Unreal Tournament 2004 FAQ by Nero E-mail: nero_orog@hotmail.com Copyright 2004 George Minkov Version 1.4 This is the second FAQ of my FAQ-writing career (the first being a personal failure for letting so many people down) and I hope it will redeem my personal honour somewhat. I WILL finish this FAQ. Cross my heart and hope to die. I noticed no-one has made a full UT2004 FAQ, so I decided to step in and *drum roll* save the day. We’ll see how I fair. Table of contents: 1. Version History 2. Disclaimer 3. The Concept of Unreal 3. 1.The Concept of Unreal – Basic Stuff 3.2. The Concept of Unreal Tournament 3.3. The Concept of Unreal Tournament 2004 4. History 4.1. The plot of UT2004 4.2. Unreal throughout the years 5. Game basics 5.1. Movement 5.2. Gunfire 5.3. Teamwork 5.4. Adrenaline & Adrenaline Combos 6. Pick-Ups 7. Weapons & Tactics 8. Vehicles & Tactics 9. Game Modes 9.1. Death Match 9.2. Team Death Match 9.3. Double Domination 9.4. Bombing Run 9.5. Capture the Flag 9.7. Assault 9.8. Onslaught 9.9. Mutant 9.10. Last Man Standing 9.11. Invasion 10. Some Strategies 11. Miscellaneous 12. When to contact me 13. Roll Credits -- ------------ 1. Version History -- ------------ 1.0 This FAQ is taking much longer than I thought, so I’ll have to upload it in parts. This version contains only 5 sections + version history and disclaimer, so the FAQ is done up to section 7. I’m currently working on section 8. 1.1. -Fixed my disclaimer to point to section 12 instead of 8. Bet none of you caught that :) -Corrected a TON of typos in sections 1-7. -Updated Link Gun Secondary Fire Mode to now state it pushes vehicles (thanks to Brayden McLean). -Changed the words “vehicle” and “vehicles” to be lowercase everywhere, except in the beginning of sentences. -Changed all “loose” to “lose” because I didn’t know how to spell it, but I do now (thanks to Michael Healey). -Updated the Credits. 1.2. -Corrected even more spelling mistakes (thanks to John Rush). -The amount of typos demands an immediate update, so that’s all. 1.3. -Corrected an error about the Grenade Launcher, which said it was only available in ONS, while it is also available in AS (thanks to Richard Clarke). -Added Ball Launcher to “Weapons” section. How the hell did I miss that? (thanks to Daniel Houseward) -I’ve made significant progress with the “Vehicles” section (I’ve started it), but it’s not ready for show yet. 1.4 -I’m still alive. I realise I haven’t updated my FAQ for a few months now. That was due to technical difficulties, but that sorted now. You can expect version 2 to be up within the next few weeks. -And also included an extra tactic for the Ball Launcher (thanks to Dale) -- ------------ 2. Disclaimer -- ------------ This is my first ever FAQ, so I hope you’ll like it. I also hope it gets approved. If you have ANY suggestions or tips, or if you’ve found errors or inaccuracies, or you just want to say how good my FAQ is, drop me a line, but check section “12.When to contact me” Now, it’s not like I made something worthy of honour, but still if you feel inclined to use it, drop me a line to ask for my permission. I’d be ever so happy if someone liked my FAQ enough to want to use it, or parts of it, so permission is no problem at all. But it would be really mean of you to just copy and paste it without even mentioning me. Thanks. Now the same thing in a more menacing manner of speech. The use of this FAQ in any websites, forums, message boards, or any other places with public access without my DIRECT permission is STRICTLY prohibited. Ask me before you put my FAQ anywhere and it should be OK. Even with my permission, you can only use the FAQ in its entirety, with this disclaimer included. If you want to print it for easy access, be my guest. Also, do not, under any circumstances, use it for profit. If anyone should be making money from it, it’s me. But I’m not, so neither should you. -- ------------ 3. The Concept of Unreal -- ------------ Here you can find the ideology behind the unreal franchise as a whole, as well as more in-depth details. This is strictly for those who care to be immersed in the atmosphere of the game and really “feel” it. For those of you who just want to score some frags and go to bed, just skip a few chapters down. -- ------------ 3.1. The Concept of Unreal – Basic Stuff Unreal. Read that very carefully. Done? Now read it again. Good. The concept of this game was to create a fast-paced and diverse FPS, while refraining from realism. In this game you will find weapons that fire beams and glowing balls, rockets that that juggle people, a handheld nuclear weapon. Moreover, you can (and probably should) fire those weapons while you run and jump. Maps will consist of a tangled maze of pointless halls and rooms, or wooded areas with elevators all around and jump pads that launch you in the air, things of that nature. For those of you who have played any other UT game (or Quake) this should be readily apparent. For those of you who haven’t (not that there are any), stop thinking of your character as a real being that has to obey rules like “gravity” and “common sense”. Instead, let go of your inhibitions. Run as fast as you can, jump as high as you can (and off as many walls as you can) and fire as quickly as you can. Then die, respawn and fight again. And lighten up. -- ------------ 3.2. The Concept of Unreal Tournament In the “Tournament” branch of Unreal games, things are a little more multiplayer oriented, and a little more team-like. Get with the groove of the game, but don’t lose track of overall objectives and try not to piss off your team-mates. Cooperation here is key in almost all game modes and so is coordination. Learn to work in a team and take orders every once in a while and you will win. In fact, this is the part where a lot of people lose their resolve, go off goofing around while their team loses and usually get yelled at and kicked. Keep a level head and an eye out for objectives and try not to die… too much. If you can’t play in a team, there are still a lot of non-team Game Modes, but avoid entering anything other than Team DM. -- ------------ 3.3. The Concept of Unreal Tournament 2004 UT2004 brings Unreal tournament into the realm of next-generation games. The key difference is the addition of the Onslaught game mode, together with vehicles. In UT2004, more than in any other Unreal game, teamwork is essential. This time around, you MUST play as a well organised team, or suffer a “Humiliating Defeat”. Solo action will very rarely cut it, even if it “sorta” fits into the general strategy of the team. The vastly increased amount of tactical options, as well as the vastly decreased margin for error, means that the game now requires a different kind of determination. You will need to be more selfless, more ruthless and more disciplined than ever before. That is, if you really want to win. If you want to just goof around and have fun then do so, but the team probably won’t like it. -- ------------ 4. History -- ------------ This is just a short summary of what you’re supposed to be doing in UT (single player) as well as a recap on the most important events in the tournament. Also featured here are the past Unreal games and what has changed since the beginning. I will purposely omit Unreal 2 and Expansion pack, since I don’t like them and they have nothing to do with the game at hand. -- ------------ 4.1. The plot of UT2004 A long time ago the humans fought a war with the Skaarj, which left their galactic empire in shambles. To assist in the rebuilding of the colonies by calming down enraged colonists, the Liandri Corporation came up with the idea of staging a gladiatorial tournament for the miners. The interest was so high that it grew into a sport, with sponsored teams battling in specially made arenas. From the very beginning, Xan Kreigor, a robot, reigned as champion in the Tournament, until Malcolm, then leading the team Thunder Crash, defeated him and proceeded to merge with the other popular team at the time – the Iron Guard, lead by Brock. In last year’s tournament, they were defeated by the Juggernauts, lead by gene-boosted monster Gorge. This year, as the Tournament enters its 10th year, Malcolm is back with his old team Thunder Crash and trying to reclaim his title as champion, Brock is back with the Iron Guard and trying for glory of his own and Gorge and the Juggernauts are there to defend their title. Additionally, the Skaarj Empire has sent a team of their own to the tournament in search of honour and glory and ex-champion Xan Kreigor (now simply Xan) has had some modifications and is back to return the title where it belongs. There are other events, but they are not as important, or as interesting. Oh, and you enter the tournament to give it a shot. -- ------------ 4.2. Unreal throughout the years A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a game called Unreal was created by (then called) Epic. It brought a myriad of innovative features to the FPS genre (including bot match) and set the standards for future games to come. But more than that, it created a futuristic, science-fiction universe where people have become a space-fairing civilization. Since then several companies have been building on that success and still somehow manage to bring out games that are the same, only much better. Hats off to these guys. The weapons included a forked chargeable pistol, an automatic pistol, an automatic rifle, the Gloop Gun, the infamous Razor Jack, a sort of minigun, the sniper rifle, the Eight-Ball, as well as some weapons I can’t remember. The original Unreal brought players something no game had before (or at least not so well done). As a result, an expansion set was released for the game by Legend Entertainment Company. Sadly, I didn’t play it. After that, Unreal Tournament was released by Digital Extremes. That was (to my knowledge) the first game designed primarily for multiplayer. It also brought a huge update in graphics, but more importantly, in gameplay. Although other games of the time (I think) supported Capture The Flag, UT took that to a whole new level, with beautifully designed and carefully planned maps. At that point a new kind of player was born – the team player. Suddenly, playing in a team became just as important as playing well, which allowed the weaker but smarter players to team up and defeat the Quake-zombies. It was the dawn of a new age in FPS, at least for me. Also, the infinite chargeable pistol was replaced with the Impact Hammer melee weapon, the automatic pistol was remodelled into the Enforcer, the assault rifle was removed, the minigun was redesigned, the Razor Jack was renamed the Ripper and redesigned, the Eight-Ball was renamed the Rocket Launcher and remodelled. The rest I mentioned were just remodelled and I don’t know about the others. After that, Unreal Tournament 2003 was released, again by Digital Extremes. It was just the same as the original UT, only with VASTLY superior graphics. What it really did was update an aging but still good game, for which I personally am grateful. But it also added a few very interesting, elements – double-jump and adrenaline. In my opinion, double-jump was THE first useful kind of jumping in a firefight in any FPS. Adrenaline was also an innovative addition and it actually contributed a lot to team play (when used right) – yeah, go catch that flag-thief who just activated speed! All of the weapons are just the same as in the original UT but redesigned, except for the impact hammer, which was turned into the Shield Gun, the Enforcer, which was turned into the Assault Rifle, and the Ion Painter, which was a new weapon. They also removed the Assault Game Mode mode. Lastly, not all that long ago, Unreal Tournament 2004 was released by Epic Games (the former Epic). To everyone’s surprise, it was JUST THE SAME AS UT2003. Then people looked closer and thought about it. Then they were blown away. UT2004 is more different from UT2003 than UT2003 is from UT. The addition of vehicles in one new mode – Onslaught – made this a completely different game. More team-oriented than ever, yet still a frantic Death Match. A new breed of gamer is required for this game, one who has both skill and strategy, as well as the smarts to tie the two together. So far, I have seen a few of these and they were just contrasting to everyone else. Or maybe everyone else just sucked. All the weapons from UT2003 are present, though the Assault Rifle, Shock Rifle and Link Gun were remodelled. A few weapons were added: The Mine Layer, the Grenade Launcher, The AVRiL, and the Target Painter. Also, Unreal 2 and expansion were released sometime before 2004 and that’s all there is to it. -- ------------ 5. Game basics -- ------------ Here, I will give you a complete overview of all you need to do to become a good UT2004 player. The basics include moving, shooting, thinking, team coordination, as well as a few other things. -- ------------ 5.1. Movement I will divide this section into two parts – basic and advanced, since there are things people are comfortable with and some things (the more important ones) that people will have a hard time getting used to. 5.1.1. Basic movement RUNNING (Directional Buttons) Obviously, that’s what you’ll be doing most of the time to get around. More importantly, you will use it in battle. “A moving target is harder to hit” is no joke. You stand around and you’ll eat rockets or shrapnel. Strafe around your enemy, but change directions every now and then to avoid becoming predictable. However, keep in mind that there are faster ways to get around on foot, as well as better ways to dodge in combat. Also note the game has no “walk” button. JUMPING (Jump Button) Despite what you might think, this is next to useless. A single jump is too low, too slow and too predictable. Only use it if the ceiling is too low or there is a chance of getting caught on the ornaments above you. It could sometimes also be used for Wall-Jumps, but not all that often. Whenever possible, use Double-Jump. DOUBLE-JUMP (Double-tap Jump Button) Now we’re getting somewhere. A very useful manoeuvre and one that should become second nature to you. Whenever there is enough room for, chain your normal Jump into a Double-Jump. There is a small trick here, though, as you need to press the second jump BEFORE you start descending, or it won’t work. The Double-Jump has a lot of uses, including reaching high places, but the most important one is surviving in combat. The saying “an airborne target is harder to hit” is very true in this case. But in addition it also puts you really high from the ground, which lets you fire your rockets at a greater angle against the ground, which makes aiming the Rocket Launcher so much easier. Do not rest easy though, as the Double-Jump moves horizontally very slowly and a good player can still tell where you are going to land and give you a three-rocket cushion to land on, or simply a face-full of flak. CROUCHING (Crouch Button) Crouching is a very underrated move, even by those that use it. The idea that you have to be always on the move would seem to leave little time for crouching. Well, what few players understand is that in team games not all people have to “go do something”. There is still the need for people to stay back in base and defend. In this respect, the crouch is perfect for sniping from behind a boulder or a low fence, or concealing yourself on high ledges. Mostly you want to hide your torso – a bad sniper’s primary target and a good sniper’s average target – behind a piece of geometry. Trust me, there are a lot of places to do that. Additionally, it provides a means of looking through a hole in the floor. Simply duck, step back a bit and you can see (and snipe in) a lot more of the room below. Also, you will not fall over edges while crouched, so that’s useful for making sure you don’t fall off a small ledge while sniping. DRIVING (Directional buttons, Jump and Crouch Buttons, Mouse) For goodness sake, people! Learn how to drive! Throttle and Break/Reverse is done with the forward and backward Directional Buttons, steering left and right is done with the Left and Right Directional Buttons. The camera (and weapon) is controlled with the Mouse. Additionally, some vehicles have a handbrake or jump, which is done with the Jump key. There are a few simple rules for driving: KNOW where you’re going; WATCH the road, unless you HAVE to look the other way; try NOT to run over teammates that you come across; if there are teammates around you approach them – they may want a ride. 5.1.1. Advanced movement DODGING (Double-tap any Directional Button) The reason something this easy to do is in Advanced, is that you SOULDN’T do it. It’s slow, it’s short and it has a nasty recharge time (the time it takes before you can do another dodge). It really doesn’t cover all that much distance, nor does it do it very quickly. In almost every situation, you’d be better off using a Dodge-Jump. A possible exception is the case of insufficient space, where you’re fighting on a narrow platform with lava/acid/bottomless pit to the sides, or in low gravity, where the Dodge-Jump covers TOO much distance. Generally, avoid this move in favour of the Dodge-Jump. Also, do NOT dodge uphill or up the stairs. It DOESN’T work. DODGE-JUMP (Double-tap any Directional Button then hit the Jump Button) Again, we’re getting somewhere. The Dodge-Jump is everything the Dodge is, but better. It moves much faster, goes much further and can actually be used to get from place to place faster. There are a few ways you can use the Dodge-Jump. The most obvious (I suppose) is for faster travel. Actually, that’s what you’ll want to use most of the time, unless you’re climbing a hill or stairs, or have to make a sharp turn. The Dodge-Jump is plagued by the same recharge as the simple dodge, so adjust your dodge timing. The second, and much more useful (and harder) way to use Dodge-Jump is in combat. The most common way is Dodge-Jumping to the side. That will put you away from most splash damage (possibly excluding the Shock Combo), while giving you time to act. Most players will lose sight of you for a moment and even those that don’t will have a hard time aiming at something moving that fast. Provided you can aim while doing it, you’ll usually get the upper hand. Just be mindful of your surroundings – don’t Dodge-Jump in the corner, onto jagged geometry or into traps - and watch the recharge time – you can’t do them one after the other. Another useful technique is to Dodge-Jump forward, into the enemy’s fire. It may sound crazy, but it works against the rocket launcher. The enemy will usually aim at your feet, while you fly over the rocket and end up in his face, Flak Cannon in hand. Just watch it, OK? Finally, Dodge-Jumping backwards is a smart move. If you have the flag and want to kill your tail, turn around and shoot. But don’t forget (like many players), that you ca still Dodge-Jump away from the enemy, while laying a carpet of covering fire. WALL-JUMP (While airborne and near a wall, double-tap Directional Button away from it.) Immensely useful. Especially given the fact that you can do it after a double jump. The sole purpose of this move is to avoid landing on rockets and bombs. Even the best of player oftentimes find themselves Double-Jumping into wall in the heat of battle and end up sitting on rockets. What few of them do is Wall-Jump. It covers a lot of ground, moves quickly AND it extends your Double-Jump. Actually, it’s smart to double-jump INTO walls, since that gives you an ace up your sleeve. It puts you where the enemy won’t expect and puts you there before he can aim (most of the time). Just be mindful of the surroundings. Wall-Jumping is not recommended in crammed spaces, since you slam in the opposite wall and just sort of hang there for a while. It is also not recommended with traps around, since you can’t really aim it. Finally, don’t do it if the ceiling is too low or too jagged. -- ------------ 5.2. Gunfire Again, I will divide this section in two parts – basic and advanced. Basic consists of thing that every player should know, lest they be laughed at and ridiculed in every game they enter. Advanced consists of more interesting things, the kind that makes the game into an art. 5.2.1. Basic Gunfire FIRING MODES (Primary Fire Button and Secondary Fire Button) As in all Unreal games, in UT2004 all weapons have 2 Firing Modes, dubbed Primary and Secondary. Which is which can be set from the options menu, under “Weapons” with the checkbox “Switch Firing Mode”. The two Fire Modes of a single weapon may, or may not have anything in common and are usually good for different things. More than that is weapon-specific, so I’ll get into detail later on. Just learn what fire mode is good for what and don’t make a fool out of yourself. The same goes for vehicles. AIMING (Mouse) It may sound intensely stupid, but learn how to aim. Most people are fairly accurate when standing still, but can’t hit the broadside of a barn when running. Take time to practice your marksmanship. And remember – crouching does NOT improve your aim and running does not hamper it. Learn to fire from moving vehicles. There’s a good reason the moving direction of the vehicles is not directly attached to the camera direction. That allows you to do drive-by’s, which usually makes you harder to hit. “A moving target is harder to hit”, remember? If the vehicle can jump and strafe, use those too. INVENTORY (Weapon Select Buttons) For some reason, the guys at Atari never updated the HUD to display more than 10 weapons at a time, while there are about 16 now. As a result, what you see is not always what you have. Yes, when you have two weapons that occupy the same slot, that slot will have an effect on it to signify this, but it’s not readily apparent and you can miss it very easily. Try to remember what you have in case you need it. This is most important for the AVRiL. It occupies the same slot as the Rocket Launcher, so if you have an AVRiL, use it. Don’t go about improvising. SELF-INJURY Most weapons in the game have splash damage on at least one of their Firing Modes and the Flak Cannon shrapnel ricochets off wall. Be careful when Double-Jumping and Dodge-Jumping, so as not to end up shooting at a beam or a doorframe right in front of you after the jump. Try to avoid shooting splash damage weapons at people in your face whenever possible. 5.2.2. Advanced Gunfire LEADING YOUR TARGET All but a few weapons in the game fire projectiles that take time to reach their target. That means you have to fire not where your enemy currently is, but where you think he will be when the projectile hits. This is where all the running and jumping around comes into play. If your enemy is running in a circle, fire a bit in front of him. If your enemy is airborne, do NOT fire at him unless you’re using an instant hit weapon (and even then try to avoid it). Instead, try to see where he will land and send a few rockets/bombs to greet him. If your enemy is dodge-jumping, chances are you won’t be able to lead him, so try to keep him in sight and shoot when he lands. Leading target is even more important in vehicles, since most have slow moving projectiles. Even when your vehicles has a fire-and-forget homing weapon it still pays to lead target a bit, since most of what you’ll be aiming at will be very fast. SNIPING Even though both sniper rifles in the game are instant hit weapons, it still pays to lead target with them. Even if your reaction time is perfect, it still takes some time to process the thought, pull the trigger and draw the animation, and it only takes the enemy a couple of frames to get out of the way if he is running. So lead target just a bit. Aim for the head ONLY if you’re very good, or if you’re aiming at a stationary target. Headshots are sweet, but you can still score hits without them, so aim for the torso. It’s big, it’s round, and a shot there often kills players who are low on health. Also, when sniping, remember your shoes are not nailed to the ground. If you notice someone shooting at you move to the side or hide behind something without un-zooming. This is even more important when fighting another sniper, since he will have as good a chance to kill you as you will have to kill him. Strafe and constantly change directions while your gun is reloading. A good strategy is strafe until he shoots, then stop to get a better aim while his gun is reloading. Additionally, the Hellbender has a beefy sniper cannon on its back, but more on that later. KNOWING YOUR WEAPONS Learn what each weapon does and what it is good for. Then learn what each of the fire mode of each weapon is good for. We’re talking situation, range, accuracy, specific characteristics. These are weapon specific, so I’ll get into detail later. Another thing to do is REMEMBER what weapons you have. Don’t hog “the most powerful weapon” you have if it’s wrong for the circumstances. Recall (or look at) what weapons you have and switch to one that is more appropriate. Keep in mind that not all weapons are displayed in the HUD inventory, due to the lack of space. Also, keep in mind that there is no “most powerful weapon” in this game (with the possible exception of Superweapons). If you think the Rocket Launcher is the best, try using in crammed spaces. If you think the Flak Cannon rules, try using it at long range. But more on that later. Knowing your weapons is even more important when it comes to vehicles (which are just weapons with health instead of ammo). If you can’t drive a certain vehicle, leave it to someone else. Only take vehicles you’re not familiar with if there is no-one else around. Vehicles are very valuable and must be put to good use, lest the team loses. Each vehicle has its own characteristics, things it can easily kill and things that can easily kill it, so learn those and try to tag along with vehicles that can protect you. More details later. Additionally, some vehicles require people on foot (yes, people on foot) to protect them. ANTICIPATING ENEMY MOVES AND LEARNING THE MAP This is key, especially in Death Match. Don’t chase an enemy down a hall while he’s plastering you with flak grenades. Stop, think where this hall leads and intercept him. This catches 9 out of 10 people unprepared. If your enemy is trying to hide behind a pillar, don’t follow him around in a merry-go-round. Either shoot on the other side of the pillar, or circle the other way and outflank him. People love to pick up weapons. Therefore, it’s a good idea to just fire a rocket or bomb at heavy weapon locations every time you pass by, just in case. Also, in a firefight, people will want to pick up weapons, so sometimes it’s a good idea to fire your rockets/bombs at a pickup, rather than leading target. That works especially well with Shield Packs. Another good idea is, when you are being chased, turn a corner and wait a couple of seconds. If your pursuer comes after you, feed him some Flak. If he doesn’t, Dodge-Jump back around the corner and give chase. Know how to get to Nodes quickly and learn to navigate on the radar map (on Onslaught). Also, try to tell where an enemy is heading and teleport around the map to intercept him, rather than chasing him, since once he attacks a node, you can no-longer teleport there. If the enemy is attacking your node, there’s a good chance you can sneak up on him for maximal damage. Don’t open pointless fire from a mile away, only to be blasted by a Tank cannon. SUPERWEAPONS No, using Superweapons is NOT cheap, it’s a tactical advantage. In fact, using Superweapons becomes a form of art with friendly fire on, in that you want to kill the enemy without incinerating your own team. In certain situations (especially against a Leviathan) you will actually need Superweapons. Learn where they spawn and how long they take to respawn. Learn where and when to use them. Different Superweapons are good for different things, but they are all good for more than just scoring frags. You could vaporise the entire defending team (and yourself if need be), thus allowing your team-mates to capture the flag/hold the point/capture the node/whatever. Inversely, you could kill an enemy strike force that has stolen your flag if your whole team just got nailed. Of course, you must always be careful that you don’t do so much collateral damage that it makes your act treason. If there are a lot of friendly vehicles around, then it’s probably not a good idea to fire, since they may just hold their ground. There are other uses of Superweapons, but I’ll explain them with each weapon. -- ------------ 5.3. Teamwork Here is a (relatively) short explanation on how to play well in a team. Those of you who think they already know how to play in a team – stop thinking and read on. Even if it all seems downright obvious, read it anyway. There are some finer points here that you’d do well to at least pay attention to. COMMUNICATION Communication in team games is a very important aspect. Even more so with the introduction of a more team-oriented Game Mode, as well as Voice Chat and Text-to-Speech. Even the best of players are still not psychic. They need to know where they are needed. There are several ways to do that. The tried and tested way is to simply “teamsay” to them, but that forces you to stop moving while you type, and the “communicating” animation of your model through that time does little to preserve your life. Furthermore, by the time you’re done, it’s often too late. Another way is through the Voice Menu, which is what all people without a microphone should use. Either use the Voice Menu, or use the Speech Bind option for faster use. Finally, using Voice Chat tends to produce best results, but is often unreliable due to connection problems and some people’s innate inability to pronounce. It also requires that you provide your own locations, since your location isn’t given when you use Voice Chat. That being said, simply using these communication options without consideration can lead to serious problems. In your efforts to communicate not-all-that-valuable information, make sure you don’t drown out your team-mates pleas for “HELP!!!”. In respect to Voice Chat, do not, I repeat, do NOT have any other sources of loud noise around for your mic to pick up. There’s nothing more annoying than a low quality crappy song by God knows who beating in your headphones while you’re trying to nail that sniper who’s killing your team. Also, be mindful about using Voice Chat. Crap over the headphones is much less tolerated than crap anywhere else. You can brag, curse, laugh every once in a while, but don’t make a habit of it. When you start getting 10 “shut up” messages every time you speak, you’ll know you’ve crossed the line. That said, any form of communication gives your team a clearer picture of events on the map, and so a clearer picture of what they should do. And people who know what they’re supposed to be doing usually fare better than people who don’t. WORK WITH THE TEAM Remember, every team Game Mode has an objective. Learn what that objective is and work to achieve it. However, rushing off to do the objective is rarely successful against a coordinated defence. There is strength in numbers, so wait for team-mates to join you in the attack. If they won’t, then you can join THEM for their attack. You don’t always have to be going somewhere to be useful. If everyone’s left and there’s no-one to guard the base, then don’t rush out after them. Instead, stay behind and guard. That is just as useful as attacking, provided there aren’t enough people to do it already. After a melee, don’t pick up the weapons unless you need them. Your team-mates might be running low on ammo, or have crappy guns, so let them see if there’s something they need. After that, or if no-one is showing interest (or if you really need them), THEN pick them up. Similarly, you can toss strong weapons you don’t need to team-mates who look like they do. You’re not loosing much, but they’re gaining a lot. Listen to orders every once in a while. The person talking might know better than you. Never injure your team-mates on purpose and try to avoid injuring them by accident. Sometimes it can’t be avoided, but most times it can. You should value victory more than your own life. Don’t be afraid to die if it helps your team. Most of the time you’ll be able to respawn right away. In fact, you can suicide when you have the time, to refill your health and spawn closer to the action. Goofing around, neglecting objectives, team-killing and sheer stupidity will hamper your team more than having one player less, so avoid them at all costs. Remember, people expect you to help out. Don’t disappoint them. And one final point. Learn how to follow the damn arrow in Assault. If you can’t look around. Objectives show through any and all geometry. They’re not really all that hard to find. RULES OF CONDUCT To avoid getting angry looks (which you won’t see) and angry insults (which you WILL see), there are a few things you should do. First and foremost, treat all players, team-mates and enemies, nice guys and assholes, nice. Don’t insult people over the smallest detail, don’t make personal threats or demands, and avoid bloody vengeance for every little thing. Everyone can screw up once in a while, so give them a break. If someone insults you, keep a level head and ignore him. If he continues to do so, mute him from the ESC menu. If someone asks you to do something, it’s usually a good idea to do it. It makes him happy and leaves you happy you helped. That is, unless he’s asking you to do something very stupid or very offensive or annoying for other players. Just as well, don’t do any of those things on your own either. With almost all modes being team-based, not playing in a team is another thing that infuriates people. Try to be part of the team, or at least have a high enough score (which is gained by playing in a team). If they still get angry, defending yourself is pointless, as it’s only likely to cause a conflict. Camping is generally accepted as a natural form of defence, and a form of attack to counter defending campers. However, camping which has NO strategic significance is unacceptable. That includes camping a spawn point, camping a weapon site, camping a busy way. Those things will earn you insults from your team for not cooperating and insults from the enemy for being cheap. Another thing to note is that in team-games, frags account for very little. You may have the highest frags and still be the useless bastard of the team. Concentrate on what you’re supposed to be doing and you’ll have a higher score. Also spamming long pointless messages like “wwwwwwwwwwwww”, so that the Text-to-Speech would spend LITERALLY 10 minutes saying “dublju” is a sure way to make everyone hate you. In a few words: don’t do things that would annoy you, and listen to what the team has to say and you’ll be alright. -- ------------ 5.4. Adrenaline & Adrenaline Combos Adrenaline is used for Adrenaline Combos. You gain adrenaline by grabbing Adrenaline pick-ups, killing your opponents, receiving rewards such as Multi Kills, Killing Sprees and Special Awards, as well as securing objectives (such as capturing flags and scoring goals). Once it reaches 100, you can activate an Adrenaline Combo by doing the Combo move. Those moves are specific for each Combo and are given below. Once you activate a Combo, it will drain your adrenaline at a constant rate until it runs out, at which point the Combo will end. You can still gain Adrenaline while a combo is active and that will increase its duration. If you are killed with a combo active you will lose all your available Adrenaline. There are 4 Adrenaline combos, plus an additional 2 through a Mutator, called Extra Combos. I will use the following abbreviations when stating Combo moves: F = move forward, B = move back, L = strafe left, R = strafe right. Also, I will explain the Game Modes for which each Adrenaline Combo is most useful, as well as some basic strategies. For more detailed strategies, see each Game Mode’s section. For information on how much Adrenaline you gain for awards, see Awards in section 11. Miscellaneous. For information on how much Adrenaline you gain for completing objectives, see each Game Mode’s objectives. Speed (F F F F) Most useful for: Bombing Run, Capture the Flag Upon activation, you will hear the announcer say “Speed” and your feet will glow yellow and you will also leave yellow trails. This Combo will effectively double your movement speed and the height of all your jumps, but it will gobble up adrenaline like crazy. Speed is the most Adrenaline hungry Combo and it will only last for a few seconds before your Adrenaline runs out. Still it’s a good idea to use when you have the Ball in BR and you’re on the home stretch, or you need to clear a large gap or jump on a high platform to reach the goal. It’s useful in the same respect in CTF, but since you can fight back with the flag in your hands, there are other Combos that are more useful. Speed is next to worthless in any other mode. Booster (B B B B) Most useful for: Death Match, Team Death Match, Capture the Flag Mutant, Invasion, Last Man Standing Upon activation, you will hear the announcer say “Booster” and you will start emitting Green “+” sprites. Your health will start rising by 5 per second, until it reaches 199. Then, your armour will start rising by 5 per second, until it reaches 150. At that point the booster will stop having any effect until your health or armour drops, or until you run out of Adrenaline. But getting to 150/199 is a rare occurrence. Use it in DM to give yourself a longer lifespan and thus more frags, but only activate it when you’re high on health to avoid being killed before the Booster can make a difference. However, in DM, there are other Combos that are just as useful, so don’t concentrate on Booster alone. This combo is used in TDM just as it is used in DM. For CTF, start the combo a while before you get to the flag location. That’ll give you a sufficient boost by the time you meet the defenders and a much better chance to take the flag. Also, it will make your escape easier, since you’ll be harder to kill. Alternatively, Speed can be used in this case. In MU (Mutant) you can use it to become the Mutant, but the Mutant is strong enough to turn you into mincemeat regardless of your health, so you’d be better off using Berserk. In INV (Invasion) it is the best Combo you can use, since it will preserve your life better and that’s what INV is all about. And when the health on the map is all taken and monsters have boxed you in, it can make all the difference. In LMS (Last Man Standing) you could use it in the same way you would in INV. It’s what will keep you alive until the end. Berserk (F F B B) Must useful for: All game modes Upon activation, you will hear the announcer say “Berserk” and brown lines will start circling around you. All your weapons will fire twice as fast as they normally do while the combo is active. In DM and TDM respectively it is a very big help, since that will give you an edge over almost anyone and with a rapid-firing Rocket Launcher you can do miracles. Just be careful not to blow yourself up. And in TDM try not to blow up your team-mates. In DOM it’s just as useful, since it will allow you to kill attackers before they ruin your domination and it can also be used for attack to ruin THEIR domination and to clear Control Points. In BR it gives you an easier time in stopping the Ball Carrier before he can make a pass, or get to him THROUGH his defenders. In CTF it is used just as in BR, but you can also use it to protect yourself when escaping with the flag. In MU it is the power-up of choice, since it is easier to kill the Mutant with Berserk than it is with Booster. In INV and LMS it is fairly useful because killing your opponents is directly connected to your own survival in those modes, but Booster is still recommended. Invisibility (R R L L) Most useful for: Death Match, Team Death Match, Double Domination, Capture the Flag, Last Man Standing Upon activation, you will hear the announcer say “Invisible” and your in-game skin will be replaced with an almost transparent ghost. You’re not COMPLETELY invisible, but it takes an eagle eye to see you, and in the heat of battle people will only see your projectiles. It’s infuriatingly hard to aim at something you can just barely make out. In DM it is among the most useful Combo, since it gives you kills almost for free. Few people will be able to see you and fewer still will be able to aim, thus giving you a tremendous advantage. In TDM it’s a little different, since you can suffer from collateral damage and eat rockets and shrapnel that were never meant for you. People are surprisingly accurate when they’re not aiming at you. Still you can activate Invisibility and go solo, so it’s still good. In DOM you can use it to slip by the enemy’s defence and disrupt their domination, but not a lot else. People there are usually armed to the teeth and won’t let you keep the Control Point. You can still keep them busy for a while, until tour team mates come to back you up, but that’s it. In CTF you can use it to sneak into the enemy base and steal their flag when they’re not looking, but the Invisibility won’t hide the flag or the glow, so you’ll have to provide your own escape. In LMS Invisibility will buy you some more time to live, but not quite as much as Booster. These are the two combos the Extra Combos mutator makes available. Pint Sized (L L L L) Most useful for: Screwing around Upon activation, you will hear the announcer say “Pint Sized” and your character model will shrink by about half, but your weapon will not. That “should” make it harder for people to hit you, but weapons with splash damage are largely unaffected. Still, it’s incredibly hilarious to watch a 3 feet tall midget run around with a HUGE Minigun. Can’t say I have any practical use for it, though, since the default Combos are better. Camouflage (R R R R) Most useful for: Screwing around Upon activation, you will hear the announcer say “Camouflaged” and a piece of world geometry will appear over your character. It will be anything from a large rock to a structural ornament, to a piece of wall. If you stand still and don’t look around, you SHOUL be able to blend in with the map. For those that don’t know the map, that is. It may be good for camping, but I can’t see any real use for it, other than the fact it turns you into a walking cinderblock. -- ------------ 6. Pick-Ups -- ------------ Pick-ups in the game (not weapons) come in many forms and shapes. Most of them are directed at defence and will have no DIRECT offensive capacity. Some of them may be more important than others, but they are all important to the good player. You would do well to remember where those items are located and how long it takes for them to respawn. I will include respawn times (only not yet), but for locations you’re on your own. Also remember that not all of them are worth risking your life for, but there are some that are. Those are explained below. Health Vial It’s a light blue vial that gives 5 health points. Due to their small bonus they are rarely found alone, and are usually in group of 3 or 5. Often very underestimated, health vials can oftentimes turn the tide of battle, since they can raise your health over 100 points. Pick them up whenever you run across them and even take the other way if it has more of these. In fact, whenever you have the time to run around the map, run to a place that has these, unless you’re really low on health. If you pick up Health Vials often enough you can amass quite an impressive amount of health that will serve you well later on. Health Pack It’s a blue cross that gives 25 health points. Regrettably (but for balance) it won’t raise your health over 100 points. Players usually overlook these when they don’t need them and rarely live long enough to find one when they’re hurt. Remember the locations of all Health Packs and visit them often, even if you’re missing just 10 health points. That way you can accumulate more health through Health Vials and when you DO need Health Packs, you won’t need them that badly. Also, that’s one of the things people will want to pick up in a firefight, so if you notice them going for it, plaster it with whatever you have. It works. Big Keg O’ Health It looks like a big white and blue keg. Upon closer inspection we find it consists of 2 white keg-like parts connected by blue “healing” energy. It gives a massive 100 health that takes you way over the 100 health point limit. If you can take it, take it. It’s worth going out of your way for, it’s worth risking your life for. Hell, take it just so the enemy can’t take it, even if you have over 150 health points. That is, unless another team member needs it more. LEARN where it is and LEARN when it respawns and ALWAYS go for it when it does. It is a HUGE advantage to have that. Shield Pack Looks like a yellow shield (not surprisingly) and gives 50 armour points. Successive Shield Packs will not raise your armour points over 50, but if you’ve picked up Super Shield Pack (or used Booster) it will add 50 armour points until you reach the 150 armour point limit. Unlike Health Packs, Shield packs are always welcome, since almost always you’ll have use for more armour. However, if you’re low on health you should first heal up, since a shield pack will not stop all damage and 12HP/50AP is a waste. That said, do pick one up even if you don’t need it. That is, unless another team member needs it more. It is worth going out of your way for it, but not risking your life for it. You can manage without it. Again, learn where it spawns and how often and pass by every once in a while. Also, most people will swarm the Super Shield Pack, so the Shield Pack will be less contested. That’s a good thing. Super Shield Pack Looks like a yellow shield with a lightning bolt through it and gives 100 armour points. Successive Super Shield Packs will bring your armour up to 150, and once you pick one up, so will normal Shield Packs. This is a must have. Take it. Go out of your way if you have to. Risk your life if you have to, if only to deny the enemy the opportunity to have it. That is, unless another team member needs it more. As always, remember where it spawns and how long it takes for it to respawn and ALWAYS go to get it if you think it should be there. Be ready though, chances are you won’t be the only one. Double Damage Looks like the knife from the “U” of the Unreal logo, only double and stripy-purple. It doubles the damage (apparently) of any weapon fired while it’s active and lasts for 30 seconds. One of the 3 most important pick-ups in the game, and one of the 3 pick-ups worth dieing for. There is usually only one place on each map where this one spawns, so remember where it is and be there when it’s about to respawn. It’s worth risking (and losing) your life for it, if just to deny the enemy the chance to have it (the UDamage Reward Mutator will cause you to drop it when you die). It’s usually a game-winner in DM and TDM and it can drastically improve your performance in other Game modes as well. Usually, no team-mates will need this more than you, so it’s fare game. Just be sure not to blast yourself with it. Also, it works for vehicle weapons as well. Adrenaline Pill It looks like a half-brown, half-white-hex-grid capsule tilted at an angle and gives 2 Adrenaline. They are usually found in groups of 3 or 5. This is another very underrated item that people usually won’t bother with. Keep in mind that 1 kill gives you 5 adrenaline and three Adrenaline Pills give you 6, so it’s wiser to cruise around and pick up pills. It fills up the Adrenaline almost twice as fast. Pick them up whenever you run across them. In fact, whenever you need to get somewhere, or are simply searching for a frag, take the way that has the most of these. Learn the locations of Pill clusters and treat them like an important place to be. But they’re not worth risking your life for, since you can get Adrenaline from many places. Weapon Racks Not yet. Ammo Pack Scattered around the map are ammunition packs for all of the weapons, with a few exceptions. Each weapon’s ammo pack has a different appearance and contains a different amount of ammo. Here is a list of ammo pack, their appearance and what they contain: SHIELD GUN – No ammo for it. It recharges automatically. ASSAULT RIFLE – Looks like the barrel from the Assault Rifle and a grey clip. It gives 50 ammo points and 4 grenades. DUAL ASSAULT RIFLES – Same as single Assault Rifle. BIORIFLE – Looks like pill-shaped green container. It gives 20 ammo points. MINE LAYER – Looks like a large brown + Tetris piece. It gives 8 ammo points. SHOCK RIFLE – Looks like blue rod. It gives 10 ammo points. LINK GUN – It looks like a green battery. It gives 50 ammo points. MINIGUN – It looks like a green box with a handle and a Minigun chain sticking out. It gives 50 ammo points. FLAK CANNON – It looks like a yellow box. It gives 10 ammo points. GRENADE LAUNCHER – It looks like a tall green box. It gives 5 ammo points. ROCKET LAUNCHER – It looks like a grey and red box. It gives 9 ammo points. AVRiL – It looks like brown-grey box. It gives 5 ammo points. LIGHTNING GUN – It’s yellow with 3 grey spikes that join at the top. It gives 10 ammo points. CLASSIC SNIPER RIFLE – It looks like a box with high calibre bullets in it. It gives 10 ammo points. TARGET PAINTER – No ammo for it. Only one allowed at a time. ION PAINTER – No ammo for it. Only one allowed at a time. REDEEMER – No ammo for it. Only one allowed at a time. TRANSLOCATOR – No ammo for it. It recharges automatically. SUPER SHOCK RIFLE – No ammo for it. It doesn’t use any. -- ------------ 7. Weapons & Tactics -- ------------ Weapons are what you use to kill the enemy. Collect as many as you can, but let your team-mates have some too. Certain weapons are better at doing certain tasks, but, with the exception of the assault rifle, they’re all useful. Learn their strengths and weaknesses, as well as when, where and how to use them. If you can’t use a certain weapon for a job, try another one. Most of the weapons overlap in a lot of their functions. Below you will find the names of all (ALL) weapons, as well as whatever statistics I saw necessary to include. Each weapon’s section is divided into 2 subsections, one for Primary and one for Secondary Fire. If there is a * after a certain statistic, that means there is a note to be made about that certain statistic. You can find one below the statistics for the current Fire mode. If there is a * after the Fire Mode, then that means that the fire mode has a special function which will be explained in the “Introduction” section of that particular Fire Mode. The weapons are arranged as they are in the HUD inventory, starting with the Shield Gun and using “Next Weapon”. Also, I found that a lot of the Special Features I used to describe weapons are a little hard to understand, so I made the following list. RECHARGING – Weapon will automatically recharge ammunitions when not in use. CHARGABLE SHOT – Weapon can accumulate ammo for a set time for a stronger shot. TEAM-SAFE – Weapon will not hurt team-mates and allied vehicles even with friendly fire on. DOES NO DAMAGE – Weapon will cause no damage against anything. KNOCKBACK – Weapon will knock players back and/or in the air and push light vehicles back. SCOPED – Weapon has a zoom-scope for a Secondary Fire Mode. SPLASH DAMAGE – Weapon will cause in an area around the point of impact CANNOT BE DROPPED – Weapon will not drop on the ground when you die with it equipped. USES SEPARATE AMMO – Current Fire Mode uses different ammo from the other Fire Mode. SUPERWEAPON – Weapon deals enormous damage, is rare and can be disabled through the “No Super Weapons” Mutator. INSTANT HIT – Weapons of this type will hit in the same frame the shot is fired The following characteristics will only appear for instant hit weapons. BULLET – With each shot, the weapon will fire a bullet, which leaves no trails in the air. BEAM – With each shot, the weapon will fire a visible beam towards the target. SPREAD ACCURACY – Weapon is inaccurate and will hit outside the crosshair. PINPOINT ACCURACY – Weapon will hit exactly in the centre of the crosshair. HEAD SHOT – Weapon will score a head shot for double damage, if it hits a player in the head. CONTINUOUS – Weapon fires a continuous beam that depletes ammo and deals damage at constant rate. PROJECTILE – Weapons of this type fire projectiles that take time to reach the target. The following characteristics will only appear for projectile weapons. AFFECTED BY GRAVITY – Projectile will fall as it travels. BOUNCES OFF (1) – Projectile will bounce upon contacting (1). DETONATES AGAINST (1) – Projectile will detonate upon contacting (1). DETONATES UPON (2) – Projectile will detonate when (2) is true. STICKS TO (1) – Projectile will stick to (1) upon contact. (3) SECOND FUSE – Projectile will stay in the field for (3) seconds before exploding. HOMING – Projectile will veer off its normal course to seek a locked target. CAN LOCK ON (4) – Weapon can get a lock on (4). TURNING CURVE – How much a projectile can veer to seek target when homing in on a locked target. If the angle to the target exceeds the projectile’s turning curve, it will lose its lock. CAN BE SHOT DOWN – Projectile can be destroyed by gunfire. Where: (1) can be or all of the following: Players, Vehicles, Walls. (2) can be or all of the following: Operator Death, Weapon Loss, Contact, another event. (3) can be any number of seconds. (4) can be one or all of the following: Players, Vehicles, a specific Vehicle. -- ------------ SHIELD GUN The old shield gun that replaced the Impact Hammer a long time ago is still here and it’s still the same. For those not familiar with it, it’s a small green gun, which can be used for an awesome melee attack, or used to protect yourself from damage. For a time. Primary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 40 single tap | 150 fully charged Damage vs. Vehicles: 40 single tap | 150 fully charged Rate of Fire: 1/1s single tap | chargeable Ammo per Shot: N/A* Max. Ammo: N/A* Charge Time: 2s Special Features: instant hit; melee range; knockback; chargeable shot; uses separate ammo; backfire** *The weapon has ammo, but Primary Fire does not use any of it. **If you release it against a wall or the floor, you will injure and knockback yourself Introduction: It’s a chargeable melee attack that does enormous damage when fully charged. Hold down Primary Fire to charge the weapon, release to fire. Note that the weapon will fire automatically once you’re within range of a valid target (it won’t auto-gib team-mates). Just charge the gun, charge at the enemy and let them have it. Not much else to say. Also you start with it. I will hence forth refer to the Shield Gun’s Primary Fire Mode as the “impact hammer” in memory of the good old times and for ease of reference. Tactics: It’s mostly worth using the impact hammer if you have nothing else available, or you just spawned and all you have is this and the Assault Rifle. In that situation, and if someone’s close enough, you can chase him down with Dodge-Jumps and splatter him against a wall. However, people will panic and concentrate fire on you once they hear the distinctive sound of the Shield Gun charging, so be careful. The impact hammer is also good against lightly armoured or damaged vehicles (with few health points) if you have nothing better on hand and you can get the drop on the driver and gunners. However, that rarely happens, and weapons are plentiful in ONS, so reserve the impact hammer for REALLY desperate situations. The impact hammer is also good for setting up ambushes. If you know the flag/ball carrier will pass through a narrow hallway, wait at the other end with a charged Shield Gun. Once they get in, there’s no place to run. However, the Flak Cannon is better at this. A very good use for the impact hammer is in AS, where the enemy needs to stand on a certain objective for a certain amount of time. Rush him with a charged Shield Gun and watch the gibs fly, since he won’t want to leave the objective. If he does leave it, that’s all the better for you, since he’s not working on it. Either chase him down and splatter him if there’s little room, or change to a better weapon. In this scenario you’ll want to choose the Shield Gun even if you have better weapons, since you need an instant kill and few weapons can do that effectively. Also, you can use the impact hammer to boost your jumps (though it will hurt you). Simply charge the Shield Gun fully, aim at your feet, release and THEN hit jump (you need to push yourself against the floor). That will get you to otherwise inaccessible places, but you need peace and quiet to do it. Secondary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: N/A Damage vs. Vehicles: N/A Rate of Fire: continuous Ammo per Shot: 15 + 1/1s when active Max. Ammo: 100 recharges Recharge time: 100/15s Special Features: does no damage; damage absorption; recharging; continuous; uses separate ammo Introduction: It’s a shield that protects you from damage. It consumes 15 ammo points upon activation and then drains ammo at a speed of 1 point per second. Additionally, it consumes 1 ammo point per 2 damage points sustained. However, it won’t stop more that 20 points from a single hit so stronger weapons will break through the shield and still hurt you for, but 20 points less. When the ammo runs out, the shield deactivates and you must wait for it to recharge. It would be a good idea to wait until it’s fully recharged, since it spends ammo like crazy, so there’s almost no point in using it unless it’s full. Also, you have to be facing the attacker you’re trying do defend against. Remember, the shield will not cover your back and sides and it will subtract a maximum of 20 points of damage from every hit. Keep that in mind. Something worth mentioning is that the shield will be green for the normal skin of your model, and it will take on the colour of your team when you join one. Tactics: First off, while the shield of the Shield Gun provides SOME protection, it is not much. While it will stop bullets and some other weak projectiles, rockets, bombs and other heavy projectiles will still hurt you bad. Don’t rely on it to actually protect you from damage as the most it can do is buy you time – time to get away, time to get health, time to run through a dangerous area, that kind of time. A good time to use the shield is if you have nothing else left and you want to live long enough to find some better weapons. Also a good use for the shield is to defend the ball/flag carrier by taking shots that were meant for him. However, that’s wasteful, since even with the shield you can’t take THAT much damage and a few well-placed rockets will protect the carrier much better. In AS you can use the shield when you need to run the gauntlet to reach an objective. Better yet, you can use it when you’re AT the objective, activating it. Since you can’t move in that time and therefore can’t evade enemy fire, the shield of the Shield Gun can buy you those extra few seconds you need to activate the objective. And there is one more thing the shield can help for – surviving falls. Even if you can avoid just 20 points of damage from the fall, it’s often enough to save your life. Few drops can take more than 100 life, so if you can manage it, pull out the Shield Gun, point it DIRECTLY down and activate the shield as you’re about to hit the ground. -- ------------ ASSAULT RIFLE That’s the weapon you’ll be seeing the most, since that’s the one you’ll spawn with every single time (except in Instagib matches). UT2003 veterans will notice that the model has been changed in UT2004. If you don’t like the new model, you can switch it in the “Weapons” tab in the “Options” menu. This is just a plain looking (by Unreal standards) assault rifle. This weapon is just plain bad, so find another one as quickly as you can. Alternatively, you can try and grab another Assault Rifle and fire the two akimbo up your odds a little. But not a lot. Primary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 7 Damage vs. Vehicles: 4 Rate of Fire: 60/10s Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 200 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: instant hit; bullet; spread accuracy; uses separate ammo Introduction: The Primary Fire Mode of the Assault Rifle is a rapid barrage of bullets. Well, rapid is an overstatement and barrage is something of an exaggeration, but it fires fast and does pathetic damage. To top it all off, the accuracy in Primary Fire Mode is atrocious, even at close range. Hell, you’d have trouble hitting the broadside of a barn at 50 paces. That and the 7 damage each bullet does means you really don’t want to use this Fire Mode. Tactics: Only use this weapon’s primary mode if you have nothing better at hand and even then the Shield Gun is better in tight spaces. However, since it’s not always possible to land a charged Shield Gun hit, there are a few things you can do. Since the battle will be long and hard, you should concentrate living long enough to fight it to the end. Learn to Dodge-Jump and Double-Jump a lot and do it even if you can’t aim that well – you wouldn’t be able to aim that weapon well under any circumstances. Also, try to fire from a shorter range to improve accuracy. Also try to run from healthy, heavily armed players and pick on the wounded, weak ones. Or you could hurt someone with a heavy, slow-firing weapon then pull this one and attempt to finish them off, but it’s bad even for that. And don’t even think about shooting at a vehicle with 4 damage per shot. NO POINT. More than that I don’t know. Maybe say a prayer. Or use something else. Secondary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 70 Damage vs. Vehicles: 70 Rate of Fire: 1/1s single tap | chargeable Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 8 Charge Time: 1s Special Features: projectile; knockback; chargeable shot; bounces off walls; detonates against players and vehicles; 3 second fuse; affected by gravity; splash damage; uses separate ammo Introduction: The “almost worthless” Primary Fire’s “almost as worthless, but not quite” twin brother. It’s a rifle grenade that bounces off walls and deals medium damage. The more you charge it, the further it flies. It bounces ridiculously high and far, so keep that in mind. Also, you can’t fire the assault rifle until you can fire another grenade. It will bounce around the map for 3 seconds, or until it meets a player or vehicle, at which point it will explode. It’s good IF you can actually hit anything with it. Tactics: Despite what I have said earlier, the Secondary fire is actually quite good, provided you can hit anything. You’ll want to use it if you’re fighting in a crammed space and your enemy has little room to manoeuvre. In that situation, aim for a direct hit as the grenade is very likely to bounce right back in your face. In more open areas, try to shoot the grenade so it comes to rest somewhere around your opponent’s feet. That way he’ll lose sight of it and is very likely to trample it while dodging. Since the rifle grenades bounce off walls, you can try and shoot them around corners. Do this if you know someone is chasing you, or if you know for sure someone is there. If you hear a “boom” sooner than usual, Dodge-Jump around the corner and finish whoever it was the grenade hit off. Alternatively, you can just fire a grenade and emerge shooting to force him to dodge and hopefully step on the grenade. It doesn’t work very often. Or, you could try shooting at vehicles, since they’re harder to miss than people (some vehicles at least) and the grenade does considerably more damage than most other low level weapons. -- ------------ ASSAULT RIFLES AKIMBO They couldn’t figure out a way to make the Assault Rifle useful, so they resorted to the Unreal classic – akimbo. And I have to admit, it worked beautifully. Assault Rifles Akimbo is one of the coolest weapons in the tournament, even if it’s not all that useful. And it brings back memories of the first days of the tournament when we were still learning to fire 2 handguns at once. Fore those new to UT, this weapon is just the same as the Assault Rifle, only there are 2. Sadly, it’s not much more useful, but it is useful enough to actually be usable. Uh… something like that. And the difficulty of obtaining a second Assault Rifle means you won’t be seeing this weapon all that often. Anyway, this weapon being almost the same, I’ll only explain tactics that are unique to it, while all the tactics that were true for the Assault Rifle are still valid, unless I say otherwise. Primary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 7 Damage vs. Vehicles: 4 Rate of Fire: 120/10s Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 400 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: instant hit; bullet; spread accuracy; uses separate ammo Introduction: Well, it’s just like the Primary Fire Mode of the single Assault Rifle, only with double the rate of fire. I say “only” but it’s actually a huge improvement as it approaches Minigun speed. Unfortunately, it’s sad, sad accuracy remains, but with that ROF, you don’t need to worry all that much. If you’re close enough to the enemy you’ll be putting enough bullets where it hurts to cause some serious discomfort. It also carries enough ammunition to remove the danger of running out. Tactics: Well, basically do the same as you would for the single Assault Rifle, only this time around you have enough firepower to hold your ground. You no longer need to shy away from a fight, even with a “fat” enemy. Also, finishing someone off after hitting him with something big and explosive is much easier now and is, in fact, recommended. Well, provided you can switch weapons that fast. But even with all the improvements, it’s still just a temporary solution. Concentrate on finding something better, since even akimbo, the Assault Rifle is not good enough. Secondary Fire Mode: Damage vs. People: 70 Damage vs. Vehicles: 70 Rate of Fire: 1/1s single tap | chargeable Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 8 Charge Time: 1s Special Features: projectile; knockback; chargeable shot; bounces off walls; detonates against players and vehicles; 3 second fuse; affected by gravity; splash damage; uses separate ammo Introduction: Well, here’s an unpleasant surprise: It’s just the same! Sure, it holds double the ammo, but so what? Oh, and both rifles take turns to fire the grenade. Tactics: Well, since it’s a carbon copy of the Secondary Firing Mode of the Assault Rifle, do what you would do for a single Assault Rifle. A note worth mentioning is that with the Primary Fire Mode now much more effective, you might want to use the grenade less often, since it’s really hard to aim. Reserve it for vehicles and corners. -- ------------ BIO-RIFLE The dreaded green goo gun is back and it’s… just the same as it was EVERY OTHER unreal game. But hey, you can’t improve on perfection, right? Anyway, the weapon is just a big pressurised jar of green toxic slime with a pump, a valve and a trigger. And it fires green slime. Um, did I miss anything? Oh, yes, everyone you hit will turn green for a second. Primary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 35/lvl 1 blob* Damage vs. Vehicles: 35/lvl 1 blob* Rate of Fire: 40/10s Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 40 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: projectile; knockback; sticks to walls and vehicles; detonates against players; 3 second fuse; projectiles merge; affected by gravity; splash damage *blob levels are explained in detail below Introduction: Well, this weapon is a little hard to explain. Primary fire throws a green blob in a forward arc. When it hits the ground, it stays there for 3 seconds, or until someone steps on it, then pops like a bubble, dealing damage. It will pop immediately upon contacting a player, friend or foe. If you land a second blob on top of one already on the wall or floor, it will grow in size, and (I will call it for simplicity) in level. A blob can go up to level 5 max. If a sixth level 1 blob hits, the level 5 blob will burst, releasing anywhere from 1 to 4 level 1 blobs, including the 6th blob. Depending on how they land, they may merge with each other. Apparently, level 6 and above blobs are unstable and will fragment upon reaching that level. Each level 1 blob deals 35 points of damage to both players and vehicles. Blob damage is multiplied by the blob’s level. Also, blob splash damage seems to be multiplied as well. Any level blobs will last as long as the last blob that entered them, but a nearby blob’s explosion will detonate it. Also, blobs of any level that land on a horizontal ceiling will drop down onto the floor and restart their fuse. If that’s more than you wanted to know, don’t worry, you won’t need to know it. Just fire the green slime and don’t think too much. Tactics: Well, it’s a slime gun, so try to slime you opponents. The primary fire mode has both high ROF and high damage, which allows you to fire in your enemy’s general direction and still land enough hits to make him vomit. Though that is fun, what you really want to do is get someone to chase you. That way you can aim a little in front of him and he’ll walk all over your slime, since he can either watch where he’s going or watch where he’s stepping. Few people can do both at the same time. For that same reason, avoid chasing people with the Bio-Rifle, because you’ll be walking on your own goo. Not good. Alternatively, you can just get your enemy to start dodging and spray the place with green goo. He’s sure to walk over at least some of it. Or, just be creative. This weapon allows for it. Just be sure to be on the lookout for a better weapon while you’re at it. Secondary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 35 single tap / 350 fully charged* Damage vs. Vehicles: 35 single tap / 350 fully charged* Rate of Fire: 40/10s single tap | chargeable Ammo per Shot: 1/single tap | 10 fully charged Max. Ammo: 40 Charge Time: 2s – 10 ammo points Special Features: projectile; knockback; chargeable shot; lvl 6-10 blobs fragment against walls and vehicles; lvl 1-5 blobs stick to walls and vehicles; detonates against players; 3 second fuse; projectiles merge; affected by gravity; splash damage *I have calculated the maximum damage given here, but have been unable to play-test it, since no player has yet survived a direct, fully charged shot and blobs splatter too much against vehicles to get an accurate amount. If anyone has been able to play-test this properly, pleas drop me a line. Introduction: Make ABSOLUTELY sure you read the description of the Primary Fire Mode and that you understand blob levels, since I’ll be using them here. A full charged shot consumes 10 ammo points and launches a big, level 10 blob. Since every blob over level 5 is unstable, this one fragment will releasing the maximum 6 or 7 level 1 blobs upon contact. Again, depending on how they land, they may merge upon landing. A direct hit against a player “should” cause 350 damage, which is 1 point more than the maximal health + maximal armour any player can have. If you can hit a vehicle so that all blobs land back on it, it “should” cause 350 points of damage, but I have yet to see it happen. Also, the splash damage of a fully charged shot is insane and reaches much further out than you’d think. The big level 10 blob also seems to be heavier than the level 1 blobs. Finally, if you release a shot before it is fully charged, it will launch a blob of a level, equal to the ammo that it consumed. A level 5 or below blob may not fragment upon contact. Tactics: Well, given the insane damage, I’d say keep fully charged and try to shoot it in people’s faces. However, since the big blob travels so slowly, that’s trickier than it sounds and if you miss, you’ll likely not get the chance to charge another shot. In that case, better switch to another weapon. A good tactic for landing a shot easier is to either chase your enemy down a narrow hallway, or get him to chase you. Few players dodge when chasing or being chased and even those that do are shy about Dodge-Jumping to the sides in narrow hallways. Your best bet is to choose a moment when he’s going in a straight line, either towards, or away from you, then fire a fully charged shot at face level. Be sure to immediately back up, lest you be caught in the splash damage, and THAT hurts. A lot. Or, you could aim at below waist level, so that if you miss, the blobs will land all around your opponent. If you keep firing more with the primary fire, you should create sufficient chaos to cause him to walk over the majority of the blobs. However, by aiming low, you’re taking the risk of an otherwise perfect shot falling short. Also, keep looking for better weapons all the time, since the Bio-Rifle is a little hard to use. But don’t switch immediately to weapons you pick up if you have a fully charged shot. Instead, wait for an enemy to come by, launch the blob, pull out the new weapon and take advantage of the slime field. A charged blob is also very good at removing people from objectives. Just launch one at the objective – it’ll kill any player instantly, even through the shield of the Shield Gun. Either that, or you chase the enemy away from the objective and that’s good as well. -- ------------ MINE LAYER OK, this is the first weapon that’s completely new to UT2004. It’s a weird orange gun with a large, disk-shaped barrel. It launches spider mines that chase down and jump on, then blow up anyone foolish enough to trespass on your land, or whichever spot you choose to claim for your own. The mine-layer is primarily a defence weapon, what with using mines and all, but it can be used offensively with surprising success. It is best used against heavy vehicles, but it works well against players on foot, too. Also, the Secondary Fire Mode of this weapon is a special function, so it has no statistics of its own. For that same reason I will only give tactics when both modes are used together. Also for that reason, the tactics section will be longer than normal, since it incorporates both firing modes. Primary Fire Mode: Damage vs. People: 50* Damage vs. Vehicles: 140 Rate of Fire: 1/1s Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 25 in stock | 8 active Charge Time: N/A Special Features: projectile; knockback; homing; detonates against players and vehicles and upon operator death or weapon loss; unlimited fuse; can be shot down; affected by gravity; mobile; turning curve inapplicable; team-safe**; splash damage *This is a splash damage estimate. I found no way to get positive results from play-testing the damage vs. people. If anyone has been able to measure it, please, drop me a line. **The mines will land safely on the roofs of vehicles, but if they hit the sides before they activate, they will explode. Also, mines exploding in general will hurt team mates. Introduction: If a lot of the special features seem incomprehensible, check the explanations at the beginning of this section. Primary fire launches a spider mine in a short flat arc. The mine will immediately detonate if it impacts an enemy or the side of a vehicle (including friendly vehicles) before it lands and activates. Once active, it will keep its current position until an enemy vehicle or foot soldier comes too close, at which point it will chase the soldier/vehicle, jump on him/it and explode. Up to 8 spider mines can be in the field at a time and the total number currently in the field is shown in the lower right corner. Spider mines will detonate (but not deal any damage) if you are killed, or if you throw the Mine Layer. Also, spider mines can be destroyed by gunfire and will again deal no damage. Other than that, spider mines have no fuse, so they will live as long as you do, even if you switch away from the Mine Layer (but not throw it away). Also, although a spider mine is a homing projectile, it’s method of operation makes it impossible to apply a “turning curve” to it. Secondary Fire Mode* Introduction: This is not a Fire Mode at all, but rather a utility. It projects a visible red beam, highlighting a point on the map and ordering all of the spider mines you have on the field to move towards that point (thus “mobile”). While moving, spider mines will climb over hills and jump over low obstacles. While on the way, they can be given orders to move elsewhere and they will drop what they were doing and move to the new point. While moving, spider mines will not attack the enemy before they reach their destination. They will not detonate even if an enemy player or vehicle were to move directly over them. Tactics: Well, since they’re mines, their primary function is to defend an area. If you’re trying to defend a chokepoint, try to spread the mines evenly and avoid moving them unnecessarily, since they’ll bunch up. Alternatively, you can purposely bunch them up to aim for bigger targets if the space is not too wide – you don’t want to leave holes in your minefield, now do you? Always be alert and keep your Mine Layer out, since you need to replace exploded mines. Faster vehicles may pass through the minefield with some damage and people on foot will waste a lot of mines (they’re not good against people), so keep that in mind. It’s sometimes better to switch to another weapon and kill attackers on foot, rather than waste the mines. If heavy vehicles with long-range weapons approach, send the mines towards the vehicles (in their path, not directly under them) and hide. Once your mines start blowing up (shows in the lower-right hand corner of the screen) lay more at your feet and send them out too. Don’t break cover until it’s safe or you’re forced to. The same goes for defending your power core, since the enemy usually has to get through a chokepoint to reach it. If you’re defending a Power Node, then chances are you’ll be defending an open spot. Mines have a short range, so lay them beneath the Node and slightly in front. This time around, try to be away from the battle. Don’t even approach to lay your mines. Find a good place to hide with clear visibility of the Node, lay your mines there and send them. Concentrate on protecting the immediate vicinity of the Node leave your team-mates should do the rest. Finally, you can use the Mine Layer as a very potent attack weapon. However, you CANNOT do it alone. Lead a swarm of spider mines with, or a little in front of (depending on the situation) an attacking force. 2 guys in a vehicle will do. Try to keep your team-mates from being swarmed and concentrate on what’s attacking them, and they’ll handle the rest. Another interesting thing you can do is cover a flat-topped vehicle with spider mines (launch them on top, not the sides) and drive it into the action. That way you have a vehicle that will defend itself at close range. All that aside, the most important thing is that you stay alive as long as possible, since the spider mines can’t work when you’re dead. Also, I found out that you can stick Grenades Launcher bombs on spider mines for extra kick. However, bombs slow down the mines by a percentage, so you could end up with a spider mine that is literally “crawling”. -- ------------ SHOCK RIFLE The good old shock rifle makes a glorious come back as… itself. Really, this weapon is exactly like it has been in every other Unreal Tournament game. However, 2003 veterans will notice that the UT like model has been redesigned and turned fat and purple. I say it’s for the best, since it’s more detailed and it’s not ugly. But, you can still switch back to the old model under the “Weapons” tab in the “Options” menu. More importantly, this weapon is capable of performing the all-around feared Shock Combo, which I will treat as a separate fire mode, since it has its own statistics and strategies. An interesting thing to know is that people and air vehicles you hit with the Shock Rifle (except the Shock Combo) will be covered by purple electricity for a second. Primary Fire Mode: Damage vs. People: 45 Damage vs. Vehicles: 40 Rate of Fire: 20/10s Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 50 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: instant hit; beam; pinpoint accuracy; knockback; can initiate Shock Combo; Introduction: The weapon fires a blue beam forward with pinpoint accuracy. It will push people back, kill light vehicle’s forward speed and throw air vehicles around. Also, if the photon beam hits a Shock Rifle’s Secondary Fire plasma ball, it will initiate a Shock Combo. Remember that. That’s about all there is to it. Tactics: In a veteran’s hands, the Photon Beam of the Shock rifle can be a deadly weapon. It has great range, good damage and good ROF. If you’re accurate enough to hit more than half the time, this is the weapon for you, since just 3 shots will bring down a regular enemy. If you’re not accurate enough, use something with a scope. However, even elite players should avoid using the Primary Fire Mode when up close, since it’s really hard to aim it and dodge at the same time. You MAY be able to hit in that situation, but you’ll be hit a lot yourself. However, if you act quickly enough, you may be able to back up and keep going and firing. Then, you can keep your enemy from closing in, since the photon beam will keep pushing him backwards and killing his jumps. That way you can keep him at bay and he won’t be able to fight back unless he has a long range weapon of his own. If he does, it becomes a slugging match, and if he’s better – back up and try another approach. Another way to use the knockback effect is to push people off narrow ledges or over the edge and into lava/acid/abyss. That’s even more fun (and useful) when you push the ball/flag carrier over the edge. When used against light vehicles, it will halt their forward movement, possibly saving your life. But it doesn’t do much damage and it’s somewhat hard to hit fast moving vehicles with the photon beam, so avoid using it at close range. Keep in mind that while a shot stops a vehicle, it doesn’t stop its cannons and it can still gun you down. A good thing to know is that the Shock Rifle’s photon beam is among the few handheld weapons that are effective against Raptors. Also, for some reason, the photon beam is very good at destroying objectives in AS. Secondary Fire Mode: Damage vs. People: 40 Damage vs. Vehicles: 45 Rate of Fire: 20/10s Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 50 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: projectile; knockback; detonates upon impact; unlimited fuse; splash damage; can be shot down*; needed to execute Shock Combo *It can, but only by someone else’s Shock Rifle’s Primary Fire. It will result in a Shock Combo. Introduction: It fires a slow-moving, medium-sized blue plasma ball which explodes on contact. It too will push people back, kill light vehicle’s forward speed and throw air vehicles around. Also, if the photon beam hits a Shock Rifle’s Secondary Fire plasma ball, a Shock Combo will occur. Remember that too. That’s all there is to it. Tactics: While not as versatile as the photon beam, the plasma ball is nevertheless very useful, and not just because it’s needed for the Shock Combo. It does a job the photon beam is not very good for, namely – close quarters combat. The plasma balls are very slow, which allows you to have several of them onscreen at a time. That, together with their size and their splash damage means they’re hard to avoid. And even those players who manage to avoid them have a really hard time aiming. Besides, with these you don’t have to be very accurate. Just launch a bunch of balls in your enemy’s general direction and at least a few will hit in most cases. And try not to blow yourself up while you’re at it. Shock Combo: Damage vs. People: 200* Damage vs. Vehicles: 200 Rate of Fire: 1/1s Ammo per Shot: 1 + 4** Max. Ammo: 50 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: special; powerful knockback; splash damage *I have been unable to playtest this statistic, although I’m almost perfectly certain it’s true. That’s the damage the Shock Combo does to vehicles. **1 ammo unit for the shock ball + 4 ammo units for the photon beam, even though it normally uses only 1. Introduction: Produced by shooting a plasma ball (your own or someone else’s) with the photon beam. It is a massive and very damaging blue explosion. It has incredibly strong knockback, throwing players across the room and flipping vehicles. It also consumes 5 ammo units, despite the fact that both the ingredients for the Shock Combo only consume 1 each. Also, you can shoot other players’ plasma balls (and they can shoot yours) with the photon beam, thereby performing Shock Combo. However, it takes a good shot to execute on the move. Tactics: OK, the primary use for the Sock Combo is the one you’ve seen (and if you haven’t, you will see) a LOT of players use. Just fire a shock ball towards your enemy and detonate it with the photon beam when it’s near him. The thing most people will do is just stand in place and not move their crosshair, so as to assure a hit on the plasma ball. However, that will make it very easy for your enemy to kill you before you even have a chance to perform the Shock Combo. Additionally, players who dodge to the side are effectively out of range of the splash damage and perfectly safe. Not even firing more balls will change things, since you’re restricted to shooting the last ball you fired. What you really want to do is move while firing plasma balls, preferably in a spread-shot pattern. Then, when the balls reach your enemy, shoot the one that is closest to him – you have more plasma balls to choose from and thus a greater chance of dealing serious damage. Additionally, while you’re moving you’re much harder to hit, so most players won’t have the time to aim well. Nevertheless, keep running since even a bad shot can still kill you. However, that tactic requires very good aiming and some practice to pull off right, since plasma ball are a little hard to hit. So go work on your aiming. The Shock Combo’s awesome splash damage also makes it possible to shoot “around” corners. Well, not really, but you can still kill people on the other side. When you’re sure there’s someone around a corner, fire a plasma ball, then detonate it just as it passes the corner. Anyone standing on the other side will suffer serious damage. Most people will run the other way, but some will wait for the explosions to stop and then come out, guns blazing. Either run or fire more Shock Combos. That tactic also works on AS, where a lot of enemy players are camping on the other side of a corner or door. Detonate a few Shock Combos near the door or corner to shake them up, then storm the place with the rest of team. Finally, a good use for the Shock Combo is, when someone’s chasing you, turn a corner and fire a Shock Combo “around” it while running backwards. Everything for the “shoot around corners” tactic works here as well. -- ------------ LINK GUN The Link Gun makes its third appearance in an Unreal Tournament game, this time with an all new model, although you can still switch back to the UT2003 version. Now, it looks more round and more solid and it has a hose that changes colour depending on the situation. Hated by many and loved by many, now it will be loved by all, since it can now build and repair stuff, making it one of the most valuable weapons for Onslaught. Also, people and air vehicles you hit with either Fire Mode of the Link Gun will be covered in green lightning for a second and people you kill will turn into skeletons. Primary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 30 Damage vs. Vehicles: 20 Rate of Fire: 120/10s Ammo per Shot: 2 Max. Ammo: 220 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: projectile; detonates upon impact; unlimited fuse Introduction: It fires green fireball-like (no better way of describing it) plasma projectiles in rapid succession that travel at a moderate speed. Also their damage is not all that good and it’s hard to hit a fast enemy with them. That, along with its lack of versatility, makes this Fire Mode only a complement to the Secondary Fire Mode. But it still has its uses. Tactics: Well, the plasma projectiles move too slowly to hit anything at any range, unless it’s stationary. However, if you have nothing better, it can at least HIT at long range. Still, there is a good way to use the plasma projectiles at medium range. Fire a whole lot of them in a spread-shot pattern at waist level. I’m talking at least 30 projectiles. The projectiles are actually pretty fast and they will leave little chance of dodging them. In most cases you’ll need to fire a lot more than that to actually kill someone, but it’s doable if all goes well. The only problem is that the projectiles make it a little hard to see, so you’ll have to guess where the enemy is and what he’s doing a bit. Also, avoid shooting at anything other than people, since the plasma projectiles are not good for anything else. Secondary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 900/10s* Damage vs. Vehicles: 550/10s Rate of Fire: 100 ammo / 10s Ammo per Shot: continuous Max. Ammo: 220 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: instant hit; beam; pinpoint accuracy; knockback; team-safe; can link; can repair; *I’ve calculated that, since I couldn’t keep anyone alive that long. Introduction: The Secondary Fire Mode, which I call “link beam” is much more useful than the Primary Fire Mode. It’s actually THE weapon that makes a good ONS team tick. It deals good enough damage as it is, but it’s the ability to link and repair that make the link beam really shine. If one of your team-mates has a Link Gun equipped, (he will have a green triangle above his head), you can hit him with the link beam. All of his Link Gun output will be boosted by 2.5 – more than the combined power of yours and his Link Guns put together. Also, his Link Gun fire will change colour to yellow, when not repairing. It will stay that way as long as you stay linked. You will not use any ammo just for staying linked, but when he fires your ammo will be depleted as though you are firing. There is no limit to the number of people that can link to each other and all the boost will go to the last person on the chain. The Link Gun can also repair Vehicles and Power Nodes by firing on them with the link beam. While you’re repairing, your Link Gun fire will change to your team’s colour. The Link Gun will heal allied Nodes and Vehicles for 3 health points per 1 ammo unit used, at the speed of consumption of the regular link beam. It will also knock back both people and vehicles. (thanks to Brayden McLean) Tactics: OK, this is a multi-purpose gun (at least the link beam is), and it’s also at the core of ONS, so expect a LOT of tactics for it. First, it has a lot of potential in DM, since the link beam is a very effective weapon if you can aim it well enough. It deals massive damage if you can keep it on target for a few seconds. However, it has extremely SHORT RANGE. Remember that, damn it! For a bit of fun, you can also try to catch someone from below and fire the link beam. It will almost kill his downward velocity and if you do it right, you can keep him in the air indefinitely. It also seems to knockback vehicles, but only very slightly. You can’t even notice it. For that reason, using the link beam to knock vehicles simply doesn’t work. However, it’s team games where the link beam really shines. If you have team mates with Link Guns around you, always link to them, rather than fire alongside them, since that will do more damage than the combined damage of your separate Link Guns. In ONS, whenever you see someone repairing something, link to him. That will do the job much faster and will save a lot of ammunition. Always repair vehicles before you enter them. If they still belong to the enemy, hijack them, exit and repair. If you happen to be around damaged allied vehicles, repair them, even in the heat of battle. Vehicles can do more damage than you can on foot. Well, most of the time. When attacking a Node, don’t use the Link Gun – you’ll need it to build your own Node in a while. Whenever you get to a white Node, don’t go to the ammo locker immediately. Start the Node, use all of your Link Gun ammo, THEN take more from the locker and finish the job. Remember, ammo lockers will only fill your weapons to a certain level, regardless of the ammo you have. You CAN NOT heal your own Power Core. So stop trying, damn it! It gives you a nice big text message and an annoying beep. Pay attention. Also, the link beam is a good way to shoot down Redeemer missiles and AVRiL missiles the happen to fly in your direction. -- ------------ MINIGUN The Minigun is back, and it’s just as mean as ever. Able to sow death in the right hands and put a lot of bullet holes in the walls in the wrong hands, it is probably one of the few weapons that are good at any range. Some say there’s no skill involved in using it, but they’re just not using it to its full potential. Once you master the Minigun, you’ll find yourself choosing it over the Rocket Launcher and Flak Cannon in many situations. Just try not to leave too many shell casings around ‘cause it’s a pain to clean up afterwards. Primary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 7 Damage vs. Vehicles: 4 Rate of Fire: 180/10s Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 300 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: instant hit; bullet; spread accuracy Introduction: Well, it fires bullets in a very fast and inaccurate way. I will call it “burst mode”. Um… That’s all I can think of. Tactics: Well, burst mode requires more skill than it does tactics. The main thing is to fight from really close up, since it’s VERY inaccurate. If you try to use it from afar, you’re more likely to force laughter of ridicule, rather than cries of pain, so use the accurate mode instead. Also don’t be fooled by the pathetic damage of burst mode – with 180 rounds per 10 seconds, you’ll deal a LOT of damage. And unlike the link gun, the Minigun is an instant hit weapon, aiming it is all that much easier. Now, when you do get close to your enemy, you’ll need to run, dodge and jump a LOT, since it’ll take you 2 – 3 seconds of DIRECT fire to take an opponent down and longer if you miss. Chances are, your enemies will have heavy weapons and you need to stay alive long enough to bring them down. Try to Dodge-Jump right past them to make them lose sight of you. But the most important thing to remember is to never let go of the trigger in combat, even when you’re clearly missing – the Minigun take quite some time to wind up. And, of course, you need to be very good at aiming the thing to really use it right, so get practicing. Secondary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 14 Damage vs. Vehicles: 9 Rate of Fire: 60/10s Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 300 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: instant hit; bullet; weird accuracy* *Well, it’s not spread accuracy, but it’s not pinpoint either. It’s accurate, just not perfectly. Introduction: It fires more powerful bullets, but it does so more slowly. However, it is a LOT more accurate than the Primary Fire Mode. I will call it “aimed mode”. Tactics: Aimed mode may have double the damage of burst mode, but it has only a third of the ROF. That, together with its increased accuracy (which is a bad thing for close quarters) mean it’s really only good at long range. But boy is it good. Actually, only the 2 sniper rifles and the Shock Rifle are better at long range. Once you see an enemy who is too far to use the burst mode, open fire with the aimed mode. Unless he has one of the above mentioned weapons, you’ll want to keep him at that distance. Keep backing up and don’t let go of the trigger. Rockets are very easy to avoid at that range as it’s easy to tell where they will hit. If your enemy fires guided rockets, simply wait for them to come close and Dodge-Jump. If your enemy is firing swarms of plasma projectiles from the Link Gun, simply Double-Jump a lot. Remember, you’re dealing a lot more damage than he is. Also, pay no attention to the tracers the Minigun fires every few frames. They are in now way related to where you hit. They may seem to be falling behind, but this is still an instant hit weapon. If someone does come after you with a good long-range weapon, hide or switch. Attempting to close in will usually get you killed. Also, avoid firing at vehicles and nodes if you have a choice, since the Minigun is really not good for that. -- ------------ FLAK CANNON Q: What do you get, when you cross a shotgun and a cannon? A: 1 Flak Cannon + spare parts. The good old Flak Cannon has changed little since the first tournament. It’s still mean, it’s still yellow, and it still kicks ass. Also, it still has that way cool loading mechanism. Primary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 9x13 Damage vs. Vehicles: 9x13 Rate of Fire: 15/10s Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 35 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: multiple projectiles*; knockback; splash damage; detonates against players and vehicles**; bounces off walls; unlimited fuse***; affected by gravity***; *It fires 9 ionised flechettes, each doing separate damage. **The flechettes don’t really explode, but they deal damage. ***The flechettes will fly for as long as there’s room, but they’ll fall and disappear after 1 or 2 ricochets. Introduction: The only reference to the Flak Cannon’s primary fire I could come up with was “flechette shot”, so that’s what I’m going to call it. It fires 9 ionised flechettes, shotgun style. Each of them deals damage separately upon impact. Flechettes will fly for as long as there is room and will not lose any of their power. Flechettes will also ricochet twice off walls and still retain their power after the first time. Also, flechettes are projectiles, so they take time to reach their target. Tactics: Well, not much to say about the flechette shot. It spreads with distance, so use up close. Also, flechettes are projectiles and will fall slightly behind, so you need to lead target, but just by a bit. If your target is changing directions too fast, don’t switch sides but choose one side and lead to that side. Chances are, you’ll hit with every other shot. Also, as always at close range, learn to dodge a lot and aim well while doing it. You need to stay alive to kill, remember? Also, you can try bouncing the flechettes around corners, since they’ll ricochet once without loosing power. But keep in mind that flechettes will spread out, so only shoot around corners in narrow hallways. A thing to watch out for in that respect is shooting yourself. Flechettes will ricochet against wall and hurt you if you’re in the way. So don’t do anything stupid. Also, you CAN use flechette shot against vehicles, but it requires you to be REALLY close for it to do decent damage, and getting close to vehicles will usually get you crushed. However, if you do find you CAN hug a vehicle and not die (a deployed Leviathan comes to mind), this is the weapon of choice, since flechettes have no splash damage and you won’t have to hurt yourself. Finally, flechettes are really good against Power Nodes. Just stand under the spinning Node icon and fire upwards, into it. That will usually get the whole flechette shot to hit and do massive damage. Secondary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 110 + flechettes Damage vs. Vehicles: 145 Rate of Fire: 10/10s Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 35 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: projectile; knockback; detonates upon contact; unlimited fuse; affected by gravity; splash damage Introduction: Secondary Fire launches a fragmentation grenade in a long arc. The explosion inflicts splash damage and launches a few flechettes that rarely ever hit and do little damage. The grenade itself, however, deals massive damage. It will also knock people in the air and further grenades can juggle them. Also, it has good range. Also, the grenade is rivet-shaped and has yellow smiley face painted on the cap. Tactics: It’s what you use when your target is too far for the flechette shot to score good damage, or if your aim sucks. If you aim the Flak Cannon at about 45 degrees, the grenade will fly a LONG way, so you can safely use it at medium range if you can lead target well enough. Remember, at medium range a flechette shot will do pathetic damage, so either use the fragmentation grenade, or switch to another weapon. Alternatively, if you can’t aim the flechette shot well enough, you can use the fragmentation grenade instead, since it acts almost like a Rocket Launcher at close range. However, beware the splash damage – the bane of the unwary. You can easily blow yourself up, so don’t, Another use for the frag grenade is shaking pursuers. When someone’s chasing you, turn a corner, turn around and fire a frag grenade beside the corner. It will usually hit your pursuer in the face. If it doesn’t, shoot another one then go back around the corner and feed him some flechettes. The frag grenade is better against vehicles than the flechette shot in that it does serious damage from medium range. However, it’s a little hard to aim at that range and vehicles will fire back, so I suggest you use something else, if anything is available. The flechette shot is better at attacking nodes, so don’t use the frag grenade for that. -- ------------ GRENADE LAUNCHER Well, this is one of the new weapons in UT2004, and it has been introduced to balance out the issue of vehicles. It’s much more useful against vehicles than it is against people, though it can still be used, even if it’s very hard to do. Also, the intriguing way this weapon operates makes for some very amusing and creative strategies. It is recommended that people with strong beliefs against terrorism in video games do not read on. Also, the Secondary Fire Mode of this weapon is a utility, so it has no statistics, and tactics are given for both Fire Modes working together. For that same reason, expect a LOT of tactics. Primary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 100 Damage vs. Vehicles: 100 Rate of Fire: 2/1s Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 50 | 8 active Charge Time: N/A Special Features: projectile; knockback; bounces off walls; sticks to people and vehicles; detonates upon being triggered by operator, weapon loss or operator death; can be shot down; unlimited fuse; affected by gravity; splash damage Introduction: It fires sticky bombs in a long arc. They will stick to anything which moves, or bounce around the terrain until they come to a rest. They will remain there, until detonated in one of the abovementioned way. Sticky bombs will deal damage, regardless of which way they’re detonated. You can only have 8 sticky bombs in the field at any given time, and the current number is shown in the lower right corner. Remember, these bombs are not team-safe and WILL stick to team-mates and allied vehicles. Secondary Fire Mode* Introduction: It triggers grenades to explode. Really, that’s all it does. Tactics: There are a lot of tactics with this weapon, even if they’re really variations of a few very basic ones. Also, this is one of the 3 weapons only found in ONS and AS, so the tactics here are mainly for that mode. Now, the most basic way to use the Grenade Launcher is to kill other people on foot. While you CAN do that, you really SHOULDN’T. The only way to score some real damage is to stick a bomb on your enemy, and that’s REALLY hard. You could also try launching a bomb at your enemy’s feet and detonating it when it’s close, but this weapon does not have good splash damage. What you really want to use this weapon against is vehicles. It does considerable damage per shot and even better if you can stick a few bombs. However, it’s insanely hard to hit fast vehicles in motion (and most vehicles ARE quite fast), so you’ll want to concentrate more on the bigger, heavier vehicles (read: tanks). The good thing about sticky bombs is that you can stick as much as you want on a vehicle and the driver won’t even know it. So, the easy way to avoid being blown to flaming gibs is to get the drop on the driver. Stick 8 bombs, detonate and “hey presto”. Only one vehicle can survive it and it’s a rare sight. The bad thing is that the vehicle needs to have stopped for this to work. Tanks in particular only stop to either destroy a Node or guard one being built. If you can’t get the drop on a vehicle, you’re pretty much sunk, since you’ll need to stake out vehicle congregation sites, namely Nodes. Camp the approach to a Node, somewhere out of sight and try to stick grenades to passing vehicles. It doesn’t work very well and the AVRiL is better. Another good thing to you can do with the Grenade Launcher is destroy nodes. It is among the few handheld weapons which are really effective at that. Just stick 8 bombs on a Node, then detonate – repeat. It really works! You can also stick bombs on your own vehicle before you leave, just in case someone steals it, or you have to abandon it. Or you could just leave it at full health and blow up the next guy who gets in. *The following strategies are of questionable ethics.* A very imaginative way of using the grenade launcher is the infamous “suicide bomber”. Basically, you stick bombs on one of your own team-mates, then have him run towards a Node. Once he reaches the Node, detonate the bombs. It deals massive damage without you having to take the time to put the bombs one by one. Yes, your team-mate dies (unless Friendly Fire is off), but he dies for the cause. Sometimes, for the greater good, sacrifices must be made. A duplicate tactic is the not-so-well-known “car bomb” technique. Basically, it’s just the same as the suicide bomber, but you rig a vehicle, which someone (other than you) then drives to a Node. Tah-dah! Finally, for maximum damage, you can have a few of your terrorist friends also stick 8 bombs on your team-mate/vehicle. Just make sure ALL of you survive until the moment of truth. If even one dies, it all goes to hell. Update – I just found out that you can attach bombs to spider mines. However, bombs slow spider mines down quite a bit, so avoid sticking more than 1 bomb per mine. Even one bomb will slow down the spider mines to the point where they can’t catch anything but the slowest of vehicles, so your best bet is to use them for attacking Nodes or Cores. Fire 8 spider mines, stick a bomb to each and order them over a Node. When and if they get over the node, detonate the bombs. Simple, if they survive. Also, enemy fire and splash damage can detonate your bombs, so be careful when attaching bombs to vehicles you’re driving. -- ------------ ROCKET LAUNCHER THE unreal trademark, the multi-barrelled Rocket Launcher needs no introduction. With 3 barrels and red all over, it’s still as bad and nasty as it ever was, and it’s still a favourite of many players. Primary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 90 Damage vs. Vehicles: 90 Rate of Fire: 12/10s Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 30 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: projectile; knockback; detonates upon contact; unlimited fuse; homing*; can lock on to enemy players and enemy occupied vehicle; limited turning curve; splash damage *It takes 2 seconds for the Rocket Launcher to acquire target and lock on. Crosshair will change colour and beep will play upon locking on target. Introduction: It fires single rockets as fast as the barrels can spin. Rockets are unaffected by gravity and will fly in a linear path until they contact players, vehicles or walls, at which point they will explode and deal splash damage. The Rocket Launcher will lock on a target if you can keep the crosshair on or close to the target for 2 seconds. It will beep to signal a lock on. The rocket launcher will lose lock if you move the crosshair away from the target, or the target disappears behind world geometry. After that, you will need another 2 full seconds to acquire lock all over again. Rockets will home in only if launched while locked and will not lose lock even if the rocket launcher does. Also, firing a single rocket while locked on will cause you to lose lock. Also, whenever someone gets a lock on you, you will hear the same distinctive beep as a warning. Finally, the Rocket Launcher has a limited range at which it can lock on. I can’t measure it, so you’ll have to find out exactly how limited yourself. Tactics: Now, the Primary Fire of the Rocket Launcher (or the single rocket) is only really suited for close quarter battles and those weird medium range in-your-face shots that happen every once in a while. Also, make note that the rockets are relatively slow, so you’ll need to lead by quite a bit. At short range, you need to do several things. Most obviously, you need to learn to aim and lead, but that’s all about practice. Always aim at the enemy’s feet. A direct hit is a rare occurrence, so you’ll be relying on splash damage most of the time (if it seems obvious, keep in mind that it’s NOT). Secondly, you need to learn to move around a lot. I’m talking Jumping, Double-Jumping, Dodge-Jumping, Wall-Jumping, the works. The Primary Fire has a high enough ROF to make aiming it easy, even on the move. The Double-Jump in particular deserves special mention, because it gets you pretty high above the ground and aiming the Rocket Launcher is that much easier from up high. Finally, beware the splash damage. The Rocket Launcher is THE single most notorious way to blow one’s self up and more people kill themselves with rockets than with all the other weapons combined. Using single rockets at medium range is sometimes successful, but rarely effective. It takes too much forward planning and even then the enemy can often get out of the way. And even if you do hit at that range, a single rocket will still do little damage. Using single rockets at long range is NOT recommended. Even if you do manage to score a hit, you will need a LOT of time just lock on again, fire another rocket and wait for it to hit. Finally, using single rockets against light vehicles does work, since you can blow up the driver, but avoid using them against tanks. Also, do NOT attempt to get a lock on Raptors and fire at them. Almost all direct hit weapons are better. Secondary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 90 single tap | 3x90 fully charged Damage vs. Vehicles: 90 single tap | 3x90 fully charged Rate of Fire: 10/10s single tap | chargeable Ammo per Shot: 1 single tap | 3 fully charged Max. Ammo: 30 Charge Time: 2,5s Special Features: projectile; knockback; detonates upon contact; unlimited fuse; homing*; can lock on to enemy players and enemy occupied vehicle; limited turning curve; chargeable; splash damage *It takes 2 seconds for the Rocket Launcher to acquire target and lock on. Crosshair will change colour and beep will play upon locking on target. Introduction: It loads up one rocket into each of the three barrels, then launches them simultaneously in a horizontal flat line – I will call this “line triple rockets”. Additionally, if you press the Primary Fire button while just before firing the rockets, they will follow a corkscrew path – I will call this “corkscrew triple rockets”. Also, you can release the Secondary Fire key at any point during loading and this will fire however may rockets were loaded at the time. Rocket’s will auto-fire once all 3 have been loaded – you can’t carry around a fully loaded Rocket Launcher. Also, all locking rules that were stated for the Primary Fire Mode also apply to the Secondary Fire Mode. Additionally, the Rocket Launcher will acquire lock even while it’s loading up rockets (which has not been the case for all UT games). Tactics: The triple (or double) rockets in either form are good at any range, as well as against vehicles. But the way rockets are loaded deserves a few words. It is split evenly into three periods, each loading another rocket. What’s weird in this case is that approximately a third of the time is spent loading the first rocket. That can lead to you waiting and still firing only one rocket instead of 2, which is a waste. Learn when each rocket is loaded and act accordingly. At short range the triple rockets behave much like the single rocket, only they require more skill, since you’ll be firing fewer times and thus have fewer chances to hit. The massive damage is alluring, but if you can’t hit, it’s pointless. Additionally, it’s even more important here that you fire from high jumps, since you can time it so that you fire all your shots from the air, thereby vastly increasing your chance to hit. In this situation it is usually recommended that you use line triple rockets, since they cover more ground and won’t spread much at short range. At medium range it’s recommended that you use corkscrew triple rockets, since line triple rockets will spread too much. It takes some guesswork, but most people are fairly predictable, so try to anticipate your opponent’s movements and fire your rockets. You may not hit very close to the target, but three rockets deal a LOT of damage and quite a bit of splash damage, too. That should make it easier to kill at medium range. At long range, always lock on before you fire. Remember to start charging the weapon a little after you point your crosshair. If you do it right, you should acquire lock about half a second before your rockets auto-fire. Also, it is better that you use corkscrew rockets here as well, because otherwise some rockets will have to make a big turn and will usually lose lock. Also, beware of snipers. They can take you out before your rockets even reach them. Your best bet is to strafe and jump for a few seconds to acquire lock, then fire and get out of sight. Finally, triple rockets work quite well against light vehicles. If you do it right, you can kill the driver in one shot. If you don’t, you’ll still knock the vehicle back or to the sides, which is disorientating and will usually cause people to stop. That’s a perfect opportunity to fire a single rocket at the driver – that will usually kill him. Against heavy vehicle, try to find a place to hide from the vehicle’s fire, then pop out and fire triple corkscrew rockets at the vehicle. Alternatively, wait a bit longer before popping out, so that the driver looks the other way, then come out and lock on. It deals massive damage, even if it takes some time to charge up. Still, and AVRiL is better in this situation. -- ------------ AVRIL The AVRiL (note the lowercase “i”) is one of the weapons that dominate ONS. It deals massive damage and rarely ever misses. However, it’s not all-powerful and can be easily countered, so use it with caution. The name “AVRiL” stands for Anti Vehicle Rocket Launcher. And, no, the “i” doesn’t stand for anything, it’s just there to put a vowel in the word and make it pronounceable. Also, the Secondary Fire Mode of this weapon is a special function and as such has no statistics. Furthermore, tactics will be given for when both Fire Modes are used together, since they were never meant to be used alone. Finally, since this is an ONS-only weapon (under normal circumstances), I will only give tactics for using it in ONS games. Primary Fire Mode: Damage vs. People: 100 Damage vs. Vehicles: 200 Rate of Fire: 3/10s Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 25 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: projectile; knockback*; detonates upon contact; unlimited fuse; homing; can lock on to enemy occupied vehicle; unlimited turning curve; requires lock to be maintained**; can be shot down; splash damage *In addition to knocking opponents and vehicles back, the weapon has powerful recoil and will knock you back when you fore it. **You need to keep you crosshair on your target for the missile to home in. Introduction: It fires a single, slow-moving missile that leaves a THICK trail of smoke. It also pushes you backwards and a little upwards. If not locked on or if lock is lost, the missile will fly strait forward until it meets and obstacle and detonates. If locked, the missile will home in on the target. Lock can be acquired, lost and reacquired at any time and as many times as necessary. Whenever you acquire new lock, all missiles you have in the air will turn to home in on your new target. The AVRiL missile is the only homing projectile in the game to have an unlimited turning curve. That means it will NEVER miss, unless the target goes out of sight, out of range, or until you die or your target is destroyed. Additionally, the missile will lead target, which means it will always hit on the first pass. Finally, a “Missile Lock” warning will appear for the player whose vehicle you’ve targeted as loung as you keep your crosshair on him and have a missile flying. If you haven’t launched a missile, no warning will appear until you do. The warning will disappear if you remove your crosshair from your enemy and will reappear if you move it back over him. Secondary Fire Mode* Introduction: It’s just an easier way to keep a lock on those fast vehicles that keep changing directions too fast. Whenever you get a lock on an enemy vehicle, hold down the Secondary Fire Button and your view will be locked onto the vehicle and follow it wherever it goes. Also, your view will zoom a little for as long as it’s locked on. Your view will be unlocked if you release the Secondary Fire button of if your target goes out of sight, out of range or is destroyed. At that point your missiles will lose lock as well. Tactics: The AVRiL is only good against vehicles. ONLY. Never EVER use it against people. The missile is so slow, that people can easily just get out of the way. Additionally, the HUGE reload time means you can only fire one missile every few seconds. Don’t even bother. If someone confronts you, switch to another weapon. However, the AVRiL is one of the best weapons you can use against vehicles and just about the only hand-held weapon that can take down Raptors with any consistency. However, the telltale “Missile Lock” warning can strike fear into the hearts of the bravest of drivers and pilots. But there is a way around it. Just fire the missile in your target’s general direction, but don’t lock on. When the missile’s close enough, THEN lock on. That’ll give your enemy a “Missile Lock” warning, but it will be too late. This is something best used against tanks and turrets. Actually, I will give explanations on how to combat individual vehicles, since that’s about all that weapon can do. Forgive me if I have given too much tactics, but this is a very versatile weapon. Vs Manta: Pretty simple to use against a Manta, provided you see it coming. Just acquire lock and fire a missile. Mantas usually die in a single hit. Keep in mind that it takes some time to do that, so if the Manta is too close, dodge it first, then turn around and fire. Always use the Secondary Fire Mode against Mantas, since they’re really hard to follow. Vs Scorpion: Almost exactly the same as with the Manta, only a brand new Scorpion needs two missiles to destroy. However, scorpions move much more slowly than Mantas and have a harder time turning, so staying out of its way shouldn’t be a problem. If push comes to shove, Double-Jump over it. Also, if you fire a missile high into the air with no lock, then target a Scorpion on the ground in such a way that the missile hits it directly from above, you can kill the driver, even if you don’t destroy the Scorpion (thanks to Jason Cotton for that last one). Vs Raptor: This is a little more complicated. Raptors need 2 hits to take down and they can also quickly hide out of sight and avoid your missiles. Additionally, Raptors can kill you before you kill them if they approach you and keep firing. Generally, avoid fighting Raptors on foot if they’re in your face, since they can destroy the missile just as you fire it if they fire continuously. Your best bet is to be on the lookout for them and try to fight them in the open ground. Alternatively, you should try to be somewhere higher up, so as to leave the Raptor fewer good places to hide from your missiles. If a Raptor does hide, try to guess where it’ll pop up next, shoot a missile high in the air and wait. Once the Raptor shows up, lock on. That way the missile will have less to travel. However, your best bet is to get a Raptor by surprise. Just hide somewhere long enough for it to start shooting at your node, or pick on one of your team-mates, then come out and let it have it. Vs Hellbender: Not recommended, since it takes three missile to take it down and that’s if you’re lucky. If it’s fully manned, you’re in trouble, since the gunners will usually kill you before you can kill the Hellbender. Just hide somewhere out of sight and wait for it to pass you by and drive away. Then pop out and fire a missile from afar. If the Hellbender stops, it’s going to snipe you. Hide and wait. If it tries to ferret you out of hiding, switch to either Flak Cannon or Rocket Launcher and aim at the driver. The Hellbender can’t manoeuvre well when it’s close, so you’re safe. Vs Goliath: Trouble. Big. Don’t even aim at that thing unless you have a good hiding place. Don’t even think about charging at a tank and firing missiles. The tank will usually kill you and destroy the missile. Instead, hide and wait for the tank to pass you by. Then pop out and fire a missile at it. Keep firing until you get a reply. If the turret turns to face you, HIDE. If it’s still pointing at you when pop out next, either wait until the driver gets sick of waiting, or find another place to pop out. Also, here is a good place to use the “no warning” tactic, so that you give tanks less time to see it coming and react. Vs Leviathan: Well… Do what you would for the Goliath, only do it longer. A LOT longer. It’s actually even easier to do it, because Leviathans have an aura of chaos whenever they do anything and you have a better chance of remaining hidden. Also, the Leviathan is big, so you don’t have to guide your missiles to the end, just give them a general direction. If the Leviathan starts toying around with the Ion Cannon, just make sure you can’t see ground zero and you’ll be fine, even if it’s just around the corner. Also, if you have the opportunity to fire uninterrupted, then fire a missile and then switch to something else while the AVRiL reloads. Vs Turret: Simple. Turrets will usually kill you if you just stand there, so hide somewhere out of sight. Then fire a missile into the clear, pop out, lock on for just a second and then hide again. The turret isn’t going anywhere. Now, you CAN use the AVRiL against Nodes and the Power Core, but it fires too slowly to make any real impact. You can try switching weapons while it’s reloading if you like, though. Also, beware of the recoil. It can shove you over cliffs and off towers, so be careful when you fire. -- ------------ LIGHTNING GUN That’s the gun that was supposed to replace the “cheap” sniper rifle in the original UT. It was to shoot slower and make it easier to spot the sniper. The change was supposed to put a lid on camping while still keeping sniping as an opportunity. However, people complained, so the Classic Sniper Rifle was reintroduced back in 2004. But make no mistake – It does NOT replace the Lightning Gun. As for the Lightning Gun itself, it’s a makeshift sniper rifle, with a 10x scope. It has more punch than the Classic Sniper Rifle, but it’s easier to track down the sniper. Also, this weapon’s Secondary Fire Mode is a special function – namely the scope – and as such does not have any statistics or tactics of its own. Primary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: 70 torso | 140 headshot Damage vs. Vehicles: 40 Rate of Fire: 8/10s Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 40 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: instant hit; beam; pinpoint accuracy; headshot; scoped Introduction: Like the name says – it fires a blue bolt of lightning with pinpoint accuracy. The blue lightning kind of stands out. Also, this weapon is capable of scoring a headshot for double damage. Also, people and air vehicles you shoot will be covered in light-blue lightning for a second. Well, it’s a very simple weapon really. Can’t say I have anything more to add. Secondary Fire Mode* Introduction: It operates the scope zoom. Hold down to zoom in gradually and release when the zoom level is comfortable. Once zoomed in, press again to zoom out all the way. Hold down again to re-zoom. Moving, jumping or falling will not affect your scope. Tactics: Well, whatever you call it, the Lightning Gun is a sniper rifle at heart, so all the rules of “sniping” (see section 5.2. ‘cause I won’t repeat them) still apply. That out of the way, I need to point something else out – this is NOT a Railgun (like in Q3), so don’t use it like one. For goodness sake, stop using it in close quarters combat while dodging and jumping (unless you’re REALLY good). Most people will pick on snipers at close range and you don’t want that kind of attention. That and the fact you’re not likely to hit at all in this situation makes this a medium-to-long range only weapon. You can, however, hit someone with it and then switch to another weapon. The Lightning Gun deals impressive damage and hits instantly, so it can help you a lot if you can land that first shot. That said, the Lightning Gun is also not a good weapon to use in DM, since people running around with Flak Cannons and Rocket Launchers will usually get the most of the kills. And there are few DM maps that offer any really good sniping spots. Also, the lightning bolt is a dead giveaway and is very likely to attract some unwanted company. Now team games are a different story. For one, camping in team games is not considered cheap, bur rather just another kind of defence. Whenever there is something to defend (the goal, the flag, an objective) just find yourself a good sniping spot – somewhere far form whatever you’re defending (but not too far) and out of range of most weapons. Also, make sure it’s not directly in the path of your enemies or that you don’t have your back turned to a path of potential attack. Once you’ve found such a spot, just camp there and let the rest of your team go about their objectives. Alternatively, the Lightning Gun can also be used for offence and in one of two ways. The first, and more obvious one, is to combat enemy snipers. Just wait until the enemy sniper starts shooting at your team, then pop out and shoot at him. Just make sure you know where he is when you do that. Look for either muzzle flash and smoke, or that telltale bolt of lightning. The second way is to actually give support to your team from a distance. Find yourself a sniping spot overlooking the objective and stay there. When the rest of your team approaches, try to snipe the defenders so that your team can get to the objective without having to engage in pointless firefights. But be warned: the enemy team will wise up to you sooner or later and come to look for you. And that weapon will just about “tell” everyone where you are. Don’t abuse those tactics or you might get people after you personally. And whatever you do, watch your fire – you can shoot your team-mates’ heads off just as easily as you can shoot of the enemies’ heads, maybe even easier. -- ------------ CLASSIC SNIPER RIFLE People complained that the sniper rifle from the original UT was replaced with the Lightning Gun in UT2003. It is generally believed that this was done as a way to discourage people from camping and force them into a more active style of play. However, some people found this change unsettling and asked that the sniper rifle be reintroduced. A weapon called the Classic Sniper Rifle was introduced in UT2004 as an answer to those requests, but it was no longer the same thing. Balancing issues meant that it could no longer have its former punch or ROF. It was drastically toned down, so as not to make the Lightning Gun pointless and not bring the same imbalance the sniper rifle did in the original UT. What we now have is a rifle that is slightly less powerful than the Lightning Gun, but is slightly faster and much less likely to give away the sniper’s position. But, it’s still a rifle with a sniper scope and you just can’t beat that. And yes, the secondary fire button is the zoom function so no statistics or tactics for it. Primary fire mode Damage vs. People: 60 torso | 120 headshot Damage vs. Vehicles: 35 Rate of Fire: 10/10s Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 40 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: instant hit; bullet; pinpoint accuracy; headshot; smoke*; scoped *Each shot creates a small puff of smoke visible to the shooter. Introduction: Well, it fires a bullet with pinpoint accuracy, capable of scoring a headshot for double damage. Each shot will produce a small puff of smoke in the centre of your crosshair which is visible even when zoomed in. Consecutive puffs will stack and make it progressively harder to see. Secondary Fire Mode* Introduction: It operates the scope zoom. Hold down to zoom in gradually and release when the zoom level is comfortable. Once zoomed in, press again to zoom out all the way. Hold down again to re-zoom. Moving, jumping or falling will not affect your scope. Tactics: The most notable feature of the Classic Sniper Rifle is the smoke. You’ll notice it the very moment you open fire. After 3 or 4 shots you can barely see a thing. Now, there are a few ways around that. Literally. One is to alternate between a standing and crouching position between each two shots, so that by the time you stand back up, the smoke up there has almost cleared and when you duck back down, the smoke there has also almost cleared. The other way is to strafe left and right as you fire and so shoot “around the smoke. Just make sure you’re crouching when you do that, so as not to fall out of your sniping position. Apart from that, the Classic Sniper Rifle behaves exactly like the Lightning Gun, except for the fact that it’s much harder to locate where the sniper is. You don’t have that obvious blue beam, just a short flash and a puff of smoke. People can see it if they look, but then again, if they are looking, then hurry up and shoot them in the face. Now, the Classic Sniper Rifle fires a bit faster and is more stealth, so that means you can use it for camping in DM with greater ease, should you choose to. And you can probably score a few frag before people realize you’re camping. But people with heavy weapons will still get more frags. You can also just hit someone with it and then switch to another weapon. The Classic Sniper Rifle deals impressive damage and hits instantly, so it can help you a lot if you can land that first shot. Additionally, when camping a good spot overlooking an objective, it will be much harder for the enemies to even realize you’re there, since your influence on the battle is not so obvious. And even once you have been discovered and killed, you can just wait a while and return to your spot and they will need even more time to come search for you again. Now, if you do the same thing all the time, you will get the same enemy team doing regular sweeps of your sniping positions just in case, and that’s a bad thing. -- ------------ TARGET PAINTER This is the fifth and final new weapon in UT2004 and the only new superweapon. It looks like a green rifle with a big scope and acts almost exactly like the Ion Painter in terms of operation. Its effect is dubious and its impact easy to see and get away from, so most people tend to not even bother. However, when used right this weapon deals more damage than even the almighty Redeemer. As with all superweapons, the Target Painter’s Secondary Fire Mode is a special function and as such has no statistics or tactics of its own. Something that is worth mentioning is that the Target Painter and Ion Painter both occupy the same slot in your inventory and you will only be able to use the one you picked up first. Primary Fire Mode: Damage vs. People: terminal Damage vs. Vehicles: 15x800 Rate of Fire: N/A Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 1 Charge Time: 2s Special Features: special*; chargeable**; scoped; powerful knockback; can be shot down***; splash damage; superweapon *It’s difficult to put in a few words, so see the “Introduction” for an explanation. **Charge time here applies to the time it takes the Target Painter to call in an attack. ***The bombs can’t, but the bomber can. Introduction: It fires a thin red beam that does no damage. You must stand still and not move your crosshair for 2 seconds for the Target Painter to call in an airstrike. After it does, a Phoenix Bomber will appear out of the blue behind your back and drop 15 bombs in a line in the direction you were facing when you called it in. Each bomb does separate damage and has limited splash damage – around a third of a Redeemer’s in terms of range. If at any time throughout those 2 seconds of charging you move either your body or your view, the timer will reset. A good way to tell if the timer has reset is to listen for the “beep” that will sound after 1 second of charging. If you’re not hearing that then you’re moving. Stop and take aim. Finally, the Phoenix Bomber can be shot down by enemy fire before it has finished dropping all of its bombs. However, it flies higher than any Raptor can reach, so ground fire is the only option. Additionally, AVRiL missiles will not lock on to the bomber. Also, whenever you call in an airstrike, everyone in the game will receive a “Warning! Incoming airstirke!” message from the announcer. Take note that you can only call in an airstrike on a patch of ground which does not have geometry over it. That means you can’t call in an airstrike in enclosed spaces or on walls. And be warned: if a bomb lands on or near you, you’re dead meat no matter how much health or shield you have. Secondary Fire Mode* Introduction: It operates the scope. The scope is exactly the same thing as the scope on both the Lightning Gun and the Classic Sniper Rifle, so see their Secondary Fire Modes for details on how it works. Tactics: Some people believe that this weapon is next to worthless and can’t hit anything. That, however, couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, it does take quite a while to call in the airstrike, for the bomber to arrive, for the bombs to fall down and all that with an early warning. I know. I realise that once you look up and see the bombs it’s a cinch to get away. I know. You can’t kill people, you can’t destroy vehicles and it does not have enough kick to destroy nodes. But what if you can get in 2 or possibly even 3 bombs? Scroll back up and do the math. And there’s only one thing that’s big enough to take 2 or 3 bombs. You guessed it – the Leviathan. Just stay out of sight and wait for it to deploy the Ion Cannon. Once it’s charging for a shot, break cover and call in an airstrike somewhere below the Leviathan. Even with advanced warning and a long time to react, that thing takes so much time to pack the cannon and move away, that it has little chance to escape. No matter how you do it, you will be able to score at least 2 hits. That’s 1600 – more than a Redeemer missile. But if you really want to do some damage, sneak up behind the Leviathan’s back and call in your airstrike from there. That way the bombs will fall along the length of the vehicle, scoring 3 or possibly even 4 hits. Add the fact that few people pay attention to the airstrike warning and see it when the bombs start exploding, and you have a sweet, sweet answer to the allegedly “invincible” Leviathan. Sadly, that’s about all you can use the Target Painter for. -- ------------ ION PAINTER It’s what the Target Painter was modelled after. The Ion Painter has been around since UT2003, but it is here where it has finally found its calling. It is more versatile and easier to use than the Target Painter, but it does not have its enormous damage potential. As with all superweapons, the Ion Painter’s Secondary Fire Mode is a special function and as such has no statistics or tactics of its own. Something that is worth mentioning is that the Target Painter and Ion Painter both occupy the same slot in your inventory and you will only be able to use the one you picked up first. Primary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: terminal Damage vs. Vehicles: 900 Rate of Fire: N/A Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 1 Charge Time: 2s Special Features: special*; chargeable**; scoped; powerful knockback; splash damage; superweapon * It’s difficult to put in a few words, so see the “Introduction” for an explanation. **Charge time here applies to the time it takes the Ion Cannon Satellite to take aim and fire. Introduction: It fires a thin red beam that does no damage. You must stand still and not move your crosshair for 2 seconds for the Ion Painter to aim an Orbital Ion Cannon Satellite. After it does, one to three purple beams will come down from the sky and create a huge purple explosion. If at any time throughout those 2 seconds of charging you move either your body or your view, the timer will reset. A good way to tell if the timer has reset is to listen for the “beep” that will sound after 1 second of charging. If you’re not hearing that then you’re moving. Stop and take aim. Take note that you can only call in an orbital bombardment on a patch of ground which does not have geometry over it. That means you can’t call in an orbital bombardment in enclosed spaces or on walls. Also, the Orbital Ion Cannon Satellite’s fire is lethal the explosion WILL kill you if you’re caught in the blast even if you’re right on the edge of it. However, if you cannot see ground zero, you will suffer no damage. Secondary Fire Mode* Introduction: It operates the scope. The scope is exactly the same thing as the scope on both the Lightning Gun and the Classic Sniper Rifle, so see their Secondary Fire Modes for details on how it works. Tactics: You won’t find an Ion Painter in many DM maps, and even if you do, you’re better off not using it. It’s really hard to find the right situation to use it (e.g. enough people in one place) and even if you do, they usually scatter before you can hit them. Furthermore, you need to stand still in plain view to aim that thing and in DM that means certain death. I have seen it in a few CTF maps, but not a lot. You can use it in CTF (as well as DOM and BR), because in team games defenders tend to congregate. Just use the Ion Painter to clear out all the defenders and give your team easy access. Or, you could try and intercept the ball/flag carrier before he escapes. However, most of the maps for those Games Modes have their important place inside buildings or caverns, and the Ion Painter doesn’t work there. Where this weapon really shines, however, is in ONS. Not because it is all that good, but because the other two superweapons suffer from crippling problems in the large ONS maps. The Target Painter is quite easy to get away from and the Redeemer missile is easily shot down (when you’re alert). But the Ion Painter delivers immediate damage and has enough power to reduce a Node to almost zero health. Now, since it’s a waste to use superweapons against people and vehicles (not counting the Leviathan) what you’ll want to use the Ion Painter for is destroying Power Nodes. Learn the map and find a spot overlooking the base of the Node (you can’t aim at the hologram). Inform your team of your intentions, or simply wait for someone to come by, then fire away. Make sure you have something to finish the Node off, since full health Nodes will survive just barely. Finish off the Node and start building your own. If you coordinated your actions well enough, you should have someone to watch your back while you work, to avoid the enemy quickly retaking the Node and undoing your hard work. Still, it works either way most of the time. -- ------------ REDEEMER Can we say “Ouchy”? A hand-held nuclear weapon. I’m speechless. This is THE most powerful weapon of the tournament. It is also, arguably, the coolest weapon ever. I mean, come on! It has “Swallow this!” written on the side of the missile! How cool is that? The sight of that big, fat, slow, almost arrogant missile flying through the air, looking for a victim is just something you never ever forget. This is a weapon WILL teach you the proper respect for the power of nature. That said, it can also be the cheapest weapon out there and it has infuriated many a gamer. Indeed, overusing that weapon can make you a hated heathen in the eyes of everyone, but NOT using it takes a lot of the fun out of the game. And if someone starts yelling about it, he’s not playing right. Primary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: terminal Damage vs. Vehicles: 1200 Rate of Fire: N/A Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 1 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: projectile; detonates upon contact; can be shot down; powerful knockback; infinite fuse; splash damage; superweapon Introduction: It fires a Redeemer missile forward in a straight line. The missile will fly in the same direction until it impacts something, or until it is shot down. By using Primary Fire Mode, you relinquish control of the missile forever, or until you fire another one. The missile can be shot down by enemy fire and it will not deal any damage. I will refer to the Redeemer’s Primary Fire Mode as the “direct missile”. Tactics: The Redeemer in general is not a good weapon to use in DM (except on very crowded maps) and TDM. It’s hard to come by and even harder to find the right situation. Most of the time you just end up killing yourself or some of your team-mates along with the enemies. That said, if you DO use it, a direct missile is better, because it doesn’t leave you open for attack and it’s not as time consuming. Still, if you can find a good spot where you won’t be bothered, go ahead and use a guided missile. In CTF, DOM and BR the Redeemer is much more useful. In defence, you can use it to stop the enemy flag/ball carrier before he escapes. That saves your team a lot of time of chasing and denies the enemy the potential to score for a while. It can also save the day on BR, if you nuke your own goal. However, the Redeemer missile is VERY slow, so it’s very hard to actually hit someone on the run. Rather than risk wasting a missile, I would suggest finding a good spot and using a guided missile. In offence, however, the direct missile is just as good. Just learn where enemy defenders congregate, turn a corner, fire and hide. That will usually clear out the defenders and open the way for attack. You should also coordinate this move with the rest of your team for a better result. The Redeemer plays an even bigger role in ONS. It has the power to destroy a full-health Power Node, as well as all vehicles but one in a single strike. However, ONS maps are all quite large and open, which makes a missile slowly winding its way across the landscape very vulnerable. For that reason many players have given up on guided missiles altogether and instead try to get close and use a direct missile, so as not to risk it being shot down. It can be done in one of two ways. You can fly high in a Raptor, bail and fire the missile from above, then hope you survive the fall. That way the missile has much less to travel and is much less likely to be shot down, but alert players still can. Alternatively (if you can pull it off) you can sneak near the enemy’s Core or Node and fire the Redeemer at near point-blank range. That will assure a successful hit, but it’s much harder to do. Finally, avoid firing a Redeemer missile towards people who are shooting at you, since there is a very good chance it will be shot down the second it leaves the gun. Once it happens to you once or twice, you’ll see what I mean. Secondary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: terminal Damage vs. Vehicles: 1200 Rate of Fire: N/A Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 1 Charge Time: N/A Special Features: projectile; remote-controlled; detonates upon contact or being triggered by operator; can be shot down; powerful knockback; infinite fuse; splash damage; superweapon Introduction: It fires a Redeemer missile forward and then immediately switches your perspective to a first person view of the missiles. By using Secondary Fire Mode, you gain control of the missile and can steer it just as you steer yourself in “spectator mode”, only with vertical restriction and a constant forward speed. The missile will explode when it hits anything or if you trigger it yourself via either the Primary or Secondary Fire Mode (once launched it doesn’t matter). If shot down, a “Denied” announcer message will play for the player who shot it down and the missile is destroyed without dealing damage. Even though the missile does not have a limit on its turning, your mouse sensitivity is drastically reduced, which may lead to your having to make wide sweeps across your desk to make sharp turns. While piloting a missile, you are completely unaware of your immediate surroundings and all your movement controls are cut off. You’re basically a sitting duck. You cannot regain control of… well yourself until the missile is either destroyed or detonated. I will refer to the Redeemer’s Secondary Fire Mode as the “guided missile”. Tactics: The Redeemer in general is not a good weapon to use in DM (except on very crowded maps) and TDM. It’s hard to come by and even harder to find the right situation. Additionally, when you use a guided your character will just stand there while you pilot the missile, and in DM, that means death. Now, if you can find yourself a good spot where you won’t be disturbed, you can use a guided missile and aim for a big cluster of enemies. However, that is a rare sight indeed and you’re very likely to end up spending a LOT of time flying around only to score a couple of frags. Time you could have used fighting with conventional weapons and probably scoring more frags. Still, the choice is yours. In CTF, DOM and BR the Redeemer is much more useful. In defence, you can use it to stop the enemy flag/ball carrier before he escapes. That saves your team a lot of time of chasing and denies the enemy the potential to score for a while. It can also save the day on BR, if you nuke your own goal. Just make sure you know where the enemy carrier is, then guide a missile to him. Any place in your base will do for a launching spot, but try to pick a place out of sight, just in case. In offence, the guided missile works just like the direct missile, only you don’t turn the corner, you guide the missile around the corner. Additionally, you can guide the missile down a hallway into a room and even through more complicated architecture, which make the guided missile more versatile in this scenario. The Redeemer plays an even bigger role in ONS. It has the power to destroy a full-health Power Node, as well as all vehicles but one in a single strike. However, ONS maps are all quite large and open, which makes a guided missile slowly winding its way across the landscape very vulnerable. You can still use a guided missile, but make sure you don’t attract attention. Don’t fly high, don’t fly through populated areas, shoot form a place close to your target. All those will help you attract less fire on your missile. And if push comes to shove and the missile comes under enemy fire, you can try to drop/swerve behind a hill or other landscape features and retreat to another path. If all else fails, you can try and improvise your own fancy manoeuvres to try and dodge enemy fire as you fly towards your target. I’ve found none that work consistently, so you’re on your own here. Finally, keep in mind that the Redeemer missile has a vertical restriction – it can’t go directly up or directly down and it can’t perform loops. It also rolls your view a little when it turns. The point is, learn to fly it, so you can apply the above tactics. -- ------------ TRANSLOCATOR The Translocator has been around since the first days of the Tournament and is a popular way of reaching those out-of-reach places the normal Double-Jump can’t get you to. It also has a controversial nature, stemming from the fact that you can use it for very rapid travel. Some people just don’t like that. Actually, many believe that the restriction that was placed on the Translocator in UT2003 was a way to limit translocator abuse, in that it would prevent you from “zipping” around the map like a mad man. That didn’t stop the trend, but it has put some caps on it, especially in BR. Apart from that, the Translocator is the one we all know and love (and maybe hate). For those of you who don’t know it, you throw a disc then teleport to it. Simple as that. Or is it? Now, the Translocator has what I would classify as a Third Fire Mode and will call “Translocator Camera”. That and the Secondary Fire Mode are special functions and as such have no statistics or tactics of their own. Primary Fire Mode: Damage vs. People: terminal* Damage vs. Vehicles: N/A Rate of Fire: N/A** Ammo per Shot: N/A per throw | 1 per use Max. Ammo: 6 Recharge Time: 1/2,5s Special Features: projectile; affected by gravity; team-safe; recharging; infinite fuse; bounces off everything; cannot be dropped; can be shot down*** *the projectile itself does no damage, but when you translocate, you will kill any enemy standing on the Translocator **You can throw it as many times as you want, but it will do you no good, and you can throw, translocate, repeat as fast as you can click while the ammo lasts. ***Enemy fire will not destroy a Translocator, but it will render it useless and you will die if you translocate to a broken Translocator. Introduction: It fires a Translocator (the little disc you can teleport to, not the weapon itself) in a very long arc, leaving visible, team-coloured trail. The Translocator will bounce around the terrain until it comes to rest, at which point it will display a visible light of your team’s colour. That means it’s operational. If it doesn’t have a light on, then it’s broken and not safe to teleport to. Once you have launched a Translocator, a second click of the Primary Fire button will recall it so you can fire it again. Similarly, walking over your own translocator will also cause you to pick it up. Additionally, if you launch your Translocator in any of the map’s traps, it will be automatically recalled. Once picked up or recalled, you can fire another Translocator. Secondary Fire Mode* Introduction: It causes you to teleport to your Translocator if you have launched one. If not, it pals a buzz. You can teleport to your translocator at any point during its flight and at any time after it lands, until you recall it or pick it up. Each teleportation will use up one translocator, which will automatically regenerate over time. Once you use up all your ammo, you will not be allowed to fire Translocators until at least 1 ammo point is regenerated. Teleporting while carrying the flag will cause you to drop it. After shooting or passing the ball, your translocator count will be reduced to zero and the firs one that regenerates will not register, so in effect you have to wait for at least 2 to regenerate to be able to fire. Teleporting to Translocator with an enemy standing over it will kill that enemy. Teleporting to a broken Translocator will kill you. Translocator Camera* Introduction: Once you have a Translocator in the field, pressing the “Translocator” button (the one that equips the weapon) will switch your perspective with a first person view of the Translocator itself. You can view the Translocator Camera for as long as you like and it will not use any ammo, but it will make you blind to your immediate surroundings. Take note that your controls will still work, so you character will turn to face the general direction you point the camera in and your movement controls will react accordingly. It’s not very useful, but it could make you walk over a cliff if you’re not careful. Tactics: The Translocator is used exclusively in CTF and BR. While you CAN use it in other Game Modes (via the “Enable Translocator” checkbox in game settings), it really isn’t all that useful and/or ruins the idea of the game. With that in mind, I will first explain why and where it is NOT used. And all in one paragraph, no less. It is not used in DM, because, well, you don’t have anywhere to go or any time to do it and switching your weapon AWAY is a BAD idea. The same goes for TDM. In DOM it makes strategic defence nearly impossible, and with it makes dominating nearly impossible (not that it can get much worse). In AS, having a Translocator defeats the whole purpose of the Game Mode, which is to get from point A to point B and stay there a while. In ONS, transportation falls to the vehicles and teleportation is only allowed between friendly, non-threatened Nodes. That’s about it. Now in BR and CTF, the Translocator is not only useful, it a key strategic element. And for people who don’t like to use it for transportation, well, don’t play CTF or BR, ‘cause that’s how you’ll be moving half the time. Now, for CTF, Translocator locomotion (if I may say that) is very important. If you don’t know what I mean, that’s where you throw a Translocator somewhere far away, teleport to it, then throw another one from where you teleport even further away. Rinse, repeat. It’s a hell of a lot faster than running or dodge-jumping. Maps are large and you need a quick way to get around if you want to be effective. Apart from that, the Translocator is useful for reaching high or inaccessible places, or getting through small openings (like a foxhole’s slit). Some places are so inaccessible (read: high up), that you can’t even shoot a Translocator to them. In such cases, you can do what is known as “Translocator climbing”. Just find a place within reach that you can stand on, shoot a Translocator there and teleport, then see if you can reach your destination. If it’s still out of reach, look for another good place to teleport to. A good example of this method is climbing the tower in CTF-FaceClassic (it can be done). Also, the Translocator can be used as a “back door” into the enemy’s base. Just leave a Translocator in an inconspicuous place before you leave to return the flag or guard the carrier. When that’s been done, just teleport back behind enemy lines before the enemies has a chance to return to their base. I heave also heard it said that you can use the Translocator camera to keep an out on your base while you’re gone, but since you’ll be using it most of the time, that one bombs. In BR, the Translocator plays an even more vital role. All the world’s rockets and all the world’s flak cannot accomplish what one clever player with a Translocator can. Just teleport far ahead in the field, past the enemy team. Enemies will ignore you for the most part, in favour of the ball carrier, which will allow you to bypass the entire team. Look for an elevated or clear and open spot and wait for a pass. With the enemy team behind you (instead of in front of you), RUN! If you get killed at any point, use “Translocator locomotion” to quickly get back into the action. Then pass it and keep going. And if you’re carrying the ball do not, I repeat do NOT attempt to shoot the ball far ahead and teleport after it, since it takes bloody ages for the Translocator to recharge after you pass or shoot. You can also do some weird things with the Translocator, like telefragging (teleporting to a Translocator while someone’s standing over it, causing him to explode into flaming gibs), but I wouldn’t recommend it. Sure it’s fun, but it’s also pointless and really hard to do. -- ------------ SUPER SHOCK RIFLE Actually, that’s the InstaGib Shock Rifle, but the engine calls it a Super Shock Rifle everywhere you check, so that’s what I’ll call it too. So don’t be confused. Now, the Super Shock Rifle isn’t normally available in any level, unless someone intentionally puts it in his level, which I wouldn’t recommend. I wouldn’t because it was never meant to be used outside of InstaGib matches, so as a result it still has the UT2003 model while on the ground (even though the rifle has its UT2004 model while in your hands) and once you pick it up, you can’t drop it, not even when you die. It replaces the standard Shock Rifle for good or until you die. It’s also stuck on 1 ammo unit left which it never uses up. All in all, it’s a bad idea to have a Super Shock Rifle outside an InstaGib match. That said, the legitimate way to have it is to use either the InstaGib, or the Zoom InstaGib Mutator, which is basically the same as an Arena Mutator, with Super Shock Rifles and some more stuff. I won’t go into detail. However, depending on the Mutator, the Secondary Fire Mode may vary. Primary Fire Mode Damage vs. People: terminal Damage vs. Vehicles: 50 Rate of Fire: 10/10s Ammo per Shot: N/A Max. Ammo: 1 Recharge Time: N/A Special Features: instant hit; beam; pinpoint accuracy, infinite ammo*; mutator-only weapon**; cannot be dropped; one hit kill *It actually only has 1 ammo unit, but it doesn’t use any ammo to shoot. **It’s only available through one of two Mutators (normally). Introduction: It fires a team-coloured beam like that of the regular Shock Rifle, but wider and more visible. It also kills any player in a single hit, regardless of health. Um… that’s it. Just learn to aim, I guess. Secondary Fire Mode* Introduction: If you chose the Zoom InstaGib Mutator, your Secondary Fire Mode is a sniper zoom, identical to that of just about every other weapon with a sniper zoom. If you choose (just) InstaGib, then your Secondary Fire Mode will be an exact duplicate of your primary fire mode. That rule applies in the case you play a map with a Super Shock Rifle pick-up, or if you summon one from the console. Tactics: Well, it can’t really do much more than gib people with direct fire. Its ROF is much slower than that of the regular Shock Rifle, so you’ll need to work on your aim quite a bit. And that’s about it. There’s not much thinking involved, just a lot of jumping and missing. It really shows who can aim and who can’t. If you have any tactics, do drop me a line and tell me so. -- ------------ BALL LAUNCHER It’s the big orange gun that you get when you pick up the ball in BR. You can’t get it in any other Game Mode. Mastery of this weapon is essential to the success of any BR game, unless you plan on never touching the ball, but that’s silly. You’ll have to learn how shoot and pass, as well as when to do it. There are only basic tactics here, so for complete strategies, you’ll have to wait for me to finish the “Game Modes” section. Primary Fire Mode: Damage vs. People: N/A Damage vs. Vehicles: N/A Rate of Fire: N/A Ammo per Shot: 1 Max. Ammo: 1 Recharge Time: N/A Special Features: projectile; affected by gravity; team-safe; does no damage; 30 second fuse; bounces off everything; cannot be dropped; homing; unlimited turning curve; can lock on*; regenerates user health** *It can get a lock on a team-mate by means of the Secondary Fire Mode. **Your health will regenerate at the rate of 6 points per second for as long as you have the gun, or until you reach 100 health. Introduction: It launches the ball in a long, flat arc. Once the ball is shot, the weapon disappears. It will reappear next time you pick up the ball. When you do pick up the ball, the Ball Launcher will replace ALL of your other weapons – i.e. you can’t fire any of them while you have the ball. Additionally, you will be surrounded by yellow circling lines which make you stick out a lot. You can’t drop the Ball Launcher, so if you want to get rid of it, shoot the ball. If you have a team-mate locked on, the ball will home in on him once shot. Secondary Fire Mode* Introduction: It locks on the team-mate that is closest to your crosshair and marks him with an orange circle. Next time you shoot, the ball will attempt to seek out the team-mate you locked on. The ball itself will not miss, but if it encounters a wall it will fall to the ground. If the ball encounters a team-mate (other than the one you locked on) or an enemy, that player will pick up the ball and receive the Ball Launcher. If you want to lock on another team-mate, just put your crosshair on him and lock on again. Once you get a lock on, a soft “beep” will play. If you try to lock on while no team-mates are in sight, a hard “beep” will play and you will not get a lock on. Additionally, if you had locked on someone before that, you will lose lock after it. You can’t get lock through wall or at great distances. Tactics: Proper use of the Ball Launcher is key to victory in BR. And by “proper use” I don’t mean trying to tackle the entire defending team, like they do in football, because in football the player usually ends up with half a dozen guys lying on his back. Remember, you CANNOT run past the enemies and expect to survive. Another thing NOT to do is shoot the ball high and far, hoping that you or a team-mate will pick it up further on, or at least retake it on enemy territory. If the enemies are organised, they will pass the ball all the way back and even past you. More important than gaining ground is having the ball in your team’s possession. Yet another thing not to do is shoot the ball in hard-to-reach places and trying to follow it with the Translocator. It takes a full 5 seconds for it to recharge after you shoot the ball and by that time you’re either dead or the ball has been stolen. Or both. What you DO want to do is pass. When you find yourself surrounded by enemies, or when you see an open team-mate far ahead, just pass the ball (make sure to lock on first to avoid missing). Of course, you need to make sure you have a clean shot – there must be no obstacles in the way, such as walls, hills, enemies, and the team-mate you’re passing to needs to be open (not swarmed by enemies). After that, teleport somewhere far ahead and wait for a pass. In that case, make sure YOU are open. If you need to get to an inaccessible place, just pass to someone who is already there. If no-one is there, pass to someone around you, then teleport there and wait for a pass. Alternatively, you can ask someone with a charged Translocator to go there and then pass to him. A very good tactic for when you have the ball is to actually draw the enemy team towards you. When they start to swarm you, start running back toward your base. If the whole enemy team (or at least most of it) follows you, that’ll give your team-mates a chance to get behind the enemy team. When you see someone like that open, IMMEDIATELY pass. That way, your ball carrier will have a clear way in front of him, and the enemies will be forced to chase him rather than intercept and ambush him. If everything else fails, THEN you can do one of the things I said not to do. Shoot the ball far ahead or shoot it in a hard to reach place. Since you’re already done for, you might as well buy your team some time, rather than just drop the ball in your enemy’s hands. It certainly is better than trying to run through 10 angry people with Rocket Launchers and Flak Cannons. *update* In case you find yourself alone with the ball, facing a few opponents that you feel you can beat with your weapons, there’s something else you can do. Simply shoot the ball at one of your enemies. That way you’ll regain access to your weapons, and if you do it right, one of the enemies will pick up the ball and lose his own weapons for a second. Then you can simply blast all the enemies and pick up the ball again. Be careful, though, as there are many things that can go wrong. Your enemy could pass the ball back to you, or simply, causing you to lose time switching weapons. Or he could simply speed towards your base and get too far to be dealt with efficiently. Only use this tactic if no other course of action is available. (Thanks to Dale) -- ------------ 8. Vehicles & Tactics -- ------------ UNDER CONSTRUCTION -- ------------ 9. Game Modes -- ------------ UNDER CONSTRUCTION -- ------------ 10. Some Strategies -- ------------ UNDER CONSTRUCTION -- ------------ 11. Miscellaneous -- ------------ UNDER CONSTRUCTION -- ------------ 10. When to contact me -- ------------ You can reach me at nero_orog@hotmail.com Drop me a line if you: 1. Have comments, tips or suggestions. I’ll include you in the Credits. 2. Want to inform me of errors or misjudgements I’ve made, show me something I’ve missed or want to contribute to the FAQ. I’ll include you in the credits with additional thanks. 3. Don’t understand part of the FAQ, or need additional information, or need to know things I haven’t yet put in AND you’ve looked carefully. I’ll respond as soon as I can, but I don’t have infinite knowledge. 4. Want to tell me how good my FAQ is. I’ll send you a “Thank you” e-mail and give you my sincere thanks. 5. Want to tell me how bad my FAQ is, but want to suggest a way to improve it. I’ll include you in the credits with additional thanks. 6. Want to use my FAQ or parts of it in you own FAQ, on your website or whatever. I’ll allow it, but ask me anyway. 7. Are an admin at GameFAQs and have something to tell me. 8. Believe I should give you credit and I haven’t. I’ll have a look and include you if you’re right. Do NOT drop me a line if you: 1. Want to tell me how bad my FAQ is, but you don’t want to offer any constructive way to improve it. Your e-mail will be ignored. 2. Want to tell me how much you dislike me as a person, my beliefs, my speech or my relatives. Your e-mail address will be blocked and you’ll receive my prefabricated “hate” letter. 3. Want to sell me things, want me to send out a chain letter, or anything else of the sort. Your e-mail will be ignored. 4. Want to ask me about information already in the FAQ. Mostly I’ll tell you where the thing is in my FAQ, but I just MAY ignore your e-mail. 5. Want to just chat. Your e-mail will be ignored. I already have a life. Anything else is your call. -- ------------ 10. Credits -- ------------ Brayden McLean – For pointing out some typos I had made and for confirming the Link Gun Secondary Fire Mode pushing vehicles. Also, for giving me a great idea as to how to measure vehicle speeds. Thanks a lot! Michael Healey – For letting me know each pill gives 2 Adrenaline points, instead of one and pointing out that I can’t spell “lose”. Thanks a lot! John Rush – For pointing out a boatload of spelling errors I had made. Thanks a lot for your continued support! Jason Cotton – For additional information about the AVRiL. Bernd Wolffgramm (from whom I got the e-mail) – For hosting my FAQ on http://www.dlh.net Richard Clarke – For pointing out that the Grenade Launcher is also available in AS. Thanks a lot! Daniel Houseward – For pointing out I had forgotten to include the Ball Launcher in the “Weapons” section. I still can’t understand how it slipped my mind. Thanks a lot! Dale – For pointing out an additional tactic for the Ball Launcher. Epic Games – For making the original Unreal Digital Extremes – For making the original Unreal Tournament GT Interactive – For distributing both of the original games. Digital Extremes – For making Unreal Tournament 2003 Epic – For making Unreal Tournament 2004 Atari – For distributing both of the UT2000+ games. Me – Nero – for always being there for me. And a person who did not wish to be credited, but I’ll credit him anyway – For being a nice guy. And, of course, YOU – For reading. Anyone of the above want his e-mail included or something, drop me a line. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.
