If you've played Battlefield 1942/Vietnam, much of this will be familiar to
you, but there are a couple of changes you may want to take note of.
Star Wars Battlefront is, in essence, a shooting game, in that you walk around
shooting enemy troops. However, the actual progress of the battle happens on
a larger scale. Central to winning in Battlefront are Command Posts.
Command Posts are beams of light in key locations around a map. Examples might
include a large building or a structure that's easy to defend. There are two
types of Command Posts, capturable and destructible. To capture a (capturable)
CP, simply walk near it (note that you must be on foot to capture it). An icon
will appear on the screen, showing the CP's current ownership. If it's
neutral, the icon will gradually turn green, if it's controlled by the enemy,
the red will drain out first. The rate at which you capture a CP is related
to the number of friendly troops you have in the area. If an enemy unit is
also trying to capture the CP, the icon will flash, letting you know you must
clear the opposition out first.
Destructible CPs are much simpler - destroy them and they're gone forever.
Note that they cannot be captured - they remain loyal to one side until
destroyed.
Some vehicles serve as mobile spawn points for troops. If these are destroyed,
they will respawn after a fixed amount of time, similar to other vehicles.
Each side has a fixed supply of Reinforcement Points (generally either 200 or
250). This number cannot be increased, and is decreased by 1 every time a
troop dies. It has nothing to do with spawning, however. All 32 people on your
team could spawn with only one point left. When one side's RPs reach zero,
that side loses.
If one side controls the majority of CPs, the other side starts losing RPs at
a fixed rate regardless of who's dying. Although this effect will never lead
a side to defeat - the countdown stops at 32 (the number of players).
Each faction has five Troop Classes, of which four are shared, more or less,
but the fifth is specialized. Every faction has four main Classes:
-----------
INFANTRYMAN
-----------
This is always the default class when you start a game. Each faction's
infantry has a rapid fire laser rifle with around 55 shots in a clip. They
also have thermal detonators and concussion grenades. Interestingly, the
blaster rifle actually has near perfect accuracy - hello Z key.
-----------
TANKBUSTER
-----------
This class carries a missile launcher which deals heavy damage to vehicles.
If you aim the missile launcher at a vehicle, you'll notice that it locks on,
so you can use it to shoot down aircraft as well. This guy can also lay mines.
-----------
PILOT
-----------
Pilots regenerate the health of any vehicles that they man. They also have
a fusion cutter, which can repair vehicles and build turrets on special
plates (they'll have a green spanner icon above them). They're generally not
much good at fighting, but can hold their own if they really need to. Pilots
can also dish out health and ammo.
-----------
SNIPER
-----------
Sharpshooter, marksman, call it what you will. No shooting game is really
complete without the sniper. In addition to having a sniper rifle, the other
main strength of the sniper class is that he has a recon droid. You only get
one (although you can pick up more), and it has a limited fuel supply and is
easily destroyed, but it has one major strength. It can call down orbital
bombardments. Simply right click while flying the droid, and the bar that
would usually be secondary weapon ammo will fill up green. Once that bar is
full, the bombardment is locked on, and a couple of seconds later, the droid
and anyone nearby will be annihilated. If the droid is destroyed before the
bar is full, no bombardment happens, but once the bar's full, it doesn't
matter.
Star Wars Battlefront features four factions: the Rebel Alliance, the Galactic
Empire, the Republic and the Seperatists. Games are always played between
either the Empire and Alliance or Republic and Seperatists, you cannot mix
eras. However, most maps can be played with either era. The labels beneath
each vehicle name show the equivalent in the other era.
The heroes of the movies, rising against the tyranny of the Empire. They're
quite a hard side to play as when you're a beginner, as they have a vehicle
disadvantage on some maps. However, once learnt, they're no worse than any
other faction.
The Rebels' special class. At first sight, the Wookiee appears to be nothing
special, but with experience, you'll soon discover its real strengths.
BOWCASTER - Slightly more powerful than your standard blaster, but that's not
the real beauty of this weapon. Hold down the fire button and you'll charge up
your shot. At maximum charge, you'll shoot seven shots at once. It's useful
when either a) you have multiple enemies in front of you or b) you're at close
range.
GRENADE LAUNCHER - Not that much to say. That's not to say it's a rubbish
weapon or anything. Once you learn how to angle it to get exactly the shot you
want, it's ace at clearing out closely knit groups of Imperial troops.
TIME BOMB - I love this thing. It's insanely powerful. Attach it to the foot
of an AT-ST and it'll blow the thing up. It's that powerful. Also very good on
Endor - four bombs take out the generator. Pity you only start with three.
The best way to deal with a Wookiee Smuggler is to keep your distance. You
don't want to be close when that bowcaster goes off. Other than that, just
shoot. Bear in mind the increased stamina, though.
----------------
VEHICLES
----------------
X-WING
----------------
DROID STARFIGHTER
Probably one of the most distinctive Star Wars ships ever, along with the TIE
fighter. Its four cannons allow it to bring a very large amount of firepower
against a target, but also means you have to be careful on your trigger, as
you run out of weapon energy very fast. The X-Wing's secondary weapons are
proton torpedoes. Remember that they lock on. Also bear in mind that they
shoot in twos.
Y-WING
----------------
MAF
Your standard bomber. It's slower than the X-Wing, but packs a serious punch.
It has a gunner's position for better protection from fighters. The bombs are
quite hard to place accurately, but you get 24, so you can do a limited amount
of carpet bombing.
LANDSPEEDER
----------------
AAT
A very versatile vehicle. It's just fast enough to be able to evade some
attacks, while still having the power necessary to take on other vehicles.
It's not quite as good as the AT-ST for anti-infantry though, as you don't
get the higher viewpoint from which to get splash damage kills. Also, DO
remember to make use of your rockets. You have plenty.
SNOWSPEEDER
----------------
SPECIAL
Found only on Hoth, you probably already know all about these vehicles. Their
blasters are quite good anti infantry weapons, but of course their primary
function is to bring down AT-ATs. If you've played Rogue Squadron, you'll
know what you have to do. Fly low past the legs of the AT-AT. Jump quickly
into the gunner position (the AI can't do this bit very well) and shoot a tow
cable anywhere on the legs. Then hop back into the pilot seat. The view will
pan out a little to give you a better view. You need to complete three full
circuits of the AT-AT's legs to take it down.
One of the best baddies ever, Darth Vader is the symbol of Imperial power
and domination. John Williams' masterful Imperial March befits these guys
perfectly.
----------------
DARK TROOPER
----------------
I'm afraid I have to be a bit negative - the Dark Trooper has lots of promise,
but very rarely delivers on it.
BLASTER CANNON - The equivalent of a shotgun. Fires a spread of five shots.
Each one has (I believe) the same power as a regular blaster rifle shot, which
means a very close range hit is almost guaranteed to be instant death.
JETPACK - The major draw of the Dark Trooper. This handy gadget can boost you
halfway across the map in a couple of seconds, or up to a platform full of
people who thought they were safe. Note that it cannot be used to hover. So,
why am I negative? Well, the jetpack has a VERY long recharge time, and it's
easy to go accidentally in the wrong direction with your jump, leaving you
waiting for ages until you can jump again. In summary - useful if you can use
it accurately.
When you're facing one of these, you definitely want to keep your distance,
even more than with the Wookiee. However, with the jetpack, he can easily get
the jump on you (haha). Remember that his jetpack only provides one boost, so
his trajectory is somewhat predictable and you will probably be able to hit
Dark Troopers on the way down from a jump.
----------------
VEHICLES
----------------
TIE FIGHTER
----------------
JEDI STARFIGHTER
That "other" widely known Star Wars symbol. Not *quite* a fair match against
the X-Wing, having no secondary weapon, but the Rebels have to be better
somewhere, no? However, having dual lasers means you can spray and pray a bit
more than in an X-Wing, because you use less energy.
TIE BOMBER
----------------
REPUBLIC GUNSHIP
More or less the equivalent of the Y-Wing. However, rather than having a
turret, the Bomber has proton torpedoes and bombs. The bombs must be dropped
from the second position and drop in groups of five.
AT-AT
----------------
AT-TE
Ah, the fearsome AT-AT. Every Rebel's nemesis. Insanely heavy armor, insanely
powerful lasers, insanely slow. The ultimate tank. The lasers have a very
large blast radius and so are good at clearing out Command Posts. They're not
so good against vehicles because they're so slow. Although if you do get a
shot, don't hesitate to take it. It is possible to take down an AT-AT with
conventional weapons, but it will take you a long time. The shortcut, as seen
in ESB, is to tie its legs up with a snowspeeder's tow cable. As an AT-AT
pilot, you should always be on the lookout for snowspeeders on Hoth. Bear in
mind that all is not lost if it gets the cable on you - it has to complete
three circles of your legs, so you'll have a couple of opportunities to blast
it as it comes beneath the head.
AT-ST
-----------------
TX-130S
The Empire's "regular" land vehicle. It can't strafe like the Rebel speeder
can, but it's a much better anti infantry vehicle, as you can shoot from above
and use the splash damage of your shots to mow down troops. It's at a bit of a
disadvantage against other vehicles - bear that in mind.
The predecessors of the Galactic Empire. You'll be able to see many parallels:
the white armor, the walker, even their specialist troop classes are similar.
----------------
JET TROOPER
----------------
Similar to the Dark Trooper in design, but far better IMO.
EMP LAUNCHER - A sort of splash-less rocket launcher. It's not a great weapon,
but it does its job. It's quite good against Droidekas, because they can't
really move. Even if they turn into wheel form after you fire, you'll still
hit them.
JETPACK - Much better than the Dark Trooper's jetpack. Activate it and you'll
be able to go in any direction you choose. If you want to go up, simply look
up and go forward. Remember that you have to press the jump button again to
shut it off, not simply release it. It also recharges faster than the DT's.
Obviously, being able to move freely in all directions can make the Jet
Trooper hard to hit, although you'll soon find that to actually hit opponents,
the Jet Trooper has to hover to a limited extent. He's not much harder to hit
than a regular trooper, you just have to remember to look up and down.
JEDI STARFIGHTER
----------------
TIE FIGHTER
Similar to the Rebels' X-Wing fighter. Laser cannons and seeker missiles. A
slightly smaller hit profile though.
REPUBLIC GUNSHIP
----------------
TIE BOMBER
Oh boy. Get this fully manned and you're tooled up for almost anything.
Remember that the Gunship can actually stop in midair. So, if you're fairly
sure nothing can hit you, just stop and rain down green death from the skies.
Don't forget the capabilities of this ship to deliver troops though.
TX-130S
----------------
AT-ST
A quality anti-infantry vehicle. The pilot position has all the features you'd
expect - dual cannons and rockets, but don't forget the main gun. It shoots a
beam that lasts for a second or so, so you can sweep it across a row of enemy
troops for maximum destruction. However, when using it against a vehicle,
remember to keep it trained on the enemy vehicle until it disappears.
AT-TE
----------------
AT-AT
Forerunner of the AT-AT. Slightly faster and weaker, but nonetheless makes up
for it. The AT-TE fires four lasers at once, and can fire again before having
to recharge. Best of all though, is the big gun on its back. The AT-TE is
equal parts an infantry killer, vehicle killer and mobile transport. Do be
aware of the armor weakness compared to the AT-AT, you do actually need to
keep an eye on it in the AT-TE.
The Republic's equivalent of the Rebels. Some would argue that the Seperatists
are underpowered, but they have some great vehicles to make up for any
deficiencies in their troops.
----------------
DROIDEKA
----------------
Aha. The ominous rolling sound of the Droideka - something you don't want to
hear when trying to capture a CP. Droidekas are quite hard to use effectively,
because of the lag time between stopping the roll and getting the shield up.
Bear in mind that Droidekas cannot use vehicles or turrets.
REPEATING BLASTERS - Spray and pray incarnate. Plenty of power for these, you
should only occasionally have to recharge. Side tip - always use A and D to
turn. Much faster than the mouse.
SHIELD EMITTER - Provides complete protection against all attacks as long as
the shield lasts. Bear in mind, though, that not only will attacks deplete it,
but also just having it on. Whenever you get even the tiniest break from
fighting, even if you can see the next wave of enemies approaching down the
corridor or whatever, turn off the shield. Every second of regeneration
counts.
Ah. A way to take them out, you seek? Well. The shield is fairly resistant to
blaster fire, certainly long enough for the Droideka to take out the offending
party. However, missiles and grenades can put a dent in it. The Jet Trooper's
EMP launcher seems to have been specially designed for this purpose, as they
can't move very much, but unfortunately you need three, but the weapon only
loads two.
DROID STARFIGHTER
----------------
X-WING
Not much to say. Plenty of laser power, and fairly powerful lasers too.
GEONOSIAN FIGHTER
----------------
N/A
More or less the same as the Droid Starfighter, but a little more agile.
SPIDER DROID
----------------
SPECIAL
Almost the equivalent of the AT-TE, but not quite. Primary weapon is a
powerful beam laser - see notes on the TX-130S above. Secondary weapon is a
more conventional laser. Death to infantry.
AAT
----------------
LANDSPEEDER
The real powerhouses of Episode 1, these tanks are generally more than a match
for Republic vehicles. Two heavy lasers from the pilot's position and a
whopping big main gun give this ample firepower. Pity you can't use the energy
shell launchers though.
HAILFIRE DROID
----------------
SPECIAL
This is another vehicle with a lot of promise, but generally proves quite
hard to use effectively. You get a blaster and a load of missiles.
Unfortunately, unlike in the movies where these things shoot missiles all over
the place, you only load 5 at a time. Still, I suppose they're fairly good at
taking down AT-TEs.
MAF
----------------
Y-WING
The Seperatist equivalent of the Republic Gunship. You get a pilot, a gunner
who controls the turret on top, and a co pilot who mans the Gunship-esque
beams beneath. These beams can only shoot within a downward arc.
STAP
----------------
SPECIAL
The Seperatists' equivalent of the Speeder Bike, but a little slower. It makes
up for this by being fairly good as a gun platform, albeit a fragile one. If
there's a group of infantry while you're cruising along with this, don't be
afraid to take them on.
==============================================================================
3. OTHER VEHICLES
==============================================================================
Besides the vehicles in the section above, there are more vehicles around the
maps that aren't associated with any side. The generally appear either in the
middle of the map (like the Cloud Car) or at both bases (like the Speeder
Bike).
SPEEDER BIKE
----------------
FOUND ON: Endor, Yavin: Temple, Tatooine: Dune Sea, Naboo: Plains
It gets you from Point A to Point B in the shortest time possible. That's all
there is to it. This thing goes insanely fast considering the number of
obstacles you can crash into on each landscape. It does have a laser, but it's
not much use, really. Only if you come across an isolated trooper.
CLOUD CAR
----------------
FOUND ON: Bespin: Platforms
Genius. These lasers rival the Droideka for total power, meaning you can
really blast away. Plus, it can carry a gunner, who launches massive salvoes
of missiles. If you can get your hands on one of these, try to keep it. It's
worth it.
DESERT SKIFF
----------------
FOUND ON: Tatooine: Dune Sea
Basically an armored transport. You get a pilot and up to three gunners. Then,
you go find some infantry to mow down. With the wide fire arc of this vehicle,
it really is dangerous to troops. Unfortunately it packs no such punch against
vehicles, so you'll need something heavier for them. Also remember that you're
exposed in this, so you can't use it as a shell to hide in.
GIAN SPEEDER
----------------
FOUND ON: Naboo: Theed
Another genius. If you find one, take it. It's more or less the same as the
Rebel landspeeder, but in my experience, it's been a lot better. It has the
same basic weaponry - blasters and a big main gun.
TAUNTAUN/KAADU
----------------
FOUND ON: Hoth, Naboo: Plains
They're virtually identical, so I put them together. They're used for
transport, nothing more. They have no weapons. However, they are quite fast
and they're reasonably agile.
In this section is a breakdown of each map into vehicles present, CPs and the
like. Vehicle description fits the Galactic Civil War era - consult above for
equivalents in the Clone Wars. Command Posts are listed (number of capturable
CPs) + (number of destructible CPs).
Remember that on most maps, each side has one "base" CP that will take
significantly longer to capture than regular CPs.
Dotted around the various maps, you will run into three kinds of droids:
HEALTH DROID: These are the tall black ones. Stand near them and your health
will be gradually replenished.
AMMO DROID: The short, boxy ones. These slowly refill your ammo stocks.
REPAIR DROID: The R5 droids will repair any vehicle nearby. Simply drive your
vehicle up to one and it will start getting repaired.
Droids can be very easily destroyed, and indeed it's sometimes a good idea
to take out the droids at an enemy CP before going for it. Pilots can rebuild
all three kinds of droids with their Fusion Cutter.
VEHICLES: 6 X-Wings, 2 Y-Wings, 6 TIE Fighters, 2 TIE Bombers, Cloud Car
COMMAND POSTS: 7
This is largely an aircraft map, although significant fighting happens in the
tunnels linking the opposite sides of the map. Most landing pads have an anti-
air turret on them which is very good against the aircraft but also dies
fairly easily, don't count on it against a head on run by a bomber.
You won't be able to win uniquely by being an air ace. Well, you might, but
it will be by luck. If you want to win, you'll have to fight in the central
tunnel. It's very hard to keep the central Command Post because of the way the
enemy can bring in troops from three directions. If you're playing as either
the Empire or the Republic, you can cheat a bit. Use the jetpack to get on the
roof of the tunnel, and you'll be able to skip out the actual fighting there.
Being able to capture the CP itself while remaining alive is something else.
If you're playing as the Seperatists, a couple of Droidekas will help too.
It's only playing as the Rebels that you have a major difficulty. Your best
bet as the Rebels is to simply be a regular trooper, and just get in there
with your rifle. Remember to make use of your thermal detonators.
MISC:
- If you're quick at the beginning, you can use the turrets to down some of
the fighters on enemy platforms.
- If everyone's involved in the fighting in the main tunnel, go land your ship
on one of the enemy's outlying platforms. You can never have too many CPs.
- Take out enemy anti-air turrets at the first opportunity.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.2 BESPIN: CLOUD CITY
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VEHICLES: NONE
COMMAND POSTS: 6
No vehicles at all on this map, it's purely shooting. Your first move should
be to get the carbon freezing chamber, as controlling it wastes the enemy's
tickets (in addition to any advantage by controlling the most CPs). If you go
for the carbon chamber, chances are the enemy will get the courtyard. Don't
bother trying to displace them straight away. Instead, from your CP at the
bottom edge of the map, try to push along to the other one, and then up. It
may take a few tries, but with a standard trooper it's not too hard. Then,
they should be forced back to the courtyard. Once they're there, it's more or
less game over for them.
MISC:
- Snipers rule here. If you control both CPs on the bottom edge, you can
safely snipe from the balcony. Once you've got them back to the courtyard
only, you can just stand by an ammo droid and keep shooting.
- A rather cheaper tactic is to stand by an ammo droid and deploy Recon Droids
into the courtyard. Then just call down repeated orbital bombardments.
- If there's fighting going on around the carbon chamber, you can use the
multiple entrances to surprise the enemy. Particularly good is if you're a
Jet or Dark Trooper. You can use your jetpack to get between the walkways
in the shaft area.
The Empire has a big vehicle advantage here with AT-STs, but the Rebels can
destroy the Shield Bunker, knocking off an Imperial CP permanently. Also,
AT-STs can fall victim to the Ewok log traps. The Rebels also have camouflage,
whereas Stormtroopers stick out like a sore thumb. There are many high
walkways between trees on this level, don't pass them up. They can provide
good sniping positions and also a way around enemy troops without having to
fight them. Ewoks on this map will attack Imperial troops.
MISC:
- When you start as the Rebels, be a Wookiee and grab a Speeder Bike. Go
straight to the Bunker. If you're lucky, you should be able to get straight
into the bunker. To destroy the Bunker you have to destroy the control panel
next to the shaft of light. Use all three time bombs you start off with and it
will be at aroun 20% health. The difficult part is getting out to grab more
from the ammo droid without dying.
- To reset the log trap, look for the fusion cutter plates nearby. The bar
will fill up as if you're building a turret. When it reaches full, the logs
will be reset.
COMMAND POSTS: 4 + 4 (Republic Command Center and 3 Techno Union ships)
Can you say "big battle"? Hope so. Here, the Republic must take the AT-TEs
around the Spire and use them to destroy the Techno Union ships, while making
sure that their Command Center doesn't die. Here, though, the AT-TE isn't
nearly as invincible as it usually is, and it's very likely that at least one
will go down. If either AT-TE can actually reach the TU ships though, the
Seperatists are in trouble. The Geonosians on this map help the Seperatists.
MISC:
- The Gunships are death to droids. You can use them to keep Assault Droids
away from the AT-TEs and to take down Hailfire Droids. You can use them
against the Spider Droids, but that's not as good a use of their abilities.
- Geonosian fighters are death to Gunships. They also do a nice line in
taking down infantry, although they're so fast that you don't get many shots
in one run.
- The Spider Droid is very good at taking down the Republic Command Center.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.5 HOTH: ECHO BASE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any Star Wars fan knows exactly what the objective of this battle is, but I'll
go over it for the benefit of everyone else. The Imperials must destroy the
Rebel shield generator. They can only realistically do this with their AT-ATs,
because the generator's heavily armored. So, the Rebels must take down the
AT-ATs before they get in range. They can do it the hard way, which involves
lots of missiles and turrets, or they can do it the easy way, which involves
Snowspeeders' tow cables. See above for how to use the cables.
MISC:
- Echo Base can be entered from the Outpost as well as from the hangar.
- The black turrets with the dishes are very good at taking down AT-STs. You
can charge up shots with this turret, but I wouldn't bother, the extra damage
isn't worth the wasted time.
- Regular troops have to be very careful on this level. Both AT-STs and
Snowspeeders are death to infantry.
- Don't underestimate the value of Tauntauns, just for getting about.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.6 KAMINO: TIPOCA CITY
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VEHICLES: NONE
COMMAND POSTS: 7
Like Cloud City, a no vehicle level and sniper's paradise. Almost all of the
level is completely exposed, so you can shoot people miles away. There's not
really much to say about this level, it's nice and simple. The cheap tactic
of using orbital bombardment applies here if you need it. It can be useful in
getting rid of Droidekas, as there's no cover to hide from them.
VEHICLES: 1 X-Wing, 1 Y-Wing, 1 TIE Fighter, 1 TIE Bomber
COMMAND POSTS: 6
A fairly close-in map, there's not much room to move around. Cue heavy
fighting. One side starts in a central-ish position, the other side starts
more or less on the outside. Expect your CPs to change hands several times
as play moves back and forth on this level.
MISC:
- Make good use of your aircraft. With such a small map, you should just be
able to aim into an enemy area and hit a load of troops.
- Also make good use of your explosives. With much less space than most other
maps, you can really clear the house out with thermal detonators.
VEHICLES: 3 AT-STs (2 Spider Droids and 1 STAP in Clone Wars Era)
COMMAND POSTS: 7
In this map, one side has the vehicle advantage, but the other has the terrain
advantage. The high platforms are sniping incarnate. The high platforms can
also be quite hard to capture, because of the difficulty in getting along
them, especially if there are snipers in place. Also the hut at the back can
be hard to get without a vehicle to take out the two turrets first.
MISC:
- Playing as the defenders, spawn as a tankbuster on one of the high platforms
and you should be able to take down one if not two of the incoming vehicles.
If you're playing online, just mass tankbusters there for the first wave to
keep the vehicles at bay.
- To remedy this when playing as the attackers, make sure to have some snipers
at your base. You'll be able to get a good angle on the guys on the platforms.
- If you get a vehicle onto the beach, head straight up it and take out the
two turrets guarding the hut. They're exceedingly annoying.
An open, flat level and as such a fairly vehicle-dominated one. Spawn as a
Pilot and grab yourself a vehicle at the beginning, it'll serve you well. I
think the Rebels have an advantage here, as the Landspeeder generally wins
against the AT-ST. Like the Kashyyyk Islands, expect CPs to change ownership
many times over the course of this battle. Although you shouldn't really
worry about CPs too much, as you'll be chewing through their reinforcement
points left, right and centre. The Gungans help the Rebels/Republic.
VEHICLES: 2 Landspeeders, 2 IFT-Ts (see note below), Gian Speeder
COMMAND POSTS: 6
I love this map. Plenty of fighting. The Empire can't realistically use AT-STs
on this level, so they use an equivalent of the Republic tank instead. The
long circular street outside the Rotunda and the central road from that are
generally the firefights here, so take your vehicles straight there. Try not
to get surrounded though, as the vehicles aren't invincible.
MISC:
- You can use the river to get from one side of the map to the other with a
minimum of fuss if you need to.
- Make use of the elevated balconies for sniping and cover.
This is such an unfair map. Unless you're playing Galactic Conquest and have
used Sabotage, it's very hard to win with the Rebels/Seperatists. OK, so two
Landspeeders could probably take down an AT-AT if skilfully piloted, but the
two IFT-Ts can tie those up, leaving the AT-AT free to take infantry down. Oh
well.
MISC:
- If you're playing as the attacking side, there really isn't much strategy.
Just be a pilot, hop in the AT-AT and you're away.
- Your best bet as the defending side is to simply spam missiles at the walker
and hope it's not a pilot on board healing it.
- Try to avoid being in the central area if you can. Prowl around the edges
with your gun. Resist the temptation to rush in there, even if a big group of
guys comes through.
Another no-vehicle map. Although this one still remains surprisingly good.
Whichever side you start on, you should always go for the central CP first.
You should be able to get it due to the delay in AI spawning. Once you've got
that, you can go in whatever direction you want, really. Although having the
duo central CP + the one on the bridge is very helpful and puts you in a
strong position.
MISC:
- The turrets can be very annoying on this level. If they're bothering you,
take them out with a missile launcher. Don't bother sniping the guy in it,
because most of them are so close to a CP that someone else will just come
along almost immediately.
- Make good use of the pillars and such like for cover, very useful.
A very good map IMO. You can play this however you want. You can get a fighter
and do strafing runs on the enemy base, you can get a combat vehicle and
take them head on, you can use a speeder bike to get right into their midst
and unleash laser death. Your choice. Try to get the Tusken CPs, but don't
spend too much time on it, because beating up Tusken Raiders doesn't help you
win any faster.
MISC:
- It might seem obvious, but do remember to mind the pillars while flying
around. 'tis detrimental to your health to crash into one.
- Try to go around the outside with your vehicles. Going in between the
pillars at ground level gives rise to choke points. You need to keep your
agility here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.14 TATOOINE: MOS EISLEY
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VEHICLES: AT-ST (see note)
COMMAND POSTS: 6
Urban warfare as we know and love. The streets are fairly narrow around all
but a couple of the CPs, so thermal detonators prove useful. Make good use of
all the doorways and such like as cover. Remember to get the Cantina, if just
to hear the music ^_^
MISC:
- If you have the hangar, you can get up on the top of it. Hello sniper.
- The Jet/Dark Trooper rules the roost here, being able to boost right over
the obstacles that other troops have to go round.
- The other factions have their advantages too. The Droideka is the king of
narrow passages, and the Wookiee's spreading bowcaster shots can cover more or
less the entire alley.
- To get the AT-ST, the Empire must capture the Hangar. The Rebels don't get
a Landspeeder from it. Similarly, the CIS can get an AAT.
By far the smallest map. Technically, it's the same size as the others, but
you'll find that almost all the fighting happens around the central three CPs,
because the outside ones take too long to capture for the benefit they give.
Don't try to hold the central CP, let its ownership slide. You can do much
better simply taking them down, CP or no CP. With a couple of exceptions, the
only two good classes on this map are the regular soldier and the sniper.
MISC:
- The exceptions are the Jet Trooper and the Droideka. The Droideka should be
obvious, but the Jet Trooper is a little more cheap. Just jet over to the
enemy box CP right when you start. You won't be able to get it before people
spawn there, but with some skilful fighting, you should be able to hold your
ground until you turn it neutral, at which point just focus on taking out all
the droids present.
- If you choose to be a sniper, you can just stand in your box and snipe
straight across for muchos kills. If you see someone in the arena standing
still, go for the headshot, but because of the angle, it's easier to get them
while they're still in the box.
- If the battle in the center isn't chewing through your RPs to quickly, take
one of your vehicles and head for the enemy's CP outside the arena. The arena
battle generally takes most of the AI's attention, but be ready to fend off
the odd enemy who spawns there. It'll take a while to capture, but if you can
cut them off into the arena, you're virtually guaranteed to win.
I don't know why, but I find this map rather boring. There really isn't much
strategy to this level. As the Empire, grab your AT-ST and go mow some Rebels
down. As the Rebels, grab a Speeder Bike, go to the elevated platform and
missile the AT-ST down.
MISC:
- The turrets on the high poles are horrifically weak. They're quite useful,
but just bear that in mind.
Galactic Conquest is a novel way of presenting a game like Star Wars
Battlefront. Basically: there are eight planets in each game. The setup of
which planets are controlled by you and your opponent is different depending
on which Galactic Conquest you're playing. In addition, two of the planets are
each faction's base, and as such change depending on the era you're playing.
How it works: When you start, you have initiative. This means you select a
planet to attack. A planet is either green, white or red. Green indicates it's
under friendly control, white is contested and red is enemy controlled. When
you click on a planet to attack, you'll see which map you'll play (each has
two, remember). If you attack an enemy planet, you'll fight a battle on the
map shown. If you win that battle, the planet turns white, denying the enemy
the access to that planet's bonus. Similarly, if you win a battle on a
contested planet, you have immediate access to that planet's bonus.
Should you lose a battle, the enemy choose where to attack. The initiative
is lost if the holder loses a match.
If you win four battles (the blue lights light up), you'll be able to knock
out one planet without fighting, using your side's special ability. For
example, the Republic just takes it over with a massive clone army and the
Empire blows the planet up with the Death Star. Then you can immediately
attack another planet (fairly). Once all six regular planets are under your
control (five if you blew one up), you'll be able to attack the enemy's base
system. If you win there, you win the Galactic Conquest. Similarly, you lose
if you lose on your base planet.
Now, to the core of the Galactic Conquest: planetary bonuses. Every planet has
a bonus, that can be used by the side controlling it. If the planet is
contested, neither side can utilise its bonus. This brings in an interesting
strategical choice: do you attempt to make all your opponent's planets
contested to starve them of bonuses, or do you work towards your knockout blow
first so it takes care of two battles rather than one? Anyway, the bonuses:
BESPIN: SABOTAGE
----------------
Nice and simple. All your enemy's vehicles come into play damaged. Bear in
mind that they do not have lower max health - they can be healed to full
by a pilot or R5 droid.
NABOO: BACTA TANKS
----------------
This bonus gives your troops bacta tanks which constantly regenerate their
health as if they were standing next to a health droid. This stacks with
actually being next to the droid, too.
KASHYYYK: REINFORCEMENTS
----------------
You get more Reinforcement Points. Simple.
RHEN VAR: ORBITAL SENSORS
----------------
This bonus makes your troops invisible to the enemy on the map. In a real war,
it would be amazing, but I've never been able to make much use of it.
TATOOINE: JEDI HERO
----------------
Possibly the most simple one of all. You get your Jedi fighting with you in
the next battle. Remember that he's only one person and can't be everywhere
at once. Best used on confined maps such as Mos Eisley and Cloud City.
YAVIN: ELITE TRAINING
----------------
Your troops become more accurate with their weapons. This is good on maps
where there are lots of opportunities for long range shooting such as Yavin:
Arena and Mos Eisley.
This is my first FAQ, I've tried to make it as easy to read and useful as
possible. I doubt it's complete, I'll probably update it from time to time.
Acknowledgements go to:
Lucasarts/Pandemic - for making the game
My brother - for picking up all the stuff I missed
Rayzer - for correcting various oversights
Mecandes - for a ton of useful input
If you spot something wrong in this FAQ, or have found something interesting
related to what I've written about that you think should be included, email me
at megistos@gmail.com. I'll make sure you appear in this section in the next
version.
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