|2c. Your Role as Element Leader and Sniper|
+------------------------------------------+
Prior to a mission starting, you can review information about the battle
site. You can get a view of the probable suspects and what they're armed
with, how many hostages and such are confirmed, and any other general
information that might help you. Note that no matter how much information you
are given, you will never know exactly what you're up against until you get
into the mission.
As team leader, you will outfit all five men in the element how you want.
After that, you will select one entry point (although in some missions you
don't have a choice). That's all the planning you do, though; every step of
the way will be planned on the fly.
Once inside, there are really only two ways you can do things: passively or
actively. If you're a passive leader, like me, you send your computer-
controlled elements into most situations. You serve to cover their backs and
"clean up the trash," as well as report suspects and such. If you're an
active leader, you go through doors first and fight most of the time. Make
sure that compliance button is close by, because you'll be on it a lot.
Either method is fine. Just pick which one you're more comfortable with, but
note that you may have to temporarily switch if things go wrong.
In missions where you have a sniper, you can use the view port to fire as
necessary. His rounds are powerful, and can pretty much one-shot kill anyone.
If you get stupid and use the sniper to kill one of your fellow officers, the
rest will turn around and kill YOU. Yes, I tested it.
+-----------------+
|2d. The View Port|
+-----------------+
The view port is probably the best tool you've got, but it's a little weird
to use. Its purpose is to see what your allies are seeing no matter where
anyone is. A little window pops open in the top-right corner when activated.
You can even send commands in the view port. By pressing the Delete key, you
expand the view port and make a cursor appear in it. While it's active, you
can't move or shoot, so don't do it if you're under pressure.
When used right, you can basically issue commands across the map. It's not as
good as a go-code like in the Rainbow Six series, but it's still useful.
The view port is how you control your sniper or snipers, by the way.
+-----------------------+
|2e. Miscellaneous Notes|
+-----------------------+
Pistols are not worthless. If you're in a tight area, you may want to use
your pistol instead of your main firearm. This is especially true if you're
carrying around an assault rifle in a tight area. If you're in a large area
though, you'll need to use your main weapons.
The Wave is your all-purpose tool for everything from doors to bombs. You'll
be using it often.
You'll have an ammo count on-screen unlike SWAT 3, so keep an eye on it.
Remember that it goes by clips, so you'll have to reload now and then to keep
your clip as full as possible.
When I mention "tell the red team to do this" or "tell the blue team to do
that," you can swap the colors. I just tend to make blue the cover team and
red the assault team, but it makes no difference.
A mission will be complete when all hostages and suspects are cuffed or
bleeding on the floor. If a mission is complete, but you are not sent to the
score screen, then you have either neglected to report someone, or you missed
a weapon you needed to secure. If there's still no apparent end and you've
checked everything, then you can always end the mission early. You may have a
score penalty, but it could save you some time.
Speaking of scores, the quickest way to lose points is to be penalized for
being an idiot. Shooting a fellow officer, failing to report a fallen one,
and so on are all penalties. You may have a little trouble at first avoiding
the "unauthorized use of deadly force" penalty until you get used to the
game. Also, try to avoid killing suspects entirely; shoot legs and arms if
you can, especially with the sniper, unless you have no choice.
Part of your score is to collect all weapons that enemies drop. To do this,
just point your crosshairs at a weapon and press your Use key (or just tell
your team to pick it up). There are occasional glitches where, in the act of
dropping a gun, it may fall through the floor. If this happens, the game does
*not* penalize you. For some reason, the game is aware of its own glitch, so
if a gun is through a floor (and therefore "off the map"), it doesn't need to
be secured. Therefore, the count on the objective screen is always accurate,
although guns may be "hiding" underneath fallen suspects.
Final note: Open every door you come to. If a suspect runs, he will tend to
close doors behind him after passing through. This way, if you're running
around the map looking for the last guy, you can just follow the trail of
closed doors to find him.
+------------------------------+
|+----------------------------+|
||3. WEAPONS AND TACTICAL AIDS||
|+----------------------------+|
+------------------------------+
Ah yes, the basis of all tactical shooters. What weapons and gear do we have
to play with in missions? The equipment choices are more varied than in SWAT
3, but still not as much as a military organization. But to be honest, that's
not only realistic, but fairly intelligent. I mean, in Rainbow Six, you
probably didn't use half the weapons in the game.
+-------------------+
|3a. Primary Weapons|
+-------------------+
All the weapons in SWAT 4 have their uses, although you'll use some more than
others. First, the main weapons, all of which come equipped with a
flashlight...
+-------------+
|9mm SMG (MP5)|
+-------------+
Pretty much the standard weapon, and based off a real-life weapon called the
MP5, created by German manufacturer Heckler and Koch. For whatever reason,
Sierra couldn't secure the license to use the actual name. I will however
refer to it by its proper name.
The MP5 is *the* standard submachine gun (SMG), combining great accuracy,
fantastic reliability, a small size and light weight, and good stopping
power. It comes with four 30-round clips, and can be set on 3-round burst or
semi-auto (one shot at a time) firing modes. If you're doing a standard
mission and don't care about doing it non-lethal, then this is a great choice
for any situation.
The MP5 can be equipped with Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) or Jacketed Hollow Point
(JHP) rounds. FMJ rounds are better at penetration, whereas JHP rounds do far
more damage to unarmored targets but pretty much die at the first contact
with anything. If you anticipate anyone who may have body armor, or you want
your shots to maim rather than kill, go with FMJ. Only use JHP if you have no
problem killing unarmored enemies.
*NOTE: Credit goes to Adam Bellows (roboticsilence gmail com) for correcting
me here... I had previously stated that "SMG" stood for "small machine gun,"
but he corrected me. It really stands for "submachine gun." I knew that, I
think, after all my work with Rainbow Six 3. I guess I had a brain fart or
something. Either way, thanks a lot, Adam!
+------------------+
|Suppressed 9mm SMG|
+------------------+
Heckler and Koch made a weapon called the MP5SD5, which was a gun similar to
their MP5 but with an integral (built-in) silencer. This is not that weapon.
The suppressed 9mm SMG is simply an MP5 with a silencer. This reduces noise
and muzzle flash, which allows you to take down enemies without guys in the
next room hearing it. The silencer also improves accuracy, but makes the
weapon just a bit heavier, and therefore it takes longer for your reticule to
return to normal after quick moves or sprints.
This firearm can use JHP or FMJ ammo just like its unsuppressed cousin. It
can also fire in 3-round bursts or semi-auto. If you want to clear rooms a
little more methodically, this weapon will allow you the chance to take your
time.
+-------------+
|.45 SMG (UMP)|
+-------------+
Another Heckler and Koch weapon, this gun is really called the UMP. Its
design is based on the classic MP5, but its .45-caliber round is slightly
larger than the 9mm (which roughly translates to a .35-caliber round). This
increased size gives it more power and better penetration, but a slower rate
of fire and a heavier weapon.
The UMP is good for almost any mission in which you would use an MP5, and its
power allows you to face armored enemies with better chances of survival.
However, if the mission halls are too tight, the MP5 may be a better choice
due to the slower reticule recovery of the UMP.
The UMP can use JHP or FMJ rounds, and can be fired with semi-auto fire or
full-auto fire, making it a little less accurate if you're trigger-happy.
+-------------------+
|GB36s Assault Rifle|
+-------------------+
I did a search online, but couldn't find this weapon mentioned outside of
SWAT 4 references. Therefore, I'm not sure whether this firearm is based on a
real-world one; and if it is, who made it.
The GB36s assault rifle uses .223-caliber rifle rounds. It's a little awkward
to use due to its size (it is a rifle, after all, and not an SMG). It does
have a useful and unique 2-round burst fire mode, as well as a full-auto
mode. It too can use JHP or FMJ rounds.
*NOTE: Tim (siberbouchhotmailcom) writes in with this...
#############################################################################
You mentioned in it that u can't find data on the GB36s. It's definitely a
real weapon. But I guess Irrational used a weird designation. The real
rifle is designated G36. Must be a legal issue, as it didn't name the
MP5s/UMPs either. You guessed it, made by Heckler & Koch, adopted by German
Bundeswehr (1995) and Spanish Army (1999).
Full sized versions come with 3.5X/1.5X scopes and/or RedDot. Commando
variant (G36C), as depicted in game, loses the carry handle & scopes for
Picatinny rails. At 720mm, it's shorter than the M4 collasped but slightly
heavier at 2.8kg. All come with default safe/semi/2round-burst/auto shooting
modes.
The G36 is also gonna replace the US Army's M4/M16, albeit in a highly
modified form, as the M8.
#############################################################################
So there you go! All the information you ever wanted to know about the
"GB36s," which is in reality the G36C. Makes me wonder why Sierra and
Irrational weren't able to secure Heckler & Koch's name and weapons.
+-----------------+
|Colt M4A1 Carbine|
+-----------------+
Billed as the most powerful weapon of the game, the M4A1 Carbine is a
delicious assault rifle that fires .223-caliber rifle rounds like the GB36s.
These babies tear through armor as if it were paper, and can rip through
windows and doors pretty easily too.
In the later stages, where enemies are pretty much nothing but armored, the
M4A1 is damn-near essential (provided you're not going totally non-lethal).
In the hands of your computer allies, it pretty much guarantees kills against
the terrorists.
The M4A1 is heavier than the GB36s, which gives it greater accuracy and less
recoil, but also makes it more difficult to use in tight areas. It's best
used when you're going into a large building or a somewhat external area.
Like the SMGs, the M4A1 can use FMJ or JHP rounds. If you're going against
unarmored targets though, you would probably be better off using an SMG.
+----------+
|M4 Super90|
+----------+
This shotgun by Benelli holds a five-round magazine, and can be fired pretty
quickly. Like all shotguns, the M4 has limited accuracy, but the spread of
its rounds will help you. Your aim can in fact be a little off, but the
spread will do the damage for you.
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