F.E.A.R. F.E.A.R.: Extraction Point F.E.A.R.: Perseus Mandate Weapon and Enemy Guide: Last Updated: March 25, 2009 by Alan Chan (joylock @ hotmail.com) The Usual: This document is mine. Please don't rip it off or take credit for it. That being said, feel free to post it on any site you want, provided you a) don't make any changes to it, and b) don't charge money for it. You don't even have to get my permission to post it (as long as it remains unaltered), but it would be nice if you emailed me and let me know (joylock @ hotmail.com). On a side note, I'm flattered that Prima Guides apparently used my FAQ as a template for the weapons/enemy section of their own FEAR guide for the Xbox 360. Although, you know, they could have given me some acknowledgement, or something... *cough* *cough* Anyway, just so we're clear... If you use information taken form my guide in your own publication, or use my guide as a template for writing your own, you must credit me. After all, it's only fair. Purpose of this Guide: Since the majority of F.E.A.R.'s gameplay revolves around combat, I thought a detailed weapon and enemy guide could be useful. Hope it helps. I've also added some info about the new weapons and enemies found in the expansion pack to F.E.A.R., Extraction Point. Finally, I've added info about the new weapons and enemies found in the second expansion pack to F.E.A.R., Perseus Mandate. Be Aware, This Guide Contains moderate *SPOILERS*. Just so you know. ******************************************************************************* * * *Version History: 1.0: Initial Release * * * * 1.1: Some basic edits and editions * * * * 1.2: Added info on Extraction Point expansion pack * * Updates to original FEAR section * * FINALLY identified each individual Replica type * * * * 1.3: Updated Extraction Point statistics * * Some minor updates, completion of data fields * * * * 1.4: Modification of disclaimer * * Additional engine details based on further SDK reading* * * * 1.5: Added rate of fire to weapon info * * * * 1.6: Minor corrections, corrected rate of fire for G2A2 * * corrected stats for Laser Elite soldier * * more detailed description of EP Replicas * * * * 1.7: Added information on Perseus Mandate expansion pack * * * * 1.8: Some aesthetic adjustments for easier reading * * * * 1.9: Some minor enemy info corrections * * * ******************************************************************************* The latest version of this FAQ can be found at www.gamefaqs.com. TABLE OF CONTENTS: F.E.A.R. - Game Mechanics - Weapons - Melee Attacks - Pistol - Submachine Gun - Combat Shotgun - Assault Rifle - HV Penetrator - ASP Rifle - MOD-3 Rocket Launcher - Type-7 Particle Weapon - MP-50 Repeating Cannon - Frag Grenades - Proximity Mines - Remote Bombs - Enemies - Replica Soldier - Replica Sniper - Replica Elite Soldier - Replica Heavy Armor Soldier - Assassin - R.E.V.6 Power Armor - ATC Security Guard - Automated Turret - Armacham UAV Flying Drone - Nightmare - Paxton Fettel - Alma F.E.A.R. Extraction Point - New Game Mechanics - New Weapons - Type-12 Laser Carbine - TG-2A Minigun - Deployable Turret - New Enemies - Replica Laser Elite Soldier - Replica Heavy Minigun Soldier - Deployable Turret - R.E.V.8 Leviathan Mech - Shadow Creature - Old Enemies that Reappear in the Expansion F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate - New Game Mechanics - New Weapons - Type-12 Laser Carbine - TG-2A Minigun - VES Advanced Rifle - K3-BT Grenade Launcher - LP4 Lightning Arc Weapon - New Allies - F.E.A.R. Operative - Delta Force Soldier - New Enemies - Shade - ATC Riot Guard - Nightcrawler Soldier (Type 1) - Nightcrawler Soldier (Type 2) - Nightcrawler Elite - Nightcrawler Commander - Old Enemies that Reappear in the Expansion ____________ ____________ ___________ ___________ | | | | | \ | \ | ________| | ________| | ____ | | ____ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |________ | |________ | |____| | | |____| | | | | | | | | | | ________| | ________| | ____ | | _ __/ | | | | | | | | | | \ \ | | __ | |________ __ | | | | __ | | \ \ __ | | | || || || | | || || | \ \ | | |___| |__||____________||__||___| |___||__||___| \___\|__| ***************** *Game Mechanics:* ******************************************************************************* DIFFICULTY SETTING: - The game's difficulty setting affects two primary factors; the amount of damage enemies do, and how effective the AI generally is (with regards to various variables such as aim and intelligence/tactics). Difficulty does not affect the amount of damage enemies can survive. On easy difficulty, enemies do 25% damage, and are 50% effective. On moderate difficulty, enemies do 65% damage, and are 100% effective. On hard difficulty, enemies do 85% damage, and are 125% effective. On extreme difficulty, enemies do 120% damage, and are 150% effective. Thus, on easy difficulty enemies barely do any damage to you, while on extreme difficulty they do approximately as much damage to you as you do to them with the same weapon. HEALTH AND DAMAGE: - Damage values given are for point-blank shots. Weapons damage decreases the further away you are from the enemy (as a result, you'll take much less damage if you are shot from a distance than if you are shot up close.) The point at which damage begins to drop off with distance differs from weapon to weapon (for example, the particle weapon does maximum damage at a much further maximum range than the submachine gun). - Each blue health booster you acquire increases your total health 5 points, up to a maximum of 199 health. Each yellow reflex booster you acquire increases your reflexes, giving you 0.25 additional seconds of SloMo time. You can carry a total of 10 health kits at once. Each health kit restores 50 health when used. Each armor vest restores 35 armor when picked up, up to a maximum of 100. SLOMO: - When you start the game, you have a total of 10 seconds of SloMo time, and once your SloMo meter is empty it takes about 25 seconds to refill it. If you collect all 20 of the reflex boosters, you'll have a total of 15 seconds of SloMo time, and it will take about 40 seconds to completely refill an empty reflex meter. (You regain 0.35 seconds of SloMo time for every 1 second of real time). - SloMo slows time to about 5 times slower than normal. SloMo also doubles your movement speed and rate of fire. So, while in SloMo, your character moves and shoots twice as fast, as well as perceiving the world at 5 times faster than normal human sight. - Interestingly, since SloMo time is 5 times slower than normal, and you have 10 to 15 seconds of SloMo, that means that the Pointman's SloMo state only really lasts for 2 to 3 seconds of "real time". - Time also slows down during the "psychic visions", but to a lesser degree. During a vision, time slows down to 3 times slower than normal, but your character doesn't move any faster than normal (this accounts for your sluggish movements during such events as the nightmare battles and the final "showdown" with Alma. - In Multiplayer, SloMo slows time to about 2.7 times slower than normal, and causes you and your team to move and shoot twice as fast. HEADSHOTS AND SNEAK ATTACKS: - Headshots do 1.5 times normal damage against soldier-type enemies (i.e. Replica Soldiers, ATC Security, and Multi-Player characters). Headshots do 2.0 times normal damage against non-standard enemies (i.e. Heavy Armor soldiers). Shots to the chest or the upper limbs do normal damage. Shots to the lower limbs do 0.25 times normal damage. - Enemies take increased damage if they are not yet aware of your presence. You can kill an unaware enemy with just a couple shots to the head or chest. You can also kill an unaware Heavy Armor with a kick attack, although there really aren't many situations in the game that would allow you to sneak up on a Heavy Armor. ********** *Weapons:* ******************************************************************************* - For damage and armor penetration, SP = the damage done in single- player when you use the weapon against an enemy, AI = the damage done in single-player when an enemy uses the weapon on you (modified by difficulty level %), and MP = the damage the weapon does in multiplayer. - The armor penetration percentage represents how much damage a hit from the weapon does to health instead of armor. If the target is wearing armor, the AP% is the percentage of total damage that is done to health, the remaining percentage is damage done to armor. Once the target runs out of armor, it will take the full damage from its health. - Rate of Fire is represented in RPM (Rounds Per Minute). These numbers are estimations based on in-game observation, since I can't find the info in the SDK script files. - You can only carry a total of 3 firearms at once. Personally, I recommend carrying a combat shotgun, plus a rapid-fire primary weapon, and a long-range weapon for sniping. I.E. 1) Combat Shotgun 2) HV Penetrator <-> ASP Rifle <-> Type-7 Particle Weapon 3) Submachine Gun <-> Assault Rifle Towards the end of the game, you can replace the Combat Shotgun with the MP-50 Repeating Cannon if you want to have some fun with the cannon. - You don't need to bother with reloading your current weapon when you switch to using a different weapon. F.E.A.R. conveniently automatically reloads your inactive weapons when you switch away from them. NOTE: kalika neva informs me that, as of the latest patch, this is no longer true. - The amount of ammo you get from a weapon depends on whether or not you're already holding a weapon of that type. So if you pick up a particle weapon, you get less ammo if you're already carrying a particle weapon. To get more ammo for rare guns like the particle weapon or repeating cannon, one exploit you can do is to drop your current weapon before picking up another gun of that type, then go back and pick up your dropped weapon. Melee Attacks: Damage: Punch: 100 Rifle Butt: 150 Kick: 1000 AI Damage: Melee Attack: 35 Armor Penetration: 0% BRIEF BLURB: When unarmed, you can still punch human enemies to kill them in 2 hits. You can also melee enemies with the butt of your rifle, which will kill any standard enemy in a single strike. Finally, you can perform 3 special kick attacks, all of which can kill any standard enemy with a single hit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: Your character, the F.E.A.R. point man, has a wide variety of powerful martial arts moves at his disposal. Following the Halo trend, your melee attack button is separate from your weapon fire button, so you can perform both moves at the same time. Melee attacks are perfectly silent, and can be used to take out an enemy without alerting other nearby enemies. STANDARD MELEE ATTACKS: The standard melee attack is a basic uppercut if you're unarmed, or a hit with the butt of your weapon if you're armed. These attacks are quite powerful; two punches or one rifle butt to the face will kill a Replica soldier (a rifle butt to the face is an instant kill against Replicas, regardless of how much health they have). Unfortunately, Replica soldiers have rather strong melee attacks of their own, and can hit you back while you're busy hitting them. For this reason, it's best not to go toe-to-toe with them. If a Replica does get too close to you, it's better just to back away and unload on him with your firearm. If you're camping a corner, and a Replica runs around it and ends up running into your face, a swift rifle butt to his face is probably the best way to take him down. The Replica's melee attacks will knock your vision around, making it tough to shoot him accurately. SPECIAL KICK ATTACKS: You can also use button combinations to perform 3 different types of kicks. These kicks are extremely powerful, and will kill almost any enemy with just one hit. These 3 special moves are: Slide Kick: Press forward, then duck, then melee to slide forward along the floor and knock the knees out from under an enemy. Jump Kick: Press forward, then jump, then melee in mid-air to leap forward and strike twice with a scissor kick. This attack has a slight homing effect, and will instantly kill any enemy it hits. Sweep Kick: Jump straight up into the air and press melee to perform a mid-air sweep kick, killing any enemy standing in front of you. Out of all these attacks, the jump kick is probably the most useful and the easiest to perform. When you perform the jump kick you'll zoom forward several feet, allowing you to hit enemies outside of arm's length as long as you're reasonably close to them. Kicks are best used to ambush unaware opponents, but you can also use them in the heat of combat if the opportunity presents itself. At the same time, you want to avoid just charging straight at enemies, because they're smart enough to back away from you while shooting you with their firearm. Kicks are also very effective against Assassins, since they are also unarmed and forced to get close to you to attack you. Unfortunately, melee attacks have no effect on Heavy Armor or Power Armor enemies, who are simply too heavily armored to be harmed by them. =============================================================================== Pistol: Full Name: Rakow HP-14 Pistol Ammo Type: .40 cal Clip Size: 18 (single) / 36 (double) Max Ammo: 100 (single) / 200 (double) Damage: SP: 40 MP: 25 Armor Penetration: SP 30% MP 27% Rate of Fire: 240 rpm BRIEF BLURB: A high-caliber semi-automatic pistol, the game's standard sidearm and the one weapon you begin the game with. Does reasonably high damage and has a decent clip size and rate of fire. However, is generally less effective than a full-auto submachine gun or assault rifle. Pistols can, however, be dual-wielded for double the number of shots before needing to reload. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: You begin the game armed with nothing except this standard sidearm. The pistol has decent accuracy and surprisingly high stopping power, and with its light weight you can move pretty quickly while carrying it. The pistol is semi-automatic; you need to press the fire button to fire each shot. The rate of fire is reasonable (comparable to that of the HV penetrator), but having to press the fire button for each shot can be annoying. The downside of the pistol is that its relatively low clip size means you'll have to reload quite often in an extended firefight. On the plus side, you can dual-wield a pistol in each hand to double your firepower (dual wielding increases the number of shots you can fire before needing to reload, but does not increase your rate of fire). WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: Because the rate of fire is less than that of the submachine gun or assault rifle, the pistol is less useful as a run-and-gun weapon (although it's stability and accuracy means you can use it to run-and- gun if you really want to). Instead, the pistol is best used to snipe at enemies from medium range, leaning around a corner and using aim mode to maximize accuracy. The pistol's stopping power is actually quite high; it only takes 4-5 bullets to kill a Replica soldier, or 2-3 headshots. One downside to the pistol is that it has quite a kick, so that your aim will drift upwards after a few shots. This can cause problems if you're trying to snipe at a distant target with multiple shots. Ammo for the pistol is uncommon, since your enemies don't carry pistols and won't drop ammo for it when killed. However, spare pistols can be found lying around various desks and shelves in each level, and are relatively common. This allows you to have a decent supply of pistol ammo to work with, although pistol ammo does become significantly rarer in the game's later levels. OVERALL EVALUATION: The pistol is a decent starting weapon, and with its high stability and accuracy it is useful for ambushing unaware Replicas or picking them off from behind cover. At the same time, there are better weapons out there, and you may consider upgrading to an HV penetrator for your sniping needs once you manage to find one. =============================================================================== Submachine Gun: Full Name: Sumak RPL Submachine Gun Ammo Type: 9mm Clip Size: 50 Max Ammo: 500 Damage: SP: 15 AI: 15 MP: 13 Armor Penetration: 30% Rate of Fire: 750 rpm BRIEF BLURB: An MP5-style submachine gun, ideal for CQB room-clearing. Although the individual bullets are relatively weak, the SMG's very high rate of fire allows you to mow through enemies reasonably quickly. Ammo is plentiful, and it makes a good default weapon for the game's early levels. Unfortunately, the high rate of fire also results in considerable recoil during full-auto firing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: You automatically acquire a submachine gun just before your first combat mission, and it's a decent primary weapon for the game's first few levels. Good for medium-range room-clearing, the SMG has a VERY high rate of fire and decent accuracy, allowing you to hose down enemies with a hail of bullets. The weapon also has a very generous clip size and a very quick reload time. It's also very stable, so running around or firing it won't reduce your accuracy by much. The big drawback to the SMG is that it has quite a bit of recoil, so you won't be able to use it as effectively at longer range due to the gun's "kick" constantly throwing your aim upwards. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: The SMG's light weight means you can move quite quickly while carrying it, and its stability allows you to run-and-gun with it without too much loss of accuracy. Ammo for the SMG is very common in the game's earlier levels, as practically every enemy you encounter will be carrying one. Even in the game's later levels the SMG is dropped quite often by downed enemies. However, the SMG's high rate of fire also means you can burn through your ammo quite quickly. OVERALL EVALUATION: Overall, the SMG is a good, reliable primary weapon, but after the first few missions you may want to discard it for some of the game's heavier weaponry, and rely on the more accurate and powerful assault rifle as your primary weapon instead. =============================================================================== Combat Shotgun: Full Name: Vollmer VK-12 Combat Shotgun Ammo Type: 12-gauge Clip Size: 12 Max Ammo: 180 Damage: SP: 30 x 6 AI: 15 x 6 MP: 20 x 6 Armor Penetration: 30% Rate of Fire: 80 rpm BRIEF BLURB: An extremely powerful semi-automatic combat shotgun, strong enough to blow away most enemies with a single close-range blast. Has a reasonable rate of fire, and ammo is quite common for it. Very versatile, I highly recommend you always carry one for close encounters. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: One of the best weapons in the game, the shotgun is highly recommended no matter what your play style is. Very powerful, especially at close range, the shotgun can cut all but the most heavily armored foes in half with a single blast. Because of the tight clustering of the shotgun blast, it's effective even at medium range, as long as you use aim mode to maximize your accuracy. The shotgun also has a decent rate of fire and very little recoil. Also, if all 6 pellets hit, the shotgun does the most raw damage out of all the game's weapons, although the Type-7 particle weapon and MOD-3 rocket launcher have much better armor penetration and thus do more health damage to armored foes. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: The shotgun is quite simple to use, really. When an enemy gets close, just point and shoot to blow them away. Even if the first shot doesn't kill them outright, it should stagger them, leaving them vulnerable to a fatal second shot. You can even use it to pick off foes at medium range with aim mode, although since fewer pellets will hit, you may need to use 3 or 4 shots to get the job done. A good hit from the shotgun can dismember an enemy's limbs or even cut their torso in half in a spray of fine red mist. Ammo for the shotgun is quite plentiful. For every Relica squad you encounter, at least one soldier will usually be carrying a shotgun. Additionally, shotgun ammo fills up more quickly and drains more slowly than the ammo for most of your other weapons (since it takes fewer shots to kill an enemy). As a result, you'll probably max out on shotgun ammo quickly, and won't ever run low on it unless you use no other weapon and are completely wasteful with your shots. OVERALL EVALUATION: On the whole, the shotgun is an excellent close-quarter combat weapon. Since much of the game takes place indoors in cramp hallways and office spaces, the shotgun is useful for most firefights. You can also use the shotgun as a "relief" weapon when you feel that you're running low on ammo for your assault rifle or submachine gun. Due to it's versatility and the high availability of its ammo, you should always carry a shotgun with you. =============================================================================== Assault Rifle: Full Name: Rakow G2A2 Assault Rifle Ammo Type: 5.56mm Clip Size: 45 Max Ammo: 450 Damage: SP: 22 AI: 20 MP: 20 Armor Penetration: SP: 40% AI: 30% MP: 40% Rate of Fire: 540 rpm BRIEF BLURB: A full-auto assault rifle, and the standard weapon carried by most enemy soldiers. Has a slightly lower rate of fire than the submachine gun, but features stronger bullets as well as better recoil control (due mainly to the lower rate of fire). Works well for close, medium, and long-range combat, and will make a good default weapon for most of the game. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: The assault rifle has a high rate of fire, good accuracy, and the bullets do decent damage. The rate of fire is slightly slower than that of the submachine gun (but still quite fast), but the lower rate of fire also results in much reduced recoil, allowing you to fire bursts at long range without the weapon's kick interfering with your aim. Overall, the assault rifle's accuracy and high rate of fire makes it a great weapon for close, medium, or long range combat. Enemies won't drop assault rifles very often near the beginning of the game, but after the first few levels most enemies begin carrying assault rifles instead of submachine guns, so ammo for it will be quite common. OVERALL EVAULATION: The assault rifle should be your primary weapon for most of the game. It works as both a run-and-gun weapon, as well as a precision weapon for picking off enemies at long range using aim mode. It's a great and versatile firearm that will see you through the majority of firefights you'll be facing. =============================================================================== HV Penetrator: Full Name: Armacham HV Penetrator Ammo Type: 10mm spikes Clip Size: 25 Max Ammo: 250 Damage: SP: 35 AI: 25 MP: 34 Armor Penetration: 80% Rate of Fire: 300 rpm BRIEF BLURB: An automatic rifle that fires high-velocity, armor-piercing metal spikes. Has near-perfect accuracy and NO recoil, allowing you to consistently put shot after shot in the exact same spot. Rate of fire is less than that of an assault rifle, but still reasonably high. Very high armor penetration makes this a decent weapon for taking on Heavy Armor or Power Armor units. The only drawback is that ammo is less common than for the submachine gun, shotgun, or assault rifle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: The HV penetrator functions like a full-auto rifle, except instead of bullets it fires 10mm metal spikes at high velocity. Essentially, it's a rapid-fire nailgun. The penetrator's rate of fire is somewhat less than that of the submachine gun or assault rifle, but it compensates with much improved accuracy. The penetrator is very accurate; if you're standing still, it essentially has perfect aim with no weapon inaccuracy. Plus, the penetrator has NO recoil whatsoever. This allows you to rapidly put spike after spike into the exact same spot. The penetrator also has the cool effect of nailing your enemies to the wall when it kills them. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: The penetrator's high accuracy and absence of recoil makes it an excellent long-range sniping weapon. The only downside is that it does not include a scope, but you can still use the standard zoom to target opponents at long range. Unfortunately, the penetrator does not work well as a run-and-gun weapon, as the bolts will spray inaccurately if you're moving around while firing (this occurs with the SMG and assault rifle too, of course, but those weapons compensate with a higher rate of fire that allows them to spray an area with bullets). While the penetrator isn't significantly more powerful than a standard firearm, it has a very high armor penetration rate. Each hit will deal significant direct damage to an enemy's health rather than being absorbed by their armor, allowing you to take down heavily armored opponents (such as Replica Elite or Power Armor) more quickly than you would with the assault rifle. Ammo for the penetrator is uncommon, since enemy soldiers rarely carry it. Spare penetrators are lying around each level, however, and you'll usually be able to find at least one or two penetrators per level. Penetrator ammo is thus still somewhat more common than ammo for other heavy weapons, such as the ASP rifle or Type-7 particle weapon. However, you can burn through ammo pretty quickly with the penetrator's high rate of fire. OVERALL EVALUATION: The HV penetrator makes a decent secondary weapon, but the rarity of its ammo means that you won't be able to rely on it as your primary firearm. Still, it's good for long-range combat and for sniping enemies, particularly if you use SloMo and lean around corners. Just don't use it to run-and-gun. =============================================================================== ASP Rifle: Full Name: Baksha ASP Rifle Ammo Type: 7.62mm Clip Size: 30 Max Ammo: 200 Damage: SP: 50 x 3 AI: 25 x 3 MP: 37 x 3 Armor Penetration: SP: 60% AI: 60% MP: 50% Rate of Fire: 250 rpm BRIEF BLURB: A sniper rifle that fires in fixed 3-shot bursts. The built-in scope allows you to target enemies at long range. Has pretty good, but not overwhelming stopping power; 2 3-shot bursts are required to kill most foes. The weapon's recoil also causes each successive bullet in a 3-shot burst to drift further upwards, interfering with your ability to hit a distant enemy with all 3 shots. On the plus side, the ASP rifle has good armor penetration, and in fact does slightly more direct health damage than the HV penetrator against armored targets. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: A high-powered, semi-automatic rifle, the ASP rifle is equipped with a sniper scope, and fires in fixed 3-shot bursts with a slight delay between bursts (it's quite similar to the Halo 2 battle rifle). The ASP has great accuracy, but it also recoils somewhat, causing the rifle to climb upward with each shot in a 3-shot burst. At medium range this isn't too much of a problem, but at long range it can often result in the 2nd and 3rd bullet passing completely over your target. As a result, the ASP is more awkward as a sniper rifle than it should be. When sniping at longer range, try to aim at the lower portion of the enemy to compensate for the fact that your aim will climb as each bullet is fired. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: The ASP's power is pretty good, but by no means exceptional. It takes 2 bursts to the chest to kill most Replica soldiers (1 burst to kill ATC security guards), or 2 consecutive bullets to the head. Also, since Replicas are pretty quick and constantly on the move, it's actually quite difficult to hit them with an ASP burst unless you use SloMo to assist your aim, or if you snipe them when they leave around cover to shoot at you. On the plus side, the ASP rifle has good armor penetration ability, and in fact inflicts slightly more direct health damage to armored enemies than the HV penetrator. This makes it a decent weapon against heavily armored opponents, such as Heavy Armor soldiers or Power Armor suits. The ASP works poorly as a run-and-gun weapon, or for close-range combat. The gun's burst-fire and delay between bursts gives it an overall low rate of fire, which is not something you want when a Replica is in your face just a few feet in front of you. Ammo for the ASP is also pretty scarce, so you want to use it wisely with precision long-range shots instead of wasting it with close-range spray-and- pray tactics. ASP ammo is fairly scarce, even more so than HV penetrator ammo. Enemies rarely carry it, and although you will find spare ASP rifles laying around, you'll only find them infrequently. Still, there's enough ASP ammo in the middle of the game for you to stock up if you don't use it too often. OVERALL EVALUATION: The ASP isn't the ideal sniper weapon, but since it is one of only two weapons in the game with a sniper scope, you really don't have that much choice when it comes to long-range combat. Overall, the HV penetrator is superior to the ASP at long range, but the ASP's scope will allow you to target particularly distant enemies. The choice is yours. If you do use the ASP rifle, keep in mind that its fixed burst-fire mode and relatively uncommon ammo make it better for sniping around corners or from behind cover, rather than for close-range run-and-gun encounters. =============================================================================== MOD-3 Rocket Launcher: Full Name: Andra MOD-3 Multi-Rocket Launcher Ammo Type: rockets Clip Size: 15 Max Ammo: 30 Damage: SP: [70 (projectile) + 100 (splash damage)] x 3 AI: [50 (projectile) + 80 (splash damage)] x 3 MP: [70 (projectile) + 80 (splash damage)] x 3 Armor Penetration: 0% (projectile) + 80% (splash damage) Rate of Fire: 150 rpm BRIEF BLURB: A powerful rocket launcher that fires 3 rockets per shot. Good for taking out heavily armored targets, but the amount of ammo you can carry for it is extremely limited (you can only hold a maximum of 10 shots), making it more for specific situations instead of general use as a default weapon. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: This large rocket launcher fires 3 consecutive rockets for every press of the trigger. The 3 rockets fly in a slight spiral pattern, but are still highly accurate even at long range. The rockets do lots of damage and have a good splash damage radius, although not quite as large as that from a frag grenade. Arguably the most poweful overall weapon in the game, the rocket launcher is best reserved for the toughest opponents, such as Heavy Armor soldiers or Power Armor. It takes about 8 rockets to bring down a Heavy Armor, or 13 rockets to destroy a Power Armor. The rocket launcher is also good for clearing roomfuls of Replica soldiers; 3 rockets launched into an enclosed space have a good chance of killing everything inside. Unfortunately, since you can only hold a maximum of 30 rockets at any one time, you can use up your rockets pretty damn quickly. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: Ammo for the rocket launcher is extremely rare, making it the rarest weapon in the game. Also, you can't carry much ammo for it either; you can only hold a total of 30 rockets, and since each shot uses up 3 rockets that means even at max ammo you've only got a total of 10 rocket launcher shots. OVERALL EVALUATION: Due to the weapon's extreme scarcity, you really shouldn't carry it around, as it will just take up space that could be used by a more useful weapon. When you find a rocket launcher, pick it up and use it for as long as you can, then discard it for another weapon once you run out of ammo. The rocket launcher is overkill against most foes, and is only really useful against Power Armor, who aren't common enough for you to justify hauling it around with you. Also, the Type-7 does pretty much the same amount of damage per shot as the rocket launcher (although the rocket launcher fires 3 shots at once), but the Type-7 is more useful since you can carry a lot more ammo for it. =============================================================================== Type-7 Particle Weapon: Full Name: Armacham Type-7 Particle Weapon Ammo Type: particle beam Clip Size: 10 Max Ammo: 100 Damage: SP: 170 AI: 100 MP: 150 Armor Penetration: SP: 80% AI: 70% MP: 0% Rate of Fire: 60 rpm BRIEF BLURB: An incredibly powerful energy weapon that fires a particle beam capable of vaporizing almost all standard enemies with a single hit. Is also equipped with a long-range scope, allowing you to target distant foes. Is essentially a 1-hit-kill sniper rifle. Is also useful for taking out Heavy Armor soldiers and Power Armor with several shots. Just be aware of the low rate of fire, as there's a 1-second delay between each shot. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: The Type-7 particle weapon is the ultimate sniper weapon, as well as one of the most powerful firearms in the game. It fires an energy beam that travels instantaneously and is powerful enough to sear the flesh off anyone it hits, leaving only a charred skeleton. The Type-7 also has perfect accuracy as long as you're standing still, and is equipped with a sniper scope to allow you to target and pick off distant foes. One shot from the Type-7 is enough to kill all but the toughest enemy soldiers, and it is one of the most effective weapons you can use against heavier opponents such as ceiling turrets, Heavy Armor soldiers, or Power Armor. With it's high damage and excellent armor penetration rate, the Type-7 inflicts the most health damage against armored opponents out of all the game's weapons. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: There are only a few drawbacks to the Type-7. First, there is a second's delay between each shot, giving the Type-7 the slowest rate of fire in the game. Second, the Type-7 has a rather large recoil kick after each shot, forcing you to reposition your aim back to its original position after every shot. Third, the Type-7 significantly reduces your movement speed when you're holding it in your hand. Finally, the Type-7 should not be used as a run-and-gun weapon, as moving will reduce it's accuracy (which is quite wasteful considering the weapon's slow rate of fire and the scarcity of its ammo). Unfortunately, ammo for the Type-7 is quite rare. Enemies seldom carry it, and at least for the middle of the game you won't find ammo pickups for it often. However, there's a lot of Type-7 ammo stockpiled towards the end of the game, enough to completely max out your ammo supply for it if you don't overuse the weapon early on. OVERALL EVALUATION: Due to its power and accuracy, the Type-7 is a must-have weapon. You'll especially want it to deal with some of the high-powered enemies you'll be facing towards the end of the game, such as Power Armor units or ceiling turrets. =============================================================================== MP-50 Repeating Cannon: Full Name: Obregon MP-50 Repeating Cannon Ammo Type: 20mm cannon rounds Clip Size: 50 Max Ammo: 100 Damage: SP: 80 (projectile) + 70 (splash damage) AI: 40 (projectile) + 40 (splash damage) MP: 30 (projectile) + 70 (splash damage) Armor Penetration: SP: 30% (projectile) + 50% (splash damage) AI: 30% (projectile) + 50% (splash damage) MP: 30% (projectile) + 40% (splash damage) Rate of Fire: 120 rpm BRIEF BLURB: A portable autocannon that can slag most enemies in just 2 shots. The MP-50 has a decent rate of fire (2 shots per second) and launches powerful high-velocity slugs that explode on impact. This weapon only appears in the game's last few levels, and is the weapon of choice for the game's most elite enemy soldiers. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: The largest weapon in the game (with the possible exception of the rocket launcher), the MP-50 repeating cannon fires a very damaging high-velocity round that detonates and produces a small shockwave on impact. To top it off, the cannon has a large clip size and a decent fully automatic rate of fire (being able to fire about 2 rounds per second). Think of it as a very large machine gun that shoots exploding bullets. Very powerful, the MP-50 will slag any human opponent in 1 or 2 shots. It's also effective against more powerful enemies, such as ceiling turrets, UAVs, and even Heavy Armor soldiers. The MP-50 doesn't do quite as much raw damage as the Type-7 particle weapon, but makes up for this with a faster rate of fire. The cannon does have some recoil though, so try to avoid full-auto fire as your aim will be pulled upward by the recoil. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: The shockwave from a cannon round impact will also stun any nearby soldiers for a few seconds, so even if the first shot doesn't kill them, it will leave them vulnerable to attack from the second shot. Although powerful, an MP-50 round is sufficiently weaker than a frag grenade (it usually takes 2 direct hits to kill most standard Replica soldiers). One drawback to the repeating cannon is that the splash damage radius is actually rather small, only a few feet or so. To affect an enemy your shot will have to land really close to them, and to do maximum damage to a target you'll need to score a direct hit. Fortunately, this shouldn't be too difficulty, as the repeating cannon is quite accurate and hits instantly. Just don't rely on the splash damage too much if you're trying to hit an enemy behind cover by firing at the ground near them. The repeating cannon also significantly reduces your movement speed when held, so you'll want to keep it in reserve in your inventory until you actually need it in a firefight. The Repeating Cannon doesn't show up until the last 6 levels of the game, and even then ammo for it is fairly uncommon. I only found a total of 75 shots for the cannon between the point where you first pick one up, and the point at the end where you enter the Vault and lose all your weapons. OVERALL EVALUATION: The repeating cannon packs a punch, and is one of the coolest weapons in the game to fire. I highly recommend you pick it up, just for the fun factor involved. It works well against all enemies, just be sure to watch your ammo for it. =============================================================================== Frag Grenades: Full Name: N6A3 Fragmentation Grenade Max Ammo: 5 Damage: SP: 200 AI: 100 MP: 150 Armor Penetration: 25% Frag grenades are carried separately from your firearms, and just like in Halo you can toss them with a separate key without having to switch from your gun. Frag grenades have a decent range, and will detonate a couple seconds after being thrown or upon impacting against an enemy, whichever comes first. They do lots of damage and have a good-sized splash-damage radius; a single blast is powerful enough to kill multiple Replica soldiers at once. Instead of the standard FPS explosion decal, F.E.A.R. grenades create a cool shockwave effect that looks even cooler in SloMo. Frag grenades are great for clearing rooms or scattering a squad of Replica soldiers. Unfortunately, Replica soldiers are quite bright and will immediately try to run away as soon as they spot a grenade coming for them. They usually don't succeed (especially in confined spaces), but they get away often enough that a grenade isn't a guaranteed kill. Always be sure to follow up any grenade toss with a firearm assault to mop up any survivors. Grenades are best used against squads of Replica soldiers, instead of against single powerful opponents such as Heavy Armors or Power Armors. A single grenade can kill multiple Replicas, but won't do much noticable damage against a Heavy Armor or Power Armor. In fact, you can use all 5 of your frag grenades against a Heavy Armor and still not kill it (although it will be seriously weakened). Unfortunately, enemies do not drop frag grenades (even though they all seem to carry an unlimited supply of them to use against you). Instead, you'll find them lying around various areas in the level. Frag grenade ammo is uncommon (or at least less common than bullets), but there's at least some on every level so you should be able to use grenades with relative frequency. =============================================================================== Proximity Mines: Full Name: AT-S Proximity Mine Max Ammo: 5 Damage: SP: 250 AI: 150 MP: 150 Armor Penetration: SP: 100% AI: 40% MP: 40% Proximity mines are tossed onto the floor in front of you, where they activate their motion-sensor mechanism. Once an enemy approaches close enough to the mine, it will hop into the air and explode. Mines are "smart" and can distinguish between friend and foe; thus, you won't set off your own mines if you run near them. Friendly mines have a blue light on top (green in the expansion pack), while enemy mines have a red light. You can even pick your mines back up if you're not satisfied with where you've placed them. While decent for setting traps and covering an area, proximity mines are strictly a defensive weapon. You really can't throw them far enough to use them offensively. On the plus side, Replica soldiers tend not to spot them and will usually set them off without realizing it. You yourself can detonate enemy mines prematurely by shooting them while you're safely outside the blast radius. Replicas aren't smart enough to detonate mines by shooting them, but they will sometimes detonate them accidentally with an errant frag grenade. So, don't rely on them too much to block off a group of Replicas from you. Proximity mines do slightly more damage and have much better armor penetration than frag grenades, however they are also somewhat rarer than frag grenades. Proximity mines are actually very effective against heavy opponents due to their higher armor penetration: 4 direct hits should be sufficient to take down a Heavy Armor or even a Power Armor. It takes a second or so for a proximity mine to activate after you throw them. If this is too long for your liking (such as if you've just tossed one at the feet of your enemy), you can shoot them to make them blow up sooner. =============================================================================== Remote Bombs: Full Name: M77 Remote Bomb Max Ammo: 5 Damage: SP: 250 MP: 150 Armor Penetration: SP: 70% MP: 40% These remote bombs are sticky grenades that adhere to the first surface they impact against, whether it be a wall, an object, or an enemy. They can then be detonated remotely by you. Remote bombs are also somewhat more powerful than frag grenades. When you switch to the remote bombs, you'll put away your weapon and equip a remote detonator. The grenade key will toss the sticky grenades, while the primary fire button will activate the detonator and explode any bombs that you've thrown. The big drawback of remote bombs is that you cannot use them and a firearm at the same time, since your weapon hand is occupied with holding the detonator. Remote bombs are decent for setting up boobytraps and ambushes, but the fact that you can't shoot while using them is a serious disadvantage. Remote bombs are also somewhat rarer than standard frag grenades. ********** *Enemies:* ******************************************************************************* Replica Soldier: Appearance: Clone soldier wearing a helmet, armor vest, and military uniform. Health: Recon: 100 Fatigues: 130 Urban: 120 Desert: 130 Tactical: 120 Armor: Recon: 25 Fatigues: 50 Urban: 50 Desert: 60 Tactical: 75 Weapons Used: Submachine Gun (Damage: 15, Armor Penetration: 30%) Combat Shotgun (Damage: 15 x 6, Armor Penetration: 30%) Assault Rifle (Damage: 20, Armor Penetration: 30%) HV Penetrator (Damage: 25, Armor Penetration: 80%) ASP rifle (Damage: 25, Armor Penetration: 60%) Type-7 Particle Weapon (Damage: 100, Armor Penetration: 70%) Other Attacks: Rifle Butt (Damage: 35, Armor Penetration: 0%) Frag Grenades (Damage: 100, Armor Penetration: 25%) OVERVIEW: Paxton Fettel's cloned, mind-melded super-soldiers are the basic enemy you'll face in F.E.A.R. More than 95% of the game will be spent facing off against squad after squad of these guys. Their behavior is also more or less the same throughout the game: the Replicas you fight towards the end of the game will use the same basic moves and tactics as the Replicas from the beginning of the game. There are several different uniformed varieties of Replica soldier, and they do get slightly tougher as the game progresses, but the difference really isn't significant enough to be noticeable. All it means is that later Replicas can survive a couple bullets more than earlier Replicas. The only exception are the Replica soldiers you fight in the first few levels, at the waste-water treatment plant. These "Recon" Replicas are somewhat weaker than average (even more so than ATC security guards), with lower health, armor, and accuracy than other Replica soldiers. Replicas have some of the best A.I. seen in a modern First Person Shooter. They act in teams, cover each other, coordinate attacks, and can even try to flank, ambush, or circle around you. They're also faster and much more manueverable than the average FPS soldier. They can climb ladders, duck under crawlspaces, jump through windows, leap over railings, jump down to a lower level, and can basically access every area of the level that you can. Moreover, they've very mobile and tend to run around the entire level instead of making themselves an easy target by just standing still in one spot. If they do stop moving, it'll usually be to take cover behind an object and lean around the corner to shoot at you. Replicas are also slightly tougher than the average FPS soldier enemy; it takes 8-9 assault rifle shots or 12-13 submachine gun hits to kill them. BEHAVIOR: Replica soldiers are fast, mobile, and smart. They strafe from cover to cover and fire while moving, making them harder to hit and allowing them to flank you from different angles. Replicas are somewhat faster than the average FPS soldier enemy, and can cover quite a good distance in a short span of time. When not running around, they like to take cover behind obstacles, then lean around the corner to shoot at you from behind cover. They can also dive over obstacles to reach different areas of a level, although this does briefly leave them open to being shot. If caught by surprise, Replicas can retreat backwards while firing at you, and will dig in somewhere further back to ambush you. Finally, Replicas act as a team, performing actions such as setting up ambushes and laying down suppression fire for each other. Replicas are also quite accurate with their weapons. Unlike many FPS enemies, you can't expect to run into their line of sight and not get hit, even at longer range. When fighting Replicas, you NEED to take cover behind something to avoid getting shot. Simply going toe-to-toe with them using your firearm and hoping they die before you do is a good way to lose a chunk of your health. Replicas can injure you if you're standing in their line of sight even if you kill them, because they will often fire off a few final rounds in their death spasm. Finally, instead of merely shooting at you with their firearms, Replicas can also toss grenades at you to flush you out of cover. Listen carefully to their radio chatter. If they scream "grenade, out!", "flush him out!", or "fire in the hole!", that's your cue to retreat further away because they're about to chuck a grenade at your current position. Replicas are generally equipped with submachine guns, assault rifles, or combat shotguns. A few carry HV Penetrators or ASP rifles, and in the middle of the game you'll find one carrying a Type-7 particle weapon. Basically, Replicas can use every weapon you can, except for the pistol, the repeating cannon, and the rocket launcher. KILL STRATEGY: Although there are many different ways for you to fight the Replicas, there are a few simple strategies for optimum efficiency when fighting them: The best strategy against Replicas is to lean around a corner and shoot at them, instead of running into the room guns blazing. This will minimize your exposed area and protect you from much of their gunfire. To avoid getting flanked or ambushed, attack from a choke point from which Replicas are unable to circle around and sneak up behind you. If necessary, retreat backwards and let the Replicas give chase to you, and ambush them when they catch up. Multiple bullet hits can stagger Replica soldiers, so rapid-fire weapons such as the submachine gun or assault rifle work well to stop Replicas from strafing or retreating. Your SloMo ability is also extremely useful against Replicas, and helps cancel out their better-than-average speed and manueverability. Use it liberally, as it regenerates relatively quickly. Also go for headshots when possible to bring down Replicas more quickly. Finally, if you want to lure Replicas into an ambush, the flashlight works well. Replicas that spot a flashlight beam won't immediately go into combat mode (unless they've already spotted you), but will approach to investigate. REPLICA VARIETIES: Standard Replica soldiers come in 5 different varieties, although the difference is largely cosmetic. RECON: Grey/black camo uniform with black motorcycle helmet. These are the first Replicas you fight, appearing throughout the Wastewater Treatment Plant. They are significantly weaker than the other Replica soldiers you'll face later in the game, able to take much less damage and also having slightly worse aim. They also do not use special weapons, such as the HV Penetrator or ASP rifle. FATIGUES: Solid grey uniform with red Night Vision goggles. These Replicas show up towards the end of the Wastewater Treatment Plant, and are also fought mainly during the first half of ATC Headquarters (although they make occasional appearances in the later half of ATC HQ also). The red glow from their Night Vision goggles actually helps you, since it allows you to spot them in the dark. URBAN: Grey/black camo uniform with gas mask. These Replicas are fought at various locations in the later levels of ATC Headquarters, as well as in the urban ruins of the Auburn district. DESERT: Yellow/Brown desert camo uniform with green Night Vision goggles. These Replicas are fought in the middle levels of ATC Headquarters. Like the red NV Replicas, the bright glow from their Night Vision goggles makes them easy to spot even in the dark. They also appear in the first half of the Auburn District urban ruins, only wearing black motorcycle helmets instead of Night Vision goggles. Desert Replicas are slightly tougher than the previous types encountered, but not significantly so. TACTICAL: Blue and white uniform with black faceplate helmet, and the code T114 printed on their armor vests. These Replicas have the coolest uniforms, IMHO. They appear in the game's opening cutscene as Paxton Fettel's personal bodyguards, and you'll occasionally fight them inside ATC Headquarters. They're usually found guarding hostages, such as Aldus Bishop or Alice Wade. Tactical Replicas are actually quite rare, you'll only face them in a few encounters in the entire game. They are the best armored standard Replicas (other than the Elites), but the difference isn't too dramatic. =============================================================================== Replica Sniper: Appearance: Clone soldier wearing bluish-grey uniform and grey hockey-style face mask. Health: 130 Armor: 50 Weapons Used: Type-7 Particle Weapon (Damage: 100, Armor Penetration: 70%) Other Attacks: Rifle Butt (Damage: 35, Armor Penetration: 0%) Frag Grenades (Damage: 100, Armor Penetration: 25%) OVERVIEW: Replica snipers only appear in a single section of the game, towards the end. You'll engage in a firefight against 10 of them while crossing the rooftops of an abandoned tenament area. The snipers are equipped with Type-7 particle weapons, and will fire at you from the rooftops and windows of the nearby apartment buildings. Notably, Snipers wear a similar uniform as Fatigues Replicas, and also have the same amount of health and armor. However, Snipers don't wear red nightvision goggles. Instead, their faces are covered by a white hockey-style mask (all Replica soldiers wear this mask, but most cover it with a helmet or headgear). BEHAVIOR: Because they're equipped with Type-7s, snipers do lots of damage and can kill you quite quickly. Snipers are also tough because you'll usually won't know where they are until they actually fire at you. Fortunately, their aim isn't perfect (in fact it's surprisingly average), and you can avoid many of their shots by taking cover in the right spot and leaning around the corner to fire at them. KILL STRATEGY: It's best to use SloMo when fighting the snipers to make it easier for you to hit them before they can hit you. You should also fight them by counter-sniping them with your own sniper weapon. You really should have a Type-7 particle weapon at this point in the game, and it works great since it kills each sniper with one shot. If you don't have the Type-7, there's a couple of them conveniently laying on the ground just before the sniper fight. Use cover to avoid their shots, and counter-snipe them in the 2 or 3 second gap between their shots. =============================================================================== Replica Elite Soldier: Appearance: Clone soldier wearing black uniform and white hockey-style face mask with glowing red eyes. Health: 150 Armor: 100 Weapons Used: Assault Rifle (Damage: 20, Armor Penetration: 30%) HV Penetrator (Damage: 25, Armor Penetration: 80%) MP-50 Repeating Cannon (Damage: 40 + 40, AP: 30% + 50%) Other Attacks: Rifle Butt (Damage: 35, Armor Penetration: 0%) Frag Grenades (Damage: 100, Armor Penetration: 25%) OVERVIEW: Replica Elites are the only variant of standard Replica soldier specifically mentioned by name in the game. They only show up at the very end of the game, guarding the entrance to the Vault and Alma's Sarcophagus. Unlike most other Replica soldiers, Elites wear no headgear, instead displaying a bone-white hockey-style mask. Their eyes glow with a distinct red light. Elites are tougher and more heavily armored than any of the previous Replica soldiers you've faced. Their health and armor are comparable to your own, and on Extreme difficulty they have approximately the same level of durability as you do. It takes 12 assault rifle shots or 17 submachine gun shots to kill an Elite. In fact, Elites can survive a direct hit from the Type-7 particle weapon or MP-50 repeating cannon (although a second hit will finish them off). Elites can even survive a direct hit from a frag grenade, although the blast will usually stun them for a few seconds, allowing you to finish them off with a quick burst of weapons fire. A few Elites are even equipped with powerful MP-50 Repeating Cannons, which pack a big punch and can shred you if you're not prepared. Be sure to kill these guys quickly with your best weapon. There are a total of 16 Replica Elites in the game, 4 of which are carrying MP-50 Repeating Cannons. The rest use a mix of G2A2 assault rifles and HV Penetrators. BEHAVIOR: Other than their heavier armor, Replica Elites have the same behavior and use the same tactics as any other standard Replica soldier. They can still be taken out using the same techniques you've been using throughout the game, it just takes a few more shots to do the job. Headshots are also very effective against them: an Elite can survive a direct hit from the Type-7 particle weapon, but a headshot from that weapon will kill them in one hit. The Vault area where you fight the Elites consists largely of linear corridors and very small rooms, so fighting them is actually relatively quick and straightforward compared to the more dynamic shootouts from earlier in the game. KILL STRATEGY: Despite their higher health and heavier armor, Elites are still staggered by gunfire, which allows you to stun them with a rapid-fire weapon such as the assault rifle or submachine gun. As soon as you enter the Vault, you'll lose all your weapons, so there's no point in conserving ammo and you can just to go all-out on these guys with your best firepower. =============================================================================== Replica Heavy Armor Soldier: Appearance: 6.5 foot tall soldier encased in heavy suit of metal plates, with glowing blue eye lens in helmet. Health: 800 Armor: 400 Weapons Used: HV Penetrator (Damage: 25, Armor Penetration: 80%) Type-7 Particle Weapon (Damage: 100, Armor Penetration: 70%) MOD-3 Rocket Launcher (Damage: 50 + 80, AP: 0 + 80%) Other Attacks: Rifle Butt (Damage: 35, Armor Penetration: 0%) OVERVIEW: Heavy Armor soldiers are the heavy hitters of the Replica forces. Encased in a heavy suit of metal armor, they can soak up considerably more damage than a normal Replica soldier can. It takes more than a full clip from most weapons to kill one. You'll face Heavy Armors on a semi-regular basis, and a total of 15 of them appear throughout the game. ARSENAL: Heavy Armors are usually equipped with HV penetrators, but later in the game you'll meet one carrying a Type-7 particle weapon, and one equipped with a MOD-3 rocket launcher. Their high-end weaponry makes them more dangerous than regular Replicas. The Type-7 particle weapon and MOD-3 rocket launcher both pack a powerful punch and do lots of damage to you. Of the two, the MOD-3 is by far the most dangerous, due to it's high rate of fire and the fact it shoots 3 rockets per shot. The HV penetrator does less raw damage, but is still dangerous because it has a high armor penetration and most of the damage done will be directly to your health, bypassing the protection of any armor you're wearing. BEHAVIOR: Heavy Armors are usually found accompanying a squad of Replica soldiers into battle. Unlike Replica soldiers, who use advanced tactics and are highly manueverable, Heavy Armors tend to just plant themselves in one spot and open fire on you. Instead of seeking cover, they rely on their armor plating to protect themselves from your bullets. Unlike regular Replica soldiers, Heavy Armor soldiers are cushioned from your bullets by their metal armor. As a result, they cannot be stunned or staggered by gunfire. At the same time, being shot still causes them to "twitch" slightly, which can often cause their aim to jerk and miss. They can also still be knocked down by a direct hit from an explosive weapon. Fortunately, their heavy armor also makes them considerably slower than the regular Replica soldiers. Heavy Armors are unable to run and are limited to a slow and steady walk. They also aren't particularly manueverable, and tend to stay in a single area instead of running all over the map like regular Replicas do. They also tend to be defensive, generally blocking a corridor or area you need to go through, instead of actively pursuing you. KILL STRATEGY: The best way to deal with Heavy Armors is to find cover and wait for them to plant themselves in a single spot. Once they do, find a good angle on them, lean around a corner, and fire at them. Use the corner as cover to avoid the majority of their shots, and unload on them with a good weapon. The shotgun works well at close-to-medium range (8 to 12 shots should be sufficient to kill one), and at further range good accurate weapons such as the HV penetrator or ASP rifle are preferable (about 25 shots from either will do the trick). In a pinch you can use the assault rifle, but it'll take more than 50 bullets to kill them. The absolute best weapon against Heavy Armors is the Type-7 particle weapon, which will bring down a Heavy Armor with 3 headshots or 6 shots to the body. Heavy Armors don't move around a lot, so it's fairly easy to score headshots on them, especially with SloMo on. If you somehow end up facing off against a Heavy Armor at close range, 4 headshots from the shotgun will bring it down rather quickly. When fighting Heavy Armors, it's a good idea to kill off any Replica soldiers accompanying them first before concentrating on the Heavy Armor itself. You don't want Replicas sneaking up on you while you're busy with the Heavy Armor. =============================================================================== Assassin: Appearance: Ninja wearing Darth Vader-style gas mask, black armored stealth suit, oversized gloves, and power-pack on back. Health: 200 Armor: 150 Weapons Used: Melee Punch (Damage: 35, Armor Penetration: 0%) OVERVIEW: These Ninja-like stealth soldiers are perhaps the coolest enemies in the game, as well as the rarest. Although you'll be able to spot them at several points in the game if you look carefully, you'll only actually fight assassins in 2 levels, and there are only a total of 9 of them throughout the entire game. BEHAVIOR: Assassins have incredibly high speed and agility. They constantly run around, can leap from level to level, and can escape by shimmying into air-vents or even leaping into the ceiling. They can also roll sideways to evade your shots, and can leap forward and run on all four limbs for maximum speed. Finally, Assassins can cling to walls while invisible, and will leap down and charge at you when you get close. Notably, they're also equipped with a stealth generator which renders them almost invisible. There's a slight shimmer that gives their invisibility cloak away (just like in the movie Predator), but it's much less noticable than most other similar invisibility effects, especially when they move around so quickly. Assassins are limited to melee attacks, and use hit-and-run tactics. They'll rush at you, punch you, then run away using their speed, agility, and stealth field to escape from your line of sight. Then, when you least expect it, they'll pop out and rush at you again. Like the Trigens in Far Cry, Assassins have a much longer reach than they appear to; an Assassin can punch you from several feet away. Assassins are hard to spot until they're right on top of you; however, they tend to disengage their invisibility just before they hit you, and being shot will also disrupt their invisibility for several seconds. You can also tell an Assassin is about to charge you because they make an electrical buzzing sound before beginning an attack run. KILL STRATEGY: Assassins are quite tough to fight without SloMo. They are incredibly fast, shooting them won't stun them or slow them down (although it does make them visible), and they are somewhat tougher and more heavily armored than standard Replica soldiers. However, with SloMo, they become rather easy to kill. SloMo essentially cancels out their speed advantage, and it also gives you more time to spot them coming. The shotgun is an excellent weapon against Assassins, a couple close-range blasts will blow them away. In combination with SloMo, you can use the shotgun to take Assassins apart easily. Other weapons also work on Assassins, provided that you're using SloMo to increase your reaction time. Kung-fu attacks are also surprisingly effective against Assassins. If you see one coming at you, rush at it and hit it with a jump kick or slide kick to kill the Assassin in one hit. This is probably the best strategy to fight assassins if you're not using SloMo. Shooting the environment to kick up a lot of dust also helps against Assassins, as the clouds of dust cause the shimmering effect of their stealth field to become highly visible. =============================================================================== R.E.V.6 Power Armor: Appearance: 8-foot tall robotic suit with a rounded egg-shaped shield in front and rocket-launchers for arms. Health: 1000 Armor: 1500 Weapons Used: Dual Rocket Launchers (Damage: 30, Armor Pentration: 35%) Dual Laser Guns (Damage: 15, Armor Penetration: 30%) Other Attacks: Double Arm Smash (Damage: 35 x 2, Armor Penetration: 0%) OVERVIEW: The toughest individual enemy in the game, the R.E.V.6 is a Replica soldier encased within a compact power armor mech suit. Powerful and extremely heavily armored, it takes an enormous amount of firepower to bring one down. Fortunately, you generally fight them one-on-one, instead of alongside Replica soldiers as well. You'll also never fight more than one Power Armor at a time. There are only 5 Power Armors throughout the entire game. ARSENAL: Power Armors are equipped with a rocket launcher on each arm. Each launcher fires a burst of 3 missiles, allowing the Power Armor to launch a spread of 6 missiles at you every couple of seconds. Even if you dodge the missiles, you can still be harmed by their splash damage if you're fighting in a confined space. Fortunately, the missiles from a Power Armor do significantly less damage than those from a regular rocket launcher, although they can still kill you after several hits. Their splash damage radius is also rather small. The missiles from a power armor are actually slow enough to dodge at medium or long range. The problem is that you usually fight them in relatively narrow corridors where it's easy to get stuck on a wall or crate, at which point you'll either get blasted, or get hit by the rockets' splash damage. Later in the game, one particular Power Armor is equipped with laser bolt guns instead of rocket launchers (you'll know him when you see him, as he's got an awesome entrance). His attacks do less damage per individual hit, but he has a higher rate of fire and the laser bolts are much more difficult to dodge than missiles. R.E.V.6's also have a nasty melee attack which they'll use to smash you if you get too close to them. BEHAVIOR: Power Armors tend to be more persistant than Heavy Armors. Despite their size, they're surprisingly fast; Power Armors are about as fast as a regular Replica soldier, although unlike Replicas they cannot run. They will also usually pursue you throughout a level instead of standing in one spot firing at you. They can also strafe around while firing, which makes them slightly harder to hit, although their large size does somewhat compensate for this. Power Armor is very manueverable, and (if they have enough space) will circle around you while blasting away; they will also flank around cover if you attempt to hide behind any. Fortunately, their path finding routines aren't perfect, and it is possible for them to get hung up on a door or corner if you run through the level enough. They also do not seem to be able to manage stairs. In fact, in all of the Power Armor encounters in the game, it's possible to retreat to a point where the Power Armor is no longer able to follow you, then turn around and blast it to death. Although Power Armors can smash through certain obstacles, such as concrete barriers or wood doorframes, these actions are semi-scripted, and they generally cannot smash through environmental objects. KILL STRATEGY: The best way to deal with Power Armor is to use hit-and-run tactics. run out from behind a corner, fire at them, then duck back behind the corner before they can shoot back. When the Power Armor gets too close, retreat backwards to a further corner before the Power Armor can get into your line of sight. Try to avoid firing from a position where there's a wall behind you, or else you'll be injured by their rockets' splash damage. To bring down a Power Armor, it's best to use powerful heavy weapons such as the MOD-3 rocket launcher or the Type-7 particle weapon. The shotgun also works, in a pinch. Because the Power Armor's durability is partially due to its extremely heavy armor, weapons with a high armor penetration ability (such as the HV penetrator or Type-7 particle weapon) are particularly effective. Even with your best weapon (a rocket launcher or particle weapon), it'll take multiple shots to defeat the Power Armor (9 shots from the particle weapon or 13 rockets), so be patient and careful. The Power Armor will start shorting out blue arcs of electricity when heavily damaged; this will let you know that it's almost defeated. You really should carry around a Type-7 at all times to deal with Power Armor encounters. If, however, you don't have any heavy weapons available, the HV Penetrator or ASP rifle both work reasonably well due to their high armor penetration. It takes about 36 HV penetrator shots (1.5 clips), or 34 ASP rifle shots (12 3-round bursts), to kill a Power Armor. A Power Armor can also be destroyed with 4 proximity mines, due to the mines' high armor penetration ability. The tricky part is getting close enough to toss the mines at the Power Armor, since they have such a limited throwing range. Standard weapons are not recommended for use against Power Armor, unless you absolutely have no other choice. It takes 114 assault rifle shots (2.5 clips), 167 submachine gun shots (more than 3 full clips), or 14-20 shotgun blasts to bring a Power Armor down. =============================================================================== ATC Security Guard: Appearance: Standard security guy wearing blue uniform, kevlar vest, and sunglasses. Health: 100 Armor: 40 Weapons Used: Submachine Gun (Damage: 15, Armor Penetration: 30%) Combat Shotgun (Damage: 15 x 6, Armor Penetration: 30%) Assault Rifle (Damage: 20, Armor Penetration: 30%) HV Penetrator (Damage: 25, Armor Penetration: 80%) ASP rifle (Damage: 25, Armor Penetration: 60%) Other Attacks: Rifle Butt (Damage: 35, Armor Penetration: 0%) Frag Grenades (Damage: 100, Armor Penetration: 25%) OVERVIEW: ATC's private rent-a-cops will impede your progress at a few different points in the game, namely in the middle few levels of ATC Headquarters, and the early levels of the Vault Facility. Being mere humans equipped with light kevlar vests, they're slightly weaker and less armored than the Replica super-soldiers you're used to. Otherwise, they fight with the same general tactics as the Replica troops: they'll seek cover behind objects, lean around corners to shoot at you, and use grenades to flush you from cover. BEHAVIOR: ATC security guards are less coordinated than Replica soldiers; they are less able to work as a team, and tend to act more individually instead of as a coordinated squad. You'll also notice that they communicate with each other much less than Replica soldiers, and are less likely to give each other orders or call for the status of other group members. However, they still call out some basic combat information, such as announcing when they're about to throw a grenade. KILL STRATEGY: On the whole, ATC security guards can be beaten using the same tactics you used against the standard Replica soldiers. In fact, due to their slightly weaker stats and lesser tactics, they should be even easier to take down. ATC security guards will fight any Replica forces they encounter, but this really only happens at two specific points in the entire game (in both cases, the ATC security guards lose badly). =============================================================================== Automated Turret: Appearance: A big gun that descends from a pod in the ceiling. Health: 500 Armor: 0 Weapons Used: Turret Gun (Damage: 20, Armor Penetration: 30%) OVERVIEW: You'll face several automated ceiling turrets at two points in the game, once inside ATC Headquarters and once within the entrance to the Vault itself. There are a total of 11 of them in the game. Automated turrets decend from the ceiling and open fire on you when you enter their line of sight. They're equipped with a machine gun, have a very high rate of fire, and can do lots of damage to you very quickly. Unlike human opponents, who fire in bursts, Turrets will continuously shoot at your current location once they spot you. KILL STRATEGY: Turrets can survive quite a bit of damage, so fighting them with lighter weapons is not recommended. You can minimize the damage they do by leaning around a corner and firing at them from cover, but their high rate of fire will still cause them to hit you several times before you manage to kill them. If you must fight the Turrets, try to attack with SloMo while using a high-impact weapon such as the HV penetrator or the ASP rifle (15 HV penetrator shots or 10 ASP rifle shots should be enough to destroy a turret, compared to 23 assault rifle shots or 34 submachine gun shots). Fortunately, when you first encounter Turrets, it's possible for you to run past them and disable their power source, effectively switching them off. Take cover when the Turret appears and starts shooting you, locate the power source, then use SloMo to run over to it and switch it off. Later in the game, you'll have access to heavier weaponry, allowing you to destroy Turrets much more easily. Use SloMo, lean around a corner, and fire at the Turret with your Type-7 particle weapon or MP- 50 repeating cannon. With these weapons you should be able to destroy a Turret in 3 or 4 hits, while only taking 2 or 3 hits yourself at most. =============================================================================== Armacham UAV Flying Drone: Appearance: Basketball-sized flying metal disc with three metal poles sticking out the sides. Health: 250 Armor: 0 Weapons Used: Laser Gun (Damage: 10, Armor Penetration: 30%) OVERVIEW: Several of these small, flying robots will attack you at two separate points in the game: near the end of ATC Headquarters, and near the end of the Vault entrance. There are a total of 15 of them in the game. UAVs hover through the air searching for you. They will pursue you once they spot you, and attack with a series of rapid-fire laser bolts. You'll know a UAV is about to appear because they make a sound like a pistol shot when they are deployed, and they are also easily spotted since they emitted a blue glow that reflects off walls and ceilings. BEHAVIOR: UAVs float slowly through the air when searching for a target, but they can increase their air speed to about the same speed as a soldier runs once they spot you. They can actually be quite fast once they start chasing you, but their flight pattern is usually quite regular, so they're normally relatively easy to target. They also generally do not try to fly right up to you, instead preferring to hover several feet away while shooting at you. The UAV's laser weapon does very little damage (on normal difficulty, each hit only does between 2 to 4 damage to you), but has a very high rate of fire and is quite difficult to avoid. When you fight a UAV, you can expect to be hit several times before winning. Like turrets, UAVs fire continuously instead of in bursts. One advantage UAVs have over soldiers is their ability to fly. This is most apparent inside ATC Headquarters. Instead of pursuing you down a hallway, UAVs will often try to flank you by flying outside, coming into the building through a window, and coming up behind you. KILL STRATEGY: UAVs are slightly more durable than Replica soldiers, but you can still beat them with your basic weapons. Lean around a corner, use SloMo, and shoot them with your weapon of choice to destroy them. Going toe-to-toe with a UAV isn't recommended. Although their lasers don't do much damage, the many individual hits can knock your vision around, making it difficult to properly target the UAV with your weapon. Use cover to minimize being hit by their weapon. Long range weapons such as the assault rifle or HV penetrator are preferred, since fewer of their shots will hit you at longer range. If a UAV manages to get close to you, 2 shotgun blasts should bring it down. If you like the shotgun, you can also try to lure UAVs around corners, then blast them to pieces with 2 shotgun blasts. =============================================================================== Nightmare: Appearance: Black, mummified-looking humanoid torso flying through the air. Health: 35 Armor: 0 Weapons Used: Nightmare Attack (Damage 40, Armor Penetration: 0%) OVERVIEW: These ghost-like creatures are the final enemies you face, and replace the Replica soldiers as your main enemies in the last couple of levels at the very end of the game. Unlike Replicas, Nightmare behavior is quite simple. They fly straight at you and explode when they collide with you, doing damage. Nightmares move VERY fast and attack in swarms, but fortunately they're very fragile and can be destroyed with a single pistol shot. Nightmares actually appear at several points throughout the game during the psychic vision sequences, but they only attack you in large numbers in the game's last two levels, after Alma is freed from her Sarcophagus. BEHAVIOR: Nightmares attack in groups of several at once, tearing through into reality through black portals that suddenly appear in the air. Fortunately, for most Nightmare encounters the game will automatically slow down once they begin to show up. This will alert you that you're about to be attacked, and also makes it easier to target and shoot Nightmares before they can reach you. Once you exit the Vault, Nightmare attacks will no longer slow down time, so you'll have to engage your SloMo whenever Nightmares start attacking to help you against them. They are actually quite fast, so you'll want the extra edge SloMo gives you against them. Nightmares also attack you in certain "fiery void" nightmare sequences towards the end of the game. You'll be dropped into the middle of a fiery black void, and Nightmares will swarm at you from all directions. To make matters worse, your vision will be blurred, impairing you ability to spot them coming. Sound is very important during these encounters; listen for the distinct howling and humming sounds the Nightmares make, and spin around in the direction of the sounds to shoot them. Fortunately, you don't have to kill every Nightmare to survive, as you can use your medikits to heal damage from any Nightmares you miss. KILL STRATEGY: Any weapon works well on Nightmares, but the pistol or HV penetrator are both particularly effective. Both have a decent rate of fire and kill Nightmares with a single shot. The pistol bullets can even travel through multiple Nightmares with one shot. However, the HV penetrator is slightly better, due to its higher rate of fire and larger clip size. If you're planning to fight Nightmares without using SloMo, you'll need a rapid-fire weapon and lots of medikits. As soon as the Nightmares begin to warp in, open fire in their general direction with then HV penetrator, while keeping your finger over the quick-heal key so you can respond immedietely if you get hit. =============================================================================== Paxton Fettel: Appearance: Creepy thin man wearing a dark blue uniform with orange vest. Health: N/A Armor: N/A Weapons Used: N/A Fettel is the psychic commander of the Replica forces and the main antagonist of the game, and after chasing him from level to level you'll finally come face-to-face with him at the beginning of the 2nd-to-last level, The Vault. Strangely, the moment you confront Fettel, all your weapons simply disappear and you end up with nothing except a pistol. That's alright, the pistol is all you'll need to kill the Nightmares that Fettel sends at you. The encounter with Fettel is actually more of a scripted sequence than an actual fight. You'll be standing in the middle of a huge, black void, with fires burning everywhere. Fettel will periodically appear somewhere around you, give a short speech, then unleash a couple Nightmares to attack you. The key is that the Nightmares always appear where Fettel is standing, so be sure to spin around looking for him whenever he teleports. That way, you'll spot the Nightmares as soon as they appear, and can shoot them before they can get near you. If Fettel's yammering annoys you, you can shoot him once to get him to vanish and release the Nightmares immedietely. After he teleports around 4 times, you'll be transported to a vision of Fettel's prison cell, with Fettel himself kneeling on the floor in front of you with a smug grin on his face. He just sits there staring at you, so put a bullet in him to end the encounter. =============================================================================== Alma: Appearance: If you don't know, you probably shouldn't be reading this. Health: 420 Armor: 0 Weapons Used: Touch of Death (Damage: 10,000, Armor Penetration: 0%) The final encounter with Alma is more of an interactive cutscene than an actual fight, but she IS an in-game character and she CAN kill you. Basically, during the final psychic vision, Alma will make three appearances. For her first two appearances, she is easily avoided by backing away from her, and she will disappear on her own anyway after a few seconds. The third and final appearance is the real encounter. Once Alma kills the doctor, spin around to look down the corridor, and you should see Alma appear at the very end and begin to approach you. You need to shoot her 11 times with the pistol before she can reach you, or else she'll touch you and you'll die messily. There is NO margin for error here. If you shoot too slowly or mess up and try to reload in the middle, you'll run out of time and die. Even if you do it right, the 11th shot will hit Alma just as she begins reaching for you. Once Alma is "defeated", the final cutscene will play and (after a short non-combat sequence) the game will end. NOTE: Headshots don't do extra damage against Alma, so don't bother trying to aim at her head. Just aim at her torso and fire as fast as you can. P.S.: And no, Kung-fu does not work on Alma, so don't even try. She's just too fast. In fact, Alma moves at normal speed even during SloMo events. ******************************************************************************* ____________ ____________ ___________ ___________ | | | | | \ | \ | ________| | ________| | ____ | | ____ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |________ | |________ | |____| | | |____| | | | | | | | | | | ________| | ________| | ____ | | _ __/ | | | | | | | | | | \ \ | | __ | |________ __ | | | | __ | | \ \ __ | | | || || || | | || || | \ \ | | |___| |__||____________||__||___| |___||__||___| \___\|__| EXTRACTION POINT: ******************** *New Game Mechanics* ******************************************************************************* - When you start the game, your health and reflex levels have been reduced to their default levels, cancelling out all those booster shots you picked up in the original F.E.A.R. (guess that helicopter crash must have really taken it out of the Pointman). There are health and reflex boosters hidden throughout the new levels of the expansion pack. I found 11 health boosters and 7 reflex boosters by the end of the game, for a total of 155 health. It's possible I may have missed a few boosters, see my Booster Location FAQ for more details. - F.E.A.R. Extraction Point brings back the age old traditional of crate smashing! Dr. Freeman would be proud. Watch out for specially labeled crates, as there are goodies inside you can collect by bashing the crate like a pinata. Crates marked "Danger" or "Explosives" have weapons in them (don't worry about bashing them, they won't explode), while crates marked "Property of Armachem Corporation" generally have health or reflex boosters inside. - Red metal ammo boxes contain frag grenades. Some are open already, but some need to be bashed open with your melee attack or nudged open by walking against them. - Watch out for green fuel cylinders. These don't explode instantly when shot. Instead, they rocket around the room for a few seconds before exploding. The fact that they fly around the room before blowing up makes them rather unpredictable, so don't try to use them offensively if you're in the same room. - Don't take cover behind cars. Cars explode. - Doug Holiday, the Delta Force Leader, will help you out in a few firefights throughout the game. He's armed with an assault rifle, has pretty good aim, gives the Replicas something else to shoot at, and appears to be invincible, so he proves to be quite useful in the brief periods of time that he travels with you. - As the SDK for the expansion pack content has not yet been released, the enemy health and weapon damage stats given here are based on my own calculations, rather than from looking at the game's script files. Most should be accurate, but a ?? indicates I'm guessing because of an inability to confirm a specific number. ************* *New Weapons* ******************************************************************************* Laser Carbine: Full Name: Type-12 Laser Carbine Ammo Type: laser beam Clip Size: 60 Max Ammo: 600 Damage: SP: 20 AI: 12 MP: N/A Armor Penetration: SP: 45% ?? AI: 40% MP: N/A Rate of Fire: 720 rpm BRIEF BLURB: An experimental energy rifle that fires a continuous laser beam which quickly cuts enemies into pieces. Has perfect accuracy and no recoil. However, the laser beam doesn't "stagger" enemies as well as multiple bullet hits do. Unfortunately, ammo is quite rare for the laser rifle, so you won't see as much use out of it as you might like. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: A rather exotic rifle, the laser carbine fires a sustained red laser beam that cuts anything it comes into contact with. One or two seconds of contact with the beam will slice a Replica soldier neatly in half. Instead of using conventional ammo rounds, the laser simply drains energy continuously as long as you keep it on. The laser's "rate of fire" is extremely high, allowing you to do a large amount of damage in a short amount of time. The laser carbine has perfect accuracy and no recoil, even when you're running, which makes it excellent in terms of pinpoint precision. Unfortunately, although quite fast, the beam doesn't travel instantly (it's much like a Star Trek phaser), and the weapon zoom is limited, significantly reducing the laser's effectiveness at longer range. The laser carbine also reduces your movement rate somewhat more than the assault rifle or shotgun. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: Unfortunately, one major downside to the laser carbine is that it doesn't seem to "stagger" Replica soldiers. They'll flinch in pain when hit, but will still be able to strafe around while being shot. This forces you to constantly track their movements with your weapon to keep the beam focused on them. Thus, successfully using the laser requires a very high degree of precision. Because of this, the laser is best used in conjunction with SloMo rather than on its own. Like the game's other heavy weapons, ammo for the laser carbine is rather uncommon. In fact, only 5 enemies throughout the entire game carry a laser carbine for you to pick up after you kill them. This isn't even enough ammo to reach your maximum carrying capacity. The scarcity of ammo for this gun, coupled with how quickly it drains ammo, means you won't have much opportunity to actually use it in the game. OVERALL EVALUATION: Overall, the laser is best for medium-range engagements. It doesn't pack the one-hit-kill punch of the shotgun, nor does it stagger enemies like the assault rifle or submachine gun, but it has excellent accuracy and does very rapid gradual damage. The fact it has perfect accuracy even when you're moving makes it a good weapon for those who like to run-and-gun. On the whole, the laser carbine is a fun weapon, so feel free to use it while you've got it. Just be prepared to switch to another gun when you run out of ammo for the laser. =============================================================================== Minigun: Full Name: TG-2A Minigun Ammo Type: minigun rounds Clip Size: 900 Max Ammo: 900 Damage: SP: 18 AI: 15 MP: N/A Armor Penetration: SP: 30 or 40% ?? AI: 30% MP: N/A Rate of Fire: 1000 rpm BRIEF BLURB: A portable minigun, for spitting out hundreds of bullets in the space of several seconds. Unlike most FPS miniguns, the TG-2A has almost no spin-up time and fires almost as soon as you pull the trigger. The minigun is good for throwing up a sustained wall of lead, but the accuracy is low, and ammo for it is rather rare. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: As you would expect, the minigun sprays out bullets at an insane rate of fire. You can use it to cut down enemies en mass, or just to really smash up a room. This weapon is great for creating chaos in an enclosed area. Unlike many other FPS miniguns, the TG-2A minigun has almost no spin-up time. It'll immedietely start spitting lead the moment you hold down the fire button, with only a barely noticable split second delay. It also has a high ammo capacity, and you'll never need to reload because it can hold its entire ammo store in a single clip. The recoil on the minigun is also suprisingly manageable (less than that of the submachine gun), although your aim will still drift upwards during sustained fire. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: The minigun's high rate of fire and suppression fire effect make it great against the game's melee enemies, such as Shadow Creatures and Assassins. Just camp with your back to the wall, and mow down the baddies as soon as you spot them. The downside of the minigun is that it becomes inaccurate with distance, and as a result you really won't be able to target enemies with it at long range. The minigun also slows down your movement rate to a crawl, so it's best to fire it from cover rather than trying to dodge around with it out in the open. OVERALL EVALUATION: One of the biggest drawbacks of the minigun is the scarcity of ammo for it. There are only about 6 miniguns for you to get ammo from throughout the entire game, and 4 of them only show up in the game's last few levels. On the plus side, each minigun gives you a large amount of ammo (350 bullets). Instead of stockpiling minigun ammo, it's probably best to use the minigun when you get it, then discard it for another weapon when you run out of ammo. =============================================================================== Deployable Turret: Full Name: AP-5 Deployable Turret Max Ammo: 3 Health: 200 Damage: SP: 35 AI: 10 MP: N/A Armor Penetration: SP: ?? AI: 35% MP: N/A A new type of grenade that appears in Extraction Point, the deployable turret is much like a proximity mine in that you toss it in front of you. It can stick to the floor or even to the walls. The device contains a single small automatic turret gun that will lock onto and fire upon any enemies that pass near it. Turrets have decent durability, and can take several hits from enemy fire before being destroyed. Turrets have a good rate of fire and do decent damage, especially if you set up multiple turrets together so that they can concentrate their firepower. Turrets also serve as a good distraction; They give the enemy something to shoot at that isn't you, and you can often nail enemy soldiers with your own gun while they're distracted fighting the turrets. Turrets don't work well in wide-open areas, as enemies can just snipe them from long range. You'll want to set them up around corners, behind objects, or in cul-de-sacs. Be sure to set them up in such a way that they'll ambush any enemies running through an area you want to defend. Although somewhat uncommon, you'll actually find several stockpiles of deployable turrets lying around throughout the game. Obviously, the level designers wanted you to have some fun with them. ************* *New Enemies* ******************************************************************************* Replica Laser Elite Soldier: Appearance: Clone soldier wearing steel helmet and steel plate armor over black body suit. Health: 150 Armor: 125 Weapons Used: Laser Carbine (Damage: 12, Armor Penetration: 40%) Combat Shotgun (Damage: 15 x 6, Armor Penetration: 30%) Assault Rifle (Damage: 20, Armor Penetration: 30%) Other Attacks: Rifle Butt (Damage: 35, Armor Penetration: 0%) Frag Grenades (Damage: 100, Armor Penetration: 25%) OVERVIEW: You'll face a new type of Replica soldier in Extraction Point. The Replica Laser Elite is so-named because they are the only enemy in the game that carries the new laser carbine weapon into combat. However, only 5 Laser Elites throughout the entire game are actually equipped with a laser carbine. Most carry standard firearms, such as the assault rifle or shotgun. Laser Elite wear a steel helmet and steel plate armor, this outfit looks like a scaled-down version of the metal armor worn by the Heavy Armor soldiers. Like Replica Elite, Laser Elite are significantly tougher than normal, and can survive a direct hit from a frag grenade or the Type-7 particle weapon. In fact, Laser Elite have slightly heavier armor than even Replica Elite, making them the most durable normal enemies in the game. BEHAVIOR: Laser Elites are rather rare for most of the game; usually, you'll only find one of them in an area, leading a squad of regular Replicas. You'll also fight several squads of them in the game's last few levels, within the Auburn Memorial Hospital. Like Replica Elites, Laser Elites have somewhat better health and armor than standard Replica soldiers, but otherwise behave more or less the same as the other Replicas. Laser Elites equipped with laser carbines are quite dangerous, but the threat from their laser beams can be significantly reduced by constant moving and use of cover. Sustained fire from a laser can be damaging, but a glancing blow actually doesn't do much damage at all. If you keep moving, Laser Elite are often unable to keep a laser beam continuously trained on you. KILL STRATEGY: The same strategies you use against normal Replica soldiers work fine against Laser Elite. Just watch out for the ones who are carrying laser carbines, and be sure to take them down first if possible. Also be aware that Laser Elite can survive somewhat more damage than normal, so don't rely on one-hit-kill weapons such as the Type-7 particle weapon or frag grenades when fighting them. =============================================================================== Deployable Turret: Appearance: Mine-like pod on floor, with a small turret gun sticking out. Health: 200 Armor: 0 Weapons Used: Turret Gun (Damage: 10, Armor Penetration: 35%) OVERVIEW: As you proceed through the game, you'll find that the Replica forces have positioned deployable turrets of their own at various points throughout the levels. Enemy deployable turrets generally appear on their own, or in pairs. They can be positioned on the walls or on the floor. Although small and easy to miss, you can spot them by the bright red light that they have on top. Oddly, these enemies are rather rare. In fact, you'll only face 5 of them throughout the entire game. BEHAVIOR: Once a deployable turret spots you, it will open fire with its small portable turret gun. Turrets have decent durability, and it takes several bullets to destroy one. The good news about enemy turrets is that their targeting system seems to be proximity-based rather than vision-based. Turrets usually won't spot you instantly when you run into their line of sight; instead, they only notice you when you get too close to them or start shooting at them. Turrets also don't do much damage individually, although they do have a high rate of fire, and the damage from several of them shooting you at once can really add up. KILL STRATEGY: Turrets can be destroyed with several bullets from the submachine gun or assault rifle. The only difficulty is that they're such small targets it's easy to miss a few shots. It's best to fire at them while leaning around an object to protect yourself from their return fire. You can also take out turrets by lobbing a grenade near them. If multiple turrets are grouped closely together, a grenade can even destroy several of them at once. =============================================================================== Replica Heavy Minigun Soldier: Appearance: 6.5 foot tall soldier encased in heavy suit of metal plates, with glowing red eye lens in helmet. Health: 900 Armor: 500 Weapons Used: Minigun (Damage: 15, Armor Penetration: 30%) Other Attacks: Rifle Butt (Damage: 35, Armor Penetration: 0%) OVERVIEW: The Replica Heavy Minigunner is best described as a Heavy Armor with an attitude. Heavy Minigunners wear a similar heavy metal suit as those worn by Heavy Armors, the difference being that Heavy Minigunners lack the square metal shoulder plates seen on the Heavy Armors. Instead, Heavy Minigunners carry a TG-2A minigun in one hand and a large metal shield in the other. The minigun's rate of fire is deadly; a couple seconds of sustained fire can kill you. You'll want to avoid ever getting into a Heavy Minigunner's direct line of sight. Heavy Minigunners can also use their large metal shield to block your shots, reducing the damage they take from your attacks. When combined with the Heavy Minigunners' high durability, their minigun/shield combination gives them both excellent offensive and defensive capabilities. Heavy Minigunners are sometimes encountered alone, and sometimes accompanied by a few Replica soldiers. If the Minigunner does have an escort, you'll want to retreat and lure the Replica soldiers away so you can dispose of them before facing the Minigunner himself. Exceptionally nasty, these bruisers are thankfully also quite rare. There are only a total of 5 of them in the entire game, 3 of which don't appear until the last few levels inside Auburn Memorial Hospital. In fact, a Heavy Minigunner will be the final opponent standing between you and the Extraction Point. BEHAVIOR: Heavy Minigunners behave similarly to Heavy Armor soldiers. They walk relatively slowly, and their movements are rather simple when compared to the advanced tactics used by regular Replica soldiers. Essentially, they walk towards you while blasting you with their minigun. Minigunners fire continuously, and won't stop shooting until you either get out of their line of fire or die. Heavy Minigunners are slightly more aggressive than Heavy Armor soldiers, in that they are more likely to pursue you around corners instead of simply crouching down and camping a single spot. One thing to note about Heavy Minigunners is that their shield doesn't provide perfect protection. It does reduce the damage they take, but repeated bullet hits to the shield will still do some damage to the Minigunner. Hits to the shield do about 70% normal damage. KILL STRATEGY: These guys are probably the toughest enemies to fight. They can cut you to pieces with a couple seconds of sustained fire, while deflecting your own attacks with their large shields. Their high durability, combined with their damage reducing shield, allows them to survive a couple clips worth of standard weapons fire before dying. The best ways to take them out is either with precision weapons or explosives. If you have a very accurate weapon such as the Type-7 particle weapon or the HV penetrator, you can use SloMo while leaning around a corner to score precision headshots on the Heavy Minigunner, while being protected from the majority of their bullets. Attack from as long a range as possible so that at least some of their shots will miss. It should take about 4 particle weapon headshots or 17 HV penetrator headshots to kill them. You can also use explosives to take down a Heavy Minigunner, as their shields cannot block splash damage. However, since they have a lot of health and armor, you'll use up quite a few explosives to get the job done. Grenades and mines are slightly rarer in Extraction Point than they were in the original FEAR, so you'll want to use them wisely. Finally, if you have a high-powered weapon such as the laser carbine or the minigun, you can just keep blasting the Minigunner; eventually, he'll go down from the sheer level of firepower you're blasting him with. One final trick that might work is to lure the Heavy Minigunner to a corner, so that it's left arm (holding the minigun) is blocked by the wall. This should allow you to empty your assault rifle into the Heavy Minigunner's head, while it's weapon is out-of-sight and thus unable to shoot at you. =============================================================================== R.E.V.8 Leviathan Mech Walker Appearance: 10-foot tall Mech walker with box-like body and two rocket launchers for arms, somewhat similar in appearance to ED-209 from Robocop. Health: 2500 Armor: 2500 Weapons Used: Dual Rocket Launchers (Damage: 30, Armor Pentration: 35%) Other Attacks: Double Arm Smash (Damage: 35 x 2, Armor Penetration: 0%) OVERVIEW: This huge mech robot is easily the most powerful, heavily armored unit in the game. The R.E.V.8 Leviathan is the big brother of the R.E.V.6 Power Armor from the original F.E.A.R.; larger, tougher, and just plain meaner. Exceptionally hardy, the Leviathan can survive almost 3 times as much damage as the smaller Power Armor, requirely an insane amount of firepower to bring down (it takes 3 clips of MOD-3 rocket launcher fire, almost 45 rocket hits, to kill one!). In fact, the Leviathan's durability is equivalent to that of many FPS end bosses. Like the R.E.V.6, the R.E.V.8 is equipped with a pair of rocket launchers that serve as its arms. Each launcher fires a spread of 3 rockets each, allowing the Leviathan to fire a total of 6 rockets simultaneously. Fortunately, just like the rockets fired by the Power Armor, the Leviathan's rockets are weaker than expected, and require several direct hits to kill you. The large garage area in which you fight them also provides lots of room to dodge their shots. You'll only fight 2 Leviathans in the entire game. Both appear in the same level, the Parking Garage. The good news is that you fight them one at a time, instead of both at once. A 3rd Leviathan is also encountered in the parking garage, but is destroyed by a lucky shot from a Delta Force soldier with a rocket launcher. BEHAVIOR: Leviathans stomp towards you while firing a barrage of rockets in your direction. They knock aside obstacles and can even smash through concrete pillars to get to you. Fortunately, they don't seem to be able to pursue you to a different level of the garage, so you can use the garage ramps as cover to retreat from their attacks. In fact, if you leave their line of sight, Leviathans will sometimes return to their original position instead of trying to pursue you. Leviathans move at a generally leisurely pace, although they are by no means slow. They also occasionally charge through the concrete pillars in the garage, smashing them. These actions are pre-scripted, and Leviathans cannot generally destroy the environment. They can, however, knock aside large objects, such as cars, dumpsters, or concrete blocks. KILL STRATEGY: Because of the incredible amount of firepower needed to destroy a Leviathan, your options for fighting one are fairly limited. It takes about 3 clips worth of MOD-3 rocket launcher fire to bring one down. Fortunately, rocket launcher ammo is incredibly common in the Parking Garage, with scattered ammo crates containing 2 or 3 rocket launchers each. The best strategy to take out a Leviathan is to take cover in the garage ramp leading up to a higher level. Strafe out, fire at the Leviathan with your rocket launcher, then strafe back behind cover to avoid the Leviathan's counter-attack. When the Leviathan gets too close, retreat back up to the upper level. The Leviathan won't follow you up the ramp, so you can blast it from the top of the ramp and dodge behind cover to avoid its attacks. You can also take out a Leviathan by circle strafing around it while shooting it with the shotgun, but this method is more desperate and less reliable. Be sure to use SloMo as long as you have it to help avoid the Leviathan's attacks. You'll take several rocket hits and use up some medikits, but will eventually bust the Leviathan after a few dozen shotgun blasts. Fighting the Leviathans with standard weapons is not recommended. It takes about 228 assault rifle shots (5 full clips), 334 submachine gun shots (more than 6.5 clips), 90 HV penetrator shots (3.5 clips), 83 ASP rifle shots (28 3-shot bursts), and even 19 particle weapon shots to kill one. In other words, WAY too much ammo to be practical. The path of least resistance is also a viable option. You don't need to actually kill the Leviathans to proceed through the level, so if you don't feel like fighting them you can always quickly run past them and proceed to a lower level of the Parking Garage which they hopefully won't follow you to. =============================================================================== Shadow Creature: Appearance: Hunched, nearly invisible corpse-like creature with glowing red eyes and sharp claws. Health: 300 Armor: 0 Weapons Used: Melee Punch (Damage: 20, Armor Penetration: 0%) OVERVIEW: These supernatural enemies will attack you on a couple occasions; once in the middle of the game, and two or three times during the last couple of levels. Fast, vicious, and nearly invisible, they can be quite un-nerving to fight. They are also highly similar to the Assassins from the original F.E.A.R. Shadow creatures generally attack you in blood-covered rooms, usually in groups of 4 or 5 at a time. You'll fight a total of 17 of them throughout the game. Oddly enough, you'll witness shadow creatures killing off Replica soldiers off-screen in the game's first couple of levels, and you'll find a pair of shadow creatures fighting with a couple Laser Elite Replicas inside the Auburn Memorial Hospital, making it unclearly exactly whose side they're on. BEHAVIOR: Shadow creatures are nearly invisible. Like Assassins, there is a slight shimmering effect that gives them away, but it can be hard to spot sometimes, especially in the dark. Unlike Assassins, shadow creatures never "decloak", because invisibility is their natural state. On the plus side, these creatures have glowing red eyes that are always visible. You can always spot them by the movement of their glowing red eyes. They also become slightly less invisible when you shoot them. In combat, shadow creatures behavior pretty much like Assassins. They run very quickly, and fight with hit-and-run tactics. They rush up to you, slash you with their claws, then run away out of your line of sight, only to return and attack you again several seconds later. The main difference between shadow creatures and Assassins is that shadow creatures stay on the floor, instead of leaping into the ceiling or up to a higher level. The areas you fight shadow creatures in are usually cluttered with loose objects and debris, and the creatures will often send the objects flying around as they rush through them. You can use this to track their position in the room. KILL STRATEGY: Overall, the same strategy you use against Assassins will work against shadow creatures as well. Use SloMo to slow them down enough for you to draw a bead on them, then blast them a couple times with the shotgun to dissolve them into ash. A single close-range shotgun blast to the head will dust them, so try to go for headshots if you're able. If you see them coming at you from long range, blast them with your assault rifle, aiming for the head as they get closer. Shadow creatures can survive about as much damage as Assassins. Since shadow creatures attack you in groups of several at a time, you might run out of SloMo while fighting them. If this happens, use martial arts kicks to kill any creatures that attack you while you wait for your SloMo to recover. The new expansion pack weapons (the laser carbine or minigun) are both very helpful against shadow creatures due to their high rate of fire, and can cut the creatures down quite quickly. Of the two, the minigun is preferable as the spread of the bullets means you won't need to use as much precision. Deployable turrets can also be useful against shadow creatures, since the turrets can spot the creatures even through their semi-invisible state. The turrets won't kill the creatures by themselves, but will weaken them as well as help you determine their location. ********************************************* *OLD ENEMIES THAT REAPPEAR IN THE EXPANSION:* ******************************************************************************* Replica Soldiers: Your old buddies the Replica soldiers are once again the main opponents you'll face throughout the game. Their A.I. has been slightly tweaked to make them more aggressive (and thus more likely to charge your position), but overall their behavior is still more or less the same as it was in the original F.E.A.R. One interesting thing to note is that the Replica groups in Extraction Point are more diverse; instead of fighting only Replicas of one uniform type in a single level, it's not unusual to find a couple squads of different Replica types working together in the same area. By far the most common Replica soldier you'll encounter in Extraction Point are the blue uniformed Tactical Replicas, the most heavily armored normal Replica type there is. Tactical Replicas comprise the majority of your opponents in the game, which is a marked contrast to the original F.E.A.R., where you only fought a dozen or so of them throughout the game. You'll also face weaker Recon Replicas for the first few levels of the game (some are seen wearing the green NV goggles previously reserved only for Desert Replicas), and also see a few Desert and Fatigues Replicas throughout the later levels. (Urban Replicas, the ones wearing the gasmasks, are oddly absent throughout the game.) Most Replicas carry submachine guns, assault rifles, or shotguns, but you'll face a few squads where every single Replica in the squad carries a HV Penetrator or an ASP rifle. One Replica towards the end of the game is even equipped with a Type-7 particle weapon. =============================================================================== Replica Elite Soldiers: Replica Elite appear as a regular enemy in Extraction Point, mixed in with the other Replica soldiers. You'll face them throughout the game. You'll often find one or two Replica Elites leading a squad of regular Replica soldiers into battle. You'll also face several squads of Elites in the game's last couple of levels. Elites no longer carry special weapons such as the Repeating Cannon, but still have somewhat better health and armor than other Replica troops. They are typically armed with assault rifles or shotguns, but a few carry HV penetrators or ASP rifles. =============================================================================== Replica Heavy Armor Soldiers: There are a total of 8 Heavy Armor soldiers in Extraction Point, most of whom show up in the final few levels. Ammo is a bit scarcer in Extraction Point than it was in the original F.E.A.R., so remember that the most efficient way to kill a Heavy Armor is 4 shotgun blasts to the face at close range (using SloMo and cover to reduce the odds of getting shot, of course). If you can't get up close safely, headshots from the HV Penetrator or Type-7 particle weapon also work well. Of the 8 Heavy Armors, most are equipped with HV Penetrators, although 1 carries a Type-7 particle weapon and 1 carries a MOD-3 rocket launcher. The Heavy Armor with the rocket launcher is the greatest threat, since he can kill you in just 2 or 3 hits. The best way to deal with him is to use SloMo to dodge his shots, get close to him, and blast him in the face with your shotgun. =============================================================================== Assassins: The ever-so-cool Assassins make an encore appearance in Extraction Point, but they're still just as rare as they were in the original game. You'll encounter Assassins on two seperate occasions in Extraction Point, and just like in the original F.E.A.R. there are a total of only 9 of them in the entire game. The Assassin encounters in Extraction Point are slightly more difficult, because each group will attack you all at once instead of one or two at a time like they did in the original. The old tactic of using SloMo while shooting them a couple times with the shotgun still works, but you can expect to get overwhelmed and take a few hits in the process. If you have the minigun, you can try making a stand with it and mowing down everything that tries to get close to you. =============================================================================== R.E.V.6 Power Armors: You'll face a total of 3 R.E.V.6 Power Armors in Extraction Point. Fortunately, each Power Armor is encountered solo, instead of accompanied by additional enemies. Unlike the original F.E.A.R., where most Power Armor fights took place in a series of narrow corridors, the Power Armor fights in Extraction Point take place in wide open areas (a courtyard, a subway plaza, and a parking lot) which give the Power Armor lots of room to manuever around, while leaving you rather exposed to their attacks. Scattered objects such as crates and pillars provide some minimum cover, but to survive each fight you'll need to take out the Power Armor as fast as possible. Helpfully, there's usually a MOD-3 rocket launcher laying around somewhere near the Power Armor, which you can use to destroy the Power Armor relatively easily. Power Armors are actually quite good at flanking you and circling around any cover you attempt to hide behind, so staying on the move and on your toes during these fights is very important to avoid taking too much damage. =============================================================================== Nightmare: Alma's ghosts also appear on a few occasions, usually during an attack by teenage Alma or Paxton Fettel against you. Be sure to activate SloMo as soon as they appear, as you'll need it to cancel out their fast speed. A couple shots from the assault rifle should pop each Nightmare, and with its high rate of fire the assault rifle is probably the best weapon to use against them (although really any standard weapon with a high rate of fire will do fine). ******************************************************************************* ____________ ____________ ___________ ___________ | | | | | \ | \ | ________| | ________| | ____ | | ____ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |________ | |________ | |____| | | |____| | | | | | | | | | | ________| | ________| | ____ | | _ __/ | | | | | | | | | | \ \ | | __ | |________ __ | | | | __ | | \ \ __ | | | || || || | | || || | \ \ | | |___| |__||____________||__||___| |___||__||___| \___\|__| Perseus Mandate: ******************** *New Game Mechanics* ******************************************************************************* - In Perseus Mandate, you'll notice that your flashlight's energy bar is much longer than it was in F.E.A.R. or Extraction Point. Indeed, your flashlight beam does last longer in Perseus Mandate, although it still runs out of batteries after a fairly short period of time. - In Perseus Mandate, the icon that appears to pick up objects has been changed slightly. The icon will now display what type of item you're about to pick up (such as a pistol or assault rifle, as if you couldn't tell already), and will also turn red to show that you cannot carry anymore ammo or armor. - A limit has been set for the number of deployable turrets that can be active at any one time. There can only be 3 friendly deployable turrets active on a level at once. If you try to lay one a 4th turret, the 1st turret you set down will blow up, keeping the number at 3. - You'll notice that health and armor pickups are MUCH more common in Perseus Mandate than they were in the original F.E.A.R. This can make the game somewhat easier than F.E.A.R. was, although the new enemy soldiers encountered in Perseus Mandate have more health and do heavier damage than the Replica soldiers in F.E.A.R. - As with the Extraction Point FAQ, the health, armor, and weapon damage stats in this guide are based on in-game observation, due to the lack of an SDK for the game. I am 99.99% sure they are accurate, though. - IMPORTANT TIP: The new heavy weapons such as the lightning gun are fairly rare in Perseus Mandate; in fact, you'll only find about 5 or 6 pickups for any of them throughout the entire game. However, these weapons are extremely important for your victory, especially the lightning gun, because it is the best way for taking out the super-tough Nightcrawler Elite enemies. One trick to get more ammo for heavy weapons such as the lightning gun is to use the "extra ammo" exploit detailed above in the original F.E.A.R. FAQ. Basically, if you're carrying a lightning gun, drop it before you pick up a second one. If you pick up a lightning gun while not carrying one, you get 16 shots; however, if you pick one up while already carrying a lightning gun, you only get 4 shots. You can then go back and pick up the lightning gun you dropped; it will still have all the ammo you were previously carrying loaded into it. ************* *New Weapons* ******************************************************************************* Laser Carbine: Full Name: Type-12 Laser Carbine Ammo Type: laser beam Clip Size: 60 Max Ammo: 600 Damage: SP: 35 AI: 12 MP: ?? Armor Penetration: SP: 45% ?? (less than 50%) AI: 40% MP: ?? Rate of Fire: 900 rpm The laser carbine first introduced in Extraction Point has been tweaked for Perseus Mandate. It still fires the same powerful sustained laser beam, but nows does 75% more damage, and has a greater rate of fire, making it an even deadlier weapon than before. You can now use the laser to slice enemy soldiers apart in a split second. Even though the laser carbine still doesn't penetrate armor well, the high rate of fire and heavy damage allows you to bring down even heavily armored enemies like Power Armor with several seconds of sustained fire. Unfortunately, just like in Extraction Point, ammo for the laser carbine is really rare. A few Nightcrawler soldiers will use a laser carbine against you, but for much of the game you won't be able to find any ammo for the laser. =============================================================================== Minigun: Full Name: TG-2A Minigun Ammo Type: minigun rounds Clip Size: 900 Max Ammo: 900 Damage: SP: 24 AI: 15 MP: ?? Armor Penetration: SP: 30 or 40% ?? (less than 50%) AI: 30% MP: ?? Rate of Fire: 850 rpm Like the laser carbine, the Minigun has been upgraded from its Extraction Point incarnation. Although the rate of fire has been reduced slightly, the power of each individual bullet has been increased by 33%, making the weapon more powerful and damaging. As with the laser carbine, ammo for the minigun is extremely rare. You won't find any enemies carrying a minigun until the end of the game's very last level, and there are only two or three places where you can find a minigun lying around to pick up in the entire game. On the plus side, each minigun pickup gives you a decent amount of ammo (350 bullets). =============================================================================== Advanced Rifle: Full Name: VES Advanced Rifle Ammo Type: bullets of unknown caliber Clip Size: 35 Max Ammo: 350 Damage: SP: 30 AI: 22 MP: ?? Armor Penetration: SP: ?? (less than 50%) AI: 50% MP: ?? Rate of Fire: 420 rpm BRIEF BLURB: A new, advanced assault rifle, and the standard weapon of the Nightcrawler mercenary soldiers. The advanced rifle does more damage and has better recoil control than the standard G2A2 assault rifle. It also comes equipped with a red nightvision scope that enhances ambient light and allows for slightly further zooming. Ammo is pretty common for it, so it makes a good default weapon. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: The new advanced assault rifle introduced by Perseus Mandate, and by far the most common of the expansion pack's new weapons. The advanced rifle is the standard weapon of the Nightcrawler soldiers, and you'll be able to acquire one as soon as you meet them. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: The advanced rifle is equipped with a red nightvision scope. This scope provides a slightly further zoom than the standard "iron-sights" zoom of most unscoped weapons. The scope also slightly increases visibility in dark areas by magnifying available light. Overall, the scope allows you to target distant foes more accurately, allowing for better sniping and long-range combat. The advanced rifle is also significantly more powerful than F.E.A.R.'s other assault weapons, namely the assault rifle and submachine gun. The rate of fire is slightly less than that of the original weapons, but it still spits out lead very quickly, and the increased damage more than compensates. The advanced rifle also has more manageable recoil than the assault rifle or submachine gun, allowing you to place shots more accurately with it, even during full automatic fire. OVERALL EVALUATION: Overall, the advanced rifle makes an excellent default weapon, and will probably be your standard weapon of choice for most of the game. It is especially useful for fighting Nightcrawler soldiers, since almost all of them will drop ammo for it when killed. =============================================================================== Grenade Launcher: Full Name: K3-BT Grenade Launcher Ammo Type: grenades Clip Size: 8 Max Ammo: 80 Damage: SP: 220 AI: 40 MP: ?? Armor Penetration: SP: ?? (less than 50%) AI: 25% MP: ?? Rate of Fire: 60 rpm BRIEF BLURB: A portable grenade launcher with an 8-round revolving ammo cylinder. Launches grenades that travel in an arc and explode upon impact with enemies, or bounce off walls and along surfaces before exploding after a few seconds. Does good damage, but is hard to aim properly. Ammo is also quite rare for it. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: The second of Perseus Mandate's new weapons, the grenade launcher is probably the first of the new weapons you'll acquire, as a couple of enemies will drop one in the game's second level. The grenade launcher fires a high explosive grenade that detonates on impact with enemies, but will bounce off walls or other objects, allowing you to rebound it around corners or through windows or doorways. The grenades are comparable to the game's regular thrown splash grenades; they have a reasonably large splash damage radius, and do a large amount of damage. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: One of the big drawbacks of the grenade launcher is that it is very difficult to hit an enemy directly with it. Aiming the launcher is far from precise, and grenades are just as liable to fly right past an enemy, or hit an obstacle and bounce right back into your face. As a result, the grenade launcher functions poorly as a direct assault weapon, and works better for attacking enemies indirectly by bouncing grenades around corners or into enemy-occupied rooms from a safe distance. One minor drawback of the grenade launcher is that most of the enemy soldiers you'll be facing in Perseus Mandate (such as Nightcrawler Soldiers or even ATC Riot Guards) have enhanced health and armor that makes them tougher than the regular Replica soldiers from the original F.E.A.R. game. While a direct hit from the grenade launcher will kill most enemy soldiers, the indirect splash damage from a single grenade is not always enough to ensure a kill. You'll either need to spam an area with multiple grenades, or switch to a bullet weapon to finish off the weakened enemies. Ammo for the grenade launcher is rather rare, as only about 4 enemies in the entire game carry one. You'll be able to find a few grenade launcher pickups laying around the game's levels, but the overall amount of ammo you'll be able to collect is rather low. OVERALL EVALUATION: I really don't recommend the grenade launcher, due to the trouble you have actually hitting enemies with it, as well as the low amount of ammo you'll find for it throughout the game. With that said, the launcher does have some usefulness in spamming an area with grenades to clear it of enemies. I advise against carrying one around permenantly; instead use it when you find it, and trade for a more reliable weapon after you run out of ammo. =============================================================================== Lightning Gun: Full Name: LP4 Lightning Arc Weapon Ammo Type: lightning bolts Clip Size: 8 Max Ammo: 80 Damage: SP: 170 AI: 60 MP: ?? Armor Penetration: SP: 80% AI: 40% MP: ?? Rate of Fire: 80 rpm BRIEF BLURB: The lightning gun fires a bolt of lightning that arcs towards enemies and does incredibly high damage. It functions quite similarly to the Type-7 particle weapon. Because the lightning arcs towards enemies, you don't have to aim directly at them to hit them. The lightning gun is THE best weapon for killing the fast and powerful Nightcrawler Elite soldiers, and you should always carry one around for dealing with them. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: The third and final of the game's new weapons. Very similar to the Type-7 particle weapon from the original F.E.A.R., the lightning gun discharges a powerful electrical bolt that does heavy damage to the target. In fact, the lightning gun does the exact same amount of damage as the particle weapon. The lightning gun features a number of advantages of over the particle weapon. It has a slightly higher rate of fire, allowing you to making multiple shots in a shorter amount of time. The lightning can also arc from your primary target to any other nearby enemies, allowing you to damage multiple foes with one shot. Each shot can arc twice (from the main target to any nearby enemies, and from them to any further enemies THEY are near), although the strength decreases with each arc. WEAPON ATTRIBUTES: The biggest advantage of the lightning gun is that you don't need to be dead-on accurate with it. As long as you fire the weapon at a point NEAR an enemy, the lightning will automatically arc towards them and hit them, even if you weren't pointing the lightning gun directly at them. Although most enemies in the game have increased health and armor and can survive a direct hit from the lightning gun, they can be killed with a single headshot from the weapon. You don't even need to aim at the enemy's head. Just point the weapon about a foot above the enemy, and the lightning will automatically arc downwards and strike them in the face. OVERALL EVALUATION: The lightning gun is THE weapon of choice to use against the new mini-boss type enemies, the Nightcrawler Elites. Nightcrawler Elites can take significant amounts of damage, but can be brought down with just 4 shots or 2 headshots from the lightning gun. Unfortunately, ammo for the lightning gun is extremely rare, so you may want to save it up for use against the Nightcrawler Elites. ************ *New Allies* ******************************************************************************* F.E.A.R. Operative Appearance: Elite secret-ops soldier wearing white-and-blue padded armor uniform. Health: 100 Armor: N/A Weapons Used: Submachine Gun (Damage: 15, Armor Penetration: 30%) Assault Rifle (Damage: 20, Armor Penetration: 30%) Other Attacks: Rifle Butt (Damage: 35, Armor Penetration: 0%) Frag Grenades (Damage: 100, Armor Penetration: 25%) OVERVIEW: Unlike the original F.E.A.R., where everyone else hung back and let you do all the work, in Perseus Mandate your F.E.A.R. teammates will actually fight alongside you in a few of the game's levels. You will be accompanied by Captain David Raynes and Lieutenant Steve Chen for the game's first level, Lieutenant Chen will briefly accompany you through the abandoned subway system about halfway through the game, and Captain Raynes will assist you in the game's final battle against Fettel's remaining Replica forces. BEHAVIOR: Unlike Douglas Holiday from Extraction Point, who moved along a semi-fixed path while shooting any enemies in sight, your F.E.A.R. teammates in Perseus Mandate will actually follow you through the level intelligently, using cover and flanking dynamically whenever a firefight against enemy soldiers occurs. They use the same A.I. as the enemy soldiers you battle, taking cover, flanking, and using grenades to kill enemies or flush them out of cover. While they can hold their own in a fight, however, they are not as effective as you are at killing enemies, since your weapons do more damage and you can mow down enemies with sustained fire while your allies are usually limited to firing in short bursts. A big plus is that your F.E.A.R. teammates are invincible in shootouts, so you can let them fight without having to worry about protecting them or preventing them from dying. =============================================================================== Delta Force Soldier: Appearance: Special Forces soldier wearing black military body armor, helmet, and clear goggles. Health: 75 Armor: 0 Weapons Used: ASP rifle (Damage: 25, Armor Penetration: 60%) Other Attacks: Rifle Butt (Damage: 35, Armor Penetration: 0%) OVERVIEW: In Perseus Mandate, you'll even briefly receive assistance from Doug Holiday's generic Delta Force soldiers in one of the game's levels. In the game's 6th level, "Pacification", you assault an ATC bio-research facility, which is already under attack by Fettel's Replica soldiers. You'll find Delta Force soldiers fighting against Replica soldiers throughout the level. There are a total of 4 Delta Force soldiers throughout the level, each in a seperate firefight against several Replica soldiers. If a Delta Force soldier survives the firefight he's currently in, he'll follow you through the rest of the level. BEHAVIOR: Delta Force soldiers are armed with ASP rifles, which do decent damage, but have a relatively low overall rate of fire due to their fixed 3-shot burst fire mode. Additionally, for some reason Delta Force soldiers have relatively low health and absolutely NO armor whatsoever, which means they'll go down after much less punishment than any other character in the game, even the ATC security guard rent-a-cops. Despite their relatively low durability, Delta Force soldiers use the same good A.I. as the rest of the game's characters, and will attempt to take cover, manuever, and flank as appropriate. They don't seem to use grenades, however. Despite their low health and lack of armor, they can still survive several shots from enemy weapons, which does allow them to survive the game's firefights with your help. Overall, while they can hold their own and not die instantly, they're not going to be killing many enemies, leaving you to do most of the actual work. ************* *New Enemies* ******************************************************************************* Shade: Appearance: Freaky manniquin-like ghoul that pops out of the floor. Health: 250 Armor: 0 Weapons Used: Claw attack (Damage 25, Armor Penetration: 0%) OVERVIEW: Shades begin to appear about halfway through the game, after the explosion of the Origin facility transitions Perseus Mandate from the paramilitary atmosphere of the original F.E.A.R. to the paranormal, post-apocalyptic environments of F.E.A.R.: Extraction Point. They represent a new additional to the various ghosts and ghoulies that Alma manifests to harm you. Shades lurk in the floor, and act more like a booby-trap rather than an enemy that fights against you. Still, they can give you quite a surprise if you're not expecting them, and can do decent harm to you if you let them. BEHAVIOR: Shades live inside shadowy black holes in the floor. These holes are often found inside pools of blood, and can be spotted by a heat-like distortion effect of the air above them. While the shadowy holes are relatively easy to notice once you know what to look for, they have the nasty trick of not opening up and appearing until you're only a few feet away from them, which can trick you into stepping on them if you're moving fast and not paying enough attention. If you step on their black shadow hole, the Shade will quickly erupt out of the ground, grab you, and actually drag you into the floor. The Shade will then proceed to rapidly claw at you, doing melee damage. While the Shade's individual hits don't do much damage, the Shade attacks VERY quickly, and can hit you several times in the space of a couple seconds. KILL STRATEGY: The best way to deal with Shades is to avoid them alltogether. Proceed carefully through areas you suspect that they're lurking (you can usually tell they're near if you spot lots of paranormal phenomena, or there are no enemy soldiers nearby.) When you see the Shade hole open up in the floor when you approach them, just step around them to avoid them. If you want, you can also shoot the Shade hole a few times to dissolve it. If a Shade does manage to grab you, immedietely swing your weapon down and fire away as fast as possible. Don't bother to aim, as the Shade's grab will automatically pull you just a couple feet away from it. If you blast away fast enough, you may be able to kill the Shade before it can even hurt you, and even if you're not fast enough you should be able to blast the Shade apart before it hits you more than once or twice. =============================================================================== ATC Riot Guard: Appearance: ATC enforcer wearing SWAT-style riot armor, including bulletproof armor vest and riot helmet with large opaque visor. Health: 140 Armor: 80 Weapons Used: Submachine Gun (Damage: 15, Armor Penetration: 30%) Combat Shotgun (Damage: 15 x 6, Armor Penetration: 30%) Assault Rifle (Damage: 20, Armor Penetration: 30%) Other Attacks: Rifle Butt (Damage: 35, Armor Penetration: 0%) Frag Grenades (Damage: 100, Armor Penetration: 25%) OVERVIEW: ATC Riot Guards are a new type of ATC security force that appears in Perseus Mandate. They are significantly tougher than the regular ATC security guards, and can even stand against and defeat Paxton Fettel's Replica soldiers. ATC Riot Guards have enhanced health and armor; in fact, they are more durable than any regular Replica soldier, and are only slightly less tough than the Replica Elite soldiers. An ATC Riot Guard can survive a direct hit from a frag grenade, or a shot from the Type-7 particle weapon. To counterbalance their increased durability, ATC Riot Guards are usually equipped with light weaponry. Almost all ATC Riot Guards are only armed with submachine guns, with a few carrying assault rifles or shotguns. You'll see a handful of ATC Riot Guards in the game's earlier levels, either leading regular ATC security guards into battle, or fighting against Replica soldiers. Almost all of the ATC Riot Guards in the game appear in the game's 8th level, "The Plaza Chase", where they serve as you main opponents in the level (since the Replica soldiers were deactivated by Paxton Fettel's death in the previous level). BEHAVIOR: ATC Riot Guards use the same A.I. behaviors as the game's other soldiers. They take cover, manuever around the level, flank, support each other with suppressing fire, and throw grenades to attack or flush you out of cover. Their effectiveness seems to be on par with that of Replica soldiers or Nightcrawler soldiers, so expect them to put up a fight. KILL STRATEGY: ATC Riot Guards can be killed using the same basic tactics you've developed throughout the series for fighting Replica soldiers, it just takes a couple more bullets to put them down than normal. Just don't expect to one-hit-kill them with a frag grenade or particle weapon shot. On the plus side, they pose significantly less of a threat than Nightcrawler soldiers due to their light weaponry. =============================================================================== Nightcrawler Soldier (Type 1): Appearance: Black Ops human mercenary wearing thick padded black and orange full body armor, and black mechanical facemask with glowing red eyes. Health: 140 Armor: 70 Weapons Used: Advanced Rifle (Damage: 22, Armor Penetration: 50%) Combat Shotgun (Damage: 15 x 6, Armor Penetration: 30%) Assault Rifle (Damage: 20, Armor Penetration: 30%) HV Penetrator (Damage: 25, Armor Penetration: 80%) Laser Carbine (Damage: 12, Armor Penetration: 40%) Other Attacks: Rifle Butt (Damage: 35, Armor Penetration: 0%) Frag Grenades (Damage: 100, Armor Penetration: 25%) OVERVIEW: The new enemy faction introduced in Perseus Mandate, Nightcrawlers are highly trained human mercenaries equipped with advanced weaponry. They are more durable and better equipped than Replica soldiers, making them more dangerous opponents. They also act and sound tougher and more professional than Replica soldiers, so don't expect some of the unintentionally goofy No One Lives Forever dialogue you got from the Replicas (e.g. "Flank him!" "No fucking way! I'm on FIIIRRRREEEEEE!!!!!!"). Nightcrawlers have more health and better armor than regular Replica soldiers; in fact, they are tough enough to (just barely) survive a direct hit from a frag grenade, or a shot from the Type-7 particle weapon. They are also typically equipped with VES advanced rifles, which do more damage, have better armor penetration, and are more accurate than the regular G2A2 assault rifles the Replicas generally use. Due to the advanced rifle's better armor penetration, the Nightcrawlers do twice as much direct damage to your health compared to Replica soldiers armed with G2A2 assault rifles. Nightcrawlers will be your primary opponents on several of the game's levels, and overall in Perseus Mandate you'll be fighting them much more frequently than you'll be fighting Replica soldiers or ATC forces. Although they are mostly equipped with VES advanced rifles, you'll find a few Nightcrawlers using shotguns to support their squad, a few are armed with regular G2A2 assault rifles instead of VES advanced rifles, a couple are equiped with HV penetrators, and a couple of them are even equipped with laser carbines. BEHAVIOR: Nightcrawlers use the same A.I. behaviors as the game's other enemy soldiers. They make intelligent use of cover, manuever around the level in an attempt to flank, surround, and circle around you, move in squads, support each other with suppressing fire, and throw grenades to flush you out of cover. Additionally, their advanced rifles make them more accurate and dangerous than Replica soldiers. KILL STRATEGY: While they can be taken down using the same basic tactics you've developed for fighting enemy soldiers throughout the F.E.A.R. series, the best thing to do while fighting Nightcrawlers is to use their own weaponry against them. The VES advanced rifle works well for mowing down Nightcrawlers, and you can zoom in with the scope to pick off enemies at long range. The enhanced stopping power of the advanced rifle compensates for the Nightcrawlers' increased durability. When fighting Nightcrawlers, intelligent use of cover is more important than ever, due to the increased accuracy and damage they benefit from due to their advanced rifles (which inflict more direct damage to your health compared to standard G2A2 assault rifles). BONUS MISSION NOTE: A squad of Nightcrawler soldiers serve as an "end boss" of sorts to the 1st Bonus Mission, "Clinic". These soldiers are equipped with proximity mines instead of the usual frag grenades, and two of them are even equipped with lightning guns. =============================================================================== Nightcrawler Soldier (Type 2): Appearance: Black Ops human mercenary wearing thick padded black and orange full body armor, wearing small white facemask with glowing red goggles, and backpack. Health: 150 Armor: 80 Weapons Used: Advanced Rifle (Damage: 22, Armor Penetration: 50%) Submachine Gun (Damage: 15, Armor Penetration: 30%) Combat Shotgun (Damage: 15 x 6, Armor Penetration: 30%) Assault Rifle (Damage: 20, Armor Penetration: 30%) HV Penetrator (Damage: 25, Armor Penetration: 80%) ASP rifle (Damage: 25, Armor Penetration: 60%) Laser Carbine (Damage: 12, Armor Penetration: 40%) Grenade Launcher (Damage: 40, Armor Penetration: 25%) MP-50 Repeating Cannon (Damage: 40 + 40, AP: 30% + 50%) Other Attacks: Rifle Butt (Damage: 35, Armor Penetration: 0%) Frag Grenades (Damage: 100, Armor Penetration: 25%) OVERVIEW: A slightly different type of Nightcrawler soldier appears towards the end of the game. This second type of Nightcrawler soldier first appears in Interval 06: Exploration, and they will be your primary opponents for the last 4 levels of the game. The new Nightcrawler soldiers can be distinguished by the fact they wear a white goggle apparatus instead of the black mechanical facemask/gasmask worn by the earlier Nightcrawlers, as well as the fact that they wear heavy equipment backpacks on their backs. The new Nightcrawlers have even more health and armor than the previous Nightcrawler soldiers, having just as much health and almost as much armor as a Replica Elite soldier. Like the previous Nightcrawler soldiers, they are also primarily equipped with VES advanced rifles. However, they also have access to heavier weaponry than the previous Nightcrawler soldiers; quite a few carry HV penetrators, 1 carries a grenade launcher, 2 are armed with laser carbines, and 3 are even equipped with MP-50 Repeating Cannons! BEHAVIOR: The second type of Nightcrawler behaves in the exact same manner as the first type. They use the same intelligent A.I. tactics as the game's other soldier enemies. KILL STRATEGY: The same tactics you used against the earlier Nightcrawler soldiers work just fine against the new types, although you'll have to watch out for the ones carrying heavier weaponry. =============================================================================== Nightcrawler Elite: Appearance: Enhanced Black Ops human mercenary with a crewcut and a cloth mask over mouth, wearing brown uniform, metal breastplate armor, and red goggles. Health: 500 Armor: 350 Weapons Used: Advanced Rifle (Damage: 22, Armor Penetration: 50%) Combat Shotgun (Damage: 15 x 6, Armor Penetration: 30%) Assault Rifle (Damage: 20, Armor Penetration: 30%) Laser Carbine (Damage: 12, Armor Penetration: 40%) Grenade Launcher (Damage: 40, Armor Penetration: 25%) Lightning Gun (Damage: 60, Armor Penetration: 40%) Other Attacks: Rifle Butt (Damage: 70, Armor Penetration: 0%) Frag Grenades (Damage: 100, Armor Penetration: 25%) OVERVIEW: The Nightcrawler Elites are probably the deadliest enemies in the entire F.E.A.R. series. These enhanced special forces units combine the intelligent infantry tactics of regular soldiers, the high durability of Heavy Armor soldiers, the agility of Assassins, and even the time-bending SloMo ability of the F.E.A.R. Pointman. Nightcrawler Elites are TOUGH; it takes more than a full clip of fire from most weapons to kill them. They're also fast and hard to hit, have a few special moves unique to them, and are often equipped with powerful heavy weapons. You'll face a total of 17 Nightcrawler Elites throughout Perseus Mandate. A few are encountered alone, but most Nightcrawler Elites fight you in pairs. On a few occasions towards the end of the game, you'll end up fighting up to 4 Nightcrawler Elites at the same time. Most Nightcrawler Elites (9 of them) are equipped with VES advanced rifles. 2 are equipped with shotguns, 2 with G2A2 assault rifles, 2 towards the end of the game are armed with grenade launchers, 1 is armed with a laser carbine, and 1 is armed with a lightning gun! BEHAVIOR: Nightcrawler Elites use the same intelligent infantry tactics as the game's other soldier opponents. They take cover, flank you, and move throughout the level attempting to outmanuever or circle around you. Like Assassins, Nightcrawler Elites also have superhuman agility, and can leap a couple dozen feet into the air to climb up on high platforms or overhead catwalks. Notably, Nightcrawler Elites also possess the special "SloMo" ablility that the F.E.A.R. Pointman and the F.E.A.R. Sergeant (the Perseus Mandate player character) have. They use this ability to "zoom" a dozen feet in a split-second in a blur of speed, allowing them to avoid your fire as well as to dodge sideways from incoming grenades or rockets. They can "zoom" sideways severals times in a row, allowing them to move at the same incredible speeds as Replica Assassins, thus making them hard to hit. Nightcrawler Elites also cannot be staggered by gunfire, so unlike normal enemy soldiers they won't be stunned when shot, and will continue to run around and fire back at you even as you blast them with your weapon. Being shot doesn't even interfere with their aim, unlike Heavy Armor soldiers who at least twitch and miss when shot. Nightcrawler Elites also have a special move where they jump onto a wall, cling to it Spiderman-style, toss 2 frag grenades at you, then jump back down again. Watch out whenever they do this, and try to take cover behind something to avoid the blast from the frag grenades. A few Nightcrawler Elites are also equipped with deployable turrets, which they throw just like grenades to lay down around the battlefield. The turrets will activate and shoot at you while you're busy battling the Elite. Finally, Nightcrawler Elites have enhanced melee attacks; their punches and kicks do twice as much damage as a normal enemy melee attack, so think twice before getting too close to them. KILL STRATEGY: Because of their high durability and enhanced speed, Nightcrawler Elites are very difficult to fight. While it is possible to beat them without using SloMo, doing so is rather difficult, and even if you win you'll probably use up several first aid kits in the process. SloMo is very important in neutralizing the Nightcrawler Elite's speed advantage, but even in SloMo mode you need to be quick and careful while fighting them. As with all other firefights, it's a good idea to lean around cover while firing to minimize the amount of your body that you expose to enemy fire. Because of their ability to use SloMo to zoom out of harm's way, grenades really don't work against Nightcrawler Elites. Try to stick to projectile bullet weapons. The most efficient automatic rifles to fight Nightcrawler Elites with are the HV penetrator or ASP rifle; it only takes about 18 penetrator shots or 17 ASP rifle shots (6 ASP 3-shot bursts) to bring down a Nightcrawler Elite, compared to about 29 VES advanced rifle shots or 39 G2A2 assault rifle shots. Their high speed means that some of your shots will miss, but keep firing and you should be able to bring them down. Nightcrawler Elites are resistant to your kick attacks, so you can't instantly kill them with a kick attack like you can with other enemy soldiers. They still take some damage from kick and melee attacks, however. You can kill a Nightcrawler with about 6 kick attacks or several melee hits. However, since they possess powerful melee attacks of their own, this isn't really an optimum strategy for fighting them. One interesting thing to note about Nightcrawler Elites is that, like other enemy soldiers, they take extra damage if they're not aware of your presence. So, if you manage to shoot a Nightcrawler Elite in the head before he notices you, it will be an instant kill. You'll rarely be able to sneak up on a Nightcrawler Elite, however, since they often rappel or drop into the area after you enter. The absolute BEST way to kill a Nightcrawler Elite is with the lightning gun. In fact, the lightning gun seems to exist as Perseus Mandate's anti-Elite weapon. A Nightcrawler Elite can be brought down with 2 headshots or 4 torso shots from the lightning gun. Best of all, the lightning gun arcs towards enemies, so you don't have to point it directly at the Nightcrawler Elite to hit them (which helps compensate for the Nightcrawler Elite's high speed). Just point the lightning gun about a foot above the Nightcrawler Elite's head, and blast it twice. The lightning should arc downward and strike the Nightcrawler Elite in the face, killing it with 2 headshots. =============================================================================== Nightcrawler Commander: Appearance: Albino human mercenary leader, with white hair, cloth mask over mouth, wearing brown uniform, metal breastplate armor, and red goggles. Health: Phase 1: 650 Phase 2: 1500 Armor: Phase 1: 350 Phase 2: 1500 Weapons Used: HV Penetrator (Damage: 25, Armor Penetration: 80%) MP-50 Repeating Cannon (Damage: 40 + 40, AP: 30% + 50%) Other Attacks: Rifle Butt (Damage: 100, Armor Penetration: 0%) Frag Grenades (Damage: 100, Armor Penetration: 25%) OVERVIEW: The Nightcrawler Commander represents the first and only "final boss fight" in the entire F.E.A.R. series of games. Fittingly, he's probably the toughest character in the entire F.E.A.R. series, with all the power and speed of a Nightcrawler Elite, plus a couple tricks of his own. He's supposed to be the equal of the F.E.A.R. Pointman, and even the Replica soldiers seem to consider him the same threat level as your own character. The Nightcrawler Commander actually appears in several of the game's cutscenes, alongside Gavin Morrison or leading Nightcrawler forces. He can be distinguished from the other Nightcrawler Elites by his white hair and albino skin (he kind of looks bald if you don't look closely, but that's just because of the lack of contrast between his hair and skin). BEHAVIOR: The Nightcrawler Commander uses the same moves and tactics as a Nightcrawler Elite, and generally behaves in the same manner. He also has an extremely powerful melee attack, which can kill you in just 2 or 3 hits. The Nightcrawler Commander fights you in two different phases, and also summons several Nightcrawler soldiers to battle you as well. The different phases of the battle proceed as follows: First, the Commander will send 3 Nightcrawler soldiers to attack you. 2 of these Nightcrawlers are equipped with VES advanced rifles, and one carries a laser carbine. Secondly, the Commander will drop down to battle you himself. He's equipped with an HV penetrator, and has slightly more health than a regular Nightcrawler Elite. When defeated, instead of dying, the Commander will instead activate a cloaking device, turn invisible, and escape up into the catwalks above. Thirdly, the Commander will send 2 Nightcrawler soldiers and a Nightcrawler Elite to fight you. All 3 are equipped with VES advanced rifles. Finally, the Commander drops down to fight you one last time in the final showdown. He has an incredible amount of durability (1500 health + 1500 armor), and packs a MP-50 repeating cannon!! The repeating cannon packs a heavy punch and can shred you in just a few hits, so it's a good idea to use the low crates in the room as cover to avoid the cannon fire (the Commander should aim for your torso and end up shooting the crates instead, while you peak over the top of the crate and unload your weapon into the Commander). KILL STRATEGY: The Commander fights just like a Nightcrawler Elite, so the same strategies that you've been using against the Elites should work against the Commander as well. Just be aware that he's tougher than a standard Nightcrawler Elite, especially in the second phase of the battle. Also, his armor-piercing HV penetrator and powerful MP-50 repeating cannon are a fair bit deadlier than the weapons most Nightcrawler Elites carry, so keep that in mind. Remember, in the second phase of the battle, it's a good idea to use the low crates as cover to absorb his repeating cannon shots. Armor, health, and weapon pickups are scattered throughout the large loading bay arena you fight the Commander in, so be sure to grab whatever you need if you start to run low during the fight. As with the Nightcrawler Elites, the absolute best way to defeat the Nightcrawler Commander is with headshots from the lightning gun. Aim a foot above his head, and the lightning should arc down and strike him in the face. The Commander can take more shots than a regular Nightcrawler Elite can, but can still be brought down quickly. There's a "safe spot" that you can kill the Commander from very quickly, while being protected from the majority of his gunfire. Just hide behind the low crate in the Northwest corner of the room, just underneath the catwalk from where the Commander jumps down to fight you. This area allows you to blast the Commander as soon as he drops down; if you use the lightning gun, you can kill him in just a few seconds. Here's a crude sketch to illustrate the point: ------------------------ | ! - hide here | | O - box | |======================| catwalk | X - Boss lands here | | | | | | | |======================| | | | | ----------------- ----- | | | | | | Entrance ********************************************* *OLD ENEMIES THAT REAPPEAR IN THE EXPANSION:* ******************************************************************************* Replica Soldiers: Your old buddies the Replica Soldiers reappear in Perseus Mandate, but they are no longer the primary opponents you will be facing (that honor having been transferred to the new Nightcrawler enemies). Still, you'll fight Replicas in several of the game's levels. In the first 3 levels of the game, your opponents will be weaker Recon Replicas armed mostly with submachine guns, and the occasional G2A2 assault rifle. In the game's 6th level, "Pacification", you'll fight Desert Replicas armed with G2A2 assault rifles (alongside a few Replica Elite and Laser Elite soldiers.) Desert Replicas will also attack you in the game's 11th level, "Relic", after they reactivate due to Paxton Fettel's resurrection. BONUS MISSION NOTE: In the Bonus Missions, you'll face a greater variety of Replica foes, including Fatigues, Urban, and Tactical Replicas. Bonus Mission Replicas are armed with a wider array of weapons (some carry shotguns or HV penetrators, for example), and one Desert Replica in Bonus Mission 2: Arena is even equipped with a lightning gun. Also, Replicas in the Bonus Missions are sometimes equipped with VES advanced rifles, which only the Nightcrawler soldiers carry in the main campaign. =============================================================================== Replica Elite Soldiers: Replica Elite soldiers also return to battle you in Perseus Mandate. As in the previous two games, they have significantly more health and armor than standard Replica soldiers, making them tougher to take down. However, since many of the new enemy soldiers introduced in Perseus Mandate are also tougher than normal, Replica Elites are comparatively less unique than they were in the earlier games. All Replica Elite soldiers in Perseus Mandate are equipped with G2A2 assault rifles. A few Replica Elites appear in the 6th level, "Pacification", fighting alongside the Desert and Laser Elite Replicas. Towards the end of the game's final level, "Showdown", Fettel will send a few dozen Replica Elite soldiers at you in a last-ditch attempt to prevent you and the Nightcrawler Commander from escaping the secret ATC Cloning Facility. BONUS MISSION NOTE: Replica Elite soldiers also fight you in the game's Bonus Missions. Several are even equipped with VES advanced rifles. A Replica Elite armed with a Type-7 Particle Weapon even appears as part of the 3rd wave of enemies in Bonus Mission 2: Arena. A Replica Elite armed with a grenade launcher also appears will a few other Replica Elites towards the end of Bonus Mission 1: Clinic. =============================================================================== Replica Laser Elite Soldiers: As in Extraction Point, the Replica Laser Elite soldiers are the toughest, most heavily armored regular enemy soldiers you'll face in the game, with even heavier armor than the Replica Elites. However, they're actually rather rare in the game. Replica Laser Elite soldiers are mostly found in the game's 6th level, "Pacification", where you'll fight a few of them. In Perseus Mandate, Laser Elite are equipped exclusively with G2A2 assault rifles, with none of them carrying the laser carbines they're famous for. BONUS MISSION NOTE: A few Laser Elites equipped with actual laser carbines appear in the game's Bonus Missions (one appears in Clinic, one in Arena, and a pair of them appear as the final opponents you face at the very end of Sprint) A couple Laser Elites armed with VES advanced rifles also appear in Arena. =============================================================================== Replica Heavy Armor Soldiers: You also face 11 Replica Heavy Armor soldiers in Perseus Mandate. Unlike previous F.E.A.R. titles, where you generally fought one Heavy Armor at a time (although often supported by a squad of regular Replicas), in Perseus Mandate you'll sometimes find yourself fighting several Heavy Armors at once. Fortunately, most Heavy Armor encounters are reserved until the game's later levels. A Heavy Armor armed with a grenade launcher attacks you in the sewers of the game's 2nd level, "Underneath". 3 Heavy Armors will attack you at once in a major battle inside a trainyard near the beginning of the 11th level, "Relic" (two are equipped with HV penetrators, and one carries a powerful lightning gun! The Heavy with the lightning gun does heavy damage and has nearly perfect aim due to the lightning gun's autoaim ability, which means you should hide from him and kill him as quickly as possible). 2 seperate Heavy Armors with HV penetrators will also attack you at seperate locations later in "Relic", each supporting a Replica soldier squad. Finally, in the finale of the last level, "Showdown", you'll face 2 Heavy Armors equipped with G2A2 assault rifles, and a final 3 Heavy Armors equipped with HV penetrators during your last escape. BONUS MISSION NOTE: A Heavy Armor equipped with an HV penetrator appears at the beginning of Bonus Mission 1: Clinic, and one equipped with a grenade launcher appears as part of the 2nd wave of enemies in Bonus Mission 2: Arena. =============================================================================== Replica Heavy Minigunner Soldiers: The deadly Heavy Minigunners from Extraction Point make an encore appearance in Perseus Mandate, but fortunately they're extremely rare. Only 3 appear throughout the entire game. A Heavy Minigunner armed with a grenade launcher appears toward the middle of the 6th level, "Pacification". Two seperate Heavy Minigunners also appear towards the end of the final level, "Showdown". One is encountered fighting Nightcrawler soldiers just before the final showdown against the Nightcrawler Commander, and Captain Raynes helps you fight one immedietely afterwards during your last escape. The Heavy Minigunner with the grenade launcher is best sniped at from a distance while taking cover behind the low plant platforms in the courtyard where you fight him. Hopefully, his grenades will bounce off your cover instead of hitting you and exploding. BONUS MISSION NOTE: A Heavy Minigunner appears as part of the 5th wave of enemies in Bonus Mission 2: Arena, and a Heavy Minigunner also appears towards the end of Bonus Mission 3: Sprint. =============================================================================== Assassins: The always cool Replica Assassins attack you at two seperate occasions in Perseus Mandate. Each attack consists of 3 Assassins working together, for a total of 6 Assassins throughout the entire game. 3 Assassins attack you in a large two-story room inside the power plant towards the end of the first level; however, you'll have your 2 F.E.A.R. teammates to help you out, making it an even fight. 3 Assassins also attack you at the very end of the 13th level, Labyrinth, in a large open construction yard. Both Assassin fights in Perseus Mandate take place in large, open areas that are well-lit, which somewhat cancels out the surprise advantage the Assassins had in the previous 2 games. If you can spot the faint shimmer of the Assassins' cloaking devices (made easier by SloMo and the well-lit environments) you can actually blow them away before they're able to reach you and attack. =============================================================================== R.E.V.6 Power Armors: 3 enemy Power Armor suits appear in Perseus Mandate. The first R.E.V.6 Power Armor can be found towards the end of the 6th level, "Pacification", in a medium-sized outdoor courtyard where it is fighting against a pair of ATC security guards. The best way to beat the Power Armor is to blast it from the entrance to the courtyard, and to dodge back inside when it returns fire at you. Repeat this until the Power Armor explodes. While you are NOT provided a rocket launcher or other heavy weapon to fight the Power Armor with, you can pick up a HV penetrator shortly before the Power Armor fight, which actually works relatively well against the large foe. You could also try to avoid the fight altogether and run around the Power Armor while it's busy fighting the ATC security guards. Towards the end of the game's 11th level, "Relic", a pair of Power Armor units will appear and fight you in a large railcar yard. This is the first time in the F.E.A.R. series that you've been pitted against 2 Power Armors at the same time. The railyard is a large open area with several wooden crates in the center that can be used as cover, but the Power Armor units can actually smash through these objects to remove them and get a clear shot at you. The two Power Armor units will also split up and flank you to bombard you with missiles from two different directions. Again, you are not provided with rocket launchers or other heavy weapons to fight the Power Armors with, but you are given several HV penetrators just before the Power Armor fight. Fortunately, the door you entered the yard from remains open, and is too small for the Power Armors to fit through, so you can actually just retreat behind the door and blast at the Power Armors from the safe cover inside the building. Alternatively, you don't need to fight the Power Armors at all; just run straight for the exit door and walk through it. BONUS MISSION NOTE: A R.E.V.6. Power Armor appears at the start of the 4th wave of enemies in Bonus Mission 2: Arena. Fortunately, you fight it alone, instead of alongside enemy Replica soldiers. =============================================================================== R.E.V.8 Leviathan Mech Walkers: One R.E.V.8 Leviathan will attack you in a major action sequence at the beginning of the game's 7th level, "Bio-Research". The Leviathan will basically chase you throughout the ATC research labs, dropping through the ceiling and smashing through walls to get at you. You basically need to keep running from the Leviathan until you come to a series of four lab rooms, where you can pick up a few rocket launchers. Grab the rocket launchers, and use them to bring down the Leviathan. You should retreat in circles from the Leviathan, letting it chase you from room to room; blast it whenever it comes into view, that retreat behind cover into the next room before it can return fire. Repeat this simple pattern, and the Leviathan will eventually explode. Unlike the R.E.V.6 power armors, the Leviathan MUST be destroyed in order for you to proceed further, as the door to the next area remains locked until you kill it. If you have a heavy weapon such as the laser carbine, it is possible to destroy the Leviathan at the very beginning of the level when it first appears. However, this will only result in ANOTHER Leviathan spawning at the start point and coming after you. Destroy THAT Leviathan, and ANOTHER will spawn and come after you. This is apparently the designer's way of telling you not to destroy the big boss until they actually want you to. BONUS MISSION NOTE: A R.E.V.8. Leviathan appears as the "final boss" battle of Bonus Mission 2: Arena. It takes a LOT of punishment to destroy, and there are no rocket launchers in the mission handy to help you do it, but since it is the final enemy of the mission, you can use up all your regular ammo (including any remaining guns on the floor from fallen enemies) to gradually bring it down. =============================================================================== ATC Security Guards: A couple dozen ATC security guards appear in the game's early levels, namely the 3rd level, "Firefight", and the 6th level, "Pacification", defending ATC facilities from the Replica soldier invasion. These security goons will also be hostile to you as well, and will shoot at you on sight. ATC security guards are lightly armored, and equipped only with submachine guns, making them fairly easy opponents to take down. =============================================================================== Automated Turrets: You'll fight two ceiling-mounted automated turrets towards the end of the game's 7th level, "Bio-Research", while chasing after villain Gavin Morrison. There's 1 turret in each of the 2 server rooms where you fought the Nightcrawler Elites, and Morrison will activate them to slow you down while you chase after him. The turrets can be taken out by leaning around a corner and blasting them from cover while using SloMo to reduce the amount of times they can shoot you before they blow up. =============================================================================== Deployable Turrets: As in Extraction Point, a few of these small deployable turret pods will be deployed against you by your enemies. A few appear in fixed positions in the levels. Also, some Nightcrawler Elites can throw deployable turrets onto the walls and ceilings to harrass you further while they fight you. While deployable turrets are relatively easy to destroy, their small size can make hitting them slightly difficult. =============================================================================== Nightmares: Paxton Fettel will send several of Alma's fast-moving, ghost-like, kamikaze attack Nightmares to destroy you on a few occasions during the last few levels of the game. Nightmares usually appear during nightmare sequences when Fettel uses his psychic powers to speak with and threaten you. They can be destroyed with only one or two shots, but it helps to use SloMo to slow them down since they move so quickly towards you. =============================================================================== Shadow Creatures: The fast, melee-attacking Shadow Creatures will be your primary opponents for a couple of the game's middle levels, "Buried" and "The Deep", in the time period between the Origin explosion, and the resurrection of Paxton Fettel and the Replica army. You'll face more of them, more frequently, than you did in Extraction Point. They usually attack in groups of 2 or 3 or 4, and you'll fight a total of 22 of them in those two levels. You'll also see a few Shadow Creatures fighting Nightcrawler soldiers in the final level, "Showdown", but fortunately won't actually have to interact with them yourself. =============================================================================== Armacham UAV Flying Drones: While no UAV Drones appear in the main single-player campaign, several will attack you towards the end of Bonus Mission 3: Sprint. It's best to mow them down from around a corner at the end of a long hallway, before they can fly too close to you. END OF TEXT Copyright 2006 Alan Chan