Timeshift - Weapon and Enemy Guide Timeshift: Weapon and Enemy Guide: Document Started: April 28, 2008 by Alan Chan (joylock @ hotmail.com) The Usual: This document is mine. Please don't rip it off or take credit for it. If you use any of the information provided in this guide in your own FAQ, walkthrough, or guide, you must acknowledge that you obtained the information from me, and give me proper credit. 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). Version History: ******************************************************************************* * * *1.0: Initial Release * * * *1.1: General Updates and Corrections * * * ******************************************************************************* The latest version of this FAQ can be found at www.gamefaqs.com. TABLE OF CONTENTS: - Game Mechanics - Combat Tips - Weapons - Enemies - Human Infantry - Quantum Guards - Vehicles ***************** *Game Mechanics:* ******************************************************************************* - Timeshift is essentially what you'd get if you cross-bred Halo and F.E.A.R. The game features the basic gameplay of the Halo series (regenerative energy shields, console-style movement controls, grenades and melee attacks) with the combat elements and special powers from F.E.A.R. (human enemy soldiers with complex animations, 3-weapon carrying limit, zoomable weapons, Slow Motion combat). It's also got a touch of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (Stopping and reversing time). - Timeshift features 3 difficulty settings; Casual (easy), Skilled (normal), and Elite (hard). Difficulty primarily affects how much damage enemy attacks do. - On Casual difficulty, enemies do 50% damage. - On Skilled difficulty, enemies do 100% damage. - On Elite difficulty, enemies do 120% damage. - Also, on Casual, health starts to regenerate after only 5 seconds, instead of the 7 seconds it takes on Skilled or Elite difficulty. - Difficulty does not seem to affect the durability of enemies, the amount of suit energy you have, or the time it takes to regenerate suit energy. - Difficulty may affect enemy accuracy or intelligence, but the difference doesn't appear to be large enough to be noticeable. - The main focus of Timeshift's gameplay are your time powers, which allow you to slow, stop, and reverse the flow of time, giving you an advantage over your enemies. - Your time powers are fueled by suit energy, which is used up at a different rate by each power. Once your suit energy is empty, it takes about 10 seconds for it to recharge again back to full power. - Time Slow is the most commonly used time power you have. It basically slows down the flow of time, causing enemies, enemy projectiles, and the environment to move much more slowly, while you yourself continue to move and fire at normal speed. Time Slow basically slows the world down to about 5 times slower than normal, while you continue to move at normal speed (i.e. from an enemy's perspective, you'd be moving 5 times faster than normal). Time Slow lasts for a total of 12 seconds on a full bar of suit energy. - Time Stop is more powerful than Time Slow, but also more costly in terms of suit energy. Time Stop basically freezes the world around you, allowing you to move around normally while everything else is frozen in place. While in Time Stop, enemies are completely helpless, and you can mow them down at your leisure. However, Time Stop uses up suit energy very quickly; even with a full bar, Time Stop only lasts for 5 seconds. - Time Reverse is the coolest, but also probably the most worthless, time power. It basically reverses the flow of time, causing the game world to "rewind" (which must have been a real headache to program correctly). Attempting to interact with the world (i.e. by shooting an enemy) will instantly cause the time power to shut off. The only combat-based use for Time Reverse is for un-sticking Clutch Grenades that have attached to you before they explode. Although it's often used for solving time-based puzzles, there's no other real combat-based use for Time Reverse. You yourself are unaffected by Time Reverse (i.e. it won't restore your ammo or reverse any damage you've taken). Like Time Stop, Time Reverse lasts for 5 seconds on a full bar of suit energy. - Besides suit energy, your suit also has a regenerating energy shield. When injured, you need to avoid taking damage for 7 seconds before the suit begins regenerating your shield. You can speed up the regeneration time by using Time Slow or Time Stop. Activating Time Stop when you're critically injured will cause your shield to begin regenerating instantly. - Unlike Halo, you CANNOT take a hit and survive without your energy shield. Basically, your character has 101% health (or, more accurately, a 100% energy shield, and 1% health). Even if you take 100% damage, the remaining 1% will keep you alive unless you take one more hit. However, if you take MORE than 100% damage (say, a rocket hit on Elite, or a Karbine grenade hit when your shields are less than 50%) you die instantly. ************** *Combat Tips:* ******************************************************************************* - Unlike F.E.A.R., where the use of SloMo was optional and it was perfectly possible to beat the game without it, time powers are essential for completing Timeshift. Not only are there many puzzles and obstacles that require time power usage to bypass, but combat in Timeshift is quite difficult, and it's almost impossible to deal with the overwhelming odds stacked against you without using Time Slow and Time Stop to get the advantage over your enemies. Levels often involve large firefights against many enemy soldiers all attacking you at once, enemy soldiers in Timeshift are fairly tough and take quite a lot of hits to bring down, and you die really quickly from enemy weapons fire. Additionally, unlike in F.E.A.R., you are unable to lean around corners, forcing you to expose yourself completely to enemy fire whenever you attack. - Besides your time powers, the second most important tactic for survival in Timeshift is good use of cover. You die relatively quickly in this game, even on the easiest difficulty setting, and many firefights involve several enemies all shooting at you at once from multiple directions. You need to find cover from which you can hide and regenerate your health. Instead of rushing into a room or courtyard head-on, try to find cover, peek out and open fire, then dodge back behind cover to avoid the enemy's return fire. - Remember, if you health is critically low, activate Time Stop to begin regenerating your health instantly. You can also use Time Slow or Time Stop to escape if you're surprised or ambushed by enemy soldiers. - Keep a close eye on your radar. Enemy A.I. in Timeshift is EXTREMELY aggressive, and will often charge behind your cover when you try to hide and recharge your shields. Your radar shows the position of all nearby enemies, and will tell you if they're closing in on your position. - Don't be shy about using ammo or grenades in Timeshift. Ammo is plentiful, enemies often drop grenades you can pick up, and you'll often find ammo crates at which you can acquire the maximum amount of ammo you can carry for all your weapons. - Once you get the Echo Rifle or ThunderBolt crossbow, snipe from long range as much as possible. This makes the game much, much easier, as it allows you to pick off groups of enemies from a relatively safe distance. ********** *Weapons:* ******************************************************************************* - In Timeshift, you are allowed to carry only 3 weapons at a time. Once you have 3 different weapons, you'll need to drop one of them before you can pick up a new type of weapon. - In the game's early levels, you'll only have access to a KM-33 pistol, a KM 2103 Karbine, and a Shattergun. Newer weapons begin to show up about halfway through the game. As soon as possible, I recommend you upgrade to a ThunderBolt crossbow for long-range sniping, an E.M.F. cannon for close-to-mid range combat, and a Hell-Fire submachine gun for use as your primary automatic weapon. You can trade the E.M.F. Cannon or Hell-Fire for a Surge Gun late in the game, but ALWAYS hang on to your ThunderBolt crossbow, as it is essential for long-range sniping, which makes the game much easier. - Throughout the game's levels you'll find weapon crates containing various weapons. The weapons in these crates are loaded with the maximum amount of ammo you can carry; pick them up, and your ammo for that weapon will be filled to your maximum carry capacity. - Throughout the game's levels you'll also find ammo crates. You can refill the ammo for your weapons at these crates, allowing you to fill up to the maximum amount of ammo you can carry for your weapons. The presence of ammo crates allows you to fight without worrying too much about conserving ammo for your weapons, and also allows you to refill ammo for rare weapons such as the Echo Rifle or Bloodhound rocket launcher. The only weapon you cannot refill ammo for at an ammo crate is the Surge Gun, which uses its own unique energy as ammo. ===== KM-33: [Pistol] Damage: 35 Rate of Fire: 200 rpm Clip Size: 16 Max Ammo: 112 + 16 Primary Fire: Single shot Secondary Fire: 4-shot burst First Acquired: Level 1: Arrival DESCRIPTION: The KM-33 is the game's standard sidearm, a select-fire pistol with a large magazine that can be fired in either single shots, or 4-shot bursts. It's one of the first weapons you acquire in the game. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: The KM-33 does more than twice as much damage as the KM 2103 Karbine, and has a decent rate of fire and relatively large clip size. However, it's still not quite as good a weapon as the faster, fully automatic Karbine. The KM-33's secondary fire is a 4-shot burst. Although this lets you hit an enemy with 4 bullets at once, it usually takes at least 2 bursts to kill an enemy soldier. The 4-shot burst also has moderate recoil, causing the gun's aim to climb upward. As a result, it's less accurate than the primary fire, and really only works at medium range. On the plus side, the 4-shot burst kills enemies marginally faster than automatic Karbine fire in medium-range combat. Ammo for the KM-33 is also rare, since few enemies carry it and you won't find any laying around in weapon crates. Only Engineers carry KM- 33s, and only a few of them do so. If you do use the KM-33, remember to tap the fire button instead of holding it down, for a much better rate of fire. EVALUATION: Overall, there's not much point to the KM-33. While it's OK for killing Krone Police in the early stages of the game, both the Karbine and the ShatterGun are much better weapons. There's really no reason to use the KM-33 pistol, unless you run low on ammo for the other two guns. You should trade the KM-33 for a better weapon as soon as you get the chance to. One trick you can use the KM-33 for is to dodge out of cover, blast an enemy with the 4-shot burst, then dodge back behind cover. This lets you fire at enemies while exposing yourself for much less time. However, due to the burst-fire's inaccuracy, this is only effective at about 20 feet or less. ENEMY USAGE: Very few enemies carry KM-33 pistols. A few Engineers carry KM-33s, and one or two Krone Police fight with them also. The pistol does slightly more damage to you than the KM 2103 Karbine, but overall the relatively low damage and rate of fire make this weapon not much of a threat to you. Enemies with pistols use the single-shot primary fire at long range for accuracy, and the 4-shot burst secondary fire at close-to-medium range. ===== KM 2103 Karbine: [Assault Rifle] Damage: Primary Fire: 15 Secondary Fire: ~ 200 Rate of Fire: 600 rpm Clip Size: Primary Fire: 30 Secondary Fire: 2 Max Ammo: Primary Fire: 210 + 30 Secondary Fire: 2 + 2 Primary Fire: Automatic rifle Secondary Fire: Grenade launcher First Acquired: Level 1: Arrival DESCRIPTION: The KM 2103 Karbine is the standard weapon used by the majority of the enemy soldiers you fight in Timeshift. It's a basic FPS "assault rifle" type weapon, with an undermounted grenade launcher attached. You'll probably be using it as your main weapon for the game's first several levels, until you can get your hands on better weaponry. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: The Karbine has a high rate of fire and decent accuracy, and works well up to medium-long range. Unfortunately, it feels a bit underpowered; the bullets are the weakest in the game, and it can often take almost half a clip of ammo to take down just one enemy soldier. Still, when used in combination with Time Slow and firing from cover, it's a decent weapon for the game's early levels. The Karbine's secondary fire is an undermounted grenade launcher. The grenades have decent range, but are affected by gravity and thus can't travel more than a few dozen feet. Grenades are powerful, and can kill most enemy soldiers with a single direct or near-direct hit. The splash damage radius is relatively small though (only lethal within about 5 to 6 feet), so you have to land the grenade very close to an enemy to kill them. In the game's later levels, enemy soldiers are tough enough to survive a direct grenade hit, but by then you should have much better weapons to fight them with. The Karbine's grenades usually explode on impact, but you can delay the explosion by holding down the alt-fire button. You can use this to bounce grenades around corners to get at concealed enemies. Ammo for the Karbine is very common, especially in the earlier levels, since many enemies carry one. The best thing about the Karbine is that every enemy Karbine you pick up will give you 1 or 2 grenades, allowing you to use the Karbine's powerful grenade launcher frequently. EVALUATION: Overall, the best way to use the Karbine is to use the grenade launcher to kill enemy soldiers. One hit should kill one soldier, and you can restock your grenade supply by picking up their dropped Karbines. When faced with a group of several soldiers, use the grenade launcher to soften them up, then finish the survivors off with the assault rifle primary fire combined with Time Slow. Still, the Karbine is an overall average weapon, and you should trade it for a more powerful firearm such as the Hell-Fire or E.M.F. Cannon as soon as they become available. ENEMY USAGE: The KM 2103 Karbine is the standard weapon of Krone's military, and the majority of enemies in the game carry one. Enemies with Karbines have a high rate of fire and pretty good accuracy, even at long range. The individual bullets are relatively weak, and you can survive a moderate amount of Karbine fire (you die after about 23 to 25 hits). Still, with their high rate of fire and good accuracy, enemies can drain your shields very quickly. It's best to use cover extensively to avoid damage and allow your energy shields to recharge. Krone Police and Krone Guard soldiers can use the Karbine's secondary fire to launch impact grenades at you. These do good damage, and can knock off more than 1/2th of your health with a direct hit. The earlier Krone Police enemies rarely use the grenade launcher, but the later Krone Guards will frequently use it against you. ===== ShatterGun: [Shotgun] Damage: 35 x 6 Rate of Fire: 160 rpm Clip Size: 8 Max Ammo: 112 + 8 Primary Fire: Single shot Secondary Fire: Double shot First Acquired: Level 1: Arrival DESCRIPTION: The ShatterGun is essentially a combat shotgun that fires a tight spread of 6 pellets with each shot. It has a good rate of fire and packs a powerful punch, and can kill most enemies with a single blast at close range, or 2 or 3 well-aimed shots at medium range. It's a fairly common firearm, and you acquire one very early in the game. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: Because of its high stopping power, the ShatterGun is excellent for close-quarters fighting, and is your preferred weapon for in-door levels early in the game. At close range you can quickly blast through several enemy soldiers with this weapon, especially in combination with your Time Slow or Time Stop powers. Although the ShatterGun is less powerful at medium range due to the dispersal of the pellets, you can still kill enemies at 20 to 30 feet with 2 or 3 shots by zooming in for a more accurate blast. The ShatterGun's secondary fire shoots 2 shells at once, doing double damage. However, this results in a somewhat slower rate of fire than the primary fire. The secondary fire is useful if you want to make absolutely sure you kill an enemy in one shot. The ShatterGun is often carried by enemy soldiers or found in weapon crates, so ammo for it is reasonably common. EVALUATION: Overall, the ShatterGun makes an excellent early-to-mid game weapon for mowing through enemies at close range. However, you might consider trading it for a higher-powered weapon like the E.M.F. Cannon or the Surge Gun later in the game when better guns become available. ENEMY USAGE: Many enemy soldiers are equipped with Shatterguns, especially in the earlier stages of the game, as well as in indoor levels. Enemies with shatterguns are murderous, and can kill you in just 4 shots on Skilled (Normal) difficulty. You really must kill them as quickly as possible, preferably using Time Slow to increase your reflexes and kill them before they can shoot you. ===== Echo Rifle: [Sniper Rifle] Damage: 125 Rate of Fire: 120 rpm Clip Size: 4 Max Ammo: 20 + 4 Primary Fire: Single shot Secondary Fire: Variable scope First Acquired: Level 7: Getaway DESCRIPTION: The Echo Rifle is a very accurate sniper rifle with both a laser-sight and a variable scope for sniping distant enemies. The bullets are hitscan, and will strike your target the instant you pull the trigger. The Echo Rifle has an extremely long range (with a maximum zoom of 9x, according to the game's manual), and allows you to pick off enemies from a safe distance. However, it has a very low clip size, and needs to be reloaded after every 4 shots. It's also poor for close-range combat, since it has no crosshair when unzoomed and thus is difficult to aim when firing from the hip. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: The big drawback to the Echo Rifle is that, by the time you pick one up, you'll be facing Krone Guards, who have heavier armor than the Krone Police you've previously been fighting. Krone Guards are tough enough that it takes 2 sniper rifle shots to the chest to kill them. You can kill any enemy soldier with a single headshot, though, so try to score headshots as much as possible with the sniper rifle (since enemies often strafe and dodge, Time Slow helps a lot). Unfortunately, ammo for the Echo Rifle is quite rare, since you'll seldom find it in weapon crates or carried by enemy soldiers. You can restock Echo Rifle ammo at ammo crates, though, and ammo crates are more common in the game's later levels. EVALUATION: The Echo Rifle makes an excellent weapon for sniping enemies from long range, which can make the game much easier. However, the ThunderBolt crossbow serves a similar function. While both the Echo Rifle and the ThunderBolt have their pros and cons, the ThunderBolt is the overall better weapon (with better stopping power and a much larger ammo capacity), and I recommend you trade the Echo Rifle for the ThunderBolt as soon as you can find one. ENEMY USAGE: You'll occasionally see enemy snipers armed with Echo Rifles, typically positioned high up in guard towers or catwalks where they can snipe at you from long range. Fortunately, echo rifles emit a red laser targeting beam that gives away the position of the sniper. Enemy snipers are very dangerous. They can bring you down to 1% health on Skilled (Normal) difficulty, and kill you in 2 shots on Elite (Hard) difficulty. Also, thanks to their laser targeting system, snipers are very accurate and have nearly perfect aim. Fortunately, there's a second or two delay between their shots, allowing you to dodge behind cover. Enemy snipers are best counter-sniped with your own Echo Rifle or ThunderBolt crossbow. As always, using Time Slow to increase your speed makes killing them much, much easier. ===== ThunderBolt: [Crossbow] Damage: ~ 500 Rate of Fire: 60 rpm Clip Size: 10 Max Ammo: 30 + 10 Primary Fire: Single shot Secondary Fire: Variable scope First Acquired: Level 9: Better Late... DESCRIPTION: My favorite weapon in the entire game, the ThunderBolt crossbow fires rocket-propelled crossbow bolts with small explosive charges attached to them. After the bolt sticks into an enemy, the charge will detonate, blowing the enemy into small red body parts. The ThunderBolt is equipped with a variable scope, allowing you to snipe enemies at long range with it. It has a good clip size and a decent rate of fire, allowing you to tag several enemies with explosive bolts before needing to reload. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: The ThunderBolt is very powerful; a single hit will kill ANY enemy with the exception of the powerful Warp Guards. The ThunderBolt works well in combination with your Timeshifting powers because you can use it as a "fire and forget" weapon. Instead of wasting a couple seconds firing into a single enemy until they die, you can fire a crossbow bolt at an enemy, then forget about them and immedietely switch to another enemy. This allows you to kill multiple foes during your limited periods of Time Slow or Time Stop. The ThunderBolt is quite common; many Krone Guards in the game's middle and later levels carry them, and you'll often find them in weapon crates. As a result, ammo for the ThunderBolt is plentiful, and you can use it frequently without worrying about running low. The only downside of the ThunderBolt is that the crossbow bolts travel relatively slowly when compared to bullets, allowing strafing enemies to dodge them at long range. The ThunderBolt works best when used in combination with Time Slow or Time Stop to slow or stop enemy movement and thus make them easier to hit. EVALUATION: I highly recommend you pick up the ThunderBolt as soon as you can, and always carry one with you. This weapon makes the game much easier, by allowing you to pick off enemies at the safer distance of long range. The ThunderBolt is also essential for picking off snipers, heavy machine gun nests, and other long-range threats. ENEMY USAGE: In the second half of the game, ThunderBolt crossbows are frequently carried by the Krone Guard soldiers you'll be fighting. Practically every squad of soldiers has one guy armed with a ThunderBolt. The ThunderBolt bolts are much like mini-rockets; they travel quickly (but slower than bullets), explode on contact, and do decent damage. On Skilled (Normal) difficulty, 6 crossbow hits will reduce you to 1% health. On the plus side, Krone Guards with ThunderBolts only have average accuracy, and will often miss you at long range. Their rate of fire is also pretty average. ===== Bloodhound: [Rocket Launcher] Damage: ~ 550 Rate of Fire: 60 rpm Clip Size: 4 Max Ammo: 12 + 4 Primary Fire: Single shot Secondary Fire: Variable scope + laser-guided rocket First Acquired: Level 10: Point of Impact DESCRIPTION: The Bloodhound is a powerful shoulder-fire rocket launcher. The rockets do lots of damage, with a decent splash damage radius, and can kill any enemy (with the exception of Warp Guards) with a single shot. The rocket launcher is also the only weapon you have that is effective against enemy vehicles, such as Sentry mech robots or Helo attack helicopters. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: With its powerful rockets, the Bloodhound works well against groups of enemy soldiers, or powerful Quantum Guard enemies such as Flash Guards or Storm Guards. The Bloodhound is equipped with a scope you can use to target distant enemies. More importantly, while in the scoped view mode, the Bloodhound emits a laser dot that can be used to guide rockets to the laser's location (similar to the RPG launcher from the Half Life series). The drawback to the Bloodhound is that ammo for it is quite limited. You can only carry a maximum of 16 shots for it at once, and you'll almost never be able to acquire Bloodhounds from enemy soldiers or weapon crates. You'll only be able to refill ammo for it at ammo crates. EVALUATION: Due to the limited ammo available for the Bloodhound, you might not want to carry it around. While it's very powerful, most enemies (even Quantum Guards) can be dispatched easily enough using weaker weapons (the ThunderBolt, for example). There are only a few enemies in the entire game that require a rocket launcher to defeat (1 Sentry and 2 Helos), and the game already provides you with a fully loaded rocket launcher whenever you fight them. ENEMY USAGE: Only a handful of enemy soldiers carry rocket launchers. However, the ones that do are EXTREMELY dangerous; a direct rocket hit will drop your health down to 1% on Skilled (Normal) difficulty, and kill you outright on Elite (Hard) difficulty. The rockets also have a fairly large splash damage radius. Enemy rocket launcher soldiers typically snipe at you from long range, from guard towers or catwalks. Fortunately, your suit's S.S.A.M. A.I. will usually warn you when a soldier with a rocket launcher is about to appear. Take cover and counter-snipe them with an echo Echo Rifle or ThunderBolt crossbow. You can activate Time Slow and shoot rockets out of the air with your automatic weapons, but it's generally easier just to dodge behind cover to avoid them. ===== E.M.F. Cannon: [Energy Rifle] Damage: Primary Fire: 75 Secondary Fire: ~ 120 to 1000+ Rate of Fire: 300 rpm Clip Size: 20 Max Ammo: 100 + 20 Primary Fire: Single shot Secondary Fire: Charged shot First Acquired: Level 11: Liberation DESCRIPTION: The E.M.F. Cannon is essentially an electromagnetic rifle that fires white-hot magnesium projectiles. The weapon has a good clip size and a reasonably high rate of fire, and works great for close-to-medium range combat. The E.M.F. Cannon can also be charged to fire a much more powerful energy blast. About halfway through the game, Krone Guards begin carrying E.M.F. Cannons quite frequently, and use it as a standard weapon alongside the KM 2103 Karbine. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: The E.M.F. Cannon's primary fire shoots ultra-hot magnesium projectiles that explode on contact. The E.M.F. Cannon is quite powerful, and can explode an enemy Krone Guard into bits in just 3 or 4 hits. The only downside to the primary fire is that the projectiles are affected by gravity and travel in an arc, and can only travel a few dozen feet before landing on the ground. The projectiles have slight splash damage, allowing you to damage enemies with a near miss. The splash damage also allows you to penetrate the handheld energy shields wielded by Storm Guards, making the E.M.F. Cannon a good weapon for fighting Storm Guards. The E.M.F. Cannon's secondary fire is a charged shot that travels in a straight line and explodes on contact. The secondary fire can be charged from 1 to 9 units of energy. With 1 unit, the charged shot is still more powerful than the primary fire and can gib Krone Guards with just 2 or 3 hits, but on the downside has a slower rate of fire. At a maximum charge of 9 units, the charged shot is incredibly powerful, and can gib even the powerful Warp Guards in a single hit. Since it travels in a straight line, the charged shot is great for shooting enemies at long range who are too far away to hit with the primary fire. Just be careful not to hold the charge for too long without firing it, or else you'll take damage (10% damage per second). Unfortunately, despite its massive damage, the charged shot doesn't seem to have any effect on vehicles such as Helos or Sentries. Ammo for the E.M.F. Cannon is reasonably common, since by the time you get it, Krone Guards will carry it quite often. You can also occasionally find E.M.F. Cannons in weapon crates, and also refill ammo for it at ammo crates. EVALUATION: With its powerful exploding projectiles and reasonably good rate of fire, the E.M.F. Cannon is a great close-to-medium range weapon for the second half of the game. I recommend trading the Shattergun for it as soon as it becomes available. It works great in indoor levels and other close-combat situations, and can also be used to blast Storm Guards. ENEMY USAGE: The E.M.F. Cannon is frequently carried by Krone Guard soldiers in the later half of the game (they use it almost as much as they use the KM 2103 Karbine), which they use to rapid-fire arcing energy projectiles at you. The energy projectiles are slower than bullets, but still travel at decent speed and have slight splash damage when they land. Enemy E.M.F. Cannons are about twice as powerful as their KM 2103 Karbines, and can reduce you to 1% health in just 12 shots. Kill these guys as quickly as possible with your own heavy weapons, such as the E.M.F. Cannon or Hell-Fire submachine gun. ===== Hell-Fire: [Submachine Gun] Damage: Primary Fire: Varies Secondary Fire: ~ 160 Rate of Fire: Primary Fire: 600 rpm Secondary Fire: 600 rpm Clip Size: Primary Fire: 45 Secondary Fire: 20 Max Ammo: Primary Fire: 315 + 45 Secondary Fire: 220 + 20 Primary Fire: Incendiary rounds Secondary Fire: Flamethrower First Acquired: Level 13: Forced Entry DESCRIPTION: The Hell-Fire submachine gun is the signature weapon of Krone's Storm Guards. This small, pistol-sized automatic weapon might not look particularly fearsome, but it rapid-fires powerful incendiary thermite bullets that can kill enemy infantry with only a few hits. The Hell-Fire is also equipped with a white phosphorus/carbon disulfide flamethrower for barbequing enemies at short range. The Hell-Fire has a large clip size, and is also quite accurate, allowing you to shoot enemies at medium-long range using zoom mode. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: The Hell-Fire is an excellent close-to-medium range weapon, and is great for clearing corridors of enemy soldiers. It only takes a few hits to kill even the toughest standard infantry soldier. The Hell- Fire's incendiary rounds even set enemies on fire, causing them to drop their weapon and flail around in pain for a few seconds before dying. Krone Guards can occasionally survive being set on fire, though, so you might want to pump a couple extra rounds into them while they're flailing around just to make sure. The Hell-Fire bullets also bypass the ballistic protection of enemy helmets; a single headshot from the Hell-Fire will kill any enemy soldier. The Hell-Fire is less effective against Quantum Guards, who cannot be set on fire and take reduced damage from Hell-Fire rounds. It takes about 12 hits to kill a Flash Guard, and 27 hits to kill a Storm Guard. However, a single headshot should kill any Quantum Guard you face, so try to use Timeslow/Timestop then shoot them in the head when you meet them. The Hell-Fire's attached flamethrower is a short-range weapon with a range of about 15 to 20 feet; it does heavy damage and has a high rate of fire, and works well for burning down enemy soldiers. I didn't use it much, since the primary fire is very effective already, but it's another option if you're looking for some variety. While ammo for the Hell-Fire is somewhat uncommon (you can only get it from defeated Storm Guards or a few weapon crates), you can carry a LOT of ammo for it, and you only need a few bullets to kill each enemy. You can use the Hell-Fire frequently, refilling ammo at ammo crates, and not need to worry much about running out of ammo. EVALUATION: Overall, the Hell-Fire is an excellent weapon that kills standard enemy soldiers very quickly. I highly recommend using it as your standard close-to-medium range weapon for indoor combat. It also works well for scoring headshots, especially against Quantum Guards; a single headshot from the Hell-Fire should bring down any enemy, even a Quantum Guard; just be sure to use Timeslow or Timestop to cancel out their assorted defensive powers. ENEMY USAGE: The Hell-Fire is the signature weapon of the Storm Guards, who are always armed with one. They can use the primary fire to mow you down in a couple seconds, or the flamethrower secondary fire to barbeque you even faster at close range. Their Hell-Fires make Storm Guards extremely dangerous at close-to-medium range, so you'll want to keep as far away as possible. Generally, normal human soldiers aren't equipped with Hell-Fires. However, on the last level of the game (Level 24: COnsequences), you'll find two Krone Police Sergeants armed with Hell-Fires. These guys will ambush you at close range, so watch out or they'll kill you in a second or two. A Krone Guard can also be seen wielding a Hell-Fire towards the end of Level 23: En Route. ===== Surge Gun: [Energy Cannon] Damage: Primary Fire: ~ 750 Secondary Fire: ~ 160 Rate of Fire: Primary Fire: 60 rpm Secondary Fire: 600 rpm Battery Charge: 150 Primary Fire: Energy ball Secondary Fire: Energy beam First Acquired: Level 17: Sabotage DESCRIPTION: This massive energy cannon is by far the most powerful weapon in Timeshift's aresenal. It's the weapon used by the Warp Guards, the game's toughest enemies, and won't be available to you until the last 1/4th of the game. An incredibly powerful beam weapon that can also shoot exploding energy balls, it's a LOT of fun to use. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: The Surge Gun's primary fire launches a large energy ball that travels at medium speed and explodes on contact. Very powerful, the blast has good splash damage and will gib any enemy in the game except for the Warp Guards with a single hit. However, with a fully charged Surge Gun you can only fire 6 shots before running out of ammo. The secondary fire is a huge, lightning-like continuous energy beam that does massive concussive damage and will gib anything it touches in a split-second. The beam even has splash damage, causing damage to enemies standing near the point of impact. The beam lasts for as long as you hold down the fire button, but to conserve ammo I suggest you fire in very short bursts, since it only takes about 0.2 seconds of exposure to the beam to make most enemy soldiers explode violently. The Surge Gun uses an energy battery instead of conventional ammo. Unlike every other weapon in the game, it cannot be refilled at ammo crates, only by picking up other Surge Guns. The battery has a charge of 150 units. Each "tap" of the secondary fire uses up 1 unit, and a continuous beam uses up 10 units per second, allowing 15 seconds of continuous fire. The primary fire uses up 25 units per shot, allowing 6 shots on a full battery. The Surge Gun does massive damage, and completely blasts through the game's enemies. The primary fire isn't very useful, since there aren't any enemies that require so much firepower, making it an overpowered waste of the weapon's rare ammo. The secondary fire, however, is excellent for mowing you way through Krone's army of goons. Use quick taps to conserve the battery. EVALUATION: The weapon's only weakness is the scarcity of its ammo; you can't refill it at ammo crates, and Surge Gun pickups are extremely rare (since you can only get them from killing the very rare Warp Guards). However, the Surge Gun has a decent-sized battery, and you can get considerable use out of one before running out of ammo. ENEMY USAGE: Surge Guns are used exclusively by the powerful Warp Guards. They attack you with the powerful secondary fire lightning beam, and will make you explode into little pieces with less than a second of constant fire. The Surge Gun beam is also undodgeable; Warp Guards won't miss as long as you're in their line of sight. The only way to survive their assault is to either take cover behind a solid object, or kill them before they can open fire. ===== Clutch Grenades: Damage: 1000+ Max Ammo: 3 Clutch grenades are the only grenade type available in the game's single-player campaign. As in many shooters these days, you can toss grenades separately, while still holding on to your firearm. Clutch grenades work similar to frag grenades, in that they explode about a second or two after landing. The splash damage radius is reasonably large, and can kill multiple enemies. If a clutch grenade touches an enemy, it will attach itself to that enemy and deliver a powerful electrical shock, bringing the enemy to their knees shortly before the grenade explodes. Being stuck with a single clutch grenade is fatal against even the strongest enemy soldiers. Clutch grenades are also very common, as enemy soldiers will drop 1 or 2 of them quite often. You should feel free to use them liberally, as they're a good help in softening up groups of enemies. If you get stuck by a clutch grenade, you can use Time Reverse to "rewind" the grenade off you and send it back to the soldier who threw it. ENEMY USAGE: Enemy soldiers will often toss clutch grenades at you; they're actually very accurate throwers, and will usually tag you with the grenade unless you dodge quickly. Clutch grenades are dangerous, but not instantly lethal; as long as you have full shields, a direct clutch grenade hit should take away about 75% of your shields, but leave you still alive. If you are tagged with a grenade, you can use Time Reverse to unstick the grenade from you and send it back to the guy who threw it. Note that the grenade will return to your position once you turn off Time Reverse, so you'll want to move to another position before that happens. ********** *Enemies:* ******************************************************************************* ================= =Human Infantry:= =============================================================================== - Human Infantry represent the majority of the enemies you'll face in Timeshift. These are the standard soldiers of Krone's totalitarian regime, dedicated to stamping on your face with a jackboot for the rest of eternity. In the game's early levels, you'll mainly face Krone Police enemies armed with light weapons and moderate armor. In the later levels, you'll mainly face military Krone Guards who often carry heavier weapons and have better armor and durability. Compared to most FPS soldiers, Krone's troops are tougher than average; it often takes 1/2 a clip of assault rifle fire to kill a Krone Police soldier, and later Krone Guard soldiers can take up to 3/4 of a clip of assault rifle fire to bring down. - Enemy A.I. in Timeshift is good and solid, although not exceptional. Enemies can strafe sideways while firing, can take cover and fire from behind objects, can run from cover to cover and vault over low objects, will provide suppressing fire for each other, will aggressively flank and advance on your position, can take multiple paths to attack you from, and can toss clutch grenades to flush you out of cover. At the same time, the A.I.'s not in the same league as F.E.A.R. or Far Cry. Enemies often remain in the same general position instead of spreading out or manuevering around the level, making them easier targets. Enemies also tend to charge ahead in a straight line, instead of zig-zagging through obstacles or circling around you. - The A.I.'s extremely high aggressiveness causes it to often charge your cover and attack you when you try to hide and regenerate health. On the plus side, it makes it very easy to lure enemy soldiers into ambushes by camping a doorway or corner and blasting them as soon as they run through it. - The A.I.'s most commonly used squad tactic is to have a couple soldiers hang back and spray you with suppressing fire, while other soldiers aggressively advance on your position, attempting to get around any cover you're hiding behind. If you kill the attackers, some of the defenders may break off and attack your position. - In Timeshift, a single headshot from any weapon is instantly lethal. However, many human infantry soldiers wear helmets that protect them from headshots. It takes 3 or 4 bullet hits to knock off the helmet and leave the soldier vulnerable to a headshot. Against helmet-wearing soldiers, it's generally easier just to blast them in the torso until they die. Note that helmets do not protect against particularly powerful weapons, such as the Echo Rifle or Hell-Fire submachine gun. - Enemy soldiers can actually be disarmed of their weapons. If you shoot their weapon instead of their body, you'll knock it out of their hands. You can also activate Time Stop to freeze enemies, then walk up to them and grab their weapons from them. Note that this doesn't do much good, as enemies will run over to the nearest weapon they can find laying on the ground and pick it up to use against you. - Human soldiers react in a number of ways to being shot. For example, you can drop an enemy to their knees by shooting them in the legs, or knock them on their backs with a powerful blast to the chest. Seriously injured enemies will limp, and usually try to drag themselves to cover. ===== K.P. Corporal: Appearance: Soldier wearing square metal armor vest over blue uniform. Health: 100 Primary Weapon: KM 2103 Karbine (Karbine Bullets: 4.5% damage) (Grenade Launcher: 51% damage) All Weapons Used: KM 2103 Karbine (Karbine Bullets: 4.5% damage) (Grenade Launcher: 51% damage) ShatterGun (30% damage) KM-33 Pistol (6.25% damage)(rare) Echo Rifle (50% damage) (rare) ThunderBolt Crossbow (16.67% damage) (rare) Other Attacks: Melee Strike (60% to 100% damage) Clutch Grenade (75% damage) DESCRIPTION: The urban enforcers of Krone's totalitarian regime, the Krone Police will be the standard enemy soldiers you'll be fighting in the game's first 6 levels. They have decent durability and good combat tactics, and pose a credible threat, but your Timeshifting abilities give you a significant advantage over them. They are notably tougher than the average FPS soldier, often requiring almost 1/2 a clip of assault rifle fire to kill. BEHAVIOR: Most Krone Police are equipped with KM 2103 Karbines, although some carry ShatterGuns instead. You'll also find a few K.P. Corporals armed with ThunderBolt crossbows in a large firefight at the end of the second level (unfortunately, you can't take the crossbows from them since they're firing at you from across the street), and one K.P. Corporal is equipped with an Echo Rifle and acts as a sniper in the game's fourth level. A couple K.P. Corporals also use KM-33 pistols instead of Karbines, but they're really rare. Krone Police soldiers take cover, flank your position, and toss clutch grenades at you. You'll often fight squads of several of them at once. Although Krone Police will occasionally use their Karbines' undermounted grenade launcher, they seldom do so. KILL STRATEGY: In the levels you fight the Krone Police, you'll only have access to 3 weapons; the KM-33 pistol, the KM 2103 Karbine, and the ShatterGun. The ShatterGun works great indoors at close-quarters, but doesn't work well outdoors at long range. The KM 2103 Karbine is a decent weapon, but it can take half a clip of fire to take down a single Krone Police soldier (it only takes 7 direct hits to the chest to kill a Krone Police soldier, but shots to the arms do reduced damage, and not all bullets hit at all at long range). Probably the best way to kill Krone Police is to use the Karbine's grenade launcher; a single grenade blast will kill a Krone Police soldier, and practically every Krone Police soldier drops a KM 2103 Karbine with grenade launcher ammo. For fighting large groups, use the grenade launcher to soften them up, then mop up the survivors with the Karbine's primary fire combined with Timeslow. ===== K.P. Sergeant: Appearance: Soldier wearing angular metal armor over blue uniform. Health: 100 Primary Weapon: KM 2103 Karbine (Karbine Bullets: 4.5% damage) (Grenade Launcher: 51% damage) All Weapons Used: KM 2103 Karbine (Karbine Bullets: 4.5% damage) (Grenade Launcher: 51% damage) ShatterGun (30% damage) Echo Rifle (50% damage) (rare) ThunderBolt Crossbow (16.67% damage) (rare) E.M.F. Cannon (8.3% damage) (rare) Hell-Fire Submachine Gun (Fire Bullets: 4.5% damage) (rare) (Flamethrower: 12.5% damage) Other Attacks: Melee Strike (60% to 100% damage) Clutch Grenade (75% damage) DESCRIPTION: K.P. Sergeants are the higher ranking leaders of the Krone Police. They can be distinguished from the lower-ranking K.P. Corporals by their more angular body armor, instead of the square metal plate vests that the Corporals wear. Despite their higher rank, they're really not that different from the K.P. Corporals. They use the same weapons and have the same level of durability, although they may be a bit tactically smarter. K.P. Sergeants can be found leading the K.P. Corporals into battle in the game's first 6 levels. You'll also fight several K.P. Sergeants guarding the Occupant prisoners in Level 11: Liberation. Finally, you'll fight several K.P. Sergeants with improved weapons just before the final battle with Krone's Sentinel in Level 24: Consequences. BEHAVIOR: K.P. Sergeants behave pretty much the same as the standard K.P. Corporals. They take cover, flank your position, and toss clutch grenades at you. While they can use the undermounted grenade launchers attached to their Karbines, they rare do so. Most K.P Sergeants are equipped with KM 2103 Karbines, but many are equipped with Shatterguns instead. A K.P. Sergeant sniper with an Echo Rifle will also snipe you in the game's second level, Back Again. On the game's last level, you'll find a few K.P. Sergeants armed with E.M.F. Cannons and Hell-Fire submachine guns. These guys can do lots of damage, so don't let them get the drop on you. KILL STRATEGY: Overall, K.P. Sergeants can be killed the same as regular K.P. Corporals. The best way to take them out is with a single shot from the Karbine's grenade launcher. A Shattergun blast or two at close range works well for indoors combat, and about half a clip of Karbine fire at medium-to-long range also works OK. Above all, use Timeslow or Timestop to get the advantage over them. ===== Engineer: Appearance: Worker wearing brown pants and either brown jacket or grey t-shirt. Health: 50 Primary Weapon: ShatterGun (30% damage) All Weapons Used: ShatterGun (30% damage) KM 2103 Karbine (4.5% damage) KM-33 Pistol (6.25% damage) Other Attacks: Melee Strike (60% to 100% damage) DESCRIPTION: Krone Engineers can often be found in the game's various indoor levels, performing maintenance or manning control panels. Although they're not soldiers, Engineers are hostile and will grab a weapon and attack you as soon as they spot you. Engineers are unarmored and relatively weak, dying after only a few shots, but their weapons can still damage you if you let them. BEHAVIOR: Engineers often carry Shatterguns, although they occasionally fight with KM 2103 Karbines or KM-33 pistols instead. They are much less combat-oriented than Krone Police or Krone Guard soldiers. They occasionally take cover when fought in open areas, but in corridors and indoor rooms they mostly just charge straight at you firing their weapons. One unusual attribute of Engineers is that they have a very slight resistance to the Hell-Fire's incendiary rounds. Unlike Krone Guards, Engineers won't be set on fire after 3 hits from the Hell-Fire. However, they die after 4 shots anyway, so it really doesn't make any real difference. KILL STRATEGY: Engineers have very low durability, and go down after only a few hits from any weapon. Overall, they're very easy to kill, but don't underestimate them because they CAN hurt you. The only real threat they pose is that most of them carry Shatterguns, which can kill you in just 4 shots at close range (which you'll often fight them at, since most are encountered indoors in cramp areas). Unlike Krone Police or Krone Guards, Engineers don't wear helmets, so a single headshot will bring them down. This really isn't necessary, though, since they can still be killed very quickly with a few shots to the torso. ===== Krone Guard: Appearance: Soldier wearing angular green armor over blue uniform. Health: 180 to 250 Primary Weapon: KM 2103 Karbine (Karbine Bullets: 4.5% damage) (Grenade Launcher: 51% damage) All Weapons Used: KM 2103 Karbine (Karbine Bullets: 4.5% damage) (Grenade Launcher: 51% damage) ShatterGun (30% damage) ThunderBolt Crossbow (16.67% damage) E.M.F. Cannon (8.3% damage) Echo Rifle (50% damage) (rare) Bloodhound Rocket Launcher (100% damage) (rare) Hell-Fire Submachine Gun (Fire Bullets: 4.5% damage) (rare) (Flamethrower: 12.5% damage) Other Attacks: Melee Strike (60% to 100% damage) Clutch Grenade (75% damage) DESCRIPTION: Krone Guards first appear on the game's 7th level, and will be the main enemies you'll face for the rest of the game. The standard infantry soldiers of the Krone Magistrate's military, Krone Guards are tougher, better trained, and better equipped than the Krone Police enemies you fought in the game's first few levels. They can survive more damage than Krone Police, and get even tougher as the game progresses. Later in the game, Krone Guards are tough enough to survive a full Shattergun blast or a direct hit from the KM 2103 Karbine's grenade launcher. BEHAVIOR: Krone Guards are much better equipped than Krone Police. Although they still mainly carry KM 2103 Karbines and occasionally Shatterguns, they also often can be found equipped with powerful ThunderBolt crossbows and E.M.F. Cannons. You'll also often encounter Krone Guard snipers equipped with Echo Rifles, and the occasional Krone Guard equipped with a Bloodhound rocket launcher (S.S.A.M. will usually warn you when a Krone Guard with a rocket launcher is about to appear, so watch out because they can kill you with a single hit.) A single Krone Guard in Level 23: En Route is armed with a Hell-Fire, but otherwise Krone Guards do not carry Hell-Fires. Unlike Krone Police, Krone Guards often use the secondary fire on their KM 2103 Karbines to launch grenades at you. Like Krone Police, they also use the standard infantry tactics of taking cover, flanking your position, tossing clutch grenades, and aggressively advancing past your cover area. KILL STRATEGY: Because Krone Guards can take more damage than Krone Police, you'll probably want to upgrade to heavier weapons when fighting them. The KM 2103 Karbine and Shattergun initially work alright against them, but you'll want to start fighting them with the ThunderBolt, E.M.F. Cannon, or Hell-Fire submachine gun as soon as possible. At long range, the best way to deal with Krone Guards is to snipe them from cover with the ThunderBolt crossbow. At close-to-medium range, it's best to blow them up with E.M.F. Cannon fire or set them alight with the Hell-Fire's incendiary rounds. ===== Jetpack Soldier: Appearance: Soldier wearing angular green armor over blue uniform, with flight goggles, oxygen mask, and helmet and a jetpack strapped to his back. Health: 150 Primary Weapon: E.M.F. Cannon (8.3% damage) All Weapons Used: E.M.F. Cannon (8.3% damage) KM 2103 Karbine (4.5% damage) ThunderBolt Crossbow (16.67% damage) DESCRIPTION: Jetpack Soldiers are special Krone Guards equipped with jetpacks that allow them to float through the air and blast you from above. They first appear towards the end of Level 7: Getaway, and are often encountered in outdoor areas, or guarding the entrances to enemy bases. Jetpack Soldiers are usually encountered in pairs, but you'll sometimes fight a group of up to 4 of them at once. There are a total of about 24 of them throughout the entire game. Jetpack Soldiers are quite dangerous, since they can fly above you and shoot you when you try to hide behind cover. They're also harder to hit than standard infantry soldiers, since they usually attack from long range and can dodge sideways to avoid your fire. On the plus side, they're slightly less durable than a standard Krone Guard, but still require several hits from the KM 2103 Karbine to kill. BEHAVIOR: Jetpack Soldiers are usually found carrying E.M.F. Cannons, and will rain down energy blasts upon you from above. They also sometimes carry KM 2103 Karbines, especially in their first few appearances, and have really good accuracy even at long range. A couple of them even carry ThunderBolt crossbows. Jetpack Soldiers typically fly through the air while constantly firing down at you. They float relatively slowly, but can dodge and strafe in midair to try and avoid your shots, and can also fly towards you in an attempt to flank above any cover you're trying to hide behind. KILL STRATEGY: Since Jetpack Soldiers usually attack you from long range, it's best to snipe them from afar with either the Echo Rifle or ThunderBolt crossbow. It can be tough to hit them with the crossbow, since they can strafe sideways in midair to dodge your shots. To make things easier, use Timeslow or Timestop to reduce their movements, making them easier to hit. Jetpack Soldiers aren't especially durable, and can be taken down with automatic fire from the KM 2103 Karbine or Hell-Fire submachine gun if you're close enough to hit them. Use zoom mode to improve your aim and accurate distance. You can also snipe them with the E.M.F. cannon's secondary fire energy bolts. Ultimately, Jetpack Soldiers aren't that much more difficult to kill than standard Krone Guards. Just be sure to use Timeslow or Timestop to compensate for their increased maneuverability, and when you take cover be sure not to let them surprise you by flying above you and shooting you. ================= =Quantum Guards:= =============================================================================== - Quantum Guards are special robotic cyborgs mass-produced by the Krone regime for use as advanced super-soldiers. All Quantum Guards possess special time-bending powers that make them significantly more dangerous than standard human infantry soldiers. They essentially serve as "rival" enemies that possess the same special abilities as you do. On the plus side, Quantum Guards are quite rare; you won't encounter them until halfway through the game, and even then you'll only fight them on a few occasions. - Although all Quantum Guards wear robot-like helmets, these helmets don't seem to protect against headshots, unlike the helmets worn by standard human infantry soldiers. Thus, all Quantum Guards are vulnerable to headshots, and can be killed with a single shot to the head from any weapon. - Unlike regular soldiers, Quantum Guards cannot be disarmed of their weapons, as their mechanical hands "lock" onto their weapons too tightly. - All Quantum Guards are resistant to the incendiary rounds of the Hell- Fire submachine gun. They cannot be set on fire, and thus cannot be killed with only a few hits from the Hell-Fire (for example, it takes 12 hits to kill a Flash Guard, whereas a Krone Guard with the same amount of health will burst into flames and die after only 3 hits). ===== Flash Guard: Appearance: Cyborg wearing green metal armor and Cylon-style helmet. Health: 250 Primary Weapon: E.M.F. Cannon (8.3% damage) Special Ability: Time Slow (superspeed) DESCRIPTION: Flash Guards are the first Quantum Guards you'll encounter in the game. They possess the same Time Slow ability you do, allowing them to move at incredible superhuman speeds (roughly 5 times faster than a normal human). A Flash Guard can cross several dozen feet in less than a second, making them almost impossible to track or fight without using your own Timeshifting powers to keep up. Flash Guards are equipped with E.M.F. Cannons, and are slightly more durable than standard Krone Guards. Overall, however, they're not much more durable than normal, and can be killed with a reasonable amount of gunfire. They are, however, tough enough to survive a close-range Shattergun blast or a direct Karbine grenade hit. Flash Guards are stored inside coffin-like metal crates stacked around enemy bases, and will burst out and attack you when you get close enough to their crates. Flash Guards are relatively uncommon; they are encountered in only four separate occasions throughout the game, and you'll fight a total of 29 of them. They are also usually encountered seperate from other enemy types, so you won't have to worry about them supporting standard Krone infantry soldiers. They are first encountered on Level 11: Liberation, where 4 of them will attack you in a cavern area. You'll fight 18 Flash Guards in a large battle on the factory floor where they are being mass produced and stored in Level 15: Factory Recall. 3 Flash Guards will attack you at the beginning of Level 18: Exeunt. Finally, 4 Flash Guards can be found in the opening shootout of Level 20: Gate Crashers, and will fight you alongside the Krone Guards and Storm Guards on the level. BEHAVIOR: Flash Guards run around at blur speed while raining down energy blasts at you with their E.M.F. rifles. Their speed is ridiculously high, much faster than any other FPS enemy out there. On the plus side, at long range Flash Guards occasionally stop running around to take cover behind an object and fire at you. When standing still, Flash Guards are no longer moving at super speeds, allowing you to hit them. Once shot, however, they'll usually go back into super speed mode to run to another piece of cover. KILL STRATEGY: To deal with Flash Guards' superhuman speeds, you'll need to use either your Time Slow or Time Stop power. Time Slow allows you to move at the same speed they do, but they're still pretty fast since they'll still be running around at "normal" speeds. Time Stop freezes them in their tracks, but costs lots of suit energy and only lasts for a total of 5 seconds. The fastest way to kill them is to tag them with a ThunderBolt crossbow bolt while they're slowed or stopped. Like all Quantum Guards, Flash Guards are vulnerable to headshots, as their robotic helmets don't seem to provide anything in the way of ballistic protection. A single headshot from any weapon will instantly drop a Flash Guard, so one good strategy is to use Time Stop to freeze them, then shoot them in the head with a KM 2103 Karbine, Shattergun, or Hell-Fire submachine gun. Finally, Flash Guards will occasionally take cover behind objects and fire at you from cover. While standing still, Flash Guards don't use their super-speed, and can be targeted and shot just like any other enemy. If you want, you can retreat and fight Flash Guards at long range, and snipe them with the ThunderBolt crossbow or Echo Rifle when they stop running around and take cover behind a wall or crate. ===== Storm Guard: Appearance: Cyborg wearing green metal armor and Cylon-style helmet, with a wrist-mounted energy shield. Health: 450 Primary Weapon: Hell-Fire Submachine Gun (Incendiary Bullets: 4.5% damage) (Flamethrower: 12.5% damage) Special Ability: Energy shield DESCRIPTION: Storm Guards are the most commonly encountered Quantum Guards you'll face in the game, in fact you'll see them being mass-produced on an assembly line in Level 17: Sabotage. They typically appear in pairs, often fighting alongside standard Krone Guards. Storm Guards are equipped with a circular wrist-mounted energy shield that protects them from all projectile attacks. The shield is indestructible, and will completely neutralize all projectiles that hit it. The shield is large, and leaves almost no part of the Storm Guard's body exposed (although it is possible to target a Storm Guard's feet, doing so isn't easy when they're running around and shooting back at you). Storm Guards are equipped with Hell-Fire submachine guns, making them incredibly deadly at close-to-medium range. They can mow you down in a couple seconds with their high rate of fire, or at close range use the Hell-Fire's flamethrower secondary fire to burn you down even more quickly. Storm Guards are also well armored, and can survive more than twice as much damage as a standard Krone Guard soldier. Storm Guards first appear about halfway through the game, in Level 13: Forced Entry. They appear fairly often; you'll fight them throughout 5 of the game's levels, and a total of 28 of them appear throughout the game. BEHAVIOR: Equipped with a large energy shield in one hand and a Hell-Fire submachine gun in the other, Storm Guards pretty much charge at you while blasting at you with their Hell-Fires, relying on their handheld energy shields to protect them from your return fire. Unlike Flash Guards or Warp Guards, they move normally, and can't run at super-speeds or teleport. Still, their protective energy shields and Hell-Fire weapons make them considerably more dangerous than standard enemy soldiers. KILL STRATEGY: The Storm Guard's major weakness is the Time Stop ability; while in Time Stop, their energy shield vanishes (apparently it fluctuates on a frequency or some technobabble like that), allowing you to target them directly. A good strategy is to use Time Stop to neutralize their shield, then shoot them with the ThunderBolt crossbow for a one-hit kill. You can also shoot them in the head with any weapon, since a single headshot will kill a Storm Guard outright. The Storm Guard's shield also doesn't protect against explosive splash damage, so you can take them out with explosive weapons. This makes the E.M.F. Cannon effective against Storm Guards, since the energy rifle projectiles explode on impact (several standard shots or a single powerful charged shot should splatter a shielded Storm Guard). You can also blow up Storm Guards with the Bloodhound rocket launcher, or blast them with the Surge Gun's secondary fire beam. Two direct hits on a Storm Guard's shield with the ThunderBolt crossbow should also kill them. Finally, you can use Time Slow to slow Storm Guards down, allowing you to snipe their exposed feet with your ThunderBolt crossbow. Their Hell-Fire submachine guns make Storm Guards extremely dangerous at close range, so no matter how you fight them, you'll want to keep as far away as possible from them. ===== Warp Guard: Appearance: Bulky, muscular cyborg wearing green metal armor, Cylon- style helmet, and WWI German spike helmet. Health: 1000 Primary Weapon: Surge Gun (7% damage) Special Ability: Time Stop (teleportation) DESCRIPTION: The most powerful and advanced of Krone's Quantum Guards, Warp Guards are the most dangerous single enemies you'll encounter in Timeshift. Warp Guards possess the Time Stop ability, which they use to teleport around you, attacking from out of nowhere (why they don't simply stop time and shoot you to death is beyond me). They typically appear in groups of 3; fortunately, you'll usually fight them by themselves, instead of alongside other enemy soldiers. Warp Guards are equipped with powerful Surge Guns, and use the weapon's powerful secondary fire continuous energy beam. They can blast you apart in less than a second of constant fire. Warp Guards are also extremely durable, and can survive several times as much damage as a standard Krone Guard soldier (it takes 67 KM 2103 Karbine bullets, 5 Karbine grenades, 5 Shattergun shots, or 14 shots from the E.M.F. Cannon to kill one). Warp Guards are so tough it takes 2 ThunderBolt crossbow hits, 2 Bloodhound rocket launcher blasts, and even 2 shots from the Surge Gun's primary fire to kill them. They can still, however, be killed with a single Clutch Grenade or fully charged E.M.F. Cannon shot. Warp Guards teleport away after being shot, making them even more difficult to kill since you can only hit them with a few bullets before they escape. Fortunately, Warp Guards are extremely rare, and you'll only fight a total of 10 of them throughout the entire game. 3 Warp Guards attack you at the very end of Level 17: Sabotage, 1 attacks at the beginning of Level 18: Exeunt, 3 will attack you at the end of Level 23: En Route, and a final 3 Warp Guards will fight you in the game's final battle against Krone's Sentinel. BEHAVIOR: Warp Guards do not run around, take cover behind objects, or dodge your attacks. Instead, they use their Time Stop ability to teleport around the area. A Warp Guard will teleport in, shoot you, and (if you manage to avoid their attack) teleport away for several seconds before reappearing somewhere else and attacking you again. Warp Guards are extremely dangerous and durable. Their Surge Gun beams can burn you down in a second, and they never miss as long as you're in their line of sight. They also teleport away as soon as you shoot them, preventing you from inflicting much damage on them using automatic weapons. KILL STRATEGY: The best tool you have against Warp Guards is actually your radar, which shows all enemies as red dots. The red dot representing the Warp Guard will actually appear on the radar about a second before the Warp Guard itself teleports into the area. Thus, the radar will warn you of where and when a Warp Guard will appear, allowing you to anticipate their appearance and get the jump on them. To survive a Warp Guard's attack, you need to put some cover between yourself and it. Warp Guards never miss with their Surge Gun beams, so the only way to avoid taking damage is to hide behind cover. You can also shoot a Warp Guard once they appear; when shot, Warp Guards stop firing and teleport away. Because Warp Guards can take so much damage, there aren't many weapons that are effective against them. Automatic weapons such as the KM 2103 Karbine or Hell-Fire submachine gun are particularly ineffective, as Warp Guards will teleport away after being shot, and thus you can only hit them with a few bullets before they vanish to safety. The absolute best way to kill a Warp Guard is to hit them with a head shot. Like Flash Guards and Storm Guards, Warp Guard helmets provide nothing in the way of ballistic protection, and they die instantly from a single headshot from any weapon. Use Time Slow or Time Stop when they appear to slow or stop them, then shoot them in the head to bring them down. Surprisingly, melee attacks are another highly effective way to kill Warp Guards. Use the radar to predict where they're about to appear, then run up to them as they teleport in, and bash them in the face with your melee attack. It should only take a few melee strikes (or a single strike to the head) to bring the Warp Guard down. =========== =Vehicles:= =============================================================================== Machine Gun Turret: Appearance: A machine gun mounted on a tripod. Damage: 5.56% damage Scattered around the game's levels are enemy gun emplacements. The lightest of these are mounted machine guns, typically mounted behind a pile of sandbags. Enemy soldiers will often run over to the machine guns and use them to open fire on you. Although only slightly more powerful than enemy handheld Karbines, machine guns have decent accuracy have a high rate of fire and infinite ammo, allowing them to spray you down with a constant stream of fire. The best way to deal with machine guns is to snipe the gunner from long range with a ThunderBolt crossbow or Echo Rifle. If you lack a long range weapon, use your Time Slow or Time Stop ability to get close enough to the machine gun to take it out with automatic fire or a well-placed grenade. Also watch for nearby exploding barrels you can shoot to blow up the gunner. Even after killing the gunner, watch out because other enemies may run over to the turret and take it over. ===== Heavy Machine Gun Turret: Appearance: Two huge chainguns attached to a swiveling pilot seat. Damage: 12% damage Heavy machine gun turrets are huge, dual chainguns controlled by a pilot seat in which the operator sits in to open fire on you. They're quite similar to the Troika gun emplacements in Gears of War, actually. Heavy machine gun turrets do heavy damage, and can kill you in 9 hits on Skilled (Normal) difficulty. Additionally, they can only be defeated by killing the gunner, who is well-protected because the large turret blocks off most of his body from your return fire. Facing a heavy machine gun turret head-on is almost always suicide. Fortunately, most turrets have stacks of exploding barrels conveniently positioned near them; shoot the barrels, and they should detonate and kill the gunner. Alternatively, you can fire a couple Karbine grenades at the turret; the splash damage should kill the gunner. ===== Troop Transport Truck: Appearance: 6-wheel flat-bed armored truck with a roof-mounted machine gun turret. Weapons: Machine Gun Turret (5.56% damage) In outdoor areas, Krone soldiers are often deployed via these troop transport trucks. A squad of Krone soldiers rides in the flat-bed at the back of the truck, while a gunner mans the mounted machine gun turret on top of the truck. The driver will also jump out the truck's driver side door and attack you too. The biggest threat comes from the truck's machine gun turret, so be sure to either take cover out of its line of sight, or kill the gunner as soon as possible. If you're quick, you can sometimes kill the soldiers riding in the back of the truck with a couple well-placed Karbine grenades before they can jump out and start fighting you. ===== Quad: Appearance: 4-wheel ATV motorbike. Health: 1660 These 1-man all-terrain motorbikes are occasionally used by individual Krone soldiers for traveling in the game's various outdoor areas. Enemies can't drive a quad and shoot at you at the same time, but you will die if you let them run you over (fortunately, they drive along pre-scripted paths and won't actively try to ram you). You can grab a Quad yourself and ride it around for faster travel across long distances, which is almost essential for getting through the game's long cross-country road levels. You can also use your Quad to run over enemy soldiers; use Time Slow to slow them down and prevent them from dodging or shooting you. Although Quads can take a lot of damage, they CAN be destroyed. If you happen to be riding or standing next to one when it explodes, you'll almost certainly be killed. Assault rifle fire isn't much threat to Quads, but watch out if a clutch grenade lands on one. ===== Cleaner: Appearance: Small, cat-sized Roomba-like robot used for sweeping floors. Health: 150 Weapon: Flamethrower (5.26% damage) Not really an enemy, the cleaners are small robots that scuttles along the floor of Krone's administration building in Level 6: Heist, cleaning and polishing the floor. However, if you attack a cleaner robot, it'll chase after you and reveal a nasty surprise: a built-in flamethrower. Although weaker than the Hell-Fire submachine gun's flamethrower, the cleaner can do decent damage to you, especially if it catches you by surprise. Fortunately, they're pretty slow, so it should be easy to stay out of their range and shoot them until they explode. If you can just ignore them, since they won't bother you as long as you don't bother them. ===== Prowler Tank: Appearance: Small metal tank with a single small cannon turret on top. Health: A lot Weapons: 130 cm Main Tank Cannon (75% damage) Dual-Barrel Machinegun Turret (9.1% damage) DESCRIPTION: A Prowler is a small tank with a a cannon turret on top and a machinegun turret mounted on the front. You'll see several unmanned Prowlers laying around various enemy bases throughout the game, and will fight one Prowler at the end of Level 3: New Blood. The Prowler basically blasts down a park gate, and opens fire on you from the other side. You need to destroy it before proceeding through the gate, or it'll cut you down as you walk through. The cannon shells from the Prowler's main cannon will knock off most of your health in a single hit, and its constant machinegun fire also does significant damage. KILL STRATEGY: The Prowler tank is heavily armored, and cannot be damaged by any of your handheld weapons. The only way to fight it is to get in the heavy machinegun turret nearby, and blast the Prowler until it blows up. You need to use Time Slow or Time Stop to give yourself a fighting chance, or else the Prowler's cannon blasts and machinegun fire will cut you down in seconds. The Prowler needs to be destroyed in stages. Activate Time Slow, jump in the turret and blast the Prowler for a few seconds, then jump out and take cover when your suit energy or health starts to run low. You'll have to do this several times before the Prowler explodes. For best results, zoom the turret's aim and aim at the Prowler's cannon. This makes it easier to hit the Prowler's cannon rounds; shooting them down prevents them from hitting you, and reduces the damage you take. ===== Sentry: Appearance: 40-foot tall bipedal Mech robot with a pair of large autocannons for arms. Health: 3000 Weapons: Dual Autocannons (25% damage) Dual Rocket Launchers (100% damage) DESCRIPTION: If Krone's armies of soldiers and Quantum Guard cyborgs weren't enough, his forces also include a healthy supply of these massive walking robots. Sentries are HUGE, twice as large as Doom 3's Cyberdemon or Quake 4's Makron. They are also equipped with powerful rapid-fire autocannons that can shred you in just 4 hits, as well as a rocket launcher that's even more powerful. Finally, Sentries are heavily armored; most weapons in the game won't even hurt them. In fact, Sentries can only be damaged by the Bloodhound rocket launcher; everything else just bounces off their thick armor. On the plus side, Sentries don't really move around that much. They usually walk to a pre-scripted position, then just stand there and fire at you until you run past to another part of the level. KILL STRATEGY: Sentries appear on several occasions in the game's first few levels; you won't be able to damage them, so your only option is to avoid their fire while running through the level. Use cover and the Time Slow ability to avoid their shots. The only Sentry that you actually fight appears towards the middle of Level 12: Road Trip. It blocks the middle of the country road you're traveling on, and you'll need to somehow get past it. The only weapon you have that can hurt the Sentry is the Bloodhound rocket launcher, and it takes 6 rockets to destroy the Sentry. If you don't have a rocket launcher, there's one in a truck just to the right of the Sentry's position. You'll need to use Timeslow and race over to the truck with your Quad ATV, grab the rocket launcher, then race back behind some cover before Timeslow runs out and the Sentry blows you away. There's a convenient large tree on the side of the road nearby that you should use as cover. Activate Time Slow or Time Stop, pop out and shoot the Sentry with your rocket launcher, than duck back behind the tree before its return fire shreds you. The Sentry is protected by several Krone Guards and a mounted machinegun turret, so you'll probably want to get rid of them with some ThunderBolt crossbow sniping before taking on the Sentry itself. ===== Helo: Appearance: A futuristic assault helicopter/hovership with turbines for wings. Health: 3000 Weapons: Machinegun (5.56% damage) DESCRIPTION: Helos are the futuristic assault helicopters use by Krone's regime for air support. They're equipped with a nose-mounted machinegun, and will fly over you while blasting away. They're also very manueverable, and can strafe in mid-air to dodge incoming rocket fire (they're not as manueverable as Half Life 2's Combine Gunships, but are still quite capable of dodging your rockets). Finally, like most other enemy vehicles, Helos are well armored, and are immune to most of your weapons. They can only be destroyed by the Bloodhound rocket launcher or the Surge Gun, and the Surge Gun isn't a practical weapon to use against them due to lack of availability. It takes 6 rocket launcher hits, or 7 Surge Gun hits, to destroy them. Helos appear a few times in the game, but you'll only actually fight them twice. You fight a Helo at the beginning of Level 18: Exeunt, and towards the end of Level 20: Gate Crashers. In Level 18: Exeunt, you'll be on a platform on the side of a cliff, while the Helo hovers in the air in front of you firing at you. In Level 20: Gate Crashers, you fight in the yard of an enemy base, and the Helo will circle around you, dodging behind buildings, and flying past in strafing runs to blast at you. KILL STRATEGY: The only weapon that works against Helos is the Bloodhound rocket launcher. Fortunately, whenever you need to fight a Helo, there's a weapon crate with a rocket launcher nearby if you search around a little. It takes 6 rocket hits to bring down a Helo, but Helos have the ability to strafe in mid-air and dodge your rocket shots, preventing you from hitting them. You can use the rocket launcher's secondary fire to guide rockets at the Helo. When aiming through the rocket launcher's scope, a red laser dot in the crosshair will guide any rockets fired towards it. Just point the laser dot at the Helo, and the rockets will track it as it dodges around (the principle will be familiar to those of you who've played Half Life 2 and killed Combine Gunships with the rocket launcher). While Helos cannot shoot down rockets, they can dodge around enough that hitting them is still quite difficult even if you use the laser dot to guide your rockets to them. One of the main reasons for this is that the Bloodhound's rockets are relatively slow, significantly slower than Half Life 2's rocket launcher rockets. To make hitting Helos easier, use your Time Slow or Time Stop abilities in combination with the rocket launcher. A good strategy is to wait until the Helo gets relatively close to you, then activate Time Stop to freeze it. In the 5 seconds Time Stop lasts, you can hit the Helo with 3 to 4 rockets, and it won't be able to dodge since it's frozen still. Be sure to hide behind cover so the Helo's machinegun fire doesn't hurt you while you wait for it to get close enough to freeze and shoot. While it is technically possible to destroy a Helo with the Surge Gun's primary fire, you can't actually manage it since the Helo can just dodge the Surge Gun energy balls, and you can't carry enough ammo for the Surge Gun to actually do the job. ===== Sentinel: Appearance: Massive mobile fortress on four spider-like legs, more than 20 stories tall. Health: Plasma Turrets (6 Surge Gun shots) Main Plasma Cannon (3 Surge Gun shots) Weapons: Plasma Turrets (70% damage) Missiles (100% damage) Main Plasma Cannon (100% damage) DESCRIPTION: The Sentinel is Krone's headquarters, a massive mobile oppression fortress almost the size of a city block, walking around on huge spider-like legs. It's massive, a small city unto itself, and much larger than the similar-in-concept Scarab walkers from Halo 2 and 3. While it appears at several points throughout the game, the Sentinel is only fought at the very end of the game's last level, Level 24: Consequences. it's essentially the game's final boss. The Sentinel is protected by 3 huge plasma turrets mounted on top, as well as a massive main turret mounted on the beast's underbelly. It can also fire artillery barrages of a few dozen heavy missiles. KILL STRATEGY (PHASE 1): You fight the temporarily stationary Sentinel from a nearby rooftop across the street from it, from which you have a clear view of its 3 plasma turrets. Fortunately, the turrets are currently occupied firing at other areas of the city. When the battle first begins, you'll be attacked on the roof by 3 Warp Guards. Kill them (Timeslow + headshots are best), then take their Surge Guns and attack the Sentinel's plasma turrets. In this phase of the battle, you need to destroy the Sentinel's 3 plasma turrets. Each turret requires 6 Surge Gun shots to bring down (the turrets can ONLY be damaged by the Surge Gun's primary fire energy balls). You need to act quickly, because as soon as you kill the Warp Guards, the central turret will swivel around and start blasting at you. The turret's huge plasma bolts do heavy damage, and you can't really take cover from them since they do large splash damage, and also destroy the pieces of the rooftop wall you might try to take cover behind. To destroy the turrets without being blown away, use Time Slow and fire all 6 shots of your Surge Gun at them. Since it's the one shooting you, you obviously should destroy the central turret first. Once a plasma turret is destroyed, the Sentinel will launch a massive artillery barrage of a few dozen missiles at you. These missiles are very powerful; a direct hit from a single missile will kill you instantly, and even the splash damage from a near-miss will knock off most of your health. The missiles are aimed all across the rooftop you're on, so there's no real "safe spot" you can hide from them. To survive the missile barrage, stand on the middle of the roof and look up to see the pattern that the missiles are falling in. Use Time Slow to increase your speed, and run away from the areas of the roof that the missiles are about to hit. After the missile barrage is finished, collect more Surge Guns from the weapon crates scattered around the roof, and destroy another plasma turret. Fortunately, the remaining 2 turrets won't attack you until you shoot them, and if you use Time Slow and fire off all 6 Surge Gun shots, you should destroy each turret before it can swivel around and start shooting you. After you destroy each turret, the Sentinel will launch another missile barrage at you. KILL STRATEGY (PHASE 2): After all 3 plasma turrets are destroyed, the Sentinel will walk off out of your line of sight. The final missile barrage will also have opened a hole in the wall you can walk through. Follow the path to reach the end of the game. You'll end up on a fire escape overlooking a street where Occupant resistance fighters are finishing off a couple squads of Krone Police soldiers. The Sentinel will come around the corner. You need to destroy the Sentinel's main plasma turret to end the game. This is easier than it seems. At first, the main turret seems hard to hit, since your Surge Gun shots are pretty slow, and the Sentinel is a moving target. Simply wait for the Sentinel to stop moving when it gets close to you. At this point, it will charge up the main turret to fire. Simply aim your Surge Gun at the main turret and fire away with the primary fire. 3 shots willl destroy the turret and cause the Sentinel to collapse. Just don't sit around twiddling your thumbs, because after a few seconds the main turret will fire, destroying the entire area and killing you instantly. END OF TEXT Copyright 2008 Alan Chan