Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (PC Version) Weapons and Enemies Guide: Document Started: June 25, 2007 Last Updated: August 29, 2007 by Alan Chan (joylock @ hotmail.com) The Usual: This document is mine. Please don't rip it off or take credit for it. That being said, feel free to post it on any site you want, provided you a) don't make any changes to it, and b) don't charge money for it. You don't even have to get my permission to post it (as long as it remains unaltered), but it would be nice if you emailed me and let me know (joylock @ hotmail.com). A Brief Word: I've noticed that there are no FAQs for the PC version of GRAW. Seeing as how the PC version is an entirely different game than the console versions, I decided to write up a quick weapon/enemy guide for the game for PC players. For those looking for a full walkthrough of the PC version of GRAW, check out: http://guides.gamepressure.com/ghostreconadvancedwarfighter/ Version History: ******************************************************************************* * * *1.0: Initial Release * * * *1.1: Spelling/Grammer corrections * * * *1.2: MOderate reformat for easier reading * * * ******************************************************************************* The latest version of this FAQ can be found at www.gamefaqs.com. TABLE OF CONTENTS: - GENERAL GAMEPLAY AND COMBAT TIPS - WEAPONS - ALLIES - ENEMIES *********************************** *General Gameplay and Combat Tips:* ******************************************************************************* COMBAT: - Most of the combat in GRAW takes place at relatively long range. A telescopic sight to allow you to zoom in and target more distant enemies is almost a must-have. - Try to crouch or go prone whenever possible in a firefight, both to reduce your chances of getting hit, as well as to increase your accuracy and control. - Firing your weapon too rapidly results in recoil, causing your aim to quickly jerk upwards. This is especially noticable when you're aiming in zoomed mode. You can usually fire off 2 or 3 shots continuously; any additional shots will cause your aim to bounce up towards the sky. Thus, you'll need to pause for a split second between every 2 or 3 shots to keep your aim steady. - Use walls and other pieces of cover as much as possible to minimize your exposure to enemy fire. Leaning around corners and firing your weapon is the best way to take out enemies without exposing too much of your body to enemy counter-fire. - Be careful not to stand too close to a wall or object, however. In GRAW, your guns have actual mass in the game world, and will "collide" with walls or other objects in front of you if you stand too close. This automatically causes you to lower your weapon, preventing you from firing it. AMMO: - The use of ammo magazines in GRAW is realistic. Whenever you reload by discarding your gun's current magazine and popping in a new one, you'll lose any remaining bullets in the old mag. This is opposed to most first person shooters, where reloading unrealistically causes you to "magically" refill your current magazine. Therefore, to conserve ammo, you should not reload unless there aren't many more bullets left in your magazine. - You cannot pick up enemy weapons in order to use them yourself. The only way to switch weapons in the middle of a mission is at pre-designated supply drop-off points, such as a friendly Blackhawk helicopter supply drop. - However, unlike earlier tactical shooters, it is possible to restore your ammo by collecting magazines from the guns of fallen enemy soldiers. Note you can only do this if the gun you're carrying uses the same type of bullets as the gun you're picking up. I.E., the Scar-L or M8 Carbine can only use 5.56mm rounds from enemy G36Ks or HK21Es, while the MP5SD can only use 9mm rounds from enemy M9 pistols or MP5SD submachine guns. HEALTH: - In GRAW, you can survive slightly more damage than earlier "one-shot, one-kill" tactical shooters (such as the first 3 Rainbow Six games or the original Ghost Recon for the PC), but you still die fairly quickly when compared to standard first person shooters. If you're lucky, you can survive several separate, glancing bullet hits before dying. At the same time, a single well-placed headshot or burst of automatic fire will kill you instantly. As with any tactical shooter, the key to victory is to try and avoid getting shot entirely. - While there are no health packs or medikits in GRAW, it is possible to restore the health of you and your Ghost teammates in the middle of a mission. Whenever you load from a checkpoint, the game increases your health and your team's health by a small amount above what it was when you first reached that checkpoint (enough to take your lifebar from orange back to green). Thus, to maximize your health, you should immediately reload every checkpoint once you reach it, in order to restore some of your health each time. ********** *Weapons:* ******************************************************************************* At the beginning of each mission, you'll be given the opportunity to outfit yourself and your squadmates with whatever weapons and equipment you wish. Each Ghost soldier can carry one primary weapon, one secondary weapon, and one "extra" item such as extra ammo, extra grenades, or a ZEUS-MPAR missile launcher. However, each soldier also has a weight limit, so there's some restriction as to how much heavy equipment they can carry. You cannot carry a sniper rifle and a ZEUS-MPAR at the same time, for example. The maximum weight limit for each soldier is approximately 135 units. ATTACHMENTS: In the console versions of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, you were given a choice of several different firearms, each of which was actually the same basic firearm with different attachments. The PC version of GRAW uses a more "modular" system that allows you to customize the specific attachments that will go onto your base rifle. Possible attachments include: - COMBAT SIGHT: A telescopic sight that allows you to zoom further when aiming. This is almost a must-have, as it extends the range at which you can spot and shoot enemies, which is vital in the game's many long-range firefights. - SILENCER: A silencer that reduces the sound your weapon makes when fired. Note that a silencer doesn't completely silence a weapon; your enemies will still become alert to danger when your fire a silenced weapon at them. What the silencer does do is make it harder for enemies to pinpoint your location, which gives you more time to shoot enemies before they figure out where you are shooting from and return fire. - GRENADE LAUNCHER: An attachable, under-mounted, single-shot grenade launcher which fires a 40mm grenade round that explodes on impact. Great for taking out clusters of enemy troops, or enemy light armor vehicles. - FRONT GRIP: A rifle foregrip that allows you to grip the weapon better, allow for better stability when firing the weapon. The front grip reduces recoil, and thus you can get off more consecutive shots before the weapon begins to "bounce", ruining your aim. Note that the front grip cannot be equipped along with the grenade launcher, since they both occupy the same spot on a weapon. Note also that the front grip is only available for the Scar-L and Scar-H assault rifles. ================== =Primary Weapons:= =============================================================================== M99 Sniper: Caliber: 12.7 x 99 mm Capacity: 1 Firemode: SS RPM: N/A Velocity: 850 m/s Info: Long range sniper rifle Accuracy: 48 Impact: 80 Stability: 100 Weight: 88 Attachments: None Extra Rounds Available: 20 BRIEF BLURB: A high-powered sniper rifle with a long-range scope. The M99 can put down any human opponent with a single shot, and the scope allows you to target enemies from long range, outside the effective range of their own weapons. The drawback of the sniper rifle is that it has no magazine or clip, so you need to spend a few seconds reloading it after each shot. Excellent at picking enemies off at long range, but the low rate of fire can get you killed in medium-range shootouts. The sniper rifle is best paired with a MP5SD submachine gun for medium-range encounters. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: The Barrett M99 "Big Shot" .50 BMG rifle is a high-powered, single-shot sniper rifle which serves as the only sniping weapon available to you in the game. Extremely powerful, a single shot is all it takes to put down any human opponent. The sniper rifle's integrated scope has significant range, allowing you to pick off enemies from a good distance away. There's also no scope drift in GRAW, so you can even reliably fire the sniper rifle standing up or leaning around corners. The big drawback to the sniper rifle is its extremely low rate of fire. Because the M99 has no clip, you need to take a couple seconds re-chambering a new round after every single shot. Ammo for the sniper rifle is also limited; you start each mission with only 21 rounds available, and you cannot pick up extra clips from fallen foes like you can with the M8 carbine or Scar-L assault rifle (you can select extra ammo for the sniper rifle at the weapon equip screen, for a total of 36 rounds, although the extra rounds will add additional weight to your inventory, preventing you from carrying a submachine gun as a backup weapon). EVALUATION: The increased range of the sniper rifle can actually make many sections of the game much easier, by allowing you to pick off enemies outside their effective range of fire. I highly recommend it for situations when you're assault enemies dug in at a fixed position, such as the roadblocks on Mission 9: Bulldog or the final assault against Carlos Ontiveros and the Aguila 7 in Mission 11: NATO on the Line. At the same time, the sniper rifle is poor for "assault"-type missions where you need to advance through enemies soldiers, and unless your sniping skills are extremely good, the sniper rifle can get you killed in more close-range encounters where the enemy is better able to return fire at you. RECOMMENDATIONS: If you're a Counter-strike AWPer or otherwise highly skilled with precision weapons, the sniper rifle may be the gun for you. Players of a more average skill level may want to forgo the sniper rifle, and stick to the more user-friendly assault rifles like the M8 carbine or Scar-L assault rifle, which allow for a greater degree of error due to their higher rate of fire. If you really want the sniper rifle, but your AWP skills aren't quite l33t enough, you can always bring along a MP5SD submachine gun with an attached telescopic sight as a secondary weapon for those situations when you want a higher rate of fire. You can also use your Ghost squadmates as support to provide covering fire for you while you pick off enemies with the sniper rifle. Regardlessly, it's a good idea to equip one of your Ghost squadmates with a sniper rifle, so they can pick off distant enemies and enemy snipers for you (your AI teammates have many faults, such as a seeming inability to seek cover when they walk into enemy fire, but at least they're good at spotting enemies and pretty damn accurate when you give them a sniper rifle). Ghost 3 (Allen) begins each level with a sniper rifle by default, so you're probably best off leaving it with him and letting him serve as your squad's designated marksman. MR-C: Caliber: 5mm Capacity: 50 Firemode: SA FA 3RB RPM: 900 Velocity: N/A Info: Mid range assault rifle Accuracy: 62.5 Impact: 39 Stability: 68 Weight: 33 Attachments: Combatsight, Silencer, GL Extra Magazines Available: 10 BRIEF BLURB: A light assault rifle with a 50-round magazine and a high rate of fire. The MR-C fires 5mm caseless rounds, which unfortunately have less stopping power than regular 5.56mm NATO rounds. It often takes 2 or 3 shots from the MR-C to kill enemy soldiers. Due to the special bullets, you also cannot acquire extra ammo for the MR-C from enemy soldiers. The MR-C can fire in 3-round bursts to compensate for the reduced power of each individual round, but personally I don't like it. Use the more powerful M8 carbine or SCAR-L rifle instead. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: The most "high-tech" rifle in the game, the Crye Modular Rifle - Caseless uses advanced 5mm caseless ammunition, chambered in a bullpup design for a futuristic look and feel. You can recognize it as the rifle being held by Captain Mitchell on the front cover of the game. The MR-C is an accurate, stable, and lightweight weapon with a very high rate of fire and a large magazine capacity. It can be fired in semi-auto, full-auto, or 3-round burst modes. The big drawback to the MR-C is that its 5mm bullets are relatively weak. It often takes 2 or 3 direct hits from the MR-C to put a rebel soldier down and keep him down, in contrast to the 1 or 2 hits required by other assault rifles. The MR-C's 3-shot burst mode does somewhat compensate for the weaker individual bullets, but overall it still isn't quite as good as the more individually powerful rounds fired by the other assault rifles. Another major downside to the MR-C is that you can't get extra ammo for it off of slain enemy soldiers, since none of them carry the next-gen caseless 5mm rounds the weapon uses (most enemies carry 5.56 x 45 mm rounds). The only way to replenish your supply of MR-C ammo is at friendly ammo drop points located at fix positions throughout each mission. EVALUATION: Due to its relatively low stopping power, I really don't recommend the MR-C. In the game's frantic firefights, it's very important that each and every one of your shots count. Enemies dive for cover and pepper you with suppressing fire, so you may not get a chance to get in a 2nd or 3rd shot if the 1st shot doesn't do the job properly, especially at longer range where hitting your targets is less certain. Still, the MR-C's high rate of fire and large magazine capacity allow you to spray bullets quite rapidly with it. If you do use the MR-C, I recommend using the 3-round burst or full-auto modes instead of trying to take out enemies with single-shots. M8 Carbine: Caliber: 5.56 x 45 mm Capacity: 30 Firemode: SA FA RPM: 750 Velocity: 910 m/s Info: Mid range assault rifle Accuracy: 60 Impact: 60 Stability: 68 Weight: 28 Attachments: Combatsight, Silencer, GL Extra Magazines Available: 10 BRIEF BLURB: One of the game's two "default" assault rifles. Like the SCAR-L, the M8 carbine is a well-rounded weapon that should serve you well in most of the game's firefights. Most enemies can be put down with 1 or 2 shots, and the weapon has good accuracy and range. You can even get extra ammo from slain enemies by taking the magazines from their dropped weapons. Be sure to attach a telescopic sight to help with the game's many long-range urban shootouts. The telescopic sight on the SCAR-L is somewhat larger than on the M8 carbine, so I like the SCAR-L slightly more. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: Based on the experimental XM-8 rifle developed (and, in real life, recently rejected) by the U.S. military, the M8 carbine is in many ways an improved version of the H&K G36. Made almost entirely of lightweight polymers, it is the lightest primary weapon in the game. Featuring good accuracy, stability, and stopping power, the M8 carbine is probably one of the most well-rounded, easiest to use weapons in the game. Because the M8 carbine uses 5.56 x 45 mm ammo, you can actually pick up extra ammo for it from fallen enemy soldiers, since most of them carry 5.56 x 45mm ammo. EVALUATION: Overall, the M8 carbine is one of my favorite weapons in the game. Attach a combat sight to it, and you can engage enemies at longer range, significantly improving your odds of survival. I highly recommend using either the M8 carbine or the Scar-L assault rifle as your primary weapon for most missions, with a combat sight and possibly a grenade launcher to make things easier. The only real downside to the M8 carbine is that its attached scope is the smallest in the game. This doesn't affect how far the weapon can zoom, although it does give you a smaller viewing area while you're zoomed. Ghost 2 (Kirkland) carries an M8 carbine by default. I recommend you let him keep it, as it's a good reliable assault rifle. MK48 LMG: Caliber: 5.56 x 45 mm Capacity: 180 Firemode: FA RPM: 850 Velocity: 920 m/s Info: Support machine gun Accuracy: 20 Impact: 60 Stability: 28 Weight: 88 Attachments: None Extra Magazines Available: 4 BRIEF BLURB: A compact belt-fed machine gun. The MK48 light machinegun has a high rate of fire and a large ammo capacity, allowing you to saturate an area with more than a hundred rounds before needing to reload. On the downside, the MK48 is not as accurate as an assault rifle, and also lacks a telescopic scope for targeting distant enemies. You also cannot pick up extra ammo for it from slain enemies. Personally, I recommend an assault rifle over the machinegun, although you can assign one to one of your teammates if you want some decent suppressing fire. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: The MK48 is a compact, belt-fed machine gun capable of firing off almost two hundred rounds before needing to be reloaded, allowing you to practically throw up a wall of hot lead with it. Its high rate of fire is tempered by its relatively low accuracy, making it more suited as a squad support weapon for providing suppressing fire than as a primary assault weapon for actually picking off enemies at long range. It's also quite heavy, so you'll need to arrange the rest of your equipment carefully if you decide to bring one into a mission. Although the MK48 LMG uses 5.56 x 45 ammo, you cannot get extra ammo off of enemy corpses. That's because the MK48 is belt fed, and the ammo magazines carried by enemy soldiers are incompatible with it. You can't even get extra MK48 LMG ammo from the HK21E machine guns that enemy soldiers drop, even though you can get extra ammo for your 5.56 mm assault rifles from those weapons. It's all rather arbitrary, really. EVALUATION: The MK48's relative inaccuracy can be a hinderance, although the bullet saturation effect does compensate for this at medium range (you can be sure that a least 1 or 2 of the dozen or so bullets you unleash at your target will hit him). A greater issue is the weapon's limited range, as you cannot mount a combat sight onto it, limiting the distance you can spot or target enemies with it. Since most of the game's combat takes place at long range in a large urban environment, you're generally better off using an assault rifle as your primary weapon. If you absolutely desire machine gun support fire, assign this weapon to one of your AI-controlled squadmates instead of using it yourself. Ghost 1 (Brown) comes equipped with a MK48 light machine gun by default. He's good at providing suppressing fire with it, but is less likely to actually kill distant enemies than if he were equipped with a more accurate assault rifle. If you want, you can replace Brown's MK48 with a M8 carbine or Scar-L assault rifle. Scar H: Caliber: 7.62 x 45 mm Capacity: 20 Firemode: SA FA RPM: 600 Velocity: 710 m/s Info: Heavy caliber assault rifle Accuracy: 48 Impact: 68 Stability: 54 Weight: 39 Attachments: Combatsight, Silencer, GL, Front Grip Extra Magazines Available: 10 BRIEF BLURB: A more powerful assault rifle that fires a heavier round than the M8 carbine or SCAR-L. The more powerful round comes at the cost of a lower clip size and reduced accuracy and stability. The M8 carbine and SCAR-L can already kill enemies in just 1 or 2 shots, so the extra power of the SCAR-H really isn't necessary. Personally, I find that the increase in stopping power isn't worth the decrease in ammo capacity and accuracy. Extra SCAR-H ammo is also very rare during missions. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: A heavy assault rifle, the Scar-H is chambered for the more powerful 7.62 x 45 mm round (7.62 x 51 mm in real life), rather than the smaller 5.56 x 45 mm NATO round used by the game's other assault rifles. The heavier round gives the Scar-H greater stopping power, but at the cost of reduced accuracy and stability. The larger rounds also result in a smaller magazine size, requiring more frequent reloading of the rifle. Because the Scar-H uses 7.62 x 45 mm rounds, you generally won't be able to get extra ammo for it off of your fallen enemies, since they mostly carry 5.56 x 45 mm rounds. However, in the last few levels of the game, the enemy special forces soldiers of Aguila 7 carry Scar-H rifles into battle, so you'll be able to get extra ammo from them. EVALUATION: Actually, the Scar-H may be overpowered for the purposes of Ghost Recon. The M8 carbine and Scar-L assault rifle can already put down an enemy after 1 or 2 shots, so the extra power of the Scar-H doesn't really seem needed, especially considering the cost in accuracy and stability the extra damage entails. With that said, the Scar-H does have some usefulness in defeating the body armor worn by Aguila 7 special forces soldiers; you have a better chance of killing them with 1 shot instead of 2 when using the Scar-H instead of the Scar-L. Because much of the game takes place at long range against fairly mobile targets, accuracy and stability are just as important as stopping power. Overall, I recommend the more well-balanced M8 carbine or Scar-L assault rifle over the Scar-H assault rifle. Scar L: Caliber: 5.56 x 45 mm Capacity: 30 Firemode: SA FA RPM: 750 Velocity: 870 m/s Info: Mid range assault rifle Accuracy: 60 Impact: 60 Stability: 60 Weight: 34 Attachments: Combatsight, Silencer, GL, Front Grip Extra Magazines Available: 10 BRIEF BLURB: The game's default assault rifle; you start out equipped with it in the game's first mission, and it will also be your default rifle in the weapon loadout screen at the beginning of each subsequent mission. The SCAR-L is a well-rounded assault rifle with good accuracy and range, and can usually put down enemies with only 1 or 2 shots. You can even get extra ammo for it from slain enemy soldiers. Be sure to attach a telescopic sight to the SCAR-L to aid in the game's many long-range firefights. The SCAR-L has a slightly larger scope view than the M8 carbine, so I recommend it slightly more. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: The Scar-L is your character's default rifle. You'll automatically be equipped with it in the game's first mission, and it will be your default weapon on each mission's initial weapon selection screen. With good accuracy, stability, and stopping power, the Scar-L is one of the game's most well-rounded weapons, along with the M8 carbine. The Scar-L and M8 carbine are quite similar. The M8 carbine has a slightly higher muzzle velocity, is a bit more stable, and also weighs less. The Scar-L, on the other hand, features lighter-weight optional attachments (i.e. the grenade launcher attachment for the Scar-L weighs less than the equivalent attachment for the M8 carbine). The Scar-L also has a larger telescopic combat sight (although the actual level of zoom appears similar). Notably, in addition to the standard combat sight, silencer, and grenade launcher attachments, the Scar-L and Scar-H rifles can also be equipped with a front grip attachment. This increases the weapon's stability, but also slightly reduces its accuracy. The front grip and grenade launcher cannot be equipped at the same time, since they occupy the same space on the rifle. EVALUATION: Overall, I recommend using either the Scar-L or the M8 carbine as your primary weapon, equipped with a combat sight and (if you want) a grenade launcher. Personally, I prefer the Scar-L due to the larger telescopic sight and lighter attachments, but your mileage may vary. ==================== =Secondary Weapons:= =============================================================================== M9: Caliber: 9 x 19 mm Capacity: 15 Firemode: SA RPM: 600 Velocity: 380 m/s Info: Handgun Accuracy: 20 Impact: 40 Stability: 28 Weight: 09 Attachments: Silencer Extra Magazines Available: 4 DETAILED DESCRIPTION: The basic sidearm of the US military, the M9 pistol has relatively low range and average stopping power (2 or 3 shots are usually needed to drop most enemies). On the plus side, it's very lightweight, adding very little encumberance to your inventory. As a semi-automatic weapon, you need to pull the trigger each time you want to fire a bullet. The rate of fire is fairly high, and the 15-round magazine lets you fire off a decent amount of bullets before needing to reload. EVALUATION: Because most of the game's combat takes place at long range, the M9 has limited utility. You want to avoid running out of ammo for your primary weapon, which is the only reason for you to switch to your secondary weapon. Also, because enemies frequently drop 5.56 x 45 mm ammo, if you're using the M8 carbine or Scar-L assault rifle, there's no reason for you to be running out of ammo in the first place. Gl 8: Caliber: 9 x 19 mm Capacity: 19 Firemode: SA FA RPM: 600 Velocity: 340 m/s Info: Handgun Accuracy: 20 Impact: 40 Stability: 20 Weight: 07 Extra Magazines Available: 4 DETAILED DESCRIPTION: The Glock 8 machine pistol is a handgun similar to the M9, except it features a full-auto fire mode that allows you to hold down the fire button and spray bullets as fast as possible. Unfortunately, this feature results in the Gl 8 pistol being slightly less stable than the M9 pistol. On the plus side, it's the lightest firearm in the game, barely encumbering you. EVALUATION: The M9 and Gl 8 are in many ways interchangeable in terms of stats and performance, although neither is an ideal weapon for the game's long range urban warfare firefights. The main difference is the Gl 8 has a full-auto firing mode instead of the M9's attachable silencer, which you may or may not prefer depending on your playing style. M8 Compact: Caliber: 5.56 x 45 mm Capacity: 30 Firemode: SA FA 3RB RPM: 750 Velocity: 740 m/s Info: Heavy caliber sub machine-gun Accuracy: 29 Impact: 60 Stability: 29 Weight: 25 Attachments: Silencer Extra Magazines Available: 4 BRIEF BLURB: A shortened version of the M8 carbine, reduced to SMG size for use as a secondary weapon. Retains its powerful bullets, but has reduced accuracy and stability. Is also still relatively heavy. Also cannot mount a telescopic sight. Overall, I prefer the MP5SD submachine gun. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: The M8 compact is actually a shortened version of the M8 carbine, converted to SMG size with a shorter barrel and smaller butt-stock. These size reductions significantly lower the weapon's accuracy and stability, but its rounds still pack the heavy punch of a full-sized assault rifle. The M8 compact is the most powerful secondary weapon you can carry, but it is also significantly heavier than a pistol such as the M9 or Gl 8. This can be a problem, depending on what other equipment you're also carrying (i.e. heavy primary weapons such as the sniper rifle or MK48 light machine gun, or a heavy support weapon such as the ZEUS-MPAR missile launcher). There's a limit to the total amount of weight you can carry, and carrying lots of weight will slow your character down. EVALUATION: Due to the significant weight penalty, I recommend against the M8 compact. Also, if you're using a primary weapon that uses 5.56 x 45 mm ammo, like the Scar-L, there's no point in carrying around an M8 compact, because if you run out of ammo for your primary weapon, you won't have any for your M8 compact either. Nonetheless, the M8 compact is the most powerful secondary weapon in the game, and may serve as a reasonable fall-back weapon if you want to carry a sniper rifle as your primary weapon (although I would recommend the MP5SD over the M8 compact, due to the attachable telescopic sight). MP5SD: Caliber: 9 x 19 mm Capacity: 30 Firemode: SA FA 3RB RPM: 800 Velocity: 370 m/s Info: Sub machine-gun Accuracy: 29 Impact: 40 Stability: 34 Weight: 29 Attachments: Combat sight Extra Magazines Available: 4 BRIEF BLURB: A silenced MP5 submachine gun. Less powerful than an assault rifle, and requires 2 to 3 bullets to kill most foes. Still, it has decent accuracy and range, and can even mount a combat sight for targeting distant foes. Overall, I recommend bringing the MP5SD SMG as a backup weapon if you carry a sniper rifle as your primary weapon, so you'll have an automatic weapon for medium-range combat. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: An MP5 9mm submachine gun with an integrated silencer. As a submachine gun, it has a higher rate of fire and clip size than a pistol, but still has less range and accurate than a full assault rifle. Like the M8 compact, the MP5SD is also relatively heavy, which can be problematic if you're carrying other heavy equipment such as a sniper rifle or ZEUS-MPAR missile launcher. Unlike the M8 combat, the MP5SD uses a different ammo type than the game's assault rifles, so it is possible to use it as a backup weapon if you run out of ammo for your primary weapon. On the other hand, you really shouldn't be running out of primary weapon ammo in the first place. The MP5SD can also be equipped with an optional telescopic sight to improve its accuracy and increase its range. With a telescopic sight, the MP5SD can function almost as well as a primary assault rifle. EVALUATION: If you want to carry around a sniper rifle as your primary weapon, you might want to bring along an MP5SD with combat sight to take care of any situations where you need a higher rate of fire. Be aware, however, that the combined weight of the sniper rifle and MP5SD will slow you down significantly, as well as prevent you from carrying any further equipment, such as extra ammo or a ZEUS-MPAR. ================ =Other Weapons:= =============================================================================== M67 Frag Grenades: Grenades Available: 4 These are your standard frag grenades; pull the pin and let em' fly, and watch them explode a couple seconds after landing. The longer you hold down the fire button, the further you'll throw the grenade. Be careful, though, because you'll automatically throw the grenade after a second or so, when your arm reaches its maximum throw distance. Be sure the grenade doesn't hit a wall and bounce back right at you. Grenades are the only weapons in the game that let you attack enemies not in your line of sight; you can throw them over walls or around corners to clear out any enemies hiding there. Enemies generally aren't agile enough to avoid a grenade, so they'll usually die if they're inside the kill zone when the grenade lands. Grenades are therefore best used to flush out enemies behind cover, or positioned in such a way that you can't get a straight shot at them without exposing yourself to return fire. Although you normally can only carry 4 grenades at a time, it is possible to select extra grenades at the weapon loadout screen; you'll get a total of 10 grenades in total, but will be affected by the extra weight. Grenade Launcher: Grenades Available: 4 This optional attachment to your assault rifle is a single-shot grenade launcher that fires a 40 x 46 mm grenade round that travels in a nearly straight line and detontates on impact. The grenades are affected by gravity and thus their range is not infinite, but they can still travel a decent distance. The grenade launcher is great for clearing out tightly packed groups of enemies, and can also be used to take out enemy gun emplacements or light armored vehicles. Instead of a standard crosshair, the grenade launcher attachment uses a tiered rangefinding aiming reticle to help you aim the grenade based on the range to your target. The further away the target, the higher you need to aim your weapon to compensate for the effect of gravity. The grenade launcher is fairly easy to use at medium range; just point and shoot. It gets much tricker to accurately hit targets at long range, due to the expertise needed to master the rangefinder, so you're probably better off not using the grenade launcher against distant targets. Your Ghost Team squadmates don't seem to be able to use the grenade launcher, so don't bother equipping them with one; it'll only reduce the accuracy of their assault rifles. ZEUS-MPAR: Caliber: N/A Capacity: 1 Firemode: SS RPM: N/A Velocity: 250 m/s Info: One-shot anti-tank Accuracy: 100 Impact: 100 Stability: 80 Weight: 64 The ZEUS-MPAR missile launcher (known in real-life as the FGM-172 SRAW) is a portable missile launcher system that fires a guided 140mm anti-armor warhead which can track enemy targets by anticipating their movements. In the game, the ZEUS-MPAR is powerful enough to defeat a M1A1 Abrams tank in one shot, and can also be used effectively against enemy APCs or helicopters. The ZEUS-MPAR cannot be used against enemy personnel, as the targeting system is unable to lock onto human opponents. To use the ZEUS-MPAR, you need to aim it at an enemy target for a few seconds in order for the system's computer to lock onto the target. Once locked on, you can fire the missile, which will guide itself to the target's location and detonate. The ZEUS-MPAR is a one-shot, disposal weapon; you can only fire a single missile from it, and a single soldier can only carry one ZEUS-MPAR at a time. Primarily, the ZEUS-MPAR is intended as an anti-tank weapon, although it can also be used against enemy helicopters if they give you trouble. While it can also be used against enemy armored cars, this is generally a waste of the weapon's power. While you can only carry one ZEUS-MPAR, you can also equip your squadmates with them. To get your squadmates to attack a target with the ZEUS-MPAR, point your crosshair at a viable target (i.e. a tank or helicopter) and send your squadmate the "attack" command on the Cross-Com. The main drawback of the ZEUS-MPAR is that it is quite heavy, which can be problematic if you want to carry other heavy equipment such as a sniper rifle or light machine gun. ======================= =RECOMMENDED LOADOUTS:= ======================= FOR THE PLAYER: 1) Standard Loadout Primary Weapon: Scar-L (Attachments: Combat Sight + Grenade Launcher) Secondary Weapon: None Extra Item: Extra grenade launcher rounds 2) Sniper Loadout Primary Weapon: M99 Sniper Secondary Weapon: MP5SD Extra Item: None FOR THE GHOST TEAM: 1) Infantryman Primary Weapon: Scar-L (Attachments: Combat Sight + Front Grip) Secondary Weapon: None Extra Item: ZEUS-MPAR 2) Sniper Primary Weapon: M99 Sniper Secondary Weapon: None Extra Item: None 3) Machine Gunner Primary Weapon: MK48 LMG Secondary Weapon: None Extra Item: None ********* *Allies:* ******************************************************************************* =============== =Controllable:= =============================================================================== Ghost Team: Appearance: Elite soldiers wearing tan uniforms, heavy body armor, and electronic visors Weapons: Any DESCRIPTION: The Ghost Team are your AI-controlled special forces teammates. There are 3 of them; Brown, Kirkland, and Allen. You select their armaments at the beginning of each mission, and will guide them through each of the game's 11 missions (although there are a couple of "Lone Wolf" missions where you will fight solo instead of alongside your squad). Proper utilization of your squad will form a large part of your success or failure in the single-player campaign. BEHAVIOR: Your Ghost teammates will engage any enemy forces they encounter, and will also follow out your orders to the best of their ability. You can move your Ghosts either directly with the Cross-Com system, or set up semi-complex attack routes for them in the game's tactical map. Besides providing you with extra firepower, Ghosts can also relay the positions of any enemy soldiers they spot in their field of vision; these enemies will be highlighted by a red diamond on your viewscreen. The squad AI in GRAW is decent, but far from perfect. Your Ghosts do some things quite well, and other things quite poorly. Learning to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the game's AI can contribute greatly to your success. Ghosts are very good at spotting enemy soldiers; much better than you are, in fact. This makes them great for noticing enemy ambushes or snipers. They are also fairly adept at long-range combat, and if you give them a sniper rifle their accuracy is downright deadly. A.I. WEAKNESSES AND HINTS: One of the AI's greatest weaknesses is a tendency to stumble into the enemy's field of fire, and what seems to be a complete inability to properly retreat to cover when shot at. To avoid these problems, proper positioning of your Ghosts is key. If one of your Ghosts comes under enemy fire, you can order them to run for cover by selecting them individually in the Cross-Com and ordering them to move to a safe area. One thing you'll soon notice is that, if you order your Ghosts to move as a team, they'll spread out over the battlefield, and will sometimes totally seperate from each other by going down alleys or seperate streets. While this is probably intended to maximize their cover area and field of fire, it can have the unintended consequences of one of them stumbling into enemy fire because they rounded a corner or exited cover when you didn't want them to. To move your Ghosts more precisely, select each one individually and order each one to move to a specific position. This technique allows you to manuever your Ghosts into a more specific area, such as behind a particular piece of cover. Sikorsky Cypher UAV: Appearance: White, TV-sized, UFO-shaped spy drone Weapons: None A remote-operated flying spy drone capable of relaying battlefield data to your Cross-Com system. UAV's are occasionally deployed by your superiors to support you and your squad. The UAV uses a helicopter-like rotor system to hover in place above the battlefield. It can be ordered to fly anywhere on the map, either by ordering it directly with the Cross-Com or plotting its route with the tactical map. The UAV automatically highlights any enemies it spots on your Cross-Com, causing them to be marked with a big red diamond on your viewscreen. You can also take remote control of the UAV's camera, to view the battlefield from above. The camera can automatically lock on to any enemies in the UAV's view, allowing you to spy on their location and activities. The UAV is also apparently invincible; I have never encountered any instances of enemies shooting at one, let alone destroying it. The UAV is very useful for scouting ahead, as well as for spotting enemies and potential ambushes for you. By marking enemy positions on your viewscreen, the UAV makes it much easier to locate and take out your foes. Just be aware that the red diamond that marks each enemy position will disappear if the enemy ever leaves the UAV's line of sight. AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopter: Appearance: American attack helicopter Weapons: Missiles At several points in the game, you will be able to call in airstrikes with your Cross-Com. You cannot target airstrikes at random locations or enemy personnel, but can call in airstrikes on any enemy vehicles, including tanks and troop transports. To call in an airstrike, select the Apache in your Cross-Com, then point your cursor at a target and select the "attack" option. After an airstrike order is given, an Apache attack helicopter will fly by and bombard your selected target with several missiles, destroying it completely. To call an airstrike on a dangerous target (such as a tank), it's a good idea to cue up the "attack" option on your Cross-Com while hiding behind cover, then dashing out and quickly targeting the enemy, then dashing back behind cover after you activate the "attack" command. This minimizes the amount of time you're exposed while calling in an airstrike. Artillery Cannons: Appearance: Not seen on-screen Weapons: Artillery bombardment Towards the end of Mission 4: Strong Point, you'll acquire the ability to call down artillery bombardments with your Cross-Com. Unlike airstrikes, artillery bombardments aren't limited to specific targets; you can pretty much bomb the Hell out of any point in the map. Just point your crosshair at the area you want blown to bits, then send an attack command to the artillery cannons with your Cross-Com. Your allied artillery cannons will proceed to blast the area with explosive shells, creating multiple explosions near the point you indicated. Artillery bombardments can be used to clear an area of enemy troops, as well as to destroy a pesky tank that acts as a roadblock against you towards the end of the level. Be aware, though, that bombardments can be imprecise, so enemy soldiers may be lucky and survive a bombardment. Either call in more bombardments, or send in your Ghost troops to finish them off. M1A2 Abrams Tank: Appearance: American main battle tank Weapons: Main cannon, machine gun turret You'll have control of a couple friendly tanks in two of the game's missions, Ready for Bear and Fierce Resistance. Like your Ghost Team, tanks can be ordered to move to a position either by directly pointing them there with your Cross-Com, or planning out a route for them with the tactical map. Tanks are quite tough; they are impervious to small-arms fire, and can only be damaged by high-power explosives. The only enemy units capable of harming a tank are other tanks, Havoc attack helicopters, and enemy anti-tank soldiers equipped with RPG launchers. Offensively, tanks are equipped with a main cannon, and a top-mounted machine gun. The machine gun is manned by a U.S. soldier on the roof of the tank. The gun is effective against enemy personnel who get too close to the tank, but it becomes useless if the U.S. soldier firing it is killed by gunfire. The main cannon itself is quite powerful, but cannot target enemy soldiers, and thus can only be used against enemy tanks. In fact, friendly tanks won't use their main cannon at all, even in self-defense against another tank, unless you specifically order them to attack a target. In tank combat, you need to directly issue an attack order either with the Cross-Com or the tactical map, or else your friendly tank will just sit there and be blown away. ==================== =None-Controllable:= =============================================================================== U.S. Soldier: Appearance: Soldier wearing armor vest and tan uniform Weapons: M-8 carbine Friendly U.S. soldiers can be found fighting the rebel Mexican military units at several points in the game. U.S. soldiers are equipped with armor vests, and fight with M-8 carbines. They are somewhat more effective than their rebel Mexican military enemies, but still have a tendency to die, especially since they're usually in situations where they are outnumbered and in an inferior combat position. U.S. soldiers are generally found defending a particular position or area, and will not follow you or assault other areas of the battlefield. Still, they provide useful support in the firefights in which they appear. Take advantage of their support whenever they're available, but don't rely on them too much to fight your enemies for you. UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter: Appearance: American transport helicopter Weapons: 2 side-mounted chaingun turrets The Blackhawk helicopter will be your primary means of entry and extraction for most of the game's missions. A Blackhawk will fly you into the combat zone at the beginning of many missions, and a Blackhawk will land to pick you up at the end of most missions also. Blackhawks will also sometimes set down in the middle of a mission to drop off extra supplies for you. You can use these supply drops as an opportunity to refill your ammo or even switch your weapons and equipment. Blackhawks are armed with a chaingun on each side of the helicopter, each one manned by a U.S. soldier. Blackhawks will provide some covering fire for you when they land and take off, but don't rely on them too much to do the fighting for you. Stryker Armored Fighting Vehicle: Appearance: 8-wheeled, brick-shaped armor vehicle Weapons: Automated, roof-mounted machine gun turret An 8-wheeled armored motor vehicle designed for transporting troops into and around the battlefield. The Stryker is usually used either to pick up or drop off your squad from a combat zone, or to drop off extra supplies for you. On a few occasions, Strykers will also provide some fire support to you and nearby U.S. soldiers. The Stryker is well-armored, and cannot be destroyed by small-arms fire. It is also equipped with a computer-controlled machine gun turret on the roof, which can provide suppressing fire against any attack enemy soldiers. Because the turret's gunner is safely concealed inside the vehicle, enemies cannot disable the turret by killing the gunner. President Ballantine: Appearance: The President of the United States, wearing a black suit and tie Weapons: M9 Pistol The President himself makes an appearance on the battlefield at the very end of Mission 7: Quarterback. You rescue him from a squad of Aguila 7 soldiers hiding inside the concrete basement foundation of a construction yard. Once rescued, the President will follow you around like a regular Ghost soldier (although you can't issue him orders). Surprisingly, the Pres is packin' heat in the form of a M9 pistol. He'll even shoot at any enemies that appear in his line of sight. Really, though, he's only with you for less than a minute. All you have to do is escort him to a nearby blackhawk, which will transport him out of the mission area. General "Bulldog" Martin: Appearance: General wearing General's uniform and hat Weapons: M9 Pistol Like President Ballantine, General Martin is another VIP that you'll need to protect briefly. He shows up at the end of Mission 9: Bulldog, after his helicopter is shot down. You basically need to defend his crash site from an attack by a couple squad of Mexican soldiers, after which a blackhawk will touch down nearby to pick the General up. The General is equipped with an M9 pistol, but doesn't really fight, instead taking cover behind a vending booth for the brief fire-fight. This is just as well, since you fail the mission if he dies. He does peek out and pop off a few shots if you let any Mexican soldiers get too close to his position. ********** *Enemies:* ******************************************************************************* Rebel Soldier: Appearance: Soldier wearing green uniform Weapons: H&K G36K assault rifle DESCRIPTION: The standard soldiers of the Mexican army, who are staging a coup de tat against the Mexican government, under the leadership of General Carlos Ontiveros. Mexican soldiers are armed with H&K G36K assault rifles, a few steps up from the usual AK-47s that your typical military entertainment bad guys generally pack. They don't seem to be wearing any significant body armor, however (in fact, many aren't even wearing helmets, instead going into combat packing boonie hats), and will usually go down after only 1 or 2 shots. BEHAVIOR: GRAW's enemy AI is reasonably good; enemy soldiers run for cover as soon as combat begins, will fire from behind cover, and will almost never wander out of cover to give you an easy shot at them. They've got decent aim, even at long range, and can also support each other with covering and suppressing fire. If caught in the open, enemy soldiers may sidestep while firing in an attempt to make themselves a more difficult target. When shot at, soldiers will duck deeper behind cover to avoid being hit. Enemies can also sometimes attempt to flank your own cover, but they're fairly defensive and will usually fire from behind cover rather than attempting to move in on your position. Still, it's a good idea to have your Ghost teammates nearby to watch your back in case enemies do try to sneak up behind you. KILL STRATEGY: Because of their tendency to dig in behind cover, you'll often have to move to their flank in order to get a straight shot at them, which forces you to leave your own cover and may open you up to fire from other enemy units. Thus, it's a good idea to make sure you eliminate any enemies visible from your cover area before you move to attack enemies hiding behind cover. It can be difficult for you to spot enemy soldiers in the game's large urban environments; in fact, enemies may often spot you before you spot them. However, your Ghost teammates are very good at spotting enemy soldiers even at long range, so it's a good idea to keep them close to you so they can mark enemy positions on your Cross-Com. If you have a UAV spy drone available, you can also use it to scout out an area to mark enemy positions. Rebel Machine Gunner: Appearance: Soldier wearing green uniform Weapons: HK21E machine gun DESCRIPTION: Rebel machine gunners are fairly common; every enemy squad usually has at least one machine gunner in it. Machine gunners are equipped with HK21E machine guns, and will unleash a hail of bullets at you once they spot you. They're a bit less accurate than enemy soldiers equipped with assault rifles, but compensate for it with their ability to pepper your position with suppressing fire without needing to pause or reload. KILL STRATEGY: Enemy machine gunners can be dealt with in the same manner as regular enemy soldiers, although their ability to sustain fire without needing to reload can be annoying at close or medium range. It's best to take cover and return fire at them between their machine gun bursts, or to send a wild burst of suppressing fire in their direction in an attempt to get them to stop shooting and seek cover. Rebel Sniper: Appearance: Soldier wearing green uniform Weapons: PSG-1 sniper rifle DESCRIPTION: Rebel snipers equipped with PSG-1 sniper rifles are positioned on the rooftops and balconies of the city, ready to snipe at any passing U.S. soldiers on the streets below. Snipers lay in wait in their sniping positions, and will take aim and shoot at you when you come into their view.They always stay in their sniping position and will never run to a different position, but they do duck down if fired upon. With their ability to attack you at long range, and the difficulty you'll often face in spotting them before they kill you, snipers can be some of the most annoying enemies in the entire game. EVALUATION: On the plus side, a single hit from an enemy sniper usually isn't lethal. It usually takes at least 3 or so shots from an enemy sniper to put you down, although there is always the possibility of them getting lucky and killing you with a headshot. Snipers also aren't perfect. If they haven't already noticed you, they usually won't spot you as soon as you run into their line of sight. Instead, it usually takes them several seconds to notice you. Additionally, snipers have a relatively low rate of fire; it can take them a few seconds to lock onto and shoot you, and there's also a few seconds' delay between each of their shots. At the same time, snipers have excellent aim, and will seldom miss if they have a clear shot at you. The biggest threat snipers pose is their ability to ambush you, since their high-up sniping positions and long range field of vision make it extremely difficult to spot them before they spot you. Even once they begin shooting at you, you may have trouble determining where the sniper fire is coming from. KILL STRATEGY: Your Ghost teammates are your best protection against snipers. They've very good at spotting enemies at long range, and will helpfully mark enemy positions for you with a red diamond on your screen. If they have a sniper rifle of their own, your Ghosts can even countersnipe enemy snipers for you. Snipers can also be spotted on rooftops using the overhead real-time satellite tactical map. Even at full zoom, however, they are still very small and can be difficult to see. If all else fails, you can make note of when a sniper kills you, then reload from the last save point and scout the area where you died more carefully to see where the sniper's roost is. Rebel Anti-Tank Soldier: Appearance: Soldier wearing green uniform Weapons: RPG-7 rocket launcher DESCRIPTION: A few rebel soldiers are equipped with RPG-7 rocket launchers; these guys are rare, but pose a major threat to both yourself, your squad, and any friendly tanks you might have supporting you. A single hit from an RPG rocket can be lethal to you or your Ghosts, and it only takes a few RPG shots to destroy one of your tanks. Additionally, because of the RPG rocket's splash damage, the weapon has a decent kill radius and doesn't need to hit you directly to kill you. EVALUATION: Like snipers, anti-tank soldiers are often camped up on rooftops or guard towers, waiting to ambush you when you pass within their line of sight. Also like snipers, they can be difficult to spot until they've actually fired upon you, due to their high-up, distant positions. Unlike snipers, anti-tank soldiers are relatively easy to notice once they fire at you, since their rockets leave a distinct smoking trail which can be traced back to them. Unfortunately, this doesn't do you much good if you don't survive their first shot, which is more than likely due to the lethality of their rockets. KILL STRATEGY: You Ghost teammates work well in spotting and sniping at enemy anti-tank soldiers at long range. Unfortunately, your Ghost teammates are also ill-equipped to deal with incoming rockets, and tend to die against anti-tank soldiers much more than they do against enemy snipers. As with snipers, your best strategy against anti-tank soldiers is probably to memorize where they were when they kill you, then target their hiding spot after reloading a saved game and returning to the area. Aguila 7 Soldier: Appearance: Special Forces soldier wearing black masks, helmets, body armor, and green uniforms Weapons: Normal: MP5SD submachine gun, Scar-H assault rifle, HK21E machine gun Sniper: M99 sniper rifle Anti-Tank: RPG-7 rocket launcher DESCRIPTION: General Ontivero's person elite special forces group, the Aguila 7 are tougher opponents than the Mexican Army regulars you've previously been facing. Aguila 7 soldiers can easily be recognized by their black balaclava facemasks, and protective body armor. They typically carry Scar-H assault rifles, MP5SD submachine guns, or HK21E machine guns into combat; you'll also find Aguila 7 snipers equipped with M99 sniper rifles, or Aguila 7 anti-tank soldiers equipped with RPG launchers. They also represent the opposing team in the game's Multiplayer mode. Aguila 7 special forces soldiers start to show up in the last few levels of the game, although they are fairly uncommon in most levels. They can be found guarding the kidnapped U.S. President in Mission 7, Quarterback, throughout the whole area of level 10, Fierce Resistance, as well as protecting General Ontiveros in the final shootout at the U.S. Embassy at the end of level 11, NORAD on the Line. EVALUATION: Aguila 7 soldiers are tougher and overall better trained opponents than the regular Mexican army soldiers; they have better aim, behave more intelligently, and are better at reacting and seeking cover when fired upon. They are also more likely to dive or slide into cover, much like your own Ghost teammates. Aguila 7 soldiers are also equipped with body armor, so they'll often take 1 more bullet to put down than a regular soldier would. One the whole, they can be beaten using the same general combat strategies you've been using against regular enemy soldiers, but you'll just have to be on your toes more when facing them. Aguila 7 snipers are particularly dangerous; besides being well-concealed and deadly accurate, they're equipped with the same powerful M99 sniper rifles that you and your Ghosts use, and can usually kill you instantly with just a single shot. Instead of facing an Aguila 7 sniper yourself, you're best off sending your own sniper in to countersnipe them while you provide covering fire. Alternatively, you can try to avoid Aguila 7 snipers entirely by taking a different route through the city whenever you spot one guarding a particular street or area. Carlos Ontiveros: Appearance: Mexican leader wearing black beret hat, with cameo face-paint and green combat uniform Weapons: MK48 light machine gun DESCRIPTION: General Carlos Ontiveros is the leader of the rebel faction of the Mexican army responsible for the events of the game, and the game's main antagonist. You finally confront him at the end of the game's 11th and final mission, Norad on the Line. Ontiveros is bunkered down inside the bombed out remains of the U.S. Embassy, surrounded by his Aguila 7 special forces soldiers, and like any good supervillain is attempting to start World War III by using the President's Nuclear Football to seize control of the US nuclear arsenal. FINAL SHOWDOWN: Anyway, Carlos is equipped with a MK48 light machine gun, and is holed up at the very back corner of the embassy's 2nd floor, behind a pile of debris. He's positioned so that he's impossible to target from anywhere outside the embassy, so you actually have to run up to the 2nd floor and go inside to shoot him. He's also guarded by several Aguila 7 soldiers, armed with MP5SDs and HK21Es. Carlos himself is a wicked shot, and can kill you in just 1 or 2 hits if you stick your head in his field of fire and don't shoot him immediately. It's also very dark inside the embassy, so Carlos can be difficult to spot, even with night vision goggles equipped. KILL STRATEGY: All these factors make it a very poor idea to face Carlos head-on. Instead, you should go to the bottom of the stairs, and chuck a grenade or two at his position through the hole in the embassy floor. That should blow away Carlos and his buddies without forcing you to actually enter into their killzone. You'll know Carlos is dead, because the game will update your objectives and save your next checkpoint. Congrats, you just won Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, all that's left to do is ID Carlo's body, then board the Blackhawk chopper for extraction. M2 Heavy Machine Gun Turret: Appearance: Mounted machine gun turret with large metal shield in front DESCRIPTION: With Mexico City have devolved into a war zone, rebel forces have set up mounted heavy machine gun turrets throughout the area. These manned turrets can unleash a steady hail of bullets at you, and can cut you down in just a couple of seconds, even at long range. Heavy machine gun turrets are some of the most annoying obstacles you'll face in the game. The turrets themselves are partially protected behind sandbag walls. Additionally, a metal shield mounted on the turret's front will prevent you from shooting the rebel soldier manning the turret. There are only a few ways to take out a turret gunner; shoot him with a precise shot from the sniper rifle, hit him with an explosive such as a shot from the grenade launcher, or flank him and shoot him from his unprotected side. KILL STRATEGY 1: PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE The best way to deal with turrets is to kill the rebel soldier manning the turret before he spots you. Once the soldier notices you and begins shooting at you, you should flee and seek cover. Never, ever face a machine gun turret head on, you'll only get yourself killed. To stop an active machine gun turret, you'll need to flank it and kill the turret gunner. There are two ways to do this; either by yourself, or using your Ghost squad. KILL STRATEGY 2: FLANK THEM BY ATTACKING FROM A DIFFERENT STREET To defeat a turret by yourself, you need to draw the turret's fire so that it turns and begins firing in one direction. Then, use the tactical map to spot any alternate routes leading to the turret's area (there is almost always a street or alley that will allow you to come up along the turret's side. This may require some backtracking through the city, though). Turn back and go down the alternate path, and you should be able to get a clear shot at the turret gunner's unprotected side, because he will be facing in the direction you originally attacked him from. Note, however, that you will only have a couple seconds to kill him, or else he will notice you and turn the turret to face you, forcing you to go back to your original path and try to flank him again from there. KILL STRATEGY 3: FLANK THEM IN COORDINATION WITH YOUR GHOST TEAMMATES You can also try to use your Ghost squad to flank and enemy turret. Draw the turret's fire so that it shoots at you, then take cover so that it can't hit you. Then, using the tactical map, send your Ghost squad to flank the turret from the side down an alternate path. Hopefully, your Ghosts should get a clear shot at the turret gunner and be able to drop him before he's able to turn the turret on them. If your Ghosts fail to kill the gunner in time, you can pop out of cover and shoot the gunner in his unprotected side while he's busy shooting at your Ghost teammates. KILL STRATEGY 4: BLAST THEM WITH A GRENADE Alternatively, you can try to hit the turret with a shot from your grenade launcher, but it can be difficult to do this at long range due to the unusual aiming system for the grenade launcher. Overall, your best strategy for taking out turrets is to just flank them. Mk 19 Grenade Launcher Turret: Appearance: Large grenade launcher turret mounted on tripod DESCRIPTION: Much rarer than heavy machine gun turrets, grenade launcher turrets only appear on a few occasions throughout the game. Like the machine gun turrets, they're usually found at roadblocks, behind a wall of sandbags. Like heavy machine gun turrets, grenade launcher turrets must be manned by an enemy soldier to function. Once shooting starts, nearby enemy soldiers may run towards a grenade launcher turret in an attempt to start using it. Grenade launcher turrets lob an explosive 40mm grenade round, which have a similar effect to your own assault rifle-mounted grenade launcher rounds. They have a powerful explosive splash damage radius, and can kill your or your squad in a single hit. KILL STRATEGY: Fortunately, grenade launcher turrets lack a protective shield, making it much easier to target and kill the soldier manning the turret. Still, due to the danger the turret poses, its best to kill the soldier before he notices you and can even start shooting. M977 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck: Appearance: 8-wheeled transport truck Weapons: None DESCRIPTION: These large military-grade transport trucks are sometimes used to ferry additional rebel troops onto the battlefield. They're slower than Panhard VBL light armor vehicles, and lack any form of support weaponry. Thus, the only threat they pose are the extra enemy troops that they drop off. KILL STRATEGY: Transport trucks can be stopped with a grenade launcher round or even targeted with the ZEUS-MPAR missile launcher. Alternatively, you can simply shoot the enemy troops as they jump off the back of the truck onto the ground, before they're able to take cover or return fire. It is possible to order a teammate carrying a ZEUS-MPAR rocket launcher to target and destroy a M977 truck. While this may seem like overkill, it allows you to take out any soldiers standing near the truck with the rocket's splash damage. Panhard VBL Light Armored Vehicle: Appearance: 4-wheeled light armored car Weapons: Roof-mounted machine gun turret DESCRIPTION: The Panhard VBL is a 4-wheel armored car used by the rebel forces for troop transport and infantry support. A squad of rebel soldiers rides in the vehicle's rear compartment, and will disembark, seek cover, and engage you in combat when the vehicle drops them off. Sometimes, the vehicle will come to a complete stop, and the Panhard's driver will jump out and also start shooting at you with his M9 pistol. The Panhard VBL is also equipped with a roof-mounted machine gun, manned by an enemy soldier in the roof's gunner seat. The Panhard VBL is quite mobile, and can drive around the battle field at a decent speed. KILL STRATEGY: The Panhard VBL's machine gun presents the greatest threat; your first priority should be to kill the gunner ASAP. As with a mounted machine gun turret, this is best done before he notices you, because once he starts shooting at you the hail of bullets will make it difficult to target him without being cut down. This task is often further complicated by the fact that the Panhard VBL can be a moving target, which makes hitting the gunner even more difficult. Once the gunner has been killed, the troops riding in the back of the vehicle can be killed as they try to disembark. If you're quick enough, you can even fire into the rear compartment of the vehicle as the hatch opens, and mow them down while they're still sitting inside. Alternatively, a single direct hit from a grenade launcher round should be sufficient to kill the gunner, stop the vehicle in its tracks, and kill or injure the driver as well as the soldiers riding in the rear compartment. This is useful if the vehicle is moving or if the gunner is shooting at you, and therefore you don't have time to precisely target the gunner with your assault rifle. Mi-28 Havoc Attack Helicopter: Appearance: Soviet attack helicopter Weapons: Machine gun, missiles DESCRIPTION: Havoc attack helicopters will appear to battle your Ghost squad on a few occasions in the game's later levels. Quick and manueverable, these gunships can either strafe along the horizon or swoop over you in a straight line, all while peppering you with machine gun fire and the occasional barrage of missiles. Fortunately, they're also extremely rare; you'll only fight a total of 4 Havocs throughout the entire game, 2 of which will battle you at the same time. Your fights against the Havoc gunships are pretty much boss battles, and can seem a bit out of place in a "realistic" tactical shooter. Your first fight against Havocs takes place in an arena-like area devoid of enemy soldiers or other obstacles, and later battles against Havoc gunships are similar one-on-one encounters. On the plus side, the fact that Havocs are used as "bosses" instead of air-support means that you won't have to worry about having to fight enemy soldiers while dealing with the Havocs as well. KILL STRATEGY 1: FIGHT IT OUT WITH AN ASSAULT RIFLE When fighting a Havoc gunship, you're best off leaving your squad in a safe area (such as behind cover in a building) while you deal with the Havoc yourself; the AI of your allies simply isn't adequate enough to battle a Havoc very well, and they have a tendency to get killed by the helicopter's missile barrages. You should use buildings as cover to protect yourself from the gunship's machine gun fire and missiles. Stick close to the corner of a convenient building, and put the building between yourself and the gunship when it fires at you. The gunship's machine gun is actually fairly inaccurate, and you won't have to worry about it too much as long as you keep moving. The missiles are much more dangerous, since their explosive splash damage can kill you even without a direct hit. Havocs actually aren't too durable; the first 2 Havocs you fight can be brought down with less than a clip of assault rifle fire each, and later Havocs can likewise be destroyed with only a clip or two of assault rifle fire. Use full-auto fire instead of single shots; the Havoc is a relatively big target, so increased weapon inaccuracy isn't such a big issue. Havocs fly around a lot and often take cover behind buildings, so you'll need to inflict as much damage as possible in the brief periods during which they're in your line of sight. Havocs will begin giving off black smoke from their engines as they take damage, so you can use this as a sign that they're about to be destroyed. KILL STRATEGY 2: INSTANT TAKEDOWN WITH A ROCKET LAUNCHER You can also destroy a Havoc with a single shot from the ZEUS-MPAR missile launcher, and the launcher's computerized tracking system means you'll be able to accurately shoot them despite their constant movements. If one of your Ghost teammates is carrying a ZEUS-MPAR, he can also be ordered to shoot down the Havoc by pointing your crosshair at the gunship, then sending the individual Ghost teammate an attack order using the Cross-Com. However, since you often encounter enemy tanks in the same levels where you fight Havocs, you might be better off taking the Havocs down with assault rifle fire, and saving your ZEUS-MPAR for the tanks. HAVOC ENCOUNTERS: MISSION 6: READY FOR BEAR: This is the first mission in which you'll encounter Havoc gunships. 2 Havocs attack you in a wide-open area of the base about 3/4s of the way through the level. Because you'll be fighting enemy tanks soon, you'll want to conserve your squad's ZEUS-MPARs, and shoot down the 2 Havocs with your assault rifle. Be sure to leave your squadmates and friendly tanks safely inside the tunnel while you deal with the Havocs yourself. MISSION 7: QUARTERBACK: After reaching Captain Salvatore's position, you'll be sent all the way back to the other side of the level to rescue the U.S. President. About halfway down the main street, you'll be attacked by a Havoc helicopter. If you or one of your squadmates has a ZEUS-MPAR, you can go ahead and use it to shoot down the Havoc with one shot, since there are no other major vehicular targets elsewhere in the mission. MISSION 10: FIERCE RESISTANCE: When you reach the Northeast corner of the map, near the 3rd scrambling antenna, a Havoc gunship will appear and begin firing at you. Odds are, you've already used up your ZEUS-MPARs to destroy the 2 tanks guarding the main plaza, so you'll just have to shoot down the Havoc with assault rifle fire. Note that the gunship can be difficult to spot, due to the low light conditions and clusters of many close-together buildings. M1A1 Abrams Tank: Appearance: Enemy main battle tank Weapons: Main cannon, machine gun turret DESCRIPTION: Enemy tanks are some of the most intimidating sights on the battlefield. With extremely high offensive and defensive capabilities, they can pose a real challenge to an on-foot soldier such as yourself. Tanks are equipped with both a mounted machine gun turret as well as a powerful main cannon. The turret will pepper you with bullets and can kill you fairly quickly, and the main cannon fires an explosive shell that will kill you in a single hit. The shell's wide explosive splash damage area also means that the shot can kill you even if you manage to avoid a direct hit. Tanks also have extremely heavy armor, and can only be destroyed by aerial bombardment/artillery strikes, multiple shots from one of your own tanks, or a shot from the ZEUS-MPAR missile launcher. The only real weakness tanks have is that their main cannon rotates relatively slowly, so that it will take several seconds for them to turn and face you in order to blast you with the cannon. This should give you time to either run for cover when you stumble upon a tank, or to take aim and fire with your ZEUS-MPAR to blast the tank into burning slag. KILL STRATEGY 1: CALL IN AIR SUPPORT By far the easiest way to destroy enemy tanks is to call in air support or artillery to bombard them with missiles or shells. A single artillery bombardment or Apache gunship strafing run is sufficient to destroy an enemy tank. All you have to do is point at the tank with your crosshair, call in an airstrike/artillery bombardment, and take cover and wait for the tank to be blown bits. For fastest results, it's best to cue up the attack command in your Cross-Com while hiding behind cover, then pop out of cover just long enough to point the cursor at the tank and give the attack command. KILL STRATEGY 2: ROCKET LAUNCHER TAKEDOWN Alternatively, you can take out an enemy tank relatively easily using the ZEUS-MPAR missile launcher. Just aim at the tank using the ZEUS-MPAR's scope, and the onboard targeting system should lock onto the tank in a couple seconds. Once a lock is established, fire away and duck behind cover. The missile will home in on the tank, and demolish it with one hit. When using the ZEUS-MPAR against tanks, it's best to ambush them from the sides or back, so that their main cannon will have to take several seconds to rotate to face you, giving you time to lock onto and blast them. Unfortunately, you can only carry one ZEUS-MPAR into battle, and in some situations you'll have to kill multiple enemy tanks to proceed. Your Ghost teammates can also carry ZEUS-MPARs; to get them to fire upon an enemy tank, point at the tank with your crosshair, then send the Ghost teammate carrying the ZEUS-MPAR an attack command using the Cross-Com. Be careful, though, because your Ghost teammate's AI can become broken if the tank fires upon them with its machine gun; your Ghost may freeze, and just stand there getting shot instead of returning fire with their ZEUS-MPAR. KILL STRATEGY 3: TANK ON TANK Probably the most difficult way to take out enemy tanks is by using friendly tanks. This is because the AI on the tanks under your control is rather flakey. Friendly tanks won't fire their main cannon (not even in self defense) unless you specifically order them to. Thus, unless you control them properly, your tank allies will just stand there and let the enemy tanks blast them to death. In order to get a friendly tank to fire upon an enemy tank, you need to manuever your friendly tank into firing position, then point at the enemy tank with your crosshair and send your friendly tank an attack order. It takes 3 tank cannon shots to destroy an enemy tank; your friendly tank allies can likewise be destroyed in 3 hits. FINAL EVALUATION: Although enemy tanks appear in several levels throughout the game, they pose the great threat in Mission 6: Ready for Bear, and Mission 10: Fierce Resistance. In these missions, you won't have air support to help you against the tanks, so you'll have to take them out either using friendly tanks, or a ZEUS-MPAR missile launcher. Due to the questionable AI of your friendly tanks (and the fact you fail the mission if one of them is destroyed), it would probably be best to be sure that you bring at least a couple ZEUS-MPARs along with you on these missions to make taking out the enemy tanks as easy as possible. TANK ENCOUNTERS: MISSION 2: COUP DE'TAT: At the very end of the mission, you'll be bunkered inside a garage building, while an enemy tank rolls outside which will blast you if it sees you. To destroy the tank, you need to make your way to the roof of the garage, where a waiting Blackhawk helicopter will drop off a ZEUS-MPAR missile launcher for you to destroy the tank with. Approach the edge of the roof, lock onto the tank with the ZEUS-MPAR, and blow it away to end the mission. MISSION 3: VIP 2 IS DOWN: At the very end of the mission, while you're defending the U.S. Embassy against several waves of enemy soldiers, a total of 3 enemy tanks will appear and blast at you. Fortunately, you'll have access to air support, and will be able to call in airstrikes from a nearby Apache gunship to take out the tanks. MISSION 4: STRONG POINT: A single tank acts as a roadblock about 3/4ths of the way through the mission, after you destroy the enemy power station. Just call in an artillery strike to take out the tank. Be sure not to remain in the tank's line of sight for longer than absolutely necessary to order the strike, however, or else it will blast you. MISSION 6: READY FOR BEAR: Several enemy tanks patrol the base's road network towards the end of the mission, and you need to escort your two friendly tanks past them in order to finish the mission. There are multiple ways to deal with these tanks; you and your Ghost teammates can clear them from the path yourself with your ZEUS-MPARs, you can battle the enemy tanks using your own friendly tanks, or you can try to avoid the enemy tanks entirely and attempt to escort your friendly tanks along alternate routes to avoid them. Since your friendly tanks have rather flakey AI, and since you lose the mission if one of your friendly tanks is destroyed, it's probably best not to involve them in tank combat unless absolutely necessary. MISSION 8: GUARDRAIL IX: After you destroy Guardrail IX, you'll have to proceed a couple miles through the city to reach the extraction point. Unfortunately, a tank patrols the area between you and the extraction point. You can either destroy the tank with a ZEUS-MPAR, or attempt to avoid it by using buildings and other obstacles as cover until you manage to get past the area it patrols. MISSION 10: FIERCE RESISTANCE: Two tanks patrol the main plaza in front of the palace, guarding the palace entrance. In order to enter the palace, you'll need to destroy the two tanks. The easiest way to do this is to enter the mission with ZEUS-MPAR missile launchers, and destroy the tanks as soon as you are inserted into the combat area. Alternatively, you can avoid the main plaza by taking side-streets, and complete the mission's other objectives (destroying the 4 scrambler antennaes). Once all 4 antennaes are destroyed, a pair of friendly tanks will be put under your command, which you can use to destroy the two enemy tanks. Once again, the AI of your friendly tanks is kind of flakey, so it's much easier to just destroy the tanks yourself at the beginning of the level with your ZEUS-MPARs. =============================================================================== =Copyright 2007 Alan Chan = ===============================================================================
Amazing Games. Many Cheats. Such Wow.
