Metro 2033 - Stalker Redux?

[Paingod]

I stopped using the knives though. I don't think I ever made the connection with the armor that you did.

The connection for me was made with the first encounter using them. I had two that Bourbon gave me (by virtue of collecting them off the guy he killed) and was experimenting with stealth kills in the bandit room right after that. I could reliably kill a couple sentries, but one guy - no matter how I hit him in the head - the knives would just bounce off his mask and he'd alert his friends. Now when I shoot someone in the head with my VSV, the first round knocks off his helmet.

Throwing knives are a nice utility item for rare take downs, but now that I have the VSV I shouldn't ever need them again except to prove my manliness.

Specifically, I never tried any of the pneumatic weapons.

I "tried" the Tahir - but I found myself not liking having to pump up the gun between every fight and between shots if I wanted maximum powered shots. They might do more damage than a rifle shot, but you've got to constantly work the gun to get that. I wasn't up for it. The Volt Driver I might use - I haven't read anything about low voltage ruining the shot's damage, so I imagine it's a constant thing - but you still have to pump it to charge it.

I ran shotgun the whole time. And I loved the automatic shotgun. That thing was simply brutal - as long as the thing was dead before you had to reload.

I am certainly loving the revolver shotgun. Anytime I'm tasked with going into an area that has mutants, it's the #1 choice. Those poor things run at me, jaws slavering, and I wait until they get close enough... It makes short work of them. It's also nice to have ready for when you're just wandering around. If something pops out close to you, it's dead. If you spot an enemy at range, you have time to swap to the rifle.

I just ran into the first area where checkpoints are kind of getting on my nerves - the Reds vs. Nazis area when you get off the tram. I have the Scoped VSV, Scoped/Long/Stock Revolver, 6-shot Shotgun w/ bayonet - and kind of feel like this is all I need for the rest of the game... but ... this fight ... Ouch. I roll off the rail car and start exploring my surroundings. Backtracking yields a nice new toy, and going forward is a slaughter. I'm at a point where I'll shoot out every single light as soon as I can see it, but I'm still getting spotted and mowed down rapidly - leading to starting everything over.

Checking the wiki indicates that I might want to reload back to Armory and look for an armor vendor to buy the Stealth armor... which I didn't find. He was probably sitting out in the open and I wasn't expecting to be able to buy armor so I didn't walk up to him.

I'm also going to experiment with trying to trigger the checkpoints multiple times. Last night when I got off that Tram, the game saved... and I backtracked as my usual in any stage. When I went forward again, the game saved again. I know it did this because I killed two guards and collected a new item in the back area and they kept staying dead and I had the item when the game reloaded. It might just be that I need to kill a few guys, backtrack to a save point, trigger it, and then move forward a bit more. That's still better than having to redo everything when the s**t hits the fan.

[TheMix]

Not sure if I'm thinking of the same area, but if you mean the big open cavern with the bridge thingie... then yeah, that one was painful. I had to run it a number of times.

One thing that you can do is wait a bit. Some of the guys move around a bit. That can make it easier. But there were still a couple of parts of that that were somewhat dependent on luck.

Don't recall any stealth armor.

Dammit... now I'm wanting to play this again.

[Paingod]

Dammit... now I'm wanting to play this again.

Not sure if I'm thinking of the same area, but if you mean the big open cavern with the bridge thingie... then yeah, that one was painful. I had to run it a number of times.

That's it exactly. I've been successfully getting a little further each time, but I have trouble spotting enemies before they spot me because of all the light sources and cluttered landscape ... and everyone's got an AK down here. If I can't get to cover in a second to two, I'm dead. Even if I can, they still manage to keep clipping me, it just takes longer.

I'm at a point now where I'm shooting out every light source as I see them (which alerts guards, but so what) and killing every guard with 1-3 well placed shots from the silenced rifle. In most games this would be close to an automatic success recipe, but in Metro it just means I get to be killed by each guard once as I discover them and they shoot at me. Then the next time I get there, I kill him and the next guy gets me. I've been through the area 6 times now and get about 6 kills in.

Don't recall any stealth armor.

Apparently you wear "Normal" armor by default - it has moderate protection and moderate stealth. Stealth armor offers little protection, but good stealth - and Heavy armor offers good protection, but little stealth. Apparently when you wear the Stealth armor, guards will walk right by you if you're in a dark area. If you're wearing Heavy armor, you shouldn't even bother trying to sneak.

You can buy these in both Armory and Polis.

[TheMix]

I don't remember the specifics, but I think I somehow ended up falling down to the lower level part way through. It's MUCH easier (I think) than trying to get all the way across on the top level.

As I recall, there was some guys at the very beginning that talk for a bit and then head off to the left. Wait for them to go away.

Then I followed down to a lower area under the bridge. There were 2-3 guys there by a fire that then spread out some. From there I went left again. Again, wait for them to interrogate/kill a prisoner and then leave(?). That left only 1-2 guys in that area. I know the ones that leave go up somewhere, but I never followed them.

From there I ended up dropping down to the floor. I think I started out initially trying to get to some loot and ended up having to continue down. Running across the floor wasn't too bad. I recall being able to miss all the guards on the bridge and upper levels.

I only recall dealing with two main groups. Of course, I did die a lot getting to that point.

[Tampa_Gamer]

I checked my STEAM folders, and these are the files I have in the respective directories/locations. Looks like there are definitely completed versions of the Complete mods. Also looks like I didn't do a whole lot of patching on top. (I may have been getting confused with the Oblivion/Fallout 3 setups I've done recently.) The patches may have just been the STEAM ones...

Thanks - this will satisfy my first person shooter cravings for the entire summer!

[TheMix]

Guess that depends on how thorough you are. I spent about 40 hours on each. So about three weeks of gaming for me.

[Paingod]

I don't remember the specifics, but I think I somehow ended up falling down to the lower level part way through. It's MUCH easier (I think) than trying to get all the way across on the top level.

I'm an exploration whore, so I did discover the areas you're talking about - but only after having cleared out and killed every Red and Nazi on the upper bridge and lower sections. The Stealth armor makes a surprising difference in my ability to take on groups of unaware enemies with my scoped/silenced VSV.

I've just passed through Polis after getting completely turned around and lost in Black Station for a while.

When things get tough, go grenades. Enemies try and run from the first one, but seem unable to cope with the second, third, and fourth raining down on them. I took down the Nazi end of the top bridge by simply running at them and throwing grenades high and far over their barriers. Nazis were scattering every which way and screaming for help. In cleaning up after, I replaced every grenade with spares.

They're also good fun for squads sitting around talking, or to clear the entrance to a room before you bust in with the shotgun. I even managed to get a sticky grenade stuck to a Demon which was a hoot to watch detonate after he flew away, killing him.

I will have to try the Ranger difficulty after this. It's supposed to make shots (mine and theirs) stronger and ammo more scarce. Right now I've got 650 rifle rounds (+150 military-grade shells), 410 shotgun shells, 500 ball shots, 400 revolver rounds, and 40 arrows. No shortage at all. I had stocked up before leaving Armory, thinking "I have my armor, I have my guns. I don't need more Military Grade rounds..." but now I'm even stockpiling military rounds to use at the end of the game, whenever that is.

*Edit: The end of the game snuck up on me unexpectedly. I finished on Normal with 700 Assault Rifle rounds (used sparingly), 450 military grade rounds (never used), 350 revolver rounds (used sparingly), 60 arrows (never used), 400 shotgun shells (used extensively), and 800 ball rounds (never used). Ammo is not a problem for any gun unless you use just one the entire time. Seems like every time I picked up my assault rifle, 150 rounds vanished before I put it back down. The assault shotgun was, by far, the best gun I had access to IMO. It's a shame it wasn't better for some foes - foes you want to kill at the farthest possible distance.