------------------------------ SILENT STORM Walkthrough/Guide ------------------------------ Ver 1.4 Silent Storm is (c) 2003/2004 Nival Interactive, JoWood, and their affiliates. This guide is copyright 2004 Guiler (guilersk@earthlink.net) This guide is for personal use only and may not be sold, bartered, or used for any purpose that involves profit, including but not limited to, money, favors, slaves, and/or human babies. Unauthorized copying of this Guide will result in your horrible, agonizing destruction. I have beaten the game. If you want/need info on scenarios I haven't covered yet, go ahead and email me and I'll see what I can remember. I am in the process of replaying the campaigns now. The guide will continue to be updated as I do so. If you have further and/or better tips on how to beat the campaign, mail me at . TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------- TACTICAL HELP RARE ITEMS CHARACTER PROGRESSION -SNIPER -SCOUT -SOLDIER -MEDIC -GRENADIER -ENGINEER CAMPAIGN -OPENING MISSION -SQUAD BASE (Intermission) NORTH BRITAIN -UK COMMANDANT'S OFFICE -OLD ENGLISH MANOR -UK MILITARY WAREHOUSE -A SMALL ENGLISH TOWN -ORGANIZATION'S STOREHOUSE -AGENT'S CACHE SOUTH BRITAIN -PLACE MARKED ON THE MAP -ENGLISH RURAL HOUSE -UK LABORATORY -SMALL ENGLISH VILLAGE -DOCUMENT'S TRANSFER PLACE HANNOVER -GENERAL BAUER'S HEADQUARTERS -GERMAN INTELLIGENCE HQ -GERMAN LABORATORY BRANDENBURG -GERMAN TOWN -GERMAN MANOR -GERMAN WEAPON FACTORY URAL MOUNTAINS -RUSSIAN MILITARY FACTORY -UNKNOWN COMPLEX -LOCAL RUSSIAN COMMANDANT'S OFFICE SWITZERLAND -BERGER'S FACTORY ORGANIZATION BASE AXIS CAMPAIGN -OPENING MISSION -SQUAD BASE (Intermission) ------------- TACTICAL HELP ------------- Having trouble with even the basic missions? All of your guys are dying? Here are some basic tips. -Many people overuse SMGs, thinking that they are the coolest thing. Here's a tip: in most games like this (Jagged Alliance, XCOM, etc.) burst fire -sucks- if you're more than 10 feet away from the enemy. Don't think you're playing a movie where James Bond fires a machinegun from 100 feet away killing 3 goons. This is a -game-, and for game balance reasons, it's coded to make burst fire miss a lot unless you're right on top of your enemy. There is nothing quite like opening a door on 3 guys that are right there, and opening up on long burst, killing all three and ripping a hole in the wall. But if they aren't right there, you're going to blow your whole clip and be dead on their turn. As a general rule: 30% hit or more is safe to use short burst, and 20-25% is ok to use long burst. Keep in mind that you still run the risk of missing every time. I do it a lot. You are not immune to missing the whole clip, and don't think you are. -Use rifles. And don't think you can use rifles with just Snap Shot, either. Early in the game, when your hit % is really crappy, Snap Shot isn't going to cut it. Either hide behind some cover and do a Stand/Aimed Shot/Crouch routine, or find good cover, crouch, and used Aimed Shot. Many of your enemies early on are armed with crappy SMGs. Pick them off before they get to you with rifles. Rifles with scopes are better, BTW. Probably the best 'standard-issue' rifle is the SVT-40 Scoped. It has a wider damage variance than its cousin the Mosin, but features a 10-round clip. You'd be surprised how much of your time gets spent reloading on those 5-round clip rifles. If you can get your paws on an AVS-36 Scoped, that might be even better. It has a 15-round magazine and features burst fire, something very rare among rifles. Another nice thing about these 2 rifles is the fact that they use heavy ammo that goes right through brick walls. -Use your scout to scout. Don't stumble into ambushes to get blown away. Set your scout on Hide [h] and crouch or crawl to a forward position behind cover. When the scout sees someone, start combat and use your other 5 guys to take pot shots at him from afar. You may miss a lot (although the sniper is good at this), but the enemy won't be able to retaliate without running for your guys for a round or two (assuming he hasn't seen your scout), giving you ample time to take 5 or 10 free shots at him--and you'll be building Shoot experience for doing it. -Always Run when moving in combat. This is not to say run around like an idiot; run from cover spot to cover spot, crouch, and then fire. Crouching across the field is fine if you want to take 4 rounds to do it with no shots while you're doing it. But if you you move slowly and get caught out in the open during an enemy turn, you're done for. And the enemy certainly won't be gracious enough to wait for you to get into position before assaulting. -Know your ammo. Why carry 10 clips of 5xMauser when you can carry 1 clip for a heavy MG of 50xMauser? There is no penalty for using the wrong clip size to reload--it just has to be the same ammo type. -One of the best rifles in the game is the Sea Devil, available in a random encounter in Switzerland. It's on the mantlepiece of a large manor guarded by about 20 Germans. Because random encounters in Switzerland are rare, it can be hard to come by. Look for an encounter around the big '6' on the right side of the map. It may take 5 minutes for an encounter to pop. The Sea Devil only has a 3-round clip, but does heinous damage, even to Panzerkleins. Extra ammo can be found in the cabinet in the garage next to the manor. -Stealth is your friend. If the enemy can't see you, he probably won't hit you, right? The only thing is, if you fire a shot while hidden, it will reveal you-- unless you fire from a silenced weapon. Silenced pistols, SMGs, and rifles are invaluable for this sort of thing. Using a hidden scout to spot targets for your sniper can be an effective way of taking out anyone without retaliation. Using it in concert with Panzerkleins can be even better, considering PK's relatively poor sight/sound detection, and their heavy weapons that tear through obstacles. Park a PK outside, have the scout go in and look for targets, and then have the PK fire relentlessly at it, blowing away walls in the process. -Having trouble killing Panzerkleins when you don't have any yet? Go to Switzerland. There are 2 random encounters there. 1. In the '5' area, there is a UFO landing with 6 enemy Panzerkleins. Though it's tough, you can sneak all the way to the back, behind the UFO, and find a weapon called the Prototype 8M1, a beam weapon with Snap/Aimed/Careful/Short Burst. Beam weapons cut right through PK armor. 2 good hits should kill any PK pilot (save the final boss). Ammo can be gotten back at the base under 'Heavy Weapons'. (If there is no ammo, put the rifle into the base inventory and hit the 'Arrange' button. Some ammo will spawn next to it in inventory.) 2. In the '6' area, there is a mansion with the Sea Devil rifle in it (see above). While it won't do a lot of damage to PKs, this Encounter is much more common than the UFO one. Sea Devil ammunition is also infinite at the base. Random Encounters in Switzerland happen -very- infrequently; sometimes it can take 5 minutes for one to pop. Be patient. -Beam Panzerkleins (the ones with the green laser weapon) are the the most effective ways to take out enemy PKs. However, they have ammunition issues. While you can get infinite ammo at the base, they can only use short burst and have a clip of 16; not only that, but their clips take up 4 spots! There is a better way, however. If you get the Prototype 8M1 from the Switzerland Random Encounter (see above) and put it in the base inventory, you can spawn some 50-round 1-spot beam weapon ammunition clips that also work with the PK beam weapon! Ammo issues are solved. -Having trouble getting ammo for your Axis PKs? There is a way around it, but it is annoying. Remove the weapons from the PK and place them in the inventory of a squad member. Then, leave the hangar. Go into the Armory and open the safe. Place the weapons from the PK into the base stash. Switch to the PK weapon tab. Hit the 'arrange' button on the base side. You should get an ammo clip to spawn next to the weapon(s) in question. Put the clip in a squad-mate's inventory, and hit 'arrange' again. Repeat as desired. When you are done, don't forget to take the PK weapons back. For TH PKs (where you can't remove the weapons), you'll have to scavenge, at least for AGS explosive rounds and gatling rounds. For beam weapons, if you pick up a beam rifle or a Prototype 8M1 and put it in base inventory, then hit 'Arrange', ammo will spawn for them under 'heavy'. I know this is annoying, but it works. ---------- RARE ITEMS ---------- Tremendous thanks to the Silent Storm Board at GameFaqs, without whom I would not have found any of these. PROTOTYPE 8M1 Easily the most powerful (most over-powered) weapon in the game. It has great range, great accuracy (even with burst fire), a large 50-round clip (which takes up very little room) and does tremendous damage. The 8M1 is found in a random encounter in Switzerland. Please note: random encounters in Switzerland are VERY RARE. It may take 5 or more minutes to pop. The encounter you are looking for is near the giant '5' on the left-hand side of the map. If you enter it, and see a broken bridge, you know you have the right one. On your side is a broken bridge over a ditch. On the opposite side is a UFO. Between you and the UFO are 6 or so enemy Panzerkleins armed with AGS cannons or Gatling cannons. On the other side of the UFO, a bit to the right of it, is the Prototype 8M1, lying on the ground, alone. To get ammunition for the 8M1, simply place it in the base armory storage and hit the 'arrange' button. You will find the 8M1 at the bottom of the 'Heavy Weapons' section, and a whole bunch of clips should be spawned next to it. Note: these clips work for any beam weapon, including beam PKs. SEA DEVIL A powerful rifle that is overrated in my opinion. Great range, great accuracy, decent damage (though not particularly to PKs), but a small clip size (3 rounds) with large cartridge size (2 squares). The Sea Devil is found in a random encounter in Switzerland. Please note: random encounters in Switzerland are VERY RARE. It may take 5 or more minutes to pop. The encounter you are looking for is near the giant '6' on the right-hand side of the map. It is in a large mansion, stocked with about 20 or more Germans (or British). The Sea Devil is found on the second floor, in the corner room with the fireplace. It is on the mantlepiece. Please note that it can be displaced with explosions and gunfire, like any other item in the game. To get ammunition for the Sea Devil, simply place it in the base armory storage and hit the 'arrange' button. You will find the 8M1 at the bottom of the 'Rifles' section, and a whole bunch of clips should be spawned next to it. KATANA The best melee weapon in the game (although it is a little big in inventory). It has a great critical rate. You can, with good melee skill, kill 3 enemies in a turn with it. The Katana is found in a random encounter in North Britain. It has a (tentative) level requirement of 5, simply because the enemies in it are so difficult. The encounter you are looking for is near the giant '6' on the right-hand side of the map. You should find yourself on a curving road, fences on either side, with a single (Japanese) enemy on the road at the opposite end. While he isn't too much of a threat (assuming he doesn't get close), he has 6-10 friends hiding in the bushes with grenades and shuriken, and -very- high throwing skill. They will rip apart a low-level party. CARBINE 98K SILENCED Though not technically 'rare', it is nevertheless a one-of-a-kind weapon, found in the GERMAN MANOR level (where you usually capture Koch). One of the renegade soldiers has it. If you're the Allies, it's usually a guy in the tower on the left side. If you're the Axis, the guy with it shoots you before combat begins, so you can see where he is--on the roof of the center building. The damage and range on this weapon are not fantastic, but it is made special by the fact that it makes very little noise. So who cares? Hidden characters care. If they fire it, they have a very good chance to not be revealed, as they would normally be when firing while hidden. In fact, I've conquered entire levels solo as a Scout or Sniper, just using the Beretta SMG Silenced and this silenced rifle. If you are the Axis, ammo for this is unlimited--it is the 7.92x57 Mauser. If you are the Allies, you will have to scrounge. Look for MG34 Boxed Cartridge Belt(s) and/or ZB 26/30 Magazines. While you can use regular Mauser Rifle clips, they take up lots of room for very few rounds and seem to run out fast. BIG JOE I am still looking for info on where to get this pistol. I have found the 'Little Joe' arrows, but no Big Joe yet. --------------------- CHARACTER PROGRESSION --------------------- SNIPER ------ In my opinion, the best class in the game. Always Inflict Ranged Crits cannot be beaten (unless you enable the built-in mod, which makes this skill useless). LOOK FOR FREE: Useful, but not earth-shattering. You'll notice it when you don't have it, though. PISTOL SPECIALIZATION: I see no need for this unless you are looking to get RIFLE SPECIALIZATION. The sniper's Shoot rating grows faster than any other class, so you don't really need the extra 10 points, in either of them. BETTER CAREFUL SHOT: Get this. It's not necessarily great, but you need it as a pre-req. SHOOT THROUGH COVER: Useful. You need it as a pre-req. FASTER POSE CHANGE: REQ: LOOK FOR FREE It's alright. It's more useful as a pre-req for FASTER SHOTS. FASTER CRAWL: REQ: LOOK FOR FREE I never crawl--I never see the need to. Useless unless you want it as a pre-req. RIFLE SPECIALIZATION: REQ: PISTOL SPECIALIZATION It's alright, but considering how fast the sniper's Shoot grows, you won't need it. AIM BEFORE SHOT: REQ: BETTER CAREFUL SHOT Useful, and also useful as a pre-req. NIGHT HUNT: REQ: SHOOT THROUGH COVER I love it--it makes you even more deadly at night, as compared to your enemies. FASTER SHOTS: REQ: FASTER POSE CHANGE Later in the game, as your AP grows, you'll be able to get in more shots. With this, you won't take the penalty on the first shot, and odds are you can squeeze in another shot at the end as a result. GOOD SHOT FROM ANY POSE: REQ: FASTER CRAWL Eh. It's alright. There are better things to spend points on, though. INCREASED FAMILIARITY: REQ: RIFLE SPECIALIZATION, AIM BEFORE SHOT Considering that you have to buy PISTOL SPEC, RIFLE SPEC, BETTER CAREFUL, and AIM BEFORE SHOT, it's not that much of a payoff. You're better off with an Easy Handling weapon than Familiarity. FORCE OF HABIT: REQ: AIM BEFORE SHOT, SHOOT THROUGH COVER It's useless by itself, but you need it as a pre-req. Get it. NIGHT VISION: REQ: NIGHT HUNT It is useful by itself, as well as for what comes after it in the tree. FASTER FAMILIARIZATION: REQ: FASTER SHOTS It's crap. FASTER SKILLS GROWTH: REQ: GOOD SHOT FROM ANY POSE Not worth it for the skills you have to sink points into to get to it. BETTER CHANCE OF CRITICAL: REQ: INCREASED FAMILIARITY Useless, except as a pre-req for BETTER CRITICAL INCREASED SHOT RANGE: REQ: FORCE OF HABIT Very nice, both as a pre-req and by itself. INCREASE SIGHT ANGLE: REQ: NIGHT VISION A great little skill, both as a pre-req and by itself. While it might seem useless with LOOK FOR FREE around, it is not. You have a wider sight angle to spot enemy ambushes (before it's too late) and, most especially, to spot enemies during their turn and interrupt them. More sight range = more interrupts, and interrupts are good. SOLO: REQ: FASTER SKILLS GROWTH If you are going for a stealth sniper who hides alone, it might be worth it, but for me, there are better skills out there. Your shooting is great as it is, and if you're hidden, Evasion isn't much of a factor--they need to see you to shoot you. BETTER CRITICAL SEVERITY: REQ: BETTER CHANCE OF CRITICAL Marginal. Might give better hits, but the point cost to get there isn't worth it in the long run. INCREASED RANGED DAMAGE: REQ: INCREASED SHOT RANGE Now we're talking. Every shot will do a little more damage. Plus, it's one step away from Always Crit. INCREASED SIGHT RANGE: REQ: INCREASE SIGHT ANGLE Very nice for a sniper. Because you can shoot so far and so well, you'll now have even more runway to take someone out before they get to you. MASTER SNIPER: REQ: FASTER FAMILIARIZATION, SOLO Too far down the tree to be worth it. Too little, too late. Who needs 'critical more' if you have ALWAYS CRITICAL? FASTER AIMING: REQ: SOLO, BETTER CRITICAL SEVERITY Again, too far down the tree and too expensive. I almost never snipe because a Careful Shot will nearly always yield 100% later on in the game, and it's only later in the game that you can get to this area of the tree. ALWAYS INFLICT RANGED CRITICAL: REQ: INCREASED RANGED DAMAGE The holy grail of sniper skills. It's relatively easy to get to (only 6 pre- reqs, as opposed to 8 for MASTER SNIPER, an inferior skill), as well as having the pre-reqs be mostly great skills in themselves. Every shot you fire will be a critical, including bursts. This means more damage (lots if it is a head shot), nearly always bleeding (if they don't die outright), and all sorts of other fun, crippling malaises. AMBUSH: REQ: INCREASED SIGHT RANGE Useful for a sniper with the 98K Silenced, but ultimately I think it's too far down the tree, especially considering that you will probably already have ALWAYS RANGED CRIT. SCOUT ----- The scout often gets a bad rap, but I love the scout. Their great stealth + their high AP means more surprise attacks (especially with silenced SMGs) and a better chance to stay hidden as a 'spotter' (hidden in a forward position, seeing enemies that squad-mates further back can shoot at). Their skill tree focuses on enemy detection and critical hits, but is admittedly rather anemic overall. THROWING SPECIALIZATION: Bah. I never use throwing weapons. LOOK FOR FREE: Very important for a spotter. Make sure to get it. AWARENESS: It's not clear what the penalty for having the first turn in combat is, but you might need this as a pre-req for something down the line. HIDE IN THE DARK: Useful, but more useful as a pre-req. FAST THROW: REQ: THROWING SPECIALIZATION Bah. MELEE SPECIALIZATION: REQ: THROWING SPECIALIZATION You may want this if you want a melee scout. I did not play a melee scout in any of the campaigns I played. I preferred a Silenced SMG. FASTER POSE CHANGE: REQ: LOOK FOR FREE Meh. You might need it if you're crammed for time, but it's certainly nothing special. Considering all the Scout's APs, you shouldn't need it save for a pre-req. STEADY GUN: REQ: AWARENESS More useful than you might thing. If you ran your scout around like I did, you will find that this allows a great hit % even after running 40 APs worth. NIGHT VISION: REQ: HIDE IN THE DARK The Scout's job is to scout. NIGHT VISION helps them do just that. Get it. BETTER HEARING: REQ: HIDE IN THE DARK A great skill for spotting unseen enemies. Get it. FASTER MELEE HIT: REQ: MELEE SPECIALIZATION If you're going melee, by all means get it. If not, don't bother. PISTOL SPECIALIZATION: REQ: MELEE SPECIALIZATION Marginal. There are better skills do get with better pre-reqs than this. FAST CROUCHING: REQ: FASTER POSE CHANGE Bah. I usually run from cover to cover. Crouching just takes valuable time, and reducing the cost from 6 to 4 doesn't help too much in this aspect. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE: REQ: STEADY GUN This may help you if you move around a lot to avoid enemy attacks. Every step you take reduces their accuracy (a 'movement' penalty). This doubles it, potentially making a decent shot completely useless. STEALTH RUN: REQ: NIGHT VISION Bah. INCREASED SPOT: REQ: BETTER HEARING It's ok; not bad for spotting hiding enemies. Good as a pre-req. INCREASED THROWING RANGE: REQ: PISTOL SPECIALIZATION Bah. FASTER ATTRIBUTES GROWTH: REQ: FAST CROUCHING Potentially useful, in a tree full of useless skills, but it has 2 useless pre-reqs. SOLO: REQ: FAST CROUCHING, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, STEALTH RUN Could be good, except for the heinous (9 point) pre-req cost, 3 of which are pretty useless. INCREASE SIGHT ANGLE: REQ: INCREASED SPOT A great little skill, both as a pre-req and by itself. While it might seem useless with LOOK FOR FREE around, it is not. You have a wider sight angle to spot enemy ambushes (before it's too late) and, most especially, to spot enemies during their turn and interrupt them. More sight range = more interrupts, and interrupts are good. VANGUARD: REQ: SOLO Having never gotten it, I really can't speak to its usefulness. ALWAYS INFLICT MELEE CRITICAL: REQ: SOLO This would be the holy grail for the melee-based scout, but it's on a different leg of the tree from all the other melee skills. What a pain. AMBUSH: REQ: INCREASE SIGHT ANGLE Get it if you plan on having your Scout hidden often. It will really help, trust me. INCREASED RANGED DAMAGE: REQ: INCREASED THROWING RANGE, FASTER ATTRIBUTE GROWTH Gee, this one would be great if it were not hidden behind a pile of useless pre-reqs. 8 pre-reqs, 6 of which are useless? No thank you. SURVIVAL: REQ: FASTER ATTRIBUTES GROWTH I generally do not let my soldiers get below 25% hp, and if I did, 10% evasion is -not- going to save them. RAGE: REQ: SURVIVAL, EVADE AREA ATTACKS I do not like to get my soldiers below 50% health, and I don't melee. Even if I did melee, I would not send my soldier into melee with 50% health. EVADE AREA ATTACKS: REQ: INCREASE SIGHT ANGLE +10% evade to grenade attacks? Woo-hoo. I don't think so. I'd rather put my points elsewhere, thank you. SOLDIER ------- The meat-and-potatoes of your squad. While you don't technically need one, it's always good to have a solid guy around who can haul stuff and take a hit for the team if it's needed. FASTER FAMILIARIZATION: More useful as a pre-req than anything else. IGNORE WOUNDS: Useful as a pre-req, or if you let yourself get shot often. I try not to. LOOK FOR FREE: Useful. you'll notice it when you don't have it. SMG SPECIALIZATION: REQ: FASTER FAMILIARIZATION I use SMGs, so this is useful for me. Plus, it's a pre-req for other good skills. Even if you just use Heavy MGs instead, you need to get this one first to get that far down the tree. FASTER SNAP SHOT: REQ: FASTER FAMILIARIZATION Not a bad skill, once your shooting is high enough. If it's low, you're better off with an SMG burst at short range than you are with a few snap shots. At long range, you won't hit anything with a snap shot till much later in the game. SURVIVAL: REQ: IGNORE WOUNDS I generally do not let my soldiers get below 25% hp, and if I did, 10% evasion is -not- going to save them. Unfortunately, you'll probably need it as a pre- req. FASTER ATTRIBUTES GROWTH: REQ: FASTER POSE CHANGE Useful by itself and as a pre-req. Feel free to get it. FASTER POSE CHANGE: REQ: LOOK FOR FREE Crap. Get it as a pre-req for better things or not at all. FASTER SHORT BURST: REQ: SMG SPECIALIZATION Not a bad skill, although if I burst I tend to use Long Burst. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE: REQ: SURVIVAL This may help you if you move around a lot to avoid enemy attacks. Every step you take reduces their accuracy (a 'movement' penalty). This doubles it, potentially making a decent shot completely useless. BETTER HEARING: REQ: FASTER ATTRIBUTES GROWTH A great skill for spotting unseen enemies. Get it. GOOD SHOT FROM ANY POSE: REQ: FASTER POSE CHANGE Eh. It's alright. There are better things to spend points on, though. MACHINE GUN SPECIALIZATION: REQ: SMG SPECIALIZATION Very nice, especially later on for the Panzerkleins. Don't miss it. LONGER SHORT BURST: REQ: FASTER SHORT BURST Not only are your bursts faster (the pre-req) but also get an extra bullet. Nice. FASTER SHOTS: REQ: FASTER SNAP SHOT Later in the game, as your AP grows, you'll be able to get in more shots. With this, you won't take the penalty on the first shot, and odds are you can squeeze in another shot at the end as a result. INCREASED SPOT: REQ: BETTER HEARING For a soldier who probably isn't going to do much scouting, it has reduced usefulness. If you don't have a Scout, feel free to get it. FIND COVER: REQ: GOOD SHOT FROM ANY POSE Having never gotten it, I can't speak to it. Sounds pretty good though, aside from the crappy pre-req. CONTROLLED LONG BURST: REQ: MACHINE GUN SPECIALIZATION If you're going full-auto, you're in it for the long haul. This saves you some bullets (which you might not want if you're hoping to hit multiple guys) and time (which if you valued, you'd use Short Burst instead). I don't think it's worth it. INCREASED RANGED DAMAGE: REQ: FASTER SHOTS Very nice. Get it. STEADY GUN: REQ: RUN FOR YOUR LIFE The soldier probably isn't going to run around much, so this probably won't help you any. AWARENESS: REQ: BETTER HEARING It's not clear what the penalty for having the first turn in combat is. Too many pre-reqs to be worth it. HEAL ME BETTER: REQ: FIND COVER If you don't plan on getting shot, you won't need this. REDUCED RECOIL: REQ: CONTROLLED LONG BURST, LONGER SHORT BURST, INCREASED RANGED DAMAGE Sounds nice, but it's very far down the tree and there are nicer skills out there. Unless you burst all the time (IE are a Panzerklein ShKAS junkie), I think you can skip it. SECOND SKIN: REQ: STEADY GUN, INCREASED SPOT While it's not clear what all the penalties for using Panzerkleins are, it is true that it reduces shot time and increases movement. If you plan to PK often, consider it. VANGUARD: REQ: AWARENESS Having never gotten it, I really can't speak to its usefulness. INSPIRATION: REQ: HEAL ME BETTER Not bad, but with some meh pre-reqs up the tree. I can find better things to spend points on. MEDIC ----- A medic is less useful than you think, especially if you don't plan on getting shot too much. Even if you do, the skill progression in the game is broken (as of 1.2), virtually assuring that you won't be able to use the best medical items in the game. Still, the Medic has a few team-related skills that can make up for this. BODY CARRIER: Only useful as a pre-req. Who carries bodies in combat? BANDAGES MASTER: Woo-hoo, I can bandage a little better. Pre-req, nothing more. SURGEON: Potentially useful, although I tend to avoid getting critically hit when I can. FASTER SNAP SHOT: Useful as a pre-req, and then useful later on in the game when you can shoot something a decent distance away with a snap shot and not have a 2% hit chance. IGNORE WOUNDS: REQ: BODY CARRIER Useful as a pre-req, or if you let yourself get shot often. I try not to. KNOW ENEMY HEALTH: REQ: BODY CARRIER, BANDAGES MASTER I LOVE this skill. Get it ASAP. It's one of the best reasons to have a medic. You save yourself shots on guys who are going to bleed to death next round and know which guys you can kill in 1 shot and which will take more. FASTER CRITICAL HEALING: REQ: BANDAGES MASTER, SURGEON Since I usually heal outside of combat mode, speed is not an issue. INCREASED MELEE DAMAGE: REQ: SURGEON While it sort of makes sense, who makes a melee-medic? FASTER AIMED SHOT: REQ: FASTER SNAP SHOT Useful as a pre-req, and then useful later on in the game when you can shoot something a decent distance away with an aimed shot and not have a 12% hit chance. RESIST CRITICAL: REQ: IGNORE WOUNDS Not an issue if you don't let yourself get shot. RESIST CRITICAL SEVERITY: REQ: KNOW ENEMY HEALTH Not an issue if you don't let yourself get shot. MASTER MEDIC: REQ: FASTER CRITICAL HEALING Meh. FASTER MELEE HIT: REQ: INCREASED MELEE DAMAGE While it sort of makes sense, who makes a melee-medic? BETTER CAREFUL SHOT: REQ: FASTER AIMED SHOT Useful. Get it. BETTER CHANCE OF CRITICAL REQ: RESIST CRITICAL Pretty decent skill. Never hurts to crit more. BETTER CRITICAL SEVERITY REQ: RESIST CRITICAL SEVERITY Very nice, paired with BETTER CHANCE OF CRIT. FASTER SKILLS GROWTH REQ: MASTER MEDIC Potentially useful, although hidden below useless skills. MELEE SPECIALIZATION: REQ: FASTER MELEE HIT Again, who makes a melee-medic? FORCE OF HABIT: REQ: BETTER CAREFUL SHOT Only useful as a pre-req. WISDOM: REQ: BETTER CHANCE OF CRITICAL, BETTER CRITICAL SEVERITY Very nice skill, but costly (7 pre-reqs). PERFECT MEDICINE KNOWLEDGE: REQ: FASTER SKILLS GROWTH Meh. You could go this far down the tree to be able to use all sorts of medical items, or you could survive on bandages and forceps and get better skills instead. ALWAYS INFLICT MELEE CRITICAL REQ: MELEE SPECIALIZATION Melee-medic? INCREASED SHOT RANGE: REQ: FORCE OF HABIT Never hurts to have a little extra range on the weapon, especially with a spotter. TEAM SPIRIT: REQ: WISDOM A decent skill, as long as you leave the medic with friends. LITTLE BLOOD: REQ: PERFECT MEDICINE KNOWLEDGE I never had that much trouble with bleeding. Either I could cure it, or I could not. I'm not going to waste this many skill points on a rare problem. PROLONG MEDICAL TREATMENT: REQ: PERFECT MEDICINE KNOWLEDGE Again, too far down the tree for me, although potentially useful. INSPIRATION: REQ: INCREASED SHOT RANGE As long as your medic is with the group, this will help them all out. Considering the usefulness of the pre-reqs, you won't be hurting if you splurge the extra point here. GRENADIER --------- Although they may not seem useful, you'd be surprised how badly everyone else throws a grenade. I keep one around for just such an issue. Their skill tree isn't bad either; comparable to a soldier's in many aspects. IGNORE WOUNDS: Only get this if you're going for SECOND SKIN. FORCE OF HABIT: Useless except as a pre-req. FASTER ATTRIBUTES GROWTH: Put your first point here at level 2. You'll have it all game, and you won't regret it. RESIST CRITICAL REQ: IGNORE WOUNDS Only get this if you're going for SECOND SKIN. SMG SPECIALIZATION: REQ: FORCE OF HABIT Get it, and get it early GRENADE MASTER: REQ: FORCE OF HABIT A grenadier is supposed to throw grenades. Help him do so with this skill. FAST THROW: REQ: FASTER ATTRIBUTES GROWTH This is only necessary if you want to throw 4 grenades a round. Nothing should survive 3 grenades in a round, so you probably shouldn't bother. BETTER EVASION: REQ: FASTER ATTRIBUTES GROWTH Very nice. Unlike a lot of other skills which put requirements on raising evasion, this is a blanket skill. RESIST CRITICAL SEVERITY REQ: RESIST CRITICAL Only get this if you're going for SECOND SKIN. FASTER AIMED SHOT: REQ: SMG SPECIALIZATION Get it, both for itself and for the abilities below it. THROWING SPECIALIZATION: REQ: GRENADE MASTER Only applies to knives. Bah. GOOD THROW FROM ANY POSE: REQ: FAST THROW Bah. Not heeded. SURVIVAL: REQ: BETTER EVASION I generally do not let my soldiers get below 25% hp, and if I did, 10% evasion is -not- going to save them. EVADE AREA ATTACKS: REQ: RESIST CRITICAL SEVERITY Only get this if you're going for SECOND SKIN. BETTER CAREFUL SHOT: REQ: FASTER AIMED SHOT Get it, it's good. FASTER SHORT BURST: REQ: FASTER AIMED SHOT Another good one. BETTER GRENADE TIMING: REQ: THROWING SPECIALIZATION Because I do not use the grenade-timing feature, I do not use this skill. INCREASED THROWING RANGE: REQ: GOOD THROW FROM ANY POSE Not bad, although you probably won't need it. FIND COVER: REQ: SURVIVAL Too far down a crappy tree to be worth it. STEADY GUN: REQ: EVADE AREA ATTACKS Only get this if you're going for SECOND SKIN. ROCKET-LAUNCHER SPECIALIZATION: REQ: FASTER SHORT BURST, BETTER GRENADE TIMING I do not use rocket launchers, so this is not useful to me. HEAL ME BETTER: REQ: FIND COVER Too far down a crappy tree to be worth it. SECOND SKIN: REQ: STEADY GUN, BETTER CAREFUL SHOT While it's not clear what all the penalties for using Panzerkleins are, it is true that it reduces shot time and increases movement. If you plan to PK often, consider it. FASTER RELOAD: REQ: ROCKET-LAUNCHER SPECIALIZATION Always useful, but too far down the tree for me. FASTER SNAP SHOT: REQ: ROCKET-LAUNCHER SPECIALIZATION Always useful, but too far down the tree for me. INCREASED AREA ATTACK DAMAGE: REQ: ROCKET LAUNCHER SPECIALIZATION, INCREASED THROWING RANGE Too far down the tree for me, although if you use grenades and rockets often, it's probably worth it. TEAM SPIRIT: REQ: HEAL ME BETTER A useful skill, but ultimately too far down a crappy tree to be worth it. ENGINEER -------- The engineer has a few useful skills, but is mostly useful for their abilities to pick locks, and set and disarm traps. Because skill progression is broken in engineering (as of 1.2), the engineer is of questionable use in this instance. However, they do have a bunch of useful skills. RIFLE SPECIALIZATION: Get this as both a pre-req and a crutch for a generally low shooting score at the start. PISTOL SPECIALIZATION: I use pistols infrequently, and so saw no need for this, except as a pre-req BURGLAR: A very nice skill for picking locks, as well as a pre-req. FASTER RELOAD: REQ: RIFLE SPECIALIZATION You'll be surprised how often you'll be reloading weapons, especially rifles, with their small clips. This skill is great. FASTER SNAP SHOT: REQ: PISTOL SPECIALIZATION. Useful as a pre-req, and then useful later on in the game when you can shoot something a decent distance away with a snap shot and not have a 2% hit chance. FASTER AIMED SHOT: REQ: RIFLE SPECIALIZATION, PISTOL SPECIALIZATION Useful as a pre-req, and then useful later on in the game when you can shoot something a decent distance away with an aimed shot and not have a 12% hit chance. FASTER SKILLS GROWTH: REQ: BURGLAR Good, and easy to get. Get it. TRAP SENSE: REQ: BURGLAR This skill would be better if skill progression were not broken. That said, it helps a little. MACHINE GUN SPECIALIZATION: REQ: FASTER RELOAD Very nice, especially later on for the Panzerkleins. Don't miss it. SMG SPECIALIZATION: REQ: FASTER SNAP SHOT Also a very nice skill, as long as you use SMGs (which I do). INCREASED FAMILIARITY: REQ; FASTER SKILLS GROWTH Useful as a prereq. It's not clear to me that it's useful beyond that. DISARM TRAPS: REQ: TRAP SENSE Assuming you can find a trap to disarm, this will help you. It's a pre-req. INCREASED SHOT RANGE: REQ: MACHINE GUN SPECIALIZATION Good and relatively easy to get. Always useful. ROCKET-LAUNCHER SPECIALIZATION: REQ: MACHINE GUN SPECIALIZATION, SMG SPECIALIZATION Since I did not use rocket launchers, this did not help me. AIM BEFORE SHOT: REQ: SMG SPECIALIZATION Gives a slight bonus on all 'first' shots. Not too bad if you can afford it. DIFFICULT TRAP: REQ: DISARM TRAPS If you plan on trapping often, get this one, and watch the enemy blow themselves up. I did not often use traps other than to blow up stubborn doors and chests, however. DEMOLITION: REQ: ROCKET-LAUNCHER SPECIALIZATION Assuming you want to blow up buildings...ok. If you want to blow up a building, though, it's pretty easy anyway. You don't need this skill. EVADE AREA ATTACKS: REQ: ROCKET-LAUNCHER SPECIALIZATION Too far down the tree and too little bonus. MASTER ENGINEER: REQ: WISDOM Only get this one if you are going to get PK skills. WISDOM: REQ: INCREASED FAMILIARITY, DIFFICULT TRAP A very nice skill with a pricey pre-req list. In general, the exp gain doesn't seem worthwhile enough to justify the cost by itself. Get it if you want the PK skills. ALWAYS INFLICT EXPLOSIVES CRITICAL: REQ: DIFFICULT TRAP If you use traps offensively and often, feel free. I don't. TEAM SPIRIT: REQ: WISDOM If you got WISDOM, get this one. If not, don't go out of your way to get it. PANZERKLEIN TECHNICIAN: REQ: MASTER ENGINEER If skill progression were not broken and you could get above 100 engineering without cheating, maybe this would be worth it. Until then, spend elsewhere. SECOND SKIN: REQ: MASTER ENGINEER While it's not clear what all the penalties for using Panzerkleins are, it is true that it reduces shot time and increases movement. If you plan to PK often, consider it. INCREASED SENSOR RANGE: REQ: MASTER ENGINEER Your spot ability is decreased dramatically while wearing a giant suit of metal. If you use PKs, get this one. APPRAISE PANZERKLEINS: REQ: MASTER ENGINEER Very useful if you intend to destroy Panzerkleins. However, it's not so useful if you're just planning on killing the pilot with beam weapons, as I do (and as is the easiest way). LOWER PANZERKLEIN NOISE REQ: MASTER ENGINEER Um, if you are using a Panzerklein, you are not planning on being stealthy. Don't bother with this one. -------- CAMPAIGN -------- OPENING MISSION --------------- ALLIES: You are gravely outnumbered and outgunned. Your only chance is to take it slow and easy. This is easy if you're a sniper (shoot them with your rifle) or a scout (sneak up on them and backstab them), but much harder for an engineer or a medic. Your best bet is to advance slowly and use cover, and when possible try to sneak up on the enemy. If you don't have a rifle, one of your first enemies will, and it would be a good idea to get it and use it; rifles are one of the keys to the game. Submachine guns and machine guns are good for close quarters combat and surprise, but not for long range fights. And since you don't want to die right now, a long range fight is what you want, to lower the odds that the enemy will hit you. Once you've cleared the board of visible enemies, 'use' the motorcycle. You will get in and use the armed sidecar, and more germans will appear. Shoot them with the sidecar gun. Grab a couple of extra rifles and a SMG or 2 to take back to base--the armory is pretty bare once you get there and you will have 5 more squaddies to outfit once you get there. Once this is done, get the dead body of your commander and haul him to the cycle. (As a side note, if you haul him to the bike first, the extra germans do not appear and the level ends normally without you having to fight them). AXIS: You are stuck right in the middle of the road, with few options. If you have a rifle, it'd be best to seek cover and fire from there. If you have a pistol or SMG, it will be harder. You may have to hide [H] if you are a scout, and sneak up on the enemy to do some melee criticals. You are going to want to get the SMG that the guard dropped in the opening cutscene, especially if you don't have one. Once you have killed all of the robbers, pick up the one in white and carry it to the far side of the car (the one not facing the bank). SQUAD BASE (Intermission) ------------------------- Now that you're at your base, you can set up a team. I highly suggest having one of each class in your party. Make sure to outfit each one with a rifle, a SMG (a heavy MG for your soldier) and 2 grenades (more for the grenadier). At first, you might not have the weapons to satisfy this loadout. Make it your priority to scavenge up enough weapons to do this at your first opportunity in the coming mission(s). In fact, before you go on an actual mission, I suggest taking on 1 or more random encounters to get some experience points before you actually start tackling missions. ------------- NORTH BRITAIN ------------- UK COMMANDANT'S OFFICE ---------------------- ALLIES: This battle, you not only have help, but are able to position yourself defensively before the enemy attacks. Use this to your advantage. Stick one guy on the Vickers fixed MG by the front door and the rest upstairs by windows with rifles. Be aware that you will have to open said windows to have any decent line-of-sight on the enemy. Once you're in position, talk to the captain twice and the enemies will begin their attack. An interesting note--the guy you are supposed to capture, Oberst Binder (if you are on easy, he will have an 'i' over his head) doesn't spawn with the rest of the attackers. He's in the single building across from the other two, on the first floor in a locked room accessable by the window. If you do this, you can actually go in through the window, kill him, pick him up, and 'Leave' the mission early. I suggest going through it to get XP, however. When you are done, pick up the body of the [i] guy and [Leave]. You'll get access to PLACE MARKED ON THE MAP and ENGLISH RURAL HOUSE. If you are having trouble on this mission already, I'm willing to bet that you are either trying to use SMGs too much, or using snap shots on your rifle. At this stage of the game, odds are that even your sniper can't hit a target 5 feet away with a snap shot. Always used at least Aimed, preferably Careful. As a rule, don't use Snap Shot until your hit chance is at least 50%. 1 hit is worth much more than 2 misses. Also, don't use the SMG until your hit % is at least 20-25% on long burst or about 30% on short bursts. You will just waste time and ammo, and the enemy isn't going to be polite about you having to stop and reload all the time. AXIS: For the Axis, this mission isn't as kind as it is for the Allies. You start in the corner, and it would probably be best if you ran in the back door of the large house before starting to fight, so you can get some cover. This is, of course, if you can get the door open; it's locked. If you have an engineer, this door should be easy to pick. Failing that, you'll have to go in a window. Once inside, take care of any enemies in there and then take positions at the windows. The other enemies should start responding to the gunfire soon. Once things have quieted down a bit, go up to the second floor and set yourself up by the windows. Snipe anyone that you see. When you've cleared the street, go into the smaller building across the road and go upstairs. There should be an enemy soldier in the bedroom with a clue [i]. Now you're ready to take on the big mansion. There are a few guards on the first floor, so use a hidden spotter and go in the side. If you stick your riflemen on the second floor of the building across the road, you should be able to hit anyone in the other house--the munitions you have should penetrate the walls. Captain Rex Weller [i] is upstairs in the the office next to the stairs. There is another clue [i] on the desk in the office next to his. OLD ENGLISH MANOR ----------------- ALLIES: This mission starts in quite a predicament--you are brought into a room, surrounded, and then the fight begins. Start by equipping your SMGs and kill all of your attackers with short bursts. Enemies are going to start coming from upstairs and outside, as well as from other rooms in the mansion. Get into the center room of the mansion (with a sofa, coffee table, and 2 windows) and get on either sides of the doors. Always leave 2 or 3 guys with full APs for interrupts, and use the others to start shooting holes in the ceiling at the guys above. Then, you can also play the old open door/open fire/close door trick. An [i] clue can be found in the locked bedroom next to the bathroom, on the desk. If you can't pick the door, blow it open with an MP40-class SMG, a rifle, or (to help raise your engineering), stick an explosive on the door and then shoot it with your rifle to blow it open. Upstairs, above that bedroom, is Major Alfred Newhouse [i] who needs to be captured, as well as an [i] clue on his desk and an [i] clue in the corner by the door. The clues should lead you do the UK MILITARY WAREHOUSE. AXIS: You start out on the road in front of the manor, and have to assault in. If you attack the gate, half the house will come out to get you, but they'll do it in a slow and disorganized manner, so you should just be able to churn through them. Once the gate is clear, advance towards the gatehouse with a hidden spotter. Take out anyone you see with riflemen in the back. On the first floor, in the room in the back with the chest, you should find your first clue [i]. The door is locked, so shoot it down, shoot open the window, or blow a hole in the wall to get at it. The basement should be clear, so make your way upstairs, slowly, room to room. In the back is Newhouse's office. Talk to him with your main character, and you will get a clue [i]. You can find one more clue [i] in the bedroom next to his office. Once you've got all 3, you are free to [Leave]. UK MILITARY WAREHOUSE --------------------- You have to help defend a warehouse against an assault in this mission. There are 4 groups of bad guys; One inside in the trees, one by the train locomotive, another that comes in to the rear of the train, and the last one (led by an [i] sniper) outside the base in the houses. Run up to the front gate and attack the enemies in the trees. If you have trouble, try this cheesy trick; hide behind the door, and have one person (ideally your worst shot) open the door. Have the other 5 open fire, and then close the door at the end of the round, so the enemy cannot return fire. This is the Open Door/Open Fire/Close Door trick which works well in turn-based games of this ilk (with the possible exception of Fallout Tactics, which is merciless in its interrupts). After 20 turns or so, the group of Germans in the residential area will run around and assault the front gate. Make sure not to let them catch you from behind. Seek cover in the buildings. In a locked box in one of the warehouses is a great rifle--the Mosin 1891 Scoped. Make sure to get it before you leave, as it's got good damage and is USSR ammo-based, so you can refill it at the base. The other building has a scoped Springfield and another Mosin Scoped, so get those too. Once you have dispatched the enemy, make sure to pick up the commander (Oberfeldwebel Karl Dressler [i]) before you [Leave]. This leads you to SMALL ENGLISH VILLAGE. A SMALL ENGLISH TOWN -------------------- ALLIES: You bust in on a firefight between the English and some German commandos inside a building. Go around the side (from where you start) and shoot in through the windows to clear out the enemies. This shouldn't be that bad a fight. Because your allies can see all the enemies, they spot for you, so you can shoot at them through walls, floors, windows, etc, with impunity. For some reason, the enemies here seem to give a ton of XP, and they don't seem that hard to take out. Take advantage of this. As the fight goes on, they will try to get away on the other side of the board from where you started. If you have to, run through the park in the back to cut them off. The leader of the enemy mission [i] is going to try to escape down the road on the opposite side that you came in. To assure that he does not, send a fast squaddie (probably a scout) through the park to the other side of the town to cut him off and make sure he doesn't get away. AXIS: You start on a road near the park, and almost immediately there's a british patrol coming at you. If you have good shooting skills, you might be able to take them down quickly with little fuss. If you can't, though, you'd best get over the wall and into some cover. Either way, this mission is fairly straightforward. Presumably, all the armed civilians are part of the 'trap', but they really aren't very tough. The only trick comes when you find the spy Weber [i]. As soon as you walk in, you are ambushed, and probably shot up pretty good. Here's the trick, though. The guy that ambushes you is hidden in the locked bathroom next door. If you kill him first, you avoid the whole sordid affair. Don't forget to grab the docs [i] on the desk by Weber, who joins your party once you talk to him. ORGANIZATION'S STOREHOUSE ------------------------- This mission is a 2-parter where you can pick up some (probably your first) Panzerkleins. You start up top, near a road that leads to a large elevator. The elevator complex is bristling with snipers, so be careful. You may want to use the bushes and trees to cover your approach. Before you do anything, take out the gate guards from the bushes where you start. Then, advance slowly towards the elevator, with the Scout ahead a bit and hidden. Have the scout spot and the rest of your troops pick off her targets with rifles, same as usual. Once the top is clear, there are 3 ways in. The first way in is using the elevator, which you will have to do at some point to get the Panzerkleins out; however, doing it will set off an alarm, something you might not want to do right at the start. The second way in is a hatch right next to the elevator. This will not set off the alarm, but it still puts you in a non-advantageous spot. The third way, which I prefer, is to use the secret hatch disguised as a sewer cover, over by the gatehouse. This puts you in a small ventilation room where no one sees you enter and there are not machineguns aimed at you from the very start. If you take this secret way in, go into the next room and kill the guard there before he can react. Then, take his machinegun and prepare for half the rest of the base to rush in after you. You can then mow them down from a defensive position. In the Bunk area there is a Renegade Officer with a clue [i] on him. This clue should open up Switzerland. Also, right near the bunk area is a generator room with a 'use'able generator. You use this to deactivate the security bars down below, so you can get at the Panzerkleins. Don't use it until all the enemies are dead, or they will use the PKs against you! On the other side of the base, on the same floor (3), there is a small office area. Another officer hides in there with a clue [i] (Allies), and there is yet another clue [i] on the desk in the room with the file cabinets (Allies) or on the table in the locker room (Axis). Once you have cleared out all the bad guys, go back up to the surface and take the elevator down. This way, you can put the Panzerkleins on it and go back up to the surface. PKs cannot climb ladders, I'm afraid. When you get down the alarm will go off, but you should just be able to [Leave] so it shouldn't be a problem. Regarding the Panzerkleins: the one with 400hp can take the saber, the one with 420hp can take the sniper guns, and the 450hp ones can only take machineguns and/or the PIAT rocket launcher that you can find in a box across the hall. Don't worry about ammo, as there is a ton at the base. Make sure to grab all the weapons you want, however! This is very important. The amount of weapons for Panzerkleins is limited until you get to Switzerland, which is a pretty hard 2-part mission. NOTE: Panzerkleins only appear for Allies here. They do not appear for Axis. AGENT'S CACHE ------------- Not surprisingly, Brits are patrolling around the area. Use the trees and bushes for cover, and it should be easy enough to take out the enemy. Make sure to crouch to make it harder to hit you. The document [i] that you need is in the far corner opposite you, near the rocks. ------------- SOUTH BRITAIN ------------- PLACE MARKED ON THE MAP ----------------------- Now there's an interesting mission name, huh? This is basically just a house rigged with a ton of mines. It's actually impossible to disarm all the mines with your engineer because of pathing, but luckily you don't have to. Rather, just throw a grenade at the house; it will blow it to bits and you can climb down into the basement to get at the chest, the only interesting thing in there. Within the chest, you'll find a clue. This clue opens up OLD ENGLISH MANOR and GERMAN TOWN for the Allies. It's not clear what it opens up for the Axis. ENGLISH RURAL HOUSE ------------------- ALLIES: You start on a dirt road near a couple of Germans. They are close enough that you might be able to use targetted head shots or fire off a few snap shots to get more chances to hit. In any case, try to kill them both the first round. If you can't get them both, kill at least one to minimize return fire. Advance on the main house. Once you get close enough, someone will jump out the window (Wilkins) and join your party. He is unarmed, so try to get him a weapon--or get him away from the fight, at least. There is a soldier in the house with a clue on him. This opens up UK MILITARY WAREHOUSE. If you get Wilkins out (walking or carrying), you get UK LABORATORY. If the clue is not on this soldier, it may be in a chest in the stable. If you can't pick the lock, shoot it open. AXIS: You start out in the woods and have to kill an english patrol that's wandering around the house. It should be fairly straightforward. Use the trees and bushes for cover, and send your scout in to spot for you. There is a document [i] on the bed in the house. UK LABORATORY ------------- ALLIES: As you walk in, the lab is already under attack--note the hole blown in the side wall. You should also be able to see a bad guy in the window above the door. There are 3 groups of enemies; two groups are already in the house, both upstairs and downstairs. The third will be attacking from the front gate-- they come in later. Still, make sure you get inside so you don't get hit from behind by this third group. The door connecting the main hall of the main building with the room with the stairs down in it is trapped. Let an idiot AI ally open it for you. Don't head in this way just yet--it's too narrow and the AI allies will crowd in there to get slaughtered. You don't want to get caught in that mess. Try to get your team to the stairs up on the other side of the building, and assault up from there. Shoot up through the floor if need be to get up safely. Heavy MGs are good for this, as well as MP40-class SMGs. Rifles will do the trick but you usually have much less luck with them shooting blind. If possible, get a spotter on your target, even if they just watch the target and retreat without firing. All firing is much more accurate with a spotter, and with a spotter, you'll be able to hit with rifles. The enemy mission here is to kidnap an [i] scientist in the basement. If they get away with him, the mission is failed, so when all the allies heading downstairs die, make sure to have backup so they can't get out. Don't worry about the ones out front--they'll take a while to kill the gate guards, and even if they do, you can just take 1 soldier and put him on the Vickers at the front door to hold them off. What I did was put my Soldier in the room with the 2 chests on the first floor. He had a heavy MG, and proceeded to fire blindly through the floor at the enemies below. Because heavy MGs do a lot of damage to walls and floors, he blew a hole in the floor, killed 2 guys, fell through the floor, and killed 2 more on the next turn. This is not to say you should do it this way, but it -is- possible. The third group often likes to go over the wall in the corner of the yard. To compensate, put 1 or 2 of your troops in the bushes out front and leave them to interrupt anyone that climbs over the wall. If this doesn't work, stick them right in the corner. Climbing over the wall usually takes so many AP that the enemy can't fire on the same turn. Then, you can finish them off with some point-blank SMG fire. Once all the enemies are dead, the scientist will give you a clue item that opens up GERMAN INTELLIGENCE HQ. Once you have this, you can [Leave]. AXIS: You start out on the road and have to assault the manor. Be careful of the Vickers in the front window--it can tear you to pieces if you don't avoid it. Take out the riflemen first--the SMGers have nothing on you if you attack from any range. Now, you have some serious problems here. First, the Renegade soldiers (that go during the 'Allies' turn are hostile to you. Second, the regular Brits are after you. Third, a squad of Brits comes in from behind not long after you get into the mansion. You are going to be attacked from all sides. I suggest you pick a room (the one with the vickers is good) and hold it as long as you can. If this doesn't work, find a quiet room and hope the Brits and the Renegades duke it out for a bit. Of course, the Renegades are going to try to run off with the scientist [i] that you need. If you hold the Vickers room, however, they will have to come by you. Post a guard at the door, leave it open, and wait for them to bring the scientist to you. Make sure you get all the gear that you can, especially the HMGs, which weren't available for this mission at the base. The Mosin rifles are a good investment, as are any scoped rifles you can find. The documents [i] that you need to find are on the 2nd floor, in the foyer with the chest in it. SMALL ENGLISH VILLAGE --------------------- ALLIES: This straightforward mission has you rooting some Germans out of some houses. It's not particularly difficult; just use bushes and trees as cover and pick them off with rifles. Make sure to pick up the [i] clue that the Axis officer was holding; look for a Walther P38 if you can't find it with [Alt] directly. Also, pick up the enemy officer in black [i]. This should activate A SMALL ENGLISH TOWN and GENERAL BAUER'S HEADQUARTERS. AXIS: You start off talking to a soldier, and then are inexplicably attacked by some British soldiers, who apparently wandered in while you were chatting. The spy (Stevens) joins your party temporarily. You have to ensure that he lives through the mission. There are a -lot- of enemies, and they all attack at once. At this point in the game, you haven't got the firepower and accuracy to take them down fast enough. Get into the house and stay near the windows, but back from them a bit to increase your cover. You must weather the onslaught as best you can. One of the Allied Officers is carrying a document [i] that you need to get. Once all the enemies are dead, a cutscene will ensue and the spy will give you some answers you are seeking [i]. Then, you are free to [Leave]. DOCUMENT'S TRANSFER PLACE ------------------------- AXIS: Unsurprisingly, it's an ambush. Try to move into the trees instead of the center open area. Seek cover in the bushes, and take out the heavy MGers, the riflemen, and the grenadiers first. The bushes are soft cover, but the enemy has to get in close to see you. Shoot them with rifles as they approach and SMGs and HMGs when they get close enough to see you. The clue that you need is right out in the open, in the middle of the field on a rock. -------- HANNOVER -------- GENERAL BAUER'S HEADQUARTERS ---------------------------- ALLIES: As soon as you fire a shot, expect to get mobbed. There are a lot of bad guys here. Hang out in the corner where you started and wait for them to come to you so you can pick them off with rifles, or wait just around the corner with SMGs/ HMGs. Take it nice and slow and advance into the manor very cautiously, with the Scout leading the way and the others following with rifles to shoot anything s/he sees. Be especially careful in the courtyard--that can be a deathtrap for the unprepared. Edge in, fire a short burst or 2, and edge out. If you find yourself attacked by 2 or more enemies, don't hesitate to use grenades. A good idea is to use 'light' grenades, however. The heavy ones don't get thrown very far except by the Grenadier (and even then it's not that far). My [Objectives] for this level told me to seek documents on the fate of the abducted scientists, but I found no such documents after scouring the level for some time. So, I checked the forums. Seems that these docs are often buggy; sometimes they can be found outside, behind the mansion, and sometimes they spawn -inside- one of the desks on the second floor. To test this theory, I blew up the desk in the corner office on the 2nd floor (the one with the big black leather chair). Sure enough, I blew up the desk, the floor, and the civilian standing around, and when I checked the 1st floor, the docs [i] had fallen down there after being freed from the desk. This allows access to the GERMAN LABORATORY in Hannover. For what it is worth, I did not find them my first time through, but still found the location they refer to. If you want, you do not have to scour the level for them. There are other ways to find the GERMAN LABORATORY, which this item opens up. GERMAN INTELLIGENCE HQ ---------------------- You start in an open court, surrounded by buildings, but out of sight of the enemy. Almost immediately, patrols start wandering into your line of sight. Now, it is possible to have Panzerkleins by this point, so if you have them you're pretty much all set; nobody here can hurt you, and you can just storm around as you please. If you don't, it'll be a little more work. Use the side of the building and/or the news stand to your advantage. The benches can work as cover too, but bullets often go right through them, and they will be destroyed after a couple of shots. After you have got decent cover, wait for them to come to you. Most of them will have pistols or SMGs, meaning they won't have the range of rifles, so use those to outgun them. Assaulting the mansion is a bit trickier. The enemy has a lot of riflemen with good vision. Your best bet is to run your scout into view of some of them, fire away with the other 5, and then get the scout back to cover before ending your turn (and hope they don't interrupt you). Try to use the bushes in the park out front for cover (near the fountain). The basement has a couple of chests, but don't be surprised that a couple of the rooms are bugged pathing-wise. Also worth mentioning is that there is an armed civilian in the newstand across the road from the mansion (between the staircases). He is always ducked so you have to open the door to see him. He wouldn't be an issue if he didn't constantly keep you in combat mode all the time that you are near him. On the second floor of the mansion, on a table out front is an [i] clue. There is another [i] doc in the back, on a table behind a counter. This should open up GERMAN MANOR. GERMAN LABORATORY ----------------- You start in a small room. Stay there. Whenever an enemy comes up, open the door, blow him away, and close the door back up again. Half the enemies in the level should head on up to that room, and you should be able to kill them all quite neatly. Once that's done, venture out into the windowed hallway and pick off a few more that are hanging around. Then, start moving around the rooms, blowing open the locked doors. Use MP40-type SMGs, HMGs, or attach an explosive to the door and hit it with anything. Your eventual goal is a room downstairs with an [i] scientist in it, Dr. Locke. Only your main character can talk to her, but once you do, the level goes into lockdown. The only way out is to use the ladder down to the sewers, because Locke refuses to leave the way you came in. The ladder is on the first floor, on the opposite corner where you found Locke. Using it will take you to the second part of the level, where you have to run across to the other side of a long hall with Germans pursuing you. The [Leave] button won't work. Every few rounds, more Germans will spawn behind you. There are several chests scattered on the lowest level, but none of them hold anything particularly good. Just dash for the exit, or if you really want some xp, get some cover and hold them off for a while. The enemies here don't give all that much xp, however. This opens up GERMAN STORE. GERMAN STORE ------------ If you have Panzerkleins for this level, it should be really easy. If not, it will be a bit trickier. You will have to get all of your guys into the bushes and weather the assault of the enemy. They have snipers on the roof, a bunch of guys in the open area in front of the warehouse, and even more at the gate that will run around the fence to blitz you. You might be better of waiting to get Panzerkleins if you're having a lot of trouble with this level. In the back of the warehouse, in a pile of boxes, you can find a clue [i] with 'rocket engine parts'. This opens up GERMAN WEAPON FACTORY. In one of the chests in the back is a Silenced Beretta SMG. There is another one in a chest upstairs, if you still need more. In some cases, Oberst Koch [i] may be found in this level (due to the random campaign generation). If he is, make sure to haul him out before you leave. ----------- BRANDENBURG ----------- GERMAN TOWN ----------- You have 5 houses to storm. First order of business, hug one house and clear the street. Then, take each house one at a time. It's straightforward, as long as you have rifles and can deal with all the enemy riflemen on the rooftops. As usual, just send your Scout up to hide behind some cover and spot for you while the others shoot at her/his targets. The spy [i] you need to get is in a corner apartment on the top floor of the corner building. It will take a while to get to him, but it isn't particularly hard... just time-consuming. Make sure to grab the [i] document he's trying to burn. GERMAN MANOR ------------ ALLIES: This mission is a bit trickier than many of the others. Once 50% of the enemies are dead, the commander will try to escape. You -must- catch him. Well, you don't -have- to, but you really should. However, in some cases, the commander (Koch [i]) will not be here--he will be at GERMAN STORE instead. Check your [Objectives] to see if one of the requirements is 'Capture enemy commander'. If not, urgency does not apply. If there's a problem with this mission, it's getting into the mansion and into the commander (Koch [i])'s path before he gets to his jet. There are only 2 entrances through the outer wall, an open courtyard that's perfect for enemy snipers, and then the jet courtyard which is also full of enemies. We'll deal with the gates to the outer wall first. There is little to no cover to protect you from enemies coming out of the gates, which is where the first battle will happen. You can stay out of range to fire at them with rifles, using a scout as a spotter ([Hide] at the corner of the wall). Unfortunately, if you get 50% of the enemy down while out there, it'll be quite a trick to get to Koch. Another solution might be to blow a giant hole in the wall with big grenades or bazookas. If you decide to assault in through the gates, the enemy knows to hang out just inside to fire at you as you run through, tearing you to pieces. You will have to use grenades to compensate for this (throw them over the wall with a grenadier), or make a new door with explosives. Once you're inside the wall, dash into the house for cover, and make your way to rooms with windows out to the jet pad. Take out everyone in there, and set a watch. Koch should have had his cutscene by now, and ought to be on his way. If you don't think you can catch him, use your engineer to set a mine at the base of the ladder up to the jet. That should fix him good. If you get in early, stick a mine on the base of the tower, where he comes down. Odds are that he will see it, but it will cut off one avenue of escape. Don't forget to grab the clue [i] on the bookshelf of the office on the 2nd floor, in the corner, overlooking the jet pad (it also has a chest in it, for reference). There is another clue [i] on the 3rd floor, above that very same 2nd floor office, in a larger office with 2 desks and a typewriter on each one. The last clue [i] is in the attic area, under a small box in a corner. This will probably be the first mission that you run into Renegade Soldiers. Be assured that they are smarter, better equipped, and more skilled than most of the regular troops you'll run into, so don't mess around with them. If you have a choice of shots, hit the Renegade first. Odds are, the Renegade with the Carbine 98K Scoped, Silenced (a silenced sniper rifle) will come out the gate on the lefthand side, near the start of the fight, right at the beginning of the mission. Don't miss picking it up. You can also find a Silenced Beretta SMG and a Silenced MP40. Both are wise investments if you use stealth. Bagging Koch opens up a wealth of new areas, including RUSSIAN MILITARY FACTORY, UNKNOWN COMPLEX, and ORGANIZATION'S STOREHOUSE. STOREHOUSE is the first place you can (and should) get yourself some Panzerkleins. If you have not got any yet, go there now. AXIS: You are led into Koch's mansion courtyard and surrounded. Boy, is this a kicker, huh? There are no less than 12 enemies. You have to get cover, and fast. Get into the base of the tower and shut the door--and get away from the door. Because there is a window in it, they can see you and shoot at you from outside. On turn 2, kill anyone that's come in the door, and then mine the door. Quickly get away from it and upstairs to the second floor. Mine that door, too. The point here is not to have them blow themselves up--the point is for them to see the trap and therefore not open the door. Once you're up on the 3rd floor, feel free to start chucking grenades out like a madman. As soon as you see the cutscene, you'll know that half the enemies are dead and they are on the defensive. Assault out. You have to get to the launch pad to make sure Koch [i] doesn't get away. If you bag him, you get to go to ORGANIZATION STOREHOUSE in Britain, which is the first place you can get Panzerkleins (Allies only). If you move quickly enough, you might be able to rush in on Koch (who is on the second floor in the office near the tower) and take him down, but he has 3 guards with him, and if you aren't fast enough, they will rush you instead. Dashing in on him, however, means that you can't mine the door until at least Koch [i] is down. At the top of the tower, you can find a clue [i]. On the opposite side of the mansion, another doc [i] can be found behind a locked door on the second floor, in the bedroom. A third is on the second floor in the main office with the desks. The last piece is behind a locked metal door in the attic. Make absolutely sure to get the Carbine 98 Silenced from the Renegade sniper on the roof. This makes your scout or your sniper absolutely deadly--they can fire while hidden and (most of the time) not be revealed. GERMAN WEAPON FACTORY --------------------- ALLIES: The factory has apparently just been attacked by Thor's Hammer. It's pretty ruined. Nonetheless, it's filled with bad guys. I highly suggest you come in here with Panzerkleins, just because it's easy to get ambushed in these ruins. Plus, no one here can really hurt a Panzerklein (except friendly fire). If you don't have PKs, you're going to have to move slowly from cover to cover to avoid getting picked off. Scouting can help a little, but with all the walls, you won't be able to call shots like in many other levels. Out by the ruined truck is an Axis Officer in green, General Uwe Muller [i]. Make sure to grab him before you go. Downstairs (technically Basement 1), there is a document [i] in the office overlooking the machinery. The stairwell is just behind it. Muller unlocks BERGER'S FACTORY in Switzerland, if you have not got it already. Feel free to grab any Axis-based PK weaponry, although if you're playing Allies, there is no way to equip or use them. AXIS: After a cutscene, you start up in an office. You must protect the life of General Muller [i]. More than dozen bad guys are going to come from the gate. You want to use the buildings to your defensive advantage--herd them to come in from only 1 way (the factory floor works good) by trapping doors. Use whatever you've got, because there are a ton of them. I had a spotter look through the windows in the office above the factory floor and had the remaining men fire through the wall in the small walkway connecting the general's office with the factory. They had heavy munitions (SVTs) and the enemy was close enough to snap shot. To stop a rush, I used a grenade to destroy the stairs up to the factory office, forcing them to climb up one at a time, right into my STG 43 gunfire. Your reward for defeating all of the enemies are 3 Panzerkleins. Make sure to sack the factory for any and all weapons and munitions before you leave. There is a document [i] that you need to get from the factory floor. It's in the back on a large desk with engineers around it. -------------- URAL MOUNTAINS -------------- RUSSIAN MILITARY FACTORY ------------------------ Save your game before entering this level, and bring many grenades. You are not allowed Panzerkleins on this mission. You have to go in on foot. Not long after a cutscene, you find yourself under assault by renegade soldiers with heavy weapons. In fact, several of your soldiers may already be wounded. If they are wounded badly, you will want to reload your saved game (or just restart the mission). You get control while your men are crouched next to some crates. First order of business, get the heck away from those exploding oxygen tanks! Don't worry about firing at the enemy right this second. Worry about seeking cover. The Russian guards will occupy them for the moment. Get behind the boxes and switch to Aimed Shot on your rifles. Fend off the enemy by crouching behind the boxes and then do Stand/Aimed Shot/[Snap Shot if time]/Crouch. Be careful because the enemy will attack from the office that overlooks the shop floor and also the door under that office. If you are feeling plucky, you can stick a bomb on that door to give them a nasty surprise if they come in that way (there are actually 2 doors to the floor out of that stairwell, so you might need 2 bombs). Once you have all the enemies dead on the floor, it's time for the annoying part. They have infested the lab, which is nothing but a maze of locked metal doors. SMGs won't cut through them--HMGs have trouble, even. What you can do is 'trap' the door with a medium-weight explosive (grenades work great) and then shoot the door with a rifle. The bullet will detonate the explosive, blowing up the door. Some doors are sturdier than others. If the first bomb does not blow up the door, attaching a bomb and then shooting it will not work again. Instead, you have to detonate it with another grenade. Your eventual goal is the office on the 2nd floor with the glass windows. There is a scientist [i] that you need to rescue in there. When all the enemies are dead, have your main character talk to him, and a cutscene will ensue. Then, you are free to [Leave] the level. UNKNOWN COMPLEX --------------- This mission is tricky, but is easier with Panzerkleins. I have done it, however, without them, so they are not a necessity. You have to carry a body out, so only bring 5 or less PKs. This will probably be the first time that you run into enemy Panzerkleins. You have a couple of options on defeating them: 1. Use your own PKs to duke it out with them. Let the best man win. 2. Get to their PKs before they can suit up. Some are in the warehouse and a few others are next to the external guard building. 3. Kill the Renegade Soldiers with the beam weapons, take those, and use them to kill the enemy PK drivers. 4. Go to a later (harder) mission, the Switzerland one, and get the Beam PKs there. 5. Go to a Switzerland Random Encounter and get a Sea Devil rifle and/or a Prototype 8M1 Beam Weapon and use those. 6. Take them out with standard weaponry, including heavy machineguns, grenades, sniper rifle shots to the head, and bazookas. 7. If all else fails, wait till they run out of ammo. They don't have very much of it. This mission is made trickier by the fact that the whole place is set to self- destruct when the complex commander (Orlov [i]) is killed. You'll have a short time after you take him out (he's in specially-colored PK armor) before the whole place blows up. So, if you want any of the other clues, you'd best get them before you kill him. One way to do this is make him run out of ammo (but this will take a while because he has a few clips). Alternately, you can capture another PK armor and have him chase it into the guardhouse. If you eject from the armor inside, next to the door, He won't be able to come in, but the AI continues to chase the driver, so he waits outside doing nothing. Also keep in mind that incautious sprays of weapons fire can hit the explosives all over the base and destroy it by accident, ending the mission (game over). This level is an excellent reason to use a Scout as a spotter (assuming that scout is not in PK armor). Set him/her to hide and put them near the base of the cliff. Then, have the rest of your troops pick off the enemy with long- range rifle shots. Be careful, as these bad guys seem to have an excellent Spot skill. If you brought Panzerkleins, a Sniper with a Sniper Cannon will be your most effective weapon, especially against the Beam PKs (until you capture one yourself). Make sure to take out the Beam PKs first, because they can kill one of your PK drivers in 1-2 shots. I actually had great luck with using targetted shots with the Sniper Cannon. I aimed at the hand area [4] and shot Orlov's [i] rocket launcher right off his PK, rendering him impotent for the remainder of the battle. Not only that, but I took it back to base with me and equipped it on one of my Allies PKs. Quite a bonus, if I do say so myself. Clues: there is one clue [i] in the rear office, overlooking the train, with 2 chests in it (3rd floor). Another one [i] is in the room next to it with the 3 filing cabinets and the map on the wall. The last clue [i] is in a large refridgerator-looking box in the front office on the third floor. Regarding the third clue, I had a problem where I had the front of the building collapse, cutting off access to the safe. I could not destroy the safe with direct fire, so I shot out the walls and floor around it, and the safe 'fell' and was destroyed. The clue [i], however, remained in midair. I then shot the clue, and it fell to the ground, where I could pick it up. The last order of business would be to pick up Orlov [i] and leave. If you caught Koch, this should give you access to ORGANIZATION BASE on the main overmap. LOCAL RUSSIAN COMMANDANT'S OFFICE --------------------------------- AXIS: You have to storm this largish mansion, guarded by Russians. Move slowly down to the fence and use it as cover. Get to the wall and into the house through the windows as soon as you can (shoot them out). You are not only competing with the Russians, but also with the Renegades, who are attacking from the road near the truck. Given the choice, hit them first, as their weapons and accuracy are superior to the Russians'. Once you're relatively safe, feel free to let the Russians and the Renegades duke it out amongst themselves. Then, head in and clean up. You can find a few clues in this level. The first one is in the basement, in a room with 3 chests and 2 bookshelves. The other one is on the second floor, in the corner office with the chest. ----------- SWITZERLAND ----------- BERGER'S FACTORY ---------------- You will have to carry a body out, so only bring 5 PKs. But BRING PKs. It can be done without them, and there are some there that you can take over, but you really should bring some! And make sure at least one of them is a beam weapon one! Take your PKs in through the front gate and start firing. The enemies will start to attack immediately. Try not to blow too many holes in the floor, because you have to go down there to get to the 2nd part of the mission, and if the stairs and open pathways are ruined, you won't be able to take the PKs you brought in with you (though you can still bring in the enemy ones that are in the basement). This problem is made worse by the fact that you cannot kill -any- civilians during the course of this mission, even if by accident. If you hurt one and it bleeds to death, you lose. If you blow up a floor and the civilian falls to its death, you lose. If the enemy shoots one, you lose. If you blow up a pile of exploding barrels and it kills a civilian, you lose. Period. Hopefully you have one (or more) PKs with beam weapons. Don't use up all of their ammo on infantry! You will need them to take out all the enemy PKs that infest this level (or see the TACTICS section on a solution to the beam weapon ammo problem). There are no [i] clues on the first half of this mission. They are all in the second half. Now for the annoying part. On the bottom basement level, there is a garage door that you use to transfer to the second half of the mission. That's fine. Only problem is, getting back is somewhat bugged. As a result, it's a pain in the neck to get back. If you go in with all your Panzerkleins, you may have to come back with only a couple at a time. That is, put all 6 people near the door, with only 2 in PKs, transfer, leave the PKs on the other side, transfer back, equip more PKs, transfer, etc. To avoid this, you may wish to bring some disposable PKs--ones that you don't intend to return with. As soon as you transfer over to the second half, you are surrounded. The first order of business is to kill all the enemies up in the office over the laser cannon. If they get to the laser cannon, it's all over for you. After that, hit the enemy PKs (especially the beam one) and then finally the bazooka guy in the corner. The rest of the level should be more or less clockwork. Take one beam PK in the lead and just blast anything you come across from longish range. Watch out for the office area on the bottom floor--most of the doors are mined, so shoot them with guns before trying to open them. The only time it gets hard is when you meet the boss [i] over in the foundry area. Take 1 or 2 beam PKs in there--the bars will raise, sealing you in there. You will have to kill him pick up his body, and walk it through the pounding presses. To do this, first climb over via the ladders, and hit the switch in the corner of the room to turn off the fires. You can then walk through--if you time it right. Then, pick up the body and enter combat. You should be able to walk through one of the open gaps. Before leaving the press area, make sure to go up to the office overlooking it, to grab a clue [i]. Then, proceed to the exit with the body. The door is really stubborn about figuring out if you're 'near enough' to exit. Keep trying. Moving around the person carrying the body seems to help. Once on the other side, you should just be able to [Leave]. Make sure you have all the PKs you want to leave with, as well as all of the appropriate equipment. Make sure that if you aren't taking the Blue PK near the doors that you at least grab its BOYS gun. ----------------- ORGANIZATION BASE ----------------- This is it, the last level. You'll be pleased to know, then that the entrance is bugged. If you bring in more than 3 PKs, odds are that you will be stuck and unable to move any of them. So, bring your 3 favorites (beam ones and sniper ones would be a good choice) and then bring 3 infantry equipped with Sea Devils and/or beam weapons (the beam cannon or the superior Prototype one from the Switzerland mission). Your goal is to attack and kill Hel in her super-PK, with 1500 hp for her and 4500 on the PK. Only problem is, it more or less has a cloaking device, it's so hard to 'spot'. On top of that, she has snipers to take out anyone who wants to spot for you. What you want to do is get a scout heading down towards the bottom. Sooner or later, that scout will see Hel, and the rest of your troops can fire on her. She has got some heinous firepower herself, however, so spread your firing squad out, behind what little cover there is. Take out any snipers on the way with your 'firing squad' so the scout doesn't get taken out. You are going to take a -lot- of damage from her attacks, so don't be surprised if you lose one or more squaddies. She's too accurate and too powerful. Whatever happens, try not to let your main character get hit too much, because they will have to go in after her when you defeat the PK. You are put in a small arena at the base of the rocket. Hel is hiding in the shadows (random placement every time). Depending on your class, this will be easy or very hard. I was a sniper, so it was pathetically easy. She has a few hundred hit points, but only an SMG. If you stay at rifle range, she's done for. Then, loot the Key that drops off of her and head to the back of the room to the sealed door. A cutscene will ensue, and you will have won the game.