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GLOC's (obviously) Unofficial Guides to Infantry

As the name implies, I'm posting my old guides for Infantry. Although the game has gone p2p months ago, I just can't let go of it...Infantry runs in my veins. Heh.
 - GLOC

Infantry Guide and Manual:

I. Introduction

For those of you who don’t already play Infantry®, it is an online-based multiplayer game in which players work in large teams to accomplish some objective or other. As the name implies, it requires shooting skills, but extensive teamwork as well in order to win; no one-man armies here. In other words, if your team sucks, you lose, period. However, teamwork does not always only consist of mobbing your enemies, since the teams are balanced in size as much as possible. It will actually require people to play according to the roles of their character classes as well as using some smart tactics to outwit their opponents. The game is played from a third person, bird’s-eye view, and the system requirements are low, meaning nearly anyone with a computer can play.

Now, for those of you who have played Infantry® before, as well as those who haven’t, this an unofficial (as the title implies) guide and manual for the game. Hopefully it will help to better your gaming experience. However, I must tell you now that I have very limited experience in some of the game types, therefore advice and strategies on those game types will be very limited as well in this release of the manual. Please keep in mind that I am not yet a “vet” and am still learning myself…so be patient with whatever shortcomings you see in this document.

II. Getting Started

It’s very simple to get yourself started playing Infantry®, that is, if you have a computer and have access to the Internet. Just go to http://www.station.sony.com/infantry, and look on the left hand side of your browser window. There you should see the words “Play Game”. Simply click on that, scroll towards the bottom of the page that loads up, and follow the very clear and concise instructions that follow on how to sign up on The Station®, and how to download the game.

Once you have completed these steps, you are ready to start blasting away. Just open up the StationClient and log on to The Station®, the click on the Infantry® button. Once the Infantry® window opens up, type in an alias for yourself, which is the name you will be known by in the game, and pick a zone in which to begin playing. If you wish to view all zones, not only the beginner zones, go to the “View” menu on the game window and click on “Show all zones”.

When playing Infantry® for the first time, there will be a relatively large download of about 20  megabytes of core game files to your computer. This is only for the first time playing, and after that, you will only have to download small updates and zone-specific game files, which will mostly be a few hundred kilobytes each and a few megs at the most. 

If you are a beginner, I suggest you start with a beginner zone such as Skirmish, Skirmish [Mechanized], Skirmish [Trench], or No Man’s Land. As you become a more advanced player, feel free to move on to Ambush, and the epitome of what Infantry® is meant to be, CTF (Capture The Flag), either the Heinrich’s Pt. map, the Twin Peaks map, or Callisto’s Crossfire, the map in CTF [Extreme]. CTF [Heinrich’s Pt.] is my personal favorite, with three separate teams vying for the flags, whereas CTF [Twin Peaks] has the traditional two team competition. CTF [Extreme] is different from the previous two in that is has much larger games (potentially over 100 players) and private teams can be created by players; in addition, more character classes and weapons than CTF [Twin Peaks] and CTF [Heinrich’s Pt.].

In some zones, specifically the intermediate and expert zones, there will be different character classes available for you to choose from. When in spectator mode, press [F11] to access the class selection screen, and choose a class, then press [F12] to spawn in the game. In CTF, however, it costs $5000 to change your character class, so I strongly recommend you choose a class only once and have a different alias for each class you have, unless you have played for a long time and have oodles of cash.

The basic game screen is divided into three main sections: the game area, where you play the game, the chat box, where you can chat with other players and look at weapon and equipment info, and the player list/inventory/ mini-map area. Stuff on communication is addressed below, and selecting players on the player list and items in the inventory can be done with the mouse or with whatever keyboard key you have it set for. The size of the chat box and player /inventory box by clicking and dragging on the edge of those areas. On the player list, you can right click on the name of a player and several options will pop up from private messaging that particular player to spectating him, if you are in spectator mode. You can set which keys you want for which weapons in the inventory box. Simply right-click and hold on the weapon or accessory you wish to set a key for, and on the list that pops up select a weapon number. There is a key that corresponds to each weapon number that can be set in “View” menu under “Keyboard configuration” in the zone/alias screen. On the chat box, there is a chat/info button that can be clicked to switch from chat mode to info mode. The info mode is used to look at information on a vehicle, a weapon, armor, and other various pieces of equipment. It is very useful, especially in CTF, for comparing weapons and armor as well as miscellaneous accessories with one another before you buy one. To toggle the chat box between whatever size you have it at and nearly full-screen, press [F4]. To switch the game area from the game to map mode, press [F3] and press it again to return to the game. Note that you can still move when in map mode.

III. Basic Concepts of Gameplay

A. Aiming

First off, you must familiarize yourself with the reticule system used in Infantry®. While the term “reticule system” may lead you to thinking that it is complicated, it is quite the opposite. Your “reticule” consists of two parts: a small circular ring “suspended” in the air and a small triangle on the ground. The triangle is your heading indicator, which basically points in the direction in which you are walking, flying, driving, et cetera. The “circular ring” is the reticule itself, and it indicates where your shots will go if you fire. Notice that they are slightly different, since that will count for the difference between a miss and a hit when sniping (yes, there is sniping in Infantry®). In addition to just being able to put your crosshairs on you target, you must learn to track, especially when shooting from about a screen or so away, and especially so when sniping. There are no instant-hit weapons in Infantry®, so you have to get used to putting a little lead into your aim when shooting; don’t worry, you’ll adjust to it pretty quickly.

B. Strafing

Once you can aim, you must learn to strafe. I cannot stress the importance of this enough. Whether you or your opponent takes shots and dies, especially in a one on one situation, will depend on your ability to strafe, although I must point out that strafing will do absolutely nothing if you cannot aim and hit your target while strafing. Now, the problem with strafing and aiming at the same time is that the default keyboard setup does not allow for it. I strongly suggest you go to the “View” menu in the Infantry® window (before you enter any zones) and click on “Keyboard configuration”. There you can set up your keys however you like. Just make sure none of the keys conflict with each other. When strafing, don’t just go in a circle around your target and shoot at them, simply because this will only work if they are standing still. Another thing is that if you keep strafing in one direction, your enemy will (if they are experienced enough) track you movement and shoot you to the ground – very quickly. The way to remedy this is to anticipate his shots and where he will aim, then strafe in the opposite direction. Like leading your shots, you will get used to it with some practice and time.  

C. Teamwork

Now, once you have your individual skills mastered, you have to learn to work with your team. Teamwork, in zones such as the various Skirmish zones and CTF zones, is necessary for victory, especially in a large game. There will be very few, if no victories won for the team by one or two people, unless, the game is small enough that the team consists of a few people – although in that situation teamwork is even more important since what everyone does will count for much more.

In any of the Skirmish zones, if you are a squad leader, do your team a favor and summon whoever asks you to, unless it gets unbearable. If you summon teammates to the front lines, you have a much greater chance of capturing the objective, as well as holding it. If you happen to be a medic, remember to heal your teammates, especially in the heat of battle. If you are any of the other classes, and your SL is too busy to respond to your summon requests, move your butt across the map yourself! It’s disgraceful when half the team stands around doing nothing, whining for a summon.

In CTF, the squad leader basically has the same function as the squad leader in Skirmish (notice the same name), and once again, do your team a favor and summon people to the battlefield, or home when the need arises to defend your flags. In the case of a medic, you can also summon teammates, with the purchase of the teleport summoner, but once again, remember to heal people. Trust me, it makes a huge difference. As for other classes, attach (use suit teleport) to your teammates when they ask for help in attacking the enemy base or defending your home base. If you are on a vehicle and can’t attach, either get off the vehicle or use it to get to their location. And if you don’t know where the enemy is, ask! Remember, there is much monetary gain you can get from helping your team wins.

D. Communications

Of course, it is absolutely impossible to have any coherent teamwork when there is no communication between teammates. Basically, to talk to other players in general, you would type whatever you want, then hit [Enter] to send the message, unless you set the option to type [Enter] before you can chat. However, that is just general chatting, and not very useful if you disclose the location of your base to other teams. For team chat, simply type “//” then type your message, then hit [Enter], i.e. //home is under attack, attach to defend! For private messages, select the player with which you wish to talk from the player list on the right of the screen, then type “/” and then add your statement, then hit [Enter], i.e. /duel u at f5, k?

Beyond the three basic types of communication, there are also macros that you can program for quick communication. They are very simple to set up, and useful when in a heated battle. Just type in your message, including the “//” or “/” if you need it, then press [Shift]+[F1-F12] to store the macro. A message will appear in the chat box saying that the macro has been saved. Simply press the corresponding [Shift]+[F1-F12] again to send that macro. A convenient macro, for example, would be //AT ENEMY!! ATTACH TO TAKE FLAGS!! As you can see, it is basically a chat statement, but you can store up to twelve of them for quick recall. You can also incorporate bongs (sounds) and other % commands to your macros to get your teammates’ attention more easily and to address people that you may have just killed or have just killed you. A bong list can be found under the Help section of the Main Menu, under Zone News. A list of the commands can be found also under Help, in Gambit’s Command Listing. The command is list is extensive, with descriptions of each command, and because of its length, I am not including it. Although the bong list is short, it’s easy to find, so I’m not putting it in either.

Besides macros and basic chatting, there are also chat channels that you can set so you can talk privately with a group of friends or your private squad. To set a channel, type in ?chat <channel name>:<password> and hit [Enter] to enter the chat channel. <channel name> is the name of the chat channel, and <password> is the password that you or whoever created the channel set to enter that particular chat channel.

IV. Game Zones

A. Team Deathmatch

This is a zone that I consider a beginner zone with a very simple objective: for your team to get the most kills. It is a timed game and whichever team has the highest kill count at the end wins. In this zone there are no classes, and everyone has the same weapons, unless you pick some up, keeping it very simple. I would suggest that our team work in large groups, since it is much easier to kill when roving about in a large party than by yourself

B. Skirmish, Skirmish League, Skirmish [Mechanized], Skirmish [Trench]

These are considered to be intermediate zones, where there are different character classes, and actual objectives other than constantly killing the other team. The goal involves finding and capturing flags that are placed at some place or other on the map.

In Skirmish, there are six flags placed in certain locations on the map (I won’t say where; you’ll just have to find them yourself) and your team has to capture these flags and hold them for a certain length of time in order to win. The last time I played you have to hold the objectives for 20 seconds to win. This zone has a limited number of vehicles, and they are the Exosuit, which is a mech-like vehicle, and the APC, or armored personnel carrier.

I haven’t played Skirmish League at all, but I suspect that it is similar to the GravBall League in that only members can play. It is probably based on the basic Skirmish of capturing and holding objectives to win.

Skirmish [Mechanized] is very similar to Skirmish, except that it has a larger variety of vehicles, as well as a larger number of them. The Exosuits are still in the game, and in addition there are Slicks, which are basically APCs with machine gun turrets, MRLs, which are, like Slicks, APCs, but with missile turrets, and Salamander GravTanks, which are as the name implies, tanks. In here as well as in Skirmish, there are flags that a team has to capture and hold in order to win. However, there are only three flags that appear on the map for sure, with a fifty-percent chance that three others will appear. Once again, the objectives must be held for 20 seconds for a victory. In Skirmish [Mechanized], the squad leader is known as the Sergeant, but he has the same function as a squad leader, except that he can teleport to teammates (what players call “attaching”).

Skirmish [Trench] is similar to above Skirmish games, in that there are character classes available to choose from, but there are no flags per se. The objective is to capture the other team’s “bunker” which is marked by a flag, while holding on to their team “bunker,” also marked by a flag. It is also unlike Skirmish and Skirmish [Mechanized] in that there are no vehicles. Like the other Skirmish zones, the enemy bunker as well as your own must be held for a certain length of time for you team to win, and I suspect that it is 20 seconds, like the other Skirmish zones.

C. Ambush

This is a beginner CTF zone, made for familiarizing players with the concept of using flying vehicles as well as having movable flags. Since I haven’t really played this game type much, I don’t have much to say, except that you must be able to track well and manipulate your vehicle well in order to get kills, since player movement speed is much higher than when walking, because everyone is on a vehicle of some type. Here, like in Team Deathmatch, there are no character classes, and the only difference between players is their skill, of course, and the vehicles on which they are flying.

D. No Man’s Land

This is pretty much a combination of Team Deathmatch and Skirmish [Trench]. The goal is for each team to get the highest number of kills when the timer runs down to zero, and like in Skirmish [Trench], there are character classes available.  The map for No Man’s Land and for Skirmish [Trench] are the same. The differences here are that you have a limited number of lives (the last time I played, it was three) and that there are no flags. This is to keep people from going outrageously foolish rampages – unless they’re good enough to stay alive.

E. GravBall DvS and GravBall League

These are two zones in which a soccer-like game is played. I have hardly played GravBall at all, so I really don’t have any information on it, except that GravBall League is for those in the GravBall League; if you are not a member, you can only watch the game in spectator mode. In GravBall, your are on vehicles, with weapons, of course, and the goal is to get the “soccer ball” and score goals for your team. Here the concept of suit energy is introduced to players, and will be much more important later on in CTF.

F. CTF [Heinrich’s Pt.], CTF [Twin Peaks], and CTF [Extreme]

These three zones are expert zones for experienced Infantry® players, although newbies can start here and work from the ground up. As the name indicates, the objective of the game is to capture and hold flags for 90 seconds in order to win. Here, there is a monetary reward for the winning team, as well as cash for getting kills. The winner’s prize is based on the number of kills your team gets; therefore, help your team and yourself out and go wage war on the enemy, instead of sitting in the dropship, as I have witnessed many people do. In CTF, the flags can be moved to a team’s base, unlike in the Skirmish zones, and once again, teamwork is of utmost importance to victory. However, once a flag has been dropped by your team, it cannot be moved unless  the enemy picks it up and they are killed by either you, a teammate, or a turret. The flag can only be carried for 90 seconds, so once you pick up a flag, you have to find a home quickly or look for a place to hide the flag. Also, as in the Skirmish zones, there are character classes available, although they are somewhat different from those in Skirmish. In addition, players can “attach” to their teammates in CTF using their suit teleports, allowing teams to work together more easily than in Skirmish.

A major difference between the two (Skirmish and CTF) is the presence of money. Here you can buy weapons, armor, vehicle kits, and miscellaneous accessories for you character. As I have already mentioned, you can earn money from your team’s wins or by killing players on the other team. However, I would suggest you help your team win, since the cash prizes are usually around 10,000 credits in an average-sized game, which goes a pretty long way in purchasing items, except for the more expensive ones. You can press [F10] to go to the store menu and look at the various weapons, armor, and miscellaneous equipment you can purchase. However, buying can only be done either in spectator mode or in the dropship.

CTF [Twin Peaks] is a traditional CTF zone with two teams battling it out over four flags, and CTF [Heinrich’s Pt.], my personal favorite, has three separate teams competing for five flags. This makes for some very interesting situations and very hairy base defending and attacking, especially with three different teams running amuck in the same building. CTF [Extreme] is exactly what it sounds like: a zone for the elite Infantry® players. Here, the map is huge and there are four or five public teams and a potentially innumerable amount of private teams vying for four flags. The map the server is running is Callisto’s Crossfire, a huge map evidently designed for CTF [Extreme]’s large games. Personally, I find that map a little too big for my tastes, and will stick to Heinrich’s Point. However, Callisto’s Crossfire is a potential sniper’s heaven, since there are large expanses in which an infiltrator or jump trooper can hide…Another difference between CTF [Twin Peaks] and [Heinrich’s Pt.] and CTF [Extreme] is that in Extreme, there are more character classes as well as weapons. 

V. Character Classes

A. Skirmish Zones

Marine: He is the basic fighting class in the Skirmish zones, and is armed with an assault rifle, grenades, a shotgun, and LAWs (light anti-tank weapons), as well as a combat knife. The upside is that he can strafe while shooting, except when firing the LAW. He is one of my favorite classes because he can pilot any of the vehicles in Skirmish, and can pick up and use the Incinerator (flamethrower). On the other hand, his only anti-tank weapons are his three hand grenades and two LAWs.

Medic: He is, obviously, responsible for keeping his team alive in the heat of battle. However, he is only armed with a PDW (which is a submachine gun), hand grenades, and a combat knife, making him a prime and easy target. The major advantage of being a medic, of course, is the ability to heal, both your teammates, and very importantly, yourself.

Squad Leader: He is the team’s leader, summoning them to battle or back home to defend the team’s flags. In Skirmish [Mechanized], he is known as a Sergeant, and is able to teleport (what players call “attaching”) to scouts when they locate the enemy, for the purpose of transporting more teammates to the front line. His downside is that he only carries an automatic pistol, hand grenades, and of course, a combat knife.

Ripper Gunner: He is the heavy gunner on a Skirmish team, with his Ripper gun’s explosive rounds chewing into enemy tanks and APCs. He is also armed with a shotgun, so he can run while shooting, unlike when he is using the Ripper gun. Like other classes, he can use hand grenades and also has a combat knife. Like the marine, he also carries two LAWs.

Grenadier: He provides heavy close-up, front line fire support for his team with his 40 mm grenade launcher lobbing explosive shells into the fray. He is also armed with a shotgun, hand grenades, and a combat knife. He cannot carry an Incinerator or LAWs, but his grenades can make up for that.

Sniper: He is the background support for his team, standing in the back with a sniper rifle. He is at a major disadvantage when compared to other classes, since his only other weapons are an automatic pistol and combat knife. He cannot fight against vehicles, for he cannot carry grenades.

B. CTF Zones

Infantry: he is the mainstay warrior for his team, with very good armor available to him as well as excellent array of weapons. I will not go into the weapons, armor, and other items at this time, since there are too many to bring up. The infantryman is capable of staying alive for an appreciable amount of time while under fire due to his armor (that is, if you buy armor).

Jump Trooper: He is a light infantryman who is able to fly most of the various flying vehicles available in CTF. He has at his disposal relatively good armor and is capable of using most assault rifles and rifles, as well as the grenade launcher, and is also an excellent class in which to scout and steal flags.

Heavy Weapons: As his class name implies, he provides heavy fire support when either defending his team’s home base or attacking the enemy. He has most heavy fire support weapons as well as machine guns and cannons available to him, as well as average armor.

Medic: He serves basically the same function as he does in the Skirmish zones: to keep friendly units alive so they can eradicate the enemy. In CTF, however, the medic has an extra ability, even though he has to buy equipment for it. It is his summoning ability, virtually making the commander obsolete. With the purchase of a teleport summoner, the medic can both heal and summon troops to either the front lines or back to home base.

Engineer: He is an essential member of any successful team, although playing as the engineer may be boring, since you will not get many kills. The engineer constructs turrets in a team’s home base to defend against enemy attacks. On the other hand, he can also be used offensively, setting up turrets in an enemy base when his team attacks. To build turrets, however, he needs to build the kits for the turrets, as well as “mine” titanium oxide with which to build turrets. If you are lazy and your team is nice, they can be asked to mine for you.

Infiltrator: Known among players as “commies,” the infiltrator is useful as a sniper as well as a flagger (one who gets flags), since he can cloak. Not only that, but the infiltrator’s run speed is very high in comparison with the other character classes, and he can move be used for scouting purposes in addition to flagging and sniping.

Squad Leader: He serves the same function as the sergeant does in Skirmish: to attach to teammates at a battle and summon others to the front lines, or back home to defend the flags. While he comes with a teleport summoner and doesn’t have to purchase one, I personally prefer the medic, who has the ability to heal as well as summon.

I’m not going to list the new classes available in CTF [Extreme] because it is a relatively new zone, and I haven’t played it enough to really know all their functions and uses. However, all the other CTF character classes are available in CTF [Extreme] and the have pretty much the same uses.

VI. Strategies

As I have already mentioned, teamwork is of utmost importance to winning a game in any zone in Infantry®, whether you are playing “soccer” in GravBall or chasing enemy flaggers in CTF, the assistance of your teammates in destroying the enemy and capturing objectives can mean the difference between success and failure.

          A. Skirmish, Skirmish [Mechanized], and Skirmish [Trench]

In the Skirmish zones, the objectives, as you now know, are to capture all the flags on the map and hold them for a certain amount of time (I believe it is 20 seconds) to win. It is very helpful to go about in large groups with your teammates to capture these flags, for alone, anyone will die quickly. Once a flag is captured, a group should remain there to defend it, and a few people should split off and join other groups in their quest.

Another way to do things in Skirmish is to load up APCs, Slicks, or MRLs with people and drop them off at separate locations. The rest of the team can catch up and reinforce later. This can be useful very useful, since the team can deploy very quickly. However, I must say that the other team can use this tactic as well, which means there can be several small skirmishes taking place along the map.

While I’m on the topic of vehicles, I’ll add this, especially for those who are going to play Skirmish [Mechanized]. Don’t underestimate – or overestimate, for that matter – the value of vehicles, especially later in the game when the other team is low on them. Don’t go wasting your vehicles in the traditional beginning-of-the-game battle (unless you don’t care), but take a few to aid your ground infantry in destroying the enemy vehicles. Send the rest to the objectives, since with a good driver and gunner, a vehicle can last a long time, and greatly aid the team at the same time.

A very devastating tactic, when assaulting and enemy position, is to have a squad leader anchor at a safe location near the enemy and summon people in, simply flooding them with your troops. Remember that they can do this in defense as well, and that you aren’t restricted to one sergeant at one anchor location. Having medics mixed in the fray in conjunction with this strategy will allow team members to stay alive longer, and consequently, allow a larger mass of your teammates to be attacking at any given time.

Now for stuff on uses of the individual classes. The marine and grenadier are the main battle troops, of course, but I recommend that grenadiers stay behind marines and lob 40 mm grenades on the enemy’s heads. You must remember, of course, that the grenades can only be fired when standing still, leaving you very vulnerable to enemy gunfire. Just keep that in mind when fighting. The marines should be in the front, naturally, and stay moving, repeat, stay moving! In Skirmish, if you stop for a moment in a heated battle, you can get cut down in a matter of seconds. When I say keep moving, I don’t mean just strafe back and forth blindly, but try to avoid streams of enemy fire as well. Medics should mingle within the battle as well, send their own bullets at the enemy while healing their team when they can. Pretty simple job, eh? As for the ripper gunners, they are the equivalent of the US Army’s SAW gunners. Basically, you want to sit towards the back, zoom in, and focus your fire on vehicles, as well as troops. Remember to keep a lookout for enemies that are nearby, since you are vulnerable when zoomed in. The squad leaders, as usual, are to summon troops to battle, as well as re-summon those who have died and have spawned again. A word of caution, though: only summon those who ask for it (which will be many people in a Skirmish zone), since others may be pursuing other objectives, getting ammo, or engaging in a duel, and will be annoyed if you “random summon.” On the other hand, don’t spam when requesting a summon, since the squad leader may be overwhelmed with requests at the moment, or maybe just busy – be patient. Snipers don’t have a very large use in a heated battle, but they can sit off to the side and pick off enemy troops, which can be annoying to the enemy and potentially deadly, if nothing else.

          B. CTF

CTF is a zone that is complex, with many different possibilities for different strategies. There are several places on the maps that teams can set up bases, and with turrets and many different classes, there can be limitless combinations for defensive emplacements as well as different ways to assault the enemy, from using engineers offensively to flooding a base with heavies (heavy weapons) to flying in a bunch of JT’s (jump troopers) and commies (infiltrators) to steal flags.

In the CTF zones, some favored places have evolved as base building places for teams, and with some cooperation from meds (medics), heavies, the team in general, and a good engy (engineer), a powerful base can be built to last for an entire game. Just keep in mind that having only turrets does not replace having team members at home – although they are very helpful.

For engies to be helpful at all, they need titanium oxide, known to players as titox or simply, tox. Now if they spent all their time “mining” titox, it would take too long, and the base would fall before any turrets could be built or repaired. The point I’m trying to make here is that when an engy asks someone to mine, if you’re a JT or an infantryman on a flight pack, go mine titox – trust me, it’s appreciated, to some extent. The same thing goes for meds. If they need tsolvy crystals to keep your team alive in an assault or while defending, go mine it for them if they’re busy.

As I mentioned in the class descriptions, the heavy weapons man is very powerful as both an offensive and defensive player. If well played and well equipped, a few heavies can hold off a medium assault, but I’m not saying it will always work. It is always better to have turrets backing them up as well as infantrymen and meds. On the offensive side, they can provide heavy fire support with their recoilless rifles, plasma cannons, et cetera, and once again, a group of good heavies can pound a base pretty heavily, although without a medic, the assault will almost always wear down, and especially so if fresh players don’t attach and come to their aid.

At the start of any CTF game, the commies and JT’s should go out first and spread across the map, gather any flags that they can, and scout out enemy bases. Meanwhile, someone, preferably a med, squad leader, or engy, although anybody will do, should find a suitable location for a base, and announce its location to the team. If anyone finds flags, they should either attach to the person anchoring at home or request a summon home if possible. Players should start bringing extra titox and tsolvy home for the engy and or med, if the team has any, and if an engy is present, he should promptly start building turrets in defensive positions.

Since not everyone will get all the flags at once (although there have been exceptions), commies and JT’s should begin searching for the enemy. Once located, it would be advisable for a med or commander to attach to whoever is at the enemy, and provide an anchor position where other players can attach to them as well as be summoned safely. As I have already said, it is important for the team to participate in base assaults or else victory will not be achieved. As experienced players may have noticed, it is easier to be in a defensive position than to be trying to force one’s way into a heavily defended base.

As for getting flags, commies and JT’s are best suited, since they are the fastest classes, and the JT can move even faster than the quick-running commie can when on a DropPack or DeathBoard. The advantage of the commie, of course, is his cloaking ability and fast running speed – he doesn’t need a vehicle to move quickly. However, he cannot use the higher quality armor available to the JT, and so, when detected, dies very quickly. The JT is visible and cannot cloak, but can last much longer than the commie while under heavy fire, and has a better chance of bouncing in and out on a DropPack if he can control his pack well. To increase the chance of success when flag running, you should have three or four commies and or JT’s entering at the same time. That way, the fire is diverted between individual players and everyone has a significantly higher chance of survival as well as a larger chance of success at capturing the enemy flag.

Now I’m going to say some stuff about things that have just about nothing to do with capturing flags. I’ll just tell you flat out the point I want to make: watch your energy level! It’s a quite simple concept in CTF: low energy = death, almost every time. If you take several successive hits from any weapon, they will drain your energy severely, and with more powerful weapons such as the gauss rifle or even SMGs (submachine guns), and will leave you vulnerable to the next hit. All weapons in CTF have the potential to kill quickly, especially against an inept player, so don’t be one. Learn (like I already said) to strafe and shoot at the same time. Hopefully, you can dodge most of the other guy’s shots and peg him with most of your own, and eventually kill him.

C. GravBall

As I said before, I haven’t played GravBall much, so of course I don’t have much to say. However I do know that like in CTF, energy is very important, maybe even more so, since there is no hp (health point) system in GravBall. If an enemy hits you when you are drastically low in energy or out of it, you die, as simple as that. Another thing is that all your weapons take energy to use, so therefore, don’t overuse weapons or you die, and when dead, you are useless to your team.

A main part of GravBall, as I learned in my limited experience, is to helping teammates intercept enemy ball carriers as well as covering for friendly ball carriers, even if it means taking shots and dying for them. I know this sounds like I’m contradicting my statement in the above paragraph, but it’s better that you die than your team’s ball carrier. And like most of the other arenas, travelling in packs with your team is helpful in general and specifically for this zone, in scoring goals.

D. Ambush

Like GravBall, I haven’t played this game much either, simply because I found its gameplay rather poor. While some of you might like it, I didn’t find it anywhere as fun and entertaining as Skirmish, CTF, or even GravBall. Basically, just help each other out in locating the flags and holding them so your team can win.

E. Team Deathmatch

I haven’t played this much either; I’ve only tried it to see what is was like. Apparently it isn’t too popular either, since only a small handful of people play it. Anyway, the advice I have is pretty much the same: stick together and chew up the enemy with the barrage of fire. This is, after all, a relatively simple game, where the only objective is to kill the enemy.

F. No Man’s Land

I’m not going to bore you with a description of the game (since it is already provided above) and once again, the general idea is the same: travel is large groups and mow down the enemy. However, this is different from Deathmatch in that it is based on Skirmish [Trench], and has the Skirmish character classes. Their roles are the same, and use them wisely to the benefit of your team – you objective is basically to eliminate the other team or have the most kills when the timer runs out.

VII. Weapons, Armor, and other Equipment

No, I’m not going to list the weapons and armor for you…I’m not crazy. This section really applies to CTF, since it’s the only game in which you can buy anything at all. Basically, whatever weapon(s) you purchase, remember that it does not matter how much it hurts, because if you can’t hit your target, it’s completely useless, and you might as well run around unarmed. Remember also that armor is only a supplement to help you survive longer; it does not replace dodging shots. It doesn’t really matter what armor you have, because if you take several hits and your energy goes down the drain, then you’re as good as dead. Below are some tips on weapons and armor, as well as other accessories.

A. Armor

A simple tip: don’t waste money on the lower level armor that does nothing but waste the money you use to buy it. Save up and but the best armor available for your class – or in the case of the infiltrator – save up and buy the improved cloak, as opposed to buying the regular cloaking device or stealth coating. On the other hand, this might not be such a good idea, since having no armor leaves you completely vulnerable, as opposed to having at least some armor. For classes other than the infiltrator, I highly recommend you use either an IDF (Inertial Dampening Field) generator or PF (Personal Field) generator in conjunction with your armor. The IDF generator is for damage protection, and the PF generator is designed to reduce energy drain when you take hits. In general, I think jump troopers and heavies should have an IDF, while basically every other class should go with armor that has high damage protection combined with a PF. However, you don’t have to take my advice. Feel free to experiment with different armor combinations and find one to your liking.

For infantrymen, I would definitely use a carapace with a PF, no questions asked. That combination provides the maximum protection available to anybody in Infantry®, although it is very expensive (roughly 18000 creds for the carapace and 10000 for the PF).

Like I have mentioned, heavies should go with an IDF and armor, with the best choices being either CMP4 combat armor or Kevlite armor. If you want, you can go with an PF, especially with CMP4, but I generally use kevlite and IDF, and haven’t tried out the CMP4 and PF combination yet. It could be the more effective of the two combinations – I really just don’t know.

As for the jump troopers, they should go with drop armor and an IDF, although if you want, you could use CMP4 combat armor and a PF. I prefer the drop armor and IDF, since I can last longer with it than with other combinations of armor.

For the medic, a preferable combo of armor would be CMP4 and a PF or IDF, depending on your preference. I can’t really say which one would be better because I haven’t played as a medic often enough to really know. However, I suggest you use a PF with the CMP4 since it doesn’t provide any energy drain protection.

Infiltrators don’t really have a good selection of armor to start with, and with an improved cloaking device, you can’t use armor anyway. However, it doesn’t mean that you are impervious to enemy fire just because you can cloak (if you have a cloaking device or stealth coating); the enemy can still spot you if you are really close to them or if they have enhanced sensors, or if they are also a commie and are standing relative close to you.

If you happen to be an engineer, you should probably use CMP4, like a medic, and combine it with a PF for energy drain protection. However, if you just want to go with plain old damage protection, be my guest and get yourself an IDF to go with the CMP4.

As for squad leaders, they can go with CMP6 combat armor, and I would suggest you have an IDF in conjunction with that, since it already has pretty good energy protection. On the other hand, you can also go with the CMP4 and PF combination, or you can be different and get stealth coating, which will render you invisible to suit radar, but will offer no protection whatsoever.

B. Weapons

As for weapons, there are nearly a hundred out there, so take your pick. However, there are some that are favorites among players, simply because of their high damage and high performance. But once again, I must emphasize that a weapon if useless if you can’t hit your target. Anyway, let’s talk about the weapons themselves.

For infantrymen, I would suggest assault rifles and shotguns, as well as grenades, and I would stay away from energy weapons unless you get efficient at killing with them. If you want specifics, I would recommend either the Kuchler AR249 or the Maklov AR mk 606. The difference between the two is that the Maklov is half a kilogram heavier, but has a more accurate burst. For shotguns, I suggest the Maklov G2 ACW or the SiG Arms m2 AS. Personally I prefer the SiG Arms, but the Maklov can hold more cartridges, although it is about a kilogram heavier than the SiG Arms.

For the heavy weapons man, I can’t really make a single recommendation, since there are several excellent machine guns and cannons available for them, although I will mention a few, like the micro-missile launcher (MML), the gauss cannon, autocannon, and recoilless rifle (RR), as well as the light machine guns (LMGs) that are very useful as backup weapons.

For the jump troopers, I’d use one of the two available gauss rifles (not to be confused with the gauss cannon, although they are similar) or assault rifle with a grenade launcher, but a sniper rifle or particle accelerator (PA) can be used for those who like to snipe.

If you are a medic, I strongly suggest you get a stunner and get good with it. It will freeze enemies in place for a short time in which they can only turn and you can shoot them easily. On top of that you should probably carry a double SMG, either in plasma or machine pistol form. I also suggest you get a teleport disrupter as well to help guard your base against enemy hit-and-teleport flag captures. Since you have to carry tsolvy as well as a couple of other minerals as a med, it would be useful you have either a flight pack or hoverboard as well to aid you in getting around.

An excellent choice for the infiltrator is the Kamanev PR K111r. It is very inexpensive, and can be bought right away by selling the plasma SMG the commie comes with and then purchasing the rifle. Beyond the PR K111r, you can also get the particle accelerator for sniping. If you want, you can also purchase a disrupter for disabling turrets, an electron beamer for draining an opponent’s energy, or a plasma bomb for grenading purposes.

By default, an engineer comes with a shotgun, but it is one of the two weaker shotguns, I strongly advise you get rid of it and buy an SMG such as the Unittech Tech 09 SMG and/or a battle rifle, such as the Kamanev AKS BR. The shotguns available to the engy are too weak to do any damage whatsoever unless the enemy is extremely low on energy. In addition to these weapons, I would recommend purchasing a hoverboard or flightpack as well, since all the titox and turret kits you can carry will weigh you down quite a bit.

As a squad leader, I would get one of the SMGs and/or battle rifles available, since the assault rifles cannot be used by SLs. On the positive side he can summon teammates to a battle, and so, have backup. If you wish, you can also get a flightpack, although you probably won’t need one.

I must now add that there are a few new weapons that are available in CTF [Extreme]. I have only played in this zone for about five minutes or so, basically to take a look at what’s new, and I can’t really speak for the new items. They may be very good, they may not be as good as some of the older weapons available. However, feel free to experiment and test out weapons – but don’t forget to take a look at their stats and information and to ask other players.

C. Accessories

This section includes the Suit Super-Charger (SSC), powercells, and stuff like enhanced sensors. There is some argument over whether to use the SSC or powercells, and I personally recommend using the SSC, since it increases your energy recharge rate, as opposed to the powercells which increase your total energy capacity. Another thing is that the SSC only weighs 4 kilograms, as opposed to the heavy powercell which weighs 10 kilograms, which is a lot. As for enhanced sensors, I personally like having them, since it allows me to see cloaked commies from a little farther off, and therefore I can shoot them more easily.

VIII. Miscellaneous

There’s also some other stuff that doesn’t really fall into other categories that I want to talk about. The first thing is kill macros. These are macros that basically poke fun at someone you have just killed. Although I don’t really mind them too much myself, others may get annoyed, especially if you spam the macro. Death macros, on the other hand, nobody really cares about, unless you keep calling people “lamers” when you die.

Speaking of “lamers,” there are some weapons in CTF that are considered “lame” by players simply because there is supposedly no skill involved in using them. These include the Incinerator (flamethrower), two shotguns – the Maklov G2 ACW and the SiG Arms m2 AS, the MML (micro-missile launcher), the Kuchler A6 CAW (close assault weapon), and lately added, the DropPack Blasters. I don’t really mind the so-called “lamers,” and I don’t really agree with the “lame” weapons list. However, I do think the Incinerator is rather cheap, with its nearly continuous rate of fire and spray tactics that work quite well with it. However, I don’t complain about it, since it only annoys others when someone whines. The shotguns are lame in some respects, since they are “spray and pray” weapons, but they don’t do much damage whatsoever unless you opponent is low on energy. The MML can be considered lame, although at longer distances you have to be quite skilled at tracking in order to hit anyone. The CAW has lately been dropped from usage, and I have only seen a few people using it now. However, it is very inaccurate and not too easy to hit with. It is also very much a “spray and pray” weapon, with its ten-shot burst spraying wildly from its multiple barrels. The DropPack Blasters are kind of “lame” since they do so much damage, especially when the enemy is low on energy. On the other hand, they take oodles of you own energy to use, and leave you quite vulnerable after a few of your own volleys.

Besides the “lame” weapons, something that isn’t really appreciated by players, but is unavoidable is “raping.” Although in society this has a completely different meaning, the negative connotation is still there. “Raping” is basically when several players on one team go about in a group and kill lone members of enemy teams. It’s not really fair, but I have nothing to say to the “victims” except, “Tough luck.” The game isn’t about fairness, because if things were fair, nobody would win. However, I don’t encourage “raping,” although I have learned to deal with it and not complain, since like with the “lame” weapons and everything else, nobody on Infantry® likes a whiner.

CTF Guide:

CTF [Twin Peaks]:

First off, I’m going to discuss some possibilities for bases and their respective strengths and weaknesses, since having a good base is quite important to winning a CTF game.

A7 is a good base, especially for the Collective, since they spawn near it. For Titan, using this base is nearly suicide unless you have an excellent team; Collective spawns too close to it and can launch a nearly constant attack, whereas Titan has to trek across the map to attack; beefing up defenses has to be done by either walking across the map or attaching – unless your team has a summoner. Defending A7 is not particularly hard if you have a competent team that at least tries to help. Plant mines around the lift area to kill people as they come down and keep the lift covered. At all times, have your ES turned on to detect commies. Defending is the easiest when your team controls the lift arena. If you get pushed back, it will get harder and harder to defend – if you are pushed into the flag room, you had better get the enemy shoved out quickly or your base will fall. On the other hand, when attacking, go down the lift in a large group, which will help to counter the defensive strategy I presented above. Proceed to repulse mines and basically pound your way into the base. Although defending inside the flag room is hard, it is also hard to attack, since the defending team can pour grenades and PC shots out. However, the attacking team can do the same thing, and whoever can aim better and reinforce fastest will eventually win out.

C7 is an average base – it’s not too hard to defend nor especially hard to attack unless a good defending team is present. As in the case of the A7 base, it is more practical for Collective to use it, since it is in their side of the map; Titan is at a disadvantage if it uses this base. As with A7, mines can be planted at the bottom of the lift as well as the top; it is also a good idea to keep the lift covered. When attacking, your team should go down both sides of the base – it allows you to pound the defending team from two directions, although it splits your manpower. If you’re defending, try to keep the enemy at the lift or above it. Once you get shoved into the flag room, it gets very difficult to defend or push the enemy back. If this does happen, team members should come in behind the enemy and take them out.

A1 – until the enemy finds you, it’s just fine. But then again, that’s true of all bases. A1 is a base that’s difficult to defend but also difficult to enter. Notice I said enter, not attack. Although the base is hard to enter because the entrance can be clogged with mines and turrets, the attacking team can go on top and decimate just about everything before they enter to jack your flags. Therefore, don’t just stand in the corner when defending and don’t just charge the entrance while attacking.

C5 – pretty good base for Collective, suicide for Titan. This is simply because sometimes Collective members will spawn down there – and it’s not funny having the enemy spawn in your base. This base, like A1 has a narrow entrance and can also be pounded from higher ground. In addition, it’s also very susceptible to sniper fire. You can literally practice “spray and pray” and a PA and score kills – I’ve done it several times. C5 is nice because your flags can be spread out, making it harder for commies to steal them, but at the same time, it has a larger base area, also making it harder to detect commies unless the bottleneck entrance is constantly covered. In addition, this is an ideal base for turrets, since they will have an unobstructed field of fire – which also makes them vulnerable to enemy heavy weapons fire.

D7 is an idea base for Titan; it’s their answer to Collective’s A7 base. The layout is very similar with the exception of the extra door and larger base area. The same principle that applied to A7 also is pertinent to D7. Keep the enemy at the lift and lay mines in areas where they are easily hidden from view, like the walls, doorways, behind crates, et cetera.

G7 is a pretty good base – it’s not too hard to defend, but difficult to attack successfully. It is a good idea to have a set of turrets in the flag room area and a set on the upper level; this way, the enemy has to deal with two groups of turrets when attacking. However, the turrets will not replace actual people defending the base – a well-armed and semi-competent heavy will destroy the turrets in a matter of minutes. When defending, watch the lift, of course, and guard both sides of the base, since the enemy could come up either side. Therefore, if you are attacking, split your force and attack from both sides like you would in C7.

E8 is an excellent base for either team, although it is located in the Titan side of the map. Its three levels allow for two sets of turrets and the top level for early warning. However, its two sides down in the E8 area itself can be somewhat dangerous. Your team can occupy one side, but if the lift is not watched, a commie can slip in and anchor on the other side, allowing the enemy to mass up an attack and charge you by surprise. An ideal way to set up turrets in this base is to have a set on the bottom level either at the lift so they can shoot the enemy as they come down, or in the flag room itself to stop commies. In either case, the sentry should be in the flag room. The second set of turrets should be on the second level to ambush enemies coming form the top level. Turrets aren’t a good idea for the first level simply because it’s too easy to destroy them from the street.

G2 is an average spot to hide the flags, although I advise against doing that. As a base, it sucks unless you’re down to the end of the game. It’s simply too small to stand a prolonged period of time against a persistent attack. The enemy can simply rain grenades, rockets, RR shots, and PC shots in to the rooms until the defending team is pounded to hell. Defending it is okay against a small group of enemies and commies generally can’t flag it too easily if a med with AP mk2’s and ES is present. However, when an attack starts to increase, things can get hairy.

G4/H4 is a pretty good location especially with turrets the defending team can keep a steady flow of shots coming out, which prevents the attacking team from moving to fire. The exceptions would be grenades and PC shots, of course, but those can be dealt with. With a sentry and/or a medic or SL with TD in the base (everyone equipped with ES of course), commies will be hard pressed to flag successfully.

CTF [Heinrich’s Point]:

Again, I will start with a discussion of the various bases on this particular CTF map.

B1 is a pretty good base, especially with turrets. With a good engy and/or med/SL, flagger will have a very hard time getting in and out – if possible. As always, when defending, it’s good idea to have your ES turned on. As for turret setup, the sentry and plasma turrets should be in the flag room where they can do a lot of damage to flaggers. The rocket and MG turrets should be at the entrance where they can fire at incoming enemies. If attacked, try no to get forced in to the flag room , since at that point it becomes an exchange of grenades and PC shots. At the same time, this is also the hardest point of the attack since the defending team can keep a constant stream of fire going out to inhibit entrance to the room. Of course, use mines throughout the base. They will slow down the enemy as well as take a few of the stupider ones out.

D2 is an excellent base. It’s a real pain to attack when well defended and in most cases a decent team can easily hold the enemy at bay. When defending, shoot down the hall to keep the enemy out. A rocket turret can be placed at your end of the hall to hit incoming enemies. If you wish, it can also be placed at the bottom, giving attackers a warm greeting when they round the corner. Plasma turrets and sentries should be placed in the flag room, of course, and the MG turret can be placed to either support supplement either the plasma turrets or the rocket. Keep the enemy and your team out of the flag room, because once you’re in there, they just have to fill the room with fire, and no amount of attaching/summoning will help. Keep in mind that when shooting in the hallway, don’t expose yourself too long – there might be a sniper at the other end of the hallway. As for mine placement, put them along the bottom wall of the hall; sooner or later, you’ll pick up some free kills. As I mentioned, attacking D2 is a real pain in the ass – if it’s well defended. It’s a good idea to have someone anchor at B1/C1 and summon/have people attach. Of course, you should prepare a sizable attack force before engaging the base. It’s also nice to have one or two snipers to send PA fire down the hallway. 

C5 is an awesome base if you have a fully equipped engy and at least a semi-competent team. A rocket turret should go on the upper-right hand corner and an MG turret on the upper-left. The plasma turrets should be down in the flag area and there should be two sentries: one on the upper half of the hill and one on the lower half, near the flags. Having ES on the hill, since it’s so large, is of utmost importance. Defending the hill, because of the way the physics are set in HP, is rather simple. However, attacking it is the worse than D2 by far. You can’t really just shoot up, so you have to use GL’s and grenades until you actually gain a foothold on the hill. Therefore, JT’s are quite useful when attacking the hill. Once the attacking team gets a foothold on the hill, the defending team had better get rid of them very quickly or the base will fall quite rapidly.

The admin building along A3/B3 has spots fro about 2-4 bases and a couple of them aren’t half-bad.  With a few turrets, and a good defensive team, you can hold off an attack for a while. In the worst cases, however, an intense and prolonged attack will wipe out any bases in the admin building.

 The way the map has been changed in the last update has left A7 as a very good base, if a somewhat small one. It is no longer susceptible to sniper fire, and the cramped entrance allows the defensive team to concentrate their fire in a tight area. This, combined with turrets and a med/SL, makes A7 a hard base to take by force.

B9 is a base that is used quite often, and with good reason. Once firmly established, it is relatively easy to defend and quite hard to destroy. Defending is quite simple; you just keep fire coming out of the entrance so that nobody can come in. however, you’ll have to exit and eradicate the enemy or else your base will be under constant assault. Attacking B9 has a simple principle, but is very hard to carry out. Your team has to mass up and charge; as soon as you enter, you must quickly destroy the defendants, since you will be right in the center of their fire. As I said, this is very hard to execute and is best done with infantrymen and JT’s in the lead with hvys bringing up the rear. As for turrets, place the rocket so it will have a straight field of fire outside. The plasma turrets should be in the corners to jack up any commies that come in. the MG turret should be placed to either support the rocket or plasma turrets, or both.

I8 is a pretty good base, and is also one that is used often. It isn’t particularly hard t defend unless you’re shoved into the flag room. To put it simply, you can “spray and pray” in an attack and you will be likely to ward off the enemy. As with D2, there is the problem of snipers. Just remember not to stand in the open for too long; you never know if a commie has his sights on you until it’s too late. In my opinion the rocket turret should be placed outside the flag room so it can fire at the enemy, but it can be placed inside the flag room so it can shoot flaggers as they round the corner. By now you should know that plasma turrets belong in the flag room. When attacking, if your team steals a flag, don’t go to the other side of the room; it results in perpetual war. If you can, place mines at all entrances, and hide them if possible. If nothing else, it’ll get you some kills. Therefore, when attacking, remember to watch for hidden mines and repulse them.

The H4 hill is similar to the C5 hill – it’s pretty easy to defend and hard to attack when well defended. However, it is much smaller than the C5 hill, so when the attacking team gets on the hill, tings turn into a vicious close-quarters battle. As with C5, heavies with MG’s, AC’s, and SC’s are well suited to defense, since they’re essentially mobile turrets. Mines should be placed at the entrance and the gaps between the rocks and the edge of the hill. Attacking the hill, like attacking C5, will require extensive use of grenades and JT’s with GL’s. However, this is if the defending team is holed up on the hill. Many times, though, the fighting will spread around the hill to the field on the east and even into the Krags at times.

I1 is a well-known, but not well-liked base. It’s too difficult to defend well and it’s too easy for JT’s to fire their GL’s over the rocks. However, against a conventional attack, with a group of skilled defenders as well as a good turret setup, I1 can stand for a while. When attacking, it’s a matter if hitting from both sides, and if possible, have a JT give fire support over the rocks.

I3 has been used as a base, and if properly defended, it’s very hard to attack. The point, while defending, is to have turrets inside and some team members engage the enemy outside. That way, it won’t become a siege, which will eventually be lost by the defenders. Attacking is a matter of having enough people to overwhelm the defenses; it just might be difficult if they really want to keep their flags.

H2 is a major Krag base, but it requires a lot of manpower to defend successfully. In this base, the presence of turrets can really make a difference. In any case, a persistent attack can push through both entrances and destroy the defending team from two sides.

The E7 hill is an okay base if it has turrets and defenders. It’s next to the street, so it’s very conspicuous. With turrets and some heavies, though, it can hold assailants far away, and the turrets can deal with flaggers as well. However, it is vulnerable to sniper fire south of the entrance. As with the other hills, attacking this hill would be much easier with a few JT’s armed with GL’s. This is more effective here since the E7 hill is so much smaller than the other hills.

F2 is an average base. It can be defended easily enough and the various obstacles inside make it hard to attack, especially if the defending team is all packed inside. Mines can be placed along walls, and heavies can cover the halls quite easily.

F1, which is in the same building as F2, is an average base as well. It only has one entrance, and attacks can easily turn into a nasty siege. With turrets, however, an attack could be quite difficult. As with some other bases, it’s better to keep the enemy from pushing you into the flag room; this way you have a place to retreat to if needed.

CTF Classes:

Infantry: Theses guys are the backbone of the team in CTF; they can do pretty good damage while taking a whole lot of it before going down. They have the best armor out of all the classes and an excellent array of weapons to use. They can kind of flag, since he can take so many hits; however, they’ll need a little backup. They are excellent at attacking or defending and can hold their own in the streets as well.

Equipment: I suggest you use carapace and PF and SSC for an infantryman. Of course, carry ES, because you never know when a commie will come out of the blue and attack you. I also recommend carrying repulsors – they’re useful for those pesky mines.

Weapons: I would suggest using an AR as your primary weapon, either the Maklov AR mk 606 or the Kuchler AR249. You can carry a shotgun if you wish; either the Maklov ACW or the SiGArms AS will do nicely. I also recommend carrying frag and WP grenades as well as RG’s. If you wish, you could use the Maklov g9 sniper rifle with a flightpack. Another weapon you can use is the Kuchler A6 CAW. It’s really good for energy drain, but is rather hard to aim at longer range.

Jump Troopers: He’s the ultimate raper on a pack, but is also excellent on foot. On a pack, he could also bounce into and out of bases to grab flags. He can also provide good fire support with a GL when attacking or defending. With DPB, an AR, or GR, and a Maklov g9, he’s deadly in the streets.

Equipment: On foot, I suggest drop armor and PF and SSC, as well as ES and repulsors. If you’re using a DP or DB, use drop armor and PF/IDF and a heavy powercell; in this case, you won’t need repulsors.

Weapons:  if you’re going on foot, I recommend the Maklov AR mk 606 or the Kuchler AR249 with the Maklov GL 8a. You can also use frag grenades and RG’s as well. If you’re flying, you can carry whatever you want. You have a selection from the AR’s, GR’s, GL’s, PA, g9, et cetera. You can go crazy and get a load of weapons like I did fro one of my JT’s, or you can be more conservative and use a few. Be careful when using the DPB, or you could get jacked up from too much energy usage. If using the DBS, get dual SMG’s or something to get your target’s energy down. That way, the DBS will hurt much more.

Heavy Weapons: Ah, the ultimate base pounder. This guy is perfect for base assaulting and defending. He can also go fighting in the streets fairly well.

Equipment: After some experimentation, I found that CMP4 and PF and SSC/heavy powercell is the best armor combo for the heavy. Of course, you should carry ES and repulsors.

Weapons: As far as weapons go, you’ve got a lot to choose from; however, I must say that an LMG is a necessity. For skirmishing I the streets, an MML is awesome; the RPG is also quite excellent. The AC’s and SC’s are very good for suppressive fire, and if you use them right, can be deadly on the streets. The MG’s are also pretty good, especially if you can hit people with most of a burst. I don’t really like the PC much, because it uses so much energy. Indoors, however, it can be quite deadly if aimed well. The RR is an awesome base pounding weapon, but sucks in the open. In addition, it’s too heavy and limits your ability to use anything else.

Infiltrator: Nicknamed commies, they are good at flagging, sniping, and backstabbing. They don’t have real armor, but can cloak, which is really useful.

Equipment: Definitely get an SSC; improved cloak is nice, unless you want to run around with shock armor. Of course, carry repulors, and if you’re going to snipe often, carry stealth coating – it’ll keep you invisible on radar.

Weapons: For sniping, of course, you need a PA. As far as PR’s go, I like the Kamenev k111r  “Killer,” but the Maklov mk IV PR is excellent as well. I prefer the Maklov PR to the Kuchler PR because it has two bounced as opposed to one, although it’s .5 kg heavier than the Kuchler PR. You can also use the plasma bomb in street raping or to take out turrets. The disrupter can be used to jack up turrets for a little while as well.

Medic: He’s a very useful member of a CTF team, and is quite important to victory. He can heal, summon, and mske stims and sterons; a good med is very much appreciated, whereas a bad one is scorned.

Equipment: CMP4 and PF and SSC/heavy powercell ought to do it for a med. An ES and TD are essentials as well as a deluxe medkit and summoner. A stim/steron kit is optional but people will appreciate them. Having a hoverboard will probably be required if you carry all that stuff plus minerals.

Weapons: AP mk2’s are excellent weapons for meds, as is the Needler, especially with tranqs. A stunner is useful as well for freezing people in place. The flechette rifle is also good for energy drain.

Engineer: While not absolutely essential to he is very useful when you need turrets. In addition, he can make energizers and his sentries can help and med/SL with the TD job.

Equipment: CMP4 and PF and SSC should comprise your armor. Get all the turret kits, a repair kit, a reprogramming kit, and turret dismantler. In addition, get a hoverboard, as well as ES and maybe an energizer kit. Yes, I know that’s a lot, but hey, you’re and engy.

Weapons: Hmmm…I don’t play and engy very much, so I don’t really know what’s good, but I’m thinking along the lines of AP mk2’s, BR’s, SMG’s and/or an Incinerator.

Squad Leader: He’s basically a summoner who is better armored than a med; in addition, he can summon 3-4 people in rapid succession before his summoner reloads – which he doesn’t have to buy.

Equipment: CMP6 and PF/IDF and SSC; get ES and TD. Repulsors might come in handy as well.

Weapons: He should probably carry a BR and/or Incinerator. Another excellent choice are CR102’s, which are cheap ($3500) and do as much damage as AR’s and BR’s.

General CTF Strategies and Tips:

Now, I’ll go on to some general strategies and stuff for CTF, including use of turrets, supporting roles, rapes, and other stuff I think of as I go along. As far as basic strategy goes, see my general Infantry guide and manual. It contains my basic stuff on how to play a successful CTF game.

Turrets. Very useful in the defense of your base, or even in providing support fire when attacking the enemy. However, you must remember that alone, turrets are just about useless. A skilled flagger can get around just about any turret setup – even with a sentry. Keep in mind, when placing rocket turrets that they need to be in the open where they can easily fire at the enemy without hitting the wall and killing your own team with the splash damage. This has happened to me several times, and it sucks knowing you got killed by friendly. Plasma turrets are very useful in flag rooms, considering that the shots bounce around and that they have a very small fire circle, meaning that they’re able to hit targets a very close range. Machine gun turrets are good as suppressing fire as well as doing real damage, especially when used in conjunction with plasma turrets. Sentries, of course, are vital to any base, because they prevent flaggers from blinking. However, they can be destroyed very easily. In addition, remember to keep your turrets in top condition – you never know when you might need their full capacity. If using turrets for an offensive purpose, make the kit beforehand, then fly into the enemy base and set up the turret while coasting and get out as quickly as possible. However, don’t leave the turret in there alone – it will get destroyed in seconds in most cases. They serve best for giving supporting fire and work best with a full attack.

Supporting classes like engies, meds and SL’s can be quite boring at times, but those classes are vital to a successful flagging team. An engineer, of course builds turrets for the team, and that of course is quite important. A medic is one of the most wanted support roles on any flagging team. He can summon people either home or to the enemy, and with a TD and ES, can inhibit the abilities of enemy flaggers. In addition, he can heal and make stims and sterons as well. Of course, the stim and steron kits have to be bought as well as the deluxe medkit and summoner. You might think that an SL is kind of obsolete since the medic can do all that the SL can. However, the SL can rapid summon a few people, whereas the med has to reload the summoner each time a summon is done. 

A large problem that arises in CFT is the abundance of rapers. I don’t particularly mind, because that’s all I really do as a JT. As a commie I’ll flag a little but will mostly snipe. In any case, if you want to avoid the problem of being raped, go about in groups of two or three or more. Yes, I know this will qualify you as a rape group, but who cares? This way, you can go to the enemy in relative safety and then mass up an attack from an anchor point at the enemy. However, if you’re a commie or a JT, rape is not much of a concern, considering their ability to cloak and fly, respectively.

Some overall strategies for attacking bases…that might be useful, no? Okay, in general, build up a large mass before engaging the enemy; this way you have more hitting power. Infantrymen and JT’s should take most of the front line fighting, especially the infantrymen. Heavies should provide covering and supporting fire with AC’s, PC’s, SC’s, et cetera. Be careful in your use of frag grenades and WP grenades – there is friendly fire, and although you can’t kill your teammates, you can bring their HP down to 1, meaning another hit can kill them. The same thing applies to commies using the plasma bomb. As the attack progresses, meds and SL’s should bring in fresh team members to keep the attack going, and meds should heal their team. If there are any offensive engies present, they should build a few turrets to help support their team.

When defending, the same principles apply, meds and SL’s summon, meds heal, engies build turrets, and infantrymen and JT’s take the front-line fighting while heavies support. In the defensive scenario, however, mines are very useful. They can deter the enemy advance, weaken their attack force, and slow them down, giving you more time to shoot them.

Here are some tips for sniping:

When you’re “zoomed in,” line up the dotted line with your target’s feet; this will ensure a hit if your target is standing still.

Use stealth coating w/cloaking or improved cloak if you’re a commie. This way people won’t see you on radar when you fire.

If your target is moving, either follow and wait for them to stop, or learn to track your shots, like I did.

Jump Trooper Guide:

Ground:

Armor: I use Drop Armor + PF + SSC when I’m on the ground. It gives you good kinetic and explosive damage protection as well as energy drain protection, and doesn’t weigh too much.

Weapons: JT’s have a pretty good choice of weapons, and you can have various setups. A good generic setup is having an AR and a GL. I prefer having the Maklov AR mk606 and Maklov GL 8a, but you can use the Kuchler AR249 if you wish, or the Kuchler GL mkII. This setup is especially good for assaulting bases, especially if you have frag grenades and RG’s as well. If you can aim well, you can go for the AR/GR setup, which is what I happen to have at the moment. I use the Maklov AR mk606 and the Kuchler GR790 together. Of course, you can also use the Maklov GR201g and/or Kuchler AR249. However, this setup is not good for attacking bases (as I have found out). If you wish, you can also do an AR + EB setup or AR + Kamenev AP mk2 setup. In those two cases, the point is to use the EB/AP mk2 to drain your opponent’s energy and then hit them with the AR. Usually, I also carry frag grenades and bullet mines as well – they can come in quite handy at times. If I’m carrying an AR, I will also carry RG’s sometimes, especially if I’m going to assault bases.

Air:

Armor: I don’t use the SSC when I’m on a DP or DB, simply because I always stay on the pack or board, and they can hold the weight. For the most part, I use Drop Armor + IDF + HPC (heavy powercell). I used to use Drop Armor + PF + HPC, but I noticed that the HPC gives me enough energy to last for a while, so I switched over to IDF, and found that the damage protection on it is excellent. However you must watch your energy levels, because if it goes down too far, you will take massive amounts of damage. What you can do is use Drop Armor + IDF + PF + HPC. That way, you can switch back and forth from IDF and PF as the situation requires. It will be a hassle to remember to switch back and forth, but if you get good at it, it might save your life a few times.

Weapons: You can go conservative and use only a few weapons, or go all out and get several weps; I prefer the latter since it allows me to use different weapons in different situations.

Deathboard: If you’re using a DB, I would suggest getting a weapon that drains a lot of energy so that the DBS can do more damage (It has a max of 40 kinetic damage!) For this purpose, you can get the EB, one of the SG’s, or a dual SMG (not dual PSMG). The point is to drain their energy and then hit them with DBS. However, this is only good for close range fighting. For longer range engagements, you can get a GR and/or AR. In addition, you can also get a GL; I would suggest the Kuchler GL mkII for the DB, but you can get the Maklov GL 8a or both if you want. Personally, I find it hard to snipe from a DB, so I wouldn’t suggest getting a g9 or PA, but if you can snipe from a DB, go for it. Of course, carry mines on the DB, since it can carry 100 kg; you can drop them to discourage pursuit or at corners to “mine lame” people.

Droppack: I personally prefer the DP to the DB, because I’m better on a DP than on a DB. In any case, you can also go berserk on a DP. I use a wide range of weapons on a DP, from AR to GR to GL to PA to mines. Personally, I use the Maklov AR mk606, Kuchler GR790, Maklov g9, and PA. Of course, I also carry mines (AP and plasma in addition to bullet mines). This loadout allows me to street rape very well, but the downside is that I can’t attack bases very well. However, you can trade the sniping weapons and/or GR for the GL’s. If you’re attacking bases, you’ll want to carry RG’s and frag grenades as well. As for the DPB, don’t use it too much, since your energy level will be too low and you will die very quickly. You can use it to finish off a target or drain their energy when you first start attacking, but don’t “spray and pray” with it.

Roles:

JT’s can cover a wide range of roles, from assaulting to raping to flagging. On a DP in the streets with a load of weapons, he is the ultimate raper. When on the ground with an AR and GL, he can play a large part in attacking enemy bases as well as defending home. On a DB, with good control, he can kind of flag, provided the defenses aren’t so heavy that nobody has a hope of getting in.

Infantrymen Guide:

Armor:

Infantrymen have the best armor available to anyone in CTF. The most popular armor combo is Carapace + PF + SSC, and it’s fairly obvious why: it has plenty of damage protection and the PF covers energy drain fairly well. However, if you’re going to do a lot of dueling, I would recommend CMP6 + PF + SSC/HPC. This way, if you take a few hits, you almost always have high energy levels and won’t take much, if any, damage. However, if you take several successive hits, you will lose a lot of hp. I’ve also thought about trying Carapace + IDF + HPC, but I haven’t tried it out yet. My reasoning behind that is to have a lot of damage protection, which will get you as close to being invincible as you can get, and a lot of energy to back it up, although your recharge rate is going to be very low. The only real danger is getting low on energy, which means your armor won’t be any good for you anymore…

Weapons:

As an infantryman, you won’t have the wide range of weapons that heavies do, but those that you do have are quite excellent. Personally, I’d use an AR with the EB, but you can go AR + SG or AR + SG or AR + CAW or AR + g9 or AR + pistols. Notice, though, that all those weapon combos have an AR in them. In my opinion, they are the best weapons for infantrymen. I personally use the Maklov AR mk606 because I’m doing fairly well with my aiming. If you can’t aim too well, or if you want the half a kilogram of weight, you can use the Kuchler AR249. I used to use it, but got annoyed at its inaccuracy. As for SG’s, I personally like the SiGArms AS, since the Maklov ACW is heavier by 1.2 kilograms and only has two more shots per burst. As for the CAW, I have tried to use it instead of an SG or EB, but I found that it is harder to aim, quite inaccurate, and does practically nil damage. If you want, you can use CAW + SG, but I think that’s just stupid, since neither of those do a whole lot of damage, and the CAW will eat up too much ammo if you can’t aim with it. Using the AR + g9 loadout can work, but I would recommend doing it on a flightpack and then g9 “laming” people to death. If you don’t carry too much other stuff, you can use it on the ground too, but be wary when sniping, since you’ll be a sitting target. If you decide to go with AR + pistols, I would recommend using the Kamenev AP mk2’s, since they are quite good at draining energy, are quite accurate, and can do some damage at the same time. An alternate to the AR’s are the Kuchler CR102 double revolvers. They do the same damage but a little less energy drain, and have a 5 shot burst. In addition, their bullets are quite hard to see in comparison to AR rounds. In addition to your primary weapons, I strongly suggest you use grenades as well, both frag and WP. They are especially useful when attacking and defending bases, particularly for attacking. If you like, you can also get RG’s for your AR, since they are pretty useful for destroying turrets, although you can’t carry very many. I would also carry mines, preferably bullet mines as nasty surprises for those DPB-using JT’s.

Roles:

Infantrymen are especially useful in attacking and defending bases. With their grenades and AR’s, they can aid the heavies in taking out turrets as well as enemy defenders, or when defending, can sally out of the base to deal with the attackers. Infantrymen can also go raping in the streets, since they have the best armor available and also have excellent weapons.