My strategy...for what it is worth

[eor123]

Bear in mind this overall strategy works for me and my style of gaming on the XBox360 platform. I used it to complete FC2 on Hardcore several times and on Infamous, performing all available missions and collecting all diamonds and tapes. It was a long hard slog, but very rewarding. This isn't a walk through or in depth discussion about weapons. Those are matters of personal preferences and choices, as is so much with this great game. I will talk some about weapons.

You can certainly argue that using one of the maps available here that shows the location of diamonds is cheating and diminishes from the accomplishment. Fair enough. My hat goes off to anyone who found and retrieved them all the old fashioned way. That is a real achievement in patience and persistence.

I suggest printing out the maps so that you can note what diamonds have been located. You can do this on the computer screen of course but I recommend using some kind of notation that distinguishes whether you have saved the game since acquiring diamond briefcases. Remember, console gamers can't save whenever we want to.

At the lower difficulty levels this isn't an issue but on Infamous, it is quite possible that you will use up your buddy rescue get out of death free card  and then be killed before you can get to a safe house and reactive the rescue buddy. Believe me you don't want to have to backtrack to relocate and collect several briefcases. And if you do, you need an easy way of knowing which ones you have to go back and get.   

What weapons you start with depends somewhat on what character you choose and from where you start the game. I usually seem to start with a .45, the G3, and an RPG. This is a good beginning combo but the RPG is only good for a couple of shots before it goes loopy on you -- the rounds will fall well short of where you aim and the RPG will shortly afterward blow up in your face.

Of course, the game forces you to purchase new weapon (s) during the tutorial. I usually purchase the G3 rifle and an accuracy upgrade with my initial payment of 10 diamonds. I rarely will purchase a weapon unless I can also purchase the accuracy and reliability upgrades at the same time. I personally don't like the Makarov nor the pump shotgun. In my opinion money is better spent upgrading the G3 initially. 

Since the additional weapons crate is available to me, I select the crossbow. The explosive tipped arrows come in very handy until you unlock a grenade launcher or RPG. At the beginning of the game, the crossbow is the only scoped weapon available to you. It can be used to take out sniper and fixed gun positions which can tear you to shreds on Hardcore and Infamous. Shooting barrels or vehicles with an arrow is a good way to take out multiple targets from a distance -- something crucial to your survival at the harder difficulties.

The double barreled shot gun is a powerful close range weapon and you get a lot of ammo with it. It is appealing but I have found that the .45 may be a better close quarters choice if you are in need of a reload for your primary weapon and are facing one or two mercs. You can get 3-4 pistol rounds in each much quicker than you can  fire the shotgun, reload, and aim it. With this limited use, the .45 with which I start the game seems to last a while. I'll buy a fresh .45 and purchase upgrades for it later.

To be continued...






   

[Art Blade]

Interesting to read, from a console user's perspective. It is a different game like that, since you have to be aware of your safehouses.

Looking forward to reading more :)  :-X

[eor123]

Collecting diamonds is an early priority for me. I grab the ones in the shed near Mike's Bar  so that I can purchase the reliability upgrade for the G3 before heading to Pala. I grab the ones nearby even before meeting with the priest in Pala. I use the same strategy in Mosate Saleo, and Sefapane. I like to get them out of the way.   

My first goal is to purchase the Camo suit. It's pricey at 45 diamonds. It's not as interesting as new gun but I think more important to survival. It doesn't make you invisible as you would hope for but it helps. Survival is tough in Infamous. You need all the help you can get.

I concentrate first on rescue of all the buddies, gun shop ambush missions, cell tower assassination missions, and the search for diamonds. I unlock every safe house I come across, even if I don't need it at the time. There were several occasions deep within Act II on Infamous when I was out of ammo and health and was desperately sprinting to any safe house in order to survive and preserve my progress (usually with an AT on my a$$). The last thing I wanted to deal with was 3-4 mercs at the door.

Just because a safe house is well off the beaten path doesn't mean it can't be useful to you in the future. When you are being relentlessly pursued you can end up in unusual locations.

I next concentrate on the buddy missions at Mike's Bar. I took me a while to realize that you have to leave Mike's Bar and travel a short distance before the mission available icon appears on the map and you can return and accept another buddy mission. I like to start with the first or best buddy and get those two missions out of the way.

In order to have access to all possible missions in FC2, I believe you have to complete your best buddy's missions PRIOR to accepting a main mission from one of the factions. Once your best buddy offers you a side mission attached to a main mission, I don't think he/she will reappear at Mike's Bar and offer you buddy missions.

And I also believe that your best buddy needs to die at some point in order to "make room" in Mike's Bar so that the remaining buddies can show up and offer missions. You are free to whack your buddies after performing their missions and some do this to make the final Act a little easier. I tried this on one play through and it didn't feel "right" to me. I know it's silly, but as the merc says, " Quit yer bitchin.' It is what it is."  ;D

By the time I have wandered around the map completing the available gun shop, cell tower, and buddy missions and am ready to accept my first main mission, I have amassed most if not all the weapons and equipment in my preferred load out. And it is interesting to note that the supply of malaria pills seems to be unlimited until you accept the first main mission.

Keep an eye on Mike's Bar for the available mission icon once you start the main missions.  When it appears you can complete the final buddy missions. If you have completed them all your stats should say 42/40 missions completed as the end of the game.

If you have unlocked the Predecessor Missions, you will need to keep an eye out for the envelope icon near the SE bus station in Leboa (Act I) and at the Post Office in Bowa (Act II).

To be continued....




   

[Art Blade]

I believe you have to complete your best buddy's missions PRIOR to accepting a main mission from one of the factions. Once your best buddy offers you a side mission attached to a main mission, I don't think he/she will reappear at Mike's Bar and offer you buddy missions.

You can do them whenever you like. The buddies that won't appear at Mike's are either dead or rescue buddies.

And I also believe that your best buddy needs to die at some point in order to "make room" in Mike's Bar so that the remaining buddies can show up and offer missions.

It doesn't matter which buddy, as long as you kill one. Best kill them after you did their missions, and indeed, the only way to kill a buddy is either if he is your BB or RB.

Keep an eye on Mike's Bar for the available mission icon once you start the main missions.  When it appears you can complete the final buddy missions. If you have completed them all your stats should say 42/40 missions completed as the end of the game.

You can even end up with 43/40 side missions.

By the way, answers to all those questions (and more) can be found in the funny tactics and tips topic  ;)

[eor123]

I usually acquire a golden AK47 ASAP and continue to use it as my primary weapon through out much of Act I. The golden AK's degrade but do so slowly. They become a little less dull in appearance but otherwise provide no real clue until they jam. I've had a couple jam, but it was well into the first act on both occasions. I would recommend replacing it with a another gold AK at least once if you are going to use them.

I'm somewhat partial to the FN-FAL Paratrooper as a primary weapon and switch to it as soon as I can in Act II . It's not quite as good in close quarters as the AK47 but has better range.

The strategy I use in Act II is the same but with a little less emphasis on collecting diamonds. Same order -- buddy rescues, gun shop and cell tower missions, buddy missions and then onto the main missions, collecting diamonds and unlocking safe houses as I go.

I prefer to play with only a handful of weapons that are consistent with my style. As mentioned I like the AK47 or FN-FAL as primary weapons and the M79 grenade launcher, .45, or .50 cal pistols as secondary. Even though the dart rifle has a very short lifespan and limited ammo, it is my preferred special weapon. A hit from it is a guaranteed kill and if you choose targets wisely (mercs off from the others) and get head shots you can take many of them out before you have to go into an area. You can tell from looking at the dart rifle how quickly it is degrading. 

As a result of my fondness for the dart rifle, I spend  A LOT of time in the gun store, getting a fresh dart rifle. While there I always get fresh weapons, whether I need them or not. I rarely have a weapons failure in the field and as a matter of practice I only pick up dropped weapon under extreme circumstances. Surviving is hard enough without fighting your weapons.

At times I may carry an RPG as a special weapon. Sniper rifles are fun but I don't like the game's insistence that they be a primary weapon at the expense of an assault rifle. The Uzi is a good weapon but I won't give up the M79 for it. The M79 is largely responsible for me completing FC2 on Infamous. You have to take out those AT's!

By the end of Act III I usually carry the AS50, M79, and the M249SAW. I'm not real crazy about the AS50. It degrades quickly but sometimes you have to have one shot/one kill firepower and the dart rifle isn't up to the task in Act III.

The vehicle is an effective yet often overlooked weapon -- either as an explosive device or simply as a tool to run over the enemy at guard posts and safe houses.

To be continued....



 

[eor123]

There doesn't seem to be that great of a divide between play at the Normal and Hardcore levels but the difference at Infamous is huge.

Ammo is reduced. Available health is reduced. The targeting crosshairs that help you find enemy in the brush is no longer available. The enemy no long stands around in groups waiting to be shot. At the first hint of trouble from a distance, they start ducking and running for cover, making sniper shots very difficult. At the same time, some will start toward the perceived source of the trouble and attempt to flank you. If you stay in one place too long taking  pot shots, you will get shot in the back. And it doesn't take many hits from even the average merc to kill you in Infamous.

Enemy snipers are deadly in Infamous -- two to three shots and at times even one shot and you're dead, not to mention the RPG's, rocket launchers and perhaps the most deadliest of weapons -- mortars and grenade launchers. It is imperative that you locate and take out mortars and GL's before engaging anyone else. If you don't you'll spend all of your time wildly running for cover and will run right into an wall of bullets from foot soldiers.

For me it is about controlling the flow of the game. If I can keep the game at my pace, I am successful. This starts becoming problematic on Hardcore but is a real issue on Infamous. On Infamous, it seems that you are constantly being pursued -- you are running or hiding, often primarily concerned with merely staying alive.

You have to pre-plan what you are going to do. As fun as just crashing your AT into a GP or objective and letting the chips fall where they may is, you won't live long doing that on Infamous. And even with planning, the mercs will surprise you with their aggressiveness. You will keep backing up only to find they are still trying to flank you. And you may back right into a group that is coming from the opposite direction in response to gunfire.

I rarely open fire without having access to sufficient cover and a secondary cover position to move to in the event I start getting flanked or am taking too much fire.

On the road, AT mounted /.50 cals will kill you with two to three hits. You'll be dead about the time you realize one has intercepted and you need to do something.

There are sections of the river in Act II in which the swamp boats will swarm you, disabling your boat and forcing you to just bail out and swim to shore in desperate attempt to get to cover or run away. 

The bad habits you pick up playing FC2 at lower difficulty levels will be your undoing.

I discovered that the only way that I could control the pace of the game on Infamous was to walk..and I did a lot of walking and creeping, trying hard to avoid unnecessary fire fights. On Normal and Hardcore, I went out of my way to get into fire fights and cause mayhem and chaos. That chaos is not as much fun when you are the object.  ;D

Already a very immersive game, spending most of your time on foot and struggling to survive really amplifies that experience. We console players often gripe about our inability to save at will but I think the trade off is an enhanced sense of immersion. 

I just pulled up the stats from a save point near the end of my Infamous play through.

Distance walked: 268 km
Distance driven:  226 km 

The first time I played the game I swam a lot -- seemed like a good stealthy way to approach objectives but I began to believe that my weapons were degrading at a faster pace as a result. I don't know if this has been discussed or not. I now avoid the water.

The methodical way I play the game at a slower pace reflects my personality and was ultimately successful. That is the beauty of FC2. You can tailor strategy, tactics, and weapons to match your personality or can explore alternatives with different mind and tool sets.

To be continued ?....

[Art Blade]

Neither weapons nor vehicles degrade in water, weapons don't degrade faster if you reload after every shot. :)