Heavy Gear II Walkthrough

The jist: Go through the navs, shoot the towers, head to the main compound, then destroy everything that's not Calesto.

You can view my setup in the images. I cranked up the fire control to 3, stripped the Zero-G systems, and went with a medium rifle, though I probably should've used an AC as I prefer the faster fire rates and the damage is comparable.

Head towards Nav 1. When you're about 250m out, zoom in and you'll see the first tower. Take it out from here. Infantry may fire, but they'll barely scratch you.

Head to Nav 2 and repeat. There's a missile launcher this time, so you'll probably want to attack it first. Same goes for Nav 3.

Between Nav 3 and the main compound, you'll find a gear hiding in the water. Blast it before it sees you. It typically goes down with just a few shots.

Once you reach the main compound, you'll talk with Calesto. Take out the tank ASAP. This is likely the hardest challenge in the level. If either you or Calesto are killed, the mission ends. (Do I need to mention "Don't shoot Calesto?") After the tank's gone, destroy all of the remaining buildings.

This time around, I switched over to a medium autocannon. Much better!

This mission shouldn't be too bad. If you want, it is possible to stealth your away around the mountain ridge and skip the first round of infantry. Is it worth it? Probably not. It may spare you from destroying a few vehicles, though.

Instead, I'd just throw on the wheels and run right through the Nav points, stomping any infantry and occasionally lobbing some shots at them. You don't have to kill the infantry.

After a few navs, you'll encounter a Hunter. It should go down easily.

When you reach the outpost, two tanks will show up. Strafing around them should be enough to avoid their fire. A few AC rounds should tear them up. Demolish a few buildings (can switch to your fists for faster results) and it's a successful mission.

This is a really short one, and pretty fun at that if you like the combat.

I stuck with same basic setup from last time. I added a hand grenade, but honestly, it's completely unnecessary. Feel free to use a heavier weapon with limited ammo counts. It'll likely only take a few shots to destroy the other gears.

Head to the first Nav, then hide behind a rock if needed. Wait for Proust's escorts to finish their sweep and then Morgan will give you the all clear to attack.

There are three escorts. Take them out, but don't kill Proust. Then the mission ends.

On paper, there's a lot to this mission. In actuality, it's not too bad as long as you prepare correctly. You can have up to three squadmates this time. I'd take'em all. Gears on the attack work better as a small team of rabid animals, rather than a lone zebra that'll become the prey — or something like that.

I stuck with the same basic setup as last time — a Heavy AC and a useless hand grenade. Kage, Mailliaux and Vesping came along for the ride, though outside of a little dialog, it probably doesn't matter who you pick. (Though I do like hearing Vesping ask Mailliaux, "Are you always an asshole?")

As instructed, head to the north. Once you hit the water, a cutscene triggers. Stay on passive radar, maybe hit X a couple of times to extend range, then target an enemy vehicle and follow it. You can stay back quite far (300m) and run into zero trouble.

Once they vehicle enters the base, there's another mini-cutscene. Let the vehicles venture to the right, then head left of the gate. You'll encounter a couple of tanks, a few turrets, and several infantry. Take out the tanks, help your squadmates with the turrets, and for the infantry: run over them if they're in your way, otherwise ignore'm.

Can't miss the coms tower, so take it out, then trace back and head to the right (from the entrance) of the gate. In the camp, there are a few small vehicles. Outside of that, destroy everything. If you're like me and going relatively light on ammo, break out your fists and punch those buildings down.

Once, you've dropped enough of them, re-equip your AC and it's time to find the anti matter device. Follow the nav and/or check the map if you must. There may be a stealthy tank along the way, so keep an eye out for it. Knock down this building, then a small convoy tries to escape with another anti-matter device. They're no match for you in the first place, and for some reason, they decide the best path of escape is to run single-file, in a straight line, directly in front of you. Make them regret their stupid decisions and destroy them all. A small cutscene, then the mission ends.

After a quick video cutscene, we're on our way to Caprice.

You'll never guess: I'm using the HAC as my main armament again. I decided to try out an anti-personal grenade launcher since I didn't have a lot of threat value for much bigger and the previously-equipped hand grenade has been pretty much useless. TV is 4500 — you'll need it for the Zero-G systems that you've plucked off earlier.

I actually skipped bringing any squadmates. In my experience, they seem to get aggressive with the ship's turrets early and get into trouble. Rather than babysit them, just go solo.

When the mission starts, there'll be some infantry on "ground" floor. Head to the right, then target the com modules. You should find two to the right fairly quickly. Take them out. From the right, you might be able to catch the two on top as well.

If the infantry shots bother you, head underneath the ship to get to the last two. When you finish with those, two turrets are targeting the Fury. The HAC should have enough range that you can target and borderline snipe them. Once you hit a turret, it'll focus fire on you instead of the Fury, so make sure you take them out quickly after you score a hit.

Lastly, there's a group of infantry targeting the Fury now. Head to the newest nav point and destroy them. APGLs are pretty weird in space. Aiming seems to be different based on whether you're attached to the ground or not. If you are, aim a little low, right in the center of the infantry. One or two hits will likely take them all out since the APGL has some of the best non-mortar splash damage in the game. So, your aim doesn't have to be perfect.

Another movie. This time, we see Caprice from space. It's mostly a boring red rock with a city (Gommorrah) running through a crack in the middle.

This time around, you can have up to four in your squad. I'd go for at least three. Personally, I picked Kage, Sobec, and Pulciano.

For my Gear build... you guessed it. HAC and fire control 3.

When you start the mission, command two of your crew to defend the base. The rest can come along with you. I left the hotheads Kage and Sobec at the base (since their trigger-happiness'll be good in this mission) and had Pulciano come along with me.

Put on your wheels, then speed through the first three nav points. Over the coms, you'll hear Earth forces attacking a Liberati scout crew. (Heck, maybe even your crew foreshadows and recommends a few of them stay at your base.) Head over and help out the Liberati. They'll likely be engaging two tanks. Another three will attack after that. Keep moving, focus fire, and you should be alright.

Soon after, you'll hear reports of an attack on your base. Fortunately, your squadmates are there to handle it. Still, speed back and finish the job. It's possible you'll encounter another NEC patrol along the way. You can destroy them or slow down a bit and let them pass. Knock out any remaining tanks to complete the mission.

An interesting note: The repair stations at your base do work should you need to reload!

An escort mission, easy enough, right? (Is it just me or do escort missions always suck?) Even better, it's really not an escort mission, phew.

Load up on squadmates. Go for at least three, maybe all four if you can swing it. I'm using the same basic gear build as last time, though in hindsight, I could've dropped the submersible perk and maybe added some reinforcement perks.

Start off by leading the way for your Liberati crew. You may want to sweep the active radar on and off periodically. You'll find a couple of mounts not too far ahead. Take'em out, but you don't have to fly solo when you do. Command your group to attack the same target to quickly destroy the mounts. I like to set <ctrl>+A as the "all attack" shortcut to quickly punch in the command during battle.

After that, there's word that some Liberati scouts have run into the NEC ahead. When you get there, stay on the crest with the scouts, lie down, and let the enemy pass. Keep the last one targeted. Once your stealth guage looks clear, run behind'em and start blasting.

After that, it's back to the Liberati base to meet Petrus. But wait, there's an attack. Be prepared for a firefight. Remember, use your squad to gang up on the enemy tanks. Focus fire with your teammates and you should have this. The tanks here can take a few hits, so they will likely not go down as easily as earlier opponents.

Once you've finished them off, in comes the bad news: Petrus has been captured and is imprisoned at Bastille Alpha.

There's a little fighting and a lot of scouting in this one: Crank up your sensors and your stealth this time 'round. Outside of that... HAC VHAC and fire control 3!

Take two squadmates with you. TVs are raised a little here, so take advantage and beef up your companions as well as yourself.

First, you'll need to escort Radec. Four or so tanks will attack along the way. As usual, gang up on them and take'm out. Radec is pretty quick, so the faster you can take down these other tanks, the better.

Once you get close the lookout point, have your squad stay with Radec. There (hopefully) won't be any fighting for the rest of the mission.

Head solo to the lookout point, then creep towards the rocks in front of you. You may have to get a little closer than is comfortable. With your stealth cranked up, you should be able to stand and still avoid detection. Possibly, a VTOL flies by that would require you to crouch, but if you're stealth is high, you're probably fine.

The bigger issue here will be that the game's clipping distance is set to around 300m, so turn on imaging (default "I") to help see. Flash your active radar on and work through the targets. This'll get you started. For a few items, you'll probably have to target them directly using "Target under Reticle" ("R" key by default).

These are the four items that need to be targeted:

• Turret
• Hovertank Bay
• Gate
• Power Transformer

After that, you need to observe the guard pattern, AKA sit there until the gates open. With this knowledge, the attack will begin tomorrow (AKA next mission).

After doing a lot of experimenting here... I decided to stick mostly with the classics. Fire Control 3 with the addition of a Very Heavy Autocannon makes for a good killer. Note my Manip Arms are cranked to 10. Jump jets, ECM, etc. are probably not worth it. Take Sobec and Wallis since they pilot the Cobra and Kodiak support gears, respectively. Threat values are high for everyone, so be sure to upgrade your squadmates, too.

The battle begins pretty much instantly. Very likely, some fire from the base turrets will be coming your way, as well as two mounts. The VHAC should make short work of the mounts and your squadmates will probably do well handling the turrets. Of course, you can potshot the turrets, too. It might help to head towards the right. I think this could block some turret fire. Maybe.

As they continue with the turrets, head through the front doors and directly into the base. Switch over to your fists and punch out power transformers. Your fists will take them down quickly and save some ammo for later. While your there, finish off the hovertank bay, too. Most likely, there'll be a tank nearby it. Shoot it or fist it — the choice is yours.

If needed, finish off anything left, then the rescue crew will enter the base. After a brief cutscene, two striders will show up just beyond the entrance gate. Play the game and hug just around a corner, blasting them before they can notice you're ther.e Repeat on the other side.

Morgan will chime in stating more forces are on their way. Personally, I had to hunt them down every time I went through this mission. Head out of the gates and start venturing left. Maybe even toggle on the active radar. You should find a tank about 300-400m out. Kill it, then repeat on the right side of the base, too.

Another scene: This time, we find Petrus... and a bunch of dirty Earthers. Time to head back to the Fury.

About 500-600m out, you'll run across several tanks. Finish them off and the mission ends.

Full disclosure: This mission is super-bugged for me while playing in Windows 10. There's a background ambient audio loop that plays constantly over top of everything else. I'm missing most of the mission dialog. To boot, I think some of the scripted sequences aren't triggering correctly. This makes the mission a little frustrating and if you want to type "set mission" into the console and call it a day, I don't blame you.

Load up with some lasers and up your stealth capabilities. I opted to drop Fire Control down to 2 so that I could pack a Heavy Laser and a Medium Bazooka. Load up on gear pilots. Notice my TV is 4399, which is exactly enough to squeeze in a fourth squadmate. I took Sobec, Wallis, Pinter, and Maillaiux with me, all in their standard variants.

Part 1: Find the base.

Long story short: It's at Nav 5.

So, two options: 1. You can go through all of the nav points. 2. Or, you can go directly to Nav 5. If you go directly to Nav 5, you'll find a "road" made of hardened lava that you can follow. Either way, the strategy is the same: Extend your radar range (default "Z"), then constantly switch to active radar. If something is far enough away, crouch down and let it pass. If it gets too close, blow the shit out of it. I'm using the bazooka for this part.

Once you get about 400ish meters outside of Nav 5, you should pick up some turrets on your radar. Tell your squad to stay in place behind you. If you don't, then they've got a habit of suiciding directly into the turrets. After that, switch over to your laser. You should be able to target and zoom in on the turrets. Even if you can't see them (damn, this fogging distance is short), you can still destroy the turrets. Though the listed ranger of lasers is 300m, I'm pretty sure they actually goes farther than that.

After two turrets go down, there'll be a cutscene where Trilkin escapes in an APC.

Part 2: Catch the APC.

If you want to play it straight, pick off the remaining turrets around the base from a distance. If you don't, your squad is going to have a bad time. Head

As an alternative route, you can go to the left of the base without entering it. You'll probably still need to take out any front-facing base turrets, though.

After that, follow the hardened lava "road" until you reach the roadblock. This feels very similar to the beginning of the mission, but at this point, just gang up on any NEC forces in the way and destroy'em.

Once you make it to the roadblock, it's too late. The Trilkin and the APC have gotten way. Despite heavy Liberati losses, Petrus has managed to escape. Now, it's time to track down that APC.

As usual, setup is vital for this mission. This time I'm using the snub cannon, as it hits about as hard as anything in this game (though it's limited to an 80mm range). A medium 'zooka is the backup. My SMS speed is maxed and I've got ECM (though I could only manage level 2 on it). I went solo.

The plan: Hit hard, get in, get out.

Enable your wheels and had to the first nav for a quick cutscene. Memorize the APC. Target it. Wait.

If they APC breaks left, you're lucky. Wait a bit for a few of the mounts/tanks to pass, then hit the ECM and sprint towards the APC. (I usually charge before I've been given the okay.) You may end up sprinting past some mounts. One hit from the snub cannon should disable APC. Run like hell if needed, then pick off the APC guards one by one. Mission successful.

If the APC breaks right, this is harder. There'll be too many other enemies in front of it. So, head to the Encampment Nav. Wait outside of it until the APC is in range. One hit from the snub cannon should disable it. Run like hell, then pick off the guards one by one. Mission successful.

If the APC makes it to the camp, the mission continues. Here, you'll need to scout out the encampment. You'll get a nav point to the overlook, but to be fair, it can be a little tricky to find it. The tactical map might help, but in my experience, you probably can't really zoom out enough to find things. If you get nearby, look for ridge to the right of the camp. This'll lead you to the lookout. If you happen to find the ridge, maybe set up some Nav points in the map to help guide you there.

The mission ends when you reach the checkpoint. You'll have to wait until night falls to get that data core.

An optional mission? This is the only branching pathway in the game. If you didn't disable the APC in mission 11, you'll have to assasinate Trilkin and steal the data core here.

As always, setup is critical. If you play your cards right, you may not even need to fire a shot. That being said, I wouldn't go without any weapons. Make enough space to incorporate some jumpjets this time around. I've got the classics — Fire Control 3, Very Heavy Autocannon — along with maxed ECM and maxed jump jets.

About 400m out from the camp, you'll pick up some patrol tanks on the radar. Hang a right. If you start to take the next entrance towards the camp, you'll encounter another patrol. The goal is to get back to the camp in the same manner as the last mission. There are two main ways to do this: Either loop around until you get there, or use your jumpjets to take a shortcut through. Check the map to the side for details. Use your tactical map and set up nav points if needed to help get you there.

Once you make it to the overlook, there's a spot between a recess and a ridge where your gear will fit perfectly. From here, peer over the edge of the ridge and observer. There's a sentry that is patrolling. Wait for it to turn around — if it gets line-of-sight on you, the alarms will sound.

When you're ready, head over the ridge and aim to the right of the nav. I usually jump between the two mounts and over the APC (no jets required for that one). You'll get a cutscene (and see yourself!), then it's time to escape.

For the escape, hit your ECM, then race towards the ridge. Just beyond it, there's a side with a gentler slope guarded by two mounts. Use your jumpjets to leap up/over the ridge and get out. With any luck, you won't be spotted at all. If you are, the ECM and jets should give you enough of a head start that you'll be okay. Refer to the second map for the recommended entrance and escape pathway.

Race to the fury. When you get there, you'll need to battle a few mounts. Fortunately, your squad is there to help, so these mounts should be easy prey.

Alternative approach: If you're Billy Badass, just kill everyone.

Here's a simple one.

I've got the typical loadout. In fact, I'm using the same 4.5k TV with a Very Heavy Autocannon from Mission 9. No mates for me.

Head to Nav 1. When you get there, Morgan will give you a choice as to which approach to take. Head west and to the cliff. You'll probably already pick up most of the camp on your radar. That being said, lie your gear down and creep towards the edge of the cliff. Find the APCs (fortunately they're very bright compared to the... red rocks of Caprice) and use target under reticle (default "R") to target them.

After that, you can attack the camp. It's really up to you from here. I decided to snipe. Target a mystery unit (frame), get a good lock... and let the bullets rain. The frames'll send some fire your way, so you may need to shimmy back behind the cliff for a bit. Unfortunately, if a target is too low, it's hard to hit. Personally, I jumped over the cliff to finish off the last frame. Once you've destroyed all three, the mission ends.

If you like combat, this is a fun one. Bring the usual setup — Fire Control 3 with a Very Heavy Autocannon. Grab a couple of squadmates. If you've got TV for it, use some of the higher TV variations for them.

When the mission starts, briefly toggle on your active radar. You'll probably get a hit for a hovertank right off the bat. Have you and your squad attack it. From there, three mounts will join the fight. Same approach: group up on'em and take'm out.

After a brief cutscene, Radec heads in to shut down power to the base. Stay near the north side and a tank'll attack. After that, one attacks from the other side, too. Be careful around the lava — it's mighty rough on your gear.

After that, the power is down and it's time to raid the base.

There are five frames inside of here. In my opinion, frames are way easier to fight than tanks. But, be careful as you go around corners and gates. You don't want to end up on the wrong side of a 2 vs 1. The turrets in the base are offline, so disregard those. Outside of that, stick with the usual strategies: Target an opponent, hit <ctrl>+a to sic your team on them, then make it a 3 vs 1 in your favor.

Full disclosure: This mission is pretty bugged for me playing in Windows 10. I'm pretty sure I'm missing several audio messages. Several times, the game would crash once I made it to the elevator and began shooting the guards. When I finally made it through without a crash, one of the guard mounts clipped itself through a wall and was basically off-map. Fortunately, I was able to shoot one of its legs sticking out and destroy it that way to end the mission. So, there's not shame in opening the console, typing "set mission," and going about your business if this one bugs out on you, too.

Despite the imperative to not shoot anything, ignore it. Don't be like me and skip weapons the first time through. You'll definitely want them at the end (and if something goes wrong). With a higher TV, I decided to keep the same basic build, but up the stealth to 5 and ECM to 6.

This can be a long mission if you take it slow and stealthy. My advice? Don't be scared, homie: Take it fast and stealthy.

Part 1: The Caves

For the first part of the mission, punch through a rock brigade, then head towards the NEC mining caverns. A few notes: You may want to turn on image enhancement ("I") to help see. If you notice stalactites and stalagmites, there is likely a jump ahead. Because of the jumps, I prefer to walk rather than use SMS. There are three jumps total, so once you pass the third, break out your wheels. You don't need jets to make the jumps, but you can pack them if it makes you feel more comfortable. Head towards the nav point. There are no enemies yet, so keep your active radar on as it'll help show the terrain in the map.

Part 2: The Mines

Once you're in the mining area, play a stealth game. The gigantic mounts are borderline blind until you get in their face, but don't let them step on you. If you do, you'll hear a couple of pings, then your gear goes "pop!" There are some frames, but generally avoid them. For the most part, head towards the nav and if there's an enemy in the way, backtrack a bit, get some space, hit the ECM, and zip past. I like to keep the active radar on when I can here, too, as it'll make it easier to navigate the maze. It's also a good idea to extend the radar range ("X"). Throw on your wheels, ECM when needed, and basically race to the nav. I'd say it should take about 6 minutes from the start of the level (including part 1) to get to the elevator.

Once you find the elevator, you'll need to destroy the guards. That would be the big-ass mounts hanging out in front of it. Forget your hands and break out the guns. Likely, you can get some shots in on them before they realize what's happening. This area has been very buggy for me, but if you manage to destroy nearby mounts (including one that may clip through the walls), the mission will end with a cutscene of your gear approaching the elevator to the Paladin Lots.

Full disclosure: Another buggy mission. Sometimes the voices come through on the audio, sometimes they don't. Press "O" to bring up the objectives if needed.

This is long mission. There's a lot of sniping, so bring a laser-based weapon. I went for the HGLC — I can still manage to keep Fire Control at 3 and keep plenty of ammo. (You'll need it!) Outside of that, it's pretty much the same build from the last mission. If you want to risk it, you could bring something else. Many frames in the level will drop HGLCs, but what weapon you get is a bit of crap shoot. Whenever you run across a dropped weapon, though, pick it up! There's a decent chance you'll need the extra ammo.

Right off the bat, there'll be a frame. They don't seem toe expect you. Remind'em you're there and and blast'em.

Keep your radar on active where you can. There are a lot of Kestrels (aircraft) flying around in this mission. If possible, zoom in and laser them from a distance before they get in range. You'll encounter one or two shortly. As you approach the Fushima building nav, there's another frame. You can toggle on ECM as you fight to help avoid detection. Pick up any weapons from the frames. The extra ammo may very well come in handy later.

Hop off of the elevator and again you'll battle another frame. More Kestrels litter the sky, so take'em out before they get close. Another frame awaits as you approach the Hashima nav.

Ride the elevator and hop off quickly. Don't stay on the elevators too long or they may take you back down. This time, there are turrets on the bridge as you head towards the Anderson compound. The best bet is to game them. Peak over the the edge just enough to see the turret, then shoot. It's cheesy, yeah, but it works.

More turrets in front of the Anderson elevator. Likely, you can catch them off guard from a distance. Destroy the two facing you; you can leave the third.

Hopping off the Anderson elevator, two more Kestrel's fly by. Blow'em out of the sky.

On the way to the Kishin tower elevator, there's another frame. You can probably snipe it from a distance.

At the bottom of the Kishin elevator, there's another frame waiting for you. (picture)

As you head to the Mesa, there's another Kestrel and two turrets. Game the turrets again (picture).

And now, for the worst part of the level, and possibly the entire game: The ramp. There are turrets and frames down below, but due to the clipping distance, you can't see them. If you go straight down the ramp, the turret is likely to blast the shit out of your gear before you can even see the damn thing. So, unless you know a way to fix the clipping fogging distance (please contact me if you do!), we'll cheese it some more.

Head to the ramp. With sensors set to 5, you should able to target the frames and turrets below. (in this picture, I'm aiming sideways because it shows the target brackets, but not when I'm straightforward.) Though you can't see frames and turrets, your laser weapons have the range to hit them. Shoot them.

There's also a turret to the right of the ramp and possibly another two Kestrels flying around.

When you finish it all off, sit on the Mesa nav and wait. The elevator will take you down. Very important: Head to the west. (picture) If you go the wrong way (east), you'll have no chance of defeating the turrets that lie ahead.

These turrets are viscous. Because of the shaft's curvature, you can't outrange them. They have unlimited ammo to boot, as far as I can tell. So, you'll have to cheese your way through them. (picture) Lie your gear prone, hit the ECM, then slowly edge pass the side wall until you just barely see the turret. Blast that laser until the turret blows. There's a second one on the way down, too. Same strategy. At least it's on the right side of a wall, so it's a little easier to hit.

Make it to the elevator and head down. Some NEC frame pilot talks a buncha shit (Ooh... scary, Mr. "I've tested every frame ever" and "I even get the them song to play when you fight me"), but will go down surprisingly easy once you make it to the basement labs. Make the guy eat his words by lasering him from a distance, then head over to the Mainframe Nav at the lab computers to send the frame data back to Dragon. Follow another nav to take the elevator back up. Be careful: There's a turret immediately at the top of the elevator. Hit your ECM before you arrive at the top and shoot that sucker down ASAP!

Next, somewhat retrace your steps. You'll be spiraling upwards with more annoying turrets. Repeat the strategy from earlier: Once you're almost around the corner, lie down, hit the ECM, edge over just enough spot the turrets, then laser them away.

After that, yet another elevator, but it this time it leads back up above ground. Time to get out. There could be one last turret, but you've likely shot it down approaching the ramp of death from earlier. Head to the last nav and now it's time to hitch a ride out of the city. Phew.

To counterbalance the last mission, here's a relatively (what wouldn't be?) quick one.

For the set up, I'm back to a VHAC with Fire Control 3. There was some breathing room TV-wise, so I've upped the Stealth to 7 and Movement to 2. Speed will be your salvation in this mission, so you don't want to lose your movement systems via critical hit. Tack on a rugged movement perk for safe measure.

I think the best idea here is to use your speed to your advantage. Sure, you could take it slow and try to sneak around, but I think that puts you at too much risk — if you get detected, frames'll be all over you.

Instead, engage your wheels, and speed through. My best route: Middle, second from right, leftish. If you're spotted along the way, ignore it and keep moving. Realistically, I don't think it actually matters what path you take.

You'll know when you hit the last dome as three frames com over the coms and announced they've blocked the exit. Sure enough, if you try to go to the exit, they've stacked crates in front of it. It seems like these frames pack quite the punch, so if you take a hit, it's likely to be critical. Personally, it seems my movement systems get hit a lot, but we're prepared! That being said, it shouldn't be too much work to destroy the frames. You can probably sneak in a few shots on them before they realize what's up. If not, use the trees, crates, and immobile vehicles as cover if needed, then strafe in and out. Finish them off and the mission is basically over.

Last step: Speed over to the not-too-far-away final nav. The mission ends with a cutscene where we discover that the Fury has been destroyed!

For some reason, your squadmates are suicidal maniacs in this level, running gung-ho into laser turrets when it's time to scout. As weird as it seems, I think you can probably hack it alone and maybe even be better off for it. Of course, if you don't really care if they live or die, bring as many as you can with you and pray that they leave the laser turrets alone. Alternatively, you can micro-manage them to death and try to beat some sense into their brains.

The build is pretty much the same as the last round (VHAC, Fire Control 3), but with a few concessions due to the lower threat value. Against my better judgment, I brought Mailliaux, Sobec, and Pinter with me.

At the start of the mission, immediately head left (if you don't want to jump over the cliff edge) and take the ramp down. Stick with the standard radar tricks — increase your range ("X") and occasionally swap to active mode to pick up enemies earlier. With many ships going in and out of the spaceport, not every red dot on the radar will be a target.

Head towards the space port nav, but veer to the right side of the map. About 1300m out from it, you'll be alerted to some activity ahead. Swing to the right, through the natural arc. There's a small outpost with three gears and two turrets. Likely, the safest best is to snipe from a distance. You should be able to hit the turrets before they detect you; the frames won't last long against your VHAC.

It's possible that a straggling frame or two will try to shoot at you from the top of the mountainside. Remind them why that's a horrible move on their part.

Now the fun: To try to prevent your squad from channeling their inner Don Quixote, tell them to cool their jets by bringing up the command menu (default "C") and punching in 1, 6, 1, 3 so that will they will (hopefully) hold their fire.

Head towards the spaceport nav and a cutscene will trigger about 120m out. The gate to the space port is heavily guarded and only opens for cargo ships. There's no way a direct attack will work. Now, as soon as the squad echos that sentiment, in my game, they immediately start attacking the laser turrets and proceed to get absolutely slaughtered.

To prevent that, swing to right of the spaceport and start to trek towards Nav 1 as fast as possible. Immediately bring up the tactical map and tell your squad to move to a spot near you. If they don't move, tell'em again. And again. And again. Eventually, they'll catch up with you, hopefully with enough armor to be of some use later. At this point, you can tell them to engage at will again.

There's a high ground path that you can take that'll keep you out of sight as you travel to Nav 1. Take it while you can. It's possible that you run into a straggling frame here or there. Don't let those frames survive.

Nav 1 is a dud, so head to Nav 2. Four frames await there. Snipe a bit from range, then head in and finish them off. If your crew has managed to make it this far, it should be an easy fight.

Once you hit Nav 2, it's mission success. Fortunately, jumping into a cargo truck is part of the cutscene and you don't have to do that yourself.

I'm using the HGLC setup again. Depending on how you attack the level, there are potentially lots of things to shoot and only so much ammo on the VHAC. Sensors, movement, etc. are cranked because I can with 6k TV. Super important: Add jumpjets. Even at level 1, you'll be able to hop over walls/gates/fences and make this mission way easier.

I brought the same crew from last time — Mailliaux, Sobec, and Pinter — though they not even be needed. With the max team TV being 15000, I kept the 6k for me and put them in their default gear configurations. Real main character energy.

Two approaches: To jumpjet or not to jumpjet.

Jumpjets - The Easy Method

Look at the map I've drawn up and follow the green arrow from the start spot to the ship's location. Hop a fence, put on your wheels, then head to the ramp that leads to the ship at the airfield. If you encounter a frame or mount, kill it if you want. Or, just ignore it.

After reaching the ship, you've got to destroy the power generators. Follow the rightward green arrow on the map over to them, jump any walls/gates/fences as needed, then punch out the generator in blue. Head back to the ship using the same path.

Upon returning, several frames attack. Likely, your squadmates will have caught up with you here, so finish off the frames as a team.

Not Jumpjetting aka "So, you like to do things the hard way?"

At the start of the mission, head towards the airfields. There's a gate blocking them, so swing to the left of it. You'll encounter some mild resistance from a few frames, but they should go down without much of a fight.

On the other side of the gate, there'll be a dirt ramp to take you up into the airfields. Cross the bridge and head the ship in the upper-right corner of the tactical map. That's the one, but it's got a security grid holding it down.

As you head towards the power generators, you'll pass by another gate that leads out of the airfields. There are two turrets around it, so take'em down. You'll likely run into several mounts of various sizes. You and your squad should be able to tackle them and stop them, figuratively. Keep strafing and tell your crew to attack the same target; no one gets out alive.

Near the power generators, it's the same story — another gate with two turrets. Snipe these turrets from a distance before they can get a shot on you.

See that generator glowing blue? Save some ammo by punch it to oblivion.

Oh no, a dropship appears. Prepare for some incoming frames and mounts. In fact, they ran into the generator fields during one of my run-throughs. Don't let them escape alive.

Next, back to the airfields, but oh no... The ship is leaving... And several frames show up to the party with no gift. As usual, make them pay.

Either Way

Last step: Time to get to this newly-arrived dropship. Follow the nav (use the green arrow leading to the left on the map I've provided). You'll probably encounter some mounts and frames on the way. Soon after, four or so frames will show up in a last stand. Peek over the side of the mountain and snipe them if you can. If they get close enough, let your squadmates have some fun by getting some shots in, too.

Head to the nav and the mission ends with a movie showing your crew departing Caprice.

Ugh... space.

To counteract my horrible lack of space fighting skills, I'm completely changing the build, dropping Fire Control to 1, so that I can pack an Anti-Gear Missile and a Heavy Pulse Laser Cannon. Mailliaux and Wallace are along for the ride.

At the start of the mission, turn around 180 degrees. Essentially, the station is a long tube with several ships connected to the sides of it. In the map, the starting point is represented by the green star.

I'd cheat a bit on this one and do things out of order. Later on in the mission, you'll need to destroy the thruster modules on each ship (marked as yellow circles on the map). I think it's easier to take them out when you first see them. Head to the ship on the right, then destroy the three thruster module at the end (right side of map only). If you're in ammo conservation mode, punch it out or command your squadmates to attack for you. Personally, I think it's easier to tell the squad to attack while I mosey over to the next one and target it. Plus, it keeps your squad from hopelessly battle-charging any active turrets.

>This'll let the NEC know you're here, so now the turrets are active. Destroy them when you get the chance. This'll be fruitful as you won't have to deal with them later when your facing several frames.

As you get towards the end of the station, some maintenance bots are working on a ship — that's the one we want (upper left of the map). Destroy the bots (they'll probably go down with one shot), then there's a cutscene as Morgan goes to work.

Two frames (and maybe turrets) attack. Since I can't fight for shit in space, my suggestion is try to stay attached to the station. If/when the space frames get a lock, toggle on your ECM to escape it. If your like me and went with Anti-Gear missiles, the good news is they're guided. The bad news is that you'll need to be in active radar mode to use them. Once you get a lock, it's pretty much lay and spray, though.

After taking out the space frames, Morgan finish with the airlock. You'll need to destroy the rest of the thruster modules (the three on the left side of the map.) Do not destroy the thruster module on ship in the upper left of the map. You need that one to get off of the planet! While chasing after these thruster modules, use the same trick as earlier: Fly past, target, then let your squad tackle them. Also, do not engage any frames right now. If you do, more and more frames will appear...

When all six thrust modules are gone, you'll need to clean up and destroy any remaining frames. If you haven't encountered too many so far, you'll probably just need to destroy 2-3, then the mission's a success. Or as Mailliaux puts it, "Just another five minutes of senseless violence..."

The mission ends with a movie. An asteroid zips by, but why? Better find out where it came from.

This one's not too bad, except that it's in space. TV is up to 7k, so you might be able to splurge. I'm sticking with the AGM, though I think it's good to add something laser-y for sniping. If you go purely AGM, you may be able to bump the Fire Control back up to 2. Bring a couple of squadmates for good measure.

This is a mission where I wish the clipping plane in the game was way farther out. Head into the "barrel" of the mass driver and travel through it heading East. You'll encounter about three various frames spaced out along the way. Keep your distance, keep the radar extended and active, tell your squad to attack your target, and you should be able to take them out with little fuss.

As you approach the solid "base" of the mass driver, start to orbit/circle around it by walking on the thing, still heading east. You'll likely pick up some sentry drones on the radar, keep walking/orbiting around and eventually another ship, fully loaded, appears. Take down its lasers. As usual, find some cover and peek over the edges just enough to hit the turrets without them catching you. If an enemy gets lock on you, either retreat behind the cover or flash your ECM. There's a decent spot on the mass driver where you can catch the bottom three turrets. You may have to climb a little higher to catch the top.

Once the turrets are down, the entrance to the mass driver opens. Assault the sentry drones if you like, or just head into it to end the mission.

This mission kind of sucks.

Back to HGLC for me. I like that there's no lead like on the projectile weapons and the rapid recovery time makes it easy to chain several shots in a row. TV is 7.5k , so crank things up where you can.

For the first part, fly/walk through a bunch of corridors that look the same. There'll be some sentry drones. Since your fire control and stealth are cranked, you'll catch them on the radar before they detect you. Hit'em with a laser and put them down.

When you reach the control computer, there's a mini-cutscene, then you need to find the asteroid. The astroid room entrance is directly below the computer room entrance. So, turn around to face west, then drop down. (If it's not there, go up instead.)

Walk in, touch the asteroid, walk out. Easy.

Now, here's the sucky part: You need to break this joint in three minutes. Everything I hate about navigating through space is here: Bizarre controls, spotty ground connection issues, controls that if you touch anything on the ground, completely leaving your gear motionless for a moment. Oh, and every room looks the exact same. Rant over. Honestly, with some practice, it's not too bad, as you can walk most of it if you desire.

Just go trace your path back... in less than three minutes. Otherwise, you go boom. (Though, if you destroyed the mass driver, wouldn't the mission still be a success? You know, for the greater good of Terra Nova? I digress.) If you're having trouble, here are a few tips:

• Set your self up for success: After you place the bomb on the asteroid, find the control computer room exit. Point and face westwards, then back up into the computer station.
• You can walk most of the way and still get back to the entrance. So, if you're like me and hate space travel, it's still doable.
• Forget nerves. Even walking, you can make back in about two minutes. During a few jumps, you may accidentally "stick" to the ground, but recovery isn't too bad.
• Lost? If in doubt, head west.
• Also, use the pictures in this walkthrough as a guide.

Get out. Boom (not you). The end.

This one's not too bad, especially considering escort missions are universally loathed in all of gaming. I used my 6K HGLC Dark Mamba build from the campaign mission. The default squadmates and their default gears came with me, which meant we were way the max threat value.

When you start, feel free to cruise 200-300 meters ahead of the convoy to get an early start on enemy activity. Extend your radar range and flash to active now and again to stay on top of things. You'll encounter some lights first and they should go down with just a couple of hits. After the second or third wave, the gears work up a class or two.

The worst part will be when you hit the loading zone. There are several gears and a few tanks, plus some turrets. To keep your teammates from suiciding by charging turrets, you'll want to take those turrets out from a distance before you get close. As the supplies are loading, the tanks'll come in.

Once the supplies are in, it's a nearly uneventful trek back to the dropship. I had a lone Cheetah try to pick a fight; it didn't last long.

Build wise, I went with my classic 5.5k Black Mamba sporting a VHAC and Fire Control 3. Really, pick whatever weapons you're comfortable with, but keep the fire control up to 2 or 3. I used the default squad with default gears.

This mission is pretty straightforward if you want it to be.

Put on some wheels, and start racing towards the nav point. You'll encounter some resistance along the way, but ignore it as much as you can. You might have to engage a gear or two, but generally, let your squadmates deal with it.

Race straight to the power plants, then destroy power transformers. That's it. Mission success.

If you like to snipe, maybe take something laser based. As usual, I took my VHAC with Fire Control 3. It's a little limited on ammo at only 100 shots. If you'd like more ammo, or if you like to snipe, an HGLC-based build would be good here, too. Beyond that, the usual suspects are along for the ride: default squad with default gears.

Here's a historical mission that could require a bit of strategy. A full frontal assault might work if you can handle the turrets. Very likely, this means the death of all of your squadmates, if not you, too. A longer approach, but more easily doable, is to take out the power structures, hit the com arrays, then attack the less defended base.

Start by heading northwest and use the walkthrough map to take a few bridges to the power structures by following the path on the left side. You may encounter some light opposition (infantry, tanks) along the way. Personally, I'd just run over the infantry; tanks will take some shootin'. If you're running a build with limited ammo, switch to your hands and punch down the power structures. Or, let your squad mates do the work.

After that, backtrack to the start of the level (marked with a star). Using the map as a guide, circle around the other direction following the arrow on the right. As before, there may be some light opposition to take down. This'll lead you to the com arrays. Punch'em down, too.

From here, you should have a pretty good shot at the base. Start by sniping any nearby gears or tanks to soften them up a bit. Try to remind your squadmates not to run directly into the base. If you can lure an enemy out, gang up on them and tell everyone on your squad to attack it.

Once you've got cleared the live units, head into the base (follow the short arrow on the map) and start punching down any building that has a proper name (not something generic like "structure"). Accelerate this by ordering your squad to attack as well. Once you've got an adequate number of buildings demolished, the mission ends.

As usual, I'm sticking with my goto build: Dark Mamba with a VHAC and Fire Control at 3. Also, I'm bringing along the default squad and default gears; there's enough threat value that you can beef them up a bit if you want.

This one is just all out combat. Take your favorite 6k combat setup, then destroy everything you see along the way to the city gate. You'll encounter several gears and quite a few turrets. Fortunately, the turrets tend to go down pretty easily here. Mind them, focus fire by telling your squadmates to attack your targets, avoid any critical hits, and you'll have it in the bag.

Last step: Shoot at the gate until it pops.

Really, this one is not too bad. As usual, I'm bringing my VHAC Dark Mamba with the default squad in tow. Though, you may want something with a little more ammo. (HGLC or HAC might be alright.)

Play this one on skates. Throw on your SMS, keep the speed up, and shoot whatever comes nearby. Tell your squad to attack the same targets and you'll have no issue. Well, ammo count might be a little low with just the VHAC, but you can bring a weapon with more room if you like.

Your nav point is set to Xing, but if you press N, you'll briefly see the distance to the destination, which is about 3km out. Feel free to venture ahead of the Xing convoy about 200m or so, but keep an eye on the radar — the convoy does make a few unexpected turns and you don't want to abandon it for long.

Generally, enemies attack one at a time. Towards the end, you may get a couple two-at-a-timers, but with a full squad, the numbers are in your favor.

If you see an airplane in the distance, the end of the mission is near.

Grab a sniper build... or be like me and use the standard Dark Mamba with VHAC and Fire Control 3. Skip the squad.

Head into the level, move slightly northwest, then find a rolling hill. Basically, look for the nearest hill you can climb. A massive group of gears will come through. Unless you're looking for a challenge, do not engage them. Instead, lie prone and wait as they pass by. Keep cycling through your targets until you find the Javelin. That's the vehicle with Barth. In my case, it was lagging behind the pack of gears. So, exercise a bit of patience, wait for them to pass, then snipe the Javelin. Mission accomplished with just a few shots.

So... I've been debating the best way to tackle this. If you just want to complete the mission, I think the best bet is to speed run it. With that being said, I'm still bringing my typical VHAC with FC3 setup. Whatever you do, crank your stealth, bring some ECM, and make sure you've got the speed topped off. The standard squad is coming, too, mostly to be a fire support distraction.

When the mission starts, engage your SMS and active radar, then head north towards the Hades Complex nav point. Soon, you'll get some hits on the radar for hidden turrets. Engage the ECM, then run like hell to the nav. Don't stop moving, head to the second nav which will take you right to the cannisters. Get near them and you've collected them.

Immediately head for the exit at the Airfield nav; you'll need to veer right a bit to make it up the hill. There's a small gate (like you need to pay for parking) that I always get hung up on. Go just to the right of it and you'll soon see an air plane. Get to the plane and the mission's done.

As usual, I'm sticking with my VHAC Dark Mamba with Fire Control 3. The default squad and their default gears are with me.

For a little assist, sneak up on the marauders and take out their defenses: Head west through the forest and swing around behind the marauders' base. Flash your active radar for a moment to capture the enemy units, then target the APC. Destroy it and their turrets go down.

Likely, once the APC goes down, you'll have their attention. Charge in from the the rear and start blastin'. A few gears later, destroy everything in the base.

From here, 5-6 gears kind of hodge podge their way in, mostly from the North. Take'em out as they appear.