Alien Swarm Strategy Guide
v1.0
PEDEG
19th July 2015
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Content
=======
1. Introduction
2. Strategies
2a. Weapons loadout
2b. How to use your weapons and fists
2c. Location, location, location
2d. Use your tech
2e. Where does it hurt?
2f. There is no I in Team but there is ME...
2g. I find it so hard to spell miscellany
3. Contact, Disclaimer and Yada-yada
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1. Introduction
===============
I love this game. I have played hundreds of hours on it.
Some of you may have come across me with my nic Blood Rage.
I have my highest number of friend request of all my games
on Steam. It is a fun game.
I have no problems playing with beginners to 100+ hours
veterans. Some may have a problem playing with me. This is
because I sometimes appear to be not taking the mission
seriously as I set myself handicaps depending on mission
difficulty; so don't be surprised to find me throwing off
all weapons at the start and go full kung fu fighting
mode in normal difficulty. Often I play medic without
healing kit or medgun because I like killing bugs and I
heal only with discarded healing tools from the other dead
medic.
I don't like using jump because I like to get down and
dirty covered in alien slime. The reason I still play this
game is not so much the warmth I feel surrounded by circle
of friends. No, it is something more basic - I like
killing the swarm, lots of it, and quickly too. My aim is
to push my kill rate to over 1200 per hour. So you will
find me rushing headlong into the fight.
My favourite weapon is the chainsaw which has the second
highest kill count after the vindicator in my weapon
history.
I think using flamer when not a medic or in maps without
parasites are for @$&*%es.
I am late as usual in coming out with guides but I felt
what the hell, I still come across players who have little
understanding of tactics and strategies, even those with
the 6th promotion medal. This is the main reason for this
guide. I will also stick to Jacob's Rest campaign and make
some general recommendations.
This guide will continue the tradition of PEDEG's bare
bones no frills guides.
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2. Strategies
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2a. Weapons loadout
+++++++++++++++++++
The rules of weapon loadout are simple:
2a1. Choose weapons suitable for the mission
--------------------------------------------
Jacob's Rest
Any weapon will do. Heck, you can even run around without
any weapon because the drones come in small groups. Try it.
Cargo elevator
Preferably use a weapon that can kill (not simply delay) a
large bunch of drones. This is because a swarm of drones
will block your way and leave you open to getting bitten
in the butt. There are some players who opt for the run as
fast as you can down the long corridor but this will cause
problems to your team mates who can't catch up as they
would trigger all the aliens to appear up front.
Deima Surface Bridge
Most weapons can be used safely here because the aliens
tend to come from predictable directions. Would not
recommend going full kung fu fighting due to large masses
of drone.
Rydberg Reactor
Ammo conservation or ammo packs are recommended. This is
because there are more higher hit points aliens like the
boomers and rangers. My favourite loadout for this map is
the chainsaw because it has unlimited ammo and can take
down the door to get a 100 initial ammo flamer, sentry
turret and another chainsaw.
Syntek Residential
All weapons can be used effectively but I would recommend
the chainsaw to cut down the locked door and you can have
an easy ending if you know where to stick it up in the
elevator room. Another weapon I would recommend is the
sniper rifle which can shoot through doors so you don't
have to open the locked door and this map is good aiming
practice for running around with a sniper rifle. The
grenade launcher can destroy the eggs in the locked room
without opening the door if you know where to aim.
Sewer Junction B5
Preferably a weapon that have high damage or flamer. This
is because you can get easily surrounded and would need to
clear a way out while a flamer would easily delay the
aliens for you to run past them. You can watch speedrun
techniques for this map using any explosives such as
grenade launcher, assault rifle grenades or grenades which
would clear all the parasites. Freeze grenades is also
very useful for speedrun.
Timor Station
Preferably high damage weapons, weapons that can kill
large numbers fast and the chainsaw. This level has a
good mix of all alien types from low to very high hit
point aliens. Killing high hit points aliens fast will
make this level easier. Chainsaw is useful to break down
rocks and doors. Grenade launcher in particular is very
good from the word go but watch out not to use up your
ammo too quickly.
2a2. Choose weapons suitable for the mission difficulty
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Easy and normal
You can try any weapon or carry no weapons. All marines in
these 2 difficulties will be able to kill a drone with a
single punch.
Hard
Aliens have more hit points. Only Vegas and Jaeger can kill
drones with a single punch. Yet all weapons can still be
used effectively as individuals but you will need to start
recognising the need to select weapons based on the loadout
of your team mates.
Insane and Brutal
There are more higher hit points aliens and parasites in
insane and brutal. I would recommend high damage weapons if
you plan to stay in a group or else the aliens will block
your path. In easier levels a flamer is sufficient to kill
drones with a few shots but in insane and brutal they take
longer to die with flamer and will amass often becoming a
wall of fire that you can't pass. You can combine flamer
with another marine who can blast the drones apart. It is
important to consider your loadout based on your team
mates' loadouts.
2a3. Consider your team mates' loadouts
---------------------------------------
Try to come out with combinations of loadouts. Examples
below:
My favourite combo is flamer or tesla cannon with chainsaw.
Both the former weapons slow the enemies and chainsaw will
kill them all. This works in brutal.
You will need to consider a combo to cover both front and
rear of your squad in long coridor missions.
2a4. Choose loadouts suitable for onslaught mode
------------------------------------------------
Onslaught mode brings surprises such as shield bugs and
parasites. Always equip counters for them. A general
recommendation would be to carry electric armour in
onslaught mode and a weapon that can kill multiple enemies
quickly to counter the occasional drone swarms.
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2b. How to use your weapons and fists
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I recommend you try using all the weapons to get a feel of
how much damage they cause, what is the firing rate, what
is the reload speed, how easy to swivel and aim, spread of
fire, the weapon range and friendly fire damage.
2b1. Know your damage
---------------------
High damage weapons (vindicator, shotgun, grenade
launcher, chainsaw) are good to open up the way. They are
most effectively used by those who lead up front. They
also the best weapons to use against high hit points
aliens.
Medium damage weapons are alright generally because they
often have high fire rate (autogun, minigun, PDW, assualt
and prototype rifles, fast reload (PDW and twin pistols)
and useful secondary fire (assault & prototype rifles).
Low damage weapons like flamer and tesla cannon are good
for running around or supporting other team mates. Marines
with speed bonus use them best.
2b2. Spread the fire
--------------------
Hitting an alien with any weapon will temporarily stun them.
So if you are face with a large mass of drones from one
direction you should spray your bullets in a wider arc to
hit as many of them as possible buying yourself time to kill
them with later shots. This is the primary way to use the
autogun and minigun. This principle also apply when using
chainsaw or any high rate of fire weapons.
2b3. Aim, aim, aim
------------------
Aiming is very important as it saves ammo, minimise
friendly fire and make you appears less of a newbie. The
way to aim effectively is to place your aim cursor on the
target. This will even allow you to hit targets on
different height levels.
Weapons with low rate of fire like vindicator, shotgun,
sniper rifle and rail rifle requires careful aim. These 4
weapons can kill multiple aliens in a shot and I would
recommend you practice lining up your targets to get multi
kills are often as possible.
Flamer does not need careful aim due to it's large flame
spread and is a favourite of players who are bad shots.
2b4. Short range weapons
------------------------
Short range weapons require you to hold back and fire at
close range. I would suggest you learn to do the side step
to avoid getting hit by the drone. Side stepping will make
the drone miss or force them to slow down to turn.
2b5. Everybody does kung fu fighting
------------------------------------
Melee is a very useful skill. It saves ammo. It allows you
to kill the isolated one or two drones while you reload. It
gives you bragging rights after you punch out a shieldbug.
There are 3 types of melee. The first right click would
give you a punch which has the shortest range. The second
click gives you a kick which has a slightly longer reach
and can be aimed at a different direction from the punch
allowing you to kill aliens from 2 directions one after
the other. The third click Is the two handed slam which
has the largest area of damage but has a big drawback of
moving your forwards and longest recovery time.
In real terms, I mainly use the punch and kick and avoid
using the two handed slam. You will need to practice the
timing of the recovery time especially for the punch
because if you click too soon you will get a kick and
remain stationary. This is bad when you need to get closer
to the target first. What I tend to do if I have one punch
one drone kill powers is to punch one drone at a time
while moving about unless there's two of them coming from
different directions where I would do the punch and kick
combo.
You can even punch a harvester dead safely if you punch at
it's axis of rotation as this is where the small bugs
spawn. Using a chainsaw at this spot will safely kill the
harvester without causing harm to you.
I include chainsaw here because it is somewhat a melee
weapon. It receives damage bonus from melee damage bonus.
Chainsaw has a little start up lag time so you need to get
used to it to time your fire.
Continuously holding down your fire with a chainsaw will
slow your walking speed. But if you time your fire well,
you won't notice much of this slow down and in fact other
will struggle to catch up when you are leading.
It is counter intuitive yet preferable to go towards the
drone when using a chain saw. This is because the drone
have a longer range of attack when they leap. So running
backwards with a saw is useless.
Always remember to combine movement skills such as dodge,
side step, quick swivel with any melee action. This is
because the drones which are the biggest threat in melee
combat can miss their attack and slow down before they
attack.
The priority target in melee combat are drones. They have
mobility and cause moderate damage. Kill them first before
going for others.
It feels great to punch a parasite in mid air but it is
often by luck rather than great aim. Still feels great
though.
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2c. Location, location, location
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is where inexperienced players tend to fail big time.
They fail to recognise the strength and weaknesses of
their location and tend to try and fight their way out
from the word go.
First thing you need to do is to recognise the weapons you
have and what sort of cover it can provide. Then find the
location where it can best be used. One marine with all
the weapons available cannot effectively defend a
relentless attack from multiple sides. But one marine with
the right weapon can kill scores of drones if he can get
the aliens to come from one direction.
So always cover your backs. Use the walls to minimise
direction of attacks if you need to. It is possible to
just stand in a corner and hold down the chainsaw fire
and swiveling the saw in front of you to kill all the
drones coming at you.
Identify defensive positions, get the whole squad to rush
to get there and defend there.
Do not choose a defensive position where the enemy comes
at you from multiple directions such as the hack room in
Deima surface bridge.
Identify locations where strategic mines or turrets can be
placed.
Turrets chould be placed where it can cover the entrances
but be warned that the turrets are not much use against
high hit points targets as it can lock on the high hit
points target and miss all the rest.
Fire mines are great to cover your back as they
last long and can cover the whole path of the aliens.
Tripmines are great as traps.
Tesla sentry coils should only to stun aliens and you still
need to kill them fast because the sentry coils have low
ammo.
It is preferable to plan your route so that your team mates
won't get confused and dispersed. However all the Jacob's
Rest campaign map is unidirectional and unlikely to get
lost in. However marines could still end up isolated if
they move at different speeds. I would recommend selecting
checkpoints along the way so that most of you would meet up
at a spot before progressing to avoid isolating marines.
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2d. Use your tech
+++++++++++++++++
The tech is the yellow suited guy. He is very useful. Keep
him alive or else you will fail some missions if the tech
dies before completing whatever the tech was suppossed to
do.
It is advisable to have a tech that can fast hack as
sometimes starting a hack would trigger a mass alien
assualt with unending drones.
Techs also weld and unweld doors faster though in practice
there is little need for welding or unwelding. Also you do
not need to completely weld the door to shut it. Just the
briefest of weld will do to block the door.
The most useful thing about the tech is their motion
detector. If you have a tech in the team, it would pick out
aliens as red blips on the minimap on the bottom right of
the screen. Glance at it once a while to have an idea if
there are aliens around you. This is very useful in
onslaught mode or in maps with parasites as you can often
see the parasites on the minimap and prepare for it. It
also shows the spawn site of the onslaught mode swarm.
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2e. Where does it hurt?
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Medics are good to have but not essential in all missions.
If you know how to avoid getting hit, then who needs a
medic? Electric armour will take care of all your parasite
fears if you use it before the parasite jump on you.
But if you need a medic... well, mobility is very important
as a medic. You need to be able to rush about healing your
team mates. This is where a flamer would be useful.
It is recommended not to heal yourself with the medgun
while there are drones rushing up to you. Healing with a
medgun will slow you down and in difficulties hard and
higher the drone will cause damage faster than you can
heal yourself. So either kill the drones first or carry
equipment that can kill, slow or main the drones while you
heal.
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2f. There is no I in Team but there is ME
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Try to develop an awareness of what your team mates are
doing especially when there is a mix bag of experience in
the team. Playing solo may be fun but let's be honest,
there are other better single player games than this.
Often I end up the last remaining marine and it gets
lonely. Nevertheless, I would advice less experienced
players to watch how more experienced players play. This
is how I learnt in this game.
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2g. I find it so hard to spell miscellany
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2g1. When unsure what to use
----------------------------
When I am unsure what loadout to carry especially on a map
I have never come across, I often equip a weapon which has
high damage and a second weapon which has a supportive role
such as a flamer, prototype rifle or tesla cannon. I would
equip electric armour just in case there are parasites.
2g2. Friendly fire sucks
------------------------
Friendly fire sucks.
2g3. Health bonus equals longer play time
-----------------------------------------
Speed is not essential. Play using marines with health
bonus and you will have longer playing time by a few
seconds in the worst case.
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3. Contact, Disclaimer and Yada-yada
====================================
My steam nic is Blood Rage. I am contactable at
[email protected].
This guide is copyrighted 2015 to me. I expressly permit
GameFAQS to publish this guide. You can reproduce in it's
original formthis on your websites as long as I receive full
credits. You are not allowed to make monetary gain from this
guide.
Yada-yada.
