Heavy Gear II
Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ
by Kasey Chang
updated September 23, 2003
0 Introduction
0.1 A word from the author
A quick browse through the gamefaq.com shows that there despite
the age of Heavy Gear 2, there is no FAQ for it. So here's my
version.
This is a FAQ, NOT a manual. You won't learn how to play the game
with this document, and I'm NOT about to add it to ease the life
of software pirates.
This USG only covers the PC version since that's the only version
that I have.
Some of you may recognize my name as the editor for the XCOM and
XCOM2: TFTD FAQ's, among others.
0.2 Terms of Distribution
This document is copyrighted by Kuo-Sheng "Kasey" Chang (c) 2000-
2003, all rights reserved excepted as noted above in the
disclaimer section.
This document is available FREE of charge subjected to the
following conditions:
1) This notice and author's name must accompany all copies of
this document: "Heavy Gear 2: Unofficial Strategy Guide" is
copyrighted (c) 2000-2003 by Kasey K.S. Chang, all rights
reserved except as noted in the disclaimer."
2) This document must NOT be modified in any form or manner
without prior permission of the author with the following
exception: if you wish to convert this document to a different
file format or archive format, with no change to the content,
then no permission is needed.
2a) In case you can't read, that means TXT only. No banners, no
HTML borders, no cutting up into multiple pages to get you more
banner hits, and esp. no adding your site name to the site list.
3) No charge other than "reasonable" compensation should charged
for its distribution. (Free is preferred) Sale of this
information is expressly prohibited. If you see any one selling
this guide, drop me a line.
4) If you used material from this, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE the source,
else it is plagiarism.
5) The author hereby grants all games-related web sites the right
to archive and link to this document to share among the game
fandom, provided that all above restrictions are followed.
Sidenote: The above conditions are known as a statutory contract.
If you meet them, then you are entitled to the rights I give you
in 5), i.e. archive and display this document on your website. If
you don't follow them, you did not meet the statutory contract
conditions, you have no right to display this document. If you
still do so, then you are infringing upon my copyright. This
section was added for any websites who don't seem to understand
this.
For the gamers: You are under NO obligation to send me ANY
compensation. However, I do ask for a VOLUNTARY contribution of
one (1) US Dollar if you live in the United States, and if you
believe this guide helped your game. If you choose to do so,
please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00 worth of stamp to "Kuo-
Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk Blvd. #6, San Francisco,
CA 94118 USA".
If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps. I
collect stamps too.
0.3 VOLUNTARY COMPENSATION
Gamers who read this guide are under NO obligation to send me ANY
compensation.
However, a VOLUNTARY contribution of one (1) US Dollar would be
very appreciated.
If you choose to do so, please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00
worth of stamps to "Kuo-Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk
Blvd. #6, San Francisco, CA 94118 USA".
If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps. I
collect stamps too.
0.4 Distribution
This USG should be available at Gamefaqs
(http://www.gamefaqs.com) and other major PC game websites (such
as gamesdomain.com, gamespot.com, etc.). I only release it to
Gamefaqs, so they would always have the latest. If you get it
from anywhere else, beware that it may NOT be the latest and
greatest version.
To webmasters who wish to archive this FAQ on their website,
please read the terms of distribution in section 0.2. It is quite
clear.
0.5 Other Notes
There is no warranty for this unofficial strategy guide. After
all, it depends on YOU the player. All I can do is offer some
advice.
Some bits of information here are condensed, summarized and
adapted from the SFB Tactics Manual (original edition).
PLEASE let me know if there's a confusing or missing remark... If
you find a question about this game that is not covered in the
USG, e-mail it to me at the address specified later. I'll try to
answer it and include it in the next update.
The address below is spelled out phonetically so spammers can't
use spambots on it:
Kilo-Sierra-Charlie-Hotel-Alpha-November-Golf-Seven-Seven AT
Yankee-Alpha-Hotel-Oscar-Oscar DOT Charlie-Oscar-Mike
To decipher this, simply read the first letter off each word
except for the numbers and the punctuation. This is "military
phonetics" or "aeronautical phonetics" in case you're wondering.
This document was produced on Microsoft Word 97, with some note
taking on a Handspring Visor with the Targus Stowaway foldable
keyboard. Some editing was done with Editpad
(editpadclassic.com).
0.6 The Author
I am just a game player who decided to write my own FAQs when the
ones I find don't cover what I want to see. Lots of people like
what I did, so I kept doing it.
Previously, I've written Unofficial Strategy Guides (USGs) for
XCOM, XCOM2:TFTD, Wing Commander, Wing Commander 2, Wing
Commander 3, Wing Commander 4, Privateer, Spycraft, 688(I)
Hunter/Killer. Mechwarrior 3, MW3 Expansion Pack, Mechwarrior 4,
Mechwarrior 4: Black Knight, Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries, Need for
Speed: Porsche Unleashed, The Sting!, Terranova, Fallout Tactics,
Battlecruiser Millennium, and a few more.
Most of them should be on http://www.gamefaqs.com, the biggest
FAQ site around.
To contact me, see 0.5 above.
0.7 Disclaimer/ Copyright Information
Heavy Gear II is a trademark of Activision. Heavy Gear is
licensed from Dream Pod 9.
This USG is not endorsed or authorized by Activision or Dream Pod
9. And I swear I never read the official strategy guide from
Prima.
The information compiled in this USG has been gathered
independently through the author's efforts except where noted.
Nathaniel "AgentGray" Kealen have provided valuable assistance in
welcoming me to the Heavy Gear fandom and provided his unfinished
FAQ as a starting point.
WARNING: This guide includes strategies and tactics of
approaching each and every mission. If you need just a little
help, don't read the rest!
0.8 Revision History
20-DEC-2000 Initial release
06-DEC-2001 Slight update, more details in the walkthru
23-SEP-2003 Minor updates, some compatibility notes.
0.9 The Most Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can you send me Heavy Gear II (or portions thereof)?
A: Of course not.
Q: Can you send me the manual (or portions thereof)?
A: You're kidding, right?
Q: Can you tell me how to play the game?
A: Read the manual, please!
Q: What's the latest version?
A: There are no patches for the Windows version.
There are patches for the Linux version. See section [1.5]
Q: Is there a level editor?
A: Yes, see the official Activision website for HG2 at
http://games.activision.com/games/heavygearii/index.html
Q: Does this program run under Windows XP?
A: See section [1.4]
Q: Why does the game only show "multiplayer" when I launch it?
A: The copy protection somehow determined that you don't have the
original CD inserted. If you really DO have the original CD,
you'll need a patch from Activision's website.
Q: Is there a map editor?
A: The SDK for Heavy Gear 2 was available on the Activision's
Heavy Gear 2 website. However, that website has disappeared when
Activision dumped listing of their older titles.
Q: Will there be a Heavy Gear 3?
A: Activision is concentrating on Star Trek titles now. So, no.
Q: Are there any cheat codes?
A: See the last section.
Q: How do I get past mission X?
A: See the specific campaign mission walkthrough.
Q: What is this TV I keep seeing?
A: TV = Threat Value, a rating of your gear's combat power. More
powerful weapons and better equipment (including perks) and
better gear ratings will increase the TV. Missions have overall
TV limits and individual gear TV limits.
1 Game Information
Heavy Gear 2 is the sequel to Heavy Gear, Activision's "mecha"
game when they lost the Battletech license. Heavy Gear is a
combat universe from Dream Pod 9, somewhat less well-known than
FASA's Battletech, but still interesting.
Heavy Gear 2 requires 3D acceleration. The "Dark Engine" was
rewritten from scratch to use the 3D accelerators instead of the
retrofit job done for Mechwarrior 2 series.
Loki games converted the game to Linux. See their website for
details (http://www.lokigames.com).
1.1 How do I get Heavy Gear II?
Heavy Gear 2 is no longer sold in retail stores as of the
date of this USG. You may find Heavy Gear 2 in special bundles
such as the "Premier Battle" package from Infogrammes's website,
and from places that sells older titles.
HG2 is no longer linked from the Activision website.
You can get the Linux version from Loki Games
(http://www.lokigames.com).
1.2 What do I need to run Heavy Gear II?
From the official website
(http://games.activision.com/games/heavygearii/index.html):
* 3-D Hardware Accelerator (DX6.1 compatible D3D video card)
* 166MHz Pentiumr Processor (233MHz recommended)
* A 100% Windowsr 95/98-compatible computer system (including
compatible 32-bit drivers for CD-ROM drive, video card, sound
card and input devices)
* English language Windowsr 95/98 operating system
* 64MB of RAM
* 450MB of uncompressed hard disk space for game files, plus
80MB for the Windows swap file
* Quad-speed CD-ROM drive (600 K/sec. sustained transfer rate)
* 100% DirectX 6.1 or higher compatible sound card (A3D
supported)
* 100% Microsoft-compatible mouse and driver
* 100% Windowsr 95/98 compatible joystick (optional)
* CD Audio (Redbook) support
The Linux version from Loki Games requires:
* Linux Kernel 2.2.x and glibc-2.1
* Pentium 233 MHz (3D accelerator card with Linux OpenGL
drivers required)
* Video card capable of 640x480 resolution, 16-bit color,
XFree86 version 3.3.5 or newer
* 4x CD-ROM drive (600 KB/s sustained transfer rate)
* RAM 64 MB required; 128 MB recommended
* OSS compatible sound card
* Minimum 450 MB free space
* Optional joystick
* Optional 3D sound support with OpenAL.
For multiplayer, you'll need a TCP/IP networking components
installed for the respective O/S's.
1.3 Are there more maps available?
You can download 4 more multiplayer maps from the official
Activision HG2 website. The maps are compatible the Linux
version, though you may need to do some conversion, of which I
don't have the procedure. Check with Loki, maybe?
1.4 Does HG2 work in XP or 2000?
HG2 does NOT work on Windows 2000
HG2 was NOT TESTED with WinXP. It may or may not work, and it
will NOT be supported. Try these steps (from Activision
support website):
1) Locate the game folder (typically
C:\Program Files\Activision\Heavy Gear 2).
2) Find a file called Heavy Gear 2.exe (it will appear as an
Application).
3) Double click on this file and it should launch the game,
bypassing the DirectX check.
4) To create a game shortcut from here, right click and hold on
that same icon, and drag it to the desktop, letting go and
choosing Create Shortcut Here with the left mouse button. This
will create a shortcut on the desktop for the game.
1.5 Where are the patches?
There are no patches for the Windows version. There are one or
two mini-patches to help with certain OEM HG2 CD's. You can find
those on the Activision website here:
https://activision.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/activision.cfg/php/enduser/atvi_patches.php
The Linux version patches can be found at
http://www.lokigames.com/products/heavy-gear2/updates.php3
1.6 Can I Linux HG2 players join Win HG2 games?
Yes, and vice versa.
Use GameSpy Arcade as a play-matching service.
1.7 How is Heavy Gear different from Mechwarrior?
The Gears are much smaller machines. The largest assault gear is
less than 11 tons, compared to 100-ton assault mechs of
Battletech. As a result, the combat pace is faster. There are
more "stealth" missions as you need to trail convoys, etc. The
tanks in the game are a real threat as they outmass and outarmors
you, but you move better than they do (except maybe the
hovertanks).
The gear is more like extra large combat suit instead of "tank on
legs" like Battletech.
The weapons are your usual mix of ballistic, missile, and energy
weapons, though the addition of hand-to-hand weapons and indirect-
fire mortars/grenade-launchers are an interesting mix.
The game is better balanced through "threat value limit". Each
gear is assigned a threat value based on its equipment and
loadout. Each scenario will have a threat value limit for the
whole squad and for individual gears. A typical scenario would
have a 12000 total threat value, with maximum threat value per
gear of 3500. On the other hand, this limit feels very
"artificial".
You're not able to fine-tune the squad mate's gears. They have
their own gear model they prefer. You can choose different pre-
set configs for them, but that is all you can do. The only gear
you have full control over is your own.
1.8 What game modes are there?
Single player: campaign, historical missions, training missions,
instant action.
Multiplayer: instant action, find the beacon, duelist, and more
2 Weapons
There are basically four types of weapons, as explained in the
manual. Instead of listing them all, I'll just go over the types
and their general applications.
2.1 Guns/Cannons
Your basic ballistic weapons, these vary from "light" to "very
heavy". The "anti-air" cannons have higher firing rate and are
more desirable. These are great mid/close-range weapons. The
autocannons fire quickly, so you burn through your ammo very
quickly also, but they do a lot of damage.
Don't bother with machine guns. As the descriptions say, they're
too light to do any significant damage except maybe to regular
infantry.
Rifles have lower firing rate but much longer distance. Use them
for sniping if laser cost too much TV.
2.2 Rockets, Missiles, and Recoil-less Weapons
Rocket packs come in a variety of different sizes. They are great
if you have lousy aim, as you can just aim in the general
vicinity and expect to get some hits. On the other hand, that is
a waste of perfectly valuable ammo, and the heat discharge means
you can't shoot more for a while. They are fine for building
busting.
Missiles take a second or two to lock-on, and their firing rate
is quite slow. Shoot them as you close the range, than switch to
a closer-range weapon. They are also very useful in space when
movement and aiming are difficult. You can AVOID incoming
missiles by triggering your ECM and move out of the way.
The "panzerfaust" and "bazookas" are recoil-less single-shot
weapons with big warheads, and does a LOT of damage. The heavy
bazooka is great for demolition, and if you have good aim, one or
two hits from these will kill just about any gear or frame. The
medium bazooka is nearly as effective as the heavy bazooka, and
you can carry MUCH more ammo. The rapid-fire bazooka. is a fun
weapon to use, but doesn't seem to do that much damage.
2.3 Indirect / Grenades
The mortars and grenade launchers are hard to use in combat
unless you're lending long-range fire support. Drop shots NEAR
the target, aim for the feet and try for splash damage.
The grenades are great demolition weapons. If you're high on a
ridge and the enemy are forcing you to keep your head down to
shoot over the edge, then just drop grenades on top of them. Full
load of 30 grenades is cheap TV-wise and will kill lots of
enemies if you drop them right.
2.4 Energy Weapons
The different energy-based weapons are quite useful. The lasers
are very easy to aim (you shoot, and you'll score). On the other
hand, you CAN still run out of shots. It's possible to take out a
frame with ONE shot with a heavy pulse laser, and you can carry
80 shots!
The hand-to-hand weapons like vibroaxe, vibroblade, etc. are for
point-blank range combat. They cause a LOT of damage if you can
get close enough, like 15 meters. How to get there... is your
problem.
3 Gears, Gear Design, and the Perks and Flaws
The Gears are much smaller than the equivalent Mechs. A heavy
mech weighs about 8-9 tons, a far cry from 60-80 ton heavy mechs
of Battletech. The smaller gears are capable of more intricate,
more human-like maneuvers. Think of Gears as extra-large combat
armor / exo-skeletons.
The gears can be further customized with perks and flaws.
For "general" do-it-all purposes, you'll need the heavy gear
(duh!). You need both the armor and the firepower.
3.1 Scout / Recon Gears
Dark Cheetah, the fastest gear in the game, is very lightly
armored. Temple prefers a Dark Cheetah, so try not to use her if
you want her alive. She doesn't survive long in heavy brawling.
3.2 Heavy General-Purpose Gears
Dark Warrior, Dark Jaguar, and Dark Mamba are the heavy trio.
They are similar enough that it doesn't really make that much
difference choosing among them. Dark Mamba is a little heavier
and has more armor than Dark Warrior, making it slightly more
desirable.
3.3 Heavy Assault Gears / Fire Support Gears
Dark Cobra and Dark Kodiak are the heavy duo. Dark Cobra is
actually a Fire Support gear, as it typically has more missile
and long-range weapons than Dark Kodiak, which is geared for
closer work, but both can be reconfigured for any purpose.
3.4 Perks
There are a lot of perks, I'm just going to list some of the more
useful ones.
Stealth (adjustable), makes you less visible. Max it for the
stealth missions.
ECM (adjustable), makes you less visible, but you had to activate
it manually, and it can run out (so turn it off when you don't
need it!) It also jams your own sensors. Use this in emergencies.
Sniper System, lets you zoom in on a target with home/end keys up
to 16X. It is very useful for long-range shooting.
Reinforced (EXO) armor (adjustable), available as chassis, crew,
front, rear, left and right, very useful if you need more
protection beyond the max armor available. You can only choose 3
directions to reinforce though.
Zero-G, required in the space battle scenarios.
Submersible, allow you to go underwater. Not that often used, but
useful in swamps and rivers.
Ammo/Fuel Reinforcement, allows your gear to take more damage
without blowing up.
3.5 Flaws
Generally you don't WANT any flaws unless you're seriously OVER
threat value limit. Honestly, I can't think of any flaw that you
would want.
3.6 Other Mods
You can click on the attribute box (the one containing sensors,
maneuverability, etc.) and modify that in addition to the perks
and weapons. Maximize your armor and play with the other
attributes here. Some of those mods are quite expensive in terms
of threat value, so don't play with it too much.
4 Squad Mates and Postures
4.1 Squad mates
Wallice and Sobec are best for the heavy battle missions, as they
have the heaviest gears, Kodiak and Cobra respectively. You may
find more Kodiak and Cobra pilots later when you encounter the
Liberati.
Mailliaux is best at wiping out small patrols, but lacks
endurance. Put him in a hot brawl and he won't last long.
Vesping's gear has better endurance but less firepower than
Mailliaux's. Vesping also prefers the anti-air cannon, which is
useful when you need to take on lots of infantry.
Temple's cheetah is too weak to last in hot brawls. Leave her
home.
Mailliaux and Sobec are hot-headed and charge into battle. That
can be bad for your mission if you need stealth or unit
preservation. Wallice and Vesping are calmer and more deliberate.
4.2 Gear Postures
Your Gear can be upright, kneel, and prone. Upright is the most
unstealthy, and prone is most stealthy. Kneel is in-between.
You can shoot in all three postures, you can only swing hand-to-
hand weapons while kneeling or upright.
You can move in kneel-mode and prone-mode. The speed is about 14
kph. You can't sidestep while you are in kneel-mode or prone-
mode.
Finally, there's SMS. SMS is not that stable, but it sure is
fast. If you got hit hard in SMS, you'll fall down and become
prone.
5 Combat Tactics
Here's some tips for your general combat tactics.
5.1 Sniping
A useful battle skill/perk is sniping. Use either rifles or
energy weapons for sniping. You need the "sniper systems" to do
this. Use "T" to select a target, "home" to zoom in, then fire
away.
Sniping is the easiest way to take out frames as they are
dangerous once you get close to them. When hit hard, they tend to
fall down, which gives you more free shots.
5.2 Circle of Death (Gear Version)
Use the strafe left/right commands! You'll need to be good to
keep the cursor on the target.
The Dark Cheetah is almost impossible to hit when it's going at
full speed, so it benefits the most from this tactic.
Hitting the other guy from the flank also makes it easier to kill
them as the flanks and rear are not as heavily armored.
5.3 Send in your Squad Mates
Sometimes you should let your squad mates do the dirty work, but
follow them and support them. Usually you should go in all
together in combat. If you can nail a few of the enemies with
before they hurt your squad mates too badly, then you'll have
less casualties.
It's a good idea to take turrets down quickly. They're easy to
hit, but they hit back hard, so the sooner you nail them, the
better. If you can snipe a few bad guys before anyone engages,
that's even better.
Sometimes, it's better not to fight. In some circumstances, it's
wise to order your squad mates to hold fire, so they don't get
drawn into losing battles (like attacking heavily fortified enemy
bases or large patrols)
5.4 Active vs. Passive Sensors
Passive mode radar is good for sniping and a general default
stealth setting. When there is no red in the stealth bar, you can
touch the "A" key twice to briefly perform one active scan. This
technique is sometimes useful for detecting hard to sense
objects.
Guided weapons require active radar. So if your radar is in
passive mode, you can't use AGMs/ATMs.
Note that your squad will use the same radar settings as you. So
your gear might have stealth 7, but if you turn on active radar,
then Wallice standing next to you also turns it on, and since his
stealth rating is 1, he's visible even though you are not, and
your squad's cover is blown. Also, if you are on passive, then
your squad mates can't use AGMs/ATMs.
5.5 Escorting Convoy(s)
Stay in front of the convoy (that means you need medium/heavy
gear). Keep one or two gears (maybe assault gears) as guard, but
you need to keep yourself in front to take care of the enemies
before they hit the convoy.
6 Enemies
Remember you can identify the enemies by using pointing the
reticule at the enemy unit, then use the "target reticule"
command, if you have rating of at least 1 for fire control.
6.1 Gears/Frames
These are deadly if they get close. Snipe them at a distance with
an energy weapon if you can. They tend to fall down if hit hard.
Hit them hard while they are down.
Heavy lasers can sometimes kill them with one shot. If they get
close, the anti-air cannons (or any other auto weapons) work
well, because you can unleash a continuous stream of ammo at
them. Or use heavy-bazooka on them. Two shots and they go poof.
6.2 Tanks
These things are slow due to old-fashioned treads, but they take
a lot of damage and deal a lot of damage in return. Nail them
with the heavy bazooka or the heaviest weapons you got. If you
don't have something heavy, back away and snipe.
6.3 Infantry / Infantry Turrets
These guys are annoying because they're small and hard to spot.
Use rocket packs like shotgun and nail them from a distance.
Alternatively, spray the area with automatic weapons fire (e.g.
auto cannons). Then mop up by using the sniper zoom and an energy
weapon or one of the automatic weapons. If you can spot them
before they start running around, it's easy to snipe them.
The infantry turrets are harder to kill and they do quite a bit
of damage if you just stand there. Snipe em if you can, you may
need to kneel to duck their return fire.
6.4 Turrets
They don't seem to have an ammo limit. Don't get in their firing
arc! Position yourself just so that you can see a TINY little
piece of them (either the very top or slight bits of the edge).
Then nail them a few times with bazookas or lasers. Three shots
from a heavy bazooka, 5 shots from heavy pulse laser, or 11 shots
from heavy gatling laser should kill a turret.
The autocannon turrets have approximate range of 275 m, so stay
beyond that and you can kill them with lasers. The laser turrets
have further range, but deals somewhat less damage.
6.5 Two-Legged Battlemounts
These are semi-tough customers. If you can get behind them, they
die easy. Otherwise, try to outflank them. Usually armed with
lasers and autocannons. A couple hits from heavy lasers or
bazooka and they go boom.
6.6 Giant Two-Legged Battlemounts
You will not see these until the Vega Spaceport raid. They're
large and easy to hit, so the heavy bazooka works well. They are
a bit taller than the regular two-legs, and as the saying goes:
the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
6.7 Four-Legged Battlemounts (a.k.a. Spiders)
These things are quite dumb -- you can get really close to them
and they won't blink. You can nail them by hitting them from the
side or rear (so they don't shoot back) with a heavy bazooka.
They tend to stay still when firing so circle-strafe them with
bazookas.
In the mines, you need to kill these with HTH weapons. This is
quite tricky. To do this, target them, and when your range
indicator tells you that you're within about 15 meters, swing a
couple of times and it will burst into flames.
If you crawl under it, chances are you're toast, even with
stealth maxed. If they climb over you, you hear CLONK CLONK, that
means their feet are stomping you, even though they don't have a
lock-on yet. Better start swinging!
6.8 Hovertanks (a.k.a. Floaters)
These include Centurions, Imperators and others. They are a real
pain to kill because they move around a lot. Try to catch them
with a heavy bazooka just as they stop to turn around. Medium
bazooka may be the best compromise between number of shots and
firepower, though a few shots from a heavy will drop even the
Imperator.
6.9 Kestrel
VTOL flyers are armed with rocket packs. Snipe them if you can.
Try to use energy weapons if you want to actually hit one. If
they get close to you those rockets will do you a WORLD of hurt,
so keep your distance! Their "body" is actually a little ABOVE
the center of the target reticule. Zoom in and shoot ABOVE the
center of the brackets.
6.10 Armed Sentry Drone
Snipe it from a distance. They really do a lot of damage if you
let it get close. It uses heavy pulse laser! If not possible,
then hit ECM and get into range and hit it. Again, shoot ABOVE
the center of the brackets.
6.11 Space frames
Zero-G combat is a REAL pain in the rear. You can try to snipe
the space gears, but even with zoom, they are hard to hit. Fire a
couple AGMs would probably be a better idea. On the other end,
they have AGMs too! If they get a lock on you, run for cover and
active ECM.
7 Training Missions
There are multiple training missions, but only two that simulates
shooting.
The demolition mission is just about impossible. There are too
many enemies that patrol around. All your sneaking is not going
to help you. You can try just using the SMS and run past
everybody, which is okay up to the first objective, but it's
useless later as there's just too many gears out to get you, and
your little zapper don't do much damage. Mortars aren't meant as
direct fire weapons, so don't try it. If you're discovered, RUN!
That other training mission isn't so hard. Get a good team
together. Take out the opposition in your way until you see the
two towers. Send your team against the further one while you go
after the nearer one. When they start shooting, you start
shooting. Kill both together, and then go in and take out the
objective. It's on top of the hill. Get your gears around you as
you charge up the hill. A couple hits and it is dead. Then run
for the dropship!
8 Historical Missions
Historical missions are simulations of classic gear engagements,
where you can take the older gears for the ride, or use new ones,
if you can get their threat value low enough.
Donovan Rebbechi contributed this section.
8.1 St. Vincent's War
Fighting patrol mission, use a mix of the assault and heavy
classes. Use the "heavies" as patrol vehicles (that can run ahead
of the convoy) and have the assault vehicles act as escorts.
You'll be up against a lot of ambushing gears and some tanks. The
AGM works fairly well as the terrain is desert with a lot of open
distance for long-range shooting. The enemy gears are pretty fast
and it's hard to hit them with a bazooka, and no time for
sniping.
If the convoy takes fire, your mission will not be successful.
There's a basic strategy for escorting a convoy. Have two squad
members (the heavier of your squads) defend the convoy. Target
one of the friendly vehicles from the convoy using "F" for target
friendly then go to C->red fireteam ->defend -> my target.
Remember to press "E" for "target enemy" when you get a red dot
in the radar. Now that you've got two squad members sticking with
the convoy, run ahead with your other squad mates and try to
knock out enemy patrols before they can start taking pot shots at
the convoy.
You'll want the patrol vehicles to be reasonably fast, preferably
the "heavy" class.
8.2 Baja City
Break through the enemy defense line has two primary tactics: run
through (give everyone fast gears), or smash through (everybody
take assault/heavy gears). Or you can mix it: take a light gear
yourself, give your squad mates heavy/assault gears. Let your
squad mates smash a hole, and you sneak through.
Smash through: just break the enemy lines with a bunch of assault
gears. To prevent your squad mates getting sucked into drawn out
battles, set a path from them that goes from the start all the
way to the nav point, and they will faithfully follow your path.
Run through: outfit everyone with extremely fast gears and just
run through the enemy defenses.
8.3 Peace River Army
This is a stealth mission. It's easy if you do it right. You're
up against some floaters and maybe a few gears.
Take out the power station first. Set a nav point at your current
position. Then go along the NW passage. Soon, you'll see a ramp.
Go up the ramp, and follow the trail that goes towards the nav
point. Cross a bridge, mop up some floaters, then cross another
bridge and take out the power station. Then head back to your nav
point.
The next stop is the comm array. Head towards the comm array
(Cycle your nav points to find it). Eventually, you'll see the
base. You may experience some resistance. There's a cliff face to
your north, on your left. Hug the cliff face. The less shooting
you do the better. Now you'll come to a ramp soon, that leads to
the comm array. Take out the comm array, then level the base.
8.4 March on Massada
This is a big brawling mission. You'll need to outfit your squad
mates with good brawlers. The Brahmin Cobra, while slow, is very
solid.
Basically, all this mission involves is heading towards the nav
point, demolishing what you find on the way. When you get close
to the gates, you will meet with a lot of resistance, and there's
a big brawl. Good luck.
8.5 Escort Adriana Xing
This mission is similar to "St Vincent's war", only this one is
damn hard. There are enemy gears ambushing from everywhere. Your
opposition for the most part consists of agile enemy gears. You
will need to be able to take out these gears quickly. You will
have a hard time completing it unless you use one of your super-
duper custom gears, and make good use of all of those threat
value points. Basically, you need to stay in front of the convoy
and knock out enemy gears. Order two squad mates to "defend" the
convoy while you explore and take potshots at gears before the
convoy reaches them. This is tricky, because the convoy has an
infuriating habit of making unexpected turns. The problem is that
you must make sure that you take out enemy gears before they get
too close to the convoy, but the convoy try really hard to lose
you. If you can stay In front of the convoy, you have a decent
chance of success. Do not, on any account, fall behind the
convoy. If there's a gear that needs to be dispatched, and
attacking them would force you to fall behind the convoy, order a
squad mate to attack it.
Regarding weapons choice, the AGM works quite well here. You need
to take out enemy gears quickly, from a distance.
8.6 Hades Commando Raid
This mission has some similarities to the Baja mission, though
it's shorter and faster. This mission requires you to steal some
chemicals from a building and get to a ship. Here's my way of
doing it -- the enemy resistance is heavy and knocking them all
down will be hard. One way of doing it is to get your squad mates
to launch a diversionary assault on the complex. Do this by
setting checkpoints on the map. Note that you do not want to send
your squad mates too close to the nav point. The idea is that
they draw the bad guys away from the nav point, then you come
flying in with a fast light gear, steal the chemical, and go to
the airport, using evasive maneuvers on the way back to avoid
stray bullets. Run into the wing of the plane, and the mission's
done.
8.7 Crossroads
In this mission, you have to take over an enemy base on a hill.
Once you've taken it, you'll have enemies coming at you. The
terrain is fairly flat, and you'll mostly be doing distance
shooting at gears. This mission is a good one for either sniper
weapons or the AGM.
Start by crossing the bridge. To your left, you'll see a path
that goes up the hill. Follow it. Snipe out the turrets (or blow
them up if you prefer). Mop up some gears that come at you. Blow
up all the enemy buildings on the hill. They'll bring in some
reinforcements. Stand on the hill, patrol and knock out the
incoming gears, preferably before they get close (the AGM works
nicely). Do this until it's over.
8.8 Assassination
You'll want a heavy assault fore for this. The bad guys want to
get to an airport, and your job is to set up an impenetrable line
of defense to prevent them from reaching it.
Head NW. Eventually, you'll see an entrance to the airport. (that
is, a small space between two large hills that you must go
through to reach the airport) There's a hill to the South East of
the entrance that anyone approach the entrance must pass. Send
some squad mates there, and stay back and guard the entrance to
the airport. From your position, you can still contribute support
fire. If it looks like your line is getting broken through,
regroup your squad mates. However, your squad mates, with your
backup fire support, will most likely wipe the floor with the
enemies. If you see an APC, stomp on it. That's your target.
Because your heavy front line will make it difficult for the bad
guys to break through, in the event that the APC does get
through, it will be a sitting duck.
9 Campaign Missions
Background: The Peace River City has been bombed, and we need to
find who did it.
NOTE: The number in parentheses next to the mission name is the
internal mission ID. I made up the names.
You should choose a general-purpose Gear as you'll need to
perform a large number of missions. I like the Dark Mamba a lot,
as you can create some very decent configs, even with only 3500
TV. With 5000 or higher TV, it's extremely deadly.
9.1 Rendezvous With Calesto (2J)
Background: Calesto, a GREL defector, is willing to share what he
knows about the Peace River bombing if you can help him escape,
by wiping out his squad and take out the three comm towers.
Analysis and outfit: Simple "sweep" mission. The enemy consists
of some buildings, turrets, a tank and some infantry. You won't
need that much ammo. Since it's in a swamp, you might want the
"submersible" perk. Sniper systems will be needed. Your best
choice is a pulse laser or heavy pulse laser. Get rid of any
perks that are not applicable to the mission, so you can spend
your threat points on other things.
Go to nav point one. You should be able to see the tower from a
distance. Level it and get out. If you keep your distance from
the target, the infantry may not even see you. Otherwise, snipe
the infantry.
Go on to the nav two. This time you need to level a turret that's
guarding the tower. The turret is hard to see, so use sniper-zoom
to get an aim from a distance. The turret will return fire, so as
soon as you've hit the fire button, duck (kneel or prone). After
its shots miss, stand up and shoot a couple more rounds. After
the turret, level the tower.
There is one more tower you need to take out after that.
On your way to main compound, you'll spot a dot on your radar.
It's a prone Hunter Gear. Use sniper-zoom to get a really good
shot, and nail it with the heaviest weapon you've got. You may be
able to sneak by it, but that's not recommended.
Go to the main compound. You'll see a gear running around. Don't
shoot it -- it's Calesto. There's a tank exiting one of the
buildings. Take it out with a heavy weapon before it gets you or
Calesto. Demolish the buildings, and you win.
Sidenote: Got a fast PC? You may be too busy to look at all the
neat graphical effects... Thunder, lightning, water ripples,
rain...
9.2 Destroy CEF Advance Base (1J)
Background: Calesto's info shows that some Earthers will be
meeting with GREL Colonel Proust. We'll wipe out the NEC base and
all escorts and take their place.
Analysis and outfit: This time, you're up against several
infantries, one gear, some buildings, and a few tanks. You have
to destroy all hostiles, so be prepared for some heavy shooting
and demolition. There's a lot of infantry, so the sniper-zoom
will help, as will a heavy weapon like bazooka. Rifles don't kill
tanks that well. Consider a large laser as your heavy weapon as
it's good for both sniping and brawling.
Head to nav one, and you will find some infantry patrols. Take
them out.
At nav two, you'll see some more infantry, with some vehicles.
Take them out. A Gear may come as reinforcement. Just take them
all out.
At nav three, you'll have to take out two tanks. Once you've done
that, take out all the buildings at the base and you win.
9.3 Capture Proust (3J)
Background: No one's the wiser that we've taken the Earthers'
place. Take your squad (you and 1 squad mate) to Nav 1, as our
tanks set up an ambush to take out Proust's escorts. TAKE PROUST
ALIVE!
Analysis and outfit: The objective is to kill Proust's 3 escort
gears, so pick your favorite gear-busting weapons. Most of your
squad mates should do OK. I went with Wallice.
Visibility is low, so engaging image enhancement may be
necessary.
Just run to Nav 1 when mission starts, then sit there and turn
south, and wait. Proust's group will arrive soon. Proust is in a
Kodiak, and his escorts are 3 Hunters.
Whatever you do, don't attack Proust, who's in a Kodiak. And
don't open fire until you receive the order. What I do is target
Proust, then remember to shoot any OTHER bad guy gears (3
Hunters) that don't have the reticle around them.
When you eliminate all escort gears, Proust will surrender.
9.4 Find/Destroy Hidden CEF Base with Antimatter (01)
Background: Capture of Proust was successful, and GREL command
chose to ransom him with information about the CEF secret base.
Actually they just know the general area, not the exact location.
We found a patrol (with mobile HQ) in the area. Track that patrol
and it should lead us to the base.
Analysis and outfit: You're up against a lot of buildings, a few
floaters and some infantry. The base is hidden and has virtually
NO defenses. Taking out the few defenders should be easy, just
bring enough ammo to wipe out the buildings. Rocket packs are
good. Doesn't really matter who you choose. The bad guys here are
basically target dummies. I chose Mailliaux, Wallice and Sobec.
Go to the north end of the canyon. You should spot the enemy
patrol. Keep 300 meters distance. Watch your stealth meter. You
can just jog through water, even without the submersible perk.
When you get to the base, you'll see a cutscene.
Once you're at the base, level their comm array, mopping up the
minimal opposition you encounter (infantry, bunker, and some
hovertanks). Then wipe out their base, esp. the comm array.
You'll need to mop up a few floaters, some trucks, and lots of
buildings.
Watch for one of the trucks tries to escape. Kill it and note
where it came from. There's the anti-matter storage guarded by a
tank. Follow it back to locate the anti-matter storage. Mop up
the opposition and level it.
Then some trucks will appear out of that elevator carrying more
anti-matter. Take them out and you're done.
9.5 Caprician Space Station (06)
Background: Analysis of the CEF base shows that we need to head
over to Caprice system. However, we'll need to take over the gate
control so we can come back. Fury is jamming the comm array, but
her power reserves are running out. You have five minutes. Get
out there and wipe out the six separate comm modules (3 groups of
2) so they can't call for help. There'll be defenders, mainly
infantry.
Analysis and outfit: Zero-G perk is required.... You may want to
try the zero-G training a few times. You're up against a lot of
infantry and you need to do some demolition. I'd take an
automatic weapon and maybe the medium bazooka.
Choose a squad mate with some armor (NOT Temple or Mailliaux).
Make sure their weapons are good for mopping up infantry. Vesping
and Wallice are both quite good for this one. Vesping usually has
an anti-air cannon, which is great for mopping up the infantry,
leaving you to take out the comm array.
Don't take the infantry one by one -- there's too many of them.
Just spray them with your machine gun or rockets or let Vesping
do it. The comm modules are those lantern-like things in 3 groups
of 2 on either side of the antenna. Just cross the station to the
other side and you should see them. A few good shots from the
bazooka should kill each one. You'll get a warning at 3 minute
and 1 minute as your time is running out.
Part way through, Fury reports she's under attack. You'll have to
go knock out those attacking infantry. Get over there fast, mop
them up, then go back and finish the comm modules.
When you take out all six, you're done.
9.6 Caprice Landing (07)
Background: Our back is secure, and we got the latest IFF codes
from Pulciano. We'll be landing to contact the local insurgents,
known as the Liberati. First we need to establish the temporary
base.
Analysis and outfit: There's a lot of short-range fighting in
this mission, so reinforce that armor! You'll see some tough
floaters. Use medium or heavy bazooka. The autocannons and even
the rapidfire bazooka don't do enough damage. Choose some squad
mates who have armor (and health insurance!) The Dark Jaguars are
OK (Pulciano, Vesping) as are the assault gears (Wallice, Sobec).
First up, you have to "patrol", which means following the nav
points that lead you in a circle around the base. Leave one or
two squad mates (the really heavy gears) to guard the base. Then
get started.
At about the third nav point, you need to "investigate signs of
combat" to the north. Liberati convoy is getting ambushed, and
you'll need to save them against 2 floaters, then a few more.
Stay behind the Liberati halftracks so you don't take too much
damage. As long as you save some of them the mission is a
success.
Once you're done, head back immediately, use SMS! The camp is
under attack. Dodge the enemy patrol on the way back -- you don't
have time to fight them unless you're really fast, but that's
just two hovertanks. Then take out all the attackers (more
hovertanks), and you win!
9.7 Liberati Base (08)
Background: The Liberati are pretty impressed with your combat
prowess (i.e. saving their arse) and chose to take us to their
leader, Petrus.
Analysis and outfit: This is a sweep/fight mission, and you don't
have time to snipe. Head in there and kill! You're up against a
lot of floaters, and a few spiders, so go in armed accordingly.
Like the last mission, your squad mates need to be able to
survive a good brawl. Don't pick light gears. Quality counts more
than numbers here. Max out the threat value on the individual
gears, and go with less than the max gears allowed. I went with
only Sobec.
So you're on the way to the base. You'll run into two spiders.
Take them out with your favorite spider-buster config. I like the
heavy bazooka. Flank them first then shoot to avoid their bite
and their frontal armor. They also tend to stay still when
shooting, making flanking easier.
Further along, there's a patrol of three floaters and one extra-
heavy floater being encountered by the Liberati vanguard. Take
your squad mate's advice and sneak up behind them. Lay prone to
minimize detection. When they're past, run up behind them and
start circle-strafing. Try to take out one or two before they
start doing any damage.
As you can guess, that's not the only attack force around. Make
it to the camp ASAP, via regular running, not SMS (it doesn't
really matter). Once you make it to the Liberati camp, there'll
be a huge brawl. Multiple waves of floaters and some spiders will
hit you. Kill all the floaters and spiders, and you win.
Funny moment: Did you hear what Sobec said when the two final NEC
floaters fled?
9.8 Recon Bastille Alpha (12)
Background: Apparently the NEC had just raided the Liberati main
camp before we got here. The Liberati leader has been taken
prisoner. We'll need to recon the prison so we can breakout the
prisoners.
Analysis and outfit: This is a sneak and scan mission. So don't
leave home without your sensor, stealth and ECM perks maxed out.
You'll have to fight some small patrols, but this time it's easy
enough that you can let your squad mates do the hard work. Your
gear needs to be intact when you scan. You need someone with some
firepower and some enthusiasm. Mailliaux and Sobec are both good
for this. Let them take the front line. On the other hand, you
could do this alone if you get a good gun. And if you do, take
the sniper perk.
Follow Radek's vehicle. Try to allow your squad mates to engage
the enemies. You don't want to take damage, so let your squad
mates take the front line while you give support fire. When Radek
parks his vehicle, have your squad stand ground (i.e. stop and
don't move!), then go to the lookout. From here, it's easy if you
know what to do, and you maxed out your sensors/stealth. The
overlook is shaped like a "Y" (use the tactical map -- see it?)
You need to go up to each end of the "Y".
Once you reached the end, you need to target each of the
structures inside the prison. The hardest to find are the
transformers, behind the arena. You'll need to get pretty close,
and that means prone, to see them. Once you saw all three
turrets, the gate, the door, the walls, the arena, and the
hovertank depot, you're pretty much done. If you can't get it to
go beyond 75% complete, you'll need to move to the other end of
the Y and try again.
Another way is go up to each end and do a "quick scan" with the
active sensors. Get yourself prone, briefly switch your sensors
to active, then switch back to passive. Then scroll through each
of the targets you located. You also need to target the prison
gates. They're gray on your radar, so using "T" won't catch them.
Target them by lining them up in your crosshairs and then hitting
"R".
At this point the objectives should change to "monitor the
patrols". There are quite a few. Two two-leg battlemounts are
outside. A four-legged battlemount is hiding to your right, and
some hovertanks are patrolling inside. Going to 3rd person view
should let you see all of them, but don't move your gear!
Eventually, the two-legged battlemounts go inside, and your
mission is done.
9.9 Attack Bastille Alpha (13)
Background: It's time to orchestrate the jailbreak. Strider
artillery will blow the main gate. Get inside, take out the
transformers to disable the turrets, then wipe out the hovertank
bay to stop more hovertanks from deploying. Then just clean up
and escort the incoming transport out of there.
Analysis and outfit: you're up against some floaters, spiders and
two-legged mounts, as well as turrets. You'll need some armor and
heavy weapons. You're not as short on time in this mission, so
there's room for sniping.
Pick Sobec and Wallice to follow you. This mission really calls
for the "big boys". These two will be able to knock out most of
the fortress without much assistance from you.
Chances are that your squad mates will be able to knock out the
turrets before you can take out the transformers. Anyway, the
safest way inside is to go to the edge of the wall, then follow
the wall so the turrets can't hit you. Meanwhile, your buddies
will be making minced meat of the turrets. Go in and take out the
transformers, then the hovertank bay. Then clean out any
remaining opposition. That's all that's inside, and the transport
comes in the take all the prisoners away.
Now take the group and go outside, as several battlemounts and
hovertanks will attack. Don't let them get inside and shoot up
the transport. If the front of the gate is quiet, start exploring
to the left and right to find the NEC forces. Once that's done,
the transport will be loaded.
Now let's escort the truck home. Try to scout ahead of the truck.
Knock out the enemy patrol before they can damage the vulnerable
truck. You will run into a few hovertanks in your way. Get to the
nav point, and you're done.
9.10 Base Assault (09)
Background: The leader of the Liberati is grateful for his
rescue. He pointed us to Mount Giovanni, where we can find a NEC
General with a datacore that contains a LOT of info. The plan was
for us to assault the front, while they sneak in through the
rear.
Analysis and outfit: You'll want some speed for this mission. You
need to take out some turrets and floaters and spiders. Have some
big guns ready. Stealth helps, but the problem is that you're as
visible as your most visible squadmate (if you're travelling in a
group). Max stealth and ECM. You'll need it in quick bursts. The
more hot-headed squad mates (Sobec, Mailliaux) can cause trouble
in this mission. Especially Sobec who's likely to fall behind and
get shot at by the bad guys. In this mission, it's easier to
avoid enemy patrols, so you and your squad mates don't take
damage before the big fight.
First, order your squad mates to hold fire, and cross your
fingers and hope they obey your order. If they pick fights with
enemy patrols, you may lose squad mates. Change nav to crater 5
directly. The more you run around, the more patrols you'll run
into. Head directly for nav 5 and avoid the patrols. You may get
spotted by a VTOL. That's too bad. It seems that it's impossible
to avoid being spotted, but it's possible to at least avoid
firefights on the way. You will want a full team to attack the
base.
Eventually, you come across two turrets near crater 5. Take them
out from a safe distance. That's the entrance.
When you're in position, attack the base. Don't worry about
catching the APC. Just kill all the enemies nearby. Destroy the
guard tower in front to open the gate. Then nail the 3 hovertanks
that come out the play, the two turrets (one's over on the top
corner of the base), then run through.
Now follow the route and make your way to the roadblock nav.
You'll run into several spiders on the way. Nail them from a
distance.
When you get there, the roadblock is completely destroyed.
However, Petrus claims he found the APC and you can still catch
it.
9.11 Capture NEC Officer / Pursue APC (10)
Background: Well, we need that APC, so find it quickly before the
reinforcements arrive.
Analysis and outfit: You'll need some speedy gear for this
mission. You'll need to take out some spiders and some floaters.
On one hand, it helps if the squad mates are speedy, and on the
other hand, they'll probably have to do some fighting. This one
is anyone's guess. I chose Temple, Vesping, Wallace and Pinter.
Overly aggressive pilots could compromise this mission.
Before you start, order your squad mates to hold fire. If they
open fire on the enemy below, your squad is toast. Target the APC
so you know where it is. Don't target anything else, or you'll
lose track of the APC! If you lost track of the APC, then you'll
need to play "Stealth Assassination", which is a VERY stealthy
mission. I just followed the APC and lost it as we were delayed
by patrols and firefights. I did find the camp though, which
leads to the next mission.
If you have a light or medium gear, you may be able to chase the
APC, in which case you will skip the next mission.
9.12 Stealth Assassination (11)
Background: You were not able to catch the APC in time, so we'll
have to do this the hard way: sneak into an alerted NEC camp and
steal the datacore right under their nose. And it's all up to
you.
Analysis and Outfit: This is a stealth mission, so max the
stealth, both regular and SMS speed, and max the ECM as well,
just in case. Bring a good weapon in case you need to fight.
The camp is surrounded by patrols of Centurions, Imperators
(those extra large hovertanks), laser sensors, and infantry.
There's about half a dozen two-leg battlemounts inside the camp,
with two roving sentry vehicles. There are 3 entrances guarded by
Imperators, Centurions and some infantry with laser sensors to
the west, east, and southeast. There's one potential entrance to
the northwest, but that's actually a trap. There are too many 2-
leg battlemounts nearby.
The ONLY clear way into the camp is via the steep cliffs just
northeast of the target building. It's an one-way ticket down. Go
east until there's no more road, turn north. You need to get
AROUND that eastern entrance. There's an Imperator there and if
you get too close you'll get spotted. Once you got there, go
north, then west, then south. There's two "cuts" in the hill just
north of that eastern entrance that you can use to climb onto the
top. Then head for the northeast corner.
Once you arrive at the northeast corner, go prone, and start
crawling west. Don't worry about those three spiders. They're not
active. Keep going and you'll fall off the cliff, but you'll
still be stealthy. Ideally you'd do this when no sentry vehicle
is nearby. Keep crawling until you bump into the general's
building.
Watch the cutscene as you dismount the gear, go inside, kill the
general, then grab the data and remount the gear. Now comes the
fun part: running for it.
You were kneeling now, so drop prone again. Go for EITHER
entrance (east or west, I chose east). Keep crawling, be ready to
hit the ECM as soon as you heard "they found you!". When they do,
stand up, turn on ECM, and hit SMS to go REALLY FAST. You should
lose them. When there's no bad guys on the sensor, turn off the
ECM, as you'll need it later. You'll probably get hit a few
times, but don't stop and fight. Just keep running!
As you can see from the tactical map, you'll need to follow that
road as it makes a turn to northeast, then turns northwest. The
problem is an Imperator near that junction. Use the ECM to get
past him.
If you are fast enough, you win immediately. If you aren't fast
enough to your ship, 2-3 two-leg battlemounts will attack. Your
squad mates should blast them, but feel free to help out. Once
those chasers are gone, you win.
Fun thing to try: here's a foolproof way to kill ALL those
patrols and guards (and fail the mission spectacularly). If you
want the kills, try this for fun. Bring along about 60-90 heavy
grenades. With 5000 TV you should fit them in with no problem.
Head to the northeast corner as usual. Now stir up the hornet's
nest with a grenade. Now you've failed the mission. Ready to do
some serious damage? Wait until all the bad guys start milling
around at the bottom of the cliff. Those battlemounts don't
climb, and those hovertanks don't either. So start tossing
grenades down the cliff one at a time. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
If you have the time, and feel like getting more kills, you can
probably turn back north upon exiting the camp and run back up
that cliff again to do this. It's rather humorous.
9.13 Track NEC Patrol (17)
Background: Petrus, the Liberati leader, have brought us to this
little camp. We need to chase the APCs away so they'll lead us to
their research facility. First target the APCs so the Fury can
track them, THEN wipe out the camp and all defenders.
Analysis and Outfit: You should do this one alone. You should
have enough to equip yourself with heavy bazooka and heavy pulse
laser with max ammo. Bring a few grenades just in case. You
should top out the TV.
Go to the nav point. You can take the "high road" (the ridge) or
the low road. The high road is too good to pass up -- it's very
easy to snipe from there. So take it.
Go towards the base. Go prone, and crawl up so you can get a good
look. You should be able to see all three APCs. Target them one
at a time. (If you brought squad mate, leave them back at the
ridge so he doesn't expose you). You'll see some unknowns. They
look like gears, but they seem to be bigger and more powerful.
Those are the "frames". Start switching targets until you got to
the 3 APCs.
When you got all 3 APCs targeted, you can start attacking the
camp. Make good use of the sniper-zoom and those frames will be
dead in no time under heavy pulse laser barrage. Then level the
tents. Once you do that, you win!
9.14 Assault Mount Boniface (18)
Background: The tents we leveled and the frame wreckage shows
that the frames came from this research plant. Take over the
powerplant, then hold the powerplant until the Radek's engineers
can shut it off, which will disable the turrets around the
research facility. Then destroy the entire research facility so
we can pick through the wreckage.
Analysis and Outfit: There's a lot of brawling in this mission.
You're taking on a power station -- fighting nasty frames in
tight spaces. Bring some armor and some weapons. Stealth won't
help that much. Definitely bring Sobec and Wallice. You need the
really heavy stuff to survive.
Go "downstairs" from start and mop up some floaters and
battlemounts.
Once you're done, the engineers come in to switch off the power.
Just stand around with your radar active and blow up anything
that comes too close (multiple Imperators will attack). Don't get
too close to the base or turrets will blast you.
When the power's cut, several frames will approach the base
entrance from inside. Stay near the entrance, find a good sniping
spot, and take them out as they come. If they don't come out,
you'll have to go in and get them. Wreck the buildings too. There
should be 4 frames total. When they're all gone, take out the
main research building, and you've won the mission.
9.15 The Mines (21)
Background: The frames came from Gommorrah, and the only way to
sneak in would be through these mines. HTH weapons only! (At
least until you get to the elevator)
Analysis and Outfit: Well, the game says only use HTH weapons,
but you can use regular weapons once you got to the elevator,
just not before. Get the Vibroaxe, because it's the toughest HTH
weapon there is. Get jump jets, as you'll need to jump some
chasms. Also max the stealth, and add some ECM just in case.
Turn on the Image Enhancement. You should see an entrance you can
hack through in front of you. Switch to your axe now. Go through.
There are two exits to NW and SW just across the chasm. Jump
across and go NW. Don't bump into those columns in the jump or
you won't make it to the other side!
Follow the passage. When it opens up again, there's another
chasm. Jump over it also. Just past this second crack, you can go
northwest or southwest. Go northwest.
The passage turns around somewhat and then you jump over yet
another crack. The passage keeps turning right and goes east for
a while. Then the passage heads north into a closed entrance.
Hack the closed entrance open with your vibroaxe and go through.
Now below you, there should be the mining area. Head down via the
ramp to your left. There's some spiders patrolling this place,
but if you kneel they won't see you. Head NE past the mine crater
to the east (crawl if you like), and you'll find an exit there.
There's another exit to NW, but that leads nowhere.
After you go along the NE passage a little, it turns north, then
there's a fork where you can go west, north or east. Go east. You
may need to crawl past a spider here, as it patrols that fork
pretty often. Whack it if necessary, but do it quickly.
The passage goes east for a while, then turns to the north. Then
there's another fork where you can go straight ahead to the north
(a spider in this area) and run into two heavy frames, or west.
Crawl and go west. There's a branch heading north, but that just
circles back to those frames. Keep heading west.
As you go west, you should go past a short dead end passage on
your right. The passage is REALLY narrow, so you may have to take
out a spider here if you can't crawl past it. Go up to kneel,
then start swinging at 15m.
After that, take the next right, which goes more or less north.
Now, you are less than 400 m from the objective, and the place is
CRAWLING with bad guys. Eeek. There are at least 3 frames and 3
spiders. Some say the frames will stay still if you don't get
spotted, but I can't seem to get it done. If they're patrolling,
chances are someone spotted you and they are out searching. First
objective, make it within 300m of the nav point, which is when
your objective changes to "eliminate elevator guards".
This is where the ECM comes in. Use sniper zoom and take out one
of them, probably one of the frames, as those are easier to kill.
With a heavy pulse laser a few shots should do it. Engage ECM and
run out of range, then repeat this until you wipe out all of
them. Once you do that, the mission is done.
9.16 Find the Factory in Gommorrah (22)
Background: We're in Gommorrah, and we need to find the frame
factory and download the info we needed. There are plenty of
enemies to go around. And a lot of buildings to explore. The
Liberati hacker named "Dragon" will be on as your "guide".
Analysis and Outfit: This is a very long mission. You are up
against turrets, frames and Kestrels. You will need a lot of
ammo, and I do mean A LOT. Leave the heavy bazooka at home this
time and bring along two heavy pulse lasers. You MAY salvage some
heavy gatling lasers from the frames you take out, but you can't
rely on that. Pick up any that you find. The only way to go is
sniping. Take the stealth perk (maximized) and ECM (you may need
it against some turrets), and of course, sniper perk.
As soon as you go up to the elevator, you should see a frame may
be hiding behind one of the columns. Two-three shots from HPLA
and it should go down. There's a Kestrel outside, kill it. Follow
the nav point to the elevator, there's a frame guarding it. Take
it out, and get on to go to Fujigowa building.
When you hop off the elevator, kill the frame near you. You'll
have to hop off ASAP since the elevator will move back down in a
few seconds. The frame is close, but you should be able to kill
it with a few shots from your HPLA. Then slowly go outside and
take out the Kestrel.
Continue towards the nav point. You'll run into another Kestrel
to take out. Cross a bridge then you will find a frame guarding
the next elevator. You may need to move around a little to see
him. Take care of him and take the elevator to the Hashima
building.
Get off the elevator (no enemies nearby), then head toward the
nav point. There are two laser turrets on the bridge. Take them
out and go over the bridge. There are three turrets waiting for
you near the elevator towards the end of the passageway, so don't
get too close yet. Mop em up and take the elevator to the
Andersen compound.
Once you hop off the elevator, head out the corridor and take out
two Kestrels with more long range sniping. Then go left at the
"T" junction, then take the first bridge you see. Go along the
right hand side of the building. Watch out for a Kestrel pop up
behind you if you did not kill both Kestrels. Eventually, you'll
see a bridge, and a patrolling frame guarding the elevator. Take
out the frame from a distance, then cross the bridge and take the
elevator to the Kishin tower.
Hop off the elevator, and take out the frame, then walk some till
you come to a LONG bridge heading down into Mesa. Wipe out the
turrets on the bridge, and be careful here! There's a Kestrel
hovering around in the distance. Knock it out. Now go down the
bridge one little bit at a time. There's a turret to your right.
You can't see it, but it's on the sensor. Take it out now to save
you work later. Head down 10 meters at a time and do a quick
scan, take out any enemies you see with long range shooting
(beyond 275 meters if possible). You should see several turrets,
a frame, and maybe another Kestrel. If you see a Kestrel, kill it
quickly. Those rocket packs can REALLY hurt you if you stay still
(and you need to stay still to shoot the laser in sniper mode).
Those turrets are autocannon and have a range of about 275m, so
if you stay beyond that you can shoot them and they can't shoot
back. The frame is easy to take out at a distance. When you've
taken everything out, go down the elevator to Mesa.
The Mesa complex (hmmm. shades of Half-Life!) is a series of 180-
degree-turn tunnels guarded by a LOT of turrets in strategic
positions, and those turrets are NASTY! You must head WEST off
the elevator. If you made your way to elevator that's not "up",
you went the wrong way. On the other hand, east is the way you're
coming back up, so feel free to sneak down and take out the
turrets now (it's easier shooting down the shooting up) to make
your life in the "escape" section easier. It's up to you.
From the elevator, go along the western passageway. It turns 180
degrees and by the time you're facing east, a turret should be
visible. These turrets don't run out of ammo, so try to position
yourself so just a SLIGHT BIT of the turret is visible, then keep
hitting that little bit until it goes boom. As you head down, one
of the NEC frame pilots taunts you via the announcement system.
Now the passage turns around and you go west some way, then
there's a shallow turn and around that turn is another turret,
which is guarding the elevator. Shoot the turret and take the
elevator down. You may want to go prone and crawl to the edge
now.
Now you get to shoot Mr. Super Frame Pilot, that guy who taunted
you. Except he just stands there. Now start crawling past those
"generators" until you can see his "blue" frame. Hit him with
your best laser a few times and he's toast. Interface with the
mainframe, (just head there and stay put) then take the elevator
up (another Nav). There's a turret waiting for you just near the
top. You may want to lie prone on the elevator, and crawl to a
safe distance. The passage winds around. Further up is another
turret. This one is TOUGH to hit. Blow it up, then take the
elevator back up.
On the top, head for the nav point by going across a bridge, and
take out the turret if you haven't already did so before when you
came down to the elevator to Mesa. Voila, you've gotten the train
out of Gommorrah.
9.17 Escape From Gommorrah (23)
Background: You're going through the hydroponics plant in search
for an exit from Gommorrah.
Analysis and Outfit: There are several frames here and you have
to take them out fairly quickly. Since you're trying to escape,
some speed also helps. Bring some frame-busting weapons, armor
and speed. For this one, the Heavy Pulse Laser Cannon, and the
Heavy Bazooka worked well
This is a tough mission. Generally, don't waste too much time
brawling. Your job is to get out alive, and you'll never be able
to take out all those frames as they seem to respawn until you
hit that last room. Fortunately, the frames assigned to guard one
dome won't walk through the exits to chase you. So if you can
hide in the exits you should be okay. They will shoot INTO the
exits though, so watch out!
As you get out of the train station, the Fury was ambushed and
destroyed.
You're told that you need to get to the other side of the
complex, which would seem to mean head Southward. So take the SE
exit (right) in the first dome, the SW exit (left) in the second
dome (dome 1), and then the SW exit (left) in the third (dome 4).
Only kill the frames in your way, then RUN for the exit and GET
AROUND THAT BEND, as those frames carry bazookas also.
You'll arrive at a dome that's guarded by three frames. Just
snipe them to death, then walk into the EXIT door.
9.18 Vega Spaceport (25)
Background: The Fury's gone, so we'll need to hijack a ride
somehow. Fortunately, most of the gears and equipment have
survived. It's time to scout the spaceport and find a ship out of
here, but first, we need to get in.
Analysis and Outfit: You'll run into a lot of frames. Bring your
favorite frame-killers. This level is a good one for sniping, but
there's also some brawling. Stealth will help a lot since it's a
scouting mission.
While you're allowed 15000 squad total TV and up to 4 squad
mates, it's best to go by yourself on this one. With 5000 TV you
can nicely outfit your gear with some killer combos like HBZK and
HPLA with max ammo and everything else just about maxed out, and
if you snipe, it doesn't matter how many squad mates you bring or
how many enemies there are. You could bring along two fully
outfitted squadmates if you are not sure about your own
abilities.
Just head for the space port nav. You are informed that there's
some "activity" ahead. The activity ahead turns out to be 2
turrets and 2 frames. Crawling past them is the best option,
though you could take them out if you want to use the ammo.
As you sneak your way to the spaceport nav point, you realized
that sneaking in is easier said than done. The only way the doors
open would be for the convoys. Make it to the new Nav 1 and see
if you can find some of the trucks that you can hide in. You may
run into some gears. If you snipe just ONE of them the rest
wouldn't really notice. I stayed on that "overhang" next to the
road and took out the light frame that was in my way. The other
frames didn't even blink.
Continue to nav 2. There are FOUR gears near it, but you'll
probably see only 2 initially. Be careful and take them out. Then
approach the nav point, and watch the cutscene as you jumped into
the truck and enter the spaceport...
9.19 Escape from Vega Spaceport (27)
Background: You'll need to procure a ship that'll escape orbit.
What happens then is anyone's guess.
Analysis and Outfit: You'll be up against a lot of two-legged
battlemounts (including some giants) and several frames. There's
a lot of brawling. Go in armed to the teeth, and do without much
stealth. Use your favorite gear shredders... lots of heavy
firepower because the battlemounts can take a lot of damage. You
will need a lot of ammo. It may be worth considering the medium
bazooka instead of the heavy bazooka for this reason. I ran out
of both HPLA and HBZK ammo even though I was maxed out on both!
You will want your squad mates to stay tightly grouped, because
they tend to get lost and stuck in this mission, and they will
take more damage in battle if they are isolated. There's a lot of
brawling, so you'll want firepower, and you'll want your squad
mates to have some armor. Bring at least two of the Cobra/Kodiak
pilots. I prefer both Kodiaks, maxed out config. You have enough
points to do it.
Go towards the nav point until you run into a fence. Go west
along the fence. There's a heavy gate on the fence. It's
indestructible, so don't bother shooting it. Follow the fence
until you go through an archway in a fence that runs
perpendicular to the fence you are following. You'll need to
knock out some battlemounts on the way. Try to hit these guys
from the side if possible. After you've done that, you should see
an archway in this fence you've been following. Go through. Now
you can get to the nav point.
Now once at the nav point, there are three elevated plateaus on
which you'll find the landing bays -- one to the East, one to the
West and one to the North. The ship you want is on the one to the
north. Climb onto the plateau using the ramp to the west. You
MUST use the ramp as your squad mates will fall off those narrow
bridges. Okay, this ship is usable, but it's locked behind this
forcefield. Find the power station to drop it.
So your next task is to level the power station, which is on the
other side of the map (of course). You need to get into the
military sector. Hop off the plateau using the wheelchair ramp.
Head NW and look for a gate that has a small plague next to it
that says "military personnel only". Go through here, and then
get to the nav point.
Be careful as you approach, the power station is guarded by
turrets. Wipe out the turrets, and level the power station. When
that's done, a dropship flies over. Someone knows you're here,
and that's reinforcements. You're in for a heated battle.
There'll be a welcoming committee of giant battlemounts outside.
Flatten them with heavy explosives, and get back to the landing
bay.
When you get back, the ship you hope to get takes off, and frames
/ battlemounts ambush you. Using your favorite frame-shredder and
level them. Then get to the drop ship, which is to the west, in a
little valley. Getting to the drop ship is pretty easy. You don't
need to cross the "military corridor" fence. Just head straight
to the nav point. You'll run into a few frames, but they should
be no match for your decked out Kodiaks. Once you wipe out the
dropship guards, you win!
9.20 Asteroid Shipyards (30)
Background: Well, there are no nearby starships (that'll jump) to
hijack, so this shipyard is it. Find a ship that'll take us home.
As you found the ship, you realized that all the ships are set
for Terra Nova. It's an invasion fleet. Take out all the OTHER
ships' thruster units except your own. That'll slow them down.
Analysis and Outfit: You're up against a lot of zero-G gears
here, as well as some turrets. So choose your weapons
appropriately. Definitely bring LOTS of AGMs. You have the TV to
spare. Energy weapons are useful for taking out turrets without
them shredding you, but bazookas will work fine also. Obviously,
you need the zero-G perk. Bring ECM to counter the AGM's. You'll
want some squad mates with firepower and armor. If Wallice and
Sobec are still alive, they'll serve you well.
The station is a long cylinder, and there are 4 ships attached on
each side, for a total of eight. Here's a little diagram:
1 2 3 4
========
8 7 6 5
You start next to ship 1. The ship you want is ship 5, and you'll
need to jump the sections as well as climb all the way to the
other side of the station to see it. Avoid the sentry drones.
These sentry drones are not armed, but they'll activate all the
laser turrets, so avoid them if you can.
When you see ship 5, there's two orange maintenance bots next to
it. Kill both bots so Morgan can come over and "borrow" the ship.
Once Morgan got the ship, the fun starts. If the laser turrets
weren't active before, they are now! Then some space frames show
up. Eeek. Best way to deal with them is shoot some AGM's at them.
Remember to go active on the scanners!
Once Morgan got the ship online, you realize all the other ships
are also bound for Terra Nova. It's time to put them out of
business by taking out all the thruster modules. Well, here's the
"trick". Go in order, so you don't miss one! You're on 5, so
start with 6, then 7, 8, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Then you're back. You
can leave your squad mates and let them fire at will, or you can
bring them along as protection (for them). You just hurry up,
maybe blast a few turrets while you're at it. MBZK are good,
though you'll need a lot of shots (about 10-12) per ship. If a
space frame gets close, just pop 5-10 AGM's at it. If you get
locked up by enemy gears, hit ECM and get behind cover. You'll
have to hurry since the space frames "respawn" as long as the
thruster modules are not destroyed.
Once all the thruster modules are gone, it's time to take out all
the space frames and go home. You should have brought plenty of
AGMs, so use them. Allocate 5-10 per frame.
When you got all of them, you got the ship.
9.21 Mass Driver Assault (35)
Background: Upon taking over the shipyard and the ship. An
asteroid whizzed by at dizzying speed. It's a mass driver! We'll
have to investigate.
Analysis and Outfit: You're basically just shooting turrets, as
well as a few sentry drones. You may encounter frames, but your
crew will dispatch them before you can blink. Energy weapons
should work fine. You will probably need energy weapons to hit
the sentry drones. Sniper zoom will make it easier to hit the
sentry drones.
This mission is easy enough that it doesn't matter that much. Go
with whoever has the most armor (the assault gears and the
jaguars). Bring as many nicely loaded gears as you can.
See the accelerator rings? Fly to it, and follow it. If you see a
space frame, go active and pop it with a few AGMs. Kill two more
frames and you'll get to the body of the space station.
Go around the outside of it, and you'll see a NEC frigate
guarding the airlock. The ship has a few (five?) turrets on its
surface, and you'll need to take them all out. Do it from a
distance to avoid getting shredded. You may need to move to reach
some of them.
Once you've blown up the turrets, head towards the airlock.
You'll see 2 sentry drones. Use your sniper zoom and an energy
weapon to take them out. Enter the airlock and you're done.
9.22 Mass Driver Destruction (37)
Background: Finally, the big finale. This mass driver is a real
killer here. We have a small tac nuke here but it's not enough to
blow up the whole place. Instead, we need you to go inside, find
the launch tube, find an asteroid, and stick the nuke on it. THEN
you'll launch the asteroid from the computer center. While the
mass driver's charging up, the nuke will blow, causing the
capacitors to go with it. You'll need to get out before it blows.
Easier said than done of course.
Analysis and Outfit: You're up against just sentry drones. You
will need good armor. Stealth and ECM will also help -- they are
easier to take out when they can't see you (even then, it's not
that easy!) You'll want sniper zoom and a weapon that's accurate
enough to shoot the wings off a fly 200 meters away. I like
energy weapons for this. The fully automatic weapons would be OK
but they are bad stealth-wise and once the drone sees you, their
attack is merciless. The guided weapons don't seem to work with
these critters -- they move too fast, and they're small. Even if
you get a lock, it's not a given that you'll hit, and putting
your radar into active mode near the drones is suicide -- once
they see you, they'll pound away at you with a heavy pulse laser
cannon. Leave the bazooka at home. You need lasers, and lots of
lasers.
Go towards the nav point, blowing up the sentry drones. Try not
to let them see you. Focus on accurate shooting -- take the time
to get in one really good shot instead of shooting wildly. One
clean hit will take them out. Anything less will not do any
damage. A "clean hit" basically means you drive a laser beam
right through the drone's center of mass, which is actually a
little ABOVE the center of the target reticule. They usually move
in patterns, so line up and be ready.
You'll need to know the way out to make a speedy exit. You may
want to set yourself an intermediate nav point -- there's one
place where there's a large hub that's easy to get lost in.
Once you've blown up the drones, go to the main computer, then
find the asteroid (lower right, I think) and bump into it (to
attach the baby nuke), then go back to the main computer to
launch it.
Once you've done that, run out very quickly, retrace your way to
the red chamber, and you're done.
9.23 Conclusion
You got out just in time as you jet into the open cargo bay of
the ship. The gate ship is already online. The drop ship
accelerates away in emergency power, straight for the gate. Just
as the countdown on the nuke reached zero. The blast caused a
sympathetic explosion in the launch capacitors and the entire
station went up, and asteroids flew off everywhere. Right into
the gateship. Your dropship jumped through the gate just before
it closed.
Well done, Black Talons! You've saved Terra Nova!
10 Miscellaneous Info
10.1 Cheat Codes
There are only two cheat codes: invincibility and mission skip.
Bring down the console while in the game to perform both of these
(Press the ~ key on your keyboard. It's usually located next to
the number 1.)
Invincibility: Type: SET CAMTI and hit Enter on your keyboard
Mission skip: Type: SET MISSION and hit Enter on your keyboard
10.2 Easter Eggs
Nathaniel "AgentGray" Kealen contributed this section.
Activision and Loki added their own little bits of craziness to
the game. If you play the game around Christmas you'll notice
that the gears have Santa Hats. It's quite comical to see your
favorite Cheetah decked out in his own red and white hat. If you
play a multiplayer game, one team has the read and white while
the other has black Santa hats. Some people have also made some
reports suggesting that they can hear bells ringing as the gear
runs. If you want to see this for yourself, simply change your
system date in your computer to a date close to Christmas
and...surprise!
Another holiday Easter egg (and less known) is the Halloween
Easter egg. However, you'll never be able to see it. It was
coded into the game, but never activated. This is not really an
Easter egg, but an interesting piece of history nonetheless.
The Loki programmers didn't want to be outdone so they added a
slightly different Easter egg. If you enter a multiplayer game
with the name "phatpipe" you'll be greeted by a different
welcome message. This Easter egg works in the Linux version of
the game only.
10.3 Movie notes
You can view the intro, outtro, cutscenes, and the mission
briefing shorts. They are just AVIs on the game CD. You can also
see the actual mission objectives as text files in the related
folder.
-- the end --
