EvilPootCat's Shifter Notes

One of the best features of Shifter is its array of deployable items. There are automatic turrets, manual turrets, inert objects, portable bases, and deployable area effects that can be used to provide some serious flag or objective protection. They might take the flag, or hit the objective, but not before wasting time and spawns doing so.

Generic Tips

• Use Cover! Do not place turrets/mines in the open, as they can be picked off by enemy fire. Hide them behind corners, rocks, and structures. Doing so can give your otherwise inert defenses the element of surprise.
• Protect the defenses The deployable Platform, blast floor, and blast wall can be deployed on top of turrets, protecting them from blast damage and non-aimed attacks.
• Get in their way Defense isn't the only to be placed on your base, or near your flag. A random turret or mine, placed in the field, can soften the enemy before he reaches your base. Also, do not be afraid to place defenses in likely sniper nests.
• emp beacons! In a closed flag map, deploy EMP Beacons near (but not within sight of) the flag. Protect them like a turret, and flag caps will increase exponentially in difficulty.
• Close the doors. Deploy blast walls on unused passages; force fields on used ones. Remember that Chemeleon can pass through a regular force field, so use the Shock force fields when dealing with this armor.
• Pinch the enemy. For indoor defense, deploy your turrets so that they shoot first. Put them at angles and/or inclinations from entryways.

"Open Flag" vs. "Closed Flag" maps

"Open" or "Closed" Flag usually refers to whether the flag stand is placed inside ("Closed") or outside (in the "Open") a base. Generally speaking, open flag maps are usually much harder to defend, particularly against speedy armors.

For Open Maps: Establish a perimeter with Rocket, plasma, and AA turrets. Use ELF and Ion turrets near the flag, and EMP turrets on cliffs/dropoffs/buildings.

For Closed Maps: Put EMP turets near the top of elevator shafts. Deploy Roket turrets in large open rooms, or rooms requiring jumping/jetting to enter.

• When you're cloaked, everyone can still see the arrow over your head, if you're in sensor range.
• Plastique detonation time is configurable from the weapons options menu.(older shifter releases defaulted this timer to ZERO, i.e., plastique was a mini-detpack.
• Selecting (help):(locate):(enemy flag location) from the shifter menu will give you the position of the enemy flag, (only on ctf maps, of course)
• Never snipe from the top of a hill. Ever. (I know, this is more of a general sniping tip, but it's still important.)

I've collected some serious mileage out of some of these tricks...they're fun!

• Stealthy airbase This one is difficult to pull off, but when you get it, you've got it. Set up an airbase, preferably within visual range of the enemy base, but not within sensor range. ( you might want to knock out a sensor before doing this.) Immediately buy an arbitor beacon and a shield beacon, and place them near the center of the base, cloaking and shielding it (and you). Note that Sensor Jammers cannot deploy on an airbase (yet). Sometimes you can set up the 'base next to a steep hill, so that it is within jamming range.
• "Offensive" Defense One of the best things to do, to keep an enemy bottled up in his base, is to drop an inv. station under/over/on the base, and set up defense to catch them running out of their bases. This is especially nasty when done to a "closed" base (Not the same as a "closed flag").
• Use women, often. ;) This has never worked for me, but I've always found the light female armors to be harder to hit than the light male armors. Harder to track, anyway. This benefit increases with range, making the female armor a far superior sniper. Detecting a sniper from 500 meters away, through haze, is hard enough without having to detect a small person.

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Last Updated on 01/10/2000
shoot.the.food@gmail.com
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