SWAT 4 (PC)
Full Walkthrough
Document written by PyroFalkon (pyrofalkon hotmail com)
Current Version: 1.1
Latest update: 27 August 2005
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||LATEST UPDATE||
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v1.1 (27 August 2005)
Two e-mails have contributed information. We've got way more details about
the so-called GB36 weapon, and I was corrected on what SMG stands for.
Whoops.
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||TABLE OF CONTENTS||
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1. Intro
2. Game Basics
a. Elements
b. Rules of Engagement
a. When ROE Doesn't Matter
c. Your Role as Element Leader and Sniper
d. The View Port
e. Miscellaneous Notes
3. Weapons and Tactical Aids
a. Primary Weapons
b. Secondary Weapons
c. Tactical Aids
d. Breaching Equipment
4. Walkthrough
a. Mission 1: Food Wall Restaurant
b. Mission 2: Fairfax Residence
c. Mission 3: Qwik Fuel Convenience Store
d. Mission 4: A-Bomb Nightclub
e. Mission 5: Victory Imports Auto Center
f. Mission 6: Red Library Offices
g. Mission 7: Northside Vending and Amusements
h. Mission 8: DuPlessis Wholesale Diamond Center
i. Mission 9: Children of Taronne Tenement
j. Mission 10: St. Michaels Medical Center
k. Mission 11: The Wolcott Projects
l. Mission 12: Old Granite Hotel
m. Mission 13: Mt. Threshold Research Center
5. Version History
6. Copyright Info
7. Contact Info
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||1. INTRO||
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Man, it feels good to be writing an FAQ again! Due to reasons I won't bore
you all with, I haven't written or updated an FAQ since September 2004! After
a 7-month vacation, it feels great to be back!
I've never been a big fan of most FPS games. You can all keep your Doom 3,
Half-Life 2, Far Cry, and Halo 2. But tactical shooters, from Rainbow Six to...
well, to SWAT, have always had a special place on my hard drive. I always
felt that SWAT was better than R6 (writing that knowing I risk getting
flamed), and it brings me great pleasure to have the opportunity to write a
walkthrough for SWAT 4, the newest in the series.
SWAT 4 takes a lot of the stupidity out of SWAT 3. While by no means perfect
(what genius made the decision to STILL not use go-codes like in R6?), it's
still my favorite tactical shooter to date. You'll get tons of information
here, from weapon analysis to how to get through every mission that shipped
with the CD. Not to mention, the classic PyroFalkon Accuracy of my FAQs: at
best, you'll be able to beat the game merely with my notes. At worst, you'll
have another view on matters and will be able to make better decisions as a
result. Either way, it's going to be fun.
If you read my SWAT 3 guide, you may find a lot of repeated information here
inside the Game Basics section. That's only because the rules, regulations,
and tactics have not changed very much these few years, but that doesn't mean
it's not worth reading through once or twice anyway.
As always, I'll try to make your reading of the guide as fun as playing the
game itself!
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||2. GAME BASICS||
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This section should be "required reading" for newbies and vets alike. Unlike
with SWAT 3, I'll be posting a weapon and tactical aid list in here as well,
to help you make better decisions with your loadouts.
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|2a. Elements|
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When SWAT answers a call, its officers are divided into "elements." An
element is comprised of two two-man teams and a leader. You play as the
leader, naturally, and have a red team and a blue team under your control.
When you give orders, the entire element is sometimes referred to as "gold."
The exact officers in the element will remain the same throughout the game.
SWAT 4 removed the officer and sergeant selections from this sequel, due to
the fact that your officers are no longer vacuums of personality. Each man
has his own outlook on things, and they may make some comment here or there
whilst you go through your missions.
You can normally rely on your officers and teams. They may get stuck in a
couple spots in certain levels, or they may act retarded when clearing
certain rooms. However, in the 26 missions I've beaten and my 30+ failed
missions, my guys have only hit each other once with gunfire, mainly due to
me running around in circles when we were jumped. I ended up bumping one of
my guys, who walked into another's crosshairs.
That said, your officers will always follow the rules of engagement
(explained below), and will try to follow your orders immediately. On the
rare instances when they refuse to follow orders (perhaps being stuck or
under fire), you can just repeat your order a second later and normally get
results.
In addition to your officers, you may get some snipers on particular levels.
These guys are unseen (as in, if you're looking in their general direction,
you STILL won't see them), and they're fully in your manual control. Snipers
are deadly if used properly, but I'll get into that later.
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|2b. Rules of Engagement|
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The mantra of SWAT is that it's a life-saving organization, not a life-taking
one. SWAT officers don't go around and randomly shoot up people; this ain't
Conflict: Vietnam.
In fact, if you've played SWAT 2, you'll know what goes on prior to combat.
When SWAT is called to the scene, they first try to talk the suspect into
submission. After enough time, or if any shot is fired, then combat becomes
the only option left. SWAT 4 assumes that contact has failed or a shot has
been fired, so it bypasses all that peaceful stuff and goes right to the
action.
Despite all that, again, this isn't Rainbow Six. You cannot just charge in
and open fire. When you encounter a suspect, you can only shoot if the enemy
presents a direct threat to you or a hostage (that is, he's pointing his gun
at you, a fellow officer, or a hostage). This is called the Rules of
Engagement, or ROE for short.
If they pose no immediate threat, you must give them a chance to surrender
before you fire by shouting compliance. You need to shout compliance to
everyone, not just suspects. Everyone, hostages too, is considered
"dangerous." In theory, a freaked out hostage may pick up a suspect's weapon
and start firing it at SWAT or other hostages or something. In other words,
everyone who can stand needs to be handcuffed. If someone is wounded or dead,
they can't be handcuffed, but it's okay because they're no longer a threat.
When a hostage or suspect complies, they will drop any weapon they may have,
put their hands up, and fall to their knees. Just because they *look* like
they're doing that, however, don't take your crosshairs off him. I've seen
guys look like they're complying, only to then turn around and run off.
They have made a slight but important change from SWAT 3. In SWAT 4, if a
given person has complied (that is, he's weaponless and on his knees), he
will NOT get back up. In SWAT 3, there was a chance that if you left a guy
alone and uncovered, he might get up and run around, and he may even pick up
a weapon. SWAT 4 gives you better peace of mind; you won't have to worry
about that situation happening.
When someone is in the compliance position, equip your handcuffs, and hold
the fire key to cuff your target. A person is said to be secure when he is
cuffed and/or no longer a threat due to injury or death. When anyone is
secure, they should be reported to your sergeant.
Unlike in SWAT 3, you do not *have* to report someone who is secure. Passing
missions just means *securing* everyone. Not reporting people, however, will
take points off your score, which is important in any difficulty level beyond
the easiest.
Reporting is very streamlined, unlike in SWAT 3. Simply, when someone is
secure for any reason, put your crosshair on him and hit your Use key. There
is no longer a possibility of doing a "stupid order" by misreporting someone
as dead when they're really just wounded, or vice versa.
If you think this all doesn't matter... Well, it really doesn't anymore. In
SWAT 3, you had a leadership rating to worry about. In SWAT 4, the campaign
isn't a string of missions as much as just a series of completely isolated
incidents. There is no carryover stat from mission to mission. That's one of
the things I miss from SWAT 3, but I suppose it's in an effort to streamline
the game. I digress, though.
The point is, you no longer really have to worry about paying attention to
the rules of engagement as much. If you ignore the rules of engagement,
you'll have some major score penalties, which again affects whether you
technically pass or fail missions in the upper difficulty levels.
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|2ba. When ROE Doesn't Matter|
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Despite the above section, there are a few exceptions as to when you don't
need to shout compliance.
The first instance is when you use your sniper. If you have a sniper in a
given mission, and you choose to fire at a suspect, you may do so without
need to shout compliance. In fact, you don't even need an officer in the
area. Just aim and shoot, and you're okay.
Second, any enemy taken out in the act of a door breach is legal. This
applies even if you know there is an enemy behind a door. If you use your
Optiwand, and you see a suspect directly behind a door, feel free to set a
breaching charge and blow the door open. This will kill or incapacitate the
suspect, but will not give you a point penalty.
Third, if a suspect raises a gun and actually *points it* at either you, your
officers, or a hostage, you may open fire. Note that his mere act of raising
the weapon or pointing it at a wall does *not* count. He must be aiming at
someone and looking down the sights. Typically, if a suspect aims at a
hostage, the hostage will be on his knees, and the suspect will be aiming at
a 45-degree angle downward and ignore your shouts. If you see a suspect in
this position, pop him.
Fourth, if a suspect fires his weapon, he has forfeited all rights to life.
If he fires and his shot hits a wall, you are still then authorized to drill
him without shouting for compliance.
Finally, the most important point: the rules of engagement only apply to
LETHAL AMMUNITION. Your AI-controlled officers don't know this for some
reason, but you can take advantage. If you're using non-lethal weapons, such
as the taser or the beanbag shotgun, you may fire without issuing compliance
first.
You'll still have to shout compliance to make the target drop to his knees,
but shooting first is doable. One of my favorite strategies is to enter a
room and lay down a couple dozen shots with the pepper-ball gun. While
everyone is coughing, I shout compliance, and if anyone refuses, I blast them
with the taser. Simple, effective, quick, non-lethal, and not a breach of the
rules.
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