By Jared Spurbeck | Upgrade Your Life
First, the basics
Most laptops use batteries that can last for 3-5 years, or about 1000 charges. (A premium laptop's battery might last longer.) Every time you charge your battery, the total capacity of the battery is diminished. Originally it may have had a run time of 3.5 hours, but after a year it'll run out of juice at 3 hours, even on a full charge.
If your battery capacity has diminished, there are a few things you can do about it. First, you have to correctly gauge how much capacity has been lost. There are free downloads to do this job, like Battery Eater (for Windows PCs) or Coconut Battery (for Macs). These will compare your battery's current maximum capacity to how long it lasted when it was new.
Calibrating your Battery
You can't miraculously reconstitute your battery's capacity. It loses power over time due to chemical reactions taking place in the battery, as it chugs along powering your laptop. You can't undo those changes, but there is one common battery issue you can fix: In many laptops, the operating system's battery meter gets out of sync with how much juice the battery actually has.
Imagine if the gas gauge on your car dashboard was misreading how much gas you actually had in the tank. You'd either run out of gas when you thought you had a quarter of a tank left, or you'd be filling up too frequently. In your laptop, this can mean your laptop shuts down abruptly when the meter says you have 30 minutes left. Or else the meter might warn that you only have 2 minutes of battery life left and shut your laptop down, when it really has another 20 minutes remaining.
Recalibrating gets the battery meter to correctly read the current state of the battery, so you and the operating system know where you stand with existing battery life.
How to recalibrate
First, charge your laptop's battery to full, and leave it that way for at least two hours. Then unplug your laptop, and set its power management settings to never turn off or lower the monitor brightness. (HP has instructions for how do to this on Windows 7 and Vista, as well as Windows XP, while Apple has instructions for Mac laptops on their site.)
You want to drain the battery completely, then let your laptop sit for at least five hours this way -- like, say, overnight. (Just be careful and mute the volume, since some laptops make a warning sound when they're about to run out.) Afterwards, charge it up again, and you should notice a more accurate portrayal of your battery capacity. In some cases, you may even get more life out of it.
Best practices to maintain battery life
You'd think that the best way to keep your laptop's battery from wearing out is to not use it. Right?
As it turns out, batteries are like muscles; they need to be worked out regularly to stay healthy. Ideally, you'd use your laptop unplugged at least once a day, like on a train or bus commute or on the couch in front of the TV. If you're not going to use it, constantly charging your battery is a bad idea; HP recommends on their website that if you're going to leave your laptop plugged in or put up in storage for more than two weeks, you should take the battery out of your laptop.
Past the expiration date
So when is it time to throw out that old battery? The answer, surprisingly, is "never." Laptop batteries contain lots of toxic chemicals, and should never end up in landfills. Fortunately, e-stewards.org has a list of environmentally responsible recyclers that will take your old battery with no fuss.
When is it time to replace your battery, then? Use the free utility apps Becky mentioned, and when they say that your battery can only hold around 25% of its original capacity it's probably time for a new one. You can buy a replacement battery from the original laptop manufacturer, and there are plenty of places online that sell discounted PC laptop batteries, like Laptops for Less and Batteries.com. Owners of newer Mac laptops can get their laptop's non-removable battery swapped out at any Apple store, with a scheduled appointment.
Paybackgames is the answer for those players tired of all the cheating that is allowed in online competitive play. With fully spectated matches and staff that is available 24 hours a day there is no need for a ticket system or even a dispute system. All matches are ranked and with Paybackgames being recognized by the International Sports League, contracts and sponsorships are available. Its always free and all ages are welcome.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Halo: Reach Achievement Guide
The achievements found in Halo Reach are weird bunch. They're pretty much divided up into four categories; those you get from the Campaign, those you get from cheaping the Firefight mode, those acquired through the menu and those you get playing multiplayer matchmaking. For the campaign achievements, you'll need to be playing in Normal or harder, unless specified otherwise. No playing on easy to get achievements here.
For the achievements that can be gained through the Firefight mode, go to the file browser in Reach and search for the gametype file called “GRCHEEVOS” from user The Juda. That’s me! Use this setup to make getting the Firefight Achievements a breeze. For the matchmaking ones, there’s no easy way around it – you’ll just have to slug it out and eventually get them through hard work, determination and you know, having fun.
A Monument To All Your Sins
Gamerpoints: 150Completed every mission in Halo: Reach alone, on Legendary.
When you combine this cheevo with the”God’s must be strong” cheevo, it sure does give you an incentive to complete the game on Legendary all alone. No co-op is allowed through any part of the game for this achievement.
A Storage Solution
Gamerpoints: 5Used the File Browser to upload a file to your File Share.
After playing a round or some campaign, exit out to the Theatre on the main menu and fire up your recorded gameplay in the temporary files. Take a snapshot of anything you like using the camera icon on the menu and then exit out. Go to the File Browser and load up Local Files to see your file. Hit X for the file options and choose Upload to File Share. When you do, you’ll get the achievement.
An Elegant Weapon…
Gamerpoints: 10Killed 10 enemies in a Firefight or Campaign session with the DMR.
Again a rather easy weapon related achievement. Equip DMR rifle, the one that lets you zoom in and pop enemies at a medium distance – pull trigger, hit enemy. Repeat 9 more times without dying. Using the GRCHEEVOS game type and using the NINJA load out, you will net you this reward in about 4 seconds in a Firefight Match.
An Honor Serving
Gamerpoints: 25Reach the rank of Captain in the UNSC.
Reaching Captain isn’t as bad as reaching Lt. Corporal as you only need 210K credits. ONLY 210K credits. Again, this will take some time and there are no easy short cuts.
A New Challenger
Gamerpoints: 10Complete all of the Daily Challenges in a given day.
In the Menu, there will be a listing for Challenges. Once you enter here, you can see a list of the daily challenges that are set. They can range from a number a specific objectives, but they must be completed that day. It can be a lot of work for 10 points, so you may want to wait until some of the easier challenges come up.
A Spoonful of Blamite
Gamerpoints: 10Killed 10 enemies in Firefight or Campaign with a supercombine explosion.
When you use the Needler or Needle rifle, you can stick a number of the needles onto the enemy so that they will explode. It can be tricky to find enough Needlers in the campaign at one time to pull it off, but using the GRCHEEVOS gametype in firefight, you will need to turn the damage down to 100% so that you can get the combine explosion. If you leave it at 300% they will be dead before the explosion goes off.
Banshees, Fast and Low
Gamerpoints: 25
Hijacked a Banshee during the Reach Campaign.
There are only certain few times that Banshees appear in the game and get close enough to hijack. The easiest part seems to be during the Tip of the Spear mission at the Rally Point Bravo. There will be two Banshees flying around near the spire. Head up the right side to the pipes there and hop up on them. Shoot the Banshee as it gets close and then get near it as it dives down. Jack away for the Achievement.
Be My Wingman, Anytime
Gamerpoints: 5Let a teammate spawn on you 5 times in an Invasion Matchmaking game.
During the Invasion gametype, when you die, you have the ability to select your spawn point. It can be a static spot on the map or it can be on a teammate. If a teammate uses you as a respawn point 5 times, then you will get this. Best way to get the achievement is to get closer to the action and stay out of harm’s way and away from enemies so they are able to spawn.
Blaze of Glory
Gamerpoints: 25Scored 200,000 points in a Firefight game.
Just like the 2 previous score based achievements, you can use the GRCHEEVOS gametype to keep on going and going like some kind of rabbit or something and reach 200K in points.
Cool File, Bro
Gamerpoints: 5Recommended a file to someone.
Go into the File Browser from the start menu and go down to either most recommended or most download. You will have the choice of screens or movies and so forth. Select one and then hit X to bring up the file options. Choose “Recommend to friends” and there’s another achievement down.
Crowd Control
Gamerpoints: 10Earned a Killionaire medal in Firefight.
An easy achievement to nab while using the GRCHEEVOS gametype in firefight, you need to kill ten enemies within four seconds of each other. Simply go nuts with unlimited ammo on a crowd of grunts and you’ll get this in no time.
Doctor, Doctor
Gamerpoints: 5Used a Health Pack to replenish life after taking body damage.
During the second mission, one of the first buildings you reach after driving the truck – not, if you were after the achievement of course- will have health packs on the wall. Simply use one up and feel 5 gamer points better.
Dust and Echoes
Gamerpoints: 10Completed the 8th mission on Normal or harder.
Simply complete the 8th mission on any difficulty higher than easy.
Firestarter
Gamerpoints: 10Scored 50,000 points in a Firefight game.
Using the GRCHEEVOS gametype, you can simply just keep on killing and killing until the score counter in the bottom right reaches 50K.
Folks Need Heroes
Gamerpoints: 50Completed the Campaign on Heroic difficulty.
If you are a true Halo player then this is the difficulty that you started the campaign on. See it through to the end and nab yourself a deserved 50 points.
Game, Set, Match
Gamerpoints: 25Completed a Firefight set on Legendary without dying.
Using the GRCHEEVOS gametype, set the match to one round and set the difficulty to legendary. One set will be 3 rounds of 5 waves with an additional Bonus Round at the end. It will take about 15 minutes to complete but once you do… 25 Points.
Gods Must Be Strong
Gamerpoints: 125Completed the Campaign on Legendary difficulty.
This achievement is for the truly masochistic. Take your time through the campaign on this setting and the 125 points will easily be yours. Ok, not easily – but it will be yours nonetheless.
Heat The Pipe
Gamerpoints: 75Scored 1,000,000 points in a Firefight game.
Using the GRCHEEVOS gametype file, simply keep on killing and killing and killing some more. To get one million points, it took takes about 90 minutes to reach it.
I Didn’t Train to Be a Pilot
Gamerpoints: 10Killed 3 of the anti-aircraft batteries during the 8th mission.
In the night time flying mission over New Alexandria, there will be multiple anti-aircraft turrets set up on the rooftops. You can just fly around until you see the blue-ish white gunfire from them and then take them out. It’s easy enough to find three and killing them is even easier.
If They Came to Hear Me Beg
Gamerpoints: 25
Performed an Assassination against an Elite to survive a fall that would've been fatal.
Right at the beginning of Mission 10: The Pillar or Autumn, you will come to a ledge with an Elite and some grunts shuffling around down below. To get the achievement, you need to wait for the Elite to come closer to the ledge and then run and jump off using Sprint. Aim for the Elite’s head and be sure to turn off the sprint on the way down. If you don’t turn it off, the achievement won’t work. When you are right above the Elite, hit the right bumper and pull off the assassination.
I Need a Weapon
Gamerpoints: 10Completed the 4th mission on Normal or harder.
Simply complete the 4th mission on any difficulty higher than easy.
Into The Howling Dark
Gamerpoints: 10Completed the 7th mission on Normal or harder.
Simply complete the 7th mission on any difficulty higher than easy.
I See You Favor a .45
Gamerpoints: 10Killed 10 enemies in a Firefight or Campaign session with the M6G pistol.
Since you start the game with the pistol and it shows up only once in awhile afterwards, you may want to nab this achievement during the second mission when you first meet the Covenant. You can also grab it quite easily in firefight mode if that’s your thing. Like the DMR-you can also get this in Firefight by using the GRCHEEVOS gametype and equipping the NINJA load out.
Keep It Clean
Gamerpoints: 5Killed 7 Moa during the 2nd mission of the Campaign.
During this mission you will come across many Ostrich type birds that go running by. Gun them down when you see them. There will be two or three groups of them in case you missed some earlier on. Once 7 of the birds have been shot, collect your reward.
Knife to a Gunfight
Gamerpoints: 5As an Elite, killed 5 Spartan players in Matchmaking.
When playing Invasion mode, you will switch back and forth between the UNSC and Elites. When you are the Elites, you just need to kill 5 of those pesky Spartans to get this achievement.
Lemme Upgrade Ya
Gamerpoints: 10Advance any Commendation to its Silver state.
When you are on the Main Menu screen, go over to your tag and press A. Choose your Service Record and then choose commendations. Here you will see all the ones that you have earned. The commendations start at Iron and work their way up. You need to get one of them through Iron, then Bronze, then to Silver. Which one is easiest is obviously up to the individual and the Matchmaking and Firefight need to be done while online.
Lucky Me
Gamerpoints: 25Earned a Triple Kill while Jetpacking in Campaign, Firefight or Matchmaking.
One of the easiest places for this achievement is at the Rally Point Alpha on Exodus. When you grab the jetpack and hop across the platforms with the Bullfrogs, you will encounter a wave of grunts. Simply launch into the air and toss a grenade down on their heads. Keep in mind that you need to be airborne and need to have juice in the jetpack. Freefalling from a jetpack launch won’t nab you this. Since it is right at a load point, if you don’t get it at first, it’s easy to reload to get to. This can also be garnered quite easily through firefight mode using the GRCHEEVOS gametype. Use the same technique as you would during the campaign, but you’ll have more targets to explode.
Make it Drizzle
Gamerpoints: 10Purchased an item from the Armory.
This is one of the easiest achievements to get right off the bat. Enter the Armory from the menu and you will be able to purchase the UA on the Mark V [B] Helmet for 750 Credits. Once you confirm your purchase, it will give you your goods and 10 extra points.
Make it Rain
Gamerpoints: 10Purchase an item from the Armory that requires the rank of Lt. Colonel.
To reach Lt. Colonel, you need to garner yourself 450K credits. It can take while to get there, but eventually you’ll reach it. No short cuts for this one. Once you reach it, you will have met the requirement for certain items in the Armory. Purchase one of those items and the 10 points is yours.
One Down, 51 to Go
Gamerpoints: 10Completed a Weekly Challenge.
The weekly challenge will be listed under the daily challenges. While they will of course take longer to complete than the daily challenges, you do have an entire week to complete them.
I Need a Weapon
Gamerpoints: 10Completed the 4th mission on Normal or harder.
Simply complete the 4th mission on any difficulty higher than easy.
Into The Howling Dark
Gamerpoints: 10Completed the 7th mission on Normal or harder.
Simply complete the 7th mission on any difficulty higher than easy.
I See You Favor a .45
Gamerpoints: 10Killed 10 enemies in a Firefight or Campaign session with the M6G pistol.
Since you start the game with the pistol and it shows up only once in awhile afterwards, you may want to nab this achievement during the second mission when you first meet the Covenant. You can also grab it quite easily in firefight mode if that’s your thing. Like the DMR-you can also get this in Firefight by using the GRCHEEVOS gametype and equipping the NINJA load out.
Keep It Clean
Gamerpoints: 5Killed 7 Moa during the 2nd mission of the Campaign.
During this mission you will come across many Ostrich type birds that go running by. Gun them down when you see them. There will be two or three groups of them in case you missed some earlier on. Once 7 of the birds have been shot, collect your reward.
Knife to a Gunfight
Gamerpoints: 5As an Elite, killed 5 Spartan players in Matchmaking.
When playing Invasion mode, you will switch back and forth between the UNSC and Elites. When you are the Elites, you just need to kill 5 of those pesky Spartans to get this achievement.
Lemme Upgrade Ya
Gamerpoints: 10Advance any Commendation to its Silver state.
When you are on the Main Menu screen, go over to your tag and press A. Choose your Service Record and then choose commendations. Here you will see all the ones that you have earned. The commendations start at Iron and work their way up. You need to get one of them through Iron, then Bronze, then to Silver. Which one is easiest is obviously up to the individual and the Matchmaking and Firefight need to be done while online.
Lucky Me
Gamerpoints: 25Earned a Triple Kill while Jetpacking in Campaign, Firefight or Matchmaking.
One of the easiest places for this achievement is at the Rally Point Alpha on Exodus. When you grab the jetpack and hop across the platforms with the Bullfrogs, you will encounter a wave of grunts. Simply launch into the air and toss a grenade down on their heads. Keep in mind that you need to be airborne and need to have juice in the jetpack. Freefalling from a jetpack launch won’t nab you this. Since it is right at a load point, if you don’t get it at first, it’s easy to reload to get to. This can also be garnered quite easily through firefight mode using the GRCHEEVOS gametype. Use the same technique as you would during the campaign, but you’ll have more targets to explode.
Make it Drizzle
Gamerpoints: 10Purchased an item from the Armory.
This is one of the easiest achievements to get right off the bat. Enter the Armory from the menu and you will be able to purchase the UA on the Mark V [B] Helmet for 750 Credits. Once you confirm your purchase, it will give you your goods and 10 extra points.
Make it Rain
Gamerpoints: 10Purchase an item from the Armory that requires the rank of Lt. Colonel.
To reach Lt. Colonel, you need to garner yourself 450K credits. It can take while to get there, but eventually you’ll reach it. No short cuts for this one. Once you reach it, you will have met the requirement for certain items in the Armory. Purchase one of those items and the 10 points is yours.
One Down, 51 to Go
Gamerpoints: 10Completed a Weekly Challenge.
The weekly challenge will be listed under the daily challenges. While they will of course take longer to complete than the daily challenges, you do have an entire week to complete them.
Protocol Dictates Action
Gamerpoints: 10Completed the 3rd mission on Normal or harder.
Simply complete the 3rd mission on any difficulty higher than easy.
Score Attack
Gamerpoints: 10Score 15,000 points in Score Attack Firefight Matchmaking.
For this cheevo, you will need to rack up 15K points in 12 minutes. In the match making menu choose Score Attack and then you will be given a few options which includes Sniper Attack. If you are going at it yourself, choose Sniper Attack so that you have unlimited ammo. You can now pick up any weapon you want and have unlimited ammo. It’s pretty tough to do by your lonesome, so it is best to team up with 3 others to tackle. The points will come in slow at first, but once the stronger waves start coming in, the points will start to rack up.
Send me Out…With a Bang
Gamerpoints: 10Completed the 10th mission on Normal or harder.
Simply complete the 10th mission on any difficulty higher than easy.
Skunked!
Gamerpoints: 10Win a game of Invasion in the 1st phase.
In each game of Invasion there are attackers and defenders and there are three phases. For the achievement you need to stop the attacking team from taking over the capture point before time runs out. As soon as the game starts, head to the spot and find a cozy little spot to protect it from. Keep everyone from taking it and when the clock counts down, the achievement is yours.
Swap Meet
Gamerpoints: 10Traded weapons with an AI ally in Campaign.
When you are at the Oni: Sword Base, you will be accompanied by a load of generic UNSC soldiers. Simply walk up to one with a weapon in hand – provided that weapon has ammo in it – and hit X to swap your weapons and take 10 GP.
Tanks Beat Everything
Gamerpoints: 25Finished the 9th mission on Legendary with the Scorpion intact.
Once you start the 9th mission, you will need to clear out a few turrets and enemies and then hop in the tank. Thankfully you only need to get to the Sword Base gate with the tank intact. That doesn’t mean you need to kill everything with it. Once you reach the first area with the tank, you can clear it out and hop in the Revenant there. Use that to clear the next area and the next as well. Once the next couple of areas are clear, head back and grab the tank and mop any enemies that you may have missed. Just a heads up, you can also destroy the AA guns with the tank instead of running inside to destroy the core. Once you reach the Sword Base gate, the cheevo will pop.
That’s a Knife
Gamerpoints: 10Performed an Assassination on an enemy.
At the beginning of the 4th mission, Jun and yourself will be creeping along a ledge in the dark. Soon enough you will come to an Elite that is just hanging out. Perform the assassination as you are instructed and feel free to dance on his corpse in celebration of your newly acquired 10 points.
The Soldier We Needed You To Be
Gamerpoints: 25Completed the Campaign on Normal difficulty.
If you went the route of Heroic or Legendary difficulty, then you will have gotten this achievement already. If not, then playing through of the nancy difficulty- sorry, normal difficulty- will net you this.
The Start of Something
Gamerpoints: 15Reached the rank of Corporal in the UNSC.
The rank of Corporal is accomplished when you hit 10k credits. Since you start with 5K, it’s pretty easy to achieve after one play through of the single player campaign.
This is Not Your Grave
Gamerpoints: 10Completed the 9th mission on Normal or harder.
Simply complete the 9th mission on any difficulty higher than easy.
They’ve Always Been Faster
Gamerpoints: 25Cleared the 2nd mission without setting foot in a drivable vehicle.
After the second large wave of enemies, you will cross a stream and hop down a cliff. Just after the drop, there is a truck to the right side of the canyon. Ignore it, as well as the truck at the next base and hoof it through the rest of the mission. This part can be reached easily by loading Rally Point Alpha.
To War
Gamerpoints: 10Completed the 5th mission on Normal or harder.
Simply complete the 5th mission on any difficulty higher than easy.
Two Corpses One Grave
Gamerpoints: 25Killed 2 vehicles at once with the Target Locator during the 3rd mission.
During the Oni: Sword Base mission, you will come to the Target Locator and will then be face to face with two Wraiths. Try to get them together in one shot by making sure they are both within the red circle that appears on the ground. If you miss the two Wraiths, you can reload Rally Point Alpha or keep going where you will face a couple of Ghosts later on in the mission and try to get them together.
Wake up, Buttercup
Gamerpoints: 25
Destroyed the Corvette's engines & escort in under 3 minutes in the 6th mission on Heroic or harder.
During the space battle, after docking and getting loaded up, you will head back out to your Sabre and need to take out a Corvette. To get this Achievement, when the Corvette appears, head to the rear of it a good distance until you are told to take out the engines. Immediately head to the engines once they are highlighted and switch to missiles to take them out. You should be able to get all four in one pass. Once they are done, focus on the Banshees and the Seraphs. When the red arrows appear letting you know there are only a few left, narrow in on those.
We’re Just Getting Started
Gamerpoints: 10Completed the 2nd mission on Normal or harder.
Once the introduction to the game is over, and you hop out of the falcon, you will be starting the second mission. There’s plenty of Achievements you can start racking up just on this mission alone. For this one achievement however, just reach the end of the mission.
What’s A Killing Spree?
Gamerpoints: 5Earned a Killing Spree in multiplayer Matchmaking.
In any multiplayer gametype, you will need to kill off 5 enemies without dying yourself. Easy enough, right? It’s certainly no airstrike but 5 GP is a good enough reward.
Yes, Sensei
Gamerpoints: 10Earned a First Strike Medal in a Matchmaking game.
Be the first player on either team to get a kill. Don’t rush out in a suicide run but don’t lollygag around the spawn point. Use a sniper rifle to cover long distance and go for the head.
You Flew Pretty Good
Gamerpoints: 10Completed the 6th mission on Normal or harder.
Simply complete the 6th mission on any difficulty higher than easy.
Your Heresy Will Stay Your Feet
Gamerpoints: 25
Killed the Elite Zealot before he escaped during the 5th mission.
Shortly after Rally Point Alpha starts, you will enter a mining facility and eventually come to a platform that looks over to another platform with a set of stairs that lead down to the ground. Before heading down the steps, look to the far side and the Zealot will be stalking around there. Use a Needler Rifle or DMR to take him out without getting close to him. If you do get close, he will keep running away from you and can eventually disappear all together robbing you of your achievement.
Jeff McAllister, GamesRadar US
12 ways to dominate the Halo: Reach Noble Maps, courtesy of Bungie
ANCHOR 9
Bungie Tip #1: The rocket launcher is located on an external platform, so practice moving around in low-g or you’ll be taking a one-way trip back to Reach.
Bungie Tip #2: The turrets overlooking the main hangar bays are great for suppressing the enemy, but make sure you’ve got an ally watching your back.
Bungie Tip #3: The shield walls that protect Anchor 9 stop projectiles and grenades, but won’t stop an enemy from rolling up and punching you into the blackness of space.
Bungie Tip #4: Don’t forget about health packs! There are plenty of them on Anchor 9 (safety first!), and can help turn the tide of battle if you’ve been injured.
TEMPEST
Bungie Tip #1: Tunnels to the right of each base allow players a sneaky way straight to the flag in CTF games. If you don’t know where the shotgun is, assume that enemy coming in has it!
Bungie Tip #2: The four man cannons on Tempest will get you halfway across the map in a hurry, but it’s not the stealthiest way to travel.
Bungie Tip #3: Warthogs will tear you up if you’re caught out in the open. Stay with your team, and keep tabs on the anti-vehicle weapons.
Bungie Tip #4: Forge it up! Tempest provides a very large palette of Forge objects to make custom map variants and your in-game File Share provides an easy way to share your work with the community.
BREAKPOINT
Bungie Tip #1: In Big Team games, knowing what vehicles are active (and how to handle them!) can be the difference between victory and being on the wrong end of a Splatter Spree.
Bungie Tip #2: The rock spine that divides the map in half provides an excellent view for snipers, at the expense of being extremely exposed.
Bungie Tip #3: Spartans get heavy weapons unlocked in the second and third phases of Invasion… look around for them when you respawn!
Bungie Tip #4: Elites escaping with the data core in Invasion might want to drop down over the side of the bridge for a slower—but much safer— route to the waiting Phantom.
Charlie Barratt, GamesRadar US
Call of Duty: Black Ops Pro Perk Challenge Guide
Disclaimer – employing some of the following tactics may or may not annoy the crap out of your teammates. Muting is highly recommended.
GHOST PRO
Destroy Aircraft: Destroy 30 aircraft with any non-Killstreak launcher.
30 aircraft may seem like a lot, but as long as you keep the Strela-3 launcher in your secondary slot at all times, you can make short work of this challenge. When you play any of the team-based matches, the opposing force will end up using several spy planes, care package helicopters, and attack choppers over the course of one game. The Strela-3 locks onto aircraft and carries 2 rockets. Enemy spy planes can be taken down with a single shot, but the other flyers require two – one to deplete the defensive flare and one to destroy the aircraft.
Destroy Sentry Gun: Destroy 1 Sentry Gun.
If you haven’t completed this task by chance during normal match play, you may have to orchestrate the perfect circumstance. Change one of your Killstreak rewards to Sentry Gun, and enter a team based battle. Once you earn the Sentry Gun Killstreak, make sure to throw the smoke signal somewhere that will tempt the enemy into picking up the dropped package. Keep your eyes on the enemy that ends up picking up the Sentry Gun, or use the Hacker perk to detect where the gun is deployed. Once you finally track the turret down, use your knife to knock it down from behind. Anyone else think you deserve an achievement/trophy for that?
SLEIGHT OF HAND PRO
Fast Hands Kills: Reload and finish off the enemy you wounded 10 times.
Above: Notice the government issued butterfly
You only need to put one shot into an enemy in order for the game to consider them ‘wounded’ in this case. A good strategy is to equip an SMG and play some free for all on the smaller maps (especially Nuketown or Firing Range). If you have the drop on an enemy (they don’t see you but you see them) it is very easy to put one or two rounds into them, reload (Sleight of Hand + SMG will have you reloading in the blink of an eye), then finish them off.
NINJA PRO
Plants: Plant the bomb 10 times in Demolition, Sabotage, or Search & Destroy.
This is one of those challenges that would normally come in time, but who likes to wait? The trick is to hide near the target area during Demolition and stay quiet. After the bomb is initially armed, wait close to the area and allow the enemy to disarm the bomb. Now either wait for the enemy to move away, or swoop in and kill them. You can then re-arm the bomb. Rinse and repeat. You may not have success every time but as long as you allow the enemy to continually disarm the bomb while you keep a low profile nearby you’ll have completed this challenge in no time. This tactic works well on Array or on Grid as seen above. You can follow these tips to accomplish the Demolished challenge for Flak Jacket pro as well.
LIGHTWEIGHT PRO
Offense Medals: Get 10 Offensive Medals by killing enemies near their objective.
You could accomplish this over several games of Domination by killing enemies who are trying to capture one of your areas. Or you could do it the fun and easy way, and that’s by playing CTF. As long as you are holding the enemy flag, any kill you get counts as an Offensive Medal. Booyah.
FLAK JACKET PRO
Throwbacks: Throw back 5 enemy Frag Grenades.
We found this to be one of the hardest challenges to complete. You’ll need to throw back 5 enemy frag grenades. Too bad a lot of players prefer Semtex. Fortunately you don’t have to be effective with (or even survive) the throwback – as long as you get your hands on the enemy grenade it counts. We found a couple of decent methods for completing this challenge if you’re willing to sacrifice your K/D ratio for a few rounds –
-Method 1: Camping up high
Camp in any sniper-post area like the high tower on the firing range, and keep your gun trained on the entrance while crouching or prone. Fire a few rounds into the air and it won’t be long before the other players know you’re up there. With the only entrance locked down you’ll be bombarded by grenades in no time. Just pray some of them will be frags. The normal flak jacket perk will protect you from most of the Semtex and crossbow explosions while you wait.
-Method 2: Put yourself in the midst of it
During a game of demolition many players will toss grenades at the target boxes before getting a clear view. If you stay low near the box you may have a chance at throwing back a grenade before you’re made into Swiss cheese. Put down a smoke bomb to increase your chances – enemies are more likely to cautiously throw a grenade into the smoke cloud instead of rushing in and randomly unloading bullets into something they can’t see. You can do something similar during Domination, but you won’t have the box as cover.
SCOUT PRO
One Shot Kills: Get 50 One Shot, One Kill Medals
To make this easier for yourself, play in Hardcore mode. You don’t have to aim as carefully when your enemies have diminished health (anywhere will score a kill), and you can use any of the sniper rifles. Note that you can only get the medals if you are using a sniper rifle (FAL and M14 wouldn’t work). If you’re not used to using sniper scopes, throw an ACOG sight on your sniper rifle.
WARLORD PRO
Grenade Multi-Kills: Get 1 multi-kill with Frag or Semtex.
If you’re trying to complete this challenge we recommend you equip the scavenger perk, that way you can continuously pick up grenades from fallen enemies as you try over and over to get a multi-kill. It’s also a bit easier to pull off with Frags since you can cook them before throwing. At least two kills at once are required to complete the challenge.
-Method 1 – Blind throwing
Yep, just aim skyward and let it rip. On a small map (especially Nuketown) you can toss Frags all the way over the other side of the map. On team events there’s a decent chance you’ll catch a couple of enemies moving together along the sides of the houses if you throw a grenade ASAP once the round begins.
-Method 2 – Go for the objectives
In Domination, the B objective is usually the most hotly contested due to its central location. Make yourself a distant observer and chuck a grenade at the enemies when they swarm the objective.
STEADY AIM PRO
Quick Melee: Melee two enemies consecutively within 5 seconds.
If you’re having trouble getting this one, there is an alternative running around like a psychopath swinging wildly. Equip the following: the Lightweight perk, the Marathon perk, the Ballistic knife, and the tactical insertion. Join a game of Ground War (preferably Domination) where there will be plenty of enemies to kill. The idea is to flank one of the areas that the enemy is protecting, preferably the B objective. You can also get clever and drop your tactical insertion point around an objective while your team has control, run to somewhere safe, then intentionally die while the enemy has control to spawn right in their midst. As you can see from the above screenshot, this tactic worked very well. Note that the melee strike with the Ballistic Knife has a much quicker recovery time than the normal knife.
Hip Fire Kills: Get 150 hip fire kills using Steady Aim.
This is quite difficult to pull off in Core mode – it’s much easier to do it in Hardcore mode. The lower health means it takes fewer hits to bring an enemy down, so grab a powerful SMG (AK47u), dual-wield some of the smaller SMGs, or use a shotgun and have some fun.
HARDENED PRO
Equipment Shot: Destroy 1 piece of enemy equipment through a wall.
A fairly easy challenge when you set your mind to accomplishing it. Most players lay claymores just inside doorways. When you manage to spot one before actually stepping on it, move so that the doorframe is between your gun and the claymore and fire away. To make it even easier, equip the Hacker perk so that you can more easily spot mines through walls.
Matt Hughes, GamesRadar US
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)