics The central feature of this level, both literally and figuratively - is the Invulnerability powerup. The rest of the match is a typical deathmatch. Akasha is better than the other bots you have faced, but not so much that you won't be able to beat her if you've already made it this far. If you don't know how to time the powerups, this is the mission that will teach you. When they say 'Just keep it away from Akasha' they aren't kidding. Unlike previous missions, the object in this one is to get the powerup yourself and run directly at the enemy. Othello is good enough to hold his own without the powerup and it's dangerous to wait for him to grab it anyway. The bots don't 'understand' invulnerability. When a bot is invulnerable, the player knows to run away and avoid them until it expires (or to strip it with the impact hammer if you're quick). When the player is invulnerable, they know it's time to find the bots and spam them into oblivion. Do those things. The Link Gun Alt-Fire is useful when you're invulnerable, as is the minigun - anything that the enemy can't effectively dodge. The rest of the time you'll want to use the Bio Rifle\Flak Cannon and move backwards while the enemies will try and pursue you through the hallways with line-of-sight based weapons. This mission goes up and down quite a bit. You may find yourself 10 points behind and then 10 points ahead, 5 points behind, 5 points ahead, etc. This is because of the auto-adjusting difficulty trying to account for you being invulnerable. Overall, this mission isn't harder than any other, you just need to keep track of the powerup. === [5] Cheats & Secrets === There are 10 characters which can be unlocked in UT3: Lauren Beat DM-Diesel in the campaign. Matrix Beat DM-Gateway in the campaign. Kragoth Beat WAR-Islander_Necris in the campaign. Damian Beat WAR-Islander_Necris in the campaign. Malakai Beat WAR-Islander_Necris in the campaign. Scythe Beat DM-Deck in the campaign. Loque Beat CTF-OmicronDawn in the campaign. Akasha Beat DM-Sentinel in the campaign. The other two characters (Ariel & Alanna) are not accessible by playing through the campaign. You can unlock these characters via the 'Unlock character' button at the bottom of the customize character screen. Character Code Alanna Phayder Ariel Jihan You can also enter the following command in the console (F10) Unlockallchars Unlocks all playable characters. There are some additional parts & characters who are not available in the customize character screen as well. For a summary of these parts and how to enable them, see the following thread on the official forums: http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=589971 Console Cheats God Player cannot be damaged or killed. AffectedByHitEffects Player cannot be pushed or influenced by others. Ghost Allows the player to fly and travel through walls. Fly Allows the player to fly. Walk Exits ghost\fly mode. Amphibious Allows the player to breathe underwater. PlayersOnly Only players are allowed to move and interact. SloMo Speed up or slow down time. SetGravity Increase or decrease the gravity in the world. SetSpeed Increase or decrease your movement speed. SetJumpZ Change your maximum jump height. Teleport Instantly teleport to your crosshair. Avatar Possess a specified target. Summon Bring a specified object type into existence. GiveWeapon Summon a weapon directly into your possession. AllWeapons Gives the player all of the weapons in the game. AllAmmo Gives maximum ammo for all weapons. Loaded Simultaneously execute the AllWeapons & AllAmmo cheats. ChangeSize Changes the player's size to the value specified. ViewBot Spectate a bot. KillViewedActor Destroys the character or object being spectated. Behindview Toggles 3rd person view. Fov Changes the player's field of vision. Addbots Adds the designated number of bots to the game. AddNamedBot Adds a specific bot to the match. Suicide Kills the player. Stat FPS Shows the current framerate. === [6] Version History === 1.0 - Current. === [7] Legality, Contact & Credits === This guide may be reproduced in whole or in part by the user at their own discretion, provided that: 1) No alterations are made (such as adding or subtracting words) to the document unless: A) such alterations are clearly indicated to be additions, and credited to another entity other than the original author. B) clear, unambiguous reference is made to the unmodified source document as published by it's original author. (Such as a hyperlink) C) The original author has expressed consent to these changes. 2) Prior to public use, such as publishing on a website, the original author has been notified of the interest in publishing the guide. This means: A) The user has requested permission to use the guide on a public website. B) The user has informed the author of his intents to do so. C) This request has not been rejected. 3) The user accepts that the original author reserves the right to change the terms of use in this and future revisions, including: A) The right to revoke license of use with or without cause, at his or her sole discretion. B) The right to add or remove terms and conditions, with or without notice. C) The right to make exceptions permitting or excluding certain entities of license granted to others of otherwise equal legal standing. IE, I'm publishing it in the hopes that it is helpful to someone, and grant my license for others to use it for this purpose. All I ask is that you please do not use it in a way that diminishes me for doing so, that I be informed of how it's being used, and that I remain the legal owner. Those are fair terms, I think. Credit goes to epic for everything within this guide. Not a single word of content was developed without access to, and observation of, the game data. In particular: The menus are copied and derived from the game's data files. Gameplay features derived from observation of the game's data files. The weapon descriptions were taken from the in-game descriptions. (UTGameUI) Pickup details derived from the game's data files. (Various) Awards & Sprees section compiled from analysis of the source. (Various) The vehicle section was compiled from observation & source data (Various) The Bot list was derived from material in the source. (UTCustomChar_Data) Bot behavior and difficulty adjustment from studying the code. (Various) The campaign map layout was borrowed in part, from Kismet. The Mission Index was derived from a similar list. (UTMissionInfo_Content) Cheats & Secrets derived from the game's data files (CheatManager) The strategies were compiled by me, but even then, from UT3.exe. Special thanks to TweakGuide for their excellent work deciphering the inner workings of the Unreal Engine. Also to the various archaeologists who discovered the missing character meshes. And to GameFAQs for (among other things) providing me the inspiration, motivation, and education required to assemble this. Please contact me at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments, corrections, suggestions, etc. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. � Matt Annin 04/02/2008.
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