Tribes 2: FAQ (English)

8/17/02

Version .9999 beta



In this guide I will outline what my 2 years

on-and-off of experience in Tribes 2 has yielded in

terms of subterfuge. A good place to start is with

the loose definition as seen by ME.



Infiltration: the process of moving into an area

unnoticed.



Now to break the concept down into some of it's major

components:



1 - Know your enemy



Infiltration is a rather useful skill in a large

team-oriented game like Tribes 2, but for reason of

the latter it can be rather difficult. There are a

lot of people looking for you, and they know you don't

want to be found. The degree to which this holds true

and how coordinated the enemies are pretty much

determine how difficult it will be to sneak into a

base/outpost.



One thing that determines your opposition is which

server you're on. Some servers have virtual Gomer

Pyles running around the map clueless to somebody

waltzing into their base, while others have a

disconcerting tendancy to gib me to death when I make

the slightest mistake.



Player defense is the most obvious version, and in

some cases the most difficult to fool. Even if the

enemy isn't strategically fielding specific players on

defense they do respawn in their base. I've seen many

a cloaker get stumbled upon by a bloke who is running

back to the fight and that's all she wrote. If

players are actually defending however, they tend to

focus around a certain area. Very rarely in my

experience has a player defense been even distributed

enough to deny the clever player a route in.



It's important to keep in mind where the defenders are

most likely to focus their attention. For example.

If some annoying bastard keeps popping up over a hill

and blasting the base's only missile turret OVER and

OVER again, at least a few of the defenders will

probably take it upon themselves to ice him. This is

your chance, Go! Similarly, if you just busted up the

enemies' generator, they will most likely be heading

straight for them, and they'll also be looking for

YOU. Hide, or give them hell until they finally take

you down. Also, defenses are apt to increase as soon

as the enemy knows exactly what is afoot, and they

will probably be custom tailored to counter your

playing style. Adapt, and make those initial runs

count.



On any self-respecting server, you will also likely

have automated defenses to deal with both outside and

inside. I can't emphasize enough that you need to

know how these things work and where highly clever and

moderately clever defenders will put them. Spider

clamps, mines, landspikes, motion sensors, pulse

sensors, etc . . . Besides it just being a nice

skill to have, you should spend some time learning how

to properly 'farm,' that is, plant automated defenses

around your base. Being able to create a base defense

and obliterate it are surprisingly adjacent concepts.



2 - Know Yourself



It's important to know what you're capable of and what

the enemy is capable of and to compare them in

different areas. It's the best way to find a

weakness. Broad example: if the enemy is a team of

heavies who almost all play offense, wait until

they're enroute to your base and then go get their

base equipment and flag.



The more things you can do in Tribes 2, the less

likely you are to hit a dead halt in offense. Your

long-term usefulness depends on your ability to adjust

your tactics to the enemy. Predictability translates

to running into somebody's sights. Change up your

methods just to feint or distract the enemy for

something else.



Killing people in Tribes 2 is a useful skill,

obviously, and I advise everybody to take

disc-shooting 101 (you'll know when you've passed it).

However, it doesn't even remotely compare to being

able to get the same people so hopping mad at you they

chase you ANYWHERE just to frag you. If you kill them

at their base, they're out of your way for a few

seconds, then they might be headed right back to where

you killed them. If you draw half the other team away

from their base just to kill you it means that the

enemy base is rather vulnerable and at the very least

your defense is likely to be improved by the time they

give up or kill you. I've had people chase me for

minutes and then afterwards be 1000s of meters away

from their base. Longer than respawn time to get

back, not counting the time they wasted killing me.



However, unless I plan to divert enemy reinforcements

or have a specific reason to kill some player, I

prefer to avoid fights. They damage my health, they

usually point my position out the whole other team,

etc.



Remember, you don't just have to go for the cojones

and get their generators, there are plenty of targets

that take just as long to repair and are rather

important. If you manage to take out the enemy

generators, they usually run straight for them with

repair packs. Then, after fixing them their whole

base is back online. It can sometimes be more

beneficial to work the exterior or lesser targets

around and in the enemy base. On a lot of public

servers equipment that isn't right next to the base

gets ignored and repairs don't happen for a while. A

generator takes top priority, but a missile turret

covering your favorite bombing run is definitely a

lesser priority. Which brings me to this.



3 - Know your gear



Below is the equipment I find most useful in

subterfuge.



Cloak Pack- ahh, the infamous Pack of invisibility.

Not only does it do that but it also makes you

undetectable to pulse sensors when it ISN'T activated.

This is the most overrated stealth item in the game.

N00bs love it, veterans love it, heck I love it, but

it has to be put in it's place. You can't always rely

on this fancy gadget to get you where you need to be.

You are not completely invisible, and you have to

manually destroy motion sensors generally speaking to

get through. Once again, you can't rely solely on

your cloak pack to get the job done. It eats power

like a monster and denies you the benefits of other

packs. That said, this IS a nifty tool for specific

tasks and situations. Watch your power meter though,

because you won't be able to go far if you run out and

are uncloaked.



Satchel: this is a difficult pack to use. It's simple

enough to plant it, run, and detonate it. The tricky

part is getting there and surviving long enough to

push the big red button. Generally, you will use a

combination of speed and stealth with this pack, but

you have to do stealth the old fashioned way. All you

have is your wits, your weapons, and the bomb. By all

means, you sacrificed the abilities of any other pack

for a huge bomb, so use their advantages. You don't

have to sit there plugging away at equipment, you just

have to live long enough to detonate the charge.

Keep in mind that taking out targets inside a

well-defended enemy base can be near-impossible,

unless you can kill everything in light armor.



Sensor Jammer: This is a nice pack. Unlike the

cloaking pack, it can make you completely undetectable

to turrets and such. The drawbacks are no passive

benefits and, of course, the inability to turn

invisible. It does use less power, which is nice, but

don't try jetting around with it activated. This lets

you walk through the most devious farming known to man

unscathed (unless you step on a mine, and that would

be sad). Dealing with the enemies themselves is still

a problem though. Like the satchel, a combination of

speed and stealth are ideal for getting past and

avoiding enemies. Of course, from a distance a sensor

jammer pack can hide you from sight by removing your

IFF. Or, if you think you're tough, you can fight

your way in.



Remember with sensor jamming and cloaking packs to

find appropriate places to recharge your energy. If

you can't find a foolproof hiding spot when that

energy gets low, look for the lesser of many potent

evils and risk it.





Weapons:



Blaster: Ahh, the humble blaster. Decieving in its

usefulness. The blaster is most effective when used

to harass enemies (like the one repairing the damage

you just inflicted on their base) and destroy weakly

shielded equipment. Remember: no ammo limit, no fear.

Just watch where you point that thing.



Chaingun: devastating in REALLY close quarters, and

useful against wounded airborne targets. For the

sabotuer, however, it makes surprisingly quick work of

equipment.



Spinfusor: the assault rifle of Tribes 2, pretty much

everybody should be at least proficient with this

weapon. Not very stealthy though, since in a duel

you're likely to be flying around and using up a lot

of jetpack energy. It is fairly useful indoors, as

long as you're very careful with where you shoot.

This goes double inside YOUR base. Not recommended

for use against equipment.



Plasma rifle: if you need to engage in some quick &

dirty indoor combat, or take out equipment in scout

armor, this is a good choice. I mainly use this for

destroying equipment, since it seems to do the most

damage for time spent there shooting and waiting to

get killed.



ELF gun: this weapon is cool. Aside from the obvious

use of grounding flag cappers, it drains the shields

of equipment as well. I consider this indispensible

for getting the most out of my ammo supply. It also

is necessary to drain shields from some things before

a satchel will take them out. This is an ideal tool

for that, quicker and less conspicious I believe than

a blaster.



Laser Rifle: Some people dislike this weapon because

it can't get one shot kills. It is an excellent

weapon for harassing the enemy though, since it

inflicts a lot more damage and points a line to you.

Then you can use your energy pack to escape. Rinse,

wash, repeat until the whole enemy team is chasing you

to the ends of the earth.



Shocklance: if you absolutely have to make a silent

takedown, accept no substitutes. For the sake of

efficiency and your life lasting longer, pick your

targets carefully. The cloak pack is obviously a good

choice if you intend to use this a lot. Some people

say it's very effective against aircraft, but I've yet

to see it for myself.



The belt: other than keeping your armored trousers

secured, the belt contains many useful items.

Remember you can only carry one type of grenade, so

pick wisely.



Mines: Handy little devils. Throw em near enemy

equipment after you've destroyed it or in conjunction

with small arms fire to take it out quicker.



Beacons: excellent devices. It's almost like carrying

3 satchel charges. If possible, try to plant them

UNDER the thing you want to take out, so it will last

more than one bombardment. It isn't necesarry to have

a team of heavies or 3 tanks to fire at your beacons,

you can attack them yourself. Simply grab a hover

tank or heavy armor and hoof it into range. These are

key in destroying exterior defenses or marking

locations for your teammates (such as generators on

maps with horribly confusing base layouts).



Standard grenades: these are your basic explosive

grenades. Nothing fancy, but they will add some

firepower to your loadout. Their power is not all

that impressive alone, but using them while shooting

boosts the damage you do significantly.



Flare grenades: these are all the rage with flag

cappers or anybody who spends most of their time

airborne. Basically the only use I've been able to

trump out of them is deflecting homing missiles from

your tail. Tell me if you think of anything else.



Concussion grenades: these knock enemies out of your

way, and possible strip them of weapon and pack. A

good diversionary tool, since the person has to decide

whether to grab their weapon, their pack, or just go

after you.



Whiteout grenades: these things fun too. Blinds

nearby enemies, making it much harder for them to

shoot you. These are good for making your escape or,

if you're good, your entrance. A commonly approved

tactic by the masters I've met is to blindly (sorry,

bad pun) chuck all of them in random directions, then

run away. You'll probably be blind too, but also

alive and that's what counts.



Deployable cameras: these are by far the most

inconspicuous 'grenades' in the game. They are,

however, useful. Generally, I use them to keep tabs

on the enemy base/equipment. It's surprising how

often enemies don't notice that little camera sitting

on the ceiling of their base. It allows you to see

what's in the area you're about to attack, so you can

plan your assault accordingly. You can also pass on

any useful info to your teammates. All I can REALLY

tell you on how to use cameras is 'be creative.'





Vehicles: ahh, the real meat of what Tribes 2 has over

the original. So many choices, so few viable options.



Shrike: the most popular vehicle in T2. It's a quick

and agile armed craft that can be operated by one man,

of course it is. The Shrike is the quickest way to

get from point A to point B. It also packs decent

firepower and can be used to destroy enemy base

equipment (at great risk to the pilot usually).

What's the catch? Homing missiles. They'll be on you

like a bad suit. For that reason, it's best to park

your Shrike a distance away from the enemy base and

walk it. You *could* fly in kamikaze style and then

bail out but the results of that are sketchy at best

and you're probably going to end up wounded if you

survive. However, it's preferable to walking around

the enemy base in plain sight and radar, if you don't

have a sensor jammer or cloak pack.



It's possible to outfly missiles, but hardly easy with

multiple ones tracking you. Just like in the movies,

your safest bet is probably to fly fairly low, since

people and turrets can't lock on to you through

terrain.



Bomber: a great craft for base raping, the cost of the

power is the crew. Its uses for infiltration are

limited, but a bombing run or two to soften up the

enemy base can be useful. In infiltration terms, a 2

man crew is fine, since the real purpose of bombing is

just to get inside and you are counting on being shot

down pretty much. you could hitch a ride in the

tailgunner's seat, but the pilot will hardly be

pleased when Shrikes and missiles close on him and you

bail out.



Havoc: These are fun to hitch a ride on if one's

running to the enemy base. Just between us, I often

just take a havoc single-man and use it as a flying

bomb. After I ask if anyone needs a ride of course.

You can pick up pretty good speed in this thing and

the pieces of it raining down on the enemy will

distract them more than a smaller craft. In a pinch,

you could just fly it near the enemy base and park it,

but a Shrike is far preferable for that purpose. Of

course, the most effective way to use the havoc is to

TRANSPORT PEOPLE. And don't fly right into the enemy

base with people onboard unless you're crazy. It's

safest for everybody (except perhaps the enemy) if you

set down near the enemy base and fly back to make

another run.



Gravcycle: Aside from being fun to drive and more

widely available than shrikes, the gravcycle is less

likely to be detected. Since you're so low to the

ground, you're less likely to be spotted and/or

missiled. Also, you can outrun missiles if you're a

good pilot. This is a great vehicle for many purposes

if you learn how to use it. This usually forms the

staple of my infiltration vehicle diet (I call it that

because my vehicles rarely survive to be reused).



Assault Tank: what can I say, it's a big freakin tank.

Not the most subtle vehicle, or very fast. You can

use it one-man to attack the beacons you placed by

moving into range and switching seats, but try to do

it out of the way since sombebody can just hop into

the pilot seat. I don't use it to get into an enemy

base unless I'm going with a frontal assault or trying

to make a really big diversion for my team.



Jericho MPB: These are nice because they're generally

closer than your base if you need to resupply in

mid-attack. They also have a habit of taking down

every shrike that flies over them a little too slow.

Watch out for these when you're in a vehicle or using

your jetpack a lot. If you can manage to steal the

enemy MPB, you'll be a great asset to your team. Most

small arms barely dent the shields, so drive it out to

Madagascar and park it someplace the enemy won't look.

It won't be yours, but it will be out of ze way.



That's all I can think of for now pertaining to

infiltrating enemy bases in T2. I know I've

digressed, but Tribes 2 is such a large game that it's

difficult to talk about one thing without mentioning

another. There are two texts I highly recommend for

the thinking Tribes 2 player:



Sun Tzu's The Art of War - hey, old as dirt, still

going strong.



The Annoying Bastard's Guide to Tribes 2 - good stuff.

The funniest serious game guide I've ever read, I

think. Still has plenty to learn in it.



If I forgot some pivotal point about stealth or you

just want to tell me something, you can reach me at

ia_mc@yahoo.com



This guide is copyright 2002 by me, (contactable at

the email address above). You can't sell it blah blah

blah . . . .



Now go play in the generator room.