----------------------------TOM CLANCY'S------------------------------- -------------------SPLINTER CELL: PANDORA TOMORROW--------------------- ---------------------------MERCENARY FAQ------------------------------- --------------------------BY DISCOSTU514------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS: VERSION HISTORY 1. INTRODUCTION 1a) Legal Junk 1b) What is a Mercenary? 1c) Objectives and Game Modes 2. MERCENARY BASICS 2a) Controls 2b) Vision Modes 2c) Main Style of Play 3. MERCENARY WEAPONS 3a) Frag Grenades 3b) Taser 3c) Mines 3d) Spy Traps 3e) Flares 3f) Phosphorous Grenades 4. MERCENARY HINTS AND TIPS 4a) Killing Tips 4b) Staying Alive (Or, avoiding a broken neck) 4c) User Submitted Tips 5. MERCENARY MAP STRATEGIES Coming soon... 6. MERCENARY FAQ 6a) How do I do the quick turn? 6b) I can't find those stupid spies! Where are they? 6c) How can I find opponents and teammates that are of my skill level? 6d) Why don't Mercs have nightvision and thermals? 6e) Being a spy is so cool! Why should I be a Merc? 6f) What is an aggro spy? 6g) What is tag? 6h) What is the connection between single player and multiplayer? (SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!) 6i) What is Spawn Killing, and how do I defend against it? 7. MERC MOMENTS Send 'em in! 8. CONTACT INFORMATION --------------------------------------------------------- VERSION HISTORY: 0.60: Initial version. 0.80: Added additions to every section and also added "Sound Detection" entry to the Merc Basics section. Also added the FAQ question about "aggro spies". Maps coming soon. 0.81: Added a load of user-submitted tips and moments. Thanks to everyone who submitted! 0.90 Disco Stu is back after a few months hiatus from PT (Work, work, work...)! A CRAPLOAD of new user submitted material, plus, new uses for phosphorus grenades! 0.91 A few new FAQ questions, plus a few revisions on certain features. 1. INTRODUCTION 1a) LEGAL JUNK Simply put, no party, person or persons with the exception of GAMEFAQs.com may distribute, post, or reproduce this FAQ in any way, shape, or form. No party, person or persons can take credit for this FAQ, or make a profit off of it. Any of the above actions is punishable by law. Now that that's out of the way... 1b) WHAT IS A MERCENARY? In Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow's Multiplayer, a mercenary is a member of the fictional ARGUS corporation, the team that is assigned to stop, by any means necessary (that includes killing) the SHADOWNET spies from stealing, sabotaging, and neutralizing the NDI33s. In other words, your mission is to teach those spies not to mess with what you're being paid good money to protect, by, as the classic quote from "Apocolypse Now" says, "Terminate with extreme prejudice." This guide will help you to do so. Just remember what Captain Obvious says: knowledge is only a small part of it. Only practice will turn you into a truly deadly spy hunter. 1c) OBJECTIVES AND GAME MODES Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow has 3 multiplayer modes. Here they are, with the rules, objectives, and general tips for each mode from the mercenary's perspective. NEUTRALIZATION: OBJECTIVE: Protect the NDI33s by being neutralized. RULES: To neutralize an NDI33, a spy must go up to it and "use" it. It takes anywhere from 10 to 20 seconds by default (depending on the map) to completely neutralize the ND133. To stop them, a merc must kill the spies before all NDI33s are neutralized. If a spy is interrupted or killed while neutralizing the NDI33, the countdown will resume from where it stopped the next time a spy accesses it. TO WIN: Kill the spies until they have no lives left, or stop the NDI33s from being neutralized until the time limit is expired. TIPS: Whenever you have them, set mines and spy traps in the vicinity of the NDI33s. Don't put the mines in obvious places; the spies will easily see them and shoot them or go slowly to avoid them. If you have a partner, spread out to cover large areas (such as Vertigo Plaza) and continually patrol small areas (Warehouse). If a mine goes off and you don't see a kill message, search the area until you kill the spy who set it off. Keep close to an NDI33 at any given time; it doesn't take a long time for the spies to neutralize them. EXTRACTION: OBJECTIVE: Protect the NDI33s from being stolen and taken to the extraction point (usually the spy spawn). RULES: To steal an NDI33, a spy can simply go up and take it; no "unlocking" is required. After he steals it, he will try to carry it to the extraction point. A merc can put the NDI33 back on its holder by killing the spy and running over it. TO WIN: Kill the spies until they have no lives left, or stop the NDI33s from being extracted until the time limit is expired. TIPS: Once again, places mines and spy traps as in neutralization. Also, the NDI33 will glow as the spy carries it, making him easy to spot in the dark. Be sure to get him before he passes the "unpassable" area, since beyond a certain point (once they get outside the building in Warehouse, to the helipad in Vertigo Plaza, etc.) the mercs are helpless to stop them. Remember also that no "unlocking" is required; the spies can just go up and grab them. Finally, the most important part of extraction is that when an NDI33 is stolen, THE SPIES WILL APPEAR ON YOUR RADAR LIKE WITH A SPY TRAP! Use this to your full advantage. If you can't see them, use grenades or just fire wherever they might be. SABOTAGE: OBJECTIVE: Protect the NDI33s from being sabotaged. RULES: Like Neutralization, except to neutralize the NDI33s, they must place a modem in the vicinity of it. The merc can stop the countdown by shooting or removing the modem. Like Neutralization, the spy can continue where he left off if the modem is destroyed. TO WIN: Kill the spies until they have no lives left, or stop the NDI33s from being sabotaged until the time limit is expired. TIPS: The usual mines and STs as preventive measures. Remember, the spies only have one modem. To get another, they must respawn or go to an ammo cache. Don't remove the modem, as it takes too long; just shoot it. Also, it takes a bit longer than in neutralization; the advantage is that the spies can defend themselves with all their fancy gadgets, especially if they team up on you. For all modes, remember that spies can access multiple NDI33s at one time. If this happens, contact your partner and ask him to get one while you take care of the other. Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork! 2) MERCENARY BASICS 2a) BASIC CONTROLS I'll make this brief. A: Use, or melee attack. A melee attack is a great way to fend off spy attacks at point blank range, but best used in conjunction with another device. More on that later. B: Croutch. Useful for placing mines and STs in unexpected places. Also increases your accuracy, although you lose the advantage of movement. Y: Jump. Quite useless for a merc. X: Reload. DO THIS A LOT. Whenever you the chance, reload. Also, hold X for a few seconds to switch between burst fire and full auto. White: Listen in on enemy communications if a spy trap is active. Very useful. Black: Turn off waypoints for NDI33s and security alerts. Leave it on; you always should know where everything is. Left Stick (move): Move your character. Left stick (click): Inventory. Press buttons while held or use left stick to select a different item. Right Stick (move): Look around or aim. Right Stick (click): Hold for two seconds to snipe. Press Left trigger to hold your breath. Useful for taking out spies from a distance, such as when they're zipping down the lines in Vertigo Plaza. Left Trigger: Fire secondary weapon; plant mines or spy traps. Right Trigger: Fire bullets (duh). Also, to do a 180 turn quickly, double-tap the left stick left or right. Useful for preventing neck breaks. Doesn't work in smoke. 2b) VISION MODES From now on, when describing Merc's equipment, I'll use a five star rating system. One star is useless, Five stars is a necessity. MOTION DETECTION RATING: **** Kind of like the concept in the "Terminator" movies, Motion Detection is a great mode for spotting spies in the dark, as they are almost always moving fast. Few spies have the patience to sneak around slowly, or stay still for too long. The screen is bathed in red, but when something moves, a clear, gray box appears around the object in question, giving you a clear shot. Don't use your laser during this mode; it's not easily seen, but your target reticule is. Just remember, they can tell your mode by looking at your visor; be patient and wait for them to move. ELECTROMAGNETIC VISION RATING: ** I don't find this very useful. First off, even newbie spies know that mercs are gonna use this mode once in a while, and when you do, they can see your visor, upon which they'll usually wise up and turn it off. Occasionally, you can see spies through the ceiling tiles with this mode as they usually don't suspect it, but not often, and as you're looking up, you're way too vulnerable to spies who aren't using their goggles. If your spy enemies are level 1, this mode may work. Some newbie spies (emphasis on some) don't know the level very well, and will use their goggles to get around. Against higher level spies who know the map well, this vision mode is useless. FLOODLIGHT RATING: **** Shines some light on the subject to help you see in the dark. You can spot spies more often than not. The only bad part about the floodlight is that you're a human lighthouse to spies, and they can often avoid you. Because of this, don't use it too, too often, especially if you're trying to surprise spies, such as when you have them in a spy trap. The floodlight loses it's effectiveness as distance increases; it usually only works for about 10 meters. LASER RATING: *** The laser is good for scanning rooms, as when you land the laser on a spy, it "targets" them and puts a frame around them. If you can keep a bead on him, the laser can target him even in the dark. Good for when the floodlight's range runs out, or when you don't want to be obvious with the floodlight. Also, if you target a fellow merc with a laser, the box will be red, and it will flash HOLD FIRE in it, signaling that you shouldn't shoot your buddy. I'm not sure if the laser increases your accuracy or not; but one disadvantage you have with it is that your reticle disappears, and your lose one vital ability, which is... SOUND DETECTION Rating: ***** Not many people know about this, but around your reticle, there are arrows that appear. These arrows signify where sound comes from, which is EXTREMELY useful in detecting spies. Just be sure to keep an eye on your radar to make sure the sound isn't coming from your partner. The arrows work like so: An arrow pointing down means that the sound is coming from behind; left and right are to your left and right obviously, and an arrow pointing up is in front of you. When multiple arrows appear, it's coming from a diagonal direction. For example, if an up and right arrow appears, it's coming from in front of you and to your right. If you see an arrow behind you, and you know it's not your partner, TURN AROUND. It could be the difference between living and dying. Also, when a cone on the lower or upper side of the inside reticle appears (also known as the INSIDER ZONE, (thanks to Nazgaroth), that means it's coming from above or below, which is useful in detecting enemies in multiple level situations, such as Sector 1 and 3 in the Warehouse. The sound detection system is important. Don't forget about it. 2c) GENERAL PLAYING STYLE Mercs are hunters. They are very well equipped to dish out some serious pain. You have three weapons that can kill a spy: your gun, frag grenades, and mines. If you knock them enough times with a melee attack, you can also kill them, although this is rare. However, do not be fully aggressive! The spies have an instant kill option: the grab. By sneaking up behind you, a spy can grab you and instantly snap your neck. Combine that with the fact that spies can occasionally use smoke and flash grenades to hamper you, then run circles around you and grab you, and your spy enemies are very, very dangerous. There are a few ways to stop this, which will be detailed later. While spies can kill you, it is MUCH easier for them to go for the NDI33s. Spies can accomplish a mission without touching you, so guard those chemicals! Since camping is not advisable for a merc, use mines and spy traps to do the camping for you. Mercs, like spies, work best in teams. If you think you can take on 2 decent spies alone just because you have a gun and they don't, you are dead wrong. Not only can they gang up on you and kill you with neck snaps, you will have a lot of troubles guarding what is usually 6 NDI33s just by yourself. Communication is important with your partner, and it is usually advisable to spread out and report locations, status, and generally what you're doing. Remember that moving is not always a viable option when you see a spy. Moving, as in any Tom Clancy game or most other FPS games for that matter, severely decreases your accuracy. It's best to stand still and use burst fire when targeting a spy. A few well- placed shots can kill a spy, and headshots kill instantly when they connect. Now that you know how to play as a merc, let's examine your toys. 3) MERCENARY WEAPONS These are descriptions of the weapons. The default "Fab Four", The Frag Grenades, the Taser, the Mines and the Spy Traps, should suit your purposes quite well; just be sure to switch around the positions of the Taser and Frag Grenades as explained later. 3a) FRAG GRENADES RATING: **** A grenade launcher? Boy, aren't you lucky. Grenades are good for when you're within shooting range of a spy who is disabling an NDI33, but there are obstacles in your way, such as the boxes in the warehouse. Lob a grenade over there, and with skill and a bit of luck, he's toast. Grenades are also useful if you know a spy is in a vent, and you can't reach him with bullets. If you have a spy trap active, and you see him on your radar in a vent, surprise him and bag an easy kill. Just be sure not to kill your partner, or more importantly, yourself in the process. NOTE: The frag grenades are set to the Y selection button by default, which is always the first weapon you have selected. Change it. Many times, I have accidentally launched a grenade and killed myself when I intended to plant a mine or spy trap. You may not be as stupid as I was, and if you actually do it, you'll grow out of it with experience, but accidents do happen. There is a far better weapon to put in the default position, which is... 3b) TASER RATING: **** ...this one. The taser is your answer to winning head-on confrontations with spies. It's a short range weapon, but that's what it's meant to be. When a spy comes running up to you, pull the left trigger to launch an electric stream. If it connects, it stuns him about as long as one of their sticky shockers does, which gives you plenty of time to pump him full of lead until he goes down. This is useful to prevent, the smoke/flash grenade trick that I mentioned earlier, as too often the spies will do so, and they'll be too fast for you to use bullets alone. Remember that spies can run a bit faster than you can (must be all that fancy equipment), so it's feasible for them to win a direct confrontation with the said spy grenades. When you use the good ol' taser, however, they can't move a muscle. This weapon is good to put in the default Y position, as you never know when a spy will surprise you. 3c) MINES RATING: ***** Mines are a MUST. Period. Mines usually account for almost half of all merc kills in one particular game. Place them in heavily trafficked areas, as well as around the NDI33s. Use the Proximity mine, as the laser mine can be seen by spies' thermal vision. The only way to fool proximity mines is by moving very, very slowly as a spy, using chaff grenades (which doesn't even work all the time), or just destroying them altogether, which usually alerts you to their presence if you're close enough. The only downside, if you can call it that, is that you only get three, not the usual 5. Cheapskates! As this is so, use them wisely. The one advantage to dying is that you get a fresh new supply for replacing to further hamper the spies' progress. 3d) SPY TRAPS RATING: **** Spy traps are another great addition to your arsenal. The concept is simple: spies run past them in a passageway that they cover, and they're "tagged" with an invisible, indetectable dart, upon which you are informed of this, and they appear on your radar so you can hunt them down and kill them. Spies usually have no idea they've been tagged, which gives you the advantage. You have two options when a spy is detected by a spy trap: direct assault, or surprise. Usually, direct assault is advisable if they're in the same room as you are, but if they're attempting to be sneaky-sneaky, it's much more to your advantage to get the jump on them. Just be sure your floodlight is off, or else you won't have much of a surprise. Remember also that the spy trap only puts them on radar for about a minute. Kill them before they disappear. One more thing: if the opposite wall is too far, a message will appear saying that the spy trap did not activate. If this happens, go to it, take it off with the action button, and plant it somewhere where it will be more useful. If you planted it successfully, a message will appear saying "Spy Trap Activated". 3e) FLARES RATING: *** Flares are useful, but no more useful than the above devices. When you launch them, they stick to wherever they land (even the walls), illuminating the immediate area around them for about 15 seconds. They would be more useful if they were brighter, but you can only see within a 10-foot radius of where the flare lands. The one saving grace of these is that you have 10 of them, so if you "bunch" them together, a spy would wise to avoid that area if he doesn't wish to die. Still, not as useful as the above devices. 3f) PHOSPHOROUS GRENADES RATING: *** Because of user submitted tips, the phosphorus grenades have a new rating! The grenade produces a small green cloud, which makes spies that run through it "glow" green. See user submitted tips for great uses for phosphorus grenades! 4) MERCENARY HINTS AND TIPS 4a) KILLING TIPS Number 1) USE MINES RELIGIOUSLY. You can prevent a lot of bad things from happening with these babies, and net yourself a few kills in the process. Plant them wherever spies usually go, and they'll be digging themselves an early grave. Number 2) KNOW WHEN AND WHEN NOT TO STAND STILL. You'll kill spies quicker and easier if you do. Granted, there are sometimes you'll want to move and shoot, like when spies start running in the opposite direction (missing a few is better than letting a spy get away). Number 3) GET GOOD WITH GRENADES. If you can learn to be accurate with your Frag Grenade launcher, you can do some serious damage with those things. Remember to lead your target if he's running, and remember also that you can adjust the length by holding down the left trigger to shorten or lengthen it. Number 4) KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. USE SPY TRAPS! If you know where they are, you can kill them easier. Pretty hard for them to get the jump on you when they appear on your trusty radar, now isn't it? Number 5) USE TEAMWORK. Your best weapon, next to your own skills, is your teammate. Protect him, and he'll protect you. Communicate, and communicate often. You'll be much more successful if you're tight with your partner. Number 6) SWITCH TO BURST FIRE! It may be fun to go full auto with your nifty rifle, but this is usually not the best option unless you're at point blank range (which shouldn't happen in the first place). Switching to burst fire mode by holding X for a few seconds will force you to fire a few shots at a time, which is almost always enough to kill a spy. If you need auto fire, you can achieve something like it by tapping the trigger rapidly, or you can just quickly switch back. 4b) STAYING ALIVE (Or, Avoiding a Broken Neck) Number 1) STAYING IN ONE PLACE FOR TOO LONG IS ASKING FOR A BROKEN NECK! Remember this! Camping does not work in this game! Maybe on Counter-Strike and other games like it, it does, but not here. Move around and you'll extend your lifespan by leaps and bounds. Number 2) DON'T LET THEM GET CLOSE! Use whatever means necessary to keep them at a distance. The least they can do from a distance is annoy you with their sticky shockers. The closer they get, the less your chances are of living. Number 3) USE THE TASER, LUKE! The taser is a great close range weapon to keep them in place so you can kill them. It also prevents them from moving to your backside to put you into a permanent sleep. Number 4) WHEN POSSIBLE, AVOID THE DARK! The dark is as scary for mercs as it was for you when you were a little baby. The spies can see you, but you can't see them. And when that happens, you're practically begging them to snap your neck. Number 5) USE THE 180 TURN! Do it often to check your six quickly. If you don't see anything, turn around. If a spy gets around you somehow, do a quick 180 to force him to do some extra work. And the more work he does, the more time you have to kill him. Number 6) USE THE WALLS! Spies can't get to your back when your back is to the wall. Whenever you see a spy, back up to the wall if you can. The only way a spy can grab you is to knock you from the side, which automatically turns you towards where the hit came from. Corners are even better, as the above tactic is useless in this situation. One game, I was on the stairs in the main office in Vertigo Plaza, and a spy hit me about five times, trying to grab me. Thanks to the corner, I was able to taser him and riddle his body with bullets. Don't underestimate the walls. 4c) USER SUBMITTED TIPS NOTE: ALL USER SUBMITTED MATERIAL WILL GO IN THIS SECTION (with the exception of merc moments). So, read carefully...there's some great stuff in here. Just wanted to give u kudos on the great faq. Plus i would like to put in my two cents worth. On ways to keep your neck from getting broke is to me on stairs. They are an uneven surface and spies have to be on the same step to be able to grab you which means lots of dead spies. Bad thing about some stairs is that good spies will take advantage of the height they can get on you and jump on your head over and over and over....probably the most annoying thing next to the shocker gun. Another thing don't camp on stairs!!!!! As you said in your faq camping gets you killed. In this case sticky cammed, which is not good(If you or your teammate are knocked out) go over to them and press the A button it will wake them up faster but watch out for sticky cams around his body). Just one big thing that is a merc killer is smoke. If you get smoked charge thru smoke by running forward and hitting A. Great for getting thru doors that have been smoked. I can not stress this one thing don't crouch like an idiot in a fight with a spy. He will either jump on your head from the ground or knock u out with a strike attack. When you wake up you will be crouched ready to be jumped on again. Only crouch when planting mines and spy traps. Which brings me to mines and spy traps. Be creative with mines. Try to put them somewhere you wouldn't think they can go. Just start tapping L and moving the Right analog stick tell you have it placed where u want it (my favorite mines are in museum you can actually put the mines in the vents under the ND133's and they can't be seen). Another mine i like is one in the Warehouse. When you spawn stay upstairs and go to the ND133 in the upper left corner. There is a gap in the railing crouch and fall on the box under it. Turn around walk under the catwalk fall onto the scaffolding and plant your mine. To be good with spy traps is to be a good spy. Know all your entrances to the facility and think of where you would go and put a spy trap there (also good when you are a spy to look for the spy traps). Almost forgot. When you tazer a spy let him fall to the ground and shoot him in the head once (saves ammo) or put a lazer mine next to him so when he stands up...Kaboom! bye, bye Mr. Spy. Well that is all i can think of right now. P.S. Isn't it Disco Stu from the Simpsons? Yes it is. Thanks to Capt. Kackle for the tip! If a spy runs away from you and throws smoke gernades, you can easily see threw the smoke by turning on ur electromagnetic visor. But be careful, because if the spy is to close to you, he is unseen in the eltromagnetic view. (Would make sense since spies have to use thermals in smoke...I guess we found a use for the EMV!) Thanks to Omega Blue for this one! Phosphorous grenades arent completely useless. They are like combination of Smoke grenade and flares, phosphorous grenades are maybe better than flares. What do you do when you are a merc and a spy throws a smoke grenade? Well you dont run straight into the cloud. If you fire 10 flares into a line, spies avoid that area as long as the flares burn/effect. Also when a spy is colored by the green stuff he can be seen in darkest areas very easily, when spy runs from you he first usually tries to a dark area. He also leaves green foot prints and you can follow them to his hiding place. There was why spies try to avoid the green cloud best they can, this is useful to cut an running spy's escape route. You also cant see through the cloud unless you or spy has secondary vision mode on (EMF/thermal). Example situation:: A spy managed to sneak to the ND133 and started to decontaminate. luckily you are close enough to stop him. Right when the spy saw you he interrupted and started to run. You fire phosphorous grenades all over the place and the spy had all the routes cut by the green clouds and he had no time to wait them to disappear so he ran through a cloud. After a short time the spy lost the merc but merc followed his green foot prints leading to a dark place under the stairs. He glowed and merc immidiately noticed the spy and killed him. I give phospho. grenades a score of: *** (3 stars out of 5) Even if phosphorous grenades have some uses on chasing and tracking spies what are the cons? - They should do some type of "damage" like gas grenades, like slow down the spies' running speed. - The clouds dont stay too long but longer than gas grenades. - If a spy enters an area you cant go when you chase his tracks. Notes:: - Every spy will or will learn to avoid the clouds. - Always fire to the areas where the spy is attempting to run. Or fire direcly into him. - Unlike flares dont use when you have lots of detected sounds. Use when you really see a spy. - Phosphos are REALLY useful when you see a spy in an place where only they can go. - Its recommended that you have motion tracker on when you chase a spy through cloud. - When you see green tracks, follow them... - ...And make sure they arent your own tracks :} I like your FAQ and I enjoy playing as a merc alot more than a spy. Your FAQ helped me ALOT on understanding the plus' and cons of merc gadgets. Keep up the great work! Thanks to Larty! Hey, I just read your Splinter Cell:PT faq and I was very impressed. I have a question though. I've heard of Mercs being able to flip a spy over their back when they are in a head lock. I've never seen it done but I have friends who swear that they have both seen and done it (by accident). I'm wondering if you know how to do it? It would certainly help solve the aggro spy problem. I read on a forum board that some guy thought if you pressed UP and A when the spy grabs you that it would work but I cannot make it work. Please let me know if you have any info. Unfortunately, no...but, if anybody out there knows, EMAIL!!! Good FAQ,I learned some tips I would've otherwise overlooked,I have a few things I'd like to say,however,and a question that you hopefully will not mind answering. I found you underestimated the Flares,and overestimated the Torchlight. As you put it,the Torchlight makes you a "human lighthouse to spies", a good spy,or even a half-decent one,would pick up on your direction or even exact location just by seeing the cone of light coming from the visor,it does well in a tight spot, but I don't quite think it's worth a 4. Flares,on the other hand,can be refilled with an ammo pick-up,and once it's launched,you can take cover behind barrels,crates,desks, etc,and as long as your visor isn't exposed,you're practically invisible to spies who aren't using any special vision. Also,in areas that are enveloped in darkness, a spy might think twice about trying to sneak up behind you if you've got light all around you,as opposed to just in front.Although it ultimately depends on the level (they're handy in most levels,the only levels I would not carry them in are Vertigo Plaza and Krauser Lab),it's usually nice to have them since a good spy could avoid the sweep of a Torchlight. They also make for a handy distraction or decoy.I've cought quite a few spies by launching a flare up vents or through dark hallways and immediately switching to the Motion Tracking Device. About the sound detection,you said a mercenary could pick up noise from their partners,this is only half-true. I tested it out with a friend of mine,the only way you can pick up noise from your partner is if he hits a fire extinguisher. Running,firing shots,or even the ricochet of bullets will not register.If you already know this,it might be a nice idea to specify it in your FAQ. Also,I couldn't help but notice that you left out the bit about the"Insider Zone",which is *extremely* useful.When a sound is picked up above or below you, the insider zone will flash either on the top or bottom of your reticle (it's hard to miss),this shows you if the sound is coming from above or below,and if only arrows register,then the sound is coming from the level you are already on. Another thing you should mention,is that you do not want to be cought using the ElectroMagentic Field Device when you're tazed, this will cause temporary loss of your entire HUD,once that happens, you're pretty much rendered useless until it comes back.So it might be good to mention that you should use it with caution. Now for my question,I thought the tazer to be a pretty handy tool in theory, once you catch a spy in it,he's dead,no doubt about it. However,I've had direct conflict with a spy every time I've played (though that's quite obvious),and I've tazed them over and over and over while they were more or less directly in front of me, and nothing happened, eventually,I tazed them to death,I have no idea how,but it happened. I was wondering if maybe a spy has to be in a special vision mode to be electocuted, because the times I've used it,it has never worked,and I would very much like to be able to use it properly (for the record,I am aware of it's exact range, give or take an inch). That's about it,I hope my input wasn't useless and annyoing,I'll be sure to watch your FAQ for updates. Hmm...well, I'm not sure, but I think the taser is a buggy weapon, meaning that it works sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't. Hopefully, they'll fix on the next update IF it is a problem. Other than that, I'm not sure I have an explanation, except that it is an EXTREMELY close-range weapon. Thanks to Nazgaroth! Here's a tip I discovered.. once in a while I'll forget my gernades are in slot and I'll go to plant a mine, if this happens, I hold the trigger down and click on the right thumbstick going in to sniper mode, it cancels the gernade throw by going in to "hold breath" mode. Thanks to Tom! Hey, great FAQ. I like it except for one problem. In your section over the Tazer, you said that the tazer only incapacitates them for as long as their sticky shocker. Not so, the tazer will incapacitate them for about as long as their spy cam. This fact is pretty crucial to merc strategy. It's lead me to make a technique known as the Tazer Two Point Waking Spy's Exploding Head Technique on the GFAQs message boards (longwinded yes, but I wanted a distinctive name for it because its probably the only time I'll make something and get to name it). The central technique in this is not shooting them the second you land a tazer hit on them. Rather, you shoot them as they wake up. (pressing the white button while crouching next to them will allow you to talk to them while they lie on the ground I am told, but I have never been able to fully confirm this) When they wake up, they will go through an animation of shaking their head, you need to shoot them during that. (preferably in the head, it saves ammo) This technique serves a dual purpose, it takes them out of commission for more than double the time as opposed to shooting them outright, and it also serves as negative re-enforcement for the aggro spy (similar to a timeout). And, most importantly, thank you for writing this FAQ, it says a lot about the Merc community that an FAQ came out for them long before one came out for the spies. This is a useful technique, but use it with discretion; the time you spend waiting for the spy to wake up is more time the spies could be neutralizing the NDIs...nevertheless, useful. Thanks to JEEF MAN! Here's a pretty good tip I've found as a merc: in case you're ever up against a spy who uses flash bangs or smokes like no other, turn on your motion sensor. Your motion sensor filters out the flash in the flashbangs, so that you aren' t blinded at all. Also, if a spy drops a smoke, you can effectively see through the smoke and watch the little box around the spy. I've gotten quite a few kills without being able to see a spy, simply because of the little box around him. Also, I have believe the laser to be an awesome tool, and one that's not given enough credit. I use it more than the torchlight nowadays (though I also use flares, so that makes up for it a bit). I love being able to look at one of the possible entrances a spy can make and seeing a box pop up, letting me know where he is. Also, don't go so rough on the phosphorus! If a spy is stuck somewhere, but I can't get him, sometimes I use these if I'm out of frags. Sometimes hearing the little clink-clink-clink of a grenade will send a spy running into the open. I love it when I hear a guy complain about thinking that a phosphorus grenade was a frag. Thanks to Sabrewolf1986! 5) MERCENARY MAP STRATEGIES Coming Soon... 6) MERCENARY FAQ 6a) How do I do the quick turn? Double tap the left stick left or right. Do this often, as explained above. 6b) I can't find those stupid spies! Where are they? Those spies are a sneaky bunch. Instead, stay in the light, and let them come to you. Sooner or later, they'll have to show themselves, and if you're guarding the NDI33s dilligently, you should be able to find them. Keep moving, though, so you can increase your chances of finding one. Be sure to also look in the less obvious places. Lob a few grenades into the vents on occasion when everything seems a little too quiet. Check the places where only spies can go, but you can still shoot, such as the conveyor belt in Warehouse. And, in general, stay alert. 6c) How can I find teammates and opponents that are of my skill level? Use Optimatch and browse servers. Check their level. If they're the same level as you are, chances are they'll be an even match. Also, the better players tend to hang out in ranked games. If you're not concerned about that, switch the Optimatch option to "Free" under the option "Ranking or Free?" 6d) Why don't mercs have nightvision and thermals? That's a good question. Maybe ARGUS was on a budget, and the Motion Tracking and EMV were cheaper. Or, maybe the mercs wanted to look cooler. (The real reason is obviously gameplay balance, but this is a stupid question anyway) 6e) Being a spy is so cool! Why should I be a merc? If you're asking that question, you're reading the wrong FAQ. Seriously, though, you have a cool gun, a grenade launcher, proximity mines with smart tracking, and a TASER! Who wouldn't want a taser? Also, it's good to be a merc once in a while, so people won't complain about you being a spy hog. 6f) What is an aggro spy? Aggro spies are spies that have no interest whatsoever in going after the NDI33s, and try instead to kill the mercs with neck snaps and jump attacks using grenades, melee attacks, and their own speed. Usually, it's not as fun to be up against an aggro spy, especially in ranked games. However, if everybody agrees to it before hand, it can make for some really fun games. I know I'm taking it back after I said they were so bad, but that was back when I didn't know a ton about Pandora Tomorrow, except about how to be a great merc :) 6g) What is Tag? Tag is a user invented mode in PT, usually played in free games. Here's how it works. There are 3 spies and one merc. The objective is a basic death- match. The catch, however, is that the spies only have one life apiece, and the merc has 3. It's called Tag because whichever person the merc kills FIRST is "It" and gets to be a merc in the next round. If you're reading this FAQ, I hope you find that it's actually not the end of the world if you're "It", but, on the contrary, a great feeling when you single-handedly eliminate all spies. 6h) What's the connection between the multiplayer and single player? ****************SPOILERS!!!!!!!!********************* ****************SPOILERS!!!!!!!!********************* ****************SPOILERS!!!!!!!!********************* ****************SPOILERS!!!!!!!!********************* ****************SPOILERS!!!!!!!!********************* ****************SPOILERS!!!!!!!!********************* ****************SPOILERS!!!!!!!!********************* ****************SPOILERS!!!!!!!!********************* ****************SPOILERS!!!!!!!!********************* ****************SPOILERS!!!!!!!!********************* ****************SPOILERS!!!!!!!!********************* ****************SPOILERS!!!!!!!!********************* ****************SPOILERS!!!!!!!!********************* ****************SPOILERS!!!!!!!!********************* If you haven't gathered by now, this is a spoiler. The purpose is to tell those who aren't exactly clear on it after beating the game or are too impatient to wait to find out :) In the later stages of the game, Sadono has threatened to release smallpox in the US. His "insurance policy" (aka "Pandora Tomorrow", hence the name of the game) is where if the U.S. attacks Sadono or tries to kill him, he'll release the virus one day after the said attack happens. Naturally, it's up to Sam Fisher and Third Echelon to stop Sadono. When you gather the data from the sub in level 7, you find out that Sadono's smallpox canisters are being guarded by (guess who?) ARGUS, aka, you. Since they can't publicly send a strike team in to recover the canisters because of the confidential nature of the operation, etc., Shadownet teams are sent in to recover the canisters so Uncle Sam (and Uncle Sam Fisher) can get Sadono out of the way. In other words, ARGUS mercs are helping the terrorists. One aspect of this that doesn't make sense is, why does the single player story continue when mercs are SOOOO good at killing those spies? Perhaps Sam had to wait a few months and several hundred Shadownet teams later until they could finally get them :) *************END OF SPOILER************************** *************END OF SPOILER************************** *************END OF SPOILER************************** *************END OF SPOILER************************** *************END OF SPOILER************************** *************END OF SPOILER************************** *************END OF SPOILER************************** *************END OF SPOILER************************** *************END OF SPOILER************************** 6i) What is Spawn Killing and/or Camping, and how do I defend against it? THE WORST THING IN MULTIPLAYER. Yes I know I said aggro spy before, but this isn't just in Pandora Tomorrow, it's an incredibly cheap tactic in ALL multiplayer games that work like this. Simply put, in games where players continually respawn (appear back in the game), Spawn Camping is where the enemy hangs out around where they spawn and kills anybody who appears, leaving them little or no chance to defend themselves. Examples of this type of game in which this problem occurs include Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Battlefield 1942, Unreal Tournament, and many, many others. In Pandora Tommorow, most mercs respawn in an area that is accessible to spies, or near a place accesible to spies, and it's even worse for mercs since most spy spawns can't be reached by mercs. If you're a spy, and you happen to be in the same area as where the mercs spawn, that's Spawn Killing, and is a mistake. What's NOT ok is Spawn Camping, like I mentioned earlier. If you're a gamer with good etiquette, YOU WILL NOT DO THIS!!!!!! PLEASE!!! As for how to defend against it, it depends on two things: 1) if the game is ranked or not and 2) if you're hosting the game. If you're in a ranked game, just let it happen. Horrible, yes, but the penalty for leaving a ranked game in Pandora Tomorrow is far greater than losing. If you're hosting the game, simply tell people that there is no spawn killing. They'll respect that, since you have the power to boot their asses out of the game. If you're not hosting, politely ask the host to make a rule of it. If you're in a free game, and people are spawn killing, just leave. Polite, no, but if they're spawn killing, they don't know anything about etiquette. 7) MERC MOMENTS This will be a user-submitted section, so send 'em in! See the contact information below. Okay, I just read the whole FAQ, and it's pretty good, and i'd like to submit something. So, once I'm playing on Mount Hospital, me and my best friend are Mercenarys. He is sweeping, and i'm sorta off to the side, near him, but at the same time i'm not. He gets caught by a Spy, and he yells 'HELP'! So, I rush to his aid, and as the spy is trash talking him, he says 'wheres your partner now?' So, my friend says 'right here' And i snipe him right in the head...Truly a moment to be remembered. Thanks to "Me Be" (Am I correct on this?) for this Merc Moment! I have a mercenary moment for ya! Me and my friend were playing on Warehouse, and we saw no sign of the Spies yet. Me friend yelled, "They're on the right rafter!"(You know, the one with the conveyor belt-thingy.) I turned on both my modes, but I didn't see anything. My partner launched a grenade, and got him, was on the catwalk that connects both of the upper catwalks. I laughed when I saw his body fall, but then I turned to my right, and I saw the SECOND Spy drop from the ceiling, and hit the bottom floor, killing himself. PRICELESS! Nice FAQ! Thanks to Jackson May! Okay I have a Merc moment. In Deftech Belew I was standing in the corner of the level letting the pupil adjust thing take affect to make everything brighter. Then I see in the middle of the level a spy jumps on a crate and so I zoom in right on his head. And you know how you can hear what the spy is saying when you zoom in on them? Well I notice that his goggles are looking right into my sniper scope and then I hear this over my headset, "Shit Dave I think he sees me!" so I put a bullet right between his eyes and nearly piss myself laughing. He yelled it real fast in a scared tone too but didn't move... It was still one of the funniest moments I have ever had being a merc. A strategy is also that spies light up like a Christmas tree when they pull out their gun or fire a sticky cam. But you need to use the electro vision. By the way my gamer tag is "Warthog 9". And you said that your skill wasn't that good so I figure we are even. Thanks to Jim! I've got a rather interesting merc moment if you're interested. I was playing in the Deftek level (spelling error, I know, but I dont remember how to spell the name of the map) and it was during a Tag game. After seven long and grueling minutes, it was down to me, the mercenary, and the final spy on their team. I searched for him for four minutes before I located him on the catwalk where all the windows are, right in the middle. I was at the opposite end of the middle catwalk, where the dual Argus doors were, a distance far too great to shoot with anything but a sniper rifle. So I aimed down the scope and proceeded to fire wildly at him. My friend sitting beside me was laughing, as I screamed "Why aren't I hitting him?" "It's because he keeps on dodging!" "Dodge this!" With that I went out of scope mode, raised my sight, and shot my last grenade at him, truly a blind shot. The grenade soared through the air perfectly and landed directly on him. That in itself was a fantastic shot, but the euphoric feeling that I got, after toughing it out for eleven minutes, down to my last life, and pulling a miracle shot that looked like something God Himself would do that won the game, was better than sex. Better than sex? Hmm... Thanks to Reanimation! A merc moment: I was playing on warehouse, infinant time and infinant lives for both sides (games lasted like 25 min, ugh), the spies had diffused the first canister, so I'm in sector 2, my teammate is not around, I'm by the top door on the middle, on the sector 2 side, I hear a spy on the outside, so I walk up to the door to open it. The spy is standing right there, seariously dead center, head on. He reacted lightning fast, busted out his sticky shocker and shot me, but not before I lobbed a grenade, my grenade hit him-- IN THE CROTCH--and bounced to the floor, just as the door closes, my health was reduced to about a half, but the kill message made me grin, I killed a spy with a grenade to the testicles. OUCH! THAT'S GOTTA HURT! Thanks to Jered! I have two short little Mercenary Moments: I was in the Warehouse with my partner, and we hadn't heard from the spies in a while. I hop on the ladder and start sliding to the ground floor and it just so happens that the spy was climbing up, so I neutralized him, then unloaded into him. Another time, I had just killed a spy in Deftech, waited for hid body to dissapear, then counted to 10, and launched a long-distance frag all the way from the catwalk to the spies spawn point and I managed to hit the spy just as he respawned, it was greatness. I was on the Watertank room (forgot the map name), the upper floor. I had a partner but I didnt have a good mic and he was far away. Then suddenly an spy managed to sneak into the ground floor and started to decontaminate. I was too late and the spy neutralized the NDI33. I switched to motion tracking and I saw a spy running away from the NDI33. I zoomed in and tried to shoot him twice, I switched to auto fire but he was so freaking fast doing those running somersaults, he didnt know I had motion tracker so he tried to throw gas grenades for nothing. I strafed around the upper floor shooting down at him but then he ran towards the stairs to the upper floor and he was under the platform so I couldnt continue to hunt him. I jumped down and took alot of damage. Once again I tried to gun him down but hit just a few shots. He ran up the stairs I following him and I hit 3 shots in the back then he was out of sight...Again. I thought he ran to the entrance. I didnt see motion anymore I thought i lost him, but then the idiot shot me with sticky shocker and he was above that little platform of the pillar. after he shot me he ran away and I thought he was gone again, but then I put on EMF and I saw him in the air went and he forgot his visor was on! Finally I gunned him down after his wortless efforts to run away again. After all this I pressed F5 (chat to all players) and typed. "chasing you was like chasing a ghost" That was the best moment I have ever encountered, It was so exiting, but the hunt could have been more fun if it was longer! To quote Nelson from the Simpsons, "The Hunt...is on..." Thanks to Larty! 8) CONTACT INFO I will put my email address out there for you to send your own cool merc tips, but I have a few rules. -Any email without the subject "Mercenary FAQ", "Merc FAQ" or the like will be INSTANTLY DELETED. If you wanna talk, talk about the FAQ. -No complaining or telling me how the FAQ sucks. Only constructive criticism if you must complain. -Don't ask me for a friend request. If you wanna play with me (be warned, my knowledge far exceeds my skills, so don't expect an expert), my gamertag is Disco Stu514. Use the Xbox Dashboard or read the Xbox manual. If you give me yours, I'll look for ya. :) -Any crap (insults, spam, etc.) won't be read, even if the subject is correct. Anyway, now that that's settled, my email is
Discostu514@yahoo.com  Send in your submissions;
credit will be given, just include your desired
name (don't make it dirty, though).

Hoped you enjoyed the FAQ!