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Guide part 2
How To Kill - 101
Roll Call and Squad Member Dossiers
There are four squad members you may play as as you unlock them. The first to fight is jack of all trades Captain Jan Templar. Get used to Templar's abilities since he is the deeee-fault character the game is based on. All characters are able to do all the actions in the control layout in the game, except for Luger, who is the only one with all-vision goggles.
Captain Jan Templar
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- ISA AR/G
- ISA Pistol
Jan Templar is a special forces captain in the ISA armed forces. A natural leader, if only a bit of a whining lap-dog for General Vaughton (Templar's mentor). Templar's abilities are about average just like his weapon array, so finishing a stage with Templar practically insures that you will be able to do so with Rico or Hakha. Templar's main weapons are the ISA AR/G and the hold-out pistol, both being utterly inadequate for most fights.
Templar's strength is his balanced abilities in health, stamina, and the enemies/missions he faces. His hardest hitting weapon is the AR/G which can destroy buildings and light vehicles. If possible, save up its ammo and start using the Helghan AR/S instead. It is worth to note that Templar carries less "Helghast ammo" (LMG, AR/S, et al.) than he can of "ISA ammo" (AR/G, Pistol, et al.).
Shadow Marshal Luger
- ISA Machinepistol
- ISA Knife
Luger is a "shadow marshal" -- one of the innocuous euphemisms for the state sanctioned assassins in Vekta's armed forces. Luger is extremely weak in terms of taking damage; five good shots will kill her instantly. However, her stealth abilities are amazing. She can walk up to an enemy while their back is turned and no one will notice her until she fires, touches, or attacks them.
She is a master of killing from behind and one of the reasons she should keep her knife throughout some of her missions. Luger's primary strength is her machinepistol. Its silenced bullets slays enemies with one or two hits to the head, and does not reveal her position. This allows her to pick off whole squads of Helghast before they can retaliate.
Sergeant Rico Velasquez
- ISA HMG/R
- ISA Pistol
Rico is a heavy weapons expert in the ISA. His story will be revealed in the game. Rico is tough and can take slightly more damage than Templar; however, Rico's problem is that he faces off twice the number of enemies in a similar stage. Rico's mastery of the HMG/R however, more than balances the odds since the weapon shreds groups of Helghast at short and medium ranges. The rocket launcher also allows Rico to destroy any vehicles or concentrations of enemies with greater ease than normal.
When playing Rico, grab the HG AR/S and hoard the HMG/R for situations when 10,000 Helghast drop in for a lead and nitrate party. Having a sniping weapon is important for Rico since his default weapons do not have this vital feature. Rico can hold more Helghast LMG ammo than Templar, definitely making him the support member of the squad.
Colonel Hakha
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- Helghast AR/S
- Helghast Auto-pistol
- Helghast Knife
Colonel Hakha is the only squad member with three starting weapons. His story figures prominently into the game, but for you Star Trek Deep Space 9 fans who know of Elim Garak and Enobrin Taim, Hakha's story is rather a rehash. His main advantage is his increased carrying capacity for HG weapons -- notably the AR/S and the LMG. He can carry less ISA ammo, but that's not such a disadvantage.
Hakha can also bypass into "Helghast-secure" areas since Helghast sensors and mines do not detect him as a threat. Hakha is otherwise identical to Templar on the battlefield. Hakha unfortunately, faces as many enemies as Rico in later stages, making his missions rather challenging. Pick Hakha if you want a blast killing Helghast.
Weapons of Ass Destruction
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Pistol
Primary - single
Secondary - none
1st Magazine - 7
2nd Magazine - n/a
Overview - The standard ISA handgun is made from stamped metal parts, and is a mainstay only by virtue of cost-effectiveness. The magazine is small and the round it uses is small, unpowerful, and fairly ineffective except for well placed shots (on the head for instance). It is one of few weapons with near perfect accuracy -- thanks to its zero-G spun barrel -- the ISA handgun has better accuracy than larger weapons.
Game Use - The pistol is an accuracte weapon, and you may want to consider using it to snipe at enemies from far beyond their awareness distance. However, ammo for it is scarce or non-existent, but you may always fall back to it for the time being if you are in desperate need of a weapon.
Autopistol
Primary - burst fire
Secondary - single
1st magazine - 18
2nd magazine - n/a
Overview - The Helghast standard sidearm is a much more capable weapon than the ISA equivalent. The autopistol can fire up to three rounds using an atypical breech-recoil system which relies partially on gas and partially on the excess force bled from the cartridge. Because of this, the rounds do rather pathetic damage compared to an assault rifle. The three round burst is useful in close quarters and the large magazine is favourable in semi-automatic fire; however, many weapons outperform it in terms of serviceability, reliability, and destructiveness.
Game Use - The HG autopistol is like the Mag-sec of Perfect Dark fame (or the H&K VP70, a tried and true rara ave). The burst mode is capable of racking up impressive damage, but the gun only comes with 30 rounds. It is fairly accurate, but if only firing singly, which you may as well use the ISA hold-out pistol. If you were Robocop, you may want to introduce those Helghast fools to your OCP Special.
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Assault Rifle/Grenade Launcher (Zoom capable)
Primary - Rapid fire
Secondary - Grenade shot
1st Magazine - 30
2nd Magazine - 1
Overview - The mainstay of all ISA defence units on Vekta, the ISA integregrated weapons system delivers a powerful conventional rifle round with a centrifugally armed impact grenade in one package. The rifle's only drawback is its small magazine size. Thirty rounds may have been plenty in the old pre-interstellar wars, but that capacity has been rendered obsolete by modern technical developments. Its saving grace is that the rounds it shoots are powerful, carrying several times more energy than what conventional civilian propellants. The under rifle grenade launcher is quite powerful, and allows the infantryman to engage lightly armored targets in cases where heavier firepower is unavailable. Captain Jan Templar uses the ISA assault rifle as his primary weapon.
Game Use - This is Templar's main weapon until he can get a hold of an HG assault rifle. There will literally be no way of getting more ammo for this gun unless you (a) kill an ISA soldier or (b) run across a preset cache of ammo. Neither method guarantees ammo for the grenade -- which is the only reason to have this weapon with you.
Assault Rifle/Shotgun (Zoom capable)
Primary - Rapid fire
Secondary - Shotgun blast
1st Magazine - 50
2nd Magazine - 1
Overview - The bread and butter weapon of the Helghan military, it will be the type of weapon most encountered by ISA troops. Using a hiretho unknown method of caseless slug delivery, the HG assault rifle wraps its cartridges around a aluminum cylinder and uses a weak EM field to shoot the slug from the barrel. The aluminum cylinder provides a power source for the EM field, and may be recovered for use on future reloads if desired. This delivery method however, tends to make the round diverge heavily from the intended target and has less muzzle energy than conventional cartridges. The under barrel shotgun was most likely a stopgap measure for this lack of stopping power -- the shotgun uses a 20 gauge 2" shotshell packed with 14 tetrahedral tungsten pellets -- quite a manstopper at close range. Unfortunately, the under barrel weapon can only hold one shell (in the breech) at a time. Colonel Hakha uses the HG AR/S as his standard weapon.
Game Use -? The AR/S is your primary bread and butter weapon for the game, regardless of character (except Luger, who should still consider taking one up occasionally). The 50 round magazine allows you to fire enough rounds to take out several Helghast by headshots, and the shotgun will either wound several Helghast or kill one at point blank range.
Machinepistol (Zoom capable)
Primary - Rapid fire
Secondary - Single (silent)
1st Magazine - 30
2nd Magazine - n/a
Overview - Originally designed for ISA vehicle crews, the machinepistol were eventually used by the Shadow Marshals for clandestine operations for sake of its concealability and destructiveness. The accuracy of a short barrelled weapon can only be terrible, and the machinepistol is no exception. But the power of its cartridges are unmistakeable, and its ability to make use of on-the-fly silencer attachments (which bleed off a high degree of the combustable gasses within the firing chamber, thus making the round appear 'silent') made it indispensable to Shadow Marshal operations. When fired rapidly, the machinepistol is a fully functional submachinegun. When a switch is pressed and the gun fires semi-automatically, the gun's report cannot be heard beyond 10 meters. Shadow Marshal Luger uses this as her primary weapon.
Game Use - Luger's main weapon is basically for sniping Helghast from far, far away. If anyone expects to take out several Helghast in a squad or enemy armor, go buy your six foot of ground now. And spring for the cremation, because an open casket service is basically Vomit City. The machinepistol should always be fired silently and be used like a sniper rifle in traditional FPS games. While its accuracy is lacking, sniping with the machinepistol is better than the sniper rifle, since the silencer will not give away Luger's position.
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Survival Knife
Primary - Slash attack
Secondary - none
Action - Instant kill (context)
Magazine - n/a
Overview - The solid alloy blade is the basic combat weapon from Kabar to bat'leth. Various infantry use less savory devices when events and resources are pressed the their breaking point -- hand tools have been known to be used in many occasions in Earth's past wars. The knife is best used for covert operatives, as surprise and stealth often allow them to catch unwary sentries off guard.
Game Use - Luger should retain her knife if only because she can kill silently with it if she sneaks behind a sentry or other guard. However, if you need to drop the knife temporarily, do so to pick up a sniper rifle or other weapon. Just don't lose the knife, as it may prove useful during installation or sneaking missions. Luger shouldn't be wandering around picking fights anyway. Hakha may also kill opponents instantly, but his knife attacks usually come less into play as he will face off against more opponents than Luger.
Shotgun
Primary - Single
Secondary - Double
1st Magazine - 8
2nd Magazine - n/a
Overview - The pump shotgun is a common civilian weapon used often by technicians assigned to remote, outlying areas to combat various infestations and unpleasant fauna on Vekta. It uses a centuries proven over-under design, replete with tubular magazine. However, advances in the firing mechanism allow the shotgun to fire a double shot in quick succession, giving the shotgun a high damage burst in crucial situations. Regretably, reloading must still be done by hand (hence the low cost and thus public availability).
Game Use - The shells are also of a different gauge and will not serve as ammo for the HG AR/S. The shotgun comes into play in some areas, but not all. The double blast used in a close quarter battle can kill an opponent instantly, making it quite potent.
Sniper Rifle (Zoom capable)
Primary - Semiautomatic
Secondary - none
1st Magazine - 6
2nd Magazine - n/a
Overview - The Helghast High Command merged a high-grade military full-spectrum scope to a heavy barrelled, high-tolerance rifle, allowing their snipers to find their targets regardless of the time of day or the weather. The action is semi-automatic, allowing the sniper to concentrate finding their target. Attempts to increase the magazine size has lead to mechanical problems, and the original factory magazines remain in use.
Game Use - The sniper rifle's zoom is reminiscent of Timesplitters, meaning that the sight must move to the edge of the scope's view before the view starts to pan. This means the sniper rifle cannot effectively follow a target traversing from side to side. Any movement will make the user snap out of scope view, forcing him to brace-to-fire once more. Use it to take out really distant enemies; the low draw distance of the PS2 makes the sniper rifle unnecessary, except in outlandish situations.
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Heavy Machinegun/Rocket Launcher
Primary - Rapid fire
Secondary - Rocket
1st Magazine - belt, thermal safety
2nd Magazine - 1
Overview - Most heavy machineguns are emplaced weapons, giving them literally no mobility on the battlefield. ISA experiments into man-portable fire support gave rise to the HMG/R, a unique blend of a for-shortened vehicular minigun and a compact anti-armor rocket launcher. The "minigun" is a five barrel high-speed machinegun capable of firing 30 rounds per second. Since it is too small to carry a standard cooling system, an integral thermal safety deactivates the gun when it approaches the upper limit the barrels can tolerate. The miniature rocket launcher is a serviceable (if risky) anti-armor weapon, capable of piercing the forward bulkheads of wet-navy destroyers. No guidance is available for it however, as the weapon is too small to mount any targetting aids. This puts the user in harm's way if the target decides to return fire. Sergeant Rico Valasquez uses this as his primary weapon.
Game Use - Keep this machinegun around, although use its ammo belt early on. Work it to have about 400 to 500 rounds left and then switch to something else. When things get hot for Rico, unleash the beast, and rip up the enemies before switching out once more. The HMG/R is naturally suited for short and medium range engagements, so don't go using it for sniping and such.
Light machinegun
Primary - Rapid fire
Secondary - none
1st Magazine - 100
2nd Magazine - n/a
Overview - Helghast militia tend to group light machineguns into small squads to provide fire support or to act as an independent squad in some tactical situations. The HG LMG uses an aluminum cylinder similar to the HG assault rifle, but is longer and can hold more rounds effectively around its surface. A devastating weapon when in the right hands, it cannot match the HMG/R in terms of sustainable firepower, but not being prone to overheat, the HG LMG is able to fire 100 rounds of lethal ammo whereas the HMG/R is limited to firing in bursts.
Game Use - Grab one of these if you do not have the HMG/R -- even Luger may want one on occasion. It is perfect for attacking a large group of enemies or elite soldiers who are more damage resistant. Despite the 100 round magazine, the HG LMG runs out of ammo fast. Use full bore only on enemies in a tight cluster or you will be missing a lot. Waste enemies, not ammunition.
Grenade Pistol
Primary - Grenade
Secondary - none
1st Magazine - 1
2nd Magazine - n/a
Overview - The grenade pistol is a centuries-old design; the fact that modern armies still use it is a testament to its effectiveness. The grenade pistol fires an air-fused, impact round that is quite capable of defeating light armor. While the user cannot "bounce" the round around corners via the opposite wall, the grenade pistol has a range that far out-strips any throwing arm, and makes for a deadly anti-material and anti-personnel weapon.
Game Use - The grenade pistol is encountered far more than the grenade revolver, so you should get in the habit of fire, back-up and reload, then fire again. The explosion is not that large but the damage is enough to down most Helghast peons. Use it to damage clusters of Helghast and to destroy watch towers. If you have equal ammo and are forced to choose between the revolver and the pistol, take the pistol, use up the ammo, then backtrack and take the revolver.
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Grenade Revolver
Primary - Impact grenade
Secondary - Proximity grenade
1st Magazine - 6
2nd Magazine - n/a
Overview - The grenade revolver fires a dual-mode round up to 90 meters away. The round allows the user to select impact detonation or proximity detonation at the moment of firing. The proximity sensor of the grenade is set to act on concetrations of bio-mass over 10 kg in mass, friend or foe. Exactly how this sensor works and its methods of operation are still unknown, but its battlefield applications are numerous.
Game Use - The grenade revolver is basically a six shot grenade launcher. Use it to hose down a section of ground with explosions and work it over a hard to reach trench or defended area. The revolver is seldom seen in the game, so its appearance heralds the presence of armor or tanks.
Rocket Launcher (Zoom capable)
Primary - Rocket
Secondary - Laser guided rocket
1st Magazine - 1
2nd Magazine - n/a
Overview - Widely available anti-armor rocket in wide distribution in ISA forces. A single tube (resuable) launcher with built-in laser designator. Fires a 7 decimeter rocket using a HEAT core inside a high explosive shell. The HEAT core injects lethal super-hot plasma past the armor, while the explosive shell is a hold over to defeat Chobham type armor (by blowing apart the armor, allowing the HEAT core to impact the vehicle hull). The high explosive shell is quite lethal against infantry, and the laser designator allows the user to impart semi-active laser tracing behaviour to the rocket the second after it leaves the launcher. In plain terms, this means the rocket will track the target (within a reasonable degree and distance) so long as the launcher's laser is placed on a target.
Game Use - The rocket launcher is only available in areas where tanks and other armor are expected (meaning you'll be using it). Although you can expend all the ammo you have at that fight, you can carry over rocket launchers to the next area to deal with other enemies if you wish. Usually, that is not the case, and you will wind up ditching the launcher rather quickly.
Triple Rocket Launcher (Zoom capable)
Primary - Rocket
Secondary - Triple threat
1st Magazine - 3
2nd Magazine - n/a
Overview - Helghast weapons usually sport more firepwoer in order to give their soldiers a higher kill potential. The HG rocket launcher is no exception. Functionally three rocket tube welded together, the HG launcher fires a rocket similar to the ISA weapon, but does not have compatible software. The HG launcher may be fired singly, allowing the user to destroy three large targets before reloading his launcher, or he may opt to fire all three rockets to "alpha strike" a target or small area. Few vehicles are capable of surviving such an attack.
Game Use - The HG rocket launcher is capable of nuking a small area with three rockets, although that is a waste of ammo. The ability to fire three rockets without reloading is an advantage the HG launcher has over the ISA.
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Anti-tank gun
Primary - Single
Secondary - Double
1st Magazine - 6
2nd Magazine - n/a
Overview - A heavy, barely man-portable anti-tank gun used by Helghast soldiers to breach bunkers and medium-armor vehicles. The weapon uses two barrels (over and under) and loads one shell into each; however, the firing pins are independently controlled by an electric switch. Up to the moment the gun actually fires, the gun fire one shell or both shells. However, once the trigger is pulled, the hammer must be brought back to reset the pin or pins before firing again. The gun uses a high-velocity rocket assisted round -- much of the force is directed sideways and forwards at various points along the barrel to reduce the recoil on the operator.
Game Use - Treat the anti-tank gun as you would a rocket launcher, except the shot is faster and harder to evade. Although the gun has a magazine, the breech must be reworked after each shot, keeping the rate of fire low (an equitable factor in multiplayer). Anti-tank gun, rocket launcher or grenade launcher all function to destroy tanks in Killzone, but the anti-tank gun is the fastest and most accurate, requiring very little lead to score a hit.
Laser Designator (Zoom capable)
Primary - Designate target
Secondary - none
1st Magazine - by artillery
2nd Magazine - n/a
Overview - This is an integrated systems helmet and laser striker-scope allowing forward observers to designate targets for artillery. Although archaic in some instances, artillery forward spotters are essential in directing pin-ponint strikes when unmanned aerial probes are not capable of doing so. Prevailing weather conditions may prevent UAVs from operating efficiently and forward spotters are useful and cost-effective in small forward bases, perimeter outposts, and in cases where troops are on higher ground than the enemy. The laser designator uses technology similar to the sniper rifle's scope, allowing the user to view his surroundings in all manner of conditions and weather.
Game Use - The laser designator is used only in the first stage of Forging A Path, and only to destroy tanks. If you run out of "designation ammo" you will need to resort to grenades to take out tanks, and as anyone who watch Saving Private Ryan knows, is a bad idea. The laser designator can only lock on a spot on the ground or an object, so if you cannot lock-on, you need to make sure the object is in the triangular "sight". Once the progress bars fill and the "ding!" is heard, you can leave the area or hang back and watch the fireworks.
Emplaced Weapon (Zoom capable)
Primary - Fire weapon
Secondary - none
1st Magazine - thermal safety
2nd Magazine - n/a
Overview - Various stationary heavy machineguns and grenade launchers are used by Helghast forces in a variety of positions and entrenchments. Emplaced weapons use their own ammo reserve (infinite in the game) and rely on a thermal safety to keep their barrel temperature in check.
Game Use - The emplaced heavy machinegun is sometimes (not always) used to mow down row after row of genetically altered Helghast freaks. The grenade launcher is placed where you are expected to fight armor. Fire them slowly and work across the beaten zone for some interesting fireworks. Use one when you think you can get away with it, but do not feel as if you need to attach yourself to one if the enemy presses in too close to use it effectively.
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AA-Gun, Emplaced (Zoom capable)
Primary - Rapid fire
Secondary - none
1st Magazine - n/a
2nd Magazine - n/a
Overview - Various anit-aircraft (flak) guns, emplaced, are used by Helghast forces in a variety of positions to deal with dropships and fighters. Because AA guns are expected to fire at prolonged durations, adequate cooling systems are provided to them, giving them devastating firepower when they are turned against land-based foes.
Game Use - You will not find too many AA guns, and despite the look, your selected hero is not protected from gunfire by the bulk of the AA battery. AA guns do not overheat as emplaced HMGs, so fire to your heart's content.
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