_ _ _____ /\ | (_) / ____| / \ | |_ ___ _ __ | (_____ ____ _ _ __ _ __ ___ / /\ \ | | |/ _ \ '_ \ \___ \ \ /\ / / _` | '__| '_ ` _ \ / ____ \| | | __/ | | | ____) \ V V / (_| | | | | | | | | /_/ \_\_|_|\___|_| |_| |_____/ \_/\_/ \__,_|_| |_| |_| |_| _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Table of Contents _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 1. - Characters........................................AS01 2. - Walkthrough.......................................AS02 3. - Enemies...........................................AS03 4. - Strategies........................................AS04 5. - Weapons...........................................AS05 6. - Equipment.........................................AS06 7. - Achievements......................................AS07 8. - Contact...........................................AS08 9. - Disclaimer........................................AS09 *Please Note - This entire FAQ/Walkthrough has been designed for easy access. This means that you can use your browser's search function to find any section immediately. Just bring it up by pressing ctrl+f and search for either the section name or the code to the right. You will go right to that section. _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 1. - Characters AS01 _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ There are four different classes but more importantly, eight different characters in Alien Swarm. Each class has their own benefits and you should be using one of each throughout the campaign. The choice between characters are where you get to pick your personal preference. You will notice that each character has different stats and each class will be useful for different reasons. I will discuss each class and then the stats for each character in those classes. I'm not going to list the bios of the characters since they don't affect gameplay. _________________________________________ OFFICER _________________________________________ The officer is what you'd expect. They are good for offering buffs to your teammates and are pretty versatile. You want to stay close to your teammates to give them the buffs that your skills give you. Since officers have the most health, they can be useful as the first man in. The officer should be leading the squad into the battlefield and help clear the way towards your next objective. Skills: LEADERSHIP The Leadership skill gives a damage boost to your teammates along with giving them a resistance for damage. VINDICATOR DAMAGE The Vindicator Damage skill increases the damage dealt by the Vindicator weapon. EXPLOSIVES BONUS The Explosives Bonus skill increases the damage and power of explosives. This means the damage along with the area it affects is increased. HEALTH BONUS The Health Bonus skill increases the player's health. The Officer is the only class that has the health bonus so if you get hurt a lot, consider playing Officer. MELEE DAMAGE BONUS The Melee Damage Bonus skill is only available to Jaeger. It increases the damage done by melee attacks. DAMAGE BONUS The Damage Bonus skill is only available to Sarge. It increases the damage done by standard weapons. _____________________________________________________________________________ | | | | SARGE | JAEGER | | HEALTH 140 | HEALTH 125 | | LEADERSHIP 5/5 | LEADERSHIP 3/5 | | VINDICATOR DAMAGE 2/5 | VINDICATOR DAMAGE 5/5 | | EXPLOSIVES BONUS 2/5 | EXPLOSIVES BONUS 4/5 | | HEALTH BONUS 4/5 | HEALTH BONUS 3/5 | | DAMAGE BONUS 3/5 | MELEE DAMAGE 2/5 | |______________________________________|______________________________________| _________________________________________ SPECIAL WEAPONS _________________________________________ The special weapons class is also what you'd expect. They are great for dealing heavy damage. You want to make sure to make up for the lack of power from the techs and medics. Make sure to protect them if they need help or to help clear out a path. Since they have so much power, you should be close to the front of the pack and destroying any enemies that move. Skills: AUTOGUN DAMAGE The Autogun Damage skill gives a damage boost to the Autogun and the Minigun. PIERCING BULLETS The Piercing Bullets skill gives a chance for bullets to pierce through enemies and keep going through the other side to the next enemies. DAMAGE BONUS The Damage Bonus skill increases the damage done by standard weapons. RELOAD SPEED BONUS The Reload Speed Bonus skill reduces the reload time of all weapons. SPEED BONUS The Speed Bonus skill is only available to Wildcat. It increases the speed at which your character moves at. HEALTH BONUS The Health Bonus skill is only available to Wolfe. It increases the player's health. _____________________________________________________________________________ | | | | WILDECAT | WOLFE | | HEALTH 80 | HEALTH 125 | | AUTOGUN DAMAGE 4/5 | AUTOGUN DAMAGE 5/5 | | PIERCING BULLETS 2/5 | PIERCING BULLETS 3/5 | | DAMAGE BONUS 4/5 | DAMAGE BONUS 2/5 | | RELOAD SPEED BONUS 3/5 | RELOAD SPEED BONUS 2/5 | | SPEED BONUS 4/5 | HEALTH BONUS 3/5 | |______________________________________|______________________________________| _________________________________________ MEDIC _________________________________________ The medic's main job is to make sure everybody survives! They should be protected by the rest of the squad to ensure the success of the mission. This class should require some practice since you need to pay attention to other players' health while being able to survive with your very minimal health. You want to do all you can to help your squad survive, this includes forgetting about shooting at enemies to heal your teammates. Skills: HEALING BONUS The Healing Bonus skill increases the healing power of all of the items that heal people as well as let you carry more healing items. INFESTATION BONUS The Infestation Bonus skill allows the medic to heal infested players. It will reduce the duration of the infestation. DAMAGE BONUS The Damage Bonus skill increases the damage done by standard weapons. RELOAD SPEED BONUS The Reload Speed Bonus skill reduces the reload time of all weapons. SPEED BONUS The Speed Bonus skill is only available to Faith. It increases the speed at which your character moves at. COMBAT DRUGS The Combat Drugs skill is only available to Bastille. It will make the adrenaline item more useful when used by a player. _____________________________________________________________________________ | | | | FAITH | BASTILLE | | HEALTH 80 | HEALTH 80 | | HEALING BONUS 5/5 | HEALING BONUS 4/5 | | INFESTATION CURING 3/3 | INFESTATION CURING 1/3 | | DAMAGE BONUS 1/5 | DAMAGE BONUS 3/5 | | RELOAD SPEED BONUS 2/5 | RELOAD SPEED BONUS 3/5 | | SPEED BONUS 3/5 | COMBAT DRUGS 3/5 | |______________________________________|______________________________________| _________________________________________ TECH _________________________________________ The tech is the player who is needed for hacking computers throughout the game. If the tech dies before you hack everything you need, you will fail the mission and just see a count down to restart the mission. You should do all you can to survive and be smart while hacking. Wait until the rest of your team is ready to protect you when you start hacking, not for your safety, but to make sure that they are ready to defend themselves as well. If you're a player that likes to lead the rush and take damage, don't play as the tech. You have to be very cautious and play smart as the tech. The tech is the only class that can hack computers which are necessary for objectives and opening some doors. To complete a fast hack, you will see a small red triangle moving at a steady rate along the progress bar at the top of the hacking window. You have to complete the hack before it stops at the end. There will be two types of computers to hack in the game. One is very similar to Pipe Dream, you just have to spin all the circuits until they connect from beginning to end. It's really pretty self explanatory. Simply start with the circuit to the far left and go piece by piece until you reach the end of the circuit to the far right. The other hacking method is a bit confusing at first but is also pretty simply. You will see a couple of columns, the number of columns depends on the difficulty, and a lot of 0's with one 1 moving in different directions. You have to have all of the 1's line up in a row. To change direction, you hit the button at the bottom of the column. Change direction on them until they line up and quickly change directions on one of the columns so they will stay together. Keep doing this until all of the columns match up. Skills: SCANNER The Scanner skill increases the range of the enemy scanner the tech carries along with the rate it flashes. ENGINEERING The Engineering skill speeds up welding and sentry gun set up time for everybody near the Tech. RELOAD SPEED BONUS The Reload Speed Bonus skill reduces the reload time of all weapons. DAMAGE BONUS The Damage Bonus skill is only available to Crash. The Damage Bonus skill increases the damage done by standard weapons. EXPLOSIVES BONUS The Explosives Bonus skill is only available to Crash. The Explosives Bonus skill increases the damage and power of explosives. This means the damage along with the area it affects is increased. HEALTH BONUS The Health Bonus skill is only available to Vegas. It increases the player's health. MELEE DAMAGE BONUS The Melee Damage Bonus skill is only available to Vegas. It increases the damage done by melee attacks. _____________________________________________________________________________ | | | | CRASH | VEGAS | | HEALTH 80 | HEALTH 125 | | SCANNER 3/3 | SCANNER 3/3 | | ENGINEERING 1/3 | ENGINEERING 3/3 | | DAMAGE BONUS 3/5 | HEALTH BONUS 3/5 | | RELOAD SPEED BONUS 4/5 | RELOAD SPEED BONUS 2/5 | | EXPLOSIVES BONUS 2/5 | MELEE DAMAGE BONUS 4/5 | |______________________________________|______________________________________| _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 2. - Walkthrough AS02 _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ *Please Note - The walkthrough will be written based off the normal difficulty version. The harder the difficulty, the stronger and more enemies you run into. Playing on Insanity will face you against the strongest enemies right off the bat so only play Insanity when you have a good group of players and know what you're doing. _______________________________________________________________________________ _ _ ____ _ | | __ _ ___ ___ | |__ `___ | _ \ ___ ___| |_ _ | |/ _` |/ __/ _ \| '_ \/ __| | |_) / _ \/ __| __| | |_| | (_| | (_| (_) | |_) \__ \ | _ < __/\__ \ |_ \___/ \__,_|\___\___/|_.__/|___/ |_| \_\___||___/\__| _______________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________ LANDING BAY _________________________________________ You will begin this mission on a landing bay off the ship that flew you in here. Follow the path to the west and it eventually turn to the north. Keep going until you reach a door that is being blocked by several boxes. Simply melee attack these boxes to break through them to clear the path. Continue up north and you will reach two locked doors. You can open either door as the tech or destroy them. Not all attacks can damage doors and it will waste ammo so just have your tech hack it (unless you're going for a speed run achievement). It doesn't matter which door you enter since both paths will meet quickly. Go north from either door and walk in between the two shelves. This is when aliens will begin attacking you. Most of them will come from the north but you should have one member of your squad watching the south in case aliens try to flank you. They will come from every direction to the north of the shelves including the open vent in the floor just in front of you. You will see a door along the northeastern side of this room. This will be the quickest and safest way through the rest of the level so take this door to the next room. Go west when you reach the wall and enemies will approach from the northeast along with the door to the west. There is an explosive barrel in the short hall to the northeast so use that to your advantage. Continue through the hall to the northeast while more aliens attack. Up ahead, you will see a vent in the floor where aliens will keep spawning from so be careful up here. You will see two doors along the west wall in this hall which are both welded shut. If nobody has a welder in your squad, there are welders on the ground around the area to unweld the doors. Open the doors by either unwelding them or destroying them and enter the next room. There will be several aliens that spawn all over this room. This is the first hectic room of the game since they spawn at almost equal rates from all directions. Try to stick together and stay in a corner if you don't worry about the time. When you're ready, head to the northwest corner to get out of this large room. When you reach the northwest corner, you will see the wall break down and enemies coming in through the hole in the wall. Go through the door there and wait for the rest of your squad to get through the door. Immediately weld the door shut to stop aliens coming out of the room you just left. Continue to the north through this hall which is very dark. Pay attention to the tech's scanner on the mini-map to see enemies around you. Kill them quickly and head outside through the door up ahead. Weld this door shut as well so you don't have to worry about enemies coming up behind you. Make sure to kill all of the aliens in this area so that it's completely clear. If someone in the squad has a sentry gun, set it up by the computer in the northeast corner of this area. Try to set it up just to the south of the computer terminal and have it aim southwest to clear out the enemies that will mostly come from that side. Have the tech hack the computer and download the data for lots of aliens to attack from all sides. Aliens will spawn behind the door to the east so make sure not to stand near it since they will break it down and if you are next to it, it will fall on you and kill you. When this room is clear, run through the hall to the east to complete this mission. _________________________________________ CARGO ELEVATOR _________________________________________ Run through the doors to the north and you will see a platform along the east side. Some enemies will spawn on the northern side of this platform and head down the stairs towards you. Just kill them and continue to the north, where more enemies will be approaching from. Continue through the short hall to the northeast while killing a few more aliens. Go north at this intersection and through the door. Weld it shut quickly to block any enemies that will approach from the south, there are some vents to the south so they will keep spawning down here. Continue to the north down this path and shoot the barrels blocking your path. This will cause a large chain reaction which will blow up a lot of containment units on each side of the hall, which aliens will attack from. Kill the aliens coming out of the openings in the walls and keep moving north, while more aliens will attack you. Continue to the north until you reach the next room. In this next room, you will quickly see a large hole with smoke coming out of it blocking your path. Run up the stairs just to the east of that hole and shoot the explosive barrels to move a pipe which will send down a bridge to cover the hole. There will be three vents which will spawn enemies on the other side of this little makeshift bridge. One will be just after the bridge, one will be in the short hall to the west, and the last will be just before the door. Kill the aliens as you head for the door and get to the north side of it. Make sure the rest of your squad has past the door and weld it shut to get past the aliens. Head to the east when you weld the door shut and on a couple of pallettes, you will see two personal heal kits and some ammo. When you are all stocked up and ready to move, head to the east to get onto the cargo elevator. Don't activate the elevator until everyone is ready because it will spawn a lot of aliens. Set up all the sentry guns you have at each corner, watching the middle of the elevator. For example, a sentry gun in the northwest corner should be facing the southeast corner. This will help kill everything that will attack the elevator. Try to have one person watching the north because aliens will run along the walls as you go down the elevator. Just keep killing the aliens as they attack until you reach the bottom of the elevator. Head to the east at the bottom and kill a few more aliens. Run through the door to the east to finish this mission. _________________________________________ DEIMA SURFACE BRIDGE _________________________________________ You will see two paths to the north that split immediately. _______________ Take the path to the east and hug the eastern wall. Head to | C | the north while killing any aliens that get in your way until W *> | you reach a welded door. Unweld this door and go to the east. |_____ _____| Several more enemies will spawn all around you in this area, | A___| kill them all quickly and head for the building to the east. | | The building will be set up like the image I have drawn with | | ASCII characters to the right. The C is the computer terminal \ | you should hack, the W is the door you should weld, and the * \________| will be where you should place the sentry gun. The A is where your squad should be while the tech begins hacking the computer and you will have no problem hacking it while keeping the tech safe and killing all the aliens. Just make sure to keep an eye out on the door you welded shut, don't let aliens break it down and then attack the tech. Watch the southwest corner while the sentry gun watches the northeast corner. The welded door should be able to give the tech time to hack the computer. When the area is clear of aliens and the computer is hacked, the gate to the north will be open. Go north through the gate and the path will split. Forget about the western path and keep going north. Shortly after the split, aliens will appear on both sides of the bridge, quickly kill all of them. Go east the next opportunity you get and activate the computer terminal, you don't have to be a tech to do this, and cross the bridge when it goes down. In this next open area, set up a sentry gun facing the west along the bridge that you came from. Use the bomb in the northeast corner of this section to blow up a chunk of the pipe. Watch a bit of an animation and a large shieldbug will come out of it. Stun it if you can and try your best to attack its back until it dies. After you kill the shieldbug, head through the opening to the east. ***ALTERNATE STRATEGY SUBMITTED BY J R*** A - Set up a sentry gun facing toward the top of the screen as far right as it will go, and then trigger it. The Shield Bug should get torn apart assuming that you can keep it facing the same way. B - Run past the Shield Bug and use the minigun on the Bloodhound to help kill it. ***THANK YOU TO J R FOR SUBMITTING THIS ALTERNATE STRATEGY*** Head to the north here and you will see an alleyway to the east. Don't bother going down here but there is a vent where aliens will keep spawning from. Defend yourself from those enemies and just keep running to the north. There will be a couple of ammo bins up here for you to refill your ammo with and a computer terminal the tech has to hack. Open the gate and head to the east. The ship that will light the way will help kill aliens for you. Don't bother staying with it, just keep moving to the far east until you reach the end and wait for the ship to catch up. If you stick with the ship, you'll have to deal with more enemies. When the ship does catch up, you can run across the top of it. Some more enemies will spawn here but you just have to run down the ramp and through the door slightly to the east to complete this mission. _________________________________________ RYDBERG REACTOR _________________________________________ Just as a heads up, this mission is where you begin to face bigger, tougher enemies on a regular basis. Follow the path north and you will see the path split. Keep going north at every split until you are forced to the east. You will face your common aliens on your way up here until you reach the top where you will face some Boomers. These will keep getting larger and larger until they blow up and shoot green orbs all over the place. These green orbs are like mini hand grenades so stay far away from them when you see them. When you start to go east, go north at the next split again and you will see the path force you east one more time. The next intersection will be a pretty large one. Kill the aliens and go north. Immediately weld the door along the west wall because aliens will keep spawning from there. When that door is welded shut, hug the western wall as you go north. Follow the path to the northwestern corner of this map while killing some buzzers which will fly around you. At the northwestern corner, set up any sentry guns you have and have the tech hack the computer just to the left of the door. This door takes a while to open so fight off the swarms of aliens that will attack. There is a computer to the east of the door which has a turret you can control above the door that slowly opens. When the door opens, use the computer inside to complete the first objective. Now head back to the south where you welded the door shut. Head east here across a short bridge and go to the northeastern corner of this section. Use the computer to slowly open the door and set up another turret here. Kill all of the enemies that will approach from the south. When the doors open, make sure your entire squad gets in and weld the door shut. Go through the next door and if someone has a flamethrower, have them use the secondary fire on the flames to the east. If not, grab the fire extinguisher along the norther wall and then switch back to whatever item you had when you extinguish the flames to the east. Go around the truck to the northeast and then head to the west. Start to slowly open the door and set up turrets and all the defenses you have. Enemies will spawn all around here while the door slowly opens so do your best to survive. When the door does finally open, there will be a few more aliens coming out of it. Get everybody into the door when it opens to complete this mission. _________________________________________ SYNTEK RESIDENTIAL _________________________________________ At least one person has to have the flamethrower equipped for this mission to even begin it. This will also be the first mission where you will face parasites, which can be deadly without a medic very close by so be careful. It may be smart to run two medics for this mission. Begin the mission by going north and you will be forced to go west. In this room that branches to the west, some enemies will spawn so make sure to have somebody watch the flank as you advance. Follow the path to the west until you reach a small bathroom. In this room, you will see a couple of parasites on the ground. DO NOT let these get close to you because they will do a lot of damage to you. Kill them quickly and destroy the eggs here. Run through the hole in the wall along the northern wall. After the bathroom, you will face enemy after enemy, some larger than the last, so be very cautious. You really have to look out for parasites here and make sure a medic is always nearby just in case a parasite does get to you. Keep heading north here until you reach a set of stairs to the west. Climb these stairs and head north up here while destroying all the eggs you see. In the far northwestern corner, have a tech open the door and quickly kill the parasites inside. Destroy the eggs and go south. Go down the first set of stairs you see and go south until you reach some Biomass, burn it with the flamethrower and go north. Go east the first chance you get and grab the ammo here. Get all of your squad through this door and weld it shut to prevent any more enemies from attacking from the western side. From this room, head south. Don't bother welding this door. Keep heading south and look for the room to the west. You will see some Biomass here you have to burn so burn it up. Now go to the room directly across the hall to the east for a few eggs you have to destroy. Go to the east in the hall and extinguish the flames. Go south a bit and destroy a couple more eggs. Go north along the eastern wall and enter the vents. There will be several eggs and Biomass here, make sure to clear it all out. Don't forget the eggs in the northeast corner, they are the easiest to forget. Once you are sure the eggs and Biomass are clear here, head for the northwest corner of the vents. Destroy the biomass and the last few eggs here to complete those two objectives. Head to the west when you get here and unweld the door. Extinguish the flames and continue to the west. When you reach the large room this hall is a part of, go to the north. Set up sentry guns facing the southern side of the room and activate the elevator. This will be another one of those moments where you just sit tight and kill enemies while you wait for the elevator. When the elevator finally arrives, get on it to complete the mission. _________________________________________ SEWER JUNCTION B5 _________________________________________ Run to the north and then up the stairs to the east. Go north when you are forced to again and follow the path. You will see a small path along the east wall. Keep going north here but note that enemies will keep spawning there. Head up the stairs to the small platform above the water and go west. Go up the next set of stairs out of the water again and shoot the explosive barrels to the west of the stairs. The green barrel will release a toxic cloud which does quite a bit of damage to the enemies attacking you, it's a great way to get the achievement for five kills with explosive barrels in a single mission. Head to the northwest corner of this platform and just stand your ground while you kill all the aliens that will spawn around you. When this area is clear, head to the southwest corne of this area to advance. Go north when you are forced to and you will see a gate blocking the path to the east. Head to the northwest corner and shoot the explosive barrels to release a couple of steel beams swinging on a rope to break the gate open. Run through the opening to the east. You will see a small ramp along the eastern wall here with some ammo, load up if you need to. Continue to the north and kill a couple of shieldbugs here. Burn the biomass to the east of the area with the shieldbugs. Head to the northwest corner of this area and destroy the swarm eggs here. Go to the east and up the ramp. Go south the first chance you get and destroy these swarm eggs. Now head northeast from these swarm eggs for a couple more along the eastern wall. Watch the parasite attacking from the north. Follow the path and avoid the attacks from the mortarbug below and to the north. Keep following the path and kill a couple more parasites as you see them. Go south at the split and destroy a few swarm eggs and then continue to the north. Kill a few more parasites as you go north at the next split for a few more swarm eggs to destroy. From these swarm eggs, go south until you see a few swarm eggs along the western wall. Kill those and go north and then west the first chance you get. Destroy these swarm eggs and run into the water to the north. Keep going north killing a few more enemies and then climb the stairs. Go west when you can and kill a couple of shieldbugs. Be careful because a mortarbug will spawn behind you to the east and will attack you. When you kill the shieldbugs, run into the cave in the northwest corner to complete this mission. _________________________________________ TIMOR STATION _________________________________________ Head west from the start and kill a couple of small aliens. When you are forced to go east, you will see some aliens climbing over the northern railings, kill them and continue to the east. Follow this path and activate the nuke along the eastern wall. Run through the door and follow this path, kill a couple of rangers and keep running along the path. You will see the path split south and west, take the southern path and kill a few more aliens in your way. Keep running along this path to the west. You will see a Mining Laser along the western wall, someone in the squad will have to pick it up. Grab it and use it to cut through the rocks to the northwest. Switch back to whatever equipment you had before you grabbed the mining laser and continue through the path you opened up. Run along the metal platform here and kill the enemies in your way. Have your tech hack the door open when you reach it and defend the tech. Watch the door when it opens because there will be a parasite on the other side of it once it opens. To the northeast of this door, you will run into the Harvester for the first time. They are easy to kill and won't do much damage on their own, but they will spawn small bugs that can do a good amount of damage to you so quickly kill it. Have one person run to the northeast corner here and activate the computer to move a bridge into place. Run to the west and wait for the bridge to open up the new path while defending yourself from all the aliens that will spawn around you. Follow this new path when it opens until it splits. Split up and send two people down each path. There will be a Harvester at the end of each path, kill both of them and you will quickly meet up again. Go to the east and kill the mortarbug and another Harvester. Continue down the path and burn the Biomass that will be blocking the nuke while killing the aliens here. There will be an ammo bin here if you need it. Wait for the aliens to break through the doors in the northwest corner of this area. Go to the north when you get past the door here and kill the large enemies in your path. Head west when the path splits and make sure to kill the harvesters here. Head east when you are forced to and kill the last few enemies in this area. Pick up the Mining Laser and break through the rocks to the north. Run along the northern platforms and activate the controller to drop the bridge at the end. Wait for it to come down and kill the bugs that will chase you along this platform. Cross the bridge when it drops and destroy the swarm eggs up here. Drop down and finish off the rest of the enemies here. Stock up on ammo and health kits if you need them and when ready, activate the nuke. Now you have to run all the way to the beginning of the mission. Don't bother shooting at any enemies other than parasites and enemies that get in your way or slow you down. Just keep moving. Follow the path and take these paths at each split until you reach the end: South, west, south, south, south, south, east, and east (here you can weld the door shut behind you if you want to.) This large room will be the last one. Keep running to the far east end of this area and set up sentry guns on the platform watching the west. Kill the aliens while your ship comes down. Stand on the ship when it gets low enough to complete this mission and the campaign. _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 3. - Enemies AS03 _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Throughout the game, you will face several different enemies. The first couple of levels will be the same few enemies over and over again, at least on normal difficulty, and then they really pile it on towards the end. I will list all the basic information you will need to know about them in this section. BOOMER The Boomer is the large enemy that has a big sack under its body. Since they're big, they're easy to hit but do have a lot of health. You will see the sack begin inflating after it gets close enough to you and it will explode. The sooner you kill it, the less goo it will shoot out. That green goo that it shoots out, will act as mini hand grenades and blow up so stay away from them. BUZZER The Buzzer is a small flying enemy. They don't do much damage but they can be annoying. Hopefully you have a weapon that has an auto aim bonus to help you take these annoying bugs out quickly. They usually attack in small groups so be careful when you see one approach. DRONE The Drone is your common enemy that you will see in every level in the game. They don't have much health but they can do a decent amount of damage. They spawn in a lot of vents and similar areas so be careful since they seem to always be on the attack. GRUB The Grub doesn't actually do damage to you but since they move around and you can kill them, I figured I would put them in this section. You can kill them by shooting at them, auto aim won't work, melee attacking them, or simply running over them by foot. HARVESTER The Harvester is a large enemy that doesn't have much health and won't do much direct damage to you, but they do send up small bugs at you. These small bugs also don't have much health but they can beat you up pretty badly. The Harvesters like to stay away from the action so hunt them down and make quick work of them before they spawn too many bugs. MORTARBUG The Mortarbug is a large enemy that will shoot three large green orbs towards you. These orbs will act like mini hand grenades, similar to the Boomer, and blow up after a while. Stay away from the orbs and just attack them if they get in you're way. Their attacks are very easy to avoid and they don't have much health so it's easy to deal with them whether you choose to avoid or kill them. PARASITE The Parasites are easily the most annoying and probably the most dangerous enemy in the game. They are relatively small and like to jump at you. They will spawn out of swarm eggs if you don't destroy them quickly enough. Kill them quickly and if one latches onto you, quickly run to a medic. When you see these around, you should make sure a medic is always close before continuing on in a mission. RANGER The Ranger is a small enemy, similar size to the Drone, that will spit acid at you. They don't do much for melee damage but generally won't run when you approach them. You can use your dodge ability to avoid any attacks it makes on you. They shouldn't pose much of a threat. SHIELDBUG The Shieldbug is a large enemy that will use its front limbs as shields. You won't do any damage to its shields so do your best to get around its back and attack the small glowing object on its back. If you can, stun it so you can easily get behind it. Make sure to not get too close to the front of them because they do have a pretty powerful knockback attack which will throw you far from your squad. _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 4. - Strategies AS04 _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ * CHOOSE YOUR CLASS/CHARACTER WISELY The best squad is a squad that has one of each class. If you're new to the game and don't want an important role like Medic or Tech, ask if someone will switch. Someone would gladly switch classes if it means they know they are much more likely to survive. If you feel comfortable with all classes, pick the class that is needed. In each class, you will notice two different characters and they both have different stats. Look the stats over and pick the one that you feel suits your playing style better. * FRIENDLY FIRE This game has friendly fire so be very careful when shooting. You have a laser pointing out of your gun so it's easier to tell what is in your line of fire. Make sure that teammate's don't run in front of your laser and if they do, make sure to stop shooting. You also don't want to run in front of your teammate's shots either, pay attention to where all the gunfire is coming from and where it is going. Your best bet is to just basically sit in one spot when firing and hopefully the rest of your squad will follow. If nobody is moving while firing, it's very easy to avoid friendly fire. * CONSERVING AMMO Alien Swarm may be a bit of an arcade game but you don't get unlimited ammo. Don't shoot blindly down halls because you'll need all the ammo you have. If you like to use the same weapons over and over again, learn about how long it takes to kill enemies. Smaller enemies, like the common Drone, only take a few shots to kill. Don't fire a whole clip when all you need is a burst. Also, when you find ammo scattered randomly across missions, make sure that you take the ammo for your specific weapon before you take ammo from the general ammo pool. If you see Autogun ammo, take that before you start taking it from the general ammo since only one class can use the autogun ammo and you'll waste a clip for a squadmate. * LOCKED DOORS You can destroy locked doors if you want by just attacking them with explosives. Aliens can also destroy locked doors to break through them. When they are destroyed, they will tip over in the opposite direction of where the damage is coming from, and crush anything that it falls on. If you see aliens attacking a welded door and it's almost broken, get away before it crushes you. * CHOOSE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT First and foremost, one person in your squad should have a hand welder. It isn't necessary, but it is very useful. You can see the loadouts of the rest of your squad before you begin each mission, if nobody has a hand welder, you should speak up. You could take one yourself or if you really like a certain type of equipment, convince somebody else to switch. Your squad doesn't really need more than one hand welder so if somebody else has one, you could pick one that you like. It would be best to have the Tech use the hand welder since they have the engineering perk. The engineering perk does help your whole squad when close to the Tech but this way, the person with the hand welder won't have to worry about having the Tech close by. I'd recommend playing around with all of them in offline practice to get a good feel for each one and find what you find most useful. If you're not normally one to pay attention and use your equipment, you may want to just take a passive piece like body armor to help your medic by taking less damage. A lot of the equipment is useful but some of the stuff you shouldn't bother with, like the flashlight attachment. Use equipment that will give you real advantages since you shouldn't have much problems seeing enemies, even in the darkest missions. If you really can't decide, take something that can help boost the stats of your squad like the flares which help give your squad auto-aim. * STUNNING ENEMIES There are a couple of weapons and pieces of equipment that can stun enemies. They are: The grenades from the tech's 22A7-Z Prototype Assault Rifle, IAF Tesla Cannon, and IAF Tesla Sentry Coil. Stunning enemies will slow them down and works as a great crowd control. While not necessary, it is helpful to have one person using one of these weapons to at least help in the areas where lots of aliens swarm in on your squad. It is a great way to stay safe and help keep the aliens back. * FLAMES The fire weapons, the Flamethrower and Flame Sentry Gun, are very powerful. If you are having trouble deciding which weapon to use, you may want to try out the flamethrower. If you're on the last mission, you definitely want someone with a flamethrower since the flames make quick work of harvesters and will kill all the small bugs that will spawn inside of them as well. *Thanks to J R for the tip that fire will kill the bugs in Harvesters. * SENTRY GUNS Sentry guns can be very useful in areas where you have to defend yourself while aliens swarm in (think of the elevator ride in Cargo Elevator or when you hack the computer in Deima Surface Bridge). It is handy to have one sentry gun in a squad to help fight off the swarms of aliens in these areas. They do take a while to set up and take back so don't use them for advancing through a mission, only use them when you need to defend an area. It would be smart to have the Tech in the group use the sentry gun since they have the engineering perk. The engineering perk does help your whole squad but this way, you don't have to worry about the person with the sentry gun being close to the Tech to benefit from it. Also please note, the Freeze Sentry Gun is pretty pointless in my opinion. It does offer some benefits but you would be much better off using a sentry gun that will inflict damage on enemies. * IAF TESLA CANNON If you're one that gets in the habit of inflicting a lot of friendly fire damage, seriously consider using the Tesla Cannon. It is very useful for the entire squad since it stuns enemies, does do a good amount of damage, and most importantly, you can't hurt teammates with it. Your squad will be very thankful if you use a Tesla Cannon if you have a tendency of accidentally shooting teammates. * CHOOSE THE RIGHT WEAPON I have already gone over a few weapons in the strategies above, but the rest of the weapons still require some thought too. You have to consider your playing style in the game to pick the weapon that is right for you. If you are one to lead the rush and like up close combat, use shotguns. If you want something versatile, use the assault rifles. If you like to hang back and pick off enemies, consider the AVK035 Marksman Rifle or Precision Rail Rifle. All of the weapons are powerful so pick one that meets your playing style. You should still play around with the weapons in Offline Practice to get a hang of how they all feel. You may like something that you didn't think you liked! * MAKE SURE YOUR MEDIC HAS HEAL BEACONS/HEAL GUN AND SOMEONE HAS AMMO SATCHELS If your medic refuses to carry any healing items, which I don't see why they would pick medic, make them switch or have somebody play as the other medic. Also, make sure somebody is carrying ammo satchels because people will run out of ammo in the missions. * QUICKLY SWAPPING WEAPONS/EQUIPMENT If you see a self-heal kit on the ground somewhere and you need health, pick it up, use it, and pick up whatever equipment you just dropped. Don't make your medic waste a heal beacon just to heal you when you see a self-heal kit lying around. If a teammate dies nearby and is carrying a non-class specific weapon, you may want to switch your weapon for their's if they had more ammo. * OFFLINE PRACTICE This may seem a bit obvious but there is an offline practice mode, use it! In this mode, you can switch across every player while in game so you can get a good feeling for each class without wasting other people's time online. This is also a good place to play around with every weapon and piece of equipment. Set up a different weapon for each player and play around with them while in game. Find something you really like, and consider switching to it when you play online. _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 5. - Weapons AS05 _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ As you play online, you will notice that you gain experience. You will use this experience to unlock weapons. In this section, I will list what each weapon does, when you unlock them and their basic stats. For more strategy on when to use the weapons, refer to the Strategies section (AS04) _________________________________________ OFFICER _________________________________________ M42 VINDICATOR Damage Per Shot - 105 Fire Rate - 1.5 / Sec Reload Speed - 2.8 Sec Capacity - 14 x 6 Alternate Fire - 5 Incendiary Grenades Notes - High Damage, Close Range Description - The M42 Vindicator is a pneumatic assisted pump-action shotgun with a dual, selective magazine system. IAF standard ammunition loadout provides for 12-gauge rounds in one magazine and a number of timed incendiary grenades in the other. The Vindicator is only issued to NCO rank marines. _________________________________________ SPECIAL WEAPONS _________________________________________ S23A SYNTEK AUTOGUN Damage Per Shot - 7 Fire Rate - 10.0 / Sec Reload Speed - 2.8 Sec Capacity - 250 x 2 Alternate Fire - None Notes - Auto-Aim, Slow Movement Description - The S23A SynTek Autogun is among the most advanced squad assault weapons currently available. Featuring a sophisticated tracking system and a powerful electromagnetic field induction chamber, this weapon can identify hostile targets and automatically alter the trajectory of bullets as they leave the barrel to ensure a hit. The Autogun has significant stopping power and can be used to suppress a large number of incoming targets. Special Weapons training is required. IAF MINIGUN Damage Per Shot - 7 Fire Rate - 25 / Sec Reload Speed - 2.8 Sec Capacity - 250 x 2 Alternate Fire - Barrel Spin-Up Notes - Wide Spread, Slow Movement Level Unlocked - Level 17 Description - The IAF Minigun features a very high rate of fire and wide spread, making it ideal for taking out large groups of hostile targets. This weapon has a short delay before firing in order to spin the barrely up to the required RPM. The alt-fire trigger will spin up the barrel without firing. _________________________________________ MEDIC _________________________________________ IAF MEDICAL GUN Damage Per Shot - N/A Fire Rate - N/A Reload Speed - N/A Capacity - 80-90 Alternate Fire - Self-Heal Notes - Mobile Healing Level Unlocked - Level 9 Description - A standard issue IAF regenerative healing gun designed to treat wounded personnel on the go. Available only to trained medics, the Heal Gun is a mobile, light-weight, hand-held version of the Heal Beacon. It will focus on a single patient and heal them directly without slowing down the squad. The Heal Gun can also be used for self-healing with the alternate fire. HEAL BEACON Damage Per Shot - N/A Fire Rate - N/A Reload Speed - N/A Capacity - 8-9 Alternate Fire - None Notes - Group Healing Description - When deployed, the IAF Heal Beacon will heal the wounds and infestations of all marines within its radius continually for 20 seconds or until the beacon's healing supply is exhausted. Medics with a higher Healing skill are issued more beacons. _________________________________________ TECH _________________________________________ 22A7-Z PROTOTYPE ASSAULT RIFLE Damage Per Shot - 5 Fire Rate - 14.3 / Sec Reload Speed - 2.8 Sec Capacity - 98 x 6 Alternate Fire - 5 Stun Grenades Notes - Auto-Aim Description - The 22A7-Z is a prototype version of the standard 22A3 Assault Rifle, designed for use in urban environments, specializing in crowd control and fire situations around civilian targets. Still in testing stages, a number of models have been given to the IAF for evaluation. The A7-Z is fitted with an assisted aim firing chamber and a series of stun grenades. Due to the complicated calibration required for the Prototype's auto-aim, this rifle is only usable by technically trained marines. _________________________________________ ALL CLASSES _________________________________________ 22A3-1 ASSAULT RIFLE Damage Per Shot - 5 Fire Rate - 14.3 / Sec Reload Speed - 2.8 Sec Capacity - 98 x 6 Alternate Fire - 5 Frag Grenades Notes - None Description - The 22A3-1 is the standard issue combat weapon given to an Interstellar Armed Forces marine. Offering both high rate of fire, high velocity explosive tipped rounds and an underslung grenade launcher, this weapon offeres significant versatility in the field, capable of taking down small and large targets. Standard clip size is 98 rounds. M73 TWIN PISTOLS Damage Per Shot - 14 Fire Rate - 2.0 / Sec Reload Speed - 1.4 Sec Capacity - 24 x 11 Alternate Fire - None Notes - Ammo Efficient Description - The M73 is a lightweight, high powered semi-automatic sidearm featuring a 16-round staggered magazine. Renowned for its reliability, this weapon has been a standard in the IAF for the better part of a decade. IAF ADVANCED SENTRY GUN Damage Per Shot - 10 Fire Rate - 12.5 / Sec Reload Speed - N/A Capacity - 450 Alternate Fire - None Notes - None Description - The ASG is a highly efficient, fully automated sentry gun, capable of friend/foe identification based on a large number of parameters including biological make-up and wide-band image recognition scans. It consists of a heavy gauge autocannon mounted on a user-adjustable rotating stand. IAF AMMO SATCHEL Damage Per Shot - N/A Fire Rate - N/A Reload Speed - N/A Capacity - 3 Alternate Fire - None Notes - None Description - A standard issue IAF ammo pack containing deployable ammo for all weapon types used in the field. Each pack contains 3 ammo stashes. MODEL 35 PUMP-ACTION SHOTGUN Damage Per Shot - 175 Fire Rate - 1 / Sec Reload Speed - 1.8 Sec Capacity - 4 x 9 Alternate Fire - N/A Notes - High Damage, Close Range Level Unlocked - Level 3 Description - A traditional manually operated pump-action shotgun, firing 12-gauge rounds. Favored for its powerful, close range, wide-spread blast. The receiver is designed to hold four Magnum shells. IAF TESLA CANNON Damage Per Shot - 1 Fire Rate - 4.0 / Sec Reload Speed - 3.1 Sec Capacity - 20 x 14 Alternate Fire - None Notes - Stuns, No Friendly Fire Level Unlocked - Level 5 Description - Originally designed to jumpstart equipment, this tool was quickly weaponized after the discovery that the 24-30 amps and 25K voltage was the perfect blend for liquifying alien innards. The IAF Tesla Cannon is calibrated to identify human biometrics and avoid friendly-fire accidents. In proximity to alien life forms, the beam will arc to nearby hostiles. PRECISION RAIL RIFLE Damage Per Shot - 75 Fire Rate - N/A Reload Speed - 1.8 Sec Capacity - 1 x 73 Alternate Fire - None Notes - Piercing Rounds Level Unlocked - Level 7 Description - The IAF issue Rail Rifle utilizes a hybrid firing system to achieve muzzle velocities of over 35km/sec. The armor piercing rounds are propelled both by an explosive charge and an electromagnetic force generated by twin rails inside the weapon. This weapon is not recommended for general purpose combat, but is designed for high damage strikes against a specific target. K80 PERSONAL DEFENSE WEAPON Damage Per Shot - 7 Fire Rate - 28.6 Sec Reload Speed - 1.4 Sec Capacity - 80 x 12 Alternate Fire - None Notes - Uses Ammo Quickly Level Unlocked - Level 11 Description - The K80 Personal Defense Weapon is a lightweight, fully automatic submachine gun. The K80 is issued in pairs for dual wielding and is designed to deliver extreme damage over a short time. Due to the high rate of fire, ammunition is quickly expended, so IAF Command recommends selection as a secondary weapon. M868 Flamer Unit Damage Per Shot - 2 Fire Rate - 10.0 / Sec Reload Speed - 3.1 Sec Capacity - 40 x 6 Alternate Fire - Fire Extinguisher Notes - Ignites, Use with Caution Level Unlocked - Level 13 Description - The M868 uses a highly pressurized napalm-based fuel and is capable of blanketing a wide area, causing any targets caught in the blast to burn for an extended period of time. Great care must be taken to ensure the firing area is clear from friendly personnel, especially when used on the move. IAF FREEZE SENTRY GUN Damage Per Shot - N/A Fire Rate - N/A Reload Speed - N/A Capacity - 800 Alternate Fire - None Notes - Freezes, Fast Targeting Level Unlocked - Level 15 Description - Fires a jet of liquid nitrogen to temporarily freezing Swarm in place. AVK035 Marksman Rifle Damage Per Shot - 65 Fire Rate - 0.8 / Sec Reload Speed - 2.8 Sec Capacity - 12 x 6 Alternate Fire - Enhanced Target Imaging Notes - Piercing Rounds Level Unlocked - Level 19 Description - The AVK-36 Marksman Rifle is a semi-automatic rifle, firing 7.62x51mm rounds capable of destroying a Swarm drone in a single shot. The AVK-36 is a modified version of the classic AVK-32, fitted for marine combat suits and meant for firing on the move. IAF INCENDIARY SENTRY Damage Per Shot - 35 Fire Rate - 10 / Sec Reload Speed - N/A Capacity - 800 Alternate Fire - None Notes - Ignites, Fast Targeting Level Unlocked - Level 21 Description - An automated, high-temperature incendiary sentry gun. Low friction bearings allow perfect tracking even on the fastest threats. CHAINSAW Damage Per Shot - 31 Fire Rate - 2.0 / Sec Reload Speed - 3.1 Sec Capacity - Unlimited Alternate Fire - None Notes - Unlimited Ammo Level Unlocked - Level 23 Description - A civilian chainsaw, used for cutting through wood or other soft materials. IAF HIGH VELOCITY SENTRY Damage Per Shot - 80 Fire Rate - 0.6 / Sec Reload Speed - N/A Capacity - 25 Alternate Fire - None Notes - Long-Range, Splash Damage Level Unlocked - Level 25 Description - Fires high velocity slugs capable of dealing extreme amounts of damage over large distances and prioritizes the largest heat signatures. GRENADE LAUNCHER Damage Per Shot - 80 Fire Rate - 0.6 / Sec Reload Speed - 4.5 Sec Capacity - 6 x 4 Alternate Fire - None Notes - Splash Damage Level Unlocked - Level 27 Description - Based on the large IAF Mortar Emplacement design, this hand- held launcher will fire explosive grenades at nearby targets. Exercise caution when using this device near friendly units. Danger close, marines. _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 6. - Equipment AS06 _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ As you play online, you will notice that you gain experience. You will use this experience to unlock equipment. In this section, I will list what each piece of equipment does, when you unlock them and their basic stats. For more strategy on when to use the equipment, refer to the Strategies section (AS04) IAF PERSONAL HEALING KIT Notes - Single Use Description - A small individual healing kit for self-treatment of wounds in the field. Developed by SynTek Pharmaceutical Division. HAND WELDER Notes - Seals and Unseals Doors Description - This IAF-Issue handheld welder uses high temperature ionized plasma to create an effective cutting or welding arc, depending on the user specified setting. Generally used in the field to cut through or seal doors, offering the IAF marines a tactical advantage. SM75 COMBAT FLARES Notes - Provides Auto-Aim Bonus Description - The SM75 Combat Flares are a special magnesium flare developed by the SynTek Megacorporation in conjunction with other standard issue firearms. In addition to providing light over an area, the flares also give out a key wavelength of reflective light which aids the targeting - allowing weapons to lock onto any foe caught in the magnesium glow. ML30 LASER TRIP MINE Notes - Wall Mountable Description - A pack of attachable Laser Trip Mines. Detonation is triggered by any hostile entity breaking the detection beam. Marines skilled with explosives are able to place multiple mines with a single toss. I3A TACTICAL HEAVY ARMOR Notes - 20% Less Damage, Passive Level Unlocked - Level 2 Description - Wearing additional layered graphene armor plates improves resistance to all forms of damage. X33 DAMAGE AMPLIFIER Notes - x2 Damage Aura Level Unlocked - Level 4 Description - The weapons of all marines within the beacon radius are electromagnetically optimised to fire rounds with increased impact force. HORNET BARRAGE Notes - Homing Missile Attacks Level Unlocked - Level 6 Description - Unleashes a salvo of auto-tracking explosive rockets. Marines with greater explosives training are authorized to carr more rockets in each cluster. FREEZE GRENADES Notes - Large Radius Level Unlocked - Level 8 Description - A set of highly explosive liquid nitrogen canisters. Each explosive is capable of temporarily freezing all aliens within its blast radius, rendering the aliens highly vulnerable to Impacts. ADRENALINE Notes - Temporary Slow Motion Level Unlocked - Level 10 Description - A powerful injection fresh from the SynTek Pharmaceutical Division. In times of great danger, IAF troops can apply this adrenaline, giving themselves heightened reactions and perceptions. Metabolized completely within a matter of seconds, this drug can mean the difference between life and death in a tough spot, then leave a marine clear-headed and ready to proceed. IAF TESLA SENTRY COIL Notes - Stuns in Radius Level Unlocked - Level 12 Description - Self assembles into active defense, and self destructs when out of power. Pulses high voltage arcs to stun nearby Swarm. V45 Electric Charged Armor Notes - Stops Infestation, Stuns Level Unlocked - Level 14 Description - Activation of this marine armor's high voltage current stuns any attacker coming in contact with the suit, reduces incoming melee damage, and ejects infesting parasites from the armor surface. M478 PROXIMITY INCENDIARY MINES Notes - Fire Wall Level Unlocked - Level 16 Description - A five piece set of M478 Proximity Incendiary Mines is standard issue for any N.C.O. rank marine. These mines are placed and calibrated in the field and once activated will detonate when any creature matching target specifications comes near. Upon detonation, highly flammable napalm is released in a line of either side of the mine, both killing the victim and tactically denying the area to further foes. FLASHLIGHT ATTACHMENT Notes - Passive Level Unlocked - Level 18 Description - A high intensity, self-recharging multi-bulb flashlight attachment, for providing targetted illumination at times of low visibility. IAF POWER FIST ATTACHMENT Notes - x2 Melee Damage, Passive Level Unlocked - Level 20 Description - The Power Fist is an IAF developed combat suit attachment that boosts the damage of all melee attacks from the fist to the foot. HAND GRENADES Notes - Splash Damage Level Unlocked - Level 22 Description - A set of high explosive cluster grenades. Marines with greater explosive skills are issued grenades with more cluster charges. MNV34 NIGHTVISION GOGGLES Notes - Rechargeable Level Unlocked - Level 24 Description - Thermal based image intensifier with low signal to noise ratio and self-recharging power pack. The MNV34 is high resolution with a wide dynamic luminance range, making it suitable for all light conditions. Standard lightweight battery pack permits 10 seconds of continuous use. MTD6 SMART BOMB Notes - Missile Storm, Single Use Level Unlocked - Level 26 Description - Featuring a patented Multiple Threat Denial targeting system, the Smart Bomb is the ultimate single use one-to-many hostile elimination system. Activating this backpack mounted device will cause a continuous stream of auto tracking rockets to fire over a wide area. _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 7. - Achievements AS07 _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Ammo Technician Deploy 10 ammo stashes that are used by other marines. Another Bughunt Kill 5,000 Swarm. Armory Access Unlock all the available weapons. Assault Specialist Kill 250 Swarm with the Assault Rifle. Autogun Expert Kill 250 Swarm with an Autogun. Blast Radius Kill 6 Swarm with a single Grenade. Bug Stomper Kill 100 Swarm Grubs. Cargo Elevator Speed Run Complete Cargo Elevator within 2:50 on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. Circuit Breaker Complete 10 wire hacks without access being logged. Clear Firing Kill 25 drones without friendly fire. Four marines must be present in the mission. Close Encounters Kill 20 Swarm with melee attacks in a single mission. Damage Amped Kill 15 Swarm with all four marines under the effects of a Damage Amp in a single mission. Deima Surface Bridge Speed Run Complete Deima Surface Bridge within 2:30 on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. Easy Campaign Complete the Jacob's Rest campaign on Easy difficulty or harder. Electro-Stunned Stun 6 Swarm with a single Stun Grenade. Firewall Specialist Kill 100 Swarm with Incendiary Mines. Grenadier Expert Kill 250 Swarm with a Grenade Launcher. Group Heal Heal all 4 marines with a single Heal Beacon. Gunslinger Successfully perform 5 fast reloads in a row. Hard Campaign Complete the Jacob's Rest campaign on Hard difficulty or harder. Hat Trick Complete 2 co-op missions online. Earns a Team Fortress 2 parasite hat. High Voltage Expert Kill 250 Swarm with a Tesla Cannon. Hornet Barrage Expert Kill 100 Swarm with Hornet Barrages. Infestation Savior Cure an Infested marine. Insane Campaign Awarded for finishing the Jacob campaign on Insane difficulty. Kill Them All Kill 25,000 Swarm. Landing Bay Speed Run Complete Landing Bay within 1:25 on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. Minigun Master Kill 250 Swarm with a Minigun. Normal Campaign Complete the Jacob's Rest campaign on Normal difficulty or harder. Nuke From Orbit Kill 100,000 Swarm. On the Ready Line Kill 1,000 Swarm. Outstanding Execution Complete a campaign on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. Parasite Puncher Kill a Swarm Parasite with a melee attack. Peace Medic Heal 300 points of damage in a single mission without dealing any non-melee damage to the Swarm. Perfect Complete a mission on Normal difficulty or harder without receiving any damage. Pistols Expert Kill 250 Swarm with Twin Pistols. Professional Marksman Kill 250 Swarm with a Marksman Rifle. Protect the Tech Guard the squad's tech so that he takes no damage during the hack. Prototype Professional Kill 250 Swarm with a Prototype Rifle. Pyrotechnician Kill 250 Swarm with a Flamethrower. Quick and Dead Kill a Swarm Boomer before it inflates. Quick Load Successfully perform a fast reload. Railgun Specialist Kill 250 Swarm with a Rail Rifle. Rydberg Reactor Speed Run Complete Rydberg Reactor within 3:10 on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. Scrambled Eggs Destroy all Swarm Eggs in a mission without allowing any to hatch. Seal of Quality Seal a door with the welder. Security Expert Complete 10 computer hacks without access being logged. Sewer Junction Speed Run Complete Sewer Junction within 1:30 on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. Sharpshooter Complete a mission with better than 90% accuracy. Shield Down Deliver the finishing blow to a Swarm Shieldbug. Short Controlled Bursts Complete a mission with no friendly fire incidents. Four marines must be present in the mission. Shotgun Specialist Kill 250 Swarm with a Shotgun. Slaughter Soldier Kill 250 Swarm with a Chainsaw. Small Arms Specialist Kill 250 Swarm with PDWs. Smoking Barrels Kill 5 Swarm with explosive barrels in a single mission. Static Defender Kill 500 Swarm with deployable Sentry Guns. Stay Frosty Freeze 6 Swarm with a single Freeze Grenade. SynTek Residential Speed Run Complete SynTek Residential within 2:30 on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. Tactical Explosives Expert Kill 100 Swarm with Laser Tripmines. Technician Secured Finish a mission without the tech getting killed. Timor Station Speed Run Complete Timor Station within 4:25 on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. Under the Gun Roll under a Swarm Ranger projectile. Vindicator Veteran Kill 250 Swarm with a Vindicator. Zero Mortality Complete a mission on Normal difficulty or harder without any marines dying. _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 8. - Contact AS08 _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Do you have any suggestions, comments, critiques, or just a simple thanks to me? Well you could e-mail me at FrankTheTank3388@gmail.com and tell me what you think! You could tell me whatever you'd like about the game whether it's a tip not listed in this guide that you think would help a lot of people, a mistake I made, or just a simple thanks. I will try to get back to you as quickly as possible answering any questions you may have. Just make sure to include something about Alien Swarm in the subject of the e-mail or I will delete it. Please don't send any attachments or I will immediately delete the e-mail without opening it. I have recently received a virus through an e-mail and was forced to reformat and I'm not going to go through that again. Things/How to E-Mail me about: -What you think about this guide. -If you need any additional help or clarification. -Some tips for maps or strategies that aren't in this guide. -Anything you think would be a good addition to this guide. -Make sure your subject indicates you're trying to contact me about this game. -Just a simple thanks! Things/How NOT to E-Mail me about: -Things that don't have anything to do with the game. -Anything that is already clearly discussed in this guide. -Any file attachments. -With really bad grammar! I understand that for some people, English isn't their first language but that doesn't mean you should send me something completely unreadable because you're too lazy to use punctuations or spaces. If I can't understand what you're trying to say, your e-mail will be ignored. ***Also, I would greatly appreciate it if you liked the guide, to also click on the "Liked this FAQ? Click to recommend it to other GameFAQs users." link at the top of this page! _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 9. - Disclaimer AS09 _______________________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ This FAQ/Walkthrough is copyrighted İ 2010 to Frank Grochowski. International Copyright laws protect this FAQ/Walkthrough. You cannot sell this FAQ/Walkthrough for a profit of any kind. You cannot reproduce this FAQ/Walkthrough in any way with out my written consent. You are however allowed to download this FAQ/Walkthrough for personal use. You can also post it on your web site as long as you give me full credit, don't change it in any way, and it is free. The latest version will always be found at: http://www.GameFAQs.com