===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 dalaran51@hotmail.com
=== [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