Which is more effective, AirStrike or Predator?

Question

In Modern Warfare 3's survival mode, every time a juggernaut wave starts I get ready with a Predator missile. I find it very effective, just one Predator and the juggernaut is down.

But then, I must admit I am not a pro in MW3. In fact, I am just a n00b. My friend and I got to wave 33 in Underground and 39 in Seatown. I know one guy who is a pro - he and his friend survived till wave 124 in underground (and uploaded a video to Youtube as well, to show off). He says that to reach the higher waves I must know how to use the AirStrike.

I have tried using AirStrikes. I use them on enemies and they always survive so I don't get many kills. The same thing happens with Juggernauts.

Predator missiles can kill many enemies and give you total control over the missile. Both Airstrike and Predator cost the same ($2500).

So how is the Airstrike better than the Predator? One advantage I see is that you can use Airstrikes while running, but you can't move while using the Predator.

Asked by Rakesh Juyal

Answer

I'd personally use them for different scenarios and different points during a game of survival. It's also important to note that they have different uses depending on the map you're playing.

As you reference Seatown, I'll talk about that first. I tend to use the predator only on the earlier rounds (<30) due to the limitation you are aware of - the inability to move. Points are abundant on this map so it's easy to use a predator to wipe out the early juggernauts if you can get them to bunch up together. For juggernaut rounds >30 I prefer to use airstrikes solely because you can 'fire and forget'. Moving around the map is very important on Seatown in later waves, so this is an immense benefit.

The other good thing about the airstrike is that you can team it up with flashbangs to keep a group of enemies around the spot that the strike is called in. This obviously works best with a coordinated 2 player approach - one with flashes, one with airstrike.

But, on Underground the predator is extremely useful in all rounds (especially from 30+) to hit a group of enemies at their spawn point on the raised platform by where the two trains are parked just before the entrance to the building. (Use a predator to survey the battle field and you'll see where I mean, I'll try to post a link to a map later) Hitting the enemies here immediately after spawn allows you to get quad kill/kill streak/rampage quite easily and the predator effectively pays for itself. Again, I find points quite abundant on this map, so it's not as important to be conservative with them.

Remember, if you are hitting round 39 now, to improve you want to get to round 45 or 50 then build on that. There is no point dying with $50k that you could have spent on airstrikes, predators, riot squads, body armor etc. It's important to keep a reasonable amount back for self-revies, claymores, c4 and flashbangs - but otherwise you can spend more than you think.

For reference, I play on PS3 and currently sit around #500 for Underground (round 62). I think my Seatown best is round 51, but working on bettering that currently.

Answered by BunjiquoBianco

Check more discussion of this question.

How exactly does adrenaline affect melee weapons' effect?

Question

It is well known that an adrenaline shot will allow you to strike faster (hence shortens the strike speed). But does it also increase the weapon's damages ?
Since combining adrenaline and a melee weapons allows you to unlock the "Gong Show" achievement, it seems legit to wonder: is it an effect of the speed bonus, damage bonus or both ?

Asked by Anto

Answer

The Gong Show achievement is also affected by your health; if you are low on health you will not unlock the achievement. So it seems reasonable to assume that the mini-game simply checks for health and adrenaline, without having to conclude that adrenaline actually affects melee damage per hit.

Answered by eli

Check more discussion of this question.

What's a good way for me to find a Katana, aside from Zed's Demise?

Question

So I'm level 41 and I just got to the Jungle, but I haven't seen a Katana since level 30. I found a Frail Katana on the beach of the first area at around level 30 inside of a metal chest. Since then, I have been checking shops and chests and enemies and what-have-you, yet I still have not seen any other Katanas. Aside from Zed's Demise (I'm not that far yet), is there any certain way to obtain a Katana?

Asked by Aceofgods

Answer

Locations

• A side mission in the Jungle, given by Connor gives the Katana as a reward.
• A side mission to the prison leads to the legendary katana, Zed's Demise.
• Can be randomly dropped by zombies in the jungle.
• Different merchants in later levels of the game, can sometimes sell a Katana.( Check merchants. I saw an Orange one for sale in the Jungle. Also, there's a scientist above the lab in the Jungle with a short chain of quests, just follow the winding path into the mountains till you hit a gate. He's right beside it locked in a building.)

A little FYI

Xian Mei can perform a special attack when her first blade skill is upgraded. The skill is activated when you aim at a zombies head or neck, then Xian presses the blade against the zombies neck, causing roughly 1000-2000 damage.

taken from here and here.

Answered by Taz

Check more discussion of this question.

Battlefield 3 last patch: weapons efficiency decreased?

Question

Playing BF3 on XBOX360 after yesterday's patch, I noticed that my efficiency in killing enemies decreased.

It is not about aiming, I had a concrete sensation that every weapon is less effective than it was before the patch.

I was aware of the fact that USAS-12 was due to be nerfed (and indeed it has been, especially if you consider fragmentation ammo); now even if a shot hits an enemy in plain face at a distance slightly greater than extremely close range, that shot alone doesn't kill him. This is very different from USAS-12 previous behavior.

But after the patch it seems that using every weapon has increased its level of difficulty.

Am I having the right perception?

Asked by Federico Zancan

Answer

It seems that a good portion of the weapons have had some change to them. You can check out the changes in the patch notes here: http://blogs.battlefield.com/2012/04/xbox-360-patch-going-live-april-3rd/

So to answer the question: it probably depends on which weapon/s you mostly use and get used against you. For example, the M16A4 has had its vertical recoil increased, but horizontal recoil decreased, while the M416 has not changed at all.

Answered by Albort

Check more discussion of this question.

buying pistol magazine upgrades

Question

Where can I buy these? I am pretty sure (i.e. I checked) the following locations:

• Nos Astra Sporting goods
• Batarian State Arms
• Sitra Suplies
• Kassa Fabrication
• Aegohr Munitions
• Spectre Requisitions
• Cipritine Armory
• Elkoss Combine Arsenal Supplies

Kinda frustrating that a Paladin X only has like 40 shots with level II magazine upgrade.

Asked by soandos

Answer

Weapon mods become available for purchase as you complete missions. Some or all of them may be actually available to pick up for free in the mission they appear after, in which case you won't have to buy them.

Answered by kotekzot

Check more discussion of this question.

How does the Prothean assault rifle trigger ammo powers?

Question

After getting Prothean squad member, I unlocked Prothean assault rifle. I wondering, since it has unique mehanics, how ammo power (in my case, incinerate ammo) is triggered while using this weapon?

Asked by StupidOne

Answer

Each time a weapon does damage, it has a chance to trigger the ammo power. Chance varies based on weapon type (otherwise a shotgun shot spread of 3, 6, or 8 pellets would more often than not trigger the power)

The Prothean Rifle triggering ammo powers is no different than the Scorpion (exploding pistol), Arc Pistol (energy pistol), or Geth Plasma Shotgun (energy ball shotgun) triggering them - inexplicable, but useful.

Answered by Rare Candy

Check more discussion of this question.

How do I get weapons to level X in singleplayer? [closed]

Question

Possible Duplicate:
How can I upgrade my weapons to level 10?

In multiplayer, I have opened enough crates to get some of my weapons to level 10 (X). But in single player, I can only research upgrades through level 5 (V).

Can you get weapons to level X in singleplayer?

Additionally, is level V the max level for mods?

Asked by Rare Candy

Answer

You can only level up weapons to level X in a New Game+ in single player. V is the max level in your first playthrough.

Source: The official Prima strategy guide for ME3.

Answered by Ben Brocka

Check more discussion of this question.

How does one pick the two weapons one wants to fast “X” switch between?

Question

First, please confirm my understanding:

• you can carry up to 5 weapons
• you can fast switch using "X" between two at a time

I am having trouble setting the two fast switch weapons. For instance, say I currently have my sniper and shotgun selected as my fast switch weapons. I then get in close quarters and want to swap my sniper fast switch weapon to an assault rifle. To do that I fast switch "X" to the sniper, bring up the weapon wheel, select the assault rifle. Then when I press "X" it switches back to the sniper rifle. This is so maddening. How does one pick the two weapons one wants to fast "X" switch between?

Asked by Mark

Answer

X is not fast switch - it is "switch to previous weapon".

If you want to switch between Assault Rifles and Shotguns (or whatever), you just need to make sure that those are the last two weapon types you've actually used.

Answered by Raven Dreamer

Check more discussion of this question.

How to unlock the USAS-12?

Question

I'd like to unlock the USAS-12. (I'm rank 32 right now)

Is it part of Back to Karkand expansion?

Thanks.

Asked by Federico Zancan

Answer

It is unlocked by reaching Rank 43

All unlocks can be seen in battlelog -> player stats -> weapons

Answered by TheTor

Check more discussion of this question.

Does magic damage add on to a weapon's damage or is it a part of it?

Question

If a weapon has 26 damage, and does 10 fire damage to the target, is it
(16 base damage) + (10 magic damage) = (26 total damage), or
(26 base damage) + (10 magic damage) = (36 total damage)?

Also, what if it has absorb health? Does that act the same way?

Asked by Kecoey

Answer

Magic Effects and poison are calculated independant of the base damage of the weapon. The number listed on the weapon is the base damage only and does not consider any enchantments or poisons applied.

As previously established on this site (link forthcoming), only the base damage of the weapon gets multiplied by things like crits.

Answered by Raven Dreamer

Check more discussion of this question.

What's the precise effect of Inferno Propellant upgrade for the Galleon Mortar?

Question

Well, everything's in the title. The description line seems a bit incomplete about that upgrade:

Inferno Propellant (Bombs Create Damage Fields)

What's the exact effect of these damage fields ?

1. Any idea about the damage per second ?
2. Does it slow down enemies (the graphic representation of the effect looks a bit like a Scumbags's goo) ?
3. Does it work with the Bomb Barrage secret skill (reminder: "An experimental technique that overloads the firing tube with several shells that launch simultaneously") ?

Asked by Anto

Answer

1. The damage field hits enemies for 9-10 damage every 0.5 seconds or so while they remain in the area of effect, so the damage per second should be around 18-20. Choosing the High-Explosive Charges upgrade (+35% damage) also increases the damage of the field to 12-13, making the dps more like 24-26. Note: All of these damage values are for unarmoured enemies found in the first Who Knows Where area. I'm not sure if the damage field will damage armoured enemies.
2. The field does not appear to slow enemies down at all.
3. Yes, If you use the Bomb Barrage skill to fire multiple mortar rounds simultaneously, all of the rounds create a damage field.

Answered by Bryson Duda

Check more discussion of this question.

Cave Story weapons upgrade too fast?

Question

I'm playing through Cave Story on hard, and am a bit puzzled by how fast weapons are upgraded to their maximum level. The only 'hard' aspect seems to be the limited amount of hits you can take. Nowhere can I check which difficulty level I am playing on to double check whether I did select 'Hard' when starting the game.

Quite an easy question: Is this normal?

In what way is gaining experience/hitpoints affected by the difficulty level you select?

Answer

The thing about weapons in cavestory, is that getting hit will cost you XP. Your weapons gain XP so quickly, becuase if you get hit at all, you need more XP to recharge.

This is especially true with the Blade, where even losing 1 single hitpoint is enough to knock you down from level 3 to level 2.

There's also a weapon later on in the game that is most powerful when it's level 1, and actually decreases with "level ups".

You gain XP so quickly because XP tends to fluctuate quite a bit anyways.

This doesn't change based on the difficulty level, but if you're on Hard, that means you're invariably losing less XP from getting hit, because getting hit usually means you're dead.

Check more discussion of this question.

Can the Notched Pickaxe be used to enchant other items?

Question

I have the Notched Pickaxe with its smithing enchantment. I would like to disenchant this item and apply it to another weapon. I'm scared to try it as I don't want to lose my pickaxe. Can this enchantment be applied to another weapon when learned from disenchanting the pickaxe?

Answer

Yes, the Notched Pickaxe can be disenchanted and its effects applied to other weapons.

The Notched Pickaxe can be disenchanted to learn the "Notched Pickaxe Effect," which can be used to enchant to other weapons. Points towards Smithing are capped at 5. The shock damage varies as per standard Enchanting rules

Check more discussion of this question.

Omnipotent Pork Sword or Katana

Question

In Dungeons of Dredmor, I am havign a hard time to pick between these two.

Katana adds 10 slashing, 5 piercing, and 5 enemy dodge reduction.

Omnipotent adds 2 slashing, 2 piercing, 10 necromantic, 10 hp, and 2 hp regen bonus.

On paper, it seems like Omnipotent is better hands down(26 total stats, with the 10 necromantic bypassing armor vs 10 slashing), but why does it have a HUGE difference in stars? Katana is a level 10 Sword class weapon vs the level 4 sword class of Omnipotent Pork Sword.

Is there something I'm missing here?

Answer

Perhaps your Omnipotent Pork Sword has extra enchantments on it? The Dredmor Wiki says that this sword comes with +2 slashing, +2 piercing, and +10 HP. The other stats aren't listed there.

The "quality" stars are set by the type of weapon, and don't change if it's been enchanted, so that might explain why it is quite a bit better than a Katana.

On top of the fact that additional enchantments aren't a factor in quality stars, after looking at the sword-class weapon list, it doesn't look like you can really compare artifacts to "standard" weapons by their quality stars alone.

In general, it seems like the quality star system is kind of bogus. You'll need to just take a look at the stats on your items to decide which is better.

Check more discussion of this question.

Why do skilled players in MW2 use weapons unlocked early on, instead of the later ones?

Question

I noticed that in MW2, the more skilled players (who are usually the mvp in team deathmatch, First in FFA and so on), use weapons that are unlocked early on, instead of the weapons unlocked later in the game.

example: They use MP5 instead of Uzi and intervention instead of EBR.

Also, i noticed in terms of specs (damage, fire rate and so on), some of the earlier weapons have better specs than the later ones.

So why do they choose these weapons?

Answer

In the Call of Duty series, there isn't a ton of focus on balance between weapons in the same class. Just because a weapon is unlocked later doesn't mean that it is any better than any other weapon in that class.

There are almost always a few clear winners in the weapon lineup in every Call of Duty game, and those tend to be used the most often by the "serious" or "pro" players.

There's also frequently a couple of different types of weapons in a given class. For instance, some people prefer single shot or 3-shot burst AR's, of which there are relatively few. You might use the M16 over the AK-47 if you prefer 3-shot burst, for instance. Similarly, some shotguns are pump action and others are semi-automatic or fully automatic, and some sniper rifles are bolt action and others are semi-automatic, etc.

Also, sometimes you get the 'feel' for a weapon and you prefer it, even if its stats aren't the best, or other weapons unlock. You may choose an earlier weapon because you've unlocked an attachment you like, or are trying to get a particular challenge or kill count with it.

Check more discussion of this question.

What is meant by “when the moon is out” in the Silent Moons Enchant?

Question

The "Silent Moons Enchant" Enchantment states that it effect happens "when the moon is out", but what exactly does this mean?

To be specific:

• Does it matter where you're located? (inside / outside)
• Does the weather has any influence? (clear sky or not)
• Do the Phases of one or both of the moons matter? (moonlight?)
• Does it use charges when the moon is not out?

Answer

After some quick testing, I have to say that this enchantment currently doesn't work.

I made myself a test dagger with a super high enchanting level so there'd be no doubt of the effect if it did trigger. It was done with a petty soul gem so I can see the draining of charges very easily:

Here are the results from tests, I used getav health to see how much damage I did with 1 attack:

Night No Moon
Indoors - 8 damage - charges used
Outdoors - 8 damage - charges used

Day No Moon
Outdoors - 8 damage - charges used

Day with Moon
Outdoors - 8 damage - charges used

Night with Moon
Outdoors - 8 damage - charges used

As you can see from the screen shot, even hitting Heimskr when there were TWO moons out still only did 8 damage.

Check more discussion of this question.

Is the Rocket Jumper droppable?

Question

Does the Rocket Jumper weapon drop randomly as other weapons? Or is it only obtainable trough crafting and buying?

Answer

The wiki states this item is purchase and craft only. SPUF (Steam Powered User Forums) also have no confirmed drops of this item over a month after the MANN-conomy update.

Rocker Jumper WIKI

Check more discussion of this question.

What *can't* I blow up with dynamite?

Question

I know that Dynamite can destroy Hellstone Bricks but not Hellstone Ore, and that Dynamite can destroy meteorite, ebonstone, and the suit of "uninteresting" (Stone/Dirt/Mud/Grass) blocks.

Is Hellstone Ore the only dynamite proof blocks, or are there others as well? (Dungeon Bricks perhaps, or obsidian?)

Answer

According to the official wiki, dynamite can destroy every type of block except Dungeon Bricks and Hellstone Ore Blocks.

It CAN destroy dungeon walls (background).

Check more discussion of this question.

Why can't I use the RC Possessor?

Question

when I try to equip the RC Possessor in Saints Row the Third, the weapon is not selectable - why is this? How can I use this weapon?

Answer

You don't specify where you're trying to equip it, so I'll give you a broad answer that should cover most scenarios.

You can't equip it at all until you own it. The RC Possessor requires that you have completed the mission "The Belgian Problem." An easy way to check is to see if you have Oleg on your phone list as a homie. If you don't have Oleg, you don't have the RC Possessor.

If you can't select it from the weapon wheel, it might be out of ammo. Visiting any Friendly Fire will allow you to stock up on RC Possessor ammo.

In some situations (certain missions and activities, for example) you will be locked out of your weapons or given a particular set of weapons you must use. In these cases, you won't be able to use your other weapons, even if they're unlocked and stocked with ammo.

If there's some particular situation you're in where you can't use it, add those details to your question and I'll try to address those specifically.

Check more discussion of this question.

In the second round of Invasion: Spire, where does the shotgun spawn?

Question

In the second round of Invasion: Spire, when the Spartans are trying to capture the points at the bottom of the spire, I have seen people using the shotgun, but none of the loadouts have it so it must spawn on the map. Does anyone know where the shotgun spawn is for this round?

Answer

If you're coming from the Spartan spawn, the shotgun is on the far right side, leaned up against a metal fence. There's also a rocket launcher, nearest the left spawn, and a sniper rifle up against the rocks near the middle spawn.

Check more discussion of this question.