Global Agenda Assault Guide

Global Agenda Assault Guide by Torothetank

So, basically, everything a player rolling assault needs to know will go in to this list. Feel free to offer tips and I will update as required. I’ve thrown a few in to get it started.

How To Play Assault – For Dummies

1) Never forget your role.

– The payload is your personal b**** for the entirety of the match. Punish any enemy frolicking on that control point as you would another guy frolicking on your girlfriend’s control point. It is *your* job as an Assault to push the payload. After all, would you really let some other f***head capture the payload for you?

2) Real men – and real assaults – are always beasts under the hood.

– Can’t bench press your own bodyweight? Get the f*** out. Men build muscle. Assaults build HP and protection. 2200 HP on an Assault is 140 pounds on a 6″3 virgin (means don’t let it happen, you virgins). You should, at all times, be able to one on one another class and win if you’re both full.

3) The Golden Ratio

– Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise have almost perfectly symmetrical faces. If you want to get with Angelina Jolie, you’re gonna need some balance. So spec accordingly. Doin er’ right means always having at least one defensive and one offensive offhand. Rolling with three shields is just compensating for inadequacy.

4) Behind every great man is a great woman

– Metaphorically of course (Assaults prefer missionary). You can do well alone, but your effectiveness shoots up by a factor of 10 as soon as you have a pocket medic making your sandwiches. So cave in to your innate, testosterone-fueled jealousy, and f*** up any Recon guido’s trying to f*** your Medic. You’ll both have a better relationship because of it, and it will free you up to worry about the things that matter.

5) When in doubt, whip it out

– ‘Better be thought of as a fool, than open your mouth and remove all doubt’, the saying goes. That’s a whole lotta s***. If you’ve been a fool (read: some noobs about to kill you), then pop perfect target (the communicative equivalent of “Up yours, biznatch”). Saving it till later reeks Catholic, and you’ll remove all doubt of your foolness in the process if you don’t.

5a) Plan ahead

– You’re not a goldfish, although you probably act like one. Look ahead ten seconds – perfect target is usually wasted if you’re dead as soon as it goes down. So pop your self heal and then pop your shield; they’re both 10 seconds, and when you come out you’ll be as renewed as a dude getting a ‘massage’ in China.

6) Premature evacuation

– Boys get in, finish, and get out. Men stay in it for the team. When you cap a point, make sure you’re not leaving it undefended. Nobody else can do it better than you (see (2)), and, like any responsible gentleman, it is therefore your duty to take one for the team and stick around till the misses (Robo) has had time to do her thing.

7) Blow your load
Topic recommended by Train

– We all know what Mel Gibson would do if he had this game (aside from trying to draw a swastika on the hex map). He’d run around on Assault and flail that giant f***ing axe that we have, Braveheart style. Problem is that this is not Braveheart Online, and you are sure as hell not William Wallace. Melee is fine, and does decent damage, but is subject to the following conditions:
—-Out of power
—-Enemy bro has ranged shield up, cause he’s smart like that
—-Enemy has < 300 health. Nothing like swatting a guy and watching him crumble
—-You have ranged shield up, cause you’re smart like that, and the other guy has begun meleeing you, cause he’s smart like that
– A smart strategy is to start meleeing when you are around 40 power, leaving you with enough to put up a shield if needed. Use melee as a chance to pump out damage whilst power recharges, but don’t use it as your main weapon.

8) On the Origin of Explosives
Topic recommended by sash0r

– The Chinese have been using gunpowder for centuries to kill Mongolians (they still do). I’m not sure if they use gunpowder in 2155, or if the Commonwealth are actually all Mongolians, but the bottom line is that explosives have survived the evolution of weaponry for a reason. Just because they’re good, however, does not mean that they have infinite uses. There’s a time and place for everything, and just like you wouldn’t use a radiant axe to level off your sideburns, you sure as hell shouldn’t use a headhunter to push a payload. Explosives are almost entirely contingent upon the team you’re playing with, be it in AvA or PvP. If you’re the only Assault, see (1). If you’re the fourth Assault, things change a bit. A full explosive spec Assault with a grenade launcher is an unstoppable force when it comes to AOE burst damage. Magmalance is similar except more people oriented. The inherent problem that most people find with explosives Assault (as with poison Medic) is that you have switched from the primary role of your class in the team to doing another classes job, arguably better. The tradeoff is that, well, you aren’t doing your f***in job, and your team will be more likely to lose because of that.

AvA team setup can be planned beforehand, and as such you will know whether it might be a good idea to spec explosives to pump out some AOE damage. Regular PvP can’t; if you are going to spec full explosives for a match, be wary of how many other Assault bro’s are on your team and what they’re using. At least half (yes, this means 2/3 if there’s three), should be using a Minigun or Inferno Cannon. If you need to switch weapons, do it, and put a greater emphasis on using explosive off-hands to take advantage of the increased AOE damage you are specced for.

9) Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day
Topic/builds recommended by dtribble
– Rome, in its prime, was a world class city of architecture and culture. The S.P.Q.R was also a world class military of ass kicking. In keeping with that spirit, here’s a couple archetypical builds provided by dtribble, with my own comments, as well as a third build that I use regularly. Lucky for you, you can in fact be built in a day.

— ‘Antesignani’ – Full Tank Build
Uses: Front line of AvA; Immovable object on the payload/point; Overall pain in the ass to take down
Loadout: Minigun IV, Perfect Target III, Ranged Shield IV, EMP IV
– Let me first say I depart significantly from dtribble’s idea of a tank load-out, and the one provided here is my own. Three grenades in a tank build just doesn’t make sense to me in terms of what role you are filling in the team (see (3)). I also am not a fan of the Maser at all, as I think the Minigun can be used in any situation and the tradeoff for a better ranged shield/EMP is worth it. I might also modify this build to move the Medical Link II point (7% healing received) into something like Power Pool Increase (40% More Power) or Team Boost Increase (-25% Morale Required for Team Boost), as 7% healing correlates to very little numbers at the end of the day; the way healing works in this game, there will be very few instances where that 7% makes the difference between your health falling or rising on balance when taking simultaneous healing and damage. Also, if you are running this build properly, you ought to be up for significant lengths of time, enough to allow at least one boost per life. The Assault boost makes a massive clutch difference when s*** is hitting the fan on the point.

— ‘Sagittariorum’ – Explosive Tank Build
Uses: Third Assault in AvA, Point clear & cap
Loadout: Maser I, Magmalance/G.L/Headhunter IV, Concussion IV, EMP IV, AOE Shield II
– At first I didn’t like the look of this build as it seems too out of place, but I think it could definitely be effective. The build looks right where it should be, leaving you a lot of room to take damage but provide it as well. The Maser is in the load-out solely to hunt down stray runaways; I wouldn’t use it for anything else. EMP –> Dump power pool –> Concussion on a point and you would significantly decimate whatever they have. AOE Shield can be changed for Range Shield at your discretion. This build, like dtribble said, is made up for an organized team. Be wary of using it solo.

— ‘Praetorian’ – The Build
Uses: Any PvP, Second/Third Assault in AvA
Loadout: Inferno/Minigun IV (Pref. Inferno), Perfect Target III, Ranged Shield IV, EMP/Concussion IV
– This build is my baby. I use it all the time. I’m surprised dtribble didn’t mention it, to be honest. The balance tree in this game is spectacular and is comparable to both the Tank and Explosive trees. The build is set up so that your Minigun/Inferno damage has an 11% increase, which is above what the Assault Guns explosive tree will get you, along with 140 power, 3200 health, and enough protection to keep your ass up in the s***. I really think that HiRez will nerf this build one day, as it is essentially the best of both worlds. Try running it and be amazed at how powerful you are alone. Medics love you, as they can keep you up, and you have enough damage to own anybody on them in short order.

10) Accuracy is a b****
– Your life is contingent upon accuracy, and so is the life of the f***head down range. The fact that the Minigun/Inferno cannon are hitscan weapons has been stated around this board before, however, since this is a ‘consolidated’ thread, i’ll restate it here. Hitscanning essentially means that you’re going to hit whatever is in your reticle when the bullets start firing (recon’s have to lead targets, you don’t). When you’re shooting, focus on the reticle and whether the target is in it or not, not the stream of bullets coming out of your gun. A note for the idiots: the Magmalance is not a hitscan gun.