Tom Clancy's Splintercell: Blacklist - Tips for Beginners - by Reddwarf This guide is intended for those not only new to Splintercell Games, but new to shooter and stealth games in general. This does assume some general gaming experience, and is not a tutorial or a walkthrough. Also, this guide is intended for the PC version of the game, but most advice will apply to the console versions. I did not include detailed lists of gear as other resources already have that information, only some general advice based on my experience playing the game. Also, this guide only covers single player gameplay, not Spies vs Mercs. Table of Contents 01 - Money 02 - Challenges 03 - Gear Upgrade Basics 04 - Paladin Upgrades 05 - Difficulty 06 - Play Styles - Ghost, Panther, Assault 07 - Solo Mission Types 08 - Stealth - Staying Hidden 09 - Monkey Man - Using Sam's Amazing Acrobatic Talents 10 - Enemy Types 11 - Firearms 12 - Gadgets 13 - General Advice 14 - Conclusion 01 - Money Sam earns money to upgrade weapons, armour and the Paladin HQ in two ways: Missions and Challenges. Missions must be completed to get paid, while Challenge rewards do not necessarily require the completion of the mission to receive. I recommend that you divide your spending between the most important weapon and armour upgrades, and Paladin upgrades. For every Paladin upgrade your pay scale for missions improves, so future missions will pay more. If you have the deluxe digital version of the game, you will have weapon and armour upgrades that you should explore after the prologue mission. To earn money to upgrade the Paladin and buy weapons and gadgets, if you are having a hard time as a beginner, set the difficulty to Rookie or Normal, and redo the easiest missions over and over. You can repeat missions and get paid every time. For example, you could keep redoing "Safehouse", the first solo mission after the prologue/tutorial mission. The good thing about this mission is that there are many checkpoints. You can keep trying each section until you complete it and each time, you'll learn a bit and get more used to the controls. Plus, Safehouse pays pretty well. 02 - Challenges - Another way to earn money To see Challenges, access ShadowNet within the game (press Space to bring up the SMI and then TAB to bring up ShadowNet). Look through the list of Challenges, pick one and start a mission to achieve the goal and get the reward money. For each objective, there will be a suggestion for a mission that will help you achieve this objective. It won't always be the best suggestion. 03 - Gear Upgrade Basics The subject of unlocking gear and acquiring gear is a bit complicated. Some gear is available to unlock after purchasing another piece of gear, some is unlocked by purchasing Paladin upgrades, some is only available in Downloadable Content (DLC), and some is only available by doing a series of missions. One piece of advice I can give is that if you complete Grimm's 4E side missions that are not part of the main story, you will unlock the best stealth armour in the game. Each of these missions are stealth only. If you have to take out enemies, do it without alerting anyone else, though you can use lethal or non-lethal means. Also, I've found that the Charlie's Workshop Paladin upgrades unlock the very best weapons in the game, so you might want to get these upgrades early. The crossbow is awesome when fully upgraded, especially for Ghost style play, though you get a "sleep gas" only version of the crossbow called the "Tactical Crossbow" early in the game, which is superior to the stun gun. 04 - Paladin Upgrades You'll eventually want to get all the upgrades as it raises your pay scale for missions, but I recommend getting the Cockpit upgrades first, then Charlie's Workshop to unlock the best weapons. 05 - Difficulty If you are a beginner like me, don't worry too much if you have you start out playing on Rookie difficulty. This is a very challenging game for beginners, even on Rookie. As your skill improves, so will your ability to be successful at higher difficulties, until you'll be able to do many missions on the highest difficulty setting, Perfectionist. Higher difficulty settings pay more when completing missions as you get more for taking down (or choosing to leave undisturbed) each hostile. Rookie: enemies do less damage and you have more ammunition and gadgets. You do more damage. Normal: you have a normal amount of ammo and gadgets, and enemies do a normal amount of damage. You do more damage. Realistic: Enemies spot you more easily and do more damage to you than normal dificulty. Perfectionist: You get less gadgets and no refills on ammunition. Enemies do more damage and spot you easily. You do less damage. Completing missions Ghost style on Perfectionist pay the most money. 06 - Play Styles - Ghost, Panther, Assault Ghost - the most rewarding financially. Also, it may require the most patience. You get Ghost points for - Leaving enemies undisturbed - Stealth knockouts by non-lethal hand-to-hand or with gadgets or special weapons Undisturbed means that enemies are not aware of your presence in the area and are not actively searching for you. Leaving enemies undisturbed pays the most points. For example, to master Ghost in Grim's 4E stealth missions, you must leave most enemies undisturbed, so try to slip by most enemies. Panther - Arguably the easiest play style, since you can use a sniper rifle to take down enemies at a distance and lethal hand-to-hand animations are shorter than knockouts. Be aware that other enemies may be close by the one that you are sniping from a distance and may be alerted to your presense. Firearms in general can be quicker than non-lethal alternatives. You get Panther points for - evading enemies - Stealth kills by lethal hand-to-hand, pistol or alternate weapon Evade enemies by having them actively looking for you but not finding you while you complete an objective. Assault - for me, this is the most difficult play style. You have to be quick, accurate and constantly on the move to stay alive. You get points for - killing enemies with loud weapons - killing enemies with silenced weapons when they are aware of you and in "combat mode". - killing enemies with frag or incendiary grenades - killing enemies with lethal hand-to-hand during combat - knocking out enemies during combat with non-lethal hand-to-hand, gadgets or special weapons. 07 - Solo Mission Types Solo Campaign Mission - The Main Story The main story has long missions with a lot of cut scenes, and will benefit from using a variety of skills. The earlier missions tend to be the shortest and easiest. Remember that once you've completed a mission, you can replay it at any time. I mentioned safehouse, but American Consumption, though a longer mission, is not too difficult, so you could run through that a few times to build up funds and your skill. 4E Solo Missions These are the side missions for solo or coop play. There are three mission types: Charlie, Grimm and Kobin. They tend to be much shorter than the main solo campaign missions, and there are no cut scenes other than the briefing. Charlie Missions involve surviving wave after wave of enemies, each wave more difficult than the last. At my skill level, I find these very challenging, but I've definitely improved my skill the most by playing them. I found that I didn't earn very much considering how much time they take. Grimm Missions are pure stealth. They all involved completing a few objectives quietly and getting out. The missions can be completed fairly quickly and pay well. You will definitely learn a lot about how stealth works in this game by playing them, and you'll get rich doing it, if you stick with it. When you're ready to try higher difficulty levels, these are probably the best missions to try first, as stealth doesn't really change at higher difficulties, it's just less tolerant - you're easier to spot by enemies. Kobin missions are best done using stealth, unless you are using the "Assault Style" with loud weapons. If the alarm is raised, many reinforcements will be called, including dogs and elite troups, meaning the mission will take much longer, if you survive. These missions all have two parts each with a checkpoint in the middle. The missions also pay very well. I find that these missions were good for learning the game in general. You can pick off enemies one by one, but also learn to take out two enemies at once. 08 - Stealth - Staying Hidden The tutorial mission at the beginning of the game teaches you how to be hidden. These are the factors that affect whether or not you are detected: - How much light falls on your character. When you are in the dark, the lights will show on your suit. This is only for your information. Enemies don't see the lights on your suit. Note that enemies with flashlights and snipers with lasers will spot you easily if their flashlight or laser points at your character, even in the dark. - Whether you are crouching or standing. If you are standing, and not behind an obstacle, enemies will spot you more easily, so you'll want to crouch most of the time. - Which way the character is facing. Enemies facing away from you will not likely detect your presence. Once you upgrade the Paladin Cockpit so you can tell which way enemies face, you will be able to see this information in a scope display on your HUD. This is a very useful tool, especially when you are hiding behind an obstacle and cannot see which way your enemy is facing. - How much sound you are making. If you are running (holding Left-Shift button while moving by default on PC), you will make more noise. Normally, you will want to crouch and move at a normal walking pace when close to enemies, though sometimes you can get away with running up behind them if they are moving or distracted. - Your vertical position in relation to the enemy. Often, enemies don't think to look up, so often your character (Sam Fisher), can hang above them undetected. This includes hanging from windows, ledges and pipes. Also, hanging from a ledge below your enemy can often prevent them from spotting you. 09 - Monkey Man - Using Sam's Amazing Acrobatic Talents One hallmark of the Splintercell series is that Sam can perform inhuman feats of physical prowess. He can hang from ledges and pipes indefinitely by one hand while firing a crossbow or pistol. This can be handy in many situations for taking out an enemy where he cannot use a two-handed firearm. There are often opportunities to hang from a window, railing or ledge and use a pistol or crossbow to take down an enemy. He can drop from ledges, pipes and other surfaces to perform aerial knockouts or death from above. Position Sam over an enemy, and if you see the "Aerial Knockout" or "Death from Above" option become available, you can perform a silent takedown from above (assuming no one is nearby to witness - press E by default on PC). He can also perfom "ledge pull downs", where he will pull an enemy that is on ledge above him. This can often work when an enemy is behind a railing. Sam can hang onto the railing and do a stealth take down when the enemy is close. He can sometimes climb up walls if there is something to grab. He can crawl through large vents to bypass obstacles and put himself in a better position for takedowns or survey the environment. Always be on the lookout for alternate paths in every mission. You even get extra points (Exploration points) for discovering some of the alternate paths. 10 - Enemy Types I've had to make up some of the enemy types, as I don't know what they're called in the game. Standard - this enemy carries either a side arm or rifle, and possibly a flashbang or frag grenades. You can use Mark and Execute with no issues on these enemies. They have no armour, so will take very little firepower to take down. Head shots are a guaranteed kill with any firearm. Standard Armoured - this enemy has a helmet, and sometimes light body armour, so Mark and Execute will usually not work. Elite - this enemy has better armour than standard enemies and has equipment to better spot Sam. They wear stealth armour and have infrared goggles. They tend to use smoke grenades, and do sommersaults to evade your fire. Mark and Execute works on these enemies. Elite Armoured - this enemy also has a helmet, even more armour than elite and has improved infrared goggles. They tend to use smoke grenades, and do sommersaults to evade your fire. When using a pistol, you may have to practially empty your clip to take one down, unless you first shoot off the helmet, then do a head shot. Mark and Execute will normally NOT work. Heavy Infantry - these enemies have very heavy armour and helmets with gas masks. They are immune to gas grenades and crossbow pellets unless you first shoot off the mask. They are also immune to shockers. The are practically immune to bullets where they are armoured. They usually carry shotguns that do massive damage, normally killing you in one shot. If you need to shoot a heavy infantry, first shoot their mask off, then go for a head shot. If you have the best sniper rifle in the game, you can sometimes kill them with one shot, if facing them head on and hitting the center of their mask. This can also work when using an assault rifle in fully automatic or burst fire mode, where one burst can both unmask and subsequently kill the enemy. This also depends on the difficulty level. It works on Rookie and Normal, but possibly not on Realistic and Perfectionist. If you decide to do a hand-to-hand takedown on a heavy, which is often the easiest, you must have the element of surprise, otherwise your attack will be unsuccessful. Normally, you'll attack from cover (if they are not actively searching for you), from behind, above or below. Both lethal and non-lethal attacks work. There is also a technique where you can use Mark and Execute and a sleep gas grenade: 1) Mark the heavy (Alt) 2) Throw a gas grenade (Middle Mouse Button) 3) Execute (Ctrl) The Execute will shoot off the gas mask. If you are close enough, you can also use Mark and Execute with a crossbow using sleep gas, which makes it a normal Mark and Execute technique. The gas will put the heavy to sleep once he is unmasked. Since these are non-lethal, you will get Ghost points if undetected, Assault points if in combat. Incendiary Grenades also work on Heavy Infantry, but frag grenades don't seem to do much damage. Drone Operators - whenever you see a remote-controlled drone with the red search light, there is a drone operator enemy close by operating it. They are normally somewhat distracted, so sneaking up behind them is fairly easy. They have very light armour, but often have a helmet, making Mark and Execute useless with most weapons. When there is a drone operator, it will affect your goggles in any mode but night vision. The goggles will only show drones and drone operators - no other enemies will appear due to the interference of the drone remote control. Take down all of the drone operators in the area to restore your goggles to normal. Drones - drones can climb stairs and have a camera sensor. If their red light shines on you, you'll be spotted. They attack by moving close to you and exploding, killing you instantly on difficulty modes other than Rookie. Dogs - dogs have no armour (or very light armour), so can be easily killed or put to sleep. However, they have an excellent sense of smell, so they can find you even when you are hidden. Try not to let a dog get close to you, as they will do damage as well as alerting your presence to other enemies and holding you out in the open for other enemies to fire on you. A dog grabbing your arm is often a death sentence. Take them out from afar, or set traps, such as proximity shockers and mines. If a dog does grab you, try mashing the E key to get it off you and be prepared to run and hide if you do survive the encounter. 11 - Firearms Pistols Pistols work best at close range, and can be used when Sam is hanging from something such as a ledge or pipe. Plan on using several shots to take an enemy down unless you have a clear head shot and the enemy is not wearing a helmet. Taking down Heavy Infantry can be very difficult with a pistol as their body armour is impenetrable to the pistols in the game. Instead, shoot off the helmet and take a head shot. Alternate Weapon - Small Machine Guns These weapons are compact and very quiet when silenced, but tend to have low damage and a short range. The SC400 is the best (buy the first Paladin upgrade to Charlie's Workshop from Grimm to unlock), with decent damage and a generous magazine size when fully upgraded. Alternate Weapon - Assault Rifle These tend to be more powerful and superior in many ways to the SMG's. More power, range, and even larger magazines make them a better choice for most players. The fully upgraded SC4000 is the best once available. Choose a scope and you can use it as you would a sniper rifle. Alternate Weapon - Shotgun These are very powerful at close range, and an excellent choice if you don't need to do any "sniping" from a distance. Not very accurate, so aim for the center of the chest, unless the target is heavily armoured. Alternate Weapon - Sniper Rifle These are perfect for the Panther style of gameplay. With the best rifle (the SC - upgrade Charlie's Workshop to unlock), most enemies go down with one shot on Normal difficulty. You can sometimes one shot a heavy infantry with a well place shot head on in the middle of the mask. Special Weapons - Stun Gun This is a standard issue stun gun you get at the start of the game. It is excellent for Ghost style gameplay as it takes down most enemies with one shot. This does not work on Heavy Infantry. Stun guns are not as accurate as crossbows. Special Weapons - Tactical Crossbow This crossbow only shoots sleeping gas pellets. This is a step up from the stun gun as you can sometimes stun multiple enemies if they are in very close proximity to each other. Also, you can use it on Heavy Infantry if you shoot off their mask. See the Heavy Infantry section. Special Weapons - Crossbow Once fully upgraded, you have a whole arsenal of tricks. You can shock or use sleeping gas on enemies. You can fire EMP's to disrupt electronics, and shoot noisemakers to distract enemies. This will be your main tool if you play Ghost style. 12 - Gadgets Gadget included remote devices, proximity devices and grenades. These are my favourite: Sleeping Gas Grenades are likely my favourite "gadget". They have a wider dispersal area than the crossbow sleeping gas pellets, so they can potentially take out more enemies at once. Proximity Shockers are really fun, as they are a trap you can lay down that shocks enemies that get close. Put them at "choke points" where enemies are definitely going to walk close by. They can serve as an early warning system that enemies are moving into the vicinity as you can hear the enemy as he is being shocked. One thing to note: only 3 can exist in Normal and Realistic difficulty. If you lay down three in the environment, and go to an ammo cache, it will not replenish your supply of proximity shockers. Only once they are triggered can you replenish them. If you need to remove one from the environment, you can shoot it with your firearm. Proximity Mines are similar to shockers, but instead of shocking enemies, they explode and kill any enemies close by. You'll always get Assault points for takedowns with mines. Only 3 can exist in Normal and Realistic difficulty. If you lay down three in the environment, and go to an ammo cache, it will not replenish your supply of proximity mines. Only once they are triggered can you replenish them. If an enemy triggers a mine close to you, you will also take damage. If you need to remove one from the environment, you can shoot it with your firearm, but don't be too close as it will explode. Incendiary Grenades will only give Assault points. They have a fairly large area of effect. While Heavy Infantry will shrug off frag grenade explosions, incendiary grenades will work on them. Sticky Cameras are remote cameras that allow you to monitor another part of the environment. They can also attract enemies by playing a sound, then you can make them release gas or explode to take down an enemy. Only one camera can be used at a time, so you can't lay down three cameras and monitor the entire area. You can disable a camera in order to use another one. 13 - General Advice for Beginners The main points of being successful I've found: - Know where the enemies are and keep track of their movements. Upgrade the Paladin Cockpit ASAP. - Enemies have different patterns when in normal patrol mode (completely unaware of your presence), compared to active search mode (suspicious), and combat mode (aware of your presence). Learn these movement patterns to know where to go to avoid detection. - Hide bodies when appropriate. When a patrol discovers a body, it will heighten their awareness and they will alert every hostile in the area. - Look for hostiles that are all alone with no one to help them or hear them scream. - If you see one hostile, don't assume he is alone. Check to see if there are others close by before taking him down. - When shooting enemies that are in groups, try to wait until they are closely aligned so you don't have to re-aim to take them all out. - When targeting a moving enemy with a scope, it is easiest to aim in front of the direction they are heading, hold steady, and fire once they move into your crosshairs. This way you don't have to aim and fire at the same time. - Practice to be fast and accurate with your actions. Since you can repeat any mission, use these missions as a sandbox training area to improve your skills and try different tactics. - Always have a place where you can retreat where there are no enemies if you're discovered. Try not to get pinned into a corner. Enemies often will use frag grenades when you're trapped. - Use Sam's acrobatic and stealth abilities to their fullest. Look for alternate paths through vents or by climbing on pipes or ledges. - Always look for "death from above" opportunities. You can sometimes perform them from fairly high up. They are a lot of fun. - Look for opportunities to use your gadgets and the crossbow. They can makes things so much easier. Also, it's very satisfying taking out three or four enemies with one sleeping gas grenade. - If you want to attract enemies to one spot or away from a spot, use something loud, such as a frag grenade, to take out at least one enemy. Most of the time, this will attract all the enemies in the area. Note that they will tend to look in the vicinity of your position when you threw the grenade, so be prepared to move to another spot immediately. Note that this will put them in combat mode. - When playing Ghost style, and you want to leave enemies undisturbed, your best tool is the crossbow with noisemakers. This should only be used when enemies are not already suspicious and is best when the enemy is not facing you. Shoot the noisemaker at a spot where you would like the enemy to go or at least look in that direction while you slip by unnoticed. 14 - Conclusion I hope this guide helps you be successful in single player gameplay.