Challenge 30 Strategy

ABOVE: The wording got cut off, and, well, my handwriting isn't all that great. Dotted lines are areas that are either below or above the darkened areas. It is also hard to tell between falcon2 (scope) and the regular falcon, but that shouldn't be a problem because each are equal in strength, and you shouldn't be using the aimer anyway. Hopefully after a few runs you'll get the idea. Basically look at this map to get a quick idea of hill placement, although with multiple stories this probably wont help much at all. Once you play the challenge you should get an idea of the arena, and then this will make about 100 times more sense to you. Also look to find quick doubles, I can think of the 2 falcon2 (scopes) right next to eachother, and even closer together are 2 magsecs.

RIGHT: Those 2 are a lot less confusing than my map, to good proportion as well as showing the ammo. Buuuut, it shows inaccurate gun positions, which is why I recommend using mine (if you can) for guns. Also you should have noticed this NP map doesn't have hill placement. They have no skill, it's all me

Cassandra, my worst nightmare. Maybe it's just me, and everybody else who I've talked to, but she is incredibly better than any other simulant you will face in this challenge. Her quick spurts of bullets normally all hit, a usual gun she likes to hold seems to be double magsecs, also double maulers. The magsecs, those are lethal. Three round burst, 1 from each gun, half the time you are dead before you can get a shot off. Keep away from Cassandra at long distances, she enjoys that the most. If you want to run, take her out first, you'll regret it later. Also her amazingly skinny body makes for a nearly impossible target, even with autoaim. Speaking of which, it doesn't do much on her. The key for her is to get the head, and you need to do it fast enough so that she's dead in a clip, or less. Basically, you want to avoid this simulant as best as possible, if possible at all.

Trent Easton, he in my opinion is the second hardest character, in that his aim is right up there with Cassandras. He is, however, a much easier target, with a wider body, although much shorter. His weaponry often includes magnums, and doesn't seem to be very stable in holding the hills. Very often he is seen running out of a hill to grab the nearest magnum at the instant the gun spawns, and sometimes can't even make it back in time. It is a good idea to leave magnums laying around for him, you don't need them anyway. Also, don't underestimate the power of his magnums! This guy can aim, and 3 magnum shots from a DarkSim can take just seconds, and can be lethal. I'd say however that it is safe to run from him, if you have somewhere to go fast to get ready for him. Going toward him, on the other hand is a good idea as well, especially when he's in a hill. If you know you can't take a hill, atleast don't let them get maximum points. Go toward the hill, and more often than not you'll see good 'ol Trent leaving the hill. Not for a magnum this time, but for you! Yes, Trent leaves the hill to get you, and is an easy picking if you camp correctly. Overall, Trent is not consistant, and can't be underestimated. Probably the hardest to predict, but that comes later.

MrBlonde, you'll learn to love him, especially once the player difficulty goes up and you see more of him instead of Cassandra. Lets start with the accuracy, and that is lower than the average DarkSim. For some reason, he misses many shots. He prefers double falcon2 scopes, double magsecs, I rarely see him with other guns, although be prepared. Conversly, his accuracy goes down while yours goes up. You may wonder how, and that is because he is 7 feet tall, 3 feet wide. Well not really, but if you haven't noticed he's huge, from all angles. If you are crouching, autoaim sticks to this boy like a rock, and even the least accurate guns will hit him. I'd like to note this is the only simulant that you can consistantly kill with a magnum, easily with 2. He'll come barraging around corners, missing his first shots, and you will sometimes barely be hit, no matter the gun you have. Compare that to Cassandra when you're hit before you see her! The hill situation, he is many times the first to a hill, and sticks to it. I have never seen him leave a hill under any circumstances, unfortunately. But don't back down from a fight from this guy, because you'll win. If you can't wait for a fight, then don't, this time it wont come back to haunt you!

Reader Comments

Some say that I'm giving JoSim too much credit. Well yeah, I guess I am. She's a normalsim, and starts to play the part of luck. I'd say a good ratio is 2 hills to 1 hill with her. Or 1/2 the time she's with you. I've been lucky enough to have her in *all* hills on a 1 player game, while at worst on my 3 player victory (funny, horrible luck the one time I win) she was in 2/11 hills!

JoSim's basic role in your quest for completion on challenge 30 is to get you points. She's not there to get kills, to help you in attacks, she is simply getting you points. Some may say she's completely random, but if you know how to herd JoSim, mixed with some luck, you'll need nearly half the hills to beat this challenge.

Keeping JoSim alive

There is nothing you can do really, except if you know she's following, don't pass up the sim. Maybe if you know a sim is about to get between you and JoSim, go out of your way to kill that simulant. But basically, there is nothing you can do but hope. The surest way is to keep the simulants dead as long as you can.

Getting JoSim in the hills

Hold A, press Z twice to access the command menu
Some may think there is nothing you can do about it, but there sure is. Put JoSim on protect as soon as you can, and she'll tag along your path. If say, she is closer to the next hill than you, or is actually in it, that is when you want to put josim on hold hill. If you and josim are both in a hill, put JoSim on hold, and back to protect once you get the hill. If you know you are going to die, and you want JoSim to atleast be on her way to the next hill, stick her back to hold hill so she is on her way, instead of sitting on your dead body. When you respawn, depending on location, put her protect or keep her on hold hill.

Final Tips

Check JoSim's life! Go into the command menu and look at the bottom, that is her life. If she is almost dead, kill her, maybe she'll have a gun you can use. If you need to take a hard hill and josim is with you, kill her, maybe she'll have a gun you can use. An extra mauler is better than a josim who will not even get halfway to the hill, right?

Hold

Holding is easier than some people make it out to be, and the most common mistake is not using cover. Even this picture is peering out to far, and this stance should only be taken when the simulant is in full view. Hide behind the wall as they run up, and step out when they come. You can do this on either side. If playing with more than 1 player, one should cover each side, and any others be backup, and run to the side with simulants. On 1 player, they like to plan attacks, and at this time, you should take out the one coming from the dead end without using cover, then quickly run to the other side and take the other out coming up this ramp, once again you can't use cover. The one from the dead end appears first. Try to watch the radar, and see what it looks like when they come. From the magnum, they'll be the close look on the radar. From the other side, distance is not judgeable, but location is obvious.

Take

What can I say, besides grab a mauler. This one is quite hard, but I find if you crouch and stay behind the pyramid in comparrison to their body, they have a hard time hitting you, while you can sometimes get good shots off. If you can get more than one in at once, split up, sit in opposite corners, the pyramid prevents you from hitting eachother. Try not to be standing. Once again, taking them out before you get into the hill is vital, if they come into view start firing away, use your radar if you cannot see the actual simulant. A very, very good strategy is shown in my 1 player video, linked below, at around 2:20. Wait outside, I knew I had time, and get both in a nice lined up shot, with my good friend maulers.

Basically on 1 player or 2 player, sit in the spot shown in the picture. If they are coming from the location with a falcon2 scope, across the large room, back up behind the slope for cover. When they come, they should hit the floor, and you should hit them. If you are too far up, or too far down, they can hit you and you are rocketed down the hill, not a good thing. That is why on 3 player or 4 player we slap a player in the back, on top of the mauler, who also has easy shots, and if the sims get in has a much much larger chance of cleaning up, while atleast 1 front player can continue to guard the front. Never commit both players to a sim on the inside, you need to depend on one player to take the sim out while the other guards the outside. Never let an entrance be unguarded unless you want to double the trouble.

Take It has been done to take this hill from 3 from the far far spot, directly across the large room from the hill. You can continously shoot and the tiny objects if you don't have time to get there, and it is easier than you'd think. But more practical, run up to the hill, and barely get in. Stand here and wait for them to come on up to you. Some very nice demonstrations are done in my 2 player video, playing alone. If you cannot get in, wait outside the hill, at the top of the ramp in the corner. They'll flood out and you can kill them after the hill alteast, to clear the way to the next hill. Don't fear, the sims have a tendancy not to have more than 2 people in this hill, rarely 3 on 3P. If you die trying to take the hill, it's over. Trust me, get a gun, you can't make it in time under any circumstances.

This mauler is normally not accessed throughout the course of the game unless under certain circumstances. I'd say avoid this location unless you spawn in this room, or considerably close to it. If this is the hill, run straight to the mauler, you can guard from back here if they are on your tail. Don't underestimate how vital it is to have a mauler, and doubles are more than double the advantage, once you have 2 you are unstoppable for quite some time. Also, if you know the other team is going to get a hill, you can walk around this area, pick up the mauler, and pray it's the next hill. It is a hard one to take, so hanging around this are is a good idea. It is better to hang around the balcony, where we take you for the next mauler.

As previously mentioned, it is a good idea to hang around this area if the other team is going to score the sandy, pyramid or dead end. You normally wont be getting this mauler, like the Sandy, unless you spawn near it, or under the circumstances that there is nothing better to do than rack up on the guns. If this is the hill, obviously pick it up, unless you already have 2. If your friend doesn't have a mauler, and you have one, let him pick it up. 2 sets of 1 are better than a set of 2, unless your partner(s) have double of any other gun besides the magnum. If both of you have 1, let the one with the most life take the double, or say your friend has full red, no mauler, don't let him have it, he'll lose it anyway.

Finally, the mauler that you'll be getting time after time. You always want to continuously be picking this up, even if you already have 2. This way close trailing sims wont take it, and will be there for later. Normally a sim is close enough behind you to pass it before the next one appears, and it will always be there for you. You normally return sooner than it respawns if you let the sims pick it up, and it's best to keep guns like this out of their hands. Go out of your way to pick up this mauler, the start of the game, it is more important than the hill. Obviously this is a hill, so take it, and follow the same guidlines for "who gets what" as stated in the balcony section. If they are going to get a hill, camp here and wait for the mauler. If nobody is in the hill, camp here and get a mauler. If your friend is holding a close hill (pyramid, balcony), camp here for the mauler. It is probably the most important key to winning this challenge, for a strong arsenal.