In this first follow up article to my Beginners Guide to ME3 Multiplayer, I will be talking about the topic of completing objective waves and in particular, tips 'n' tricks that might help you speed up the process. As I mentioned in the guide, any enemies killed before you and/or the team have completed the set task/s will always re-spawn, so my first piece of advice is to concentrate on getting the objective nailed ASAP. Obviously you may need to deal with the odd troop that is blocking your path or a boss that is uncomfortably close to the objective location but where possible, the best thing to do is avoid getting into unnecessary skirmishes. Don't forget that you're going against the clock, so every second spent engaging enemy units is one less spent that you could be working on getting the objectives completed, not to mention you can earn more bonus Credits for faster completion times. In practically all cases it's better if the team stick fairly close to each other and traverse the map as a unit, so any players that get downed can be rescued quickly (thus saving precious time) but more importantly because you will then have all the available fire power of the squad, concentrated on any enemies that might be a posing a threat. There are currently five different tasks that you can be assigned during the objective waves and they are as follows:
1) Hacking - This objective requires the activation of a laptop and then for you and the team to remain within the upload circle, until the data bar reaches 100%.
The best way to get this task done quickly is for everyone to stay within the circle(!), it might seem like an obvious thing to say but you'll be surprised at how many idiots don't actually keep their asses within the hacking area. The concept is simple, the more players in the hacking circle the faster the data uploads, it doesn't require you to kill any enemies and if you want you can just sit in cover until the task is done. Getting this task on wave 3 or 6, shouldn't be too much of a problem but if it pops up on wave 10, things can be a bit trickier. The biggest concern is bosses, especially those that can sync-kill, if you or one of the other players gets permanently killed, not only will the data upload slower but you will also have one less active gun firing at the enemy. Banshees from the Reaper faction are particulalrly annoying because of their ability to teleport through walls and thus can effectively sneak up on you, therefore everyone on the team should be prepared to switch to the Cobra Missile at a moments notice, it might just save a life (and the match). Having said this not all enemies will attempt to enter the hacking circle, so if you see any that are just chilling behind some cover and not really posing a threat, you're better off targeting an enemy that is trying attack you or just sit back and watch the upload bar. Even if enemies don't enter the hacking circle and try to attack you directly, they will be surrounding the area and most like taking pot shots/tossing grenades at you, therefore it's important to keep you're eyes and ears open to any potential dangers. Once the upload is complete it's generally advised to vacate the area as soon as possible, you don't want to engage the enemy while they have you boxed into a certain area, instead make a run for it and then take them out as they're advancing to your new location.
2) Dis-Arm - This objective requires a member of the team to de-activate a beacon/device thing, there are four in total and each will spawn randomly across the map.
Despite the fact that only one person is needed to dis-arm each of the devices, it's still recommended that everyone on the team sticks together, if you aren't dis-arming then make sure you cover the person who is and not just wonder off somewhere. Most devices are located in reasonable locations and usually it's possible to position your character close to some hard cover, which should shade you from some enemy fire, so make sure you take advantage of this. Remember that it only takes one explosion (from an enemy grenade, Atlas rocket, Geth Prime Cannon etc) or a single enemy melee, to knock the defuser of the device and re-set it's progress at the same time, it's therefore important to make sure that you scan the surrounding area for any potential threats before beginning. Sometimes you will get a really dodgy device location, such as the middle of the map with nothing in between you and the enemy force, these can be an absolute nightmare if the team doesn't work together. Having a device placed in the centre of an open area is one of the few times I'd suggest that a team might be better off splitting into two smaller sub units (i.e. pairs) because if the entire team sticks together, the enemies will generally flock to the area where you are all at, which can result in too much heat for the team to handle.
The first pair should be a little way off from the device, keeping the enemies distracted and stopping them from advancing. The second pair should be at the device itself, one person dis-arming while the other one keeping overwatch and making sure the defuser won't get disrupted. Something I don't see enough people doing is using their character to block incoming enemy fire aimed at the defuser, if a non-defuser gets downed it's not a big deal (assuming the whole team is there and helping out) but if the defuser gets interrupted, the whole process has to start all over again. On higher waves and difficulties this is the very last thing you want to happen, especially if the device is in a bad location because eventually you will get swarmed with more enemies than you can handle and once this starts happening it's very easy for teams to get wiped out. So if you're not deactivating the device and can see the defuser taking enemy fire, be the hero and become a human shield (or whatever character you're using). Lastly just in case you didn't know each device takes a little over 11 seconds to de-activate, so if you have an Infiltrator on your team who has their Tactical Cloak specced for duration (which BTW lasts for roughly 10 seconds), it would be ideal if they were to handle them but by all means if you feel you can do it without a cloak or one without duration then go for it.
3) Assassination - This objective requires you and the team to take out the four designated enemy targets, each spawning/being assigned when the previous has been killed.
Arguably the easiest task you can be set during an objective wave and if you follow the fantastic trick I will soon divulge, it becomes even easier but before that let's cover the basics. On lower difficulties wave 3 usually gives you a really simple target, on wave 6 you're likely to get a tougher shielded unit and wave 10 perhaps a top tier boss, however on higher difficulties like Gold and Platinum you're likely to get a top tier boss regardless of the wave you're on. As with any objective wave it's best if the team stick together and for this task in particular to concentrate their fire only on the priority target, unless other units are posing a direct threat to you or the team, killing them will only use up ammo and slow down your progress. Players who are using characters with a power that offers a de-buff on enemies are really useful to have during these waves and you'll find that with a whole squad shooting at a particular enemy, even the toughest units will get dropped pretty fast. As I mentioned there is one trick that can make Assassination tasks an absolute doddle, even on wave 10 Gold/Plat and that is to use your Cobra Missiles (*gasp*). Now before you start rolling your eyes I should explain that there's more to it than just that, let's say you get a Banshee as your first high value target, if you can hit her with a missile as she spawns AND take out a few other targets in the process, you should find that the next target will be something other than a Banshee. I'm not entirely sure why this happens but I think it's something to do with the re-spawn logic that I discussed in the guide, killing a unit that costs a lot to re-spawn (along with cheaper units) somehow causes a shift in the type of enemy that is required to be assassinated. It doesn't always work but most of the time if you get a nice multi-kill with a rocket, the unit type changes and so instead of having to kill four Banshees to complete the objective, you only need to kill one and then three other easier targets. On lower difficulties at wave 10 if the first target is a top tier boss, I think the enemy type changes after it is killed anyway, so if you don't have the rockets to spare it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
4) Escort - This objective requires you and the team to activate and then stay close to a drone (spawned randomly on the map), in order to keep it powered and moving towards the designated target zone.
Like the Hacking task this objective wave will complete much faster when all players are within the drones power circle, again there are often several muppets on the team who don't stick close to the drone but even if you're the only one, at least you'll be making some progress towards the goal. Sometimes you'll get a nice short escort mission but at other times you might have to walk right across the map and straight through enemy lines, the latter can be an absolute nightmare, especially on wave 10 Gold/Plat. But if the team sticks together and are prepared to use missiles to clear the path, it shouldn't be impossible to do, just remember to use whatever cover you can find and keep your eyes open for any developing situations. Bosses are a huge threat when doing this task and I think losing a player to sync-kills on these waves is more damaging than any other because even with one less contributor, trying to traverse an open patch of land can easily become a total wipe out. Enemy units with long range attacks are particularly annoying and should be dealt with as a matter of priority, things like Geth Primes/Ravagers/Scions/Cerberus Turrets are high damage dealers that can easily put you down from across the map. They're mostly slow units and will struggle to keep up (assuming the drone is moving at max speed), so if you can't kill them quickly or safely, then just keep your head low and ass out of it's line of fire. A good tip for these escort missions is to try and get the enemy to be coming at you from behind, therefore leaving the path in front of you clear and allowing you travel through it unhindered, most of the time this is best achieved when no-one on the team is killing any enemies (that are a direct threat). If you don't kill any enemies they will eventually follow the path that you've taken with the drone and because you're constantly moving with said drone (or at least you should be), they will always be trying to catch up and this means
5) Recover - This objective requires someone on the team to pick up and carry two objects, which are spawned randomly on the map, back to the extraction area.
On big maps this task can be pretty daunting especially on higher waves and difficulties but on smaller ones, if you get lucky with the spawn sites of enemies and objects, you can quite often recover both items in a little over a minute. In most cases it's best if everyone on the team sticks together killing any enemies blocking your path to the extraction zone and where possible leaving the ones behind you alone, so that they don't have the chance to re-spawn somewhere in front of you. This objective wave is another situation where it might be a good plan for the team to split into two sub units, the players in the first unit will collect and carry the object, while the players in the second unit keep the enemies occupied and away from the carriers path. It's generally good practice for the person who is carrying the objects to have their Cobra Missile launcher equipped, this is so they can deal with any ambushes from boss units and quickly clear the path of multiple units, for example if they accidentally turn a corner straight into an enemy spawn site (it happens). Players who have powers that allow them to move quicker such as the N7 Fury with Annihilation Field and Geth units with Hunter Mode (which BTW also provides great recon), are ideal for carrying these objects but I find that Volus characters spamming Shield Boost or Male Quarians using Tactical Scan with the Area Scan evolution, are just as good.
I recently learnt a trick that all Asari characters can do to transport the objects quickly and that is by using the Asari dodge, basically the button for sliding and picking up the objects is the same, so if you're quick enough you can slide and then repeatedly pick up the object after it's been dropped (some non-Asari characters can similarly do trick but by using their rolling mechanic). The trick can make deliveries really fast to complete but it does take a bit of practice and is harder to apply on maps with lots of corners/obstacles on the path, not to mention you are draining your shield, which will leave you vulnerable. Something that you might've seen already is players walking backwards with the objects, this is faster than walking forwards but unless no-one else on the team can carry faster, it's not my first choice trick. The other thing you might've witnessed is players using melee attacks to pull themselves forward a couple feet, most characters can use light melee to advance quicker while other characters like the Krogans and new Turian units, can do heavy melee to propel themselves forward by a good couple meters. You can also jump to cover without dropping the object, it's not an ideal tactic for moving to the extraction zone quickly but if you're taking hits from enemies, know that the option is there.
For the purpose of this article I assumed you were going to play in a public lobby with random players but I will add that if you're playing with friends and communicating with microphones, the tactics you can employ are much more varied, though the ones I laid out are tried and tested. It goes without saying that you don't need to use any Cobra Missiles during any objective waves but ultimately they will help you clear out entire areas quicker and in the case of assassinations, will actively help you achieve your goal that much faster, so if you can spare a rocket or two I can't think of many better situations in which to use them. Good team work is key on objective waves, there's no call for being alone on the other side of the map when everyone else is sticking together and working on the task. After all It's beneficial to everyone, if objectives are completed quickly, not just for the bonus time credits but to speed up the entire game as a whole.
Next Article: > Tips On Buying Packs From ME3 MP Store
1) Hacking - This objective requires the activation of a laptop and then for you and the team to remain within the upload circle, until the data bar reaches 100%.
The best way to get this task done quickly is for everyone to stay within the circle(!), it might seem like an obvious thing to say but you'll be surprised at how many idiots don't actually keep their asses within the hacking area. The concept is simple, the more players in the hacking circle the faster the data uploads, it doesn't require you to kill any enemies and if you want you can just sit in cover until the task is done. Getting this task on wave 3 or 6, shouldn't be too much of a problem but if it pops up on wave 10, things can be a bit trickier. The biggest concern is bosses, especially those that can sync-kill, if you or one of the other players gets permanently killed, not only will the data upload slower but you will also have one less active gun firing at the enemy. Banshees from the Reaper faction are particulalrly annoying because of their ability to teleport through walls and thus can effectively sneak up on you, therefore everyone on the team should be prepared to switch to the Cobra Missile at a moments notice, it might just save a life (and the match). Having said this not all enemies will attempt to enter the hacking circle, so if you see any that are just chilling behind some cover and not really posing a threat, you're better off targeting an enemy that is trying attack you or just sit back and watch the upload bar. Even if enemies don't enter the hacking circle and try to attack you directly, they will be surrounding the area and most like taking pot shots/tossing grenades at you, therefore it's important to keep you're eyes and ears open to any potential dangers. Once the upload is complete it's generally advised to vacate the area as soon as possible, you don't want to engage the enemy while they have you boxed into a certain area, instead make a run for it and then take them out as they're advancing to your new location.
2) Dis-Arm - This objective requires a member of the team to de-activate a beacon/device thing, there are four in total and each will spawn randomly across the map.
Despite the fact that only one person is needed to dis-arm each of the devices, it's still recommended that everyone on the team sticks together, if you aren't dis-arming then make sure you cover the person who is and not just wonder off somewhere. Most devices are located in reasonable locations and usually it's possible to position your character close to some hard cover, which should shade you from some enemy fire, so make sure you take advantage of this. Remember that it only takes one explosion (from an enemy grenade, Atlas rocket, Geth Prime Cannon etc) or a single enemy melee, to knock the defuser of the device and re-set it's progress at the same time, it's therefore important to make sure that you scan the surrounding area for any potential threats before beginning. Sometimes you will get a really dodgy device location, such as the middle of the map with nothing in between you and the enemy force, these can be an absolute nightmare if the team doesn't work together. Having a device placed in the centre of an open area is one of the few times I'd suggest that a team might be better off splitting into two smaller sub units (i.e. pairs) because if the entire team sticks together, the enemies will generally flock to the area where you are all at, which can result in too much heat for the team to handle.
The first pair should be a little way off from the device, keeping the enemies distracted and stopping them from advancing. The second pair should be at the device itself, one person dis-arming while the other one keeping overwatch and making sure the defuser won't get disrupted. Something I don't see enough people doing is using their character to block incoming enemy fire aimed at the defuser, if a non-defuser gets downed it's not a big deal (assuming the whole team is there and helping out) but if the defuser gets interrupted, the whole process has to start all over again. On higher waves and difficulties this is the very last thing you want to happen, especially if the device is in a bad location because eventually you will get swarmed with more enemies than you can handle and once this starts happening it's very easy for teams to get wiped out. So if you're not deactivating the device and can see the defuser taking enemy fire, be the hero and become a human shield (or whatever character you're using). Lastly just in case you didn't know each device takes a little over 11 seconds to de-activate, so if you have an Infiltrator on your team who has their Tactical Cloak specced for duration (which BTW lasts for roughly 10 seconds), it would be ideal if they were to handle them but by all means if you feel you can do it without a cloak or one without duration then go for it.
3) Assassination - This objective requires you and the team to take out the four designated enemy targets, each spawning/being assigned when the previous has been killed.
Arguably the easiest task you can be set during an objective wave and if you follow the fantastic trick I will soon divulge, it becomes even easier but before that let's cover the basics. On lower difficulties wave 3 usually gives you a really simple target, on wave 6 you're likely to get a tougher shielded unit and wave 10 perhaps a top tier boss, however on higher difficulties like Gold and Platinum you're likely to get a top tier boss regardless of the wave you're on. As with any objective wave it's best if the team stick together and for this task in particular to concentrate their fire only on the priority target, unless other units are posing a direct threat to you or the team, killing them will only use up ammo and slow down your progress. Players who are using characters with a power that offers a de-buff on enemies are really useful to have during these waves and you'll find that with a whole squad shooting at a particular enemy, even the toughest units will get dropped pretty fast. As I mentioned there is one trick that can make Assassination tasks an absolute doddle, even on wave 10 Gold/Plat and that is to use your Cobra Missiles (*gasp*). Now before you start rolling your eyes I should explain that there's more to it than just that, let's say you get a Banshee as your first high value target, if you can hit her with a missile as she spawns AND take out a few other targets in the process, you should find that the next target will be something other than a Banshee. I'm not entirely sure why this happens but I think it's something to do with the re-spawn logic that I discussed in the guide, killing a unit that costs a lot to re-spawn (along with cheaper units) somehow causes a shift in the type of enemy that is required to be assassinated. It doesn't always work but most of the time if you get a nice multi-kill with a rocket, the unit type changes and so instead of having to kill four Banshees to complete the objective, you only need to kill one and then three other easier targets. On lower difficulties at wave 10 if the first target is a top tier boss, I think the enemy type changes after it is killed anyway, so if you don't have the rockets to spare it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
4) Escort - This objective requires you and the team to activate and then stay close to a drone (spawned randomly on the map), in order to keep it powered and moving towards the designated target zone.
Like the Hacking task this objective wave will complete much faster when all players are within the drones power circle, again there are often several muppets on the team who don't stick close to the drone but even if you're the only one, at least you'll be making some progress towards the goal. Sometimes you'll get a nice short escort mission but at other times you might have to walk right across the map and straight through enemy lines, the latter can be an absolute nightmare, especially on wave 10 Gold/Plat. But if the team sticks together and are prepared to use missiles to clear the path, it shouldn't be impossible to do, just remember to use whatever cover you can find and keep your eyes open for any developing situations. Bosses are a huge threat when doing this task and I think losing a player to sync-kills on these waves is more damaging than any other because even with one less contributor, trying to traverse an open patch of land can easily become a total wipe out. Enemy units with long range attacks are particularly annoying and should be dealt with as a matter of priority, things like Geth Primes/Ravagers/Scions/Cerberus Turrets are high damage dealers that can easily put you down from across the map. They're mostly slow units and will struggle to keep up (assuming the drone is moving at max speed), so if you can't kill them quickly or safely, then just keep your head low and ass out of it's line of fire. A good tip for these escort missions is to try and get the enemy to be coming at you from behind, therefore leaving the path in front of you clear and allowing you travel through it unhindered, most of the time this is best achieved when no-one on the team is killing any enemies (that are a direct threat). If you don't kill any enemies they will eventually follow the path that you've taken with the drone and because you're constantly moving with said drone (or at least you should be), they will always be trying to catch up and this means
5) Recover - This objective requires someone on the team to pick up and carry two objects, which are spawned randomly on the map, back to the extraction area.
On big maps this task can be pretty daunting especially on higher waves and difficulties but on smaller ones, if you get lucky with the spawn sites of enemies and objects, you can quite often recover both items in a little over a minute. In most cases it's best if everyone on the team sticks together killing any enemies blocking your path to the extraction zone and where possible leaving the ones behind you alone, so that they don't have the chance to re-spawn somewhere in front of you. This objective wave is another situation where it might be a good plan for the team to split into two sub units, the players in the first unit will collect and carry the object, while the players in the second unit keep the enemies occupied and away from the carriers path. It's generally good practice for the person who is carrying the objects to have their Cobra Missile launcher equipped, this is so they can deal with any ambushes from boss units and quickly clear the path of multiple units, for example if they accidentally turn a corner straight into an enemy spawn site (it happens). Players who have powers that allow them to move quicker such as the N7 Fury with Annihilation Field and Geth units with Hunter Mode (which BTW also provides great recon), are ideal for carrying these objects but I find that Volus characters spamming Shield Boost or Male Quarians using Tactical Scan with the Area Scan evolution, are just as good.
I recently learnt a trick that all Asari characters can do to transport the objects quickly and that is by using the Asari dodge, basically the button for sliding and picking up the objects is the same, so if you're quick enough you can slide and then repeatedly pick up the object after it's been dropped (some non-Asari characters can similarly do trick but by using their rolling mechanic). The trick can make deliveries really fast to complete but it does take a bit of practice and is harder to apply on maps with lots of corners/obstacles on the path, not to mention you are draining your shield, which will leave you vulnerable. Something that you might've seen already is players walking backwards with the objects, this is faster than walking forwards but unless no-one else on the team can carry faster, it's not my first choice trick. The other thing you might've witnessed is players using melee attacks to pull themselves forward a couple feet, most characters can use light melee to advance quicker while other characters like the Krogans and new Turian units, can do heavy melee to propel themselves forward by a good couple meters. You can also jump to cover without dropping the object, it's not an ideal tactic for moving to the extraction zone quickly but if you're taking hits from enemies, know that the option is there.
For the purpose of this article I assumed you were going to play in a public lobby with random players but I will add that if you're playing with friends and communicating with microphones, the tactics you can employ are much more varied, though the ones I laid out are tried and tested. It goes without saying that you don't need to use any Cobra Missiles during any objective waves but ultimately they will help you clear out entire areas quicker and in the case of assassinations, will actively help you achieve your goal that much faster, so if you can spare a rocket or two I can't think of many better situations in which to use them. Good team work is key on objective waves, there's no call for being alone on the other side of the map when everyone else is sticking together and working on the task. After all It's beneficial to everyone, if objectives are completed quickly, not just for the bonus time credits but to speed up the entire game as a whole.
Next Article: > Tips On Buying Packs From ME3 MP Store
No comments:
Post a Comment