FC3: Tips and Tricks

[Art Blade]

Avoid "fall damage"

When going downhill too fast or down some kind of steep mountain or steep slope, never go down straight as in head first: you'll eventually get to see your feet which is rare and in this case rather unhealthy and even if you don't see them, you're in for some health loss up to a total health loss..

Instead turn 90° and crouch so you can slide down sideways, almost like surfing a wave. At best you don't lose any health, sometimes just only one bar. :)


Animal Repellent syringe

Use it for the Path of the Hunter quests, particularly for those unique dangerous animals like Black Panther. You can almost call them over to you.. stand still, aim, shoot. The beast will come as close as to give you a nudge with its nose but never bite or attack, instead it will walk away in a bit of a rush  :-D .. while you keep shooting at it.

Best combine it as follows: use the Hunter's Instinct to find the beast, get close, then take the repellent syringe and start to shoot. :)

[PZ]

... I plunged right into it without ever reading the manual and when I started, the game was only just out a few hours so nothing I could have read in preparation anyway  :-D

Same here; I don't think I've ever read a manual except for the button layout.  Typically the tutorial missions give me enough experience to get the job done.

One piece of advice I would give is to find the first relic if you are planning to collect the lot.  I can't recall exactly where you would find it, but somewhere near the beginning of the game in a place you cannot return to is the very first relic.  I've read complaints where gamers are lamenting that they have collected 119/120 relics with no opportunity to complete the challenge.

[mandru]

See PZ that's the type of slip up I would prefer to avoid.  An area you can't return to with items that can be missed?

Lovely.  :-\\

[PZ]

This is where you should find the relic

Evidently it is reported to be in the cave where you find Daisy - do your exploration there and you should be good to go.  The report is that if you are not in one of the scenes where you are already inside the cave, you're out of luck.  While standing outside of the cave, you can see in from the outside but an invisible wall prevents your entry.

[Art Blade]

I know where it is and will tell you in the spoiler below. I found it because I like to explore and not follow too hastily the mission's directions..

Just the essentially important stuff (location), no mission-related spoilers

Spoiler

In the cave below Dr. Earnhard's Mansion. Best do it when you enter it for the first time. You need to climb a little up some rock, it is to the left of the water quite at the end of the cave. Listen and follow the sound of a bear.. he's protecting the relic.

[PZ]

Do you have to kill him?  ????

[Art Blade]

The question is, won't you defend yourself when he tries to kill you?  :) You don't have to kill him, but I took the rare opportunity early in the game to, er, take his coat.  :-()

[PZ]

I was hoping to sneak past and steal the relic  :-()

[Art Blade]

good luck, however I recommend you bring a massive club, just in case..  :-D

[PZ]

I'm a few main story missions before the end of the game; is there another opportunity to get into the cave at this point?

[fragger]

I think the last time you can enter the cave is for the scene where you tell the friends you're not leaving on the boat with them and you say goodbye to Liza (there's four friends there at that point: Daisy, Liza, Oliver and Keith).

[PZ]

Dang, I'm already past that point.  Oh well, there's always another play through  :-()

[mandru]

Gee.  ???   That is a good thing to be aware of. 

[Binnatics]

I had the same issue. Have posted a rant or two about that 120th relic somewhere earlier I think :-D

It's unbelievable that you "buy" maps to get the relics to show and there's still one not shown. And only that specific relic is freaking missable. That's something you just don't make up ::)

[mandru]

I have to ask are the other find-ables, collectables or things that need to be recovered (what ever you want to call this class of item) actually listed on the purchasable maps in game as "relics"?   ???? ?

[Art Blade]

yes: Loot Chests (basically they're for getting money), Lost Letters, Relics.

[Jim di Griz]

I got that relic in the bear cave but you can still get it later - my lady went in and as she does, killed the bear and moved on. She went back into the cave after rescuing the stoner and picked the relic up then.

If you want to do the 60metre dive thing, that's a dark splotch on the map in the lagoon south-west of the weed crop mission - there is of course a relic down there...and sharks nearby.

EDIT: I though that destroy the weed crop mission was a lot of fun, especially as I'd scored a gun-toting jeep just beforehand; so I had a good backup ready for when the pirates got too numerous or close. It was mostly fun due to the effects of the burning crop making my aim all 'floaty' - that and the banging dub-tune belting out the whole while  :) I enjoyed that.

[mandru]

From last night's Patch 1.04 in the notes it addresses in part the unobtainable relic.  Now if I can find the entrance I'll be in good shape.  :-\\

Is it the same cave that Dr. Earnhard sends you to to collect the mushrooms?  I had to go clear down to the shoreline pretty much following the run off from the pond in front of the mansion and then kill the sharks for their skins before diving deep and long to reach air again inside the cave.  I've gone back and spent 20 - 30 minutes tearing that whole chamber apart without finding anything close to what's been described to access the bear.

I see the mouth of a cave marked on the map beneath the gazebo on the cliff edge (Run! It's a Gazebo!  :o  ) but it's completely covered with dense vines and try as I may I cannot gain entrance there.  ????

If someone can point out what I'm doing wrong I'd sure appreciate it.

[Art Blade]

No, not the mushroom cave. If you don't know where it is, then you haven't yet reached the point playing the main missions. You will be forced to go into  the cave  :-D Once there, go for it, you'll know by then :)

[mandru]

Thanks Art.  :)  :-X



Edit additional: Cool!  The signature Bull made a killing.  In the exchange it wasn't the Bear's day and he got skinned ( intentional or not there's some irony there  ;) ) and I got that relic.   ;D

[fragger]

I can highly recommend the SPAS-12 with extended magazine for dealing with those flame-throwing privateer heavies in the final few missions. Don't try using your own flame-thrower against them as they seem to be impervious to it - I think they must wear some kind of fire-retardant suit. Half a dozen quick, close-range SPAS blasts will keep them staggering so that they don't get a chance to bring their flamers to bear, provided you can get an early enough jump on them.

A couple of "untouchable" syringes came in very handy for the mission to rescue Riley. I used one during the bust out from Hoyt's compound and another when I entered the airport, and thus in Superman mode I could concentrate on quickly getting to where I had to go with the bad guys' bullets just bouncing off me :-() I also shot up an endorphin boost at the start of it all which helped make a difference.

[Art Blade]

Thanks for the shotty tip, sounds good. :)

Hey, I prefer the same drug cocktail as you, fragger  :-D
I have 6 untouchable and 6 endorphin syringes packed and the loot rucksack is full of ingredients for syringes.  :-D

[fragger]

They're good things to have on hand, I'm going to do what you do in future for those ridiculously tough scripted missions, like that fuel dump one with Sam - I wish I'd thought of it then :-X

[Art Blade]

I'm not sure what you're referring to? What are you going to do? And which mission, Black Gold perhaps?

[fragger]

a) Have half a dozen untouchable and endorphin syringes on hand, with plenty of leaves to make more, and;

b) Yes, Black Gold is indeed the mission (couldn't remember the name of it).

:-D