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Tips and Help for Hunt: Showdown

99 problems, but a bounty ain’t one. There are 99 bloodline ranks, and the higher ranks are filled with some nasty weapons. The bounties are going to be fiercely contested, and the higher ranked players will have an advantage in equipment at the very least. Don’t be afraid to go into a game and just farm. Find clues, kill low level monsters, and extract. This will get you money to buy more/better gear, and XP to level up your hunter. It’ll be easier to take on higher tier hunters with more health, abilities, and equipment. You can level up your tier 1 hunter to a tier 3 hunter in a couple of good matches. While you won’t have access to the same weapons, you will have definitely closed the gap an enormous amount. It’s not smart to go all in every time.

Take a well rounded load out. To me, this means (1) a long gun of choice, (2) something to melee with, and (3) a first aid kit. A lot of items are dual purpose like the Winfield Talon, which offers a long gun and melee weapon in a single package. Additional items you might want to consider are a vitality shot and fire bombs if your cash flow allows.

 

Refresh recruits after every round. You don’t have to buy all the recruits in front of you before you get a new batch. Look at the health, traits, and weapons each hunter offers. If it’s not a good deal for the money, take your chances and hit the refresh button after each match. You can stock up on up to 5 hunters, so don’t shy away from a good buy. Good traits to watch for early on are Determination, Quartermaster, and Greyhound.

Be a good teammate. Check over your shoulder every so often to make sure you aren’t leaving your partner behind. Communicate very clearly about what you want to do. I had a partner tell me he was going to discover the lair and come back. Once he discovered the lair, he proceeded to fight the boss leaving me outside alone just as a team of two showed up. I engaged one, and was shot in the back by the other. And my teammate died moments later.

Keep quiet. Especially after you get revived. My partner revived me once, I thanked him and immediately alerted the team we were in a gunfight with. Everything you say in game can be heard by anyone nearby! If you’re talking, you’re alerting nearby players to your presence. Watch for crows, watch for horses, and for the love of all that is good in this world, do not use an open mic!

L2 melee. Killing random zombies with melee weapons, even a simple knife, will keep things quieter. Shooting at zombies, hives, and even hounds sends up a virtual flare to your location for other players to see. Keep things stealthy until you’re ready to make your move. Additionally, if you can melee the boss, you won’t be sending out calling cards to players exploring nearby areas. Additional tip: Take a stamina shot just before attacking the boss and watch it die in record time.

Turn lights off at night. All the little lanterns inside, and outside, in game can be turned on and off. If you’re in a building, turn them off. That way you won’t cast shadows, and it will be harder to see you from the outside. The same goes for lanterns outside, turn them off. You’re much easier to shoot at standing in a well lit area. Turning off lights also includes flame carrying zombies!

Never stop moving. At first, my KD was terrible. I was standing still to look around a lot, and crouching too much. I got some tips from viewers in chat who also played the game, and I went from 1:3 to 1:2 in a week, and still steadily climbing. Don’t forget to jump occasionally as well. It can mean the difference from a lethal head-shot, to a survivable body shot.

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Begginer’s Guide to Foxhole!

Tips and Tricks For New Recruits

Foxhole has a lot of layers of complexity, and you can pretty much choose how many of those levels you wanna play on. If you wanna build a complex architectural masterpiece, you can do it. If you just want to gather materials, and truck them to base, you can not only do it, but it’s such a supremely vital job. Maybe you’re more of the shooty-type? You can simply grab a rifle and start shooting, or pull out the howitzer, grab a spotter, and land that artillery right where you want it! There’s as much or little detail as you want, making Foxhole ideal for anyone. I’ve assembled my biggest tips for getting into the fight.

Preparing for War

As soon as you spawn in the game, load your pistol. The benefits of this should be fairly obvious. I’ve regretting being lazy several times, and arriving at the front lines getting pushed harder than anticipated, or just running out of ammo on my rifle and not having any backup.

Expect trouble anywhere. Another reason for #1. If your territory isn’t walled off completely, it’s highly probably that you’ll have enemy scouts roving your parts of the map looking for people just…like…YOU.

Close the gates behind you. You don’t even have to turn around to close them, you can just close it as you’re heading out. You don’t want to let an enemy get into your town and hole up in a building. It can be really hard to get them out.

Watch your encumbrance. You can only carry so much in both weight and quantity. If you see a white backpack icon on the right hand side of your screen, it means you are close to full. If you see an orange icon, you are carrying too much. You’ll move slower, and be unable to board vehicles.  Be careful picking up stuff in combat situations, as you can quickly become an easy target.

Engaging the Enemy

Defensive structures are always manned. Whether you see a simple foxhole, or a complex turret, there’s always AI inside that will shoot at you. That includes buildings in enemy controlled cities too. Never expect an easy capture.

Friendly Fire isn’t. You can shoot your allies in this, so watch your field of fire. A nice little white line is drawn to your enemies, so you’ll have a great idea the path your shots will travel.

Aim to the top right corner of your screen. This will maximize the distance you can see, improving your sight distance. Not sure if this is working as intended or a bug, but for now this is your best practice for shooting.

Don’t forget to crouch and go prone. Don’t just stand around and shoot, use cover. Crouch behind walls. Go prone while you’re getting healed. I can’t tell you how many times people run to the medic and just stand there, only to get shot again.

Always gear up with the essentials: Gas Masks and Medic Bags. Gas masks will prevent you from having to run whenever an enemy gas grenade comes your way, letting you stay in the fight. Medic bags will let you heal teammates. If those same teammates also took Medic Bags, they can heal you. Grab these whenever you find them available.

Support Your Team

Be helpful. There are lots of things you can do if you don’t want to fire a single shot. Non combatants can play such a crucial role in this game. Open doors for passing vehicles, answer questions in chat, or give someone a ride to the front lines. Be an overall positive addition to your team. A good attitude goes a long way, and can score you a commendation from players.

Scavenge bags in the field. You can find ammo, weapons, and more left behind from dead friends and enemies. You can drop them in a box near the front lines, reducing the time for resupply, as well as reducing the amount of supplies your team will need.

If you’re brand new to the team, consider playing pure support. Gather resources, bring ammo to the front lines, or carry a Trauma Bag to revive people. Supporting the veterans as you learn to play will help you pick up on the finer points of the game.

Foxhole Hits Early Access July 27th

Now you can take what you’ve learned into the game. Foxhole arrives on Steam for $19.99 later this week. It’s a buy and play game, so it’s just a one time purchase. It’ll be on sale with a 10% discount as well, so pick it up and get in there soldier! You can check out my Q&A with the lead dev if you need to know more.  Endless battlefields await you in FOXHOLE!

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Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator Viewer Battles

Official Rules for UEBS Stream Battles

Type !uebs [unit] in chat to play when rolls are opened. – Be sure your [unit] is all one word, or you will roll 0 units. IE HeavyKnights not Heavy Knights.

Select your units from the choices below. Through MANY hours of playtime, some units have been determined to need buffs and nerfs for balancing.

Team Assignments

If you opt to create teams, teams are selected based on highest and lowest unit counts. The highest and the lowest are teamed, then the next highest and the next lowest, and so on.

General rules

  1. No unit choice duplicates.
  2. New players get first roll/pick.
  3. No re-rolls for low roles, RNG is part of the game!
  4. Units are not placed on map in any certain order or position.
  5. Moderator may alter placement or teams as needed. This should be done very rarely as RNG is part of the game! (I’ve done it twice in 17 hours worth of gameplay).
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Warhammer 40,000 Eternal Crusade Free To Play Welcome Guide

eternal crusade f2p guide

A Battle Plan for New Players In Eternal Crusade

With the impending swap to free to play, now’s a good time to get into the game. I’ve put over 100 hours into the game so far, and I’ve watched it come a long way. I’ve learned quite a bit from reading and talking to others. In addition, I’ve also learned what not to do, simply by watching other players ignore the existence of their teammates. This is very much a team oriented game, so you will benefit greatly by finding a friend and jumping into some kind of voice chat server with them.

Eternal Crusade Free Carnage Edition Rundown

First up, let’s break down the free to play restrictions. The Free Carnage Edition comes with two simple restrictions. XP gains are reduced to 1/3, and the air assault classes are locked. When you spend $20 in RTC (the premium currency), you fully unlock the game. No subscription fees, no recurring charges, just reasonably priced good fun. The game is totally worth $20 in its current state so you can’t go wrong either way.

Eternal Crusade Referral Code

Now that you’ve decided you’re ready lay the smack down on some xenos and heretic filth, it’s time to get a little boost. When you are first signing up for the game, make sure you have a referral code before creating your Eternal Crusade account. You can get these codes from friends that are already playing. If you don’t have a code, i’ll leave mine below. When you use a referral code, you get 4,000 RTC, and the person who gave you the code also gets 4,000 RTC. It’s generally enough to buy a piece of armor in game, or put a good chunk (20%) towards a weapon.

  • My Eternal Crusade Referral Code EC-TT99IHB9YYA5M

Preparation

When you jump in for the first time, you’ll notice multiple standard loadout templates. Some have AV (anti-vehicle) and some have AP (anti-personnel) next to their names. You will want to have a loadout for every occasion. This goes beyond infantry and vehicles too. For example, I find that I do better as melee against Eldar, so I have a jump assault build specifically for fighting Eldar. Whenever you find yourself in a match saying, “I wish I had an [insert weapon/class] right about now!” then that’s what you need to make a loadout for.

Currently when you are creating your character, just choose what you like. Colors, lore – it doesn’t matter. There are currently no benefits to choosing a particular chapter/sub-faction. Go with whatever compels you. If you accidentally create an Eldar, Ork, or Chaos, don’t worry. You can just delete them and re-roll Space Marine!
eternal crusade new player guide

Teamwork OP

As I mentioned earlier, this is a very team oriented game. When you start jumping into matches, remember to be mindful of all players at all times. Not just the enemy players, but your teammates too. Don’t stop in the middle of a doorway. You block people from coming in, you block friendly fire from going out, and it’s just a bad place to stop. Step to the side and use the doorway as cover. If you want to be in the doorway, step back a few feet from it.

When you’re running towards, or away, from the enemy, be careful that someone else isn’t chasing that same enemy with a bolt gun. Be mindful of blocking allies’ shots because friendly fire isn’t!

Being the squad leader is kind of a big deal. Following squad leader’s objectives get you extra points. If you end up as the squad leader, don’t panic! Just pick the objective you want to attack or defend, mouseover it with your reticle, and hold down Q. This will let your squad know where you want them to be, AND you will all get bonus points from following your orders!

Don’t execute enemies when downed teammates are nearby. Pick up your allies first so they can start putting shots back downrange. The side with the most guns aimed at their enemy is the side with the advantage. You could even argue that you should never be executing enemies as it leaves you vulnerable. Let them die slowly to bring a little joy into the Emperor’s day!

Crawl to cover if you are downed. Staying out in the open makes you an easy target, and needlessly risks the life of someone trying to rescue you. Get behind a crate, wall, or even a vehicle so that both you and your rescuer will make it out of the situation alive and in one piece.

Parking as close as possible to objectives is usually a bad idea. Do your best to hide your transport vehicles, or park them somewhere that offers a little cover. Sometimes this means parking a little farther away than you’d like, but it still beats running all the way from another objective.

Reinforcements

Don’t drive off solo. It happens to me all the time. Someone spawns in a rhino, or jumps in after capturing an objective, and drives off. This leaves 2 or 3 of us behind while 1 person charges forward all alone to die at the next objective. Always check to see if someone is around to take with you before heading out in a vehicle. This speeds up the time it takes for reinforcements to arrive. In addition, both vehicles require one person to drive, and one to shoot. Having a gunner is always a plus.

If you need to get somewhere quick, you can swap squads if you don’t have a rhino to deploy to. You can then deploy to that squad’s rhino. Again, it’s all about speeding up reinforcements. The faster firepower returns to the front line, the sooner you can secure your objective. Alternately, you can always spawn a rhino for your team and bring it to where the fighting is.

eternal crusade free to play

 

Spoils of War

Each match will reward you with Advancement Points and Requisition. Advancement points are talent points, and you should make sure you are using them after each match. Spend all your advancement points first, then your loadout points. Advancement points will lower point costs of weapons, as well as make new weapons and equipment available. Not doing this will put you at a disadvantage in combat. This is min/maxing in its simplest form.

The second currency, requisition, is for you to spend in the store. You want to use your requisition for Supply Drops. Start with the 500 requisition tier, then the 3000, and so on. Work your way up after unlocking all the possible rewards from each tier. Once you have unlocked every reward, you will get a message letting you know. Don’t worry about wasting requisition like this. Each tier has unique weapons, mods, and visual skins. There are other items to buy for requisition as well. You can save up for these if you see something you like, but for the most part supply drops are most efficient unlocks at first.

More War Than You Can Shake A Power Fist At

There will be plenty of ups and downs as you navigate this grimdark universe. At 6AM EST on a Sunday morning, the game has over 1300 people! That’s without the full F2P launch. If you’re still not convinced enough to give the free carnage edition a try, you can check out my review of Eternal Crusade. The developers are quirky, but definitely seem like good people. The game has had a rocky start, but the last few patches have really improved balance in the game. I think the F2P transition is really going to have a huge impact for the better.

 

 

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Tactics and Strategy Guide for Space Hulk: Deathwing

Surviving Space Hulk Oletheros

For the most part though, I feel like most of the players I have come across in Space Hulk: Deathwing take the game pretty casually.

  • There’s little to no communication beyond “I WILL GO AHEAD. FOLLOW ME.” sound bites over and over, urging you to move follow that person.
  • There’s always someone just running ahead, either getting themselves killed, or the group they left behind overwhelmed.
  • Halfway through the chapter, someone always asks, “is ff on?” after killing two teammates, despite me hosting the game with the title ‘FF ON, Difficulty Hard’
  • While I don’t have definitive proof, I don’t think most people play multiplayer co-op on hard because of the above behaviors.

It’s been a little frustrating for me in this regard, so I’ve decided to put together a guide for Space Hulk: Deathwing players like myself. I prefer teamwork in games. That’s one of the major reasons I decided to buy Space Hulk: Deathwing, even though it’s completely PvE centered. The opportunity to form up into a squad, relentlessly pushing back hordes of enemy xenos, is a dream I have. Read this guide, and dream with me brothers and sisters of the Deathwing!

Moving Through The Space Hulk

If one or two players are ahead of the others, this makes it easier to surround or overwhelm both groups. Stay close together, don’t get split up. Additionally, friendly fire can become even more of an issue. Shooting something off of yourself can spray fire onto allies, and vice versa. This can also be a problem when an unexpected swarm arrives. The other players pushing too far ahead may have no idea that the marines in the rear have been engaged. Be patient, and stick together.

Enemies don’t always come from in front of you. Someone should always be watching your backs. This doesn’t always have to be the same person. You can designate someone, but it can get boring at times. If you’re in the back when the firing starts, just keep a guard on your rear. This doesn’t have to be a 24/7 job, but at least give it a visual sweep every few seconds.

Speaking of blocking doors, don’t get upset if someone blocks a door you don’t want blocked. There is more than one way through sometimes. Don’t get focused on going a certain way, just because you went that way last time. Exploring new areas improves provides ‘combat’ experience, and improves your judgement on future decisions. If you do end up blocking the wrong door, or going the wrong way, it’s fine. Now the whole squad knows, and everyone’s proficiency goes up a notch.

Don’t just walk haphazardly down the middle of a hallway. You’re blocking lines of fire from everyone behind you. Stay to one side as you travel down a corridor. Walking to the far left or right side opens lines of fire for allies walking behind you, and keeps you from getting shot in the back.

Sometimes the Apothecary can’t keep up with the damage. Waiting for cooldowns can get a little long if you have an impatient group, or you’re not at a safe place to stop. Keep the wounded in the middle of the group. This spreads out the damage a little, and keeps the group moving.

Sometimes your environment can help you. Look around for exploding barrels, and pipes that might leak napalm onto passing genestealers. Try not to focus completely on what you’re shooting at, look around and behind it too. Recognizing explosive containers, and hazardous pipelines can help thin the xenos herd.

While playing one time, I was hanging back and blocking all the doors. Well, after a bit someone else decided they wanted to block the door – and ended up blocking me out. I had to knock down the door to get through, leaving us vulnerable from behind. Delegate one person to block all the doors, and it should cause a lot less problems.

Choosing Where To Fight

Stairs are your friend. You can use elevation to maximize your firepower. Stack two towards the top of the stairs, and two towards the bottom. If you’ve given yourselves enough elevation, the ones at the top will be able to fire safely over the tops of the heads of those on the bottom.

When all four of you are walking down a hallway, it’s impossible to walk side-by-side. When the genestealers start pouring in though, you’re going to need more than one gun firing. Since you’re all right handed, this makes things somewhat difficult. Look for alcoves in hallways you can get into clear up fire lanes. This will easily clear up enough room for three players to fire down the hallway. The fourth should be watching your backs!

Often when coming into large rooms, the floorplan just opens up, leaving you extremely vulnerable. It’s the perfect time for an ambush! Quickly scan these rooms and look for choke points to stay behind. These could be stairs, or even narrow portions of the room. Don’t try to make a stand where the ambush starts. There’s a reason that spot was chosen to ambush you! Don’t fall into the trap! Some of these rooms may funnel out from a choke point. In these rooms, set up a position at the chokepoint, then use scouts to test the room. This way you can trigger the ambush, and then bring the fight to a place of YOUR choosing.

Closing Tactical Advice

It all boils down to a couple of fundamentals. Situational awareness: paying attention to where you are, in relation to where you need to be and where you have to go. And teamwork, knowing where your team is at all times, and compensating for each other’s weaknesses (low health, pushing too fast, etc). There was one playthrough where I felt like we were all on the same sheet of music. I’ve added it below for you to check out. As you’ll see, it’s not really hardcore to play like this, it all just comes from experience. With enough experience, you’ll eventually learn to recognize advantageous – and not so advantageous – situations, and how to survive both.