================================================================================ LOST PLANET: Extreme Condition Vital Suit FAQ ================================================================================ By John Melocoton Copyright 1.2007 ================================================================================ Contents I. Introduction II. VS Basics III. VS Weapons A. Gatling Gun B. Shotgun c. Rocket Launcher D. Missile Launcher E. Cannon F. Grenade Launcher G. Laser Rifle H. EM Laser I. Homing Laser IV. Vital Suits A. Unnamed VS B. GTF-11 C. GTB-13M VS D. GTB-13M Bike E. GTB-22 F. GAB-25M VS G. GAB-25M Tank H. PTX-140 I. L-P-9999 V. Conclusion A. Contact Me! B. Legal Stuff C. The End ================================================================================ I. Introduction ================================================================================ Capcom has done it again. Lost Planet, released January 2007, is an action filled third-person shooter. The game excels in "impossible odds" type situations, with a single man against legions of monsters, snow pirates, corporate thugs, and bosses as large as mountains. The odds are definitely against you, but you have an ace up your sleeve: the Vital Suit. Vital Suits are essentially robotic, upright tanks capable of dealing damage and taking just as much. Vital Suits, or VS, are essential later in the game, where you will spend 85-90% of the level in one. The game features many different VS types and weapons, and this FAQ will help to give you information on them. ================================================================================ II. VS Basics ================================================================================ You can enter or exit VS by approaching one and pressing B. All VS actions drain your T-Eng, with certain actions draining it faster than others. Generally, jumping, hovering, and dashing all drain T-Eng quickly. You must have T-Eng to pilot a VS. Running out of T-Eng will eject you from the VS. VS health does not regenerate, no matter how much T-Eng you have. When you run out of VS health, you must tap B to eject from the VS. If you don't eject before the VS explodes, you will die. All VS leaves huge pools of T-Eng, giving you up to 2000 in most cases. Even yours will leave T-Eng when it is destroyed, so if you're low on health and T-Eng, just let your VS be destroyed, eject, then run back to the pool of T-Eng. Most VS can handle two weapons at a time, one on each side. VS weapons are highlighted in blue. Approach one and position it on either your left or right, and press B to equip it on that side. You can stack identical weapons on one side to give it more ammo, or equip identical weapons on both sides to double your firepower. Energy Weapons have no ammo, but drain T-Eng when used. With the exception of the Missile Launcher, Cannon or Laser Vulcan, you can grab and use, or attach any weapon from an empty VS. Empty VS are indestructible. If you like your equipped VS weapons, and are about to die, you can exit from your VS even in a firefight and grab the weapon off the VS. If your VS is destroyed, you will loose the equipped weapons. It's vital to keep switching VS in mission mode to keep up your health. Remember that you can attach and detach weapons to keep the ones you want. ================================================================================ III. VS Weapons ================================================================================ Gatling Gun ----------- Damage: Poor Firing Rate: Excellent The most common VS weapon. Damage is disappointing, even on-foot enemies can withstand extended periods of sustaining fire from this weapon. Not only that, this gun has a large cone of fire, making aiming hard. Shotgun -------- Damage: Average Firing Rate: Poor The second most common VS weapon is a shot gun. It acts like a shotgun should, but this one has a particularly large cone of fire. You have to be even closer than usual to get the full damage of this gun. Rocket Launcher --------------- Damage: Excellent Firing Rate: Poor A single shot rocket launcher that deals a ton of damage. The reload rate is horrendous. Make it a habit to double tap the trigger so you can reload as soon as you're done firing. Missile Launcher --------------- Damage: Excellent Firing Rate: Average This deals less damage than the rockets, but you get to fire four before having to reload. Just like the rocket launcher the reload is long and painful, so make it a habit to reload when you can. Cannon ------ Damage: Good Firing Rate: Good This weapon is pretty rare, but it's a good one. It's a single shot, but it reloads quickly, and deals good damage. Grenade Launcher ---------------- Damage: Excellent Firing Rate: Average This acts like a rocket launcher, but deals less damage. However, once it hits, it splits into five smaller explosives that deal extra damage. Area attack FTW! Laser Rifle ----------- Damage: Good - Excellent Firing Rate: Average This is an energy weapon. You can charge the laser rifle for extra damage. There's two levels of charge, the only downfall being the T-Eng drain is pretty bad when you're charging for a while. EM Laser -------- Damage: Good - Excellent Firing Rate: Average This is an energy weapon. This deals less damage than the laser rifle, but stuns enemies. You can also charge this laser twice for extra damage, and it lengthens the time of the stun. Pretty effective if you match this with a high damage weapon, like a rocket launcher or homing laser. Stun, then damage! Homing Laser ------------ Damage: Average - Excellent Firing Rate: Poor - Average This is an energy weapon. By holding down the trigger, you can lock up to 4 targets for this weapon. If all four hit a single target, the damage is spectacular, but it takes time to get 4 locks. Conversely, you can just tap the trigger to fire single beams, but the damage is weak. Note that this is an indirect fire weapon, meaning it curves left or right when fired. In a confined space, the lasers can hit a wall, blocking it completely. Be careful! ================================================================================ IV. Vital Suits ================================================================================ Unnamed VS (GTF-10??) --------------------- Movement: Average Defense: Poor Controls: A - Jump RT - Fire Right Weapon RB - Reload Right Weapon LT - Fire Left Weapon LB - Reload Left Weapon This VS is the very first VS you use in the regular missions (not counting the PTX-140 from the intro). It's not given a name, but it's essentially a GTF-11 without the hover and dash ability. Visually, it's missing the wings and the cockpit shield. That's why I call 'em GTF-10. There is no NEVEC version of this VS. This VS is the weakest of them all, and lacks any dodging or movement special ability, making them easy targets even for on-foot enemies. GTF-11 ------ Movement: Good Defense: Good Controls: A - Jump A in Air - Hover, A again to cancel Y - Short Dash RT - Fire Right Weapon RB - Reload Right Weapon LT - Fire Left Weapon LB - Reload Left Weapon The second basic VS is actually quite powerful. Visually, the Snow Pirate Version has an open cockpit but with a shield covering the front, while the NEVEC version has a closed, angular cockpit. Both version have stabilizers coming out of the shoulders that I like to call wings. It has a good vertical jump and decent hover, but the dash is really short. Still, it's good to use a quick dodge against incoming rockets and lasers if you're fast enough to hit the button. GTB-13M VS ---------- Movement: Poor Defense: Poor Controls: A - Jump Y - Transform to Bike Mode RT - Fire Right Weapon RB - Reload Right Weapon The GTB-13M is a transforming VS. In VS mode, it closely resembles the reverse joint AT-RT that the Clone Troopers used in the Star Wars movies. Essentially picture a futuristic bike on chicken legs and you get the idea. The NEVEC version is more angular than the snow pirate version. The GTB-13M is, unfortunately, the crappiest VS in the game. It's super slow, has a weak jump, can carry only one weapon, and gets destroyed easily. Too bad, since I think it looks rather keen. GTB-13M Bike ------------ Movement: Excellent Defense: Poor Controls: A - Accelerate X - Decelerate Y - Transform to VS Mode LB - Dashing Jump RT - Fire Right Weapon RB - Reload Right Weapon The GTB-13M is a transforming VS. The bike mode is much more useful than the VS version, though I would still prefer any other VS. It looks like an elongated snow-mobile, and performs just like one. You can't turn unless you're moving, and you can't aim up and down, which limits the offensive capabilities. However, you can perform quick strafing runs and against large groups of enemies before they even know what him them, and ramming damage is higher than any other VS. The dashing jump's usefulness is limited to clearing low obstacles and gaps, you can't use it defensively since you come almost to a dead stop upon landing. GTB-22 ------ Movement: Excellent Defense: Average Controls: A - Jump A in Air - Double Jump Y - Charge Super Jump, Y again to cancel X - Smoke Grenades RT - Fire Right Weapon RB - Reload Right Weapon LT - Fire Left Weapon LB - Reload Left Weapon This VS specializes in vertical movement, and is quite a treat to pilot. It looks like an elongated ED-209 from RoboCop, with a rounded cockpit for the Snow Pirates and a triangular cockpit for NEVEC. Its regular jump isn't that great, but the double jump propels it incredibly high. There's also a super jump the fires the GTB-22 straight up like a rocket, and then by pressing Y again you smash downwards, inflicting damage on anything you land on. The damage isn't that great, but it's still something to consider. The smoke grenade isn't effective against the CPU, but even then the size of the smoke puff and time it lasts isn't good enough to consider tactically. GAB-25M VS ---------- Movement: Poor Defense: Excellent Controls: A - Jump A in Air - Hover, A again to cancel Y - Transform to Tank Y while Moving - Slide RT - Fire Laser Vulcan LT - Fire Cannon The GAB-25M is transforms from a 4 legged spider type VS into a tank. There is no Snow Pirate version of this VS. In VS mode, the GAB-25M is an offensive powerhouse. While you can't change the weapons on this VS, the two included weapons kick serious VS booty. The Laser Vulcan, while not as fast as the Gatling Gun, is accurate and highly damaging. It's also an energy weapon, so it'll never run out of ammo as long as you keep your T-Eng up. The Cannon is a fast reloading, high damaging gun. While it doesn't have the oomph of a rocket or missile, the cannon reloads in about 1.5 seconds, allowing you continually blast an enemy. The downside is the sluggish movement. The VS also has a jump, but it's weak, as is the incredibly slow hover. The slide, however, is useful defensively. GAB-25M Tank ------------ Movement: Good Defense: Excellent Controls: X - Drill Dash Y - Transform to VS RT - Drill LT - Cannon The GAB-25M is transforms from a 4 legged spider type VS into a tank. When in tank mode, the GAB-25M looses the ability to sidestep, but can still pivot in place, just like a true tank. You also loose the ability to fire the Laser Vulcan, but now have access to the powerful Drill. Pulling the right trigger extends the drill for second, dealing good amounts of damage. The real damage comes from the Drill Dash. After a short start up, the GAB-25M runs full steam forward, inflicting massive damage on anything it hits. It runs for about 4 seconds, and you can't stop once it's started. You can still steer though, so make sure to aim for those baddies. You can still fire the cannon, but you have a very shallow vertical aim. While it can't jump, the tank is pretty fast moving, so you usually see a tank rush in a combat zone, then transform into a VS to deal the damage. PTX-140 ------- Movement: Excellent Defense: Good Controls: A - Jump A in Air - Hover, A again to cancel Y - Slide, Y again to cancel X - VS Saw RT - Fire Right Weapon RB - Reload Right Weapon LT - Fire Left Weapon LB - Reload Left Weapon The premium VS is the PTX-140. It's hard to describe because it's pretty unique, but it has a round top, and is the only VS to actually have arms. One of those arms carries a saw, which you can deploy by pressing X. The damage is crazy, but so is the drain on your T-Eng. Movement is pretty impressive, it seems to run compared to other VSs. It can also dash for a few seconds, which is quite useful. Jump height is second only to the GTB-22, and you can hover for a long period of time. Defense is only above average, but mobility is what makes this VS really pop. T-Eng drain is pretty severe, so make sure you can support it. There's also a special version of the PTX-140 that you pilot in Mission 6. It's just a PTX-140 with much higher defenses, and slightly slower T-Eng consumption. L-P-9999 -------- Movement: Are you kidding? Defense: You're kidding, right? Controls: A - Descend, A again to Cancel Y - Ascend, A again to Cancel X - Fire Dual Vulcan RT Tap - EMF Blade Wave RT Charge - EMF Blade Vertical Slash RB - Change Target LT - Fire Vulcan LT Charge - EMF Blade Horizontal Slash The ultimate VS, which you get in the last mission, is, simply put, a pain in the ass. It's cumbersome, buggy, and quite annoying to pilot. But I can't deny its power. The strangest fact of this VS is that X fires a powerful Vulcan, but you can't really aim it since you have to hold it down. Personally, I use my trigger finger to hold down X while aiming with my thumb. In any case, it's awkward. Tapping LT fires a weaker Vulcan as well, but it's not as good as the dual Vulcan. Tapping RT makes the L-P-9999 make a quick slashing movement with the EMF Blade, which fires a wave like attack. The damage on this attack is good, but it's sort of slow. By holding either RT or LT for a second, you can unleash a slash with the EMF Blade, which inflicts massive damage, literally destroying a regular VS with one hit. The L-P-9999 is an airborne VS, so you have to get used to moving in three dimensions. You can simply aim up or down and move forward to climb or descend, or you can tap A or Y to dash down or up, respectively. Since you can't aim straight up or down, targeting enemies is tricky. You can tap RB to automatically lock on the nearest target, but this is buggy an often messes up the camera. It's often best to move away, and let the auto-aim take care of the shooting. All in all, I hate this VS with a passion. ================================================================================ V. Conclusion ================================================================================ Contact Me ---------- Well, that's all for now. Questions? Comments? Compliments? Mail me! jmelocoton@hotmail.com Legal Stuff ----------- Whee!!! The fun part of writing a FAQ. Here goes: Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, the Lost Planet logo, and all characters within are Copyright 2007 Capcom. This FAQ is Copyright 2007, John Melocoton. This FAQ may NOT be used for any commercial purposes. It may NOT be reproduced under any circumstance, except for private use, and under direct written permission by the author. It may NOT be altered at all, in anyway, for public use. Plagiarism is a crime and is punishable by FEDERAL law. And a sword. A dull one. They hurt more. The End ------- The End. Hmmm...