Mercenaries™ may offer a unique open-ended military experience like we've never seen before, but at its core, it's still a third-person action game. All the same basic strategic principles you've applied to such games in the past apply here as well, but like any good game,Mercenaries is filled with little quirks of its own. When you're twenty hours deep into the game, chances are you've found dozens of little ways to take advantage of your equipment and your environment. Until then, chew on these little combat-specific tidbits to help ease the way.
Stick, Drive, and Dive You eventually gain access to all manner of different weaponry and even tactical military strikes (e.g. you can call in a carpet-bombing run), but the biggest bang for your buck in the beginning is your supply of C4 explosives. They're cheap, and very deadly if used properly. Try the following to make a big impression at the beginning of a fight.
1.Drive a vehicle to an enemy location. 2.Get out of the car when you spot a group of enemy soldiers. 3.Place a packet of C4 on the hood of your vehicle. 4.Drive towards the heart of the enemy. 5.When you pick up enough speed, dive out of the car (just hit the button to exit the car while it's still moving). 6.When the car reaches the group of enemies, trigger your C4 and watch the chaos ensue.
Enemy Vehicles = Cash While not specifically a combat tip, it's important to remember that every North Korean vehicle can potentially pad your wallet. Often after combat, you want to just get out of Dodge before the cavalry arrives. It's not a bad decision, but take a little time to explode any nearby North Korean vehicles. You receive a few thousand dollars for each demolished vehicle.
Dropping Goodies Ordering a supply drop during a mission is going to become standard procedure, but make sure you pick your spots carefully. In order to properly call in supplies, you need a safe and open area for the helicopter to hover over. Try ordering supplies just before a combat situation or in between major conflicts.
Ally Attack It's not uncommon to get chased all over the map by enemy soldiers. If you get in over your head and you find yourself driving like a madman trying to get the enemy off your tail, make a beeline for an allied encampment. The enemy of your enemy is your friend, and if you can pull your chasers to an ally's stronghold, you can let the NPCs get you out of a jam.
Rollin' on Over Mercenaries will undoubtedly be compared to the GTA series, and one ofGrand Theft Auto's most basic strategies applies here as well. When in doubt, run them over. See a line of infantry between you and your objective? Line them up and run them down in a vehicle of your choice. You may not be able to get everyone, but the vehicle takes damage while you're driving, not you, so take advantage of that while you still can.
Out of Sight, Out of Mind Disguise is more for avoiding combat, but hey, sometimes being clever is what gets the job done. Any time you get into a car, you become disguised as a member of the faction it belongs to. Steal a car from some civilian contractor, and everyone thinks you’re a civilian. Steal a jeep from the North Koreans and voila—you can roll around your enemy's encampment unencumbered. However, if you crash, act hostile, or drive too fast (or even too slow), you'll be spotted, so be careful. That said, a prudent use of the disguise system can greatly reduce the number of unnecessary conflicts.
The beauty of Mercenaries is its ability to allow you to solve a combat situation on your own. It doesn't force a style of gameplay on you. You can stealth your way through, picking off soldiers as you go; you can sneak through the enemy lines in a stolen vehicle; you can run in guns blazing if that's your bag; or, you can call down thunderous air strikes just because it's fun (though very expensive) to do. Either way, these combat tips should help you in specific situations and encourage strategies of your own. Good luck!
