Strategy 101: Introduction to Silencer Strategy
Hello and welcome to basic strategy class. Thanks for trying out silencer! However, you should know that you will likely get stomped on online if you start a game without any experience. You may have to die a few times, but can learn many things in the process by watching the other players. You should also know that wheter or not you win a mission, your agency will always give you SOME experience points which you can invest in your agent. Here I will attempt to impart some of my wisdom to the new players among us, and fill in the holes that the tutorials leave. I hope that before you come this far that you have run the game and played the tutorials, and if you really want to get ahead you will also read the installed documentation (Check your silencer directory for silencer.txt and silencerguide.doc).
Your First Agent
For your first agent, I recommend Noxis agency, because they have good health from the get go and the best jumping ability. The other agency I would recommend for your first agent would be Static, because you can use the satelite ability to see your enemies, and they dont mind too much if you get killed, along with the included hacking bonus and virus item.
Communication
First thing you should know, is that Silencer is a FAST-PACED action game. If you have to turn your head to sneeze, you will likely lose. And you can forget typing "AFK, bathroom" to everyone, because they will laugh at you. Some players will use voice chat servers (Roger wilco, ventrillo) so they don't have to stop playing to type a message. Stopping to type a long message is a bad idea, I normally only type any messages when I am executing a hack and I have a second to spare, or if it is an urgent message to my team.
Playing the game
You must be paying attention to a lot of information on the screen, and you must be moving and doing stuff at all times. And doing the right stuff... if someone is hacking a terminal, and all you have is the blaster, you are wasting your time shooting them unless they are low on shield. I just sit and laugh when people sit and shoot at me, doing no real damage, when they could be out doing thier own hacking. When you have a secret beaming in, you can breathe a little easier, but you still would be wise to keep hacking, just to accumulate files for money. This is also a good time to engage in sabotage, if you know the location of your enemies base for example. You can enter thier base and blow up/infect the stations under the floor to disable their store. Hit the space bar in front of the 3 stations in your enemies base, and if you have a virus you can disable an item directly, otherwise just throw a grenade or use a det in front of the station you want. You can also take this opportunity to generally harass the other teams, by shooting them or laying detonators around any of their beaming secrets. Also, be aware that when you kill other agents you can collect the items and files they were carrying, but the files container can be destroyed if you are not careful. This is also true for you; if you die and you have any credits or inventory, your killer now owns it. How you spend your time will depend on a few things, in a team game you have a little more flexibility, and can divide roles (such as a person dedicated to hacking and a person dedicated to attacking).
Secret considerations and the End Game
Once you hear "Warning: Cleansing Imminent", it means that one of the teams is now beaming their 3rd secret. Hopefully it is you! If not, unless you are more than half way done with your final secret, stop hacking and gear up to steal theirs. Secret stealing can be very tricky, and a smart secret carrier will know what you are up to and have made their own preparations. The tried and true methods of stealing secrets include laying several plasma detonators around the terminal recieving it, and exploding them right when it is picked up; using a neutron bomb to kill everyone right as the secret carrier passes by your base door; camping in their base to gun them down when they walk in the door; throwing 2000 credits worth of grenades and flares around, hoping they are caught in the massive crossfire; etc. DEFENDING yourself from secret thieves involves running, as fast as you possibly can, towards your base door. Using the jetpack is very helpful as well, as it somewhat negates the slower speed that a secret carrier suffers. Before grabbing a secret, make sure that you are at FULL HEALTH AND SHIELD. If you are noxis, pack some health kits in case things get messy, and if the map has a supershield on it, you might hunt that down as well. If you are playing a team game, the person with the most shield and health should be the person who actually grabs the secret. I occassionally see SECRET CARRIERS hacking towards thier next secret before they've delivered the secret to their base. This is EXTREMELY RISKY!!! Do not do this unless you are sure the other team is tied up, because everyone in the game can see right where you are and every other player wants what you have. Another tip is, in a team game have another teammate cover you as you run, and absorb any lasers or rockets that are sent your way. They may suffer, but the secret carrier is the priority. You should know that if someone successfully steals one of your secrets, it is very likely game over for you. If you are in this situation, you normally HAVE TO steal your enemies next secret to have any chance of recovering.
Misc. Info.
An oft overlooked ability is the civilian disguise. You can disguise and undisguise as often as you like, and being disguised lets you run past government security unnoticed, but it does slow you down. Other agents can normally find disguised agents, as REAL civilians never run (unless threatened), never climb ladders or fall off ledges, and never hack. Civilian form also renders you immune to the "Poison" item. Incurring any damage will force you to show your true colors though. Lazarus can use the lazarus tract to detect disguised agents, because it will say "No civilan to convert" when you are targeting a disguised agent.
OK, I've given away enough of my strategies for one day. Make sure to also read the included silencer.txt and silencerguide.doc in the install directory, they are written by Mind Control employees and are a wealth of information.
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