/| /| ------------/ |-------/ |---------------------------------------------------- -----------/ |------/ |---------------------------------------------------- ____ / | / | ____________ _____ / . / ___ / | ___ \ ___ \_\_____..... ...__ |____ / /___/\/ | (_) _ \_ \_ __ __ / /____|/ _| /_\ __ / / / / / \____/ /_| //_\\___ _/ /_____/ / ___ / /_____________ | | |_| ___/ _/ - `/ __/ __/ _ Y -_) ______________/ | |______________ |_/ / ___/| |\___/\__/\__/_//_|__/\_/ /\ \\\__ ____/ / \/ /__ \__| |__ ____/ / /__ ____/ /________/ \ _ \\ \ / / / // / / -_) _ `/ _ / / _ Y __/ '_/ -_)____ / \ \\_ V ___/ / // / /\__/\___/\___/ /\___|__/_/\_\\__/\ \/ / \ \O\__/ O ()/ / \/ / / / Stragegy Guide \ / \_. \________/ /____/ ___ /_/ by Jigganis \/ _ _________ ______ _____/ ____________/ \_____\__________ ___ __________.__________.. \____ __ _/ ============================================================================== Welcome to my strategy guide! Here you will (hopefully) find information on the strategies and workings of: Ratchet Deadlocked! Enjoy your look. In this FAQ, I will try to cover everything, but chances are that sometimes you yourself will need to improvise, just in case the path I've covered is a little different than the one you are on. If you are really desperate, you can always try asking on say, the Gamefaqs.com Forums, or even better, Forums.Insomniacgames.com for help. This also means that the only control scheme the guide will follow will be my favorite; Lock Strafe, and no Quick Select pause. Turning this pause off is unecessary, yet it trains you for the pause-less Online Mode. Suggestions and tips are always most graciously welcome for any part of the guide, and you can email me at jsthakar1992@yahoo.com, and in AIM, RDL Online, and the IG forums, I am Jigganis. You can easily find where a chapter starts using this method; press Ctrl+F on your keyboard, and then in the new window, type the word in the Table of Contents next to the chapter you want to go to, like 'Mootwritins' for Chapter 1. Click 'Find Next' or a similar button, then keep clicking it till you find what you want. It may be easier just to scroll down, though. __ _____________________....___________________ _ /_/ / \______________________/ \ \ / \ ___ . ___ / Table of Contents which is not a table (!): \ \ \ / \ \_/ / \______________________________________________/ / /_\ \_____/ /\.... \/./\llL) / / /_____// \ \_______ _______________/_________________/....._____/__________...._____\_________ /O O \_/ \ \ |__________/ 1. Mootwritins - The Section for the Story Mode \__\ ____ /||___/ 1A. Debasics - General Story Mode Tips / | __ 1B. Blowuppy - Weapon and Mod Systems and Strategies / ||_/ 1C. Trvlgide - Guide to the Planets and Missions | | _ 1D. Argufren - Tips and Differences for Co-op Mode | ||/ | | 2. Yawnlinemod - The Section for the Online Modes | | /-\ \ | 2A. Uarnooob - General Online Mode Tips |1| \_| 2B. Eexpludi - Weapon and Mod Systems and Strategies |2| / | 2C. Nplctogo - Guide to the Arenas and Game Types |3| / | \-/ | | 3. Rezathacrap - Ending bits | | | | 3A. Yestanku - Thank You List \ | 3B. Whodisgy - Short Autobiography \_| 3C. Lagelrot - Copyrights and Such _________ __ \ \__ ______ _ _ _______ ___ ____/ / \___.......\____.._________ _____ \ ____________________... ... / _____\ / ____________________\ \ \ \ \__________ o o o o o_______ /......\ / /(_)(_______________)\\ \____\ \ \__________/ / (__) / / /___/.............________/ \__ .. ... .. / / ___/______/ / _____ ____\___ ______ / / /___________/ / _ \ \ \ /______\ __ / /_____ _________ /__/.\__\ \ \___________________________/__\\// / \ __||| \ ^7`< U-________________________ \/ / \ -/ \______/__________....__________\______/ \___/ ============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _ ____/\_____ __ ----- ______ ... ________ ____ . . ....___/ ______ /\ __ / | ____ _____________ ____ \\ \ ________________/ ____// / / // /|| / __ \ /_ ___ ____// __ \ \\ / / / /_/ // | / /_/ / / / / __/ / /_/ / // / Chapter 1. Mootwritins - The Section for the Story Mode_/ _, _/ // / ______________________/ / // / |_|/_/ / /__/O O O O /_| | / / \___/ /__________________| \/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ By now, I'm sure you know what dramatics play out here. Ratchet and his pals Clank and Al are in the Shadow Sector, and then get carried off by Gleeman Vox's men to go compete in the famous Vox Media Empire's 'Dreadzone'. Ratchet will have to fight through a ton of challenges with a vastly Modifiable arsenal to keep from getting blown up into tiny leetle molecules. Insomniac's games haven't been very tough, but you'll want some help in some areas anyway, like in the harder challenges or secrets. So, here I am to give you some guidance, lucky. _ ____/\_____ __ ----- ______ ... ________ ____ . . ....___/ ______ /\ __ / | ____ _____________ ____ \\ \ ________________/ ____// / / // /|| / __ \ /_ ___ ____// __ \ \\ / / / /_/ // | / /_/ / / / / __/ / /_/ / // /___ Chapter 1A. Debasics - General Story Mode Tips/ / /____/ _, _/ // // _ | ______________________/ / // / |_|/_/ / /__/O O O O /_| | / // | \___/ /__________________| \____/|_| I'm not going to be listing any controls, or basic manuevers, because if you don't know them, you need to play RC1 - 3 first. ;) I will, though, list some of the more useful strategies as a little reminder to the pros, and some extra help for noobs and intermediate players. These strategies vary from tips on using your Chargeboots, to controling your bots, and other tidbits to start you on a road to sucess. [Develop paranoia] Enemies come in droves in Deadlocked; you will need to check all around you just in case there's still anything moving (snipers, little enemies, ambushes, etc)... Don't be like the guys in Dragon Ball Z; not smart enough to realize that enemies are still around, probably above or behind them, even after flurries of attacks. Same sort of thing happens in scary movies. This strategy is also useful in real life, too. You never know when you could get hit by a falling plane. The government could take you away at any second! And mutant zombie aliens could beam you up at any time and probe you... up in there. They all suck! Your bots are also warning signs, since they have itchy trigger fingers and just CAN'T wait to shoot whatever enemy is nearby. In this case, that's a good thing, and you should do the same. Paying some attention to the map in the bottom right can give you some help in this area. [Move!] Platforming isn't the prominent feature of DL, as were Insomniac's intentions, but you'll see that there's still resemblance left in the constant challenge of avoiding your enemies' bullets and attacks, via running around and jumping. For instance, Landstalker bullet streams are ordinairly hard to avoid, but if you jump from side to side over them, no problem. You'll also need to run away or jump away from homing missles, bombs, and everything else. I use this strategy all the time, because I really want to be able to kick ass without getting mine kicked in return. Running and jumping around can save you tons of time not dying. Mix in a bit of Charge Booting, and you'll be raring to go with one of the best tips I've got. [Take advantage of your helpers] They can do lots of things for you; grind rail setting, Node turning, Hacking stuff... All at the push of a button. The second Combat Bot, if not doing anything, can also be used to protect the other with a shield while in the process of doing these things which you can't do yourself. Node turning you CAN do yourself, but there's almost always an ambush set up, waiting for you to get done twisting that node, and so it can get useful to stay out yourself with the more powerful weapons to eradicate the nuicance. And don't forget to help them in return, in the ways of Reviving them whenever needed (down on the d-pad), and to have Al upgrade them whenever he says he has new stuff at the Containtment Suite. [Boost!] Using your Charge Boots (tap L2 twice), can be a big part of the game. It's useful for covering ground quickly, and strategetically positioning yourself. One useful strategy is to rush through a group of enemies with a boost, and start jumping n' shooting like I'm nucking futs, taking them by surprise. There are also times when you will need to retreat, however. Sometimes the enemy can just overwhelm you, and you need time to think over your strategy, or to hit them with a few ranged attacks. Keeping your distance like that and dishing out pain form afar can be a suitable strategy too. You may also want to try to find an unused Nanotech orb to boost your health, or some ammo while you stay back, if that's what you need. I know of many instances when you'll need to use a shorter boost (like, for not falling off cliffs), so, a technique perfect for that is 'Boost-Cutting'. With this, you can start a boost, and quickly end it by shooting with whatever weapon you've got on you, which will stop you after a small slide. I think this may also work with the wrench, but I'm not sure. One more thing; to speedily use Swingshots, boost off the edge of whatever cliff and then press R1 quickly to grab the shot and go flying across the gap. [Be Conservative (of Ammo)] I'm not with the Conservatives, but now we're talking about the politics of ammo! I prescribe liberal usage of blowing uppings, but be wary of how you use your weapons; learn to make your explody arrows fly true, and not being wasteful in usage as well. This can be even more important with the more powerful weapons, or with the ones having more splash damage, which also generally have less ammo. Don't use these as much. I also advise you to switch weapons often to generally get a mental image of what weapons work well where and when, and it helps evenly distribute use of ammo. [6] Micellaneous enemy tips: Landstalker Turrets are BASTARDS. Their high speed streams of bullets are little devils delivering exquisite pain. Make sure you do not get in their crossfire anytime soon. AND MAKE SURE YOU EMP THEM FIRST! Also, if you get behind them while they are EMPed, you can try to stay behind them and you won't get hit if you're careful. Laser Turrets are ALSO bastards. The best way to handle them is to hide behind whatever object you can find, and start shooting once they are done trying to kill you. Not even jumping around works well on them. Executioners are quite deadly. Besides having high damage resistance, their wrench shot is quite deadly, and they have an even meaner wrench swing if you get in too close. Heavy firepower is the only choice when dealing with them. Laser Backs (Beetles) are rather like the LS Turrets, except for that they fly, and from my experience, their bullet streams are a bit harder to avoid. They can mow thru the breakable barriers scattered around in open areas within seconds, so don't count on them. Dropships (Ships) aren't all that tough to beat, but blowing them up quickly before they fly off and disappear can wield some good bolts and XP. I use the Fusion, Rockets, and B6 on them most. [7] More micellaneous tips: Always look for things in the environment you can hide behind, as they can give you extra protection when dealing with enemies. Try to figure out more ways you can use your surroundings to your advantage, such as figuring out what sort of thins can happen with different elevations and landforms... In Challenge Mode, all the tough enemies just got a lot tougher. Keep in mind that many foes will be able to kill you in just a few hits here. Retaliate by buying all those Mega Weapons, and level them up quickly. Be sure to equip all your XP mods to whatever weapon you are trying to upgrade most, and buy some more from the vendors. Then you'll have all your weapons up to rainbow-y V99 in no time, and you can pwnzors/frag everything to hell! _ ____/\_____ __ ----- ______ ... ________ ____ . . ....___/ ______ /\ __ / | ____ _____________ ____ \\ \ ________________/ ____// / / // /|| / __ \ /_ ___ ____// __ \ \\ / / / /_/ // | / /_/ / / / / __/ / /_/ / // /____ Chapter 1B. Blowuppy - Weapon and Mod Systems and Strategies _/ // // - / ______________________/ / // / |_|/_/ / /__/O O O O /_| | / // __ \ \___/ /__________________| \_______/ Ahh, now we get to the parts that've always been the core of Ratchet and Clank... And the new additions of mods. In here I'll be telling you certain statistics about these things, how they work, how best to customize them, and stategies to use them in. If there's a part you'd wanna be paying attention to besides the next one, I bet its this one. [Dual Vipers] Dual Vipers are the main weapon in this game, and pretty powerful ones, to boot, otherwise known as your machine guns. They'll send out streams of punch-packing bullets at a Sonic the Hedgehog rate; very neat shtuff. You might think the Vipers will be one of the weapons you'll use most over time, but they turn out to be pretty weak against all the stronger enemies. I've still used them for a few quick shots at any enemy, or against Swarmers and the like. Speed mods are the standard sort of mod for this weapon, but ammo mods and knockbcack mods I deem useful as well. As for Omegas, many R&C veterans will remember the Lancer or N60, and cite that they had the same 'shock' mechanisms as the Shock Mod, but with the new age of customization, I've been using the Freeze mod most towards the end of the game. Base Ammo: 200 Base Damage: Low Base Range: Medium/High Base Rate of Fire: Fast [Dual Raptors] Figures. Other than ricocheting bullets and a blue bullet stream, these aren't too different from the Vipers. However, the bouncing shots can be helpful as a semi-equivalent of the Shock mod, and the Vipers were at least good in the first place. [Magma Cannon] A shotgun of flaming fury!!one1! Basically the sequel to the Shock Cannon, another great weapon. This gun sends out rapid vortexes of flame towards your enemy. You'll love it. It's useful for a wide range of situations, from small groups to big enemies, so you may find you'll like a few ammo mods on it, and again some of the XP or Jackpot mods. The knockback mods are nice and all on this weapon, but I rather like to substitute that for other Alphas, and then put Freeze as its Omega. Base Ammo: 20 Base Damage: Varies by distance from target Base Range: Medium/Low Base Rate of Fire: Medium/Fast [Vulcan Cannon] A shotgun with homing shots?! Blasphemy! Ooh... Blasphemy is nice. The Vulcan turns the Magma into something not entirely different, but certaintly cooler and more effective. [B-6 Obliterator] Bombs, very explody. This is a weapon meant for groups, what with the splash damage and limited ammo. However, it never becomes entirely too useful, though I still use it lots since I value variety. The mods I use with it, are, of course, the Napalm Omega Mod, and then a few knockbacks, an area expander mod or 3, and a few ammos which make it more useful to me. Be sure to remember how your aiming effects how far the bomb goes. Aim down to the ground, and you'll clear away any enemies too close for comfort; but aim a few degrees above straight ahead, and you'll send your bomb flying to where no bomb has gone before. Base Ammo: 6 Base Damage: Medium Base Range: Medium/Low Base Rate of Fire: Medium/Slow [B11 Vaporizer] Again, a very similar weapon with a few more perks. I still don't use it all that much, though. [Fusion Rifle] The all-essential sniper, the most powerful weapon, which sends a flash of concentrated energy at a specific target, damaging any others close by. Getting to know how to use this weapon is very important, especially for online play. Besides the obvious method of zooming in on an enemy in 'Look' mode and taking him out, this weapon is extremely useful for outside L2, in a method called "Hip-Sniping" by nearly all of the R&C community. For this, the Lock Strafe mode is perhaps most useful. Because of the power this thing can deliever, its aiming capabilities are a bit off, and the weapon will not go exactly to the spot you want it to every time. Putting a few aiming mods on this can help make it into a killing machine. I also recommend a few ammo mods and many speed mods, which can make it something of a slow Vulcan Fury (Jak 2-3). There are a few sorts of Omega mods you can put on it, and some of the ones I've favored over the past have been Acid, Shock, or Freeze. Base Ammo: 8 Base Damage: High Base Range: It'll go straight across to anywhere! Base Rate of Fire: Slow [Anti-Matter Rifle] This is a swirling ray of doom which will fly to your enemy and smoke him. While that would be nice, it's not what actually happens. By the end of the game (and on into Challenge Mode) it becomes something of a weak weapon. It can still be useful whenever you want to get at something rather far away, and if you want to be selective about it (as in only hitting one thing). So, at the end of the game, I have 2 ammo mods on it, and 8 Speed mods, useful whenever I'm out of other heavy hitters like the Arbiter/Silencer. [Arbiter] Ah, rockets. Evil little packages of amazing fury. They are much like the Decimator in UYA, a fast, straight shooting monster, with less homing capabilities than the Minirocket Tube, but great anyway. This is probably the second-best weapon to use on far away or big enemies besides the Fusion, but pack on a few area mods, and it can be effective in a B-6 Obliterator fashion. The allocation of some speed mods doesn't hurt either whenever you're faced with constantly spawning enemies. You can always use the Napalm mod for this weapon, but I've found after time that I like to use Time Bomb, especially when this weapon V10s. Base Ammo: 8 Base Damage: Medium/High Base Range: Medium/High Base Rate of Fire: Medium [Silencer] An Arbiter which fires 3 rockets! This turns the weapon into one more useful against large groups, but more prominently into a close-range slayer of large foes (if you get close enough so that all 3 rockets fly directly into the enemy). [Tesla Mine Launcher] I refuse to call it the Hunter Mine Launcher! Tesla is a name that has been throughout all the R&C series, from the Tesla Claw to the Tesla Barrier! Hmmph. In any case, the TESLA! Mine Launcher launches mines, as you may guess. Once deployed, they will home in on any enemy who dares come near. This is most useful if they are coming staight toward you. Area mods are a good addition to this weapon, but I've put lots of ammo on it, too. Once I got it, I found Time Bomb to be an excellent Omega mod for it. Soroush 123 mentioned in his Weapons List v3 thread something about Manual Detonation, a technique in which you just run into an enemy with this weapon equipped, and the mine waiting to be launched will blow up in the enemy's face! Base Ammo: 12 Base Damage: Medium/High Base Range: Medium/Low, more when homing Base Rate of Fire: Medium/Fast [Stalker Mine Launcher] This is a pretty cool upgrade to an already awesome gun. For one thing, it's pretty cool that it is twice the size of the original, but the main difference is in the fact that it'll split into 2 mines once it explodes! [Holoshield Launcher] Like the Holoshield Glove in the last game, this gun launches protective shields for you to hide behind. You can shoot through them, but your enemy cannot. This gun will become more useful in later fights, as you are barraged by constant rounds of fire. Be carfeful, though, it only lasts about 10 seconds until you upgrade. Upgrading it isn't hard, but I don't think you'll be using it that much in any case. I didn't fully upgrade mine till somewhere in Challenge Mode! Ammo mods are just about the only thing that's worth it to put on, but I usually give the ones this weapon gets to other weapons, since it doesn't REALLY hurt anyone till it's the Omni-Shield. Base Ammo: 8 Base Time: 10 Base Range: Low Base Rate of Fire: Slow [Omni-Shield Launcher] Pretty much the same thing, but it will shoot back at the enemy once it's taken enough damage. This feature doesn't make it any better than the regular old Holos, though. [Scorpion Flail] In a sense, an upgraded wrench. This mace has many of the mechanics of the wrench (as well as the Plasma Whip from UYA), except it only slams down, which is sort of a good thing. Well, now that I've played thru the entire adventure... It kicks the enemies' ass. HARD. Especially in Challenge Mode. 2 Area mods make this weapon a heckuva lot more effective, as do 2 Knockbacks, 2 Speeds, and 4 ammos. And the Shock mod is great for this weapon. Base Ammo: 20 Base Damage: High Base Range: Low Base Rate of Fire: Medium/Fast [Leviathan Flail] Nothing different, but still hella cool. In Challenge Mode, this became my most prized weapon. Thanks to moomoomashoo (GameFAQs forums) for telling me this: the Leviathan Flail is different to the Scorpion. It now shoots a shockwave along the floor, so it can hit enemies quite far away (but only along the ground). [Miniturret Launcher] Meh. This is the weapon most people will use the least, because it's on the second page of your Quick-Select, and you really just don't have much use for it. In any case though, it's a nice little upgrade of a previous glove-type weapon in UYA, which fires... Miniturrets which fire at your enemy. Speed Mods and Ammo Mods are your primary need for this weapon. I would allocate them to another weapon though, since you won't use this one. Acid or Shock are good mods for this. Base Ammo: 8 Base Damage: Low Base Range: Low, Medium/High for Miniturret's Shots Base Rate of Fire: Slow, Fast for Miniturret's Shots [Quasar Turret Launcher] A nice little upgrade, which gives the turret sniper-ish shots to charge and unleash on the enemy. Doesn't make it more useful, though. [Harbringer] Eh... Not really any strategy to use with this weapon, now is there? Use it sparingly... _ ____/\_____ __ ----- ______ ... ________ ____ . . ....___/ ______ /\ __ / | ____ _____________ ____ \\ \ ________________/ ____// / / // /|| / __ \ /_ ___ ____// __ \ \\ / / / /_/ // | / /_/ / / / / __/ / /_/ / // /____ Chapter 1C. Trvlgide - Guide to the Planets and Missions/ _, _/ // // __/ ______________________/ / // / |_|/_/ / /__/O O O O /_| | / // /___ \___/ /__________________| \_______/ This guide is written on the difficulty level of Hero, since none of the others are very hard. You will also see some extra paragraphs in certain places entitled Ext. Strat:. This stands for Exterminator Mode/Challenge Mode Strategy. Keep in mind, no Challenge is so hard that you can't just go back and beat it on an easier mode. You WILL have to do it on Challenge + Exterminator mode if you'll be wanting to get all the Exterminator cards... [DreadZone Station] The home of Dreadzone and the Vox empire, where you'll be spending time in the Battledome, and visiting your pals. [The Training] Starting off my training session after getting captured and crap, this part's easy. Btw, check 'Skins' in Extras in the menu... There's a second default skin... Bunch of other already-unlocked stuff too! go through it all if you care. Just blow away crap with the Vipers and Magma, go through the teleports... Right now I'm humiliating some poor bots in the second room. Heh-OWWWW! Some godamn bug-bots or something snuck up behind me! Watch out for them. Boom! Just blasted them away. Nice, funny little cutscene, now go to the teleporter in the middle of the room. Oh, and BTW, don't forget to listen to the advice Clank and Al give you, though what they have to say is much less important than my words. Heh. [Outside] Hey, it's Ratchet's head! YAY! Now you furries can get some satisfaction. Now we go meet Al over to the right of your starting position to get Merc and Green, your Battlebots. Now go over and meet Clank, and get more of a glimpse at Ratchet's pop culture-y new personality (ugh). You'll be assigned your first real mission, get on it. [Advanced Qualifier] First real mission! Now might be a good time to quickly look at you skill points, and see which ones you could do at the moment. Anyway, go to the next room after killins are done fer that area. Watch out for the Dropship in the new room! Has some of those damn bug things again. Now then, go to the next room after turning your first bolt crank, and blast the turret with an EMP from your bots, and then just plain blast it. You'll be done now. I got a Green Medal... Yay? Ah, looked it up in the manual, and it says that if you get enough of them you face up against an Exterminator. And I got 3 Skill Points (Get Some Balls, The Protecter, Eagle Eye)! I unlocked Catacrom! \/\/007! I'll stay here for now, though. [Grist for the Mill] Just blow through everything, this one's not hard. Me gots 2 new Skill Points! I got Skillful and Fiver! Got HUD-Color Cheat! [The Big Sleep] Kill all these guys, but make sure you do it quick; sleeping gas is upon you, and will knock you out sooner or later. Ooh! Upgraded my MC (Magma Cannon)! My, that was done quick. [Outside] Got me the B-6 Obliterator! Going back to Battledome to get some SPs (Skill Points). Yay, I got Ankle Biters in Grist! Vipers V2! Got Can't Touch This in A. Qualifier! Now I'm back outside. I go to Al, and check out the Combat Bot Customization Booth. Cool stuff to get there. I get the Shield Link. I found it essential in the demo, so I want it now. The Commando Paint looks cool, but I don't have the money... Onwards to Catacrom! [Catacrom Graveyard] A robotic graveyard, filled with zombies, valleys, and mountains. [Valley of Heroes] Ooh, for a robo graveyard, this place sure is pretty. This is very easy, even on Exterminator mode! Just don't forget to use the giant robot corpses for cover. Rather morbid, isn't it? [On the Prowl] Bought Acid Mod at vendor, allocated it to all weps. Putting an Ammo mod on the B6. Be sure to take out the cameras and floating cameras for an SP! Watch out for the zombies that pop outta the ground. Now go get all the nodes, and then go cross to the Landstalker. Upgraded Vipers! Got SPs Nap Time, Holey Warriors, Unstoppable, Cha-Ching, and Vandalism! Exterminator Strategy: Hm... I have enough money for the Harbringer... Ooh, pretty streams of destruction... Now I go thru the tunnel straight ahead, and EMP the turret, and have my bots crank the node. Cranking the rest of the nodes around here is STILL easy... [All Aboard the Landstalker] Here you'll get your first taste of vehicles. Anywho, make your way to the Burial Dome; this should be easy. By the way, there's nothing around the ring of the dome if you are curious. [Rise Up] On foot again; just beat em all up. I used the B6 for 20 kills in a row for an SP, Piece Meal. Then I upgraded my B6! Try to round up a bunch of zombies into one place before sending them to the after-after-life with the B6 in order to get that SP. Got a GM (Green Medal)! Unlocked Sarathos! [Hoverbike Madness] Ooh, first taste of the Hoverbike! Tips: Learn to turn as tightly as possible with L2 or R2, and hold down R1 always. I did it quick enough to get the Chase the Goose SP! [Destruction Derby] Another fairly easy challenge. Use evasive manuevers liberally, but be quick as well Use your map to figure out where anything that you haven't pulverised yet is. One good strategy is to stay away from all LS Turrets, and attack them with charged-up mortars fom afar. Try to get Lights Out, and Derby Death SPs, too. [Monument to Death] Another easy one to play through. Just run to each monument, have your bots blow it up, repeat. Now I redo some old missions, get a few SPs... I buy Napalm (and allocate it to B6, then I get SP All Scattered in Valley! I get SPs The Perfect Mod, Camera Shy, and Crank it Up in On the Prowl! Onwards to Sarathos! [Sarathos Swamp Romp] This place reminds me of the Beast Makers Swamp in Spyro 1. Ah, that was such a long time ago... [Alien Soil] First I buy the TESLA Mine Launcher, and then the Holoshield Launcher. I allocate Napalm to the Mines, and Acid to the Holo. Now I run through the trenches to the little dome building, killing everything in sight with my new Mines. The Holo isn't of much use yet, though. Watch out for all the big scorpions scattered throughout, and in some of the pits, they have a nasty tail beam. Ext. Strat: Bought Mega Flail... WOOT! The main thing to watch out for here is those scorpions, they pack a wallop in their tail beams 'n blasts. Kill them quickly. [Sarathos Sprint] Here you must find the Puma, not an easy task... *giggle* Actually, it only takes a minimal effort (on Hero Mode). I blast through to the first gate to hack, upgrade my B6, and move on. A few nasty surprises waiting for you on the bridge, keep an eye out. I go over to the next part, EMP that turret, and upgrade me me Vipers. Take care of the node hacking, and finish it up. [Where the Leviathans Roam] Now you get to play with the third vehicle, the Puma. While this is cool and all, the wealth of enemies in this region is excellent weapon upgrade material, so I didn't use the Puma all that much... Now then, simply drive around, crank nodes, and do the usual nuts & bolts till you open the boss arena. I upgraded my Magma! [King of the Leviathans] Hack all the nodes, and awaken the 'King'. *Snicker* Oh god, when will they ever provide some challenge? Probably the next difficulty level up. Time to fight the... Tail.. Ah, there he is. Watch out for his tail beam, and try putting up some Holos to block it. Blast it up. Soon you'll win, unlocking Kronos and another Green Medal. [Check Me Out] Time for some more fun with the Hoverbike! Make sure you shoot all the barrels before you go through the ring to save time, or try to manuever tightly to avoid them, or even just jump over. You'll get SP No Peas Allowed, and Denied since you won't be using weapons... [Swamp Fever] A fun new challenge using the Landstalker, like Destruction Derby. Make sure you get the SP Death From Above. Now I go through the old missions, and I get the Shock mod, and Fusion Rifle from the vendor. I allocate the Shock Mod to the Holo and Vipers. I also switch out the Holo's Ammo mod to the Fusion, and put Acid on the Fusion. I got SPs Shocking, Mystic Warrior, and Long Shot in Alien Soil! Upgraded Fusion! Got SP That'll Fix Em in Sarathos Sprint! Got... Aaah, who cares? Just get all the SPs. I did the King Leviathan boss stage again, completing Time to Kill... Gotten Camera Shy, Gone in 30 Seconds, Don't Come Back, all easy. I'll let you refer to the in-game list if you need to know more about SPs. [Kronos] Much like Blackwater City, except for a more dark cyan tone. Take down Shellshock's forces! [Infiltrate the Cathedral] First off, aim to do SP Cow Patties, and Too Nimble at the sanme time. Try to do Lucky Shot too + continue Too Nimble to get Just Passing Through. Anywho, snipe those 2 guards, Obliterator the coming enemies, and then hit the dropship hard. Now you get to man the turret... If you want, but regular weapons are much better. Got V3 Mines! Continue on, and look for opportunities to do Lucky Shot. Soon you'll happen upon another turret. Use it on the bug things I hate up ahead in the little dome. After smashing some electronic skulls in there, head forward, kill the floaters, and set the grind. More enemies and 2 dropships waiting up ahead. Hack the nodes while defending against little drones. Finished! Upgraded Fusion! [Introducing Shellshock] Get SP Raining Shells, and Punishment. Go to the vendor, get Freeze, and allocate it to the Magma and Holo; put Acid on the Mines. Anyway, go to meet the Nazi-ish bot, and fill him with holes till he runs away. Be sure to avoid the targets on the ground! Finish off the bugs and little guys till you're done. [Enemies are Such a Grind] Ah, the triumphant return of Grindboots! This mission is truly one of the highlights of the game. Try to complete it in less than 3 minutes to get the Slip and Slide SP. Watch out at the beginning, spinners are ahead. Go up the lift, and watch it again; snipers have appeared for the first time. Clank suggests a Holo, and so do I. Get on the Grind Rail, and start your ride; jump over the life-preserver thingies and jump to the right once you reach the second rail. Soon you'll begin to see more snipers and floaters; shoot em all down, but make sure you run into the ammo spheres. Jump on the next rail to the left, circle it and keep going on the newly connected route. There's a Swingshot jump to make, so keep that in mind. And... You're done! [Infiltrate the Cathedral, Part 2] Try killing one of the big wrench guys with your wrench to get Now It's Personal. Kill the enemies to use the lift, now watch for some floaters up ahead, and prepare for some Dropships as you progress. Hey! There's an Executioner (Big Wrench Guy)! Kill him with the wrench. V4 Mines and V5 Magma! Dropships, and a turret you can use up ahead. Go into the arena, time for more B.W.G.s and ships. I find my Freeze Magma Cannon is working quite well. New spotlight to hack coming up; let the bots hack it and defend against the boatloads of new enemies coming in. Done! [Shellshock Returns!] Aim to get SP Can't Hit Me. Go in, prepare your strongest weapons, and fight. The Holoshield is useful here, but the Fusion can finsh the challenge in seconds. [Fight to the Cathedral] Go in and fight the Strikers, LS Turrets, and Ships, and go to the rail behind the slain turret. Jump to the right immediately. Try sniping the snipers down near your destination ahead of time. Blow thru the enemies till you get to the next long rail. Be ready for some chaotic sniper vs. you action on the rails! Make sure you don't fall off. By the end of that, you're at the Cathedral! [Showdown with Shellshock] Time to defeat Coffee Chip Brain once and for all! Make sure you crank 3 nodes youself as Ratchet for the SP Dizzy. Hip Snipe Shelly, kill the coming bugs, and turn the crank, then do the same in the other room opposite, and another time in the third. Finish him in the fourth, and get a new green medal and... CHARGE BOOTS! \/\/007! If you haven't read General Tips, you don't know how relieved I am. Now you've been entered in the Avenger Tournament. [Night Flight] Night Flight is the name of an old Spyro flight level! Ah, the memories. Anyway, now we're getting a chance to fight in the air with the new and improved Hovership! Try to get SP Flying High. Just shoot up everything, and be sure to lookit yer map to see where the Heavy Turrets (LS Turrets) are! Don't forget to use the Missles a lot. Feh, like you need more encouragement. >:D [Inverted Action] Not much strategy here. Just keep your bots on nodes, and defend them with Vipers, Magma, or whatever. V4 Fusion! [Dark City Arenas] Arena combat way back from Going Commando. Just keep on pummeling your enemies with everything you got, a classic strategy. V5 Vipers! V2 Holos (finally)! [Dreadzone Avenger Tournament] Time to return to the Battledome! [DreadZone Station] Go visit Al for a Bot Upgrade (get Bogo and Go-Comet), if you have money, and then go off to the Battledome to strut your stuff in some more missions, but buy the Arbiter and equip it with Napalm first. [Manic Speed Demon] (Hero) For a change of pace, I've decided to switch to Hero mode for reasons known only to Jigganises. Now I'll get a challenge... Aim to get the SPs Two in One and Speedy. Anyway, watch out for those bug guys at the beginning. Afterwards you'll be finding varied patterns of Dropships and enemies. Do it quick! [The Tower of Power] More arena-style combat with many Ships flyin in to drop off their kids at work, trying to kill you. Soon enough there will be some peace, and you can go visit the second room again, killing a few little guys and bugs along the way. Watch out for the new hedgehog guys! They fire long range homing spike missles. You know what you doing here. Once you finish that, you'll go o-oOOW! Watch out for those stupid new laser turrets! Some pretty intense fighting here, bring out the heavy hitters and some Holos for this one. Now you go to the next room, Finish off the little guys + Bugs, and proceeed. Upgraded Mines! [Climb the Tower of Power] You continue from the spot you just completed. Finally, a bit of real platforming. I'm not going to hold your hand here, so be sure to know that Fire + Lombax = Bad. Waiting for you across the lava is a laser turret and some big spinners. More switching platforms and more of the same enemies. The green platforms are safe. Purple ones... Well, once you see how they shake, you'll be wanting to get off soon. Hm... This last platforms to get to the top look easy to climb... OW! Hey! Ok, lets do it again. OW! Crap! again! OW! SHIT! ONE MORE TIME! Phew. BOOM! Damn. I just died. Watch for the Scorpian and B.W.G. at the top. Soon you'll be fighting Ships and more to finish up... And then you're done with the tournament! And you get a Green suit! And I unlocked Shaar and Orxon! [Perfect Chrome Finish] Face of with spinners, lasers, bladeballs and more in this challenge in which you cannot get hit. Make sure you keep Vipers, Freeze Magma, and Holos out! [Close and Personal] Time for some melee action! Blast, er, swing at everything that moves, and you should be ok. Be sure to keep your distance, and remember you have a wrench-throw move. Be sure to use the lasers to your advantage by standing behind other enemies while the lasers shoot them. Its gonnna be hard, specially when they throw in Strikers. I've just gotten the Morph/Freeze mod Cheat for my Wrench, so this is no problem anymore, even on Hero mode. Whew... Done! [Temple of Shaar] The demo level! I chose to go back to Orxon first, but I found it rather challenging. I don't think they meant for me to do that yet. [Return to the Deathbowl] Aim not to get any damage this mission to get 2 SPs. A short, sweet mission. Hack the nodes, get inside the bowl, kill enemies, hack more nodes while killing enemies, and get out. BTW, the Scorpion Flail is available! But so is the Mini-bomb mod... Ohhhhh, I don't know which to get. I'll go with the Flail since it IS a whole new weapon, and I put the Morph mod on it. [Landstalker Stalkin] Throughout this mission, I've gotten tons of SPs, so here's a list for you to try to match with; Shaar SPs 1, 4, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15! I've also upgraded many weapons. I got the Mini-Bomb "Bouncer" mod and put it on the Mines too add a lil extra kick to them. Hardest. Challenge. So Far! Most people won't have TOO much trouble, but me, being a completist, wants to get that extra SP for not taking any damage on the LS. I'm afraid I'm just not good enough to actually pilot the thing and not get any damage, cuz of the other LSes and rocket turrets, so I go on foot. Be sure to watch out for the LS Mortars; they can usually kill you, and they home in effieciently. One strategy for this SP is to rush up to the LS, EMP it, charge back to your LS, and blast away at the EMP'd LS. Do this once you've cleared away most rocket turrets. Anyway, go ahead up the snowy pathway; don't attract the attention of any LSes. Watch the rocket turret on the metal plateau. Go up there and start jumping and shooting away, and keep an eye out for the Ship which will fly in after those enemies are done for. Crank the node, and head toward the B.W.G.s which just appeared. Kill them, and don't start anything with the first and nearest LS until you're ready. Be sure not to get the LS turret's attention till later. Keep in mind that there may be more Nanos back at the first crank. Go up and kill the 2nd turret, and then the last few. You WILL die a lot, but no worries, you'll get it soon enough with just the right mix of strategy. Destroy all those LS turrets and LSes until you reach the next node plateau. Bring out some ranged and splashy weapons to kill these guys, and watch out for any Dropships that may come while your bots crank the node. The last part is substaintially easier, make sure you look out for more Ships and Laser Backs (the beetle things, I'm pretty sure) inside the Temple area, just be sure not to be impatient and die by rushing things too much. [As the Wrench Turns] Try to do SPs Hot Stuff, and... Well, anything else that needs doing which you have the resources to do with. Go right, and up the set of steps to the small building. Take out lasers, crank the node, go forward, beat the patrolling Strikers with a B6. Drop down on the next node, take out turrets, and watch for the Ship. Crank node, watch for Executioners, and go backwards to the trench between the Temple and little building to take out a few more enemies. Go back behind the Temple, shoot the Beserkers coming from the corner, and then crank the next node over there, destroying more stuff that moves. Use the jump pad, crank that node, and go through to where you started. Climb the steps up to the next node, crank it, and be done! There's some more cannon fodder around the building and in the opposite trench from the one mentioned. Ext. Strat: STAY THE &%$# AWAY FROM TURRETS! These guys are SUPER powerful, especially on Ext. Use Holos around them, a lot, and the lasers... The lasers... They also suck like hell, since the beams now turn towards you. And those beetles... ugh. Use Holos there, too. [Assault on the Frozen Tundra] Go around and crank nodes with preselected weapons scattered on the ground, ready for pickup, entirely WAY WAY WAY too damn hard!!!!!!!11!!1!1oneone [Shoot to Kill] An extremely easy round of shooting everything with the LS. Just shoot everything, and use the mortars! [Whack-A-Swarmer] Simple explody fun, you vs timer to kill 181 swarmers. You should get SPs Look Out Below and Locked and Loaded here. Ext. Strat: Again, this is extremely easy, but now I find this to be a perfect ground for leveling up the Mega B11 and Mega Vulcan, as well as getting a shitload of bolts! You know what to do with those XP and Jackpot mods... ;) [Robots in a Barrel] 10 rounds of arena-style combat, easy enough so that I don't have to guide you. Phew! Try to get Shocking here. [Orxon Mining Facility] Ah, first trip back to Orxon since the days of R&C 1. It sure has gotten a lot drearier, but seemingly less smoggy too... Oh, rain. [Labyrinth of Death] Try to get SPs Hard To Hit, The Electrical Socket, The Frying Pan, and Special Delivery. Time to go through the maze and shut down the forcefields. Oooooooooooohhh, Morph Mod! BUY IT (if you have the bolts) and equip it to whatever weapon. This thing roksors the enemies' boksors! I personally reccomend putting it on the B6 or Vipers. I go to the first choice, and pick left. Now I go through, and take care of some snipers on the left. Watch out for the little guys while the bots hack. Watch out, there's heavy forces on the other side, such as a fully-functional Landstalker with an EMP breakable shield. Hiding behind a shield and sniping may be the best option here. More ships... Go to the right. More DZ Strikers here as well. Go to the next room, and watch out for a ship and some snipers. Go to the LS Turret, and get behind that blue shield. Upgrade Arbiter (FINALLY)! Then continue on and to the right. Go straight, and shoot up everything that appears. Soon you'll have activated those gears, and you're done! [Node Overload] Get SPs Running in Circles, Counter Sniper, and Half and Half. Here's a typical drill; go around on top and crank the nodes (do it yourself to get the first SP). V5 B6! Watch for the Executioners up top, they packed a beating for ya, plus there's like, 10 of em! And lasers! V3 Holos! Get the first node after all those waves behind you, near where you started. Watch for the Beserkers and Lasers, and crank it. Afterwards, be prepared for some more enemies. There's more Executioners afoot. Get them, and return to the next node clockwise. Do the same as the last one, and repeat. [Chains of Villainy] Landstalker time! Free the poor crowds, and do it quick for an SP. Easy, since if you die, the clock restarts, and you keep what crowd thingies you launched already. Now you get to compete in the Crusader Tournament to face off with Reactor! [Swarming the Gauntlet] Pummel bunches of Bladeballs and Lasers with pick-up weapons. It's easy to get Snooker here if you find the B6 in the far upper- left corner of the map. Ext. Strat: Another good leveling-up place! Use XP mods! [Scoring with the Blarg] Another target shooting challenge with the LS. Now you have more enemies to compete with, which makes it tougher. Just try it a few times, you'll get it. Now would be a good time to get all the Skill Points you missed... Anywhere. I've been depleting the old planets of SPs, and I've gotten a TON of cheats. I just LOOOOVEE the 'Weather' cheat. Go accumulate those SPs and see it for yourself! [DreadZone Crusader Tournament] Time for the second tournament, this time up against Reactor. [DreadZone Station] Go to Al to get more upgrades; specifically the new head, the new weapons, and a new skin, if you want. Now then, I've also bought the new Mini-Turret Launcher, a classic all the way back from R&C 2. I give it the Shock mod. Time to go to the Battledome! [Static Deathtrap] Ooo, new colored DZ Bots. Still the same explosions, though. You know what to do here! Be sure to use the walls as cover whenever possible. Watch it when they bring out the Mini-lasers, and the final round's pretty tough. V8 Mines! [Marathon] This is a pretty cool course... If you don't count the fact that you will be blown to pieces once the timer counts down. Destroy the enemies in this area, get on the yellow grind, and sail to the next room. Here you will come across more new DZ guys, and a King Leviathan! Kill em all while your bots do the nodework. On the other half of the room there's more enemies and a second King, kill and repeat till the platforms come to get to the next room. Bladeballs, Green DZs and more here, just crank it and then... [Reactor Battle] Watch out for his 'Bull' attack in which he zooms through you, after kicking like a bull. A well timed jump can avoid this, as well as his streams of blue fire, blaster, and other attacks. Holos, rockets, and the Fusion help here. Yay, unlocked blue suit! Yay, unlocked two new levels! I decide to pick up the new wrench upgrade. I don't need it, but what the hell. Ext. Strat: Reactor's abilities have more homing power now; you'll really need to watch out for the bull attack now as well as the ground pound he does straight after, and side-jump over his rapid fire blaster again and again... Or just put a Holo in front of yourself. Holos can also block his blue streams, too. [Zombie Attack] Get SPs Dead Again, and The Bomb here. Objective; blow up