Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
Hey gang,
I thought I'd try my hand at a quick 'achievement guide' like all the popular Xbox sites are always putting together. Feel free to add anything you think would help people to this! (And if you'd like to repost it somewhere, please give credit to WCNews.com - thanks!)
1. Hot Dog
Complete each Ring Game difficulty level.
20 points
The Ring Game is located in the Bearpit multiplayer map. There are two blue powerups on either side of the spectator area and picking one up activates a level of the Ring Game. To play the Ring Game you must fly through a series of floating rings while facing a time limit and weapons fire from anyone else in the level. The game has three levels: the first is fairly easy, but the second and third require you to loop up and down quickly in order to reach some of the rings.
The first level can be accomplished in any fighter, but bombers cannot loop high or low enough to fly the second and third courses. In order to loop you must thrust forward and then pull up or down on the right thumbstick (pull in the direction you want to thrust). The Ring Game is difficult, but a few tries should be enough to learn exactly where you need to loop or turn in order to hit. Although the light fighters are faster, I reccomend a medium ship for the Ring Game - they're larger (more area to hit the rings) and easier to handle in close turns.
Note that your progress is not saved when you leave the level - you must finish all three in one session. Also note that the active Ring Game is visible only to you - be sure and tell other players you're working on the achievement, otherwise they won't know not to shoot at you. If they're still unwilling to let you be then you can fly some of the game under cloak - the Arrow Eclipse and all of the Kilrathi fighters mount cloaking devices. The game will count off the rings (one to twelve) on-screen. Hitting the wrong ring will prompt you to restart the level. Instead of flying back, wait for the powerup to respawn as the time clock is not reset when you make a mistake.
2. Commando
Earned Commando Tattoo (15 Frags in a Melee Match).
10 points
Shoot down 15 bots in the single player Melee mode. You must score all fifteen kills in one session, but you can die and respawn between kills. There is a ten minute time limit on this mode.
3. Dogfight
Shot down first pilot in a Xbox LIVE game.
10 points
Join or start any multiplayer mode and shoot down another pilot.
4. Ace
Defeat 5 ships in a Ranked Xbox LIVE match without respawning.
20 points
Shoot down five other pilots in a ranked game without dying yourself. The Boneyard map is a good one to work on this achievement, as the area between the jump point and the large asteroid contain two 'repair/reload'-type powerups. Grab these between kills as often as possible to stay in fighting trim. You can also unlock this achievement while going for Hibernation in the Bearpit (see below).
5. Untouchable
Reach wave 10 in Gauntlet without ever taking damage to your hull.
20 points
Reach wave ten of the Gauntlet mode without suffering hull damage. You can take a healthy amount of damage to your shields, but a single slight hit to your hull will void the achievement. Hull damage won't necessarily register as 'red' on your screen, so watch your shields carefully. Each wave adds more and better pilots to the mix - wave one is easy because you're dogfighting a single easy AI... wave nine features an entire pack of more aggressive pilots.
Conserve afterburner fuel so you can escape nasty dogfights. If your shields reach two-thirds gone, you should be looking for a powerup or a safe place to recharge. Once the enemy begins to outnumber and outgun you, use your afterburners to rush in and out of the battle area scoring as many hits as possible. There are three sometimes-useful powerups located in a triangle around the end of the map opposite where enemy fighters arrive. Between waves (or where necessary) fly up and grab these in the hopes of finding a reload/repair pickup. The 'wingman' powerup is almot always available at the top of the triangle, which doubles your firepower for a short time. Damage suffered by your wingman does not count against you for the achievement.
6. TCS Tiger's Claw
Compete in a 16 player Capital Ship game.
10 points
Start a Capital Ship game and wait for sixteen people to join. As soon as it hits sixteen players the achievement will be unlocked. You do not need to play through the level.
7. Hibernation
Reach a streak of 5 in a Bearpit game.
20 points
Shoot down six other players in a row without being killed while in the center area of the Bearpit. Conserve your missiles, as 'reload' powerups are rare in the pit. As soon as you have scored a kill fly around to pick up any powerups while the next fighter spawns.
8. Gunfighter
Win a Ranked Duel with each ship type.
20 points
This achievement requires that you score 270 ranked kills. You must play (and win) 18 ranked Duel sessions, using a different type of ship each time. Be careful to keep track of which ships you've flown - several types look very similar and be sure not to switch ships mid-level, as neither will count. Also note that you must first unlock all eighteen ships before you can earn this achievement.
9. Navigator
Travel through every gold jump gate in the game.
10 points
Fly through all of the game's jump points. These are located in three levels and can be unlocked in either the single or multiplayer versions where available. You must enter each jump point once, not simply exit it. In total there are seven, broken down as follows: Proving Grounds (2), Space Station/Melee (3) and Boneyard (2). The jump points will appear clearly marked on your radar. The hardest to reach are: one in Space Station which is at the end of a latticework corridor and one in Boneyard which is hidden in the asteroid's trenches. The Bearpit's jump points do not count. Also note that finishing this achievement in a Confederation ship unlocks the Rapier II Cavalier.
10. Retro
Reach wave 20 in Meteor Storm.
10 points
You must protect a series of satellites from nineteen levels of meteor strikes and fighter attacks. Fighter choice is up to your personal preference: light fighters can get from place to place and fire their lasers quickly, medium fighters have good barages of missiles for later levels and bombers can take hits and use their turrets and wider missile spreads to cover more asteroids at a time. Learn to fly through the nebula walls - it's disorienting, but once you've accepted it you can get from place to place much quicker.
One new satellite (up to three) will be awarded between each level, so you can lose one with impunity during each of the later wave. Conserve your missiles until later levels and collect 'reload' powerups wherever possible. As it becomes more difficult, focus on defending a single satellite at all costs - you need only one left when Wave 20 starts to receive the achievement.
Collect up the small yellow powerups wherever possible - these create an increasingly powerful nuclear mine which can be set off by picking up the larger yellow powerup at the center of the map. Avoid doing this until it's absolutely necessary. Ignore the AI fighters in general, but when you see them attacking the satellites fire at them until they chase you instead. One tactic is to avoid killing the AI pilots as much as possible so that they only have access to light fighters rather than bombers.
11. Paladin
Shoot down 1000 pilots on Xbox LIVE.
30 points
Score 1,000 lifetime kills online. This achievement counts both ranked and player kills and should unlock eventually. A good level to work on Paladin is the Bearpit, as there is no kill limit and it can go on for hours.
12. Deathstroke
Finish in first place in any Ranked Free For All match.
20 points
Be the first to score twenty-five kills in a ranked Space Station or Boneyard free for all game. The size of the match doesn't matter, so if you're more comfortable dueling than engaging in a massive free-for-all then host the game yourself and set the number of players to two.
I thought I'd try my hand at a quick 'achievement guide' like all the popular Xbox sites are always putting together. Feel free to add anything you think would help people to this! (And if you'd like to repost it somewhere, please give credit to WCNews.com - thanks!)
1. Hot Dog
Complete each Ring Game difficulty level.
20 points
The Ring Game is located in the Bearpit multiplayer map. There are two blue powerups on either side of the spectator area and picking one up activates a level of the Ring Game. To play the Ring Game you must fly through a series of floating rings while facing a time limit and weapons fire from anyone else in the level. The game has three levels: the first is fairly easy, but the second and third require you to loop up and down quickly in order to reach some of the rings.
The first level can be accomplished in any fighter, but bombers cannot loop high or low enough to fly the second and third courses. In order to loop you must thrust forward and then pull up or down on the right thumbstick (pull in the direction you want to thrust). The Ring Game is difficult, but a few tries should be enough to learn exactly where you need to loop or turn in order to hit. Although the light fighters are faster, I reccomend a medium ship for the Ring Game - they're larger (more area to hit the rings) and easier to handle in close turns.
Note that your progress is not saved when you leave the level - you must finish all three in one session. Also note that the active Ring Game is visible only to you - be sure and tell other players you're working on the achievement, otherwise they won't know not to shoot at you. If they're still unwilling to let you be then you can fly some of the game under cloak - the Arrow Eclipse and all of the Kilrathi fighters mount cloaking devices. The game will count off the rings (one to twelve) on-screen. Hitting the wrong ring will prompt you to restart the level. Instead of flying back, wait for the powerup to respawn as the time clock is not reset when you make a mistake.
2. Commando
Earned Commando Tattoo (15 Frags in a Melee Match).
10 points
Shoot down 15 bots in the single player Melee mode. You must score all fifteen kills in one session, but you can die and respawn between kills. There is a ten minute time limit on this mode.
3. Dogfight
Shot down first pilot in a Xbox LIVE game.
10 points
Join or start any multiplayer mode and shoot down another pilot.
4. Ace
Defeat 5 ships in a Ranked Xbox LIVE match without respawning.
20 points
Shoot down five other pilots in a ranked game without dying yourself. The Boneyard map is a good one to work on this achievement, as the area between the jump point and the large asteroid contain two 'repair/reload'-type powerups. Grab these between kills as often as possible to stay in fighting trim. You can also unlock this achievement while going for Hibernation in the Bearpit (see below).
5. Untouchable
Reach wave 10 in Gauntlet without ever taking damage to your hull.
20 points
Reach wave ten of the Gauntlet mode without suffering hull damage. You can take a healthy amount of damage to your shields, but a single slight hit to your hull will void the achievement. Hull damage won't necessarily register as 'red' on your screen, so watch your shields carefully. Each wave adds more and better pilots to the mix - wave one is easy because you're dogfighting a single easy AI... wave nine features an entire pack of more aggressive pilots.
Conserve afterburner fuel so you can escape nasty dogfights. If your shields reach two-thirds gone, you should be looking for a powerup or a safe place to recharge. Once the enemy begins to outnumber and outgun you, use your afterburners to rush in and out of the battle area scoring as many hits as possible. There are three sometimes-useful powerups located in a triangle around the end of the map opposite where enemy fighters arrive. Between waves (or where necessary) fly up and grab these in the hopes of finding a reload/repair pickup. The 'wingman' powerup is almot always available at the top of the triangle, which doubles your firepower for a short time. Damage suffered by your wingman does not count against you for the achievement.
6. TCS Tiger's Claw
Compete in a 16 player Capital Ship game.
10 points
Start a Capital Ship game and wait for sixteen people to join. As soon as it hits sixteen players the achievement will be unlocked. You do not need to play through the level.
7. Hibernation
Reach a streak of 5 in a Bearpit game.
20 points
Shoot down six other players in a row without being killed while in the center area of the Bearpit. Conserve your missiles, as 'reload' powerups are rare in the pit. As soon as you have scored a kill fly around to pick up any powerups while the next fighter spawns.
8. Gunfighter
Win a Ranked Duel with each ship type.
20 points
This achievement requires that you score 270 ranked kills. You must play (and win) 18 ranked Duel sessions, using a different type of ship each time. Be careful to keep track of which ships you've flown - several types look very similar and be sure not to switch ships mid-level, as neither will count. Also note that you must first unlock all eighteen ships before you can earn this achievement.
9. Navigator
Travel through every gold jump gate in the game.
10 points
Fly through all of the game's jump points. These are located in three levels and can be unlocked in either the single or multiplayer versions where available. You must enter each jump point once, not simply exit it. In total there are seven, broken down as follows: Proving Grounds (2), Space Station/Melee (3) and Boneyard (2). The jump points will appear clearly marked on your radar. The hardest to reach are: one in Space Station which is at the end of a latticework corridor and one in Boneyard which is hidden in the asteroid's trenches. The Bearpit's jump points do not count. Also note that finishing this achievement in a Confederation ship unlocks the Rapier II Cavalier.
10. Retro
Reach wave 20 in Meteor Storm.
10 points
You must protect a series of satellites from nineteen levels of meteor strikes and fighter attacks. Fighter choice is up to your personal preference: light fighters can get from place to place and fire their lasers quickly, medium fighters have good barages of missiles for later levels and bombers can take hits and use their turrets and wider missile spreads to cover more asteroids at a time. Learn to fly through the nebula walls - it's disorienting, but once you've accepted it you can get from place to place much quicker.
One new satellite (up to three) will be awarded between each level, so you can lose one with impunity during each of the later wave. Conserve your missiles until later levels and collect 'reload' powerups wherever possible. As it becomes more difficult, focus on defending a single satellite at all costs - you need only one left when Wave 20 starts to receive the achievement.
Collect up the small yellow powerups wherever possible - these create an increasingly powerful nuclear mine which can be set off by picking up the larger yellow powerup at the center of the map. Avoid doing this until it's absolutely necessary. Ignore the AI fighters in general, but when you see them attacking the satellites fire at them until they chase you instead. One tactic is to avoid killing the AI pilots as much as possible so that they only have access to light fighters rather than bombers.
11. Paladin
Shoot down 1000 pilots on Xbox LIVE.
30 points
Score 1,000 lifetime kills online. This achievement counts both ranked and player kills and should unlock eventually. A good level to work on Paladin is the Bearpit, as there is no kill limit and it can go on for hours.
12. Deathstroke
Finish in first place in any Ranked Free For All match.
20 points
Be the first to score twenty-five kills in a ranked Space Station or Boneyard free for all game. The size of the match doesn't matter, so if you're more comfortable dueling than engaging in a massive free-for-all then host the game yourself and set the number of players to two.