Stalking with Projectile Weapons. (2^nd edition)

(In other words, beating those Quakers at their own game)

By Praetorean a.k.a. HadesOJ.

Greetings, this is my revised copy of Stalking with Projectile Weapons. After Hiss so nicely pointed out certain strategies for individual guns. Also, something has come across me lately.

Sith Grip???? Invincible????? (cheating or not)

Grip, nice power… Sith Grip, practically an unbeatable power! If you have been gripped, then suddenly hear the gripping sound multiple times, you are being Sith gripped. If the Grip sucks your life from you just as a Octopus sucks a crab right out of it’s shell, you are being Sith Gripped. Sith Grip is an extremely nasty power, Sith Grip shows to be the best power in the game because of it killing you EXTREMELY fast! As far as it goes, simply damaging the person that is using Sith Grip WILL NOT work. Sith Grip is like a continuos grip, can’t stop unless you kill them or get yourself out of their sight (Blind included). Sometimes if you damage them just as they are starting to grip, then you might be released. But, if it goes for more than a half a second or so, consider yourself limited on what you can do. You got some extremely limited choices. Choice #1, kill them. Damaging isn’t enough, so killing them is the key to an offensive release (better kill them fast too! Or the Grip will destroy you in less then 3 seconds). Choice #2, Blind them. Probably one of the most effective strategies, but as Dr. Lee explained in Escaping the Grip, finding the enemy is hard enough. Plus, once they get it they are being constantly blinded all the time, they will activate seeing. Choice #3, Turn Absorb or Protection on. I hate this strategy, but, it could work. Absorb is not extremely effective, still stopped in your tracks. But, the majority of the people that know how to Sith Grip know that it is best just to let Sith Grip kill them (note- You must have 4 stars on Absorb for this strategy to work at it’s best). Use the time you got free to use a gun to shoot at them or Blind them. Warning: if they have a surge, consider yourself dead! Cause they will continue Sith Grip then get a gun or saber of choice out and kill you! If the Absorb goes out while they have a surge, then you will gag to death within about… 3 seconds. As for Protection, I do not suggest this. But, for people that aren’t against experienced players, it might work. Once Protection is up, the grip will stop. Though, if you give the Sith Grip enough time, it will go through. So make sure you take care of them. By the way, Sith Grip takes up massive amounts mana. So if you are killed once, make sure you catch them off guard. Choice 4, run or jump the hell out of their sight! If there is a ledge that will get you out of their sight, Force Jump on it then get some health. Just try to get out of their Sith Grip’s sight! PS- you must have a wall or object that makes it so they can no longer see you even if they had eyes in the back of their heads. This is because, you can grip them in sight. Then start the Sith Grip, then the victim doesn’t have to be in sight as long as the person gripping sustains Sith Grip. What is Sith Grip you say? There are many types of Sith Grip, best way to describe for the most part. Is, it is cheating. Though there is another way I am not familiar with. Just ask them if it is the cheating one or not.

Preparation with the powers:

First things first, decide how you play. I know everyone says Dark is offensive, Light defensive. I don’t really care right now, point is, grasp your force style. Way I look at it is, Light side is more of a stealth approach. While Dark is brute power, head on fighting. You are saying, which works best? For me, Dark and Disciple. This is my opinion. Now, they say that Light Jedi got it all worked out on the weapons levels with Absorb and crap. I don’t care what they say, no strategy can be invincible. I don’t care if Pull doesn’t work with them also, that doesn’t matter. As Dr. Lee put it, "Their fate will always be the same, they will come to a grueling end". Choose the side that works best for you, just test it.

Preparation for the level:

The biggest power to have period in a weapons level is Pull. No exemptions. Another suggestion is to adjust your powers according to the level. If the level has Force Throw debris, get stars on Throw. If there are places that require Force Jump to get to, get some stars on Jump, just look at the level. Also, know your opponent. If you know your opponent, then adjust accordingly. If he is going to use Protection, make sure you have Blind and Persuasion if you are Light Side. If you are Dark side, make sure you have Destruction and Throw at least. Just depends on the opponent. My other strategy has a lot on the powers and their counters/strengths.

Basic weapons training:

Feel the gun, caress the gun, become one with the gun, hahahahaha. Sorry, couldn’t resist. OK, best things I can tell you about basic weapons training, Think fast before doing something stupid. Just consider the main patterns of your opponents, make sure you are not becoming too predictable. Other things are circle & strafe your opponent, make sure you are out of his sight. Run at them, jump over and circle & strafe them. Use hit & run tactics. If you find a really good position, that allows you to go at them, hit them good. Then decide if you can survive a frontal confrontation with them, retreat. Consider they might have enough health and fire power to destroy you successfully. Maybe you think you can kill them before they can kill you. Just depends on your choice. Another thing, if you do retreat. Backtrack your path, get behind your enemy, destroy them. When backtracking, Force Jump is essential. Good example, Canyon Oasis is perfect. You have 4 stars on Jump, jump up on of the walls that leads to the main pool. Then go where you need to go. You might say, "That is a wimp’s way of getting a kill!". Does it really matter? A kill is a kill. Now, another good idea is to fire what I call a "Lure shot". Just fire a loud weapon in an area, then get to a covered position to fire at any oncoming enemies. This doesn’t always work when there are a hole lot of enemies fighting at once. But when there are few opponents, perfect situation. I am sure everyone has told you this, so I won’t mention you have to keep moving to stay a mobile target. Plus, crouch to make a smaller profile, sometimes it helps. But, a lot of times, it just makes your attack silent. Cause the main focus is the Rail Detonator, Concussion Rifle and the Repeater Rifle. The Repeater rifle isn’t that big of a danger, though the others make crouching pretty much useless. Ahh, extremely important. If you want to be good, use the mouse in conjunction with the keyboard. Make sure you have both fire types configured into your mouse. Have the mouse set to good sensitive movement. Or just where it is comfortable.

Using the individual weapons:

Warning: All energy based weapons (Repeater rifle, Crossbow etc.), will ricochet of Protection.

Fists: There is no point to explaining these, absolutely no point. They might penetrate Protection, but all the guy with protection has to do is fire a big weapon at his feet. Most likely won’t hurt him, but it will hurt you!

Bryer Pistol: Ok sniping weapon in then Lightsaber-only levels. Not much use or damage. When I use the shield system in Nar Shaddaa Loading Terminal, I shoot at the shield to make sure it is up. This is the perfect weapon for this, it has a low ammo cost. Just make sure you are near the shield switch when the round goes through. You are better off using your Lightsaber most of the time if this is the only Gun you have.

Storm Trooper Rifle: Good weapon all around, good for when you got someone in a grip and just want to stay out of their range.

Thermal Detonators: I love using these in Bespin, they are perfect. They have that Concussion Rifle where that trap door is. When you see someone go down, chuck a few down there.

Crossbow: I like this weapon, it gives ya style. The secondary mode maybe mag-sealed and you can fire it around corners and the such. But that is not why I like it. I like it because of the Fire 1 ability! Charge it up and keep it that way. Get to the side of someone, let all of those 5 bolts slam into that sucker! Warning: Don’t plan to do this with a protected Protection person. Those 5 bolts will kill you a lot of the time.

Repeater Rifle: Third perfect anti-Lightsaber weapon as several people have told me. When you are close, just fire it in the secondary mode, let us see them block that Note- crouch when shooting! This is also good for those moments when someone is just pissing you off and you want them to die very slowly. It is fun, they see their life trickle right down to zero.

Rail Detonator: This IS the best weapon in the game because of it’s total damage when it makes a direct hit. Of course if you got an idiot running around at long range, you are better off using the Concussion Rifle because of it’s Explosion radius. But, if you are at Medium or Short range, this is the best weapon in the game. When at medium range, use Fire type 1. But, when close, use the sticky rails. But get out of the way, cause whenever I get them on me, I stay close to the guy who did it so he can share my happiness J . Now, if you have enough stupidity to use Protection, if you hear someone with Persuasion on. Shoot your feet several times. It works, though it doesn’t work extremely well, you have a chance of killing yourself.

Sequencer Charges: I like these, or course I like anything that explodes J . But, these are good anti-running weapons. Though if they have 4 stars on Speed, they will slip right by before the charges explode. That is why I have a strategy, lay a bunch of mines next to each other in the Fire1mode(it’s best to do this on top of a ledge), in like a circle. Sometimes, it does explode, if it does, kiss the runners good bye. No one can survive such an explosion. Now, if they have Protection, you are on a pick-nick. Just do what I said, though make sure it is at a blind corner. This is best, cause they aren’t rushing. So they have time to see the Charges.

Concussion Rifle: Good gun! Great for people that like to run around, cause of the spread damage. Also, I suggest you use with Protection. For the point of shooting your feet, you could kill them. Though, like the Rail Detonator, you could kill yourself. I don’t suggest you use this in at short range, doesn’t work well. I just us the second fire when I am backing up, then when I have backed up enough, I unleash Fire type 1. This is the ultimate long range weapon by the way. The spread of the fire is perfect, even if it is the same speed as the Rails. Note- Someone said to me once, "Snipe in MP? Good luck!" This is ironic, people think in JK it is impossible to snipe. There is a person that posts at pcgames.com, his name is TheSniper. He usually plays Quake, but he made a good point either way. All you need for a perfect time sniper or camp, is a dark corner or blind ledge when they approach it. 4 players that are too busy with the others and you have a perfect situation. I have another strategy that explains Sniping and Camping, look around at Hiss’.

Lightsaber: Good weapon, overall most use is here. I will explain the best features. It can’t be pulled. It gives out some nasty damage when at short range (with fire type 2 of course). It works when slicing stuff open. Also deflects weapons that are being fired by an amateur gunner. Now, the bad sides. It is noisy. It lights you up, even with Persuasion, you can tell because of the light it gives off. Notice how I said close range, in other words, you have to be right next to them (it’s not that easy with an experienced gunner). Also notice how I said deflects some weapons, not all. Plus, many would not know this. But I fought a dude called Skyyoda and another guy called Skunk. I was in Battleground Jedi, so no real devastating weapons. But, this is ironic. I used the Pistol and had some great luck! I just strafed, let them come at me, shot them. Then just maneuvered around them and kept firing. I got some kick ass kills that way. But, that is just unbelievable you say, it is energy based. Well, with a little creativity, nothing is what it seems. But, I don’t use the Lightsaber unless I am in a real tight spot or am in a position where I have no ammo.

Types of projectile games:

There are two types of projectile warfare that I know of. If you think it has something to do with the powers, you are wrong. This is based on the level of action in the Projectile weapon game. Obviously projectile weapons games are different from Lightsaber games. Lightsaber games are about facing your opponent in honorable combat and the such. Projectile weapon games, are much, much more complicated then you think. But, we are getting off subject. Back to the two types:

Type 1, non-stop slaughter, only have to walk 10 meters and there is your opponent. These games are the most smoothly running type of games. So and so was killed by so and so flashes up quite often. These usually have 4- 6 players, depending on host. I consider Type 1 the easy way of fighting with projectile weaponry, cause this is when all the powers can be used.

Type 2, Ah, where many fail. These are when the real Quakers/Duke 3d’ers show, the most for that matter. They are the bone chilling, horror type pop out games (my favorite). These are when thinking about what you are doing and thinking fast are VERY important. These type of games are rare, not very commonly seen. But, they are hard to pass, when the right information is not applied. These games usually have 2-3 players.

Fighting in these types of Projectile games:

Type 1, do what you gotta do to survive. Use everything you need to survive, cause the chances are, you will get fried by someone eventually. These are great situations in which to lay mines all over the place, blind corners and such. Cause everyone is going to be running like crazy. Great games to camp out in, cause your opponent doesn’t have time usually to find an advanced position to snipe at you. Hit & Run moves work well also. Make sure you get your opponent fast and get out. Cause, shooting someone while they are killing someone else is a great opportunity. Make sure in these games you use the Circle & Strafe techniques a lot, cause when moving around your opponent. You also make yourself a harder target to hit, which means it gives you some good mobility. Another good idea to imply in these games, is to fire "Lure shots". Doesn’t work real well, though. Cause they are usually busy fighting others. This is the most common type of gunnery game play.

Type 2, ahh, my favorite type. These, are somewhat different, these are more tactical then Type 1. Since you don’t have 7 people running around and going on rampages carelessly. There is more tactical planning aloud, you say "What tactical planning? This is an action game!". Well, if you are smart and want to win at these type games, you will think out your moves very hard. One of the all time tips I can give you is….listen. Sound is everything in this type of game, that is why I don’t urge to use of noisy powers. This group would include Seeing, Force Speed, Protection, Persuasion. You say, "Not urge to use of powers?? Why?". I am a smart player in this field, trust me. Someone that just stays put, listens and follows the sounds. Will nail your ass. Persuasion is all right, depending on your opponent. If they are smart and listen non-stop during these types of missions, I wouldn’t suggest using Persuasion. In these types of games, one would think that Protection is ultimate. But, with a small amount of intermediate level players, it is actually worse then in a Type 1 game. For the reason of not having to focus on so many targets. With the sound and sight that Protection gives off, it’s like painting a target on your body. As for Seeing, Seeing is the ultimate power in these types of games. You just need 4 stars on it to have good use, you can use the overlay map to see the red dots, that mean enemies. But, Seeing is a noisy power. So, depending on your opponent, keep adjusting. Of course you have to use Seeing when they use Persuasion and Blind. Just make sure you have 4 stars, use it to it’s full potential. Plus, when you know someone is near, move with a crouch. Plus if you have Persuasion, use crouch. You don’t need another sound giving you off. Note: Use Blind a lot when in one of these games. It is perfect, doesn’t make continuos sound . If they don’t want to be Blinded, they have to activate Seeing. It’s noisy, just follow the sounds. Of course you will have to use Seeing also, if they do the same. If you are Dark Side, you have it made. Your powers are based on somewhat loud, but, they don’t make continuos sound. Also, in these games, backtracking is really useful. Cause, when you backtrack, you get a good chance in finding them. "Lure Shots" work the best in this type of game. Cause they are listening, they go to inspect, they die. Of course consider that they may consider the trap and snipe you. So, try and find a place that is high, concealed and has a good escape route. Cause if they come at you, you want to do the backtracking theme, then get a chance to kill them.

This is my revised copy, so I hope it is better. Remember, there is no shame in Camping or Sniping. As for cheating, I say "Death to all of those that cheat!" Until next time little boys and girls…