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Difficulty: Medium Supervisors: Squad Leader Rank: Not defined Duties: Follow your superior's orders, don't die. Guides: N/A Unlock Requirements: Not available. Detailed Description: Not defined |__________| |
"How do I get out of this chickenshit outfit?"- Hudson, Aliens
I don't know who you pissed off to get transferred to this unit, Grunt, but remember, you're in the United States Colonial Marine Corps. Follow your sergeant's orders and don't ask too many questions. Whether you've been to Hell and back or you're fresh out of Boot, you're expected to maintain a level of professionalism. Do your job, follow orders, and maybe you'll go home in one piece.
Cog In The Machine
If you haven't read the Marine Quickstart Guide, read that first.
As a Standard Marine you will be assigned to one of four squads. Each squad has a color so you new guys won't get lost: Alpha is RED, Bravo is YELLOW, Charlie is PURPLE, Delta is BLUE. Got that? Good. You've just been kicked out of the deep freeze after a solid three weeks of sleep so don't go bitching about how you're tired. Your body will be stiff and you'll be hungry so head to the mess for a hearty meal courtesy of the USCM. Just don't ask what animal it came from. To eat and drink, hold food or drink in an active hand and click yourself in the center of the screen.
This is my rifle
Did you git some food in your tummy? Good. Now move your ass and put on your damn pants, Grunt! Double time it to your team's locker room at the far end of the mess and open any locker and put on your uniform. Are you wearing your pants now? Check again because I swear if you aren't I'll shove my boot so far up your ass you'll have to shine it by gargling shoe polish, Grunt! Now what the Hell are you standing around for? Get your ass to the gear vendors!
Now, as a the marine equivalent of whale shit at the bottom of the ocean, you have access to five firearms of your choosing, one primary, two secondaries, and two sidearms. In an ideal world, you'll be smart enough not to grab the whole arsenal so those jackasses you call squad mates don't have to deploy with rocks and the stapler from Requisitions. That means try to limit yourself to your M41 and your sidearm. Stop slapping the armor piercing ammo button and pay attention. There's two ways this can play out. Either you keep your mags in that backpack you woke up with and grab a holster for your sidearm or you ditch the ruck, carry your ammo in a bandolier, and pack a little more firepower on your back. Now, you're probably asking, "But, Sir! Why do you want me to carry the M41? Can't I carry the M37 or M39?" To that I say, "Don't call me 'Sir;' I work for a living." You should be carrying the M41A Mk.2 Pulse Rifle because it's a Hell of a lot easier to use than the M37 shotgun and packs more punch than the M39 submachine gun. The shotgun is better used as a secondary on your back and the SMG is best left for the people who need a free hand. Stop eyeballing the specialist's weapon, Grunt! You think you're Carlos Hathcock? You want a big shooty shooty too? well you shouldn't have joined the Marines! You want logistics, join the Army.
M41A Mk.2 Pulse Rifle: This baby's the workhorse and backbone of the USCM. It holds forty 10X24mm caseless rounds, takes a slew of attachment, has a live ammo counter, and sports an over-and-under 30 millimeter pump action grenade launcher. Take care of it and it'll take care of you.
M37A2 Shotgun: These shotguns have been in service since Vietnam back in the 20th century and knowing our QM, the Sulaco's supply of M37s probably saw action there too. They're powerful weapons that can put a dinner plate sized hole in just about anyone you encounter, but that 18 inch barrel means that you won't be hitting anything outside of pissing distance. If you plan on bringing one of these, be sure to pack your M41.
M4A3 Service Pistol: The saying that the only reason you should be firing your sidearm is if you're out of ammo or on your way to your primary holds true with the M4 series of pistols. It'll put a hole in unarmored targets, sure, but it'll just piss off anyone wearing more than a light sweater. It holds twelve 9mm rounds and you'll need every one of them.
M44 Combat Revolver: So, what, you think you're Dirty-fucking-Harry? The M44's a beast and not just in firepower. Unwieldly, ugly, and mean; she's not the prettiest girl at the dance, but she'll turn a few heads. Then she'll keep turning 'em until they come off. It holds six rounds and God help anyone you manage to tag with one.
M39 Submachine Gun: The M41 series's little cousin, the M39 fires 10X20mm caseless and holds 48 rounds per mag. As a Grunt, you shouldn't be looking at this except as a replacement for your sidearm. Other than that, leave it for the shrap-heads who know what they're doing.
Your Squad
See those chrome-domes, snowcones, and badass wannabes over there? Those ass-hats are your fellow squaddies. Stay near them and you might not go home in a box. Stay on comms and let your squad know if you see anything out of the ordinary. If you find yourself standing around with some other jackasses who aren't wearing the same color as you, you fucked up. Go find your squad. That hardass with the funny stripes on his helmet? That's your Squad Leader. The squad leader's orders are the will of God and should be treated as such. The moron with the big gun? That's your specialist. Leave the specialist alone. Don't fuck with the corpsmen and the com-techs and they won't fuck with you. Okay, Grunt, time for a recap. Do what you're told and don't shoot your squad.
Attachments
As a Standard Marine you are given the privilege of having access to two attachments from Cargo, to get these attachments you must go to the Cargo bay, located to the east of the mess hall, AFTER you have suited up in your gear, Cargo will not serve you if you rock up in your pyjamas.
Again, because you're a Standard Marine you have the LOWEST priority in weapon attachments, this means virtually everyone above you in roll has priority access to more valuable attachments. Do not expect to get the good stuff, items such as the Barrel Charger or Red Dot Sight are all but out of your reach.
Listed below are some simple attachment set-ups to start you off. These are for the M41A Rifle, but you can customise virtually any weapon.
- Bayonet/Rail Light - This loadout is free, in that you do not need to order these attachments from cargo. The Bayonet can be made by attaching some wires to a Combat Knife, while the Rail Light can be made be using a screwdriver on a stock Flashlight (check the briefing room for these).
- Bayonet/Red Dot sight/Forward Magazine Grip - While it might take a hard dice roll to squeeze a Red Dot Sight from the RO, this loadout is a stock and simple loadout that maximizes your accuracy, thus allowing you to accurately hit even the smallest of Xenos at the longest of ranges, while allowing you to deal a respectable amount of melee damage.
- Extended Barrel/Rail Light/Gyroscopic Stabilizer- This loadout allows you to fire your M41A with one hand instead of two, thus granting you a massive tactical advantage. For example, you can still fire you weapon even if you lose a arm. The Gyro Stabilizer serves to make the weapon one handed while the Extended Barrel cancels out the accuracy penalty of the Stabilizer.
Be sure to examine the attachments page to get a overview of all the attachments in the game. When you feel comfortable (and you promote yourself to a more difficult role), experiment with weapon attachments for your guns.
Center Mass For Fuck's Sake
When engaging hostile targets ALWAYS AIM FOR THE CHEST. Your marine armour is designed to block incoming bullets, meaning if accidently fire on a friendly (which will happen a lot versus Aliens) you'll deal little to no damage against fellow marines. However if you aim for the head you'll deal significant damage as a marine's helmet offers little protection against ballistic attacks.
Being shot in the head usually forces the victim to be pulled of the battlefield and be sent off for a surgical operation to correct the wound. Whereas being shot in the chest is usually just an annoyance, you can still break bones and cause organ damage however...
Aliens DO take additional damage from head shots, but you should still try to aim to the chest instead of head
Standard Marine Tactics
- Stick with your squad at all times, a lone Marine is a easily ambushed Marine. Your first priority is to stay alive.
- Consider offering to help out other more specialized marines, such as offering to carry extra engineering, medical, or specialist supplies.
- Talk a lot! The more you communicate with your squad, the more information your squad AND command gets. Command has a hard time understanding the situation on the ground. Help those eggheads out.
- Consider taking a Tricordazine Injector to help you get on your feet if you get attacked and swiped/shot.
- In combat, avoid getting stuck in tight quarters or darkness. Use your weapon to shoot away resin walls and open up the combat area. Aliens are less deadly if they're forced to fight in open ground or bright light. Fighting in a open arena gives you more room to dodge.