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It is arcadic and very unique. Some people say that it is similar to some of the older shooters. In addition, every weaponhas a specific strategy and gameplay element behind it. In other words, each weapon has a benefeit that can be exploited for kills. There is no split screen or system link option in Lost Planet. The entire multiplayer aspect of the game takes place online. Lost Planet has four game types and a currect 16 multiplayer maps. The original game shipped with only nine and an additional map exclusive to the collectors edition of the game. However, the exclusive map is now available via download from Xbox LIVE to the public. There have been a total of three map packs for the game. The first brought two maps by the names of Island 902 and Radar Field. The second map pack continued the frantic online play with Hive Complex and Trial Point. The third pack included three new maps; Lost Technology, Ice Drop, and Ruins. Unlike many games, Lost Planet does not have a recovery system in multiplayer. In addition to the fact that your health does not recover automatically, there is no possible way to recover your HP. Combined with the fact that every time you die your score is decreased by 1,000 points (roughly the same amount of points you gain from killing someone) makes survival absolutely key in online success. Roughly half of the weapons in Lost Planet require the use of thermal energy, a substance which powers your harmonizer in single player and maintains your body temperature at a safe level, both are things that you do not have to worry about online. Vital Suits also require a constant flow of thermal energy to use, otherwise they eject the pilot into the harsh, unforgiving environment.The multiplayer has you spawn with a set 2,000 thermal energy. Data posts play an important role online. These posts can be activated to not only give you thermal energy but to also mark nearby enemies on your radar. Thermal pools can also be found online. These appear as glowing yellow-orange circles of thermal energy that constantly replenish your T-Eng. Killing another player earns roughly 1,000 points. A large amount of points are earned by destroying a mech with a player inside, slightly less are awardedfor destroying a mech and then tracking down and killing that player. 500 points are added to the battle gauge every time you active a data post. Dieing results in a 1,000 point loss. _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ Gametypes Overview _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ Gametype- Elimination Objective- Fill your battle gauge by killing foe. General tips- Survival is key in this game type because of the point loss. Corner camping is very rewarding, so long as you do it in an area that is commonly traveled. Obtaining new weapons makes encounters much easier. Watch your back often. There is an issue of other players spawning near you, which most likely results in your death because of their ten second invulnerability. Gametype- Team Elimination Objective- Deplete the enemy teams gauge before they deplete yours. General tips- Suicide runs are possible in team elimination. Just make sure that your probable death is worth it. Situations tend to be less caustic because you have allies to protect you. Controlling territory is a little more important than elimination. Spawn killing is possible, if you manage to outlive their invulnerability. Gametype- Post Grab Objective- Raise all of the posts on the map with your team, or have the most posts raised when the time runs out. General tips- Don�t corner camp unless you�re specifically protecting a data post. Try to make it to data posts with enough firepower to take it over. The final data post will most likely be at the other teams spawn. You�ll most likely need your entire team to raise it. Gametype- Fugitive Objective- Stay alive and kill enemy soldiers or hunt down and destroy the fugitive. General tips- If your not the fugitive, stay in a group and hunt down data posts. That way, you can easily tell where the fugitive is. Eventually you�ll see a lone red dot on the map. Remember, a dim red dot means a change in elevation. Climb higher or drop down. As the fugitive, try to catch wanderers off guard. Corner camping works well. Sniping works well, but it often gives away your position. Just make sure to stay hidden. _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ Weapon Guide _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ -------------------------------------- ====Infantry Weapons==== -------------------------------------- Weapon- Machine Gun Rate of Fire- Very Fast Damage- Low Prefered Distance- Medium-close range Special- Continuous shots tend to stun the enemy The machine gun. An all around weapon that you typically spawn with. It�s the default weapon and plays a large role in the game. It can be used in standard combat in many ways. One of the most common strategies is to toss a grenade at the foe and proceed to blow it out of the air on top of them. This strategy has been dubbed the �grenade shot� and it is what I will refer to from now on. In close range the machine gun becomes much more accurate and its ability to render the target useless becomes important to your survival, with shotguns and the like around. General tips for this weapon are as follows. Try for body shots. Head shots deal far more damage but it is more difficult to hit a moving foe in such a small area of the body. In the end, locking someone up with body shots proves more useful. The melee with this weapon (and most others) is useless. Weapon- Shotgun Rate of Fire- Fast Damage- Average Prefered Distance- Close range Special- The shotgun occasionaly knocks foes down. The less distance between you and them, the greater the chance of a knock-down. The shotgun is an excellent weapon in close range. Although you have to basically touch the opponent for it to be an instant kill, at slightly farther ranges it has a tendancy to knock the foe onto the ground. Any foe laying on the ground is invulnerable until they again stand. However, this gives you plenty of time to plan for their imminent demise. Once an opponent falls down you have many more options available to you. In order of greatness: #1 You can stick their immobilized body with a gum grenade. Proceed to run away. #2 Sneak behind them for a final shotgun blast. #3 Back off and throw a grenade of your choice at their feet with the intention of it blowing up when they stand (ala shoot it). The melee on the shotgun is one of the better ones as you can follow it up with a shotgun blast for the kill, but I still advise against it. The shotgun can also pull off grenade shots and is one of the few weapons that actually benefits from the plasma grenade. Toss the grenade in a manner so it bounces around the corner and immobilizes the enemy. Proceed to strut over to their defenseless person and pop them in the chest. Instant win. Weapon- Rifle Rate of Fire- Fast Damage- High Prefered Distance- Long Range Special- N/A Your typical sniper rifle. It comes with two levels of zoom and deals high damage to infantry. Any shot that lands at an opponents head yields an instant kill, obviously. Otherwise it kills in 1-3 shots to the body. It�s fast enough to pull off a stream of shots and holds a pretty large amount of ammunition. The sniper is kind of unsteady so you�ll have to re-adjust your aim each time you fire. The grenade shot is possible with the sniper rifle but it�s too difficult to hit your own grenades so don�t bother. The only exception to this is the disc grenade. The disc grenade has a long fuse and it can travel large distances. It has the added benefeit of being large enough and slow enough to snipe. Typically, anything the sniper can do with a grenade shot it can do better by simply firing at the target. The sniper is another one of the few weapons that benefits from plasma grenades. Toss one towards a difficult to hit target and *hopefully* you�ll stun him long enough to pull off a headshot. Also, the rifle does very little damage to mechs. Unless it�s a weaker mech or a haze, don�t even try. Weapon- Rocket Launcher Rate of Fire- Slow Damage- Very High Prefered Distance- Any Special- Knock-down and stumble. The rocket launcher in Lost Planet is very unique in that it has almost zero splash damage. It leaves a trail of smoke that tips others off to the rocket launchers current position. It deals high damage to both infantry and mechs. It�s only real disadvantage is that each individual rocket has to be loaded into the chamber before firing. As if the rocket launcher wasn�t strong enough, it also has a tendancy to either knock opponents on the ground or make them stumble. Either way, it gives the rocket user enough time to reload another shot. One way to increase the splash damage of the rocket launcher is to toss a grenade at the foe before firing. This almost always yields a kill. Additionally, the rocket launcher benefits from stance. You gain greater accuracy while crouching. However, any shot fired while standing/crouching leaves you stationary for a second. Firing mid-air drops accuracy considerably but allows you to avoid standing still. Logically, this means that it is best to crouch while fighting indirectly over large distances and to jump and fire when you fight head to head. Weapon- Plasma Gun Rate of Fire- Average Damage- High Preferred Distance- Medium-Long Range Special- N/A The plasma gun is a sniper rifle that requires thermal energy to fire. It doesn�t use ammo like the sniper but instead runs on your thermal energy. Each shot uses roughly 30-50 T-Eng per shot. A few other differences exist between the sniper and the plasma gun. Where the sniper deals almost zero damage to mechs, the plasma gun does considerably more damage. Also, repeated headshots to the pilot of a VS tend to eject the pilot more often than the regular sniper. The shots fired by the plasma gun are slightly larger than the bullet trail left behind by a sniper, so grenade shots are easier. The plasma gun is much, much, more accurate than the sniper in close quarters but the sniper beats the plasma gun at long range combat. Shots fired by the plasma gun are also slightly slower than a snipers bullet. The mid-range accuracy of the plasma gun allows it to be used as a less effective shotgun in close quarters. Weapon- Energy Gun Rate of Fire- Slow-Fast Damage- Variable Preferred Distance- Any Special- Tracking, VS Ejection, Knock-down A very useful weapon. The energy gun uses up thermal energy every shot, just like the plasma gun. The two weapons, however, are extremely different. The energy gun fires small, slow-moving, blobs of energy that track foes for a considerable amount of time. The energy gun is well sought after, so hold on to it if you find it lying around in multiplayer. The energy gun can be charged up and it�s purpose is best served fully charged. Fully charged blasts track extremely well, deal excellent damage to infantry, and any VS pilot who is struck by an energy blast is ejected from the mech instantly, their current HP is cut in half, and the mech is damaged. Despite the amazing tracking ability of the energy gun, there is a way to avoid any charged attacks completely for mech users and infantrymen. If you see a charged energy gun blast and you are on foot, you should roll towards the person who fired the shot just before the blast hits you. This will render you invulnerable to the attack, if done properly. If you see a charged energy blast and you are a VS pilot, you should back pedal far enough so the attacker cannot throw grenades at you and then eject before the blast hits you. This will also halt any damage that the energy gun would have dealt to you. However, if you are using an energy gun and someone starts rolling into your shots you should start rapid firing the weaker energy blobs at the person. The weaker ones cannot be timed out with invulnerability animations unlike the the larger ones. The energy gun can pull off the grenade shot if you fire immediately after throwing a grenade. --------------------------------------- ====Vital Suit Weapons==== --------------------------------------- Weapon- Gatling Gun Rate of Fire- Very Fast Damage- Average Preferred Distance- Medium Range Special- Stun Infantry/VS- The gatling gun has better performance whilst on a mech. _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ Most of the VS weaponry can be used on foot or attached to any Vital Suits you find lying around. The gatling gun fires extremely quickly and deals medium damage to foes. Against mechs it deals lower amounts of damage but two gatling guns together will easily bring them down. Overview- Infantry The gatling gun can quickly take down opponents on foot and has a slight chance of achieving the stun effect from the standard machine gun. Disadvantages of the gatling gun are that it is difficult to keep a constant stream of bullets on the enemy because of its poor stability. In addtiton, the gatling gun cannot be fired unless you stop moving. This makes you an easy target for snipers or waiting foe. This is one of the few mech weapons which can take advantage of the grenade shot. Overview- VS On a mech, the gatling gun serves backup purposes. (ie: keeping a constant stream of ammo on the enemy whilst reloading a secondary weapon) Any mech that can duel wield should consider picking up duel gatling guns because they can take out humans and mech easily. Hardballers (chainsaw/super mech) greatly benefeit from duel gatling guns because of their ease of mobility. Dodge incoming attacks and wear the foe down. Weapon- VS Shotgun Rate of Fire- Medium Damage- Very High Preferred Distance- Close-Medium Range Special- Knock-down Infantry/VS- Either The mech shotgun is huge and powerful. It�s slower than the standard shotgun but usually yields a kill in a single shot. Like all VS weapons, your mobility is hindered while carrying it but the weapon makes up for it with its power. Overview- Infantry This is a great weapon to pick up if you like hiding around corners (near data posts, etc.) It stops your movement completely every time you fire as well as hinders your mobility like all mech weapons do. The weapon has a knock-down effect just like the smaller version. If you manage to down somebody with this weapon, circle behind them and fire when they get up. I don�t advise sticking them with gum grenades, etc. Another of the few VS weapons which can benefit from the grenade shot. Overview- VS This is a beast of a mech weapon. Unlike when it is used on foot, the mech shotgun receives no penalty in mobility. It becomes all powerful at this level and can take out quite a few of the VS out there in just a few shots. This makes duel VS shotguns even scarier. Weapon- VS Rocket Launcher Rate of Fire- Very Slow Damage- Insane Preferred Distance- Medium-Long Range Special- Knock-down, stumble Infantry/VS- Either The strongest weapon in the game, damage wise. A rocket from this bad boy will cleave through most Vital Suits and kill infantry in a single shot. Anything that doesn�t die will suffer from either a knock-down or a stumble. Mechs that receive damage will be momentarily stunned. Overview- Infantry Another weapon that is good, both on foot and on a mech. It�s role in the hands of a foot soldier is very similar to that of the VS shotgun. Sneak attacking people and causing all-around mayhem. The weapon has horrible speed and has to be reloaded (slowly) every time you fire a shot. In addition to the fact that turtles, etc. can outrun you, this isn�t a weapon to run around with. If you get it, run to higher ground and wait for a nice firefight to break out below you. Proceed to blow everyone that�s fighting below away. Overview- VS A nice weapon to put on your mech. It pretty much wreaks havoc on all of the weaker mechs out there. I don�t recommed duel wielding these because of their slow speed and low ammunition count. Granted their hidden special takes place if you duel wield rockets, but in the end it isn�t worth it. Firing two mech rockets simultaneously will �chain� the explosions together. All this means is that the splash damage carries over from one blast to the other, killing any infantry in the middle. This has a higher probability of occurring in medium range. Weapons that the VS rocket tends to work well in combination with are the shotgun or gatling gun. Weapon- Grenade Launcher Rate of Fire- Slow Damage- Variable Preferred Distance- Any Special- N/A Infantry/VS- Either A very good, or horrible weapon. This one honestly makes no sense to me. It fires an arcing projectile that quickly explodes and rains bomblets over a small area. It seems to deal almost zero damage to mechs and infantry but has the possibility of dealing the highest damage of any weapon in the game. If all of the bomblets make contact with a hardballer then the mech will be destroyed in a single shot. In almost any other situation, the weapon deals little damage. Overview- Infantry This weapon can operate like a VS shotgun in close combat, but this risks receiving damage from the bomblets that the initial explosion releases. It can be rewarding to aim at the sky and fire in the direction of other players. The initial explosion should send bomblets raining down on anyone below. Hopefully one of them will hit someone. Overview- VS I personally cannot recommend this weapon on a VS although a few people have been able to make it work. The damage is too variable to be taken seriously and you�ll find yourself taking damage from your own explosion more than once. However, if you manage to find two of them then the resulting explosion could probably cover some of the smaller maps in a storm of bomblets. Weapon- Missile Launcher Rate of Fire- Medium Damage- High Preferred Distance- Medium-Long Range Special- Knock-down, stumble Infantry/VS- Vital Suit exclusive This weapon is pretty awesome by itself. It fires slightly weaker rockets in relatively quick succession. The chamber holds four rockets but it reloads slowly. They can duel wield with anything but I recommend duel wieling two Missile launchers. This strategy should allow you to fire off rockets like you�re using a machine gun. The result is a lot of explosions. Weapon- Cannon Rate of Fire- Medium Damage- Very High Preferred Distance- Long Range Special- Knock-down, stumble Infantry/VS- Vital Suit exclusive The mech version of the sniper rifle. It fires extremely fast and powerful rockets that arrive at the target in less than a second. These missiles deal high damage but must make direct contact with the enemy in order to affect the target. Any shots that land at infantry feet will simply knock them down. Although the cannon fulfills the role of the mech sniper rifle, it does not have a scope so precise aiming is needed to kill targets in the distance. A few mech have duel cannons but these are few and far between. Weapon- Laser Rifle Rate of Fire- Slow Damage- High Preferred Distance- Close-Medium Range Special- N/A Infantry/VS- Better performance on foot A thermal energy based mech weapon. It fires a concentrates blue beam of thermal energy that kills foot soldiers in a single shot and does decent damage to enemy mech. Each shot can be charged up to deal more damage but the drain on the weapon increases. Each shot uses up roughly 80-130 thermal energy. Overview- Infantry It fulfills a role similar to the mech rocket launcher when used by infantry. Namely, sneaking up on people and 1-shotting them. However, because the beam travels a relatively far distance you can afford to run around with this weapon. Overview- VS I don�t recommend placing this weapon on a VS. The beam is difficult to judge when trying to hit infantry, which is it�s main purpose. There are better weapons to put on a mech, especially when your main concern is to take down anyone else who finds a mech of their own. The laser rifle just doesn�t deal enough damage to Vital Suits to take the place of other mech weapons. Weapon- EM Laser Rate of Fire- Slow Damage- Very High Preferred Distance- Close-Medium Range Special- Mech Stun Infantry/VS- Either The big brother of the plasma rifle. This one benefits from being able to stun enemy mechs for around 3-5 seconds per shot. It�s a good thing the EM laser fires every 2-4 seconds because this means that it can render enemy mechs useless while chipping away large amounts of health each time. The beam itself is larger than the beam from a laser rifle. The EM laser can be charged up just like the laser rifle but instead of dealing more damage, it increases the size of the beam. Sadly, to compensate for the weapons usefulness the thermal drain per shot is somewhere around 400. Overview- Infantry This weapon behaves exactly like the laser rifle when used on foot. It just has a larger beam at the expense of extra thermal drain. However, if you see a mechthis is one of the few weapons that will give you the complete advantage over it. Overview- VS Just like the laser rifle, the EM laser is too difficult to hit infantry with, so focus on destroying enemy mech. The stun effect that the weapon applies should always be taken advatage of. Additionally, the EM laser has a tendancy of trapping mech pilots inside the mech so that the �Press A to escape command doesn�t even show up. It�s rare, but it happens. Weapon- Laser Vulcan Rate of Fire- Medium Damage- Low Preferred Distance- Close Range Special- N/A Infantry/VS- Vital Suit exclusive This weapon is generally awful. It deals low damage to both mechs and infantry and doesn�t have the speed to make up for it. It�s better to consentrate fire on mech versus infantry because it tends to do more damage against Vital Suits. It�s a really kind of pointless weapon because anything it can do, the gatling gun can do it better. In the end, don�t use this weapon. It�s nothing more than a thermal energy drain. Weapon- Homing Laser Rate of Fire- Medium-Slow Damage- Variable Preferred Distance- Medium-Long Range Special- Tracking, knock-down Infantry/VS- Either A king of weapons. This gun runs off of thermal energy and can be charged up. When facing an opponent, it locks on to up to four targets. These targets can be the same or different. (ie: four people, one each; one person, four on him; etc.) The lasers fired from this weapon launch into the sky and drop down on an opponent. It usually takes two lasers to kill infanty. The lasers do significantly less damage to mechs. Overview- Infantry This weapon plays the same role on foot and on a mech. However, because there is a thermal energy drain of roughly 100 per laser, maintaining your thermal energy is key. The easiest way to by-pass the thermal drain is to stand in a thermal pool. Otherwise, you�ll just have to activate data posts to get it back. One important thing about the homing laser. You cannot injure a player that is close to you with the homing laser because the lasers will just go over their head. This is the only weapon that I recommend you use the melee with. If you hit the enemy they will fall down. This gives you the time to switch to a different weapon. Overview- VS- The only difference between on-foot use of the homing laser and Vital Suit use of the homing laser is that the weapon can be duel wielded. Two homing lasers means eight lasers will be shot out in search of enemies. However, with this comes a massive thermal drain of 800 points. You will need to find a thermal pool to even think of using two homing lasers. _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ Grenade Usage _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ Weapon- Hand Grenade Damage- High Throw Distance- Medium Sticks- No Detonation Time- Short The most versatile grenade. Can be used to pull off easy grenade shots and can be thrown around corners. Weapon- Gum Grenade Damage- High Throw Distance- Short Sticks- Yes Detonation Time- Long Best type of grenade when using a shotgun. The only type that can affect a fallen enemy. Good for escaping as well. Toss to a nearby wall and keep running. Weapon- Plasma Grenade Damage- High Throw Distance- Medium Sticks- No Detonation Time- Short More of an annoyance than anything. The explosion size makes it far too easy to stun yourself and it fails as a mech destroyer because of it's tendancy to set off other plasma grenades before reaching the desired target. However, they can be used well with cooperative teammates who can quickly target jammed VS and serve a useful purpose when dealing with enemies who hide behind walls. Freeze them and turn the corner. Weapon- Dummy Grenade Damage- High Throw Distance- Medium Sticks- No Detonation Time- Instant Explodes on impact and deals huge damage. It also stuns mechs and allows on-foot players to take down VS. Can also be used to confuse a foes radar and can bounce around corners. Weapon- Disc Grenade Damage- High Throw Distance- Far Sticks- Yes Detonation Time- Very Long The grenade with the farthest range. Difficult to aim over long distances. Can stick to foes in a similar manner to gum grenades but throw duration is extended. Unlike most types of grenades it cannot bounce off of walls. _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ Mech Usage _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ Mech- Hardballer Speed- Very fast Durability- Strong Thermal Drain- Fast Abilities- Hover, Dash, VS saw The most versatile mech in the game. The hardballer is known as the �Super Mech� online. It is capable of using two weapons simultaneously. It is one of two mech that can run. The hardballer has a fast thermal drain so constant replenishing is necessary to maintain control of the mech. The hardballer can jump rather high and maitain its height with its hover ability. The hover ability allows a pilot to maintain altitude for approx: 5 seconds. Both jumping and hovering consume thermal energy at a faster rate than normal. The Hardballer has a dash ability which allows it to increase it�s speed beyond the normal thresh hold. The thermal energy drain becomes more severe, however. The only mech that can outrun a dashing hardballer is the Evax. The Hardballer can also use an exclusive weapon called the VS saw. This saw can be activated or deactivated by holding �X�. Simply tapping �X� makes a slash with the saw. An activated VS saw consumes a massive amount of thermal energy, so get in the habit of slashing the inactivated blade. The blade can be used mid-air and deals high damage. An activated saw has far more accuracy than an inactive saw, and deals constant damage. The Hardballer is one of the few mech that can take advantage of duel gatling guns. It�s agility allows it to dodge some of the more powerful attacks and wear down attackers. One common strategy I use (if I can get it) is to duel wield a VS shotgun and an EM laser while using a hardballer. Of course, this means you�ll need to camp in a thermal pool to recover the massive drain on your thermal energy. If another mech user closes in on you, fire the EM laser at them and proceed to do as I say in quick succession. Step one: After landing a hit on the foe with the EM laser, they should be temporarily stunned. Step two: Close in on the foe and shoot them with the mech shotgun immediately after the EM laser hits them. Step three: Slash the enemy with the chainsaw. Step four: Repeat. This means that the enemy will take massive damage from your mech but won�t be able to do anything in return. Mech- Nida Speed- Very slow Durability- Weak Thermal Drain- Very Slow Abilities- None This mech is very slow and rather useless. It doesn�t protect you from a whole lot but benefits from duel mech weapons. It can be good in place of a machine gun, to put things in perspective. It�s only ability is to jump, and it does that miserably. The pilot of the mech is exposed and can be sniped out of the cockpit. Mech- Faze Speed- Fast Durability- Average Thermal Drain- Fast Abilities- Double jump, long jump, reverse thrust, smoke bomb. This is a great mech if you can gather the Thermal Energy to use it. The Haze is one of only two mech that can run, the other being the Hardballer. The Haze is built for vertical transportation and can jump in a variety of ways. Like all mech the Haze can jump. However, the Haze can jump a second time by activating its boosters mid-air. The Haze can also charge up for a long jump by pressing �Y�. The long jump travels farther than a well timed double jump, but takes time to activate. The reverse thrust can be activated by pressing �Y� after performing a long jump. The thrusters reverse direction and slam the mech into the ground, killing any ground targets instantly. A smoke bomb can also be deployed by pressing �X�. This mech gives you a lot of options. Use them to your advantage. Mech- Cakti Speed- Slow Durability- Very strong Thermal Drain- Average Abilities- Hover, Slide, VS drill, Transform This is one of the most unique mech in Lost Planet. It has two forms which are rather slow. This is the most defensive mech in the game. It takes a large amount of ammunition to destroy, and then you have to worry about the escaping pilot. The first form is a four legged spider looking mech that has two permanent gun placements. A cannon and a laser vulcan. The cannon has thirty shots unlike the normal cannon which holds only fifteen shots. The laser vulcan is pointless, don�t even use it. It will eat up your thermal energy and distract you from achieving pinpoint accuracy with the cannon. Also, the spider mech can jump and hover, albeit slowly. It can also do a quick slide to the left or right. Although slow, it is very evasive. The second form is its tank form. It loses its abilities to jump, hover, and slide but gains an exclusive attack. The VS drill is very powerful and deals constant damage. It takes a few seconds to revv up but the damage it deals is immense. It also gains a major speed boost for the short time that it is active. The tank form also loses the laser vulcan but no one really cared about that to begin with. The tank form sacrifices its agility for the removal of its weak points. Mech- Granseed/Drio Speed- Moderate Durability- Strong Thermal Drain- Average Abilities- Hover, Slide The Granseed is the same thing as the Drio. The only difference being that the Drio leaves the pilot exposed from above. They can take the same number of hits as a Hardballer but have decreased evasion. These mechs have two common abilities. They can hover for around three seconds and can perform a slide similar to the one that the spider mech uses. Although they aren�t as powerful as the other VS, they are better than going on foot. Mech- Evax Speed- Very fast/slow Durability- Very weak Thermal Drain- Slow Abilities- Transform, Hyper dash The evax is the fastest mech in the game. Only the hardballer can keep up with it, which is a bad thing since this mech can hardly take a single grenade. The mech can only ever hold a single weapon. It has two forms. The upright position and its snowmobile position. The upright position gives the player a little bit more flexability as far as aiming is concerned, but its usually pointless to fight with this mech anyway. It�s fast, but not evasive. The secondary form travels very quickly and has the ability to perform a hyper dash which activates its back thrusters and propels it through the air. Upon landing, the mech remains idle for a second. I suggest using this mech when you need to get somewhere fast. It can out perform players on foot as long as they don�t have high powered weapons. Anything more than a grenade will send the pilot flying out of the mech. It can do a nice drive-by if you equip it with a VS shotgun. Holding �X� while driving this mech slows it down enough to turn on a dime. Mech- Turntable Speed- N/A Durability- Strong Thermal Drain- Very Slow Abilities- None The turntable is the turret of Lost Planet. The pilot is exposed from the back but can take a massive amount of damage from the sides. Like many mech the pilot can be ejected if they take multiple continuous shots to the front. The turntable can remove its back weakness thanks to the amazing speed in which it can turn. Although it cannot move, you can equip it with enough firepower to make it useful. _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ Multiplayer Maps Overview _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ Map- Pirate Fortress Size- Small Terrain- Mostly snow with some interiors. Thermal Pools- No Gamplay Gimmick- N/A Quite possibly the most popular map. It was included in the multiplayer demo. This map takes place in a crimson snow pirate camp. The terrain is snowy and the land escalades to a lower section of the level, where most of the mechs spawn. There are three buildings on this map. A large building that has three floors is on one side of the map. The second building is a small one-room building located next to the first structure. The third building has little exposure to the outdoors. Instead, it lowers down into a bunker. The top section of the map is fairly flat and has plenty of reliable cover. A bridge lies dead center and leads over a canyon to a small, empty plot of land that is closed off by a large wall. Two metal towers lie on both sides of the map. The middle section of the map faces a sharp drop from the top portion and has a few trenches to make use of. There is usually either a series of destructible cover or a large, destructible, metal tower here that houses the homing laser. There is some reliable cover on one side of the map. The other side of the map has a small wall that surrounds the three story building. The lower section of the map faces a sharp drop from the middle section and is very unsafe. There is a large amount of destructible cover here as well. Depending on the map layout, sometimes a large metal toweris here as well. Most of the mechs spawn down here. There is also a large wall on the left side of the map. This wall can be climbed and is an excellent sniper spot. General tips- There are usually energy guns located on the lower side of each building. One spawns inside some crates in the one-room building, while the other spawns behind some sandbags as you travel down the staircase. Inside the bunker there are some excellent hiding spots where you can corner camp with a shotgun. One useful strategy is to grapple to the ceiling behind one of the pillars in this room near the data post. This makes you completely unnoticeable but gives you an easy shot at anyone who attempts to take the post. The large wall that overlooks the lower section of the map is an excellent place to hang from with a sniper rifle. Map- Dark Town Size- Small Terrain- Dark, underground, City filled with fog. Thermal Pools- No Gamplay Gimmick- N/A A very kind, or unforgiving map, depending on your spawn. This map has two main areas. The first is a foggy, dark, underground room with no cover at all. The second area is a large open city with very few buildings in the middle, but the walls of the circular map are lined with buildings. The bottom area is very unsafe but it can be slightly safer if you have a shotgun. The large, open spot in the middle of this part of the map is frequently a frag fest. The top part of this map is quite the opposite. It is very open, with plenty of cover to boot. It frequently results in sniper combat. Two tunnels lead from the dark room below to the open part of the map above. Two mech generally spawn on this map, although I�ve seen hardballers here, you mostly see Haze. The mech can be very difficult to take out but can be often times avoided, if you take advantage of all of the little nooks and crannies on the sides of the map. The buildings cannot be entered, but can be perched on top of, to take advantage of the sniper rifle. General tips- In the lower room, it is wise to seek higher elevation. This removes the chance of fifteen + grenades landing at your feet. Three possible hiding spots exist. Above a large doorway that leads to a descending walkway is a great hiding spot. Above the doorway that lies in the dead center of this map is another, although it is difficult to reach. The final spot is actually in the bottom of the map, right in the middle of the mayhem. If you drop down from the shotguns spawn you�ll see a floodlight. Hiding behind it is a great hiding spot because the fog, combined with the blinding light makes you difficult to spot. It also protects you from any stray grenades. Map- Crimson River Size- Medium Terrain- Volcanic area with lava pits and a large highway. Thermal Pools- Yes Gamplay Gimmick- N/A It�s name is Crimson River because a river runs through it. A river of LAVA! This is an interesting map because of its layout. Generally, both teams spawn on opposite sides of the map, either on bottom or on top. The map can be divided into two three main parts. The ground level, the highway level one, and the highway level two. The two highways criss-cross but one of them is higher than the other. A tidbit about lava. The ground level is very large and has three large bridges that lead over two rivers of lava. Lava kills you instantly unless you�re in a mech, which drops your Vital Suit�s health quickly. If your mech�s hp completely depletes while you are in lava, you will be trapped inside and melt, etc. If your thermal energy depletes while you are in lava, you will be ejected out of your safe Vital Suit and into a pool of lava. Stay away from it. The rest of the ground level is very rocky and although it isn�t flat, everything is mostly the same height. A few mechs are housed here. Generally there will be two-four Haze on the map in addition to a Cakti. The lower highway is very long and can be reached by grappling up one of the three bridges. The highway spans the entire map and has a few weapons, and sometimes spawns mech. There aren�t many places to take cover here. You�ll just have to make do with what you can. The upper highway is shorter than the lower one but is much safer. This part of the map is an excellent sniper spot and has plenty of hiding spots. A few data post are up here as well. General Tips- Unless you manage to steal a mech you should shy away from the bottom of the level. It�s unsafe because anyone with slight elevation above you will be taking shots at your face. Climb to the top as quickly as you can and find a sniper rifle or rocket launcher. You�re main goal is to hide from other snipers and fire at anyone fighting below you. If you happen to spawn in the bottom tunnel, where you finish mission eight, you can climb underneath the staircase leading down to the rocky terrain and wait for people to walk by. It�s also one of the few spots to take cover in during sniper matches. Up top you can dangle off the bridge in any spot to protect yourself from anyone walking around above you. Just make sure to dangle in a spot that hides you from other snipers. Map- Dilapidation Size- Small Terrain- Several tall buildings with a few underwater areas. Thermal Pools- No Gamplay Gimmick- N/A The smallest map on the horizontal plane. This map is very tall and has three, very large, and very complicated buildings. Below them is a sort of �Why did I spawn here?� death zone. This death zone stretches all the way underwater and even into some underwater caverns. The top of this map has two large buildings that face each other. In the middle of both, and off to the side, is a very tall circular tower that snipers can hide in. The top of this tower has a homing laser but it isn�t super useful on this map. The bottom of the map has a few pieces of destructible cover and the land is mostly flat. Compared to the rest of the map, this is easily the most dangerous spot. The land goes down into a pool of water that has a few small underwater tunnels that lead from one side of the map to the other. A single Haze is located in the water and can be very problematic to other players. The structures in dilapidation are very large and complicated. Unless you have an active data post, it should be difficult to tell if anyone is sneaking up on you or corner camping. This means that you should pan the camera to see if anyone is behind a wall before you go past it. General tips- Tossing grenades around walls is a very good strategy here, just make sure that you avoid their grenades as well. This level sports a rather intricate system of navigable pipes. There are two pipe systems which are particularly useful because they allow you to safely travel do ends of the map and give you the ability to fire at people who helplessly wander down hallways. There is also a small pipe system that is very useful in post grab game types. It is located on the lower roof of one of the buildings. You cannot travel through it but it�s small enough to throw a grenade down. This channels the grenade directly on to a data post below, killing anyone trying to activate it. Map- Training Facility Size- Small Terrain- Fairly dark warehouse filled with crates and a maze. Thermal Pools- Yes Gamplay Gimmick- N/A Another popular map. This level takes place inside a large warehouse filled with crates and a large maze. There are two large stacks of crates around the middle of the map. These can be navigated and usually hold data posts. The maze located near the middle of the map is the perfect spot for corner camping and is usually the safest place in the map. The entire level is completely flat. The level sports an assortment of snowmobile mech and 1-2 hardballers. The harballers have a single gatling gun so finding a secondary mech weapon is key to the pilots survival. The snowmobile mechs are mostly for escape situations. Also, unlike the hardballers, they can go inside the maze. The maze is filled with walls that can be perched on top of to do a diving shotgun blast. It�s great for catching people off guard. Lunge down upon them while firing a shotgun to knock them down. Proceed to stick them with a gum grenade and climb back over the wall before they can blow you up with them. As far as weapons are concerned, plasma guns spawn in the corners of the map. Everything else is random but the EM laser, VS shotgun, and a sniper spawn inside the maze sometimes. General tips- This is a bad map to be walking around the open on. Doing such will usually end with you getting mauled by a hardballer or sniped. The rockets are abused on this map as well, so unless you like fighting impossible odds�it�s probably best that you find either one of these weapons, or head to the maze. If you�re even feeling generous, grab the mech shotgun and drop it at the feet of a teammate who�s using a mech. During rocket matches, you can be a pain to kill if you grab the energy gun and switch on the beam in the ceiling. This makes you difficult to hit, plus the energy gun doesn�t exactly require accuracy. The best method for taking care of swingers is to get directly below them and fire upwards. This disengages their grapple and sends them plummeting. Map- Canyon 810 Size- Large Terrain- Snowy canyon with several campsites. Multiple bridges. Thermal Pools- Yes Gamplay Gimmick- N/A This is a pretty difficult map to get used to. It takes place on the site of a huge canyon. The canyon runs straight through the level and has three bridges crossing it. There are four snow pirate base camps along the cliff face and they vary in size. Depending on the game layout there are a large variety of mechs. Typically, you see Haze, Snowmobiles, Cakti, and hardballers. Turntables are spread out along each side of the canyon. The bridges are quite long and often dangerous to cross. The largest bridge can fit two mechs across and is sometimes lined with thermal pools. The other two are on opposite sides of the middle bridge and are barely large enough to carry a person. To make things more difficult, both of the smaller bridges have a small gap in the middle that you have to jump. However, crossing the small bridges is rewarding, as each holds a homing laser. The first camp is located all the way on one side of canyon, down near the cliff. It�s also the largest camp and has plenty of buildings. A plasma gun can be found on one of the buildings so look for it. The second camp is on the other side of the canyon, directly across from the first. It�s on the bottom of a steep slope so it�s difficult to spot. There is usually a thermal pool here and occasionally, three hardballers spawn here. It�s the smallest campsite, with only two buildings. The third camp is on the same side of the canyon as the first. It only has a few buildings but sports a small tunnel or two to help foot soldiers evade mech fire or snipers. Haze tend to spawn here. The last camp and also the second largest is on the complete opposite side of the map as the first camp, however it lies in the middle of the canyon, just past where it ends. This camp has access to a large walkway overhead that leads to camp three. General tips- If you don�t have a sniper rifle, find a mech. Snipers have a clear advantage on a long map like Canyon 810. You don�t want to run halfway across the map with people shooting at you when you cannot fight back. This map has problems with spawn camping because of the ease of obtaining a mech. You can hide out in one of the small buildings until help arrives but you probably won�t receive any. Go figure. Also, a Super Hardballer can be created on this map. This is the only map with two homing lasers. It also has a series of thermal posts located on the map. In a team game, you might be able to send two players out to obtain both homing lasers. The end results is extremely difficult to take down and the other team will have a hard time covering any ground. Map- Lost Coast Size- Medium Terrain- Snowy area filled with large buildings and underwater caverns. Thermal Pools- Yes Gamplay Gimmick- Change in time of day. This map is pretty amazing. It�s large and it sports three large buildings. There is a large ocean area to explore. There are underwater caverns and above ground caves. There is also a secret area that leads to the homing laser. The map has three large buildings, similar to diplidation. All of them are complicated and sport multiple places to snipe from. Turntables exist on each of the buildings as well. Hardballers spawn in the underwater caverns where a thermal pool resides. On the arctic beach directly in front of the enterence to the water caves is a Cakti spawn. Also located near the water are two Haze, perched on top of a dock. Snipers have to pay attention to the environment in this map. It changes from night to day over time and thick fog occasionally rolls in. It depends on the layout how often they occur. This map cannot be broken down into sections so I�ll list some neat things instead. #1 Underwater cavern- This cave leads to a hardballer spawn where a team is sometimes spawned as well. There are two exits in the cavern. One empties out into the bay, the other leads out onto the snowy terrain directly above ground. #2 Building one- This building is the tallest of the group and has a sniper rifle on the roof. This is a good place to head towards at the beginning of the match. Mind you, there isn�t much cover. A bridge connects the mid-levels of buildings one and three. There are two turn tables on this building. #3 Building two- This is a very large building and is the closest to the water. It has a bridge connecting the top of this tower to the top of building three. At the very bottom of this building that leads into an underwater tunnel that has a large stockpile of ammunition. Another great place to head towards when you spawn. There a single turn table on this building. #4 Building three- This is the smallest building of the three. It�s not quite as tall as building one but it�s smaller than both towers. The bottom of this building has a very useful turn table if you can�t find a mech, as well as a secret enterence into the underwater tunnel and its weapon stockpile #5 Upper cliffs- A team almost always spawns up here. There is a turn table on the cliff face as well as an enterence to the underwater tunnel. Just under the turn table is a small pool of water with a thermal pool inside. Next to the thermal pool is the fourth enterence to the underwater tunnel. The top portion of this map escalades down the map with a small waterfall on its side. This waterfall conceals the enterence to the mountain caves. There is also a small hole that drops down into the bottom of the mountain and empties you out near the bottom of building three. #6 Underwater tunnel- A small underwater passage that leads from the bay shore to the cliff caverns. There is a large stockpile of weapons in this area of the map. The enterence from the thermal energy pool has an alternate route high on the wall that leads to the upper cliffs. #7 Mountain caves- The mountain caves has three enterences. The first is right near the cliff spawn point. When spawning, face the rest of the level and look to your left. The second enterence to the mountain cave system is just behind the waterfall. The wall just behind the waterfall enterence is great for corner camping as a data post is right in front of you. The third enterence is very low and leaves you at the bottom of the cliff wall. #8- Hidden cavern- Just under the cliff face and above the lower enterence to the mountain caves is a secret cavern. (Look between the waterfall and the third building) The enterence is covered with destructible wall so it�s difficult to spot. Destroy the wall with a gum grenade or standard fire and grapple into the opening. This cave spirals up towards the highest point in the map, where the homing laser can be found. To make progress more difficult, the cavern is host to many boulders. You can try to grapple over them or destroy them to get past, however the latter will require you to evade an avalanche. This is a great spot to hang around in during fugitive matches because the boulders can be destroyed to kill approaching players. General tips- Don�t go anywhere near the middle parts of the map unless you have a good elevation. Even then, watch for snipers. The safest places in the map are the tunnels and they hold most of the weapons and mech. Make use of the turn-tables. A few of them have good weapons like the cannon. Trust me, a turret has more firepower than your machine gun. A good place to camp is in the hole that drops down into the underwater tunnel. Dangle down the hole and wait for people to appear on your radar. As soon as you here the data post move, jump down and kill them with a rocket launcher (if you have it) otherwise an EM laser, Dummy grenade, or shotgun can work. Map- Frozen Wasteland Size- Very Large Terrain- Large snow field with series of highways and a single tall tower. Thermal Pools- Yes Gamplay Gimmick- Thick fog rolls in occasionally. One of the largest maps in the game. The level is basically an enormous field of snow with a small base camp near the mountains and a large tower in the middle of the map. Two highway systems run along both sides of the map. One is smaller but has greater height and the other one is much longer but is easily accessable. This map is full of mech, so unless you can find a good one, don�t go in the middle of the field. The safest places in this map are the far corners, each corner has very little action going on, although there aren�t many weapons of mech in those locations. It makes going to the middle of the map a risk versus reward situation. The tall tower in this map takes a long time to climb and there is no cover at all, so you�re easy picking for snipers. However, the prize at the top is quite rewarding. A homing laser and a thermal energy pool. This means that you have height advatage over the entire map as well as a weapon with unlimited ammo that can track multiple foes. The base of the tower has a single room with a data post. The outside portion of the building houses either Hardballers or Haze. The base camp is located in one of the corners of the map. It has a small tower with a little bit of cover. A thermal pool lies underneath the small tower as well as some low quality mech, snowmobiles, etc. A plasma gun sometimes spawns on the top of the small tower. Grab it if you�ve got the T-Eng. One of the main spawn points in team games is located in the mountain area, directly across the map from the secondary team spawn, which is the elevated highway. Both spawn points have snowmobiles. They�re useless in combat but can get you to some of the more favorable equipment faster. This spawn point has an enterence that leads to the bottom of the mountain. The Cakti spawns down here sometimes. It beats Evax anyday. General tips- Stay out of the middle of the map, unless you have a good mech. Seek higher elevation and longer ranged weapons. They�ll help considerably. Map- Hive Complex Size- Medium Terrain- Vertically massive level that runs up the side of a mountain. Large cave system. Thermal Pools- No Gamplay Gimmick- N/A The tallest map in the game. It�s also one of the most confusing maps in the game. This map has two main areas. The outside and inside of the mountain. This map takes place on a huge mountain that escalades into the sky. It�s very, very, tall and that makes traveling anywhere a pain. There are some weaker mech on the lower levels of this map. No hardballers, spawn on this map, there are no Caki either. The mountain face is divided up into multiple sublevels but each is separated into two large parts of the mountain. A rope suspension bridge connects both parts. One piece is mostly flat while the other fights the skyline. The larger portion is very difficult to navigate and eventually reaches a slightly flat portion of the map. A tunnel leads down into the map from here. If you continue to head further up the mountain, there is a tall structure that points up into the sky. This is the highest point in the entire game. Looking down from here puts you at a 90 degree angle. Fall and you�ll fall all the way to the bottom so watch your step. The rest of the level takes place in a series of tunnels that I�m pretty sure no one understands. It�s extremely confusing. I suggest grabbing a shotgun and some gum grenades or a rocket launcher if you plan on going under. Otherwise, you�ll have absolutely no advantages over your opponent. The largest area in the underground hell is a large plant. Two data posts spawn here. One underneath the structure and another on top of it. The bottom of this area is a neverending pit so watch your step. This is the safest place in the map if you can get here quickly with a good weapon. Otherwise, it�s just as dangerous as any other area. General tips- If you�re good a sniping, hit higher ground and some cover. Otherwise, go into the tunnels. Make sure to toss grenades around walls in case someone is on the other side. Otherwise, you�ll just have to duke it out on your own. This is one of the hardest maps to get good at online. Map- Trial Point Size- Medium Terrain- Large office building with multiple floors. Thermal Pools- No Gamplay Gimmick- Sprinkler system. A very different map in Lost Planet. This one doesn�t even take place on EDN III. It takes place somewhere in Japan. Figures� The map itself is a large company building with plenty of terminals and elevator shafts. There are some large rooms with choke points. The building has roof access. There�s also a crane on the top of the building which players can fight on. Anyone who holds control of the crane has a nice sniping spot down on a choke point below. The part of the building under the roof access is a huge warehouse. Another room that leads up to roof access has two escalators. It�s a big building. The map has two major choke points. The lobby and the death room. The lobby is a large room with some higher elevation. A terminal passage leads one team to the another. They meet in the lobby so it�s a choke point. The other room is extremely complicated and anyone who goes it will surely die as consequence. It�s been dubbed the death room, and I really hate it. This map has a pipe system similar to dilapidation. Except this time, the pipes have been replaced with ventilation shafts. Most of these are difficult to enter. To climb inside a ventilation shaft you need to destroy its cover with either gum grenades or standard fire. Once that�s done, crouch and fire your anchor at the bottom of the enterence of the ventilation shaft. This will throw you into the ventilation system, where you have to pull forward to stay inside the passage. Once inside, you can run around and shoot at peoples feet/heads as they walk by. Another interesting aspect of this map is the sprinkler system. Sprinklers are all over the place. If you think that someone is around a corner, shoot one of these bad boys and it will start raining down on them, thus obstructing their vision. Their usually just a pain to deal with when a random explosion sets one off. If you�re afraid of getting shot during a sniper match, fire a shot at a sprinkler and water will hide your character. Map- Radar Field Size- Small Terrain- Large dome shaped building with a radar dish. Thermal Pools- Yes Gamplay Gimmick- N/A The smallest map in the game, which of course means it�s big. This level takes place inside a large radar dome. You always spawn in little shields on the walls of the dome, thus requiring you to drop down to ground level. An elevated walkway goes around the entire base of the map, leading up several walkways in the middle of the map. There are strong weapons here, but most likely no one will ever pick them up because it�s way too dangerous. The bottom floor of this map has a few passages that can be walked through. Anyone that grabs a mech usually gets from point �A� to �B� using either the elevated walkway or these tunnels. They�re very tall for tunnels but have absolutely nothing in them. You�re time is better spent somewhere else, although they lead up to a data post and a decent sniping spot. The bottom floor itself is very convolted and has about a million things that are dangerous about it. Grenades will bounce off of every piece of geometry down there and land at your feet. On one side of the map is a giant rectangular hole that players can jump down. There is usually either a data post or a thermal pool here. Most of the time, it�s too dangerous to make use of either one. The other side of the map has a separate obscure area with a single room. The EM laser likes to spawn here. The rest of the level leads up to a large radar dish on the side of the map, there isn�t much here other than a data post in the worst spot possible but I suppose it could have some nice sniping spots along it. General tips- Toss lots of grenades and strafe along the elevated walkway on the side of the map. Rocket launcher matchs are popular so jump a lot. Map- Island 902 Size- Massive Terrain- Enormous island chain with camps, a submarine, and an aircraft carrier. Thermal Pools- Yes Gamplay Gimmick- Large, destructible highway. The largest map in the game. It�s absolutely enormous and takes at least 20 min to cross from one side to the other on foot. The map takes place on a series of island in the ocean. There are multiple unique areas to explore in addition to the fact that the entire bottom of the seafloor can be explored although it is riddled with bottomless pits. It takes a long time to find anyone so you might as well seek out some good gear. Snipers, rocket launchers, and mech are good choices. The shotgun is a must have for the submarine. Now we list the big stuff in Island 902. #1 Island Compound- The largest island on the level. This map could be a multiplayer map in itself. It features a huge island compound with many buildings. Turn tables and mech are everywhere. It has three main parts. There is a piece of land in the back that has a few buildings with mech and a data post. A canal separates this from the main part of the island. The second part is a piece of land that leads the main island to the submarine. This one is rather empty and the only thing on it is usually a plasma gun and a data post. The third and largest part of the island sports multiple buildings and a large dock with two turn tables and a thermal pool. Players can travel from the island compound to the submarine, aircraft carrier, or use the highway to midway island. #2 Submarine- A multi-level submarine that has a nice weapon cache. This submarine is reached from either the base camp or observatory island. Players can enter the submarine by climbing the surface of it and diving into the enterence up top. Players always land by stumbling because of the long and complicated fall. This is the perfect spot in the game to corner camp. Simply wait behind the staircase until someone approaches on your radar. If they start taking your data post (which is on top of the sub) then you can jump up and kill them while they are idle. However, for anyone who jumps inside the submarine, the automatic stumble will give you plenty of time to aim at the back of their head. The submarine itself is rather long and sometimes spawns a homing laser. Players can travel from the submarine to the island compound or observatory island. #3- Observatory island- A simple island with a lone tower that is great as a sniper spot. The island itself is rather simple and has almost no places to explore. Mech spawn near here. Although the surface of the island is simple, the underwater aspect of it is complicated and dangerous. #4- Aircraft carrier- A large aircraft carrier that has been split in half. It has a good sniping spot up top but it�s most noticeable feature is it�s ability to spawn harballers. You have to make a brief underwater voyage to reach the ship, however. There is a small cabin that you can hide in, if you feel like hiding� #5- Midway Island- This area is reached by following the highway across the ocean. There isn�t much here although a data post is in the middle. If you happen to fall into the water, there is a staircase you can take to get back up. Players can travel from Midway Island to the Island Compound or the Base Camp. #6- Base Camp- A well defended area. To reach the base camp, players have to travel along one of two underwater passages. One of them is extremely long, while the other is very dangerous. The only other way to reach the island is to travel along the highway. The highway is the fastest route as well as the best defended route because of it�s large walls. The camp has a rocky mountain wall to shield itself from attacks. A long staircase leads up to a turn-table that overlooks the bridge if you need to slow enemy progress. A tidbit about bridges. The highway in Island 902 is long and an extremely fast method of transport from one side of the map to the other. It is also well defended because of the high walls on either side of the road. However, major explosion like rocket launcher or cannon fire will cause the bridge to collapse. The collapse of the bridge means that anyone on it will plummet to their deaths. The bridge does not collapse all at once. It does, however, collapse one piece at a time. This allows for players to attempt to outrun the collapse of the bridge in a very epic manner. General tips- Try to stay on land. The ocean floor is very dangerous and you�ll receive fire from just about everyone. There aren�t enough mechs to compensate for the levels size so try to keep the ones you have alive. Map- Ice Drop Size- Large Terrain- Large glacier with sprawling ice caverns. Thermal Pools- No Gamplay Gimmick- N/A This is a very featureless, but beautiful map. It takes place on a large glacier during night time. Aurora borealis covers the sky in a rather spectacular effect. The map can be broken down into two parts. The surface of the glacier and the crystal caverns. The surface of the glacier is very open and empty. Snipers have a complete advantage out here. Mech also spawn outside, but they�re not as problematic as a good sniper. If you don�t have a long range weapon yourself. Head into the caves. There is nothing for you out there. In order to reach the crystal caverns players have to climb down the chasms that exist along the surface of the level. The chasms are very deep and require precise jumping to cross. To get back to the surface players must grapple up the walls of the chasm. Keep in mind that you will meet turntables and mech as you reach the surface. The caverns are rather large and they wind around many corners. Shotguns are pretty essential down here. Otherwise, a rocket launcher will suffice. The caverns have a few data posts, as well as some bottomless holes. They aren�t a big deal but keep them in mind while wandering around. A surprise shotgun blast can be used to knock opponents down the bottomless pit if you need to get past them to reach data posts. The main room of the cavern has multiple levels to it. Winding ice paths lead up to the higher levels of the cave. It is very easy to fall off these paths, so it�s best not to corner camp here. Doing so would require jumping after your foe and meeting them after they have already stood up. A data post sometimes stands on a floating platform in the middle of the room. Coupled with the fact that it is easy to gain an elevation advantage over your opponent in this room means that keeping the data post free from capture is quite easy. I personally enjoy hanging from the ceiling to later drop on top of foes using the data post. An Energy gun and a shotgun often spawn below the data post. The bottom floor of the cavern is filled with small tunnels and columns. You can corner camp behind tons of things down here so experiment with they give you. A data post sometimes spawns on top of a coffin in the corner of this room. There is also a secret passage here that leads up to the surface. General tips- When fighting outdoors, use any possible terrain as cover from sniper fire and explosions. The data posts on this map spawn in easy to snipe locations so it�s pretty essential to grab all of the snipers on this map during a team game. Roughly one-third of the data posts on this map spawn above ground. The rest spawn in the caverns and chasms. Keep that in mind if you get the lower spawn in post grab. Map- Ruins Size- Very Large Terrain- Large jungle area filled with buildings and a seaport. A river runs through it. Thermal Pools- Yes Gamplay Gimmick- Coconut disaster. This is another extremely large map. Smaller than Frozen Wasteland but taller in dimensions. This map takes place in a large jungle setting and has a river running through it. (Think Donkey Kong) The map starts at the beach and works it�s way up to a large Ruin at the top of the level. There is a great selection of mech on this map. Hardballers, Cakti, Evax, Drio, and Haze are all present. Multiple variations of some are also present. There are quite a few places to visit on Ruins. One of the major spawn points is a ship port near the ocean. There are multiple pillars in the port, as well as plenty of things to take cover behind to block fire from across the bay. A few mech spawn here, although hardball and cakti spawn elsewhere. Directly across the bay from the ship port is a large beach with two small cargo ships. The cargo ships provide shelter from fire across the bay. A few mech spawn here but they are usually Evax. Take advantage of their speed by being one of the first people to reach a hardballer or cakti. Players who spawn near the port will have to pass through a few small ruin on the right side of the level. The ruins are very simple and there are only two of them. The first is dilapidated and a Cakti sometimes spawns near the river. The second one appears to be a small forum. Past the second ruin is a small mountainous area. On the other side of the mountain is a small river dock. It�s a great place to snipe from because no one ever ventures near it. Past the cargo beach is second river dock. Again, this is a good place to snipe from because of its abundance of cover and the fact that few people visit here. There are some barrels to hide in if you need to evade a mech encounter. On the other side of the river from the mountains is an island compund. It has a few buildings with multiple floors and a turntable on top. An open mech warehouse stores some Drio if you need extra firepower. Near the island compound is a tall ruin that players can hide inside. It�s the best place in the map to hide from mech if the need arises. At the very top of the level is the large ruin. Two data post usually spawn here, as well as a sniper or two. It�s large and has very little cover. A very large path leads down to the murky river below. Under the main building is either a Hardballer or a Cakti. Take whatever is there if you have thermal energy. General tips- The river is safe to run through, but the bay is an endless pit. Avoid it if you don�t want to fall to your death. While in the river, it is easy to take out targets on shore because while you can see them�they cannot see you. A well placed dummy grenade can go far.Also, watch out for coconuts. The trees on this map can be taken down and when they fall the coconuts roll out. You can also shoot them out of the trees. Coconuts are dangerous as hell and will easily run you over. Map- Lost Technology Size- Medium Terrain- It�s 8-bit gaming hell. Pixels engolf your character. Thermal Pools- No Gamplay Gimmick- 8-bit walls/ceilings/etc, 8-bit fire, 8-bit data posts, 8-bit teleporters, 8-bit breakable walls. One of the new maps. This one is a mouthfull. Lost Technology gives props to the games of old with it�s unusual 8-bit art style. Everything from data posts to walls have been redone in 8-bit glory. Teleporters line the walls of each room, leading you from one to the other. This map makes almost zero sense. You�ll have to play it a few times before you even understand how to get to key areas. The map itself is fairly large but it is divided up into smaller sections that a player can jump around in by using teleporters. There are also a few bottomless pits to be concerned about. Some of the walls in this level are shown cracked and can be opened with enough firepower. Also, there is a small passage with a fireball that jumps up and down. Don�t fall down its hole because lava lies at the bottom. General tips- You can easily camp behind teleports to one-shot players running around the map. Some of the darker character models will blend right in with the binary passages so they can be used to sneak attack other players. Grapple the corner of the walkways ceiling. There is a room that occasionally has two data posts on this map. It can be reached by following the green room�s teleporters. The first one lies to the left of the enterence to the light blue/white room. Map- Battlegrounds Size- Medium Terrain- Large City with countless buildings to explore. Thermal Pools- Yes Gamplay Gimmick- N/A This would be the collectors edition map. Now free to the general public, it receives a lot more love. This map spawns players in the lower areas of the city. They can then reach the top of the level by using staircases and ceiling passages in each building. There are countless buildings in this map and almost all of them can be explored. A large portion of the level takes place on the ground level, in the streets of the city. It�s extremely dangerous in the city streets so I would advise that you avoid them. If you find yourself down there, try your best to reach higher ground. There are some tunnels that you can crawl through to extend your life. Stick to one side of the street and travel behind cover, until you reach a doorway or window to escape through. The upper part of the level forms a large �U� that has many access points. From any location there are six ways to access the roof. Many different paths lead to these six locations which access the roof. They are as follows. #1 The clock tower- There are three ways to reach the clock tower from the ground level. You can start by heading from the spawn point near the clock tower. The door to your left leads to a small room with a square hole on the ceiling. Up here is a data post on occasion. A doorway slightly farther down the street leads to the same room. A final elevated passage on the left side of this alley leads to the clock tower. #2 The sniper tower- There are two ways to reach the sniper tower. You can either head up to it from the bottom of the building or enter a higher doorway. The small room on top of the sniper tower provides an excellent sniping spot. #3 The elevated walkway- Next to the sniper tower is a walkway that crosses the middle of the level you can grapple to the bridge from here. #4 The elevated access- Just outside of a building attached to the elevated walkway is a small piece of terrain that you can stand on to grapple up to the second bridge. #5 Bridge access- The main path of entry for anyone on the other side of the map. A small, desolate area of tundra leads to a complicated room with two stair cases. These staircases lead up to the rooftop. The elevated access also leads to this room. #6 Secret step- From the ground floor of the opposite side of the map you can grapple up to a small footstep next to the statue near the bridge. From here you can grapple up to the bridge as long as you keep moving to stay on the ledge. The roof in Battlegrounds is composed of a single flat surface with two large elevated buildings on either side of a large central statue. A data post often spawns next to the statue. Both of the buildings overlooking the statue will provide support against the enemy. However, if you lose control of the top of the map in a team game you�ll have to fight to regain it, which is difficult. General tips- Stay out of the bottom of the map. It�s very dangerous in the city streets. On top of things, Drio spawn in the streets. Just another risk that you can avoid altogether. However, hopping inside a mech isn�t a good idea because the grenade launcher spawns on top of the map. Case in point, stay upstairs. The rest of the time you should try to maintain control of the statue area. If you lose contol of it, you can regain it by sneaking up behind the enemy and attacking them from behind. This usually means dieing yourself, so make sure you make it worth your while. _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ General tips and tricks _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ So�what are the best tricks for survival in Lost Planet? I�ll list some of the best ways to keep alive long enough to jump to first place in your online matches. #1 Roll away from danger. Rolling makes you a lot more difficult to hit than running and even has a brief moment during the animation where the player is immune to standard fire. It also helps protect you from the stun effects of the machine gun. While rolling things that would have killed you will sometimes either knock you down or stun you. #2 Crouch to avoid damage. Crouching has multiple purposes. It makes your character model smaller so hiding behind corners and walls is easier. It also makes it harder for the enemy to land a headshot. In some maps crouching allows players to enter pipes or air vents. Crouching also reduces the chances of being stunned by a machine gun. It is always appropiate to crouch and strafe around another foot soldier. The only acception is when using the rocket launcher because it leaves you temporarily idle. #3 Jump to increase flexability. Jumping makes you more difficult to hit, although it comes at the cost of decreased accuracy and the inability to throw grenades. The shotgun benefits from jumping because of the speed boost it gives, plus the shotgun needs not worry about accuracy. The rocket launcher can be fired and reloaded while jumping, otherwise you remain still. #4 Correct grenade usage. Grenades are a great way to ensure a kill. While the rocket launcher itself has horrible splash damage, combining the splash damage with that from a grenade is more than enough to earn a kill. The grenade shot can increase the damage dealt by standard weapons. Toss a grenade and shoot it out of the air to increase the grenades splash damage. Another great use is to stick downed players with a gun grenade and run off, similar results occur by throwing grenades with a long fuse near a downed person and shooting it when they get up. #5 Obtain key weapons. Every weapon has a purpose. The machine gun is a good all-around weapon, but it isn�t dominant in any areas. Grab a shotgun if you want to corner camp. The plasma gun is good for medium to long range maps. The rifle is good on long range maps. The rocket launcher can fulfill any role but corner camping. The energy gun can work well in medium range against infantry, but its key role is in taking out mech. Combine weapons to ensure you can compete in any range without limiting yourself. _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ Closing _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ Thank you for taking the time to read my guide. Hopefully it answered most of your questions about multiplayer in Lost Planet. If not, please contact me with the information listed below. I would like to thank Glassgiant.com for their Ascii generator and MegamanX50 for reminding me to roll. XD _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ Contact Info _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ Email: [email protected] Gamertag: Kaeporo _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ Disclaimer _-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ This FAQ is for personal use only. Use of this guide on any website with the intent of profit is strictly prohibited. Any recreation of this guide must source the authors name and its original location at GameFAQ�s. Personal use of this document is free from any and all legal action. Use of this document on any other public website requires that you contact me prior to displaying the guide. Copyright 2007 Chris Vaughn