Ghost Recon: Xbox Live Tactics 3

Do you ever feel that you just aren't equipped with the right gear in Ghost Recon? Well soldier, you're in luck. Welcome back to our Ghost Recon advanced weapons training! In the previous article, we covered the ins and outs of Rifleman and Demolitions gear. Now we keep it going by giving you the 411 on Support, Sniper, and Secondary gear. Again, many of these are unlockable items, so if you haven't completed all 50 in-game tasks offline, you have some work ahead of you before you're matching wits with the vets.

Support Gear

Accuracy Shmaccuracy
Support gear—that is, machine guns—are not for soldiers concerned with precision and accuracy. Why bother with such trivialities when you can squeeze off a couple hundred rounds in a few seconds? Support gear is all about volume and coverage; blanketing the landscape with bullets and hoping that you find a target. The severe drawback here is that to use these weapons effectively, you must be in the prone position.

M249
Ammunition: 600 rounds, 200 rounds per magazine.
Settings: Automatic.
Description: The M249 is the basic machine gun model available from the start. The more accurate weapons become available upon unlocking them. The M249 displays average accuracy and power when compared to other weapons in this category. Bottom line: Use this weapon if you have no other choice.

RPK74
Ammunition: 300 rounds, 75 rounds per magazine.
Settings: Single-round, automatic.
Description: The RPK74 offers the advantage of highly accurate single-round fire. Automatic fire is less precise, but the coverage is clutch in situations where you come across a group of bad guys. Unfortunately, it has the least amount of ammo for any of the machine guns, so pack some extra magazines.

MG3
Ammunition: 600 rounds, 100 rounds per magazine.
Settings: Automatic.
Description: The MG3 has a high rate of fire, plus decent spread abilities, making it a suitable anti-personnel weapon when faced against groups of enemies. The accuracy is surprisingly high, but only when in the prone position. Any other position and the accuracy rating drops like a brick. This isn't Rambo—all the support weapons have serious weight and recoil, so they're near impossible to aim carefully while standing, crouching, or worse still, running.

M60
Ammunition: 400 rounds, 100 rounds per magazine.
Settings: Automatic.
Description: The M60 sounds just like it does in the movies. It's accuracy leaves a lot to be desired, though. The coverage is great to blanket an area with lead, and up close it's hard to dodge the rain of bullets. The M60 is also an extremely powerful machine gun, as a single round can take out even the strongest enemy. But good luck trying to score a hit. The M60 is suited more for suppression use in Team or Co-op play (support).

PKM
Ammunition: 500 rounds, 100 rounds per magazine.
Settings: Automatic.
Description: Now we're talking. The PKM has high accuracy for a machine gun, and the power is awesome. This sucker can take down scores of enemies quickly and efficiently. It's perhaps the best weapon for rapid-fire combat involving large groups of adversaries.

Sniper Gear

The Art of Being "Virtually" Invisible
A number of gamers enjoy the thrill of donning their Sniper gear. The rush of being a Sniper is finding a great hiding spot that affords an excellent view of the area, and then striking fear and confusion into the hearts of your opponents. After a few kills from your mystery spot, most gamers will think twice about walking into open spaces. After you unlock the semi-automatic rifles, you'll be a force to be reckoned with. However, sniping requires patience and the right environment—expansive levels are ideal for this type of strategy. Some multiplayer maps like River 01 make sniping difficult because there aren't many places to hide, and the area is so restricted that players eventually stumble upon you whether you know it or not.

L96A1
Ammunition: 100 rounds, 10 rounds per magazine.
Settings: Bolt-action.
Description: This is a bolt-action sniper rifle, which means that you have to reload the chamber after every shot. The reloading process for every weapon is about two seconds in length. This can cause serious repercussions on blown kills. If an opponent figures out where you are after a missed shot, or just a wound, you're a sitting duck. The L96A1 offers only one magnification level, but what it lacks in options it makes up for in power. This is one of the more powerful sniper rifles available in the game, and a single shot can take down most enemies.

SVD
Ammunition: 100 rounds, 10 rounds per magazine.
Settings: Bolt-action.
Description: Like the L96A1, the SVD is also a bolt-action rifle. What makes this a step above the L96A1 is higher zoom magnification and superior power. Even if you can't register a headshot, enemies will succumb after most well placed shots. If you're a newbie Sniper lacking many unlocked goodies to exploit, this should be your rifle of choice.

M24
Ammunition: 60 rounds, 6 rounds per magazine.
Settings: Bolt-action.
Description: Again, using bolt-action rifles has its drawbacks. The M24 is sort of the less desirable of the sniper rifle family—it has only one level of zoom, weak power (you'll have to pepper enemies with shots), and the least amount of ammo, with only 60 rounds. This weapon should not be your first choice. When given the option, grab the SVD instead.

M82
Ammunition: 100 rounds, 10 rounds per magazine.
Settings: Semi-automatic.
Description: Now we get into the serious sniper rifles—the semi-automatic variety. No longer do you have to wait to reload after each shot. These rifles fire as quickly as you can squeeze the trigger. The M82 is hellaciously powerful, perhaps the most powerful rifle of the bunch. Add to that the double zoom magnification and you've got a winner.

M98
Ammunition: 100 rounds, 10 rounds per magazine.
Settings: Semi-automatic.
Description: Although not as hefty as the M82, the M98 is a powerful rifle to be sure. But what we enjoy the most is the satisfying sound that echoes throughout the map after each shot. Pop off a few rounds at someone and watch the enemy take cover. The double zoom magnification helps make head shots a reality.

7.62 Sniper
Ammunition: 100 rounds, 20 rounds per magazine.
Settings: Semi-automatic.
Description: The 7.62 Sniper is yet another powerful semi-automatic rifle. The zoom seems to offer just slightly better magnification than the other rifles. But the best features is that each magazine holds 20 rounds. Combine that with the semi-automatic firing, and you're unloading the most bullets in the least amount of time of all the rifles before reloading. Even the most agile foes can be brought down.

Silenced Sniper Rifle
Ammunition: 100 rounds, 10 rounds per magazine.
Settings: Semi-automatic.
Description: The silenced sniper rifle works wonders for missions where stealth is key. Use this one in cooperative missions against the computer, and make sure the other guys in your squad don't fire and blow your cover. Double zoom magnification brings the action up close and personal. The problem is that silenced sniper rounds are weak, and unless you score a head shot you'll have to pump four to five rounds into each player to drop 'em. Another drawback is that this rifle doesn't excel in solo play because opponents are clued into your position after you take a shot, effectively eliminating any stealth advantage. And it's no surprise that the sniper rifle is no match for submachine guns.

Secondary Gear

Not to Be Taken Lightly
Sometimes what you equip in your Secondary spot can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Choose wisely!

M9/M9 SD
Ammunition: 75 rounds, 15 rounds per magazine. The SD is a silenced weapon.
Description: This is a silenced handgun, which is great when you're low on ammo, but because online battles are lightning fast, you'll probably never need to use it. And it's not much of a match for foes equipped with M60s and SA80s. If the host allows explosives, you'd be better off taking along a couple grenades instead.

M136
Ammunition: 4 rockets capacity, one shot before reload.
Description: This is the mother of all explosives. Anti-tank rockets not only sound cool, but they look damn cool when launched. The kill radius on this sucker is huge, making it a seriously deadly weapon. Unfortunately, to use the M136 you must be either standing or in the crouch position.

Binoculars
Description: For the most part these are useless. The zoom capability found on all weapons equals or exceeds that of the binoculars. For that reason, add some ammunition or a frag grenade in its place.

Frag Grenade
Ammunition: 6 grenades.
Description: These are a great tool to clear opponents out of hiding spots like buildings and groves of trees. Just make sure you throw them far enough away so you don't inflict damage on yourself.

Claymore Mine
Ammunition: 2 mines.
Description: It's a shame you only get two of these. Detonate one of these and watch anyone standing in a 180-degree radius turn into Swiss cheese. Claymores are perfect for a surprise attack. Plant them in a couple select spots, go run and hide, and then detonate from a distance. And because they're so small, your foes are bound to walk right past them without blinking.

Nice job, rook. You've completed training session II. Now it's up to you. Bring what you've learned here, get online, and let the domination begin.