Mechassault 2: Lone Wolf

===============================================================================
Mechassault 2: Lone Wolf
Weapon Guide
by The_Pup ([email protected])
Version: 1.1
===============================================================================

==========
Contents
==========
1. Intro and Updates
2. Legend
3. Energy Weapons
4. Ballistic Weapons
5. Missile Weapons
6. Special/Misc Weapons
7. Defensive Measures and Special Abilities
8. Strategies and Tips
9. FAQ
10. Credits
11. Legal

==========
1. Intro and Updates
==========
I am writing this guide for the good of all players. This is SPOILER FREE and
is based off of playing experiences. No hacking or glitches were used in the
making of this guide.

This guide is based around the weapons in Mechassault 2: Lone Wolf. As in the
last Mechassault game, you have a choice of mechs to play. And with most of
these mechs they come standard, normally, with 3 weapons. A laser, a shell gun,
and a missile launcher. Of course, with the exception of several other mechs
which had two weapons.

And Mechassault 2 expands on these weapons. Some you may remember from the last
game and several are entirely new to the series and this guide is to help you
sort out which weapons are best suited for you and which ones you should avoid
either when using against your opponents or having your opponents use against
you. But this is a reference guide, and I don't expect anyone to follow my
recommendations.

----------
Updates---
----------
Ver 1.1--- Legal restrictions and redistribution policy lightened.
---------- Minor fixes.
Ver 1.0--- Got information for the Flare weapon from D man
---------- Placed Alpha Strike in the Special/Misc weapons
---------- Corrected some spelling errors
---------- Redone the spacing in the structure of the weapon descriptions
Ver 0.8--- Added Tip from Stormy
---------- Added Tips
---------- Added missing information about Ragnarok/Ymir shield
---------- Added weapon that needs information("Flare")
----------
Ver 0.7--- Added Tip from SKullKrusher9
---------- Added Tips from James Roth
---------- Added Credits section
---------- Several corrections by Dahak
---------- Changed Double Tabs into 12 spaces

==========
2. Legend
==========

Name : Name of the weapon
Range : Recommended range to use the weapon
Power : General power(damage dealing) the weapon is capable of
Speed : How fast the projectiles travel
Reload : How quick can you fire again
Homing : Any homing capabilities that are provided
Description: A short description of the weapon
Strategy : General recommended use of the weapon
Notes : Extra information on the info that you may need to know.

==========
3. Energy Weapons
==========
Energy weapons are normally the main weapons you will use on your mech. They
do alot of damage yet they will overheat your mech quickly.

Name : Pulse Laser
Range : Short-medium
Power : Weak
Speed : Fast
Reload : Fast
Homing : None
Description: Little green laser pulses that fire fairly quickly. Red on level
2, purple on level 3. Speed is drastically increased on level 3
yet the power is less than on level 2.
Strategy : Use on light mechs and turrets. Circle strafing is a must.
Notes : Last ditch weapon. Unless your mech comes with 3 or 4 of these,
don't use them. Only use them to finish off opponents with low
health if there aren't any powerups around. Still a reliable
weapon if you can track targets.

Name : Pulse Laser(VTOL, Battle Armor exclusive)
Range : Medium-long
Power : Medium
Speed : Fast
Reload : Fast
Homing : None
Description: Only when you are a Battle Armor attatched to a VTOL can use this.
It's a support weapon.
Strategy : Fire at any opponent that poses a threat to you.
Notes : Not very useful unless you like to support your allies.

Name : Laser
Range : Medium-long
Power : Medium
Speed : Medium
Reload : Medium
Homing : Slight
description: Fires a beam of energy at opponents. Better than Pulse lasers and
the same level colors apply.
Strategy : Use it to take down or soften up opponents from a distance.
Notes : Nova Cat has 5 of these on it and they deal massive damage. You
can level heavy mechs within 15 seconds if using Nova Cat's
Lasers.

Name : PPC(Particle Projectile Cannon)
Range : Medium-long
Power : Weak-Heavy(variable)
Speed : Slow
Reload : Fast-long(variable)
Homing : Heavy
Description: PPCs are strange weapons. You hold down the trigger to power up a
charge and you lock onto an opponent and then release to fire your
bolt. Increased levels make the bolt look more fearsome and
bigger.
Strategy : If you suspect something is around the corner charge this up to
get an attack advantage. Note that PPCs overheat fast...
Notes : If you hold it for a prolonged period of time the aiming reticle
will start flashing yellow and then your PPCs will 'flare out.' If
you let go when the reticle is flashing yellow the bolt will show
some lightning eye-candy when it travels.

Name : Plasma PPC(Blood Asp and Star Adder assault mech exclusive)
Range : Medium-long
Power : Medium-Heavy
Speed : Slow-medium
Reload : Fast
Homing : Heavy
Description: Just a quicker and more rapid-fire version of the PPC. Though it
bears the same name, it is a completely different weapon when you
fire it. I dubb it "Purple death" ever since seeing a Blood Asp
in grinder fire several bolts at me at once. It fires purple globs
that have similar homing ability to the PPC. When it impacts it
explodes into a big mess of purple peices which may obscure vision
in multiplayer. Just like the PPC when it levels up, the purple
plasma will get bigger and look more intimidating along with more
plasma-splash pieces.
Strategy : Pepper opponents with these and be extra careful to not overheat
your mech.
Notes : Only used on the Blood Asp and Star Adder assault mechs in pairs.
Just because it's a PPC doesn't mean that charging it up is the
same. You have to fully charge it up if you want to fire.

Name : Gravity Cannon(Rommel Mk 2 tank exclusive)
Range : Medium-long
Power : Medium
Speed : Medium
Reload : Medium
Homing : None
Description: Just think of this as a Gauss Cannon that uses energy. The trail
is amber-colored and it fires fairly quickly using alternating
cannons. It comes with a Zoom view for snipers.
Strategy : Use it to take out distanced targets using the zoom view. If
facing a mech, use the zoom view and fire at the legs to trip
them.
Notes : Aim at the legs! Aim at the legs! Aim at the legs! Then pummel
them when they fall. It's only for the Rommel Mk 2 tank so this is
the better choice between it's two weapons.

==========
4. Ballistic Weapons
==========
These are usually fallback weapons or pre-attack. They don't generate as much
heat as with missiles or energy weapons yet their damage/reload times might be
a hinder. You should use them if you have overheated your mech and need some
weapon to keep on giving damage while you recover.

Name : Machine Gun
Range : Short-medium
Power : Weak
Speed : Fast
Reload : Fast
Homing : None
Description: Fires small rounds of bullets at enemies.
Strategy : Same as pulse laser. Use to finish off small/weak opponents.
Notes : Use it only if your mech has more than two.

Name : Autocannon
Range : Medium-long
Power : Medium-heavy
Speed : Very Fast
Reload : Medium
Homing : None
Description: Fires rifle-like rounds. It's power is determined by how far the
rounds travel. It does spread away from where it's going a little.
Just fire it off and watch the sparks. Higher levels present more
chances that enemy mechs will be knocked off their feet.
Strategy : Use it to soften up targets. Mechs might fall when hit.
Notes : These are only useful if you have 2 or more. The Wendigo has 5 on
it and it makes for a nice shotgun style weapon.

Name : Gauss Rifle
Range : Long
Power : Heavy
Speed : Very Fast
Reload : Slow
Homing : None
Description: Fires a metal slug, best to think of this as a sniper rifle. It
has a signature blue trail that gets larger when it levels up.
Along with the damage bonus when the Gauss Rifle levels up it has
more of a chance of knocking enemy mechs off their feet.
Strategy : Use this against anything. It's damage is good and is equipped on
several mechs. If a mech falls to the ground either pound it with
the Gauss or switch to a faster firing(or more powerful) weapon
to conserve the ammo you may have.
Notes : There can only be a max of two Gauss Rifles on a mech.

==========
5. Missile Weapons
==========
Missiles are very powerful either damage wise or in just sheer numbers. You can
use them for almost any kind of role. Missiles, however, generate massive
amounts of heat, so don't use them too much without cooling down.

Name : Crossbow Short-Range Missile(SRM)
Range : Short
Power : Weak-medium
Speed : Fast
Reload : Fast
Homing : Heavy
Description: These fire fast and can lock onto targets that are at a short
range to home in on them. Though be careful not to lock onto
targets that are too close and are below you. Level 2 you get two
times more Crossbow SRMs firing off at once and on level 3 you
fire 3 times more missiles.
Strategy : Missile spam opponents who are hard to hit.
Notes : Best against light mechs or against heavy mechs if using a hit
and run strategy. You can target multiple enemies.

Name : Hammer Missile(aka Warhammer)
Range : Short-medium
Power : Very Heavy
Speed : Very Slow
Reload : Slow
Homing : None
Description: A strange missile. You charge up its detonation timer and then
fire it at a mech. It's really powerful. Just make sure you aren't
too close to the target. The strange thing about it is that it
actually sticks to the enemy vehicles and land objects until it
explodes. Level 2 the rocket trail is red and on level 3 the
rocket trail is green.
Strategy : Use this if you have your opponent against the wall or in a narrow
bottleneck and get away. You can also have it prematurely detonate
if you don't have the timer fully charged.
Notes : The max amount any mech can have of these babies is 2. Yet 1 is
all you need to take out a heavy mech in a half a minute.

Name : Javelin Long-Range Missile(LRM)
Range : Long
Power : Medium-heavy
Speed : Slow-medium
Reload : Slow-medium
Homing : Medium
Description: Fires long range missiles that are slow but have some good homing
capability. Level 2 has yellow flare and level 3 has a red flare.
Strategy : Use for long distance attacks against groups.
Notes : Easy to dodge at any distance. You can only have up to four of
this weapon on any mech. Best to not use these unless the target
is stationary and/or very far away.

Name : POV Missile(Guided, turret exclusive)
Range : Long
Power : Heavy
Speed : Slow-fast
Reload : Medium
Homing : None(guided)
Description: Guided shells. You steer them just like any mech only that you can
only go forward and you are in the view of the missile.
Strategy : Only sneak into this when you have a target you want to kill.
Otherwise you would not like how a battle would turn out against
mechs.
Notes : You should NOT BE USING THIS FOR ANY REASON unless you need to
play a supporting role or on an event. You should slow down and
then speed up for moving targets or just speed up completely to
hit distanced targets. POV Missile controls are as follows:

====POV Missile Controls==========================================
== + L-stick up and down to speed up and slow down respectively.
== + R-stick to aim.
== + L-trigger to detonate prematurely.
==================================================================

Name : Mortar(Battle Armor exclusive)
Range : Varied
Power : Heavy
Speed : Medium
Reload : Fast
Homing : None
Description: The strangest weapon ever. The higher you aim the farther your
shot goes. The weapon also uses pressure sensitivity. The farther
you pull back the R-trigger the longer the distance you fire.
There is, however, a blue trail that can be traced back to you.
Strategy : Use this to bombard enemies from cover and to fire over most, if
not all, obstructions. You can fire off of buildings if you turn
180 degrees when you are attatched with the claw for surprise
attacks against mechs.
Notes : Not a very good weapon if you want to be accurate. Just make sure
you use this in conjunction with the Battle Armor's Jumpjet speed.

==========
6. Special/Misc Weapons
==========
These are just other weapons that don't fit into any other category. They are
usually fun weapons that have strategic use.

Name : Pilot Bombs
Range : n/a
Power : Medium-heavy
Speed : n/a
Reload : n/a
Homing : n/a
Description: Think of these as a kind of land mine. You get out of your mech,
fire to set one down and run away. FAR away.
Strategy : Lay them down someplace and hide in a place where you can see your
Bomb. Then remote detonate them to do lots of damage. They will
automatically explode if a vehicle/mech steps on it or stays next
to the bomb for five seconds.
Notes : These create one hell of a distraction when placed next to some
buildings and remote detonated. Just be sure there's a mech ready
just in case there are some 'technical difficulties.' Be aware
that the explosion radius is very, very large.

Name : Flamethrower
Range : Short
Power : Very weak(heats up enemy mechs while doing damage)
Speed : Slow
Reload : Continuous
Homing : None
Description: A flamethrower. It overheats both you and your enemy's mech, thus
not allowing them to use weapons. This is good if you have a
friend to finish off your enemy while you hold them.
Strategy : Get close, fire, and hope your friend can save your ass before you
overheat.
Notes : Very fun weapon. Just don't get too used to it as it overheats
your mech just as much as your enemy's.

Name : Lava Cannon(Ragnarok and Ymir assault mech exclusive)
Range : Short-medium
Power : Very Heavy
Speed : Slow
Reload : Slow
Homing : None
Description: Fires three Hammer Missile-resembling projectiles that are red and
very, very powerful if all three hit. They explode on impact.
Strategy : Get something trapped and into a bottleneck and watch the light
show. Just be sure to use this moderately since it tends to over-
heat your mech quickly.
Notes : Not a very good weapon for distance, it's best used on groups
since the Lava balls do carry along some good splash damage. You
could use it to level buildings that could be used for cover by
enemy mechs, although that might work against you.

Name : Flares(name unknown, seen only on Hellbringer)
Range : Close-Medium
Power : Medium
Speed : Slow-Medium
Reload : Medium
Homing : Medium
Description: A flare-looking projectile that makes a hissing sound when fired.
The range is slightly longer than that of the flame thrower. It
creates a small amount of heat and also heats up your opponent.
Strategy : Use it just like a Laser.
Notes : Fairly short ranged. Found on Hellbringers in pairs. Hellbringer
mechs are only found on the single player mission "I Hate Snakes."
Thanks to D Man for the information.

Name : Alpha Strike(found only on Heavy and Assault mechs)
Range : Close-Medium
Power : Extremely Heavy
Speed : Very Slow
Reload : none(one time use)
Homing : Medium
Description: A pulsating ball of light. It acts like a PPC where you hold the
fire button to charge and release. Very slow. Able to kill many
light mechs in one hit, or heavily damage stronger mechs. This
weapon will overheat your mech to the max and level down all your
weapons to level 1.
Strategy : Fire and hope it hits.
Notes : You need all of your weapons to become level 3. There is no reload
time. The reload time is only limited to how fast you can charge
all your weapons to level 3 by picking up powerups. This weaponn
can only be selected once all weapons are level 3. Specific info
on the Alpha Strike can be found in the Defensive Measures and
Special Abilities section of this FAQ.

==========
7. Defensive Measures and Special Abilities
==========
Defensive measures are actions activated by the click of the R-stick. I am
including them in this weapons guide because they can prevent or lessen the
extent of damage caused by weapons and provide extended strategic options. Yet
there are some abilities that are a bit different in activation that I will
also list here.

Defensive Armor Mods(DAM)
These armors provide decreases most damage against certain weapon types. There
are only 2 mods currently: Reflective and Reactive. (thanks for the corrections
Dahak)

Reactive Armor DAM(Yellow aura)
Decreases damage caused by ballistic weapons. Not missiles or special weapons.

Reflective Armor DAM(Blue aura)
Decreases damage caused by energy weapons. Not missiles or special weapons.

Active AMS(Anti-Missile System)
Destroys most missile-based weaponry and prevents splash damage. POV Missiles,
Hammer Missiles, and Mortars are unaffected. Doesn't affect PPCs or Plasma PPCs
either.

Target Jamming
Screws up enemy radar and prevents enemies from locking on.

Null Signature
Makes your mech invisible. If you fire weapons or generate heat, you mech will
be shown. Another affect is that if you are invisible you cannot be seen on
enemy radar. Perfect for snipers and flag runners.

Pink Shield
Only found on Ragnarok and Ymir. This is probably their best, and only, option
for defense. It sets up a pink(some say pink, some say purple) shield around
the mech that stays up for about 3 seconds before shutting down. When this
shield is on the mech you are using is practically invincible. If you turn on
the shields and a Warhammer missile hits it, the warhead will stop in midair
and float. (but be sure to take a few steps away) This is very useful in
battles against several smaller mechs and mechs that rely on missiles and
energy weapons. This seems to be unchanged from the first Mechassault game.

Jumpjets
Some mechs have these and some don't. This is vitally important to the Battle
Armor. It's jets triggered by clicking the L-stick and holding it. You can use
this to move from building to building or to dodge missiles/get around some
obstacles. You can also use them to peek over walls and fire off shots or to
soften a fall.

NeuroHacking(aka stealing, jacking, etc.)
Only for the Battle Armor. If you Jumpjet next to an enemy mech and use your
claw you will attatch to their back. You then have to press some given buttons
in order to eject the pilot. Once you've done so you will be able to use that
mech. Note that you can be fought off by the pilot.

Alpha Strike(Several assault mechs)
If you have Level 3 energy weapons, ballistic weapons, and missiles you are
given the option to use Alpha Strike. Yes, I said Level 3 on ALL of the weapons
on your mech. One you've got Level 3 on all weapons, you are notified that you
can use Alpha Strike. You basically use it as a weapon, using L-trigger to
cycle to and from it and R-trigger to charge and fire it just like a Plasma PPC
although it takes alot longer to charge up. It takes around 8 to 10 seconds to
charge up. After you do, lock onto a target and fire. It will send a huge ball
of death to greet whatever is in your sights. It's able to kill some medium
mechs in one hit and several grouped up light mechs since the blast radius is
somewhat large. There are only two downsides: 1) Your mech is overheated to the
max for 4 seconds and 2) All your weapons will be downgraded to level 1. But
the tradeoff is worth it if you are in a losing battle and want to even the
odds. Although you better hope you don't miss.

==========
8. Strategies and Tips
==========
There is some strategies you should learn if you want to play, in order to stay
alive in multiplayer and campaign. Send an email if you have any more to add to
this section: [email protected]

Circle strafing
You strave to the right and look to the left(and vice versa) around a target to
keep the target object inside the crosshairs. This is a basic technique that is
useful in open areas. It is useful on VTOLs and smaller, faster mechs.

Use the environment to your advantage.
You should use cover if you ever want to be a successful player. Hiding behind
buildings or using terrain to hinder your opponents movement can be effective
in slowing down a war machine. Lighter mechs, especially the Battle Armor, are
very versitile. You should use the Battle Armor's claw to hook to the sides of
buildings for surprise attacks and use its jumpjets to climb and jump over
obstacles.

Heat Meter
Watch the heat meter on the left side of the screen. You should try to keep
the bars to under 50% heat most of the time. Otherwise you may find yourself
overheated and unable to use weapons. To avoid so, switch out your missile or
energy weapons for ballistic weapons and retreat until you find the heat meter
is at an acceptable level.

Jacking Tips
When you jack enemy mechs, make sure you either make a mad dash to them or
sneak up on them when in Battle Armor. Don't do it in a firefight unless you
are double teaming someone. If you jack a mech and decide to take it, get in
and step on your Battle Armor to prevent the other players from jacking you.
Don't try jacking people if they have a blue DAM aura or yellow DAM aura.
(thanks for the correction Dahak)

Anti-Jacking Tips
If you have a DAM system and you are being hacked or think you are about to be,
just activate your DAM system and it will prevent you being hacked and eject
anyone who is trying to hack you.

Don't always rush for health (submitted by [email protected])
"Don't always rush for health if you see it. Lets say you just fought a
Light/Medium class mech and you only lost 2-3 bars of health. Only get it if
your health is around the middle or lower. If you then take it when your health
is only about 1 bar lost and a Heavy Class mech comes, you will be dominated."

Anti-Jacking, watching each other's back (submitted by [email protected])
"If you have a friend in a power armour use the claw on a friends mech he can
act as a turret and prevent others from jacking the mech."

Pilot Minefield (submitted by [email protected])
"Also the piolet mines can be set infront of a base (one per piolet) and act
asproixy mines to soften up lighter mechs easly to help defend a base in the
base wars mode."

Running full speed with boosters (submitted by Stormy, [email protected])
"I figured out a way to get full speed when driving a mech with boosters.
Simply u boost enough to get a little bit in the air, then you drop to the
ground and then you're at full running speed again."

Using the environment to your OPPONENT'S disadvantage
Some players don't know this, but standing on or under a bridge during a battle
is the worst thing anyone can do. Once that bridge is destroyed, any mechs that
are under or on the bridge are heavily damaged/destroyed. Also, don't stand on
or be touching a building when it topples as it will produce the same effect as
a bridge. What you should do is heavily damage buildings and bridges with extra
gunfire so that you can destroy them when an opponent is on/near/under them for
some really painful results. Pilot bombs are particularly useful for this sort
of thing as you can remote detonate them or just leave them in the middle of
the bridge, waiting for some mech to step on them.

Aim for the legs!
When you lock onto an opponent, all the guns you fire will instantly track the
torso of the opponent, not the legs. It's a little known fact that the legs of
mechs have MUCH weaker armour than the torso. But it's a pain just to try and
hit the legs. There are only four weapons capable of attacking the legs. First
up are Pilot bombs, they are placed at ground level and do heavy damage because
they attack the legs. Second is the Gravity Cannon, if used with the sniper
scope, can attack the legs. Third comes the powerful Warhammer, where you can
aim at the ground near where your opponent's moving and have the timing right,
blow up/stick onto their legs. Lastly is the Mortar on the Battle Armour. It's
very strong and it doesn't lock onto targets. Attacking the legs can be very
devastating, so try to use this tactic whenever you can.

==========
9. FAQ
==========

Q: How long did it take you to make this FAQ?
A: Two days worth of playing and writing and playing. That's about 3 after I
got this game. I will update occasionally.

Q: Do yo have XBOX Live?
A: No, not yet. Probably never will.

Q: What's your favorite Mech?
A: In Mechassault 1 it used to be the Bowman(I think, was it the one with the
dual Warhammers?) and the Uziel or anything with dual Gauss Rifles.

In Mechassault 2: Lone Wolf, I love the Battle Armor, the Nova Cat, and the
Wendigo for their 5x of Lasers, 5x of Autocannons, and jacking ability. Also
because they are versitile.

Q: Why don't you have <insert weapon/ability from XBOX Live download here>?
A: I don't have XBOX Live, and therefore I cannot download the special mechs
that are on there. Please, don't spam me with flames. Most of this guide is
aimed towards offline gameplay and has weapons/abilites that you will use
throughout single player and system-link/splitscreen multiplayer.

Q: Can I use place this guide on my website or in my FAQ or copy something from
it?
A: Yes, you can now. Just zoom down to the legal below.

==========
10. Credits
==========
[email protected] - For a useful tip on when to get health.
Dahak([email protected]) - Several corrections for the DAMs and jacking
James Roth([email protected]) - Tips on anti-jacking and Pilot Minefield
Stormy([email protected]) - Tip on running with mechs with boosters
D Man([email protected]) - Gotten information on Flares and Hellbringer

==========
11. Legal
==========
Readers may reproduce, redistribute, correct and laugh at this document and
information within. Optional courtesy to credit this FAQ, the users who
contributed to this FAQ (under Credits) and to enjoy life.