A Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain Online Tips and Strategies for the Playstation2 by justanormalgamer arrules@hotmail.com August 8, 2004 Version 1.0 This FAQ is copyright justanormalgamer 2004. This may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1: Intro ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The possibly last installment of the Syphon Filter games also happens to be the first to feature online play, where a maximum of 4 players can play simultaneously in a co-op game. Players can, for the first time, complete objectives together while communicating with each other through an USB headset. Most importantly, the game’s online mode gives players access to certain objectives that were not possible to be completed offline. While the game producers had probably done this intentionally to encourage players to get online, many who have no online access were annoyed at the inability to fully complete the game. Online mode has its own problems as well. The even tighter online par times can be very frustrating to attempt when not all players in the team are familiar with the level. Sometimes, online-only objectives catch offline players by surprise, presenting them with new challenges. What this guide attempts to do is to give you tips and strategies for online play of Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2: Contents ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1: Intro 2: What you’re reading now 3: Version History 4: Tips 5: Level-specific Online Strategies (5-01) Carthage, Michigan: Quarantine Zone (5-02) Carthage, Michigan: Warehouse District (5-03) Carthage, Michigan: Carthage Mall (5-04) Mazyr, Belarus: Krivorozhstal Mill (5-05) Mazyr, Belarus: Belaya Vezha (5-06) Sana'a, Yemen: Taherir Palace (5-07) Tokyo, Japan: Murakawa Tower (5-08) Taguang, Myanmar: Irawaddy Basin (5-09) Kiev, Ukraine: Chechen Terrorist Base 6: Miscellaneous 7: Credits ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3: Version History ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 5-8, 2004 (Version 1.0) A few segments here and there and eventually compiling them all up. First released version. Next updates (if there are going to be any) would probably be reader contributions. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4: Tips ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -If you’re reading this guide, I’m assuming you have already known the basics of the game. In fact, I encourage all players to at least complete a level offline once before attempting the same level online. It gives you a basic understanding of the level layout and where you have to do what. A lot of games are ruined by players who have no idea what they’re doing, especially when going for par. Please save us the trouble and play offline mode first. -As true as it is, the chances of you not getting kicked out of games and/or not getting team killed are pretty much nullified if you have a headset. It is very frustrating to attempt to go for par only to have a player without a headset entering the game. Sure, the game comes with its own communication system, but very few, if any, use it. Certain players defend their case by stating that if they know what to do on the level, a headset would be unnecessary. However, that is not true. Without the ability to communicate with each other, there would be no plans on who would do what, and valuable time may be wasted with a player attempting to complete an objective that a teammate has already completed. -Surprisingly, this game’s online community is the most newbie-friendly I’ve seen. If a newbie comes into a room that is trying to go for par and has no idea what to do, he’ll probably be asked politely to leave than being flamed non-stop. Likewise, do yourself a favor. If you can’t contribute to the team, please save everyone the effort and leave. -I may be rambling by now, but by no means should you act like a jerk and start team killing or intentionally failing objectives for your enjoyment. Sure, games are meant to relieve stress, but that won’t stay true if the said team you are in are trying to achieve par or something else. If you want to do that, find a game where the other players just want to find something new to do and won’t mind your actions. For instance, I once had an online game of Tokyo where I attempted to achieve 0 deaths. Things were going very smoothly, and we even achieved par for our efforts. Unexpectedly, just before the mission is completed, a player decided that he wanted to find something to do while the helicopter lands, and proceeds to throw Sarin gas all around the helipad, effectively killing all of us and putting all my efforts to waste. Needless to say, I was irked. -When you have finished equipping your weapons, make sure to change your status to ready so the host knows that you are. Oftentimes players tend to keep their status at equip even when they’re ready, misleading the host to think that he shouldn’t start yet. -If you’re the host, please do not start the game until everyone is ready. It is very bad etiquette to start the game when players are still equipping. Even if the team was not trying to achieve anything, it is a very impolite thing to do. Also, here’s a helpful tip that not many people know. If you’re the host of the game and everyone is ready, press the start button twice to immediately start the game without the 10 seconds wait. -If you’re the host, most likely other players will ask you for the game plan. It will look stupid if you host a game not knowing what to do on the level. Organize the team and divide the tasks equally, and change plans around if another team member has a better idea. -Learn to compromise. If the team is trying to achieve par, do not run around knifing enemies to get your ratings up. Most players that try to get their ratings up often do so in Carthage 1, and you’ll find a lot of games just for that purpose. Likewise, don’t expect the team to help you achieve par if they’re going for a rating game. Granted, some players might help you do so, but don’t expect everyone to act the same. -Learn how to use the minimap to mark waypoints. This will greatly help in later levels, both offline and online. -Don’t abuse the communicate feature of this game. Since only one person can talk at a time, keep whatever you have to say to a minimum. Don’t use it to chat to your friends or for meaningless banter, since another player will have to wait for you to finish talking before he can say what he needs to. -This game has the nasty habit of forcing you to listen to your superiors talking once the mission is completed, adding as much as a few extra seconds to a minute, depending on the level. For this reason, you might want to complete the mission with some time left in the clock. -If you mess up, admit. Don’t just leave a game without saying a word or keeping quiet. -If you’re the host of a ratings game, it should be noted that if you leave, the other players would not be able to continue. For this reason, don’t host a ratings game if you plan to stay in the game for only a short period of time. Announce to the other players that you’re leaving before you do so. -Please don’t mess around with grenades and grenade launchers if you don’t know what you’re doing with them. Explosives are the only way you can kill a teammate and using a grenade launcher in, say, Belarus 1 won’t really be a great idea. -If you have a high rank, don’t come into a game bragging about it and start commanding the other players. That’s bad etiquette and you’ll most likely be flamed if you mess up. -Sometimes, there would be players looking to borrow (commonly) grenade launchers and gas grenades to boost up their ratings. If you have the aforementioned weapons, give them a hand and join their game, dropping it to let them use it. You can then leave the game if you like, providing you’re not the host. That’s about all the general tips I can think of. Sure, it’s long, but it’s helpful. Stage-specific tips would be in the next section. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5: Level-specific Online Strategies ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- As I said, I assume that you have finished these levels at least once offline, and won’t be giving explicit directions to areas. ***************************************************************************** (5-01) Carthage, Michigan: Quarantine Zone ***************************************************************************** Team Par: 7:00 If you’re going for ratings, leaving an area and coming back would usually regenerate the enemies. Get your own area and don’t steal your teammates’s. Par-wise, this level is easy once you get the hang of it. I’ll use the codenames (Cobra, Python, Viper, Dragon) for easy reference to the players. When the level starts, Cobra and Python should help each other up the truck to get the C4, although only one is needed once up. Viper should protect the CHA officer while Dragon retrieves a bio-data gear and standby the water main. The player who goes back down after helping the other up the truck should signal to Dragon when he’s at the entrance of the bank, after which Dragon should turn the main. When the laptop is retrieved, the CHA officer should be successfully saved. The player with the C4 (I’ll use Cobra) goes after Proust, while the other 3 gets their bio-data gear and goes through the level using the conventional route. Dragon should have a head start, so he should collect the second water sample (the first one can be collected by anyone). Viper gets the duty of protecting the two CHA officers at the bank, while Python collects the third water sample and the tissue sample. Since Dragon would reach the area with the fourth CHA officer first, he gets to protect him. Viper and Python can run straight for the tissue scanner and power generator. If Python can handle the incoming enemies himself, Viper and Dragon should run ahead and collect the rest of the water samples, as well as protecting the last CHA officer. Alternate strategies: It is debatable if it’s faster for one player to run ahead and protect all the CHA officers while letting the other players collect the water and tissue samples. The time difference won’t be very big, but you might want to give it a shot. Python doesn’t have to get the CHA uniform to collect the water sample. The CHA officer near where the tissue sample is can be dealt with by throwing a few smoke grenades at his area or stunning him with the Stun Jack. Cobra doesn’t have much to do after he kills Proust since the rest would be far ahead of him. Certain players like the idea of him collecting the bio- data gear and making his way to the fifth water sample backwards. (There is a power switch that he can turn off on this side as well) ***************************************************************************** (5-02) Carthage, Michigan: Warehouse District ***************************************************************************** Team Par: 5:00 If you need some frag grenades to boost your grenade rating up, this is the stage you’re looking for. Almost all of the enemies in this level carry frag grenades, so you shouldn’t run out. If you’re given the task of eliminating the ALA the conventional way, make sure to pack some grenades and/or weapons that pack a punch, such as the Jerico-41 or C8 rifle. If none of the team has such weapons, going for the C4 might be a wiser idea. This strategy goes for the C4 method. From the start, head straight until you hit a wall, and turn right. Cobra and Python heads straight to the train, while Viper and Dragon goes for the first left. While Cobra and Python boost themselves up the train to get the C4, Viper and Dragon goes down the stairs, turns right, left, up the stairs on the pump room, and let themselves be spotted. This way, the enemy with the viral container up above would fall down when he dies, eliminating the need for a player to reach his platform. In the case that he doesn’t fall, a player would have to go to the back of the pump room where he can climb up a platform and shimmy across a pipe to the aforementioned platform. However, said player would be under heavy fire, so it would be best if a teammate can give him covering fire. Assuming all goes well, Cobra and Python heads straight for the room with the furnace. Plant the C4 to wipe out all 4 ALA members in one blast, and climb up to the surface using the nearby ladder. This will put the both of them in close vicinity to the female ALA, who should be swiftly dealt with. Viper and Dragon goes for the other 2 viral containers, and climbs up to the surface using the ladder closest to the pump room. To their left would be the theatre, which Viper should enter and save the CHA officer inside, as well as retrieve Mujari’s recorder. Dragon should entertain himself by eliminating Fournier, explosives and headshots recommended. He would also be the closest to the location of the final objective. Run to the alley, climb up the ladder and take down the last few enemies to complete the mission. Alternate strategies: If not going for the C4, all 4 agents should stay together until after climbing the ladder on the pump room. One agent will stay down and get the other containers, while the other three climb up to the surface. One should deal with the ALA, another the theatre, and another Fournier. With explosives, taking out the ALA is simple. Wait at a spot on their route, and chuck a few grenades their way once you see them. Beware though, the death squad will split into two teams halfway through the building. Imani is invincible, so feel free to attempt to bring her down if you feel the need to. Of course, do this only after you’ve taken down the second ALA squad and are waiting for the mission to end. ***************************************************************************** (5-03) Carthage, Michigan: Carthage Mall ***************************************************************************** Team Par: 3:00 The first stage so far to feature a wildcard in the form of Masson. As far as I know, his starting location is random, and it might be quite tricky to get a headshot on him. Make sure to pack smoke grenades for this level. Whenever you are about to lock a door or disarm a bomb, throw some smoke grenades in the vicinity to blind the enemies and give yourself some extra time. Cobra and Python gets the duty of getting those SWAT officers to safety, while Viper and Dragon do the other stuff. From the start, have Cobra and Dragon head upstairs, while Viper locks the first door to the right and Python wait just before the overpass. Cobra carries the SWAT officer upstairs to safety, while Dragon disarms the bomb, giving a signal to Python when it’s done. Python gets the SWAT officer downstairs while Viper busies himself with the first bomb. Dragon proceeds to lock the two doors on the upper floor. Viper should be disarming the second bomb by the time both SWAT officers are safe. Have someone lock the remaining door on the first floor while the rest of the team head upstairs to prepare for the showdown with Masson. If you have good weapons, you might want to go for body shots coupled with manual aim. If not, you’ll have to resort to a good ol’ headshot, which might be a little bit tricky. Should Masson stand still and aim at you, throw a smoke grenade at your feet to make him remain stationary for a little bit longer while you line him up for that headshot. Either way, make sure the team works together to dispose of him quick. Alternate strategies: Some players are quick enough to rescue both SWAT officers by themselves. If you want to give it a shot, you’ll want to run ahead on the first floor straight to the SWAT officer, letting the bomb above explode. Once the first SWAT officer is safe, take the nearby elevator and quickly get to the other officer, carrying him to safety. The enemy with the grenades can be very dangerous, especially to the player disarming the bombs on the first floor. His threat can be nullified with smoke grenades, but make sure to quickly roll out of the way once you’re done, just in case a grenade is coming your way. The time limit in this one is quite tight, so you might want to ignore most of the enemies and roll past them instead. ***************************************************************************** (5-04) Mazyr, Belarus: Krivorozhstal Mill ***************************************************************************** Team Par: 13:00 Welcome to hell, or at least until you get a good team that knows what they’re doing. Workers are the sole reasons this level can be so hard to par online, and they’ll take a few times to get used to. I actually suggest not attempting to par this mission until you get a gun that kills in one shot. The Jerico-41 would be the easiest to obtain, so try to refrain from this level until you get it. If you have dual wield, all the better. Try to avoid using auto-aim on this level, and resort instead to manual aim. You don’t want to accidentally hit those workers. The most important thing to remember is: stay close to your worker at all times! This will prevent enemies from respawning if you stick close enough to them. Cobra is responsible for Dobranski, so have him turn left and follow the tracks. The little alcove containing the ladder to Dobranski may be tricky to spot, so use the map to your advantage. Stop moving once you’re up the ladder. If you don’t have a powerful weapon, line the guard closer to Dobranski up for a headshot, and quickly fire madly at the next two. Python gets all the other objectives to do, and escorts some workers on top of that. Have him dash for the cow carcass, and escort the first worker down to the elevator. Remember not to turn off the machine above the elevator! Once he is safely at the elevator, do not take him down. In fact, do not take any workers down until all 7 are at the elevator. This will save a lot of time on the long run. Speaking of workers, 4 soldiers will pop out once the first worker is safely at the elevator. Have Python take them out and run for the stacks, turning off the second machine along the way. He might want to use a sniper rifle to take the enemies at the stacks before climbing up and disarming the two C4s. Viper runs straight for the worker at the statue room, and saves him from the two soldiers at the beginning, as well as the other three that will pop up once the worker moves. Unfortunately, he takes the long route to the elevator. There is nothing we can do about that, so just escort him the same. In the coil room, he should meet up with Cobra, who has Dobranski with him, and Python, who goes for the worker in the coil room after he has completed his previous objective. All 3 agents should now team up and help each other escort their workers. Make sure to have someone turn off the third machine in the coil room. With all the fun the others are having, what is Dragon doing? He is in charge of the three outdoors workers, one being near the unopened gate, one hiding under the stacks, and one by the far end of the tracks, past the train with the C4. Recommended order is far worker, gate worker, and finally the stacks worker. If he is confident enough, he might want to take the gate and stacks worker together in one go, but it shouldn’t be necessary. However, do not go for either the gate or stacks worker first; those annoying snipers up at the stacks will snipe both you and the workers down. All 4 agents should rendezvous at the elevator, which should then hold all 7 workers. Have someone take them down, while another person turns off the machine above the elevator. Doing so triggers Zhidkov to get himself on a train out of there, so send someone to plant a C4, preferably Python who has 2 said explosives on his equipment. Note that this step can be done earlier in the game, but you should have more than enough time to do so now. Watch as the train explodes in all its glory and listen to Stone ramble for about a minute. Hopefully you’ll achieve par time for this annoying level. Alternate strategies: The crucial part of this mission, and also the main reasons of failure, is getting all the workers safely to the elevator. The three trickiest workers to escort are Dobranski, the statue worker, and the coil worker. All three of them have to go through the water tower of death to reach the elevator. For this purpose, Cobra, Python and Viper will have to help each other as they carry their respective workers to the elevator. There is a gate that can be opened in this stage, giving one worker a different route to the elevator. Said worker is supposed to be escorted by Dragon. Opening it might not be such a good idea, as the worker will have to go through the dark stairwell of infinite respawning cheapness. Not really a strategy, but the favorite hobby for agents to do while waiting for the train to reach the C4 is to stand on the tracks and get ran over/blown up. ***************************************************************************** (5-05) Mazyr, Belarus: Belaya Vezha ***************************************************************************** Team Par: 7:00 Tricky, tricky stage. The wildcard comes in the form of Ivankov’s papers, which can be in any one of 3 random locations and seriously screw up your par. On the bright side, it is actually very possible to achieve par with only 3 agents with the right equipment and planning. Dual Jerico-41s are very strongly recommended. Also, don’t bother with stealing an uniform; it’s useless and only serves to help confuse your teammates. When the level starts, run in the direction you are facing. Keep on that direction and you’ll reach the C4. Cobra takes one, blows the power station up, and heads after Python who had already taken a C4 and is heading for the bridge. On the way, have Python disable the AA tower and regroup with Cobra on their way to the bridge. Viper uses his C4 to blow up the communications truck, and then quickly runs back to get another one before turning off the gas main. Signal Cobra and Python when you have safely crossed the bridge so the both of them can blow it up. Blow up the Scud missile with your C4 before heading for the chateau. If there is a Dragon, he can entertain himself by retrieving his equipment and getting the sample. If there isn’t one, Python gets the job after blowing up the bridge. Cobra should climb up and enter the chateau with Viper, after which they should split up. Viper goes to check the piano room on the left for the papers while Cobra moves right and enters the kitchen through the window. Search the first attic, and if the papers are still not found, you might want to contemplate restarting. In the case that the papers are in the second attic, Cobra would have to kill Pulikovsky, climb down to Stone, and ignore him as he searches for the second attic while Viper unties Stone once the papers are recovered. Alternate strategies: Stone certainly likes to ramble in his old age, so you might want to untie him around the 6 minute mark. If there is a Dragon, Python can help search for the papers after blowing up the bridge with Cobra. Viper has to stay running all the time in this stage. As long as he ignores most of the enemies that come his way and roll like a madman, he should be able to cross the bridge by the time Cobra and Python starts shimmying over. Remember, dual one-hit-kill pistols are your best friend in this level. Considering most of the team is not getting their weapons back, all they have is their sidearm(s). ***************************************************************************** (5-06) Sana’a, Yemen: Taherir Palace ***************************************************************************** Team Par: 15:00 Sony Bend cuts us a little slack par-wise for this one, but unfortunately, a lot of people tend to screw up the first part of the mission. If you’re not sure on how to do it, please do let everyone know beforehand. It can easily be done by 2 agents and the time difference between doing it with 2 and 4 isn’t that big. Be careful with those dual sidearms when giving Zohar cover fire. If you’re using the Jerico-41s or other Desert handguns, one stray shot is all it takes to bring him down. Also, this level is the fan favorite for exploiting the grenade glitch (see section 6 below). It’s perfectly acceptable to attempt it while going for par at the same time, but please, please know where Zohar will run and avoid incapacitating/killing him. It seriously pisses people off when the end of the level is in sight and Zohar gets killed by a stray grenade. The tediousness of the level doesn’t help too. From the start, have 1 or 2 agents head upstairs while the other stay downstairs. After about 40 seconds have passed, the guard downstairs should have walked towards you and face the stairs. Stun Jack/throat slit/neck snap him. Meanwhile, the team upstairs should be faced with a guard on the balcony inside and another outside, both with their backs facing you. Do the same, and then stop. One, and only one, agent should attempt to eliminate the final guard. Wait for the correct time, and then sneak down (NOT jump) to the cage. Jump down to inside the cage, and give the guard the same treatment. Before grabbing your weapons, hit the switch and kick the gate open to let your teammates in. It is impossible for them to get inside, even when the switch is already activated. Save them the hassle and open the gate before retrieving your weapons. Remember to get both your handguns if you happen to pack both. Head upstairs, to the outside balcony, and let any 2 agents deal with the Scud missile. It’s a matter of helping each other up, pressing the Triangle button near the missile and completing yet another objective. Deal with the one guard near Zohar to get him running, and from there, simply shoot all the enemies you can see. Dual one-hit-kill handguns and the C8 rifle are recommended for maximum efficiency. Watch out for stray shots that might hit Zohar, and keep an eye on the minimap. If you see Zohar not moving, he might have been confronted by an enemy. Quickly see if he’s under attack and deal with it. When he reaches the extreme side that you can see from your balcony, he’ll tell you to regroup and heads inside. You now have some time to relax and move back to the area with the Scud missile. Zohar will soon join you and you’ll get to deal with more masked terrorists before the helicopter comes. Don’t stand too close to the railings or you might get blown up by the helicopter. Have one agent stand ready at the second corner, and the moment the helicopter stops moving and hovers near the destroyed railing, run as fast and unobstructed as you can towards it. Hopefully your agent makes the jump and completes the mission successfully. If you feel you can’t make the jump, stop, go back, and try again. The worst thing that can happen is that you fail the jump and automatically fails par. Now, if you happen to be playing this level for grenade ratings, there are some spots that I find most beneficial for me. Personally, I can’t seem to be able to use the glitch efficiently and rarely do I get more than 100 kills with it. Spot 1: After Zohar starts running, he will go all the way left before coming back and stopping near the little door near the closed gate. A few enemies will come out of it. Chuck a few grenades there. Spot 2: After Spot 1, Zohar will run inside a building and emerge on the top floor. He will retreat to the edge, and soon a few enemies will emerge from the door he came out from. Watch out for this one; throw your grenades a little early as Zohar will run to the very same door once all the spawning enemies are eliminated. Spot 3: The door on the ground floor to the right of the previous building. An enemy spawns there from time to time, and Zohar never crosses this area, so you can chuck without worries. Spot 4: After Zohar gets to your balcony and all hell breaks loose, watch the same door where the enemies came out of in Spot 1. A few masked terrorists will emerge sooner or later, and throw those grenades like you never threw them before. This is your best bet to amass a large amount of kills, and, if done successfully, will give you much more kills than the above 3 spots. Alternate strategies: Nothing much, really. ***************************************************************************** (5-06) Tokyo, Japan: Murakawa Tower ***************************************************************************** Team Par: 9:00 An adrenaline-charged intense action level, favorites of a lot of players. Par is easily achievable with the right division of duties and some very nice weapons. Viper and/or Dragon might want to pack some explosives on their repertoire, while I highly recommend the C8 rifle for Cobra and Python. Try to avoid dying, or at least try to die after triggering a checkpoint close to you. Cobra dying would really screw up par. From the start, have Cobra and Python run ahead to the tower while Viper and Dragon stays back to defend the helicopter. While it does take lesser time to complete the objective if all 4 agents are present, it works out better in the long run if Cobra and Python runs ahead first. The latter two takes out 3 Yakuza officers on their way to the tower, using body shots with dual handguns, headshots, or explosives. Make sure to warn your teammate first that you’re using explosives. It’s not a very nice surprise to be accidentally blown up first thing in the game. As always, have someone blow up the car to eliminate Matsua, and continue running towards the entrance. Python hacks the elevators while Cobra runs straight to the elevator. While the elevators can also be activated by defeating Ryusaki, the crazed security guard is best dealt with by Viper and Dragon, who should be heading for the tower as well by now. Cobra waits for Python to arrive, and they both take the LEFT elevator from their point of view, and head to the fifth floor. Sneak forward the moment the doors open, behind the first guard who is heading left. Crouch-walk all the way to the center area with the elevator switch, and down the second guard with one shot, before running for the switch. The first guard should be helpless to stop you. Remember not to press the alarm switch by accident! Viper and Dragon, meanwhile, gets the fun that is Ryusaki. If you have the MGL or the M79, run towards him, lock on and let rip. He should go down with one shot. Conventional grenades work too. Stalk him around corners, pop out, throw a grenade at his feet, and immediately roll behind cover. If all else fails, there’s always the good old headshot. Either way, make sure Ryusaki is dead, and then take the right elevator to the second floor. Start killing all the guards and the Yakuza officer on this level, and make sure to check for the tape as well. If they happen to be on this floor, it would be on the black cabinet propped against the outside wall of the inner room. Once the second floor is clear, head for the third floor. One agent should remain in the elevator while the other takes care of the solitary Yakuza. Then head for the fourth floor, eliminating the Yakuza officer who foolishly kicks the glass door open for you to shoot. Kill the other Yakuza officer as well, and check for the tape on the cupboard of the side room. Meanwhile, Cobra and Python heads to the sixth floor using the RIGHT elevator from their point of view. When you emerge, the guard may or may not spot you, but it shouldn’t matter either way. Have both agents run out with guns blazing, and take down the guard in front of you. Make a dash for the control panel and upload the data. Thankfully, you need not get 100% of the data to complete the objective. Ignore the other enemy and take the same elevator up to the 8th floor. When the elevator doors open, stay where you are and kill any guards you might see. This lobby has an annoying habit of respawning the guards as soon as you kill them, so make sure to stay alert. Press the switch behind the desk to open the left door, and head to the main office. If Viper and Dragon didn’t manage to find the tape, then it is here. Check the cupboard to the left of the dead body, and open the door using the switch behind the desk as well. An enemy will come out running. Kill him before he can stop, and continue on to the roof. The helipad is infested with enemies, so have both agents start firing the moment they step outside. Cobra should charge his way across to the service elevator and take it down to the lab, while Python heads up the stairs to the helipad proper and start eliminating all the enemies. He might die once or twice, but the last checkpoint is Murakawa’s office, so he should have no problems going back up for another go. Meanwhile, Cobra plants a C4 straight ahead of him once he gets off the elevator, and changes to the HAZMAT suit before decontaminating himself. SNEAK once the second door opens, and make your way to the open door on the right. Provided you stayed stealthy, the solitary enemy shouldn’t see you coming and would have no chance to close the door. Obtain the sample, and plant the other 2 C4s before taking care of the two enemies and going back up to the helipad. In the case that the enemy spots you and closes the door, you have to call Python down as well. One of you will have to activate the security override to force the door open, while the other rushes in and kills the enemy, obtaining the sample. Anyway, once all 3 C4s are planted, the last objective will commence. Python will get help from Cobra in clearing the last wave of enemies. Viper and Dragon, should they reach the helipad in time, helps out as well. Eliminate all the enemies to end the level. Alternate strategies: Players have a different way of dividing the duties. Some prefer everybody to help defend the chopper and others like the idea of having only two agents clear the building. Experiment a bit and see which arrangements you like. Achieving 0 deaths in this level may be a royal pain in the neck. Certainly attempting it online is easier than offline, but when you have so many enemies around you and time keeps on ticking, a death or two might be unpreventable. That is why I split the team so that each agent has a teammate with him most of the time. If you happen to get spotted on the fifth floor, run as fast as you can to the central area with the alarm and elevator switches. The second guard will be running to the alarm switch when you see him. Lock on and shoot through the glass to him, hopefully eliminating him before he can press the switch. Other than for eliminating Ryusaki and the Yakuza outside, I highly suggest not using grenade launchers and/or grenades anywhere else in this level. It might be fun to use, but it’s not exactly fun when your teammates get blown up accidentally. ***************************************************************************** (5-08) Taguang, Myanmar: Irawaddy Basin ***************************************************************************** Team Par: 8:00 The first time I play this level, I had no idea how I’m going to achieve par and 0 deaths, and probably you will too. However, run through it a few times and you’ll soon learn that it’s a pretty simple level. Dual Jerico-41s are a must. If you have the Desert Sniper, all the better. The C8 rifle is a good backup, although you might want to carry the MGL/M79 if you’re confident you won’t run out of sidearm ammo. When you start, turn around 180 degrees. Go to the main path and follow it, planting all the claymores during the process. When your team reaches the main bridge, split up. Have Cobra and Python plant the C4s on the main bridge, while Viper heads left to the solitary log bridge. Plant the C4 there, and then run back to the main bridge to rendezvous with Dragon, who should be planting C4s on the other 2 log bridges. Cobra and Python should be ambushed by a few soldiers. Take them out, and proceed to the camp. Than Muang will greet you with his M79. Have Python run ahead to the crash site and let Cobra deal with him. If he has a grenade launcher, use it against Muang. Otherwise, a little trickery would be needed. Hide behind a nearby tree, but don’t get too close to it. Make sure the tree is between you and Than Muang, and wait for him to fire at it. The moment he does, bum rush him and down him with body shots or a headshot. If you want, you can actually make him blow himself up by approaching him and having an obstruction stand between you. Once he is down, obtain the briefcase and destroy the radar. Continue to the crash site. Viper and Dragon should head for the structure with the flight data. Upon their arrival, the Metaglobal terrorist might or might not be there. If he is, kill him and pick up the letter. If he is not, boost yourself up the nearby wall and shimmy over to the flight data. By the time you get back down, the Metaglobal terrorist should appear if he haven’t already. Python heads for the hill which the plane crashed onto, and climbs up before dropping to the plane. Carefully climb down to the remains and approach Kim’s body to complete the objective. Cobra should have arrived by now, and have him pick up the viral tracking unit from the body before carrying the body back to the boat as fast as possible. The soldier with the viral container is running away, but have Viper and Dragon stand ready for him on the main path. Let the soldier cross the main bridge, and then take care of him. Pick up the viral container from his body, and then meet up with the other team. From then on, it’s just a matter of firing wildly at all the soldiers around you as Cobra makes his way back to the boat as fast as possible. Alternate strategies: Again, with the right weapons, this level can be done with only 3 agents. The agents responsible for the Metaglobal terrorist and flight data have the same duties, but the remaining agent must eliminate Than Muang, the radar, obtain Kim’s briefcase, find his body and carry Imani back to the boat. It’s best that he be equipped with a grenade launcher for this task. This level is the best time to start combining the auto aim and manual aim, if you haven’t already. See section 6 for details. ***************************************************************************** (5-09) Kiev, Ukraine: Chechen Terrorist Base ***************************************************************************** Team Par: 15:00 Forget Tokyo, this level wins the award of hardest level to not die on, hands down. The enemies here can rip you to shred within seconds, and respawns don’t really help to the cause. Ignore that point for now and embrace the fact that, when done properly, this level can be one of the easiest to obtain par on. There is plenty of time for you to complete your objectives, and even if you screw up, there’s still plenty more for you to make it up. Dual Desert Snipers and the C8 rifle is virtually a must in this level. If it is possible, have someone bring an MGL/M79 along with them. You want powerful weapons that can accurately hit their targets through locking on. Bring along some gas grenades too. When you start, run ahead all the way until the end before turning right. Savin will walk past you soon. Down him any way you like, and then split up. Three agents go through the door Savin came out from, while the unlucky remaining one head for the door left of the starting point. The sole agent will have to make his way to the opposite end of the building, where he’ll see a set of stairs opposite a door. Wait, and two agents will come running down the stairs. Take them both out, and get ready for a suicide mission. Kick the door open, lock on to Petrenkov on the rooftop, and fire madly. Try to take him down before they do, or at least injure him. If you die, you’ll come back a few steps from the door, so try again. Of course, you can gas him if you want. The other three agents should soon encounter Ushakov in his beloved tank. Toss a gas grenade his way and he’s down for the count. If you don’t have any, pray that you can get a quick headshot in, as the tank cannon and the snipers will make sure you won’t last for long. The sole agent should then take the set of stairs located in the first area of the level down, before taking the elevator down as well. Follow the corridor straight and ignore the forks. When you get to the room with the cargo elevator, turn around back to the direction you headed from. Go down the corridor and turn right when you can. At the end of this new corridor is Leonov along with a few soldiers. Rush down and let yourself get spotted, and then run back to the cargo elevator as fast as you can. Leonov will activate the cargo elevator and attempt to escape through the helicopter on ground level. Ignore him when his elevator reaches your level. Meanwhile, the other three agents should have already disabled the said helicopter after defeating Ushakov. Stone needs help, so shoot down all the enemies you see. It should be no problem clearing all the soldiers with three agents. Soon, the cargo elevator will arrive carrying Leonov and a few soldiers. If you feel up to it, you can gun all of them down, but there should be no need for that. He will attempt to escape in the helicopter and end up killing himself. Once all four lieutenants are down, have all three agents take the small elevator down while the sole agent call the cargo elevator to his level. The team should rendezvous and head for the third level on the cargo elevator. However, have someone send the small elevator back up and roll off quickly before joining the rest on the cargo elevator. Frankly, the third floor still pisses me off now. It is a small room with a vent to the side, as well as two guards ready to welcome you with a M79 and a C11, respectively. Some sacrifices must be made for this. Have the agent with the grenade launcher turn 180 degrees around from the direction he was facing when he activated the elevator controls. Another agent should be facing 90 degrees left of the previous agent’s directions. The other lucky two get to face the direction opposite of the second agent. Get ready to move out the moment it is possible to do so. The grenade launcher agent would find himself running towards a guard equipped with an M79, so be prepared to fire your own grenade launcher. Most probably, both of you will go down. The second agent would be greeted with a guard and his C11. Take him down quickly before he can kill you. The other two agents, meanwhile, should head for the vent that would be to their left, on the floor. Use your flashlights if you can’t see it. In the case that the grenade launcher agent fails to complete his task, have one of you run towards him in the hopes of making him blow himself up. Either way, the best case scenario would be having an agent(s) crawling through the vent. Head left on the fork and when you emerge, you would be in front of a computer with the Omega Strain DNA code. If any agents were killed, they should take the small elevator down back to level 2. Make sure to send it back up for other agents. Head back to level 2 once you’re done, and back to where Leonov was. Take the right corridor when you can, and you’ll eventually find Gabe waiting for you. A timer will start, and simply follow him to the silo, taking down any enemies along the way. Try not to die in this final stretch, as it will slow the team down. Shortly after taking the elevator up, you will end up in a room filled with boxes. Both sides of the room are identical, and there’s a white structure in the middle that you can jump on to cross. Remember this room well, as you will respawns here on the other side if you die. Advance from the aforementioned room and you’ll come across a huge closed door to your left. Have any two agents wait here, while the other two continue following Gabe. The latter will soon climb down to the ground and head for the service elevator on the other side. Do not follow him, however, and climb your way back up to the other side of the room. Follow the corridor and you’ll soon come across an opening to the left. By this time, the first door should be open, revealing identical twin platforms on both sides. Quickly boost a teammate up on both sides (the spot to do so is on the left platform, from your point of view). Try not to fall, but in the case you do, make your way back up from the spot where Gabe climbed down. Up there should be a switch. Crouch behind it and wait for the game to tell you that Gabe has finished hacking the guidance system. At this point, have both teams press their switches. If they can do both actions together before too much time is wasted, then you would have completed the final objective in the game. Congratulations! Alternate strategies: You’ll notice that an alarm will go off when you are spotted. I have no idea if it is possible to complete the level without it going off, so die-hards are welcome to try. You don’t have to help Stone carry Alima; he can successfully do that by himself all the time. Here’s a tip for 0 deaths: you don’t have to complete all objectives to complete a mission. You can even fail all of them and still have the mission considered complete. Use this knowledge to your advantage. For this certain level, the only objective that you must complete (or fail) is to eliminate the lieutenants and give Gave covering fire. The only problem with this would be the lieutenants. Savin and Ushakov is dealt with easily, as always. Leonov might give you a little bit of trouble, but just send yourself up to ground level and hide inside the building until he kills himself. You can even let him escape if you want. However, Petrenkov is a different story altogether. You certainly don’t want to face his own mini army, so what can you do? Remember the small elevator near where Savin starts? Take it down, and proceed through the corridor, this time taking the left path when it forks. You’ll reach a room with a cage in it. Head straight to a corridor and follow it to another room. This room has a lot of paths leading out of it, but the one you want to take is located on the wall opposite of where you entered. Be wary though, said door leads to a T junction with a bunch of soldiers. The room you’re in also has the nasty habit of spawning enemies right behind you, so keep an eye on the minimap at all times. Either way, safely get through the soldiers, and take the right path on the junction. Move along the walls to avoid getting hit, and take the elevator up at the end. Above, take the stairs all the way up, and start sneaking left. Turn right when you can, and you should see a door ahead of you. This door leads to the rooftop that Petrenkov is standing on. Watch for him on your minimap, and when he turns his back to the door, kick it open and pop him with a quick headshot before dashing back down the stairs and to the elevator. From there, it’s only a matter of approaching Gabe and starting the timer. Ignore him and find a safe spot where you can hide until the timer runs out. You’ll end the mission with 0 objectives completed, but hey, you (hopefully) got your 0 deaths. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6: Miscellaneous ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. The Gas Glitch: How to Get More Kills Than You Actually Have Spawning enemies are annoying, aren’t they? That might not be true when you discover how to exploit them. This glitch allows you to raise your grenade and non-lethal ratings up quickly, putting that M79/E.P.D.D. ever so closer to your grasps. What you do is pack Sarin/DormaGen grenades with you, and play a level where enemies spawn from inside doors. The best level for this is Yemen 2, as described above. How do you do it, you ask? Simple: just throw a gas grenade deep inside the door when enemies spawn from inside there, and all of them will be killed/knocked out. Check your stats. If you have done it correctly, you’ll see that you would have killed way more people with that gas grenade than you actually did. To recap: fill spawning areas with a gas grenade for as long as enemies spawn to rake in a lot of kills fast. Remember though, that this glitch can only work on doors and online. It does not work offline, sadly. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Combining auto aim and manual aim Auto aim lets you aim at the enemy without having to move a crosshair around. 
Manual aim allows you to make sure your shots land where you want them to be. 
Combine them and you get this baby: 100% guarantee that your shots will land 
accurately without having to use a crosshair.
As the name says, first lock on to an enemy. Let go of R1 and quickly hold on 
to L1. You’ll notice that the crosshair will be directly trained on the 
enemy. Fire a shot, and you can be sure that said enemy would have been 
hit/dead.
This strategy works best with one-shot-kill weapons, particularly dual 
Jerico-41s or Desert Snipers and the C8 rifle. It is guaranteed to work, and 
you can actually verify that fact. If the crosshair is green when you 
switched to manual aim, that means you are aiming at an enemy. You don’t even 
have to be able to see the enemy to do this. The best example would be 
Myanmar: 
Once Imani’s body has been carried past the river, multiple enemies would 
surround the team. If you are giving covering fire, lock-on, switch to manual 
aim, fire a shot, roll off to the side, and watch as an arrow on the minimap 
disappears. Once your agent is back in standing position, repeat the process 
again. You can easily wipe out a dozen enemies in about half a minute with 
this strategy, let alone with multiple agents.
This strategy _also_ works with weaker weapons. After you change to manual 
aim, hit the left analog stick back, and try to measure it so that your 
crosshair would be trained on the enemy’s head. Since the crosshair would be 
fixed on the enemy’s chest, you have to simple move it up a little to get a 
headshot. Completely no horizontal adjustment needed.
I highly suggest you get used to this method of shooting and use it as early 
as possible. Particular levels where this can really come in useful are 
Belarus 1, Yemen 2, Myanmar and Ukraine.

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3. Useless Information

My (now defunct) agents:
Nameless: T4
Random Name: T4

Most used weapons:
Dual Jerico-41s/Desert Snipers
C8 rifle

Favorite levels:
Carthage 3, short, sweet
Minsk, not as hard as everyone says after a few tries, and really intense

Most hated levels:
Montenegro, for its pure cheapness
Yemen 2, just for how tedious it is

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7: Credits
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GameFAQs: My salvation, and for having that awesome drive that trucks this 
site on after so many years. I’d probably stop being a gamer by now if it 
were not for the guides on this site contributed by so many other talented 
players. Long live GameFAQs.

Sony Bend: What an awesome sequel. Here’s hoping the Syphon Filter series 
will continue.

Me: For writing it out of sheer boredom.

You: For gracing the miserable existence of my guide. Please do contribute 
any way you can.

arrules@hotmail.com
August 8, 2004
Version 1.0

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