Assassination and Inflitration with DrRobotnik
An expert assassin and infiltrator can prove to be a major thorn in the enemy's side. An amature, but merely fragbait. I'm gonna provide some tips on how to make the best of one's position as an assassin and infiltrator.
Fist off, I'll discuss the tools of the trade: the cloak pack and shocklance.
The cloak pack, at the cost of steadily draining your energy, renders you practically invisible to players, making sneaking into a base easy under the right conditions. The pack can also fool pulse sensors, including the large sensors that makes up one's base assets. Beware, however, for the pack won't fool motion sensors or sentry turrets. The pack can also be forcefully deactivated by a sensor jammer pack, making you easy to spot and kill. Also, the pack makes a distinctive noise when activated that can give you away to other players.
The shocklance is a close-range weapon that packs a hefty punch and decent concussive force. Where the weapon shines, however, is when you manage to nail a hit from behind, which will kill an unshielded enemy instantly.
Now for some tips:
Obviously enough, beware of motion sensors and sentry turrets. Cloak packs will not fool them, and if turrets fire on you, the enemy will be quick to dispatch you.
Also, beware of enemies with sensor jammer packs.More times often then not, that pack will be on, and if you get too close, your pack will go off, and you'll be running for your life within the next few moments.
Beware of MPBs. They jam sensors and cloak packs.
When you're going in for the kill, don't stay too close to an enemy for too long. They'll hear the sound of your pack and try to kill you unless you nail them first.
If you fail to kill an enemy with a shocklance, run! The shocklance takes a while to recharge between shots, and if you wait until then, you'll be dead before you get another shot off.
Take caution when moving outdoors. Even with your pack on, you'll still leave behind footprints, which can lead the enemy right to you.
When infiltrating to base-rape, bring weapons that'll let you do the deed quickly, then bolt. Preferably, you should use physical-ammo weapons, since you'll need your energy for your cloak pack. Persoanlly, I bring the standard assassin loadout of a shocklance, plasma rifle, and chaingun with flare grenades for emergence exits.
Go for the gens first, but be careful. Gens are usually the most guarded part of a base, second only to the flag. When safe to do so, take out the gens quickly, leave behind some mines, and beat it.
If you're in a base, pick who you kill carefully. Chances are, once you kill an enemy in the base, his teammates will be keen to look out for you.
If anyone has anything they wish to add, feel free to do so.
Fist off, I'll discuss the tools of the trade: the cloak pack and shocklance.
The cloak pack, at the cost of steadily draining your energy, renders you practically invisible to players, making sneaking into a base easy under the right conditions. The pack can also fool pulse sensors, including the large sensors that makes up one's base assets. Beware, however, for the pack won't fool motion sensors or sentry turrets. The pack can also be forcefully deactivated by a sensor jammer pack, making you easy to spot and kill. Also, the pack makes a distinctive noise when activated that can give you away to other players.
The shocklance is a close-range weapon that packs a hefty punch and decent concussive force. Where the weapon shines, however, is when you manage to nail a hit from behind, which will kill an unshielded enemy instantly.
Now for some tips:
Obviously enough, beware of motion sensors and sentry turrets. Cloak packs will not fool them, and if turrets fire on you, the enemy will be quick to dispatch you.
Also, beware of enemies with sensor jammer packs.More times often then not, that pack will be on, and if you get too close, your pack will go off, and you'll be running for your life within the next few moments.
Beware of MPBs. They jam sensors and cloak packs.
When you're going in for the kill, don't stay too close to an enemy for too long. They'll hear the sound of your pack and try to kill you unless you nail them first.
If you fail to kill an enemy with a shocklance, run! The shocklance takes a while to recharge between shots, and if you wait until then, you'll be dead before you get another shot off.
Take caution when moving outdoors. Even with your pack on, you'll still leave behind footprints, which can lead the enemy right to you.
When infiltrating to base-rape, bring weapons that'll let you do the deed quickly, then bolt. Preferably, you should use physical-ammo weapons, since you'll need your energy for your cloak pack. Persoanlly, I bring the standard assassin loadout of a shocklance, plasma rifle, and chaingun with flare grenades for emergence exits.
Go for the gens first, but be careful. Gens are usually the most guarded part of a base, second only to the flag. When safe to do so, take out the gens quickly, leave behind some mines, and beat it.
If you're in a base, pick who you kill carefully. Chances are, once you kill an enemy in the base, his teammates will be keen to look out for you.
If anyone has anything they wish to add, feel free to do so.
Comments
...and the thought train behind "positions" can be derailed. As in, "positions" are for players/teams that can't/don't want to do everything possible to accomplish the goal of Capture the Flag. The team players should be flexable in their execution. Any player should be able to do just about everything their teammates can do, even if your specialty is Capping or HO or Midfield.
Just my 2cents worth
When you need to recharge, hide. And beware of your shadow! I suggest using third person view whilst recharging. Also, remember about the IFF. Try to get where you're completely hidden from view of the enemy, and use the freelook function to watch for guards.
Outside with the enemy, need to get by, don't want to leave footprints? If the ground slopes to where you want to go, or it's level, hold the jump button. You'll move about the same speed as walking, if level, but with no footprints! This is one time bunnyhopping actually has a tactical use...
Ski, if you can, when close to the enemy base. Try skiiing right for the entrance you want, and jumping instead of boosting. If you have to boost, use the energy sparingly. I also suggest throwing down a mine if you're spotted while entering. That is if no friendlies are coming behind you. That second of disruption the mine causes to your enemy gives you that much more time to get into either an offensive or defensive position. If you have grenades, those work just as good.
Are you serious?! The cloak is best INDOORS! No footprints! More places to hide and recharge! Quieter sound on the terrain! When running around on snow each footfall is audible. Inside it's quieter with no trail!
And the shocklance is useless? Wow. So the Thundersword and Mortar are useless two. Those being the ONLY one hit kill weapons (aside from ramming...meh). Even the friggin mortar won't kill a heavy in one hit! Yes the shocklance is hard to perfect, but if you have a stationary target with their back to you it's perfect! Also versus turbogravs it's devastating! Ever seen a fully loaded havoc get hit under the tailgunner's section by a 'lance? Know what else, UNLIMITED ammo! "Well I use my energy to boost." So do I! I ski too! I ski down a mountain, hit the cloak, bunny hop away from where I 'should' be, and backlance the fool tryin to kill me. Then I go and lance the rest of the friggin enemy base...oi! Also I know you went on to say it shouldn't be used if you're not good with it...but uh how are newbs supposed to get good unless they practice? And do NOT say bots...
Please...please rethink your stratagems! The cloaker is a great espionage and disruption role. Go in with some cameras or type up what you see and kill an HD or HOF for a capper! Clear mines and kill turrets...even place beacons for bombers and mortars...come on or mine high traffic enemy routes! Mine emergency repair kits so the HO can keep their gens down...keep an eye on the flag for defenses, killing the farmer if needed...stick near the v-pad, killing who/whatever is around! Nothing sucks more than when you order a tank, get lanced, and the lancer steals the tank and pwns your defense with it! Or the same with a shrike.
Oh don't get me started....oi...
first of all, let me tell you that i know a lot more about this game than you, and the fact that you could even imply otherwise is laughable.
the cloak is best outdoors. it's a fact. it's been proven over and over again. what are you going to do indoors with a cloak pack? try playing against any good hd; they'll mine disc you before you have any chance to do anything back, not to mention they'll always have a shield pack on, making backlances relatively useless. you're not supposed to stay alive long in the cloak pack, it's generally used to approach a target before you uncloak and mine disc (don't use shocklance, please), and that target is almost always a capper in standoffs.
the fact of the matter is that good players are hyper-aware and running around like a newbie with a cloak pack on is the least of their worries. Hell, even if one manages to kill me (which is rare), it almost never actually disrupts what i'm doing. If you decided to get good at a real offensive position, like HO or med. shield offense, you wouldn't have to worry about trying relatively worthless jobs that have no real value like cloak offense.
So you know exactly how long I've played the Starsiege franchise, how many hours I've spent studying it's coding, how many trials I've run on the various packs, how many kills I have and exactly how many minutes I've logged...nice. Care to share? Didn't think so.
I have, often! They die just as easy. Shield packs are not permanent. No player is immune to another skilled player. Patience is a BIG key to being good cloaker.
Ten years of game play have shown a use for every weapon. To dismiss it due to it's shortfalls and declare a relatively silly (yet effective, I admit) technique Godly is absurd. I have to miss, stand still, and be damaged (Or decloaked in some fashion) for you to kill me with a mine disc! By the time you hear the sound of the pack you've felt the sting of the lance.
The cloak is an excellent infiltration tool. I agree. In trained hands it's also excellent for disruption of the defense of an enemy base as well. A dead HOF, farmer, and HD put a nice little hole in any defense.
Then either you lack the ability to understand a clear base is a good base or that cloaker is REALLY bad at their job.
I've gotten good at everything that can be described as a role. Am I the epic gaming Goddess of Tribes 2 able to pwn any and everyone? No. Do I know the usefulness of having different tactical plans? Yes. Do I know when to and not to use a cloak pack? Yes. Is ANY loadout perfect for every single occasion? No.
This thread is about the pros and cons of the cloak/lance combo commonly referred to as the Assassin/Infiltrator 'role'. We're not talking about chasing a capper. We're not talking about defense. Pfft...we're not talking about an overwhelming offense. We're talking about the particulars of a specific pack which has extremely damning effects upon a defense in certain circumstances. Not every defense is fallible to the cloaker. Not ever defense is immune, either. Like most 'niche' type roles the cloaker has it's high and low points.
I suggest actually thinking about this before rambling off at the keyboard against someone with the experience, wit, and skill to put any pack/armor/weapon/vehicle/turret/building type/terrain to good use.
Read the Latin below.
You may try your rebuttal now.
To address your second point here, any good player will be able to hear you and shoot you before you get a shocklance off. In order for you to pull off a successful indoor backlance against an hd, you're saying you have to magically pop up behind them (difficult enough in many bases), while their shield pack is off (unlikely), and deliver a backlance without them hearing the cloak pack. That's absurd against any good hd. It just won't happen. All that time you spent wasting with the cloak pack could have been put to better use as a HO or MSO once again, other positions are much better suited to doing all those jobs. well, you may not be a goddess, but i am a god. I can pwn any and everyone, and have done it before, in multiple mods, not just ctf. I understand 7 man comp possibly better than anyone in tribes. a cloaking infiltrator the way it's described in this thread has NEVER been used at a high level successfully, and it's not for lack of trying. Not every loadout is perfect for every occasion, but the cloaking loadout is NEVER the best one. you're arguing chess with gary kasparov. don't hurt yourself.
I have never been killed by a cloaker when I'm seriously trying to play HD. In fact, if anybody tried to use any of those methods against me when I'm playing HD, I would be thankful and probably just leave the base and put up an entire farm from lack of real threat.
Dealing with a shield pack medium or heavy is much more difficult and they have the capability to do much more damage.
perhaps if you pay her a conjugal visit it would help. You could use a shocklance like this most excellent guide suggest. Don't forget to use some white out... grenades at the end before you make your get away Projectile.
(This is when you rag on about how I shouldn't use a language if I can't properly speak/type it. Meh.)
My 2 cents. And wouldn't Concussion grenade rob the HD of the shield pack? I guess i shouldn't be talking, i've only been playing for a 7 months anyway.
Hubris, ate!