In a world where mercenaries are celebrated like rock stars, gunning for hire is a serious business, so it pays to be prepared before taking up your plasma rifle and diving into Shadowgun Legends. Madfinger Games’ shooter sequel is chock …
In a world where mercenaries are celebrated like rock stars, gunning for hire is a serious business, so it pays to be prepared before taking up your plasma rifle and diving into Shadowgun Legends. Madfinger Games’ shooter sequel is chock full of content, from its solo campaign spanning more than 200 missions to its various multiplayer modes, but approaching it for the first time doesn’t have to be daunting.
With these top tips on your side, you’ll be looting, shooting and thwarting alien invasions like a pro in no time.
Shadowgun Legends doesn’t allow players to access all of its content from the off, though it isn’t long before new areas open up along with additional game modes like PvP. There’s always the temptation to dive into this stuff right away, but get that itchy trigger finger under control.
Jumping into the competitive multiplayer matches at a low level is a good way to get your backside handed to you, and in co-op contests, you’ll be a liability to your teammates. Although killing other players is one of the most enjoyable aspects of Shadowgun Legends, try to resist the urge until you’re approaching level 10.
Stick to the campaign missions to begin with. The early solo quests are designed to be blasted through in short bursts and ticking a dozen of these off will see you climb the skill tree, amass plenty of rewards (cool new weapons and armour) and gain a few levels in the process.
At around level eight, start dabbling in the multiplayer, but mix it in with campaign missions. You’ll amass XP from both and it won’t be too long before you’re ready to tackle anything the game throws at you.
Madfinger’s latest shooter offering is based around the free-to-play business model, which means you don’t have to pay for any aspect of it unless you really want to. It’s entirely possible to get by without handing over a single unit of real-world currency, but if you’re in a position to afford it, paying to upgrade your inventory is recommended.
The cheapest in-app purchase grants you more than 80 inventory slots and eight extra backpack spaces. Without the former, the words ‘inventory full’ will become burned into your retina because they flash up every time you attempt to claim the spoils from a completed solo mission.
If you’re in no position to invest any actual money in the game (or simply don’t want to) sell anything you aren’t overly attached to, because your capped inventory will fill up in a heartbeat.
Shadowgun Legends lets players equip three firearms to take into battle, and there’s always the temptation to find your favourite trio and cling to them. Resist the urge to stick to your guns as some blasters are more useful than others in specific situations.
Your secondary weapon is the one you should chop and change depending on the mission you’re about to embark on. Some guns are better suited to multiplayer while others are essential for solo campaigners. For instance, a sniper rifle will serve you will in PvP contests, but you should swap it out for a rocket launcher (or something similar)Â when tackling a solo mission with a hefty boss at the end.
Meanwhile, you should experiment with the special items you unlock as you progress through the levels, but frag grenades are a good starting point for beginners. Anyone who’s played any first-person shooter ever made will know exactly how they work.
Here’s a top tip that will help you level up that little bit faster: always go for headshots when playing in campaign mode. Successfully landing them will see you accumulate more ranking points at the end of the mission, plus you’ll kill your foes much faster. It’s a no-brainer, really.
It isn’t difficult to pick off AI opponents this way, but don’t attempt to carry this strategy over into multiplayer. Taking the time to pull off a headshot at close quarters is likely to get you killed in PvP, so try to focus on landing hits to any part of a rival’s body that happens to be exposed.
