Tonight... Spies vs. Mercs...BLACKLIST!

[Teal]

I'm all for doing a 1on 1 match with you,Zep, anytime you'd like, so we can go over some if the measures/countermeasures and the like. I'm really getting a grasp on both sides the more I play. I'd be happy to show u what little I know...lol. Oh, and its the Trophy System.

[Spooky]

One thing that I'm not adjusting to very well is the immensely faster pace of this game. Even in the original Pandora Tomorrow version, the pace on both sides was much slower and there was a lot more of trying to outguess and anticipate the other team. This game feels to me like a death arena, where everyone runs full speed into a melee zone of death. Especially as a spy, I find myself feeling like I need to hurry, rush, move fast, and run in order to get where I need to be to support my team, either to protect a hacker or to try to restart a hack.

Zepp - you have pretty much summed up BL mode. And like Teal said, once you get a little more comfortable with it it's a hell of a lot of fun. It's a nice alternative to the amazing 'Classic' mode.

Here are some additional tips for BL mode:

OVERALL:

- Spend 30 min or so going through all of the equipment available for both sides. Each item has a rating over on the right hand side of the screen with a brief description.

- Choose the 'Pants' that provide the option to carry an additional gadget.

SPY:

- The invisibility cloak suit is okay, but I seem to get spotted a fair amount even when cloaked so one of the Merc goggles must have an indicator. Maybe I'm moving too fast. I find it's best use is when I am moving crouched from one climb to another or when sneaking right next to the hack terminal.

- The overcharge suit is a great one to disable all Merc gadgets (including any laid mines) and has a huge range. However, if you choose to carry EMP grenades the overcharge suit feels redundant to me. The EMP's just don't have as large a range so you have to pinpoint your toss with it more.

- There is one item (I think it's a type of pants) that hides your name and other "red" indicating info from showing up when a Merc aims at you. It provides extra stealth when a Merc is just aiming randomly so you don't show up if your semi-hidden. I think it also hides the info of who is hacking to the Mercs if your the one hacking.

- Did you know that you can throw/drop a gadget right down beside you quickly by double tapping the LB Bumper? Great for flashbangs on a quick getaway.

- Remember to use your vision goggles (up on the D Pad) but use sparingly. I STILL cannot exactly figure out how I show up to a Merc when I am using my goggles but I know I do.

- My custom spy is set up with the following...EMP grenades, Flashbangs, Ghille Suit, the 3rd goggle option (the ones that have the highest range of detection), extra gadget pants, the EMP Crossbow, a pistol (which I never use) and I can't remember what esle.

- In either BL or Classic mode, be cautious of using your EMP Crossbow unless you intend to stun and then kill a Merc. A good Merc will find and kill you if you shoot from too far away because they get an arrow indictor that flashes briefly showing the direction of the shot.

- If I am equipped with the Ghille suit, I LOVE having a teammate that has the suit that detects Mercs and highlights them in red. That's when I realize how set up this mode is to have complimentary teammates. In fact, I think that since I am not doing so great with the Ghille suit, I may just switch over to the detecting suit.

- Get good at finding spots to hang just above doorways/walkways to use your 'Death From Above' kill.

MERC:

- Find and equip the goggles that highlight a spy as a little white square. Not sure what those are called or exactly what the spy needs to be doing in order to show up with the white box around them, but it's VERY handy. It also highlights any Trophies that a Spy has set. Screw using the blip radar ones that are the default in Classic mode.

- I go back and fourth between equipping the Adrenaline suit vs. the Drone suit. The Drone is amazing but very tough to pull off with experienced spies. With the drone you have make sure your Merc is well hidden and that the spies have used up or are not carrying EMP's or Overcharge suits.

- Find a good gun and make sure you dive into the customization of the guns. You can choose upgraded sights (red dot, etc...), better bullets (more damages), etc...

- Again, choose the 2 gadget pants. I use them to equip proximity mines (still pretty useful even though most spies expect them - especially if you drop one when you think a spy is running/sneaking up behind you) and gas grenades (super great for flushing out spies that you know are in a spot you can't quite get to).


Again, in BL mode you need to embrace the fact that as a spy, you need to be on the offensive rather than just hiding and being stealthy. Choose gadgets that will help that strategy. Use the Merc detection suit, throw and EMP or flashbang toward them and run up for the kill.

[Zeppo]

Fantastic, Spook. That's the kind of advice I need to hear. Between you and Teal givig advice, I am feeling more excited again about diving in and trying to figure it out.

Yesterday I jumped on for one quick game and Teal showed up near the end of the second round. I was awful as always. Clearly the worst on either side. At least this time there was one guy talking who was relatively helpful, but I am just worthless. I'm starting to worry that my new TV, which has notoriously bad input lag, is causing me more trouble than I anticipated. I'd still like to think this type of game would allow me to have some success even with bad lag, but I'm fearing its not the case.

[Teal]

Spook, I equip emp grenades with my overcharge spy. Once you overcharge, it takes a helluva long time to do another, and the emp grenades will keep the mercs befuddled for a bit longer if I'm running interference.

As a merc, I employ mostly proxy mines, and my go-to other gadget is the refill bag. That has been invaluable; if a spy overcharges my original mines, I can very quickly place two more and get the sucker much of the time.

I have not been using my ghille suit loadout much at all, opting for the overcharge loadout. Also, one of the spy helmets keeps you invisible to UAV and RFU when you are using the goggles. I keep my goggles on almost all the time.

[Spooky]

Also, one of the spy helmets keeps you invisible to UAV and RFU when you are using the goggles. I keep my goggles on almost all the time.

I have used that helmet and still felt like I was being spotted with my goggles on. It made me question if I really understood that helmets abilities. If it's truly correct that I can stay undetected when using my goggles, that would eliminate the need for me to use the Merc detection suit! Although that detection suit is great to highlight the Mercs for all the spies to see and go after when running interference.

[Teal]

That was a fun impromptu couple of matches this afternoon. Lets go again soon!

[Zeppo]

That was a lot of fun. I feel like I made a breakthrough. Finally. We stil lost and we were lucky to have two good random teammates in our games, but I did much better than I have and also had a ton more fun. Communicating makes all the difference. Because it's clearly important to complemt each others' gadget load outs, being able to communicate among friends is a huge factor in howich fun I can have.

I'll admit that I do really miss the special cat and mouse style of DA's gameplay, especially the way as a spy when playkng a good round one could really tell how confused the Mercs were getting. But this is a different game.

However, as different as it is it is still the only game around that provides a truly asymmetrical MP experience and it does so quite well.

[Teal]

You know, looking back, DA's gameplay was really the marked difference in the series. In PT and CT, you had to, as you do in this one, physically be at the terminal to start the hack. DA strayed from that by letting you hack from a short distance. This one adds in a more physical, offense-minded spy class, but goes back to the idea of having to physically approach the terminals.

I have Chaos Theory still, and while the servers have been shut down, you can still run through the tutorials. It was much the same as Blacklist, with a few more gadgets, and, of course, more people. I think, really, that the addition of a fourth member of each team is as much the reason for the uptick in action as the gadgets are. Moreso, perhaps, because every gadget has a counter-gadget that can nullify it. That, then, comes down to proper outfitting and...communication, which, to me, is the hallmark of this game. It's absolutely essential for success, and I hope it always will be.

The only thing I'd like to see added is the ability to stop a hack and keep the percentage intact. That, alone, would make it much more like DA. That would certainly keep the mercs hopping...lol

[Spooky]

I'll admit that I do really miss the special cat and mouse style of DA's gameplay, especially the way as a spy when playkng a good round one could really tell how confused the Mercs were getting. But this is a different game.

I do too, but don't forget about 'Classic' mode in the new game. Still different than DA but, for me, it's basically got the same intensity and overall concept.