For the unaware: multipliers mean that everytime on of your shots hits that specific part it’s damage is multiplied by it. So a 5 damage hit on the torso is just 5 damage (5 x 1.0=5), but 5 damage hit  in the head is 12.5 damage (5 x 2.5 = 12.5).

Click the image bellow for more.

Hitboxes and their Multipliers

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The most underrated weapon in all S4. Ignored and forgotten, in the right hands this weapon can surprise and shock.
Unlike the SMGs or the Semi-Rifle, the usually picked alternatives, the Gauss has a few unique abilities.

First it’s the only automatic weapon capable of firing single shots (the SMG and the Semi both fire 4 round bursts and the HMG is fully automatic) offering greater control.

Second, it’s the only automatic weapon capable of pin point accuracy and with no horizontal spread. The only spread this weapon has is vertical, resetting every 5 shots or when the user stops shooting. The first shot is dead-on, the second and third shots are marginally higher (not enough to make much of a difference at most ranges) and only the fourth and fifth shots loose accuracy.

And third, it has the second highest damage per bullet of all the automatic weapons (HMG having the highest). 16 damage per shot and 40 damage per critical shot (headshot). Not bad.

Why it’s hated.

I started by mentioning that this is THE weapon nobody wants to use, generally picking the SMG or the Semi over it. The reasons are simple. While statistically it is a very impressive weapon, it comes with a few handicaps that make it hard to use. It’s the kind of weapon that only pays off after you master it, or at very least learn its ropes fairly well. While the lack of horizontal spread makes it excellent for ranged shooting, it makes spraying at close range nearly impossible. The actual vertical spread is also an issue. While the first 3 bullets are pretty much dead-on, the last 2 bullets of the 5 bullet pattern are considerably off target, making fully-automatic fire inefficient. It’s better to fire in 3 bullet bursts, which drops its potential DPS (damage per second) considerably. It also does not possess a zooming feature (like the Semi) and forces it’s user to walk while shooting (much like the HMG). In essence, most people get better results out of the SMGs at close-medium range, and of the Semi at medium-long range.

Why it can actually be awesome.

As mentioned before this is a weapon that relies almost fully on user skill. If aimed correctly, this is a weapon that can pull 72 damage in a single 3-shot-burst (chest>chest>head) at extremely long ranges, and over 120 damage in the same 3-shot-burst at close range (head>head>head). Due to its vertical spread, it’s also incredibly easy to “accidentally” hit criticals, especially at long ranges while aiming at the chest. Once mastered, this is the kind of weapon that’ll perform just as good at any given distance, effectively allowing it’s user to fight at any range. In essence, this weapon is a mix of the Semi and the HMG.

Strategies.

Use and abuse the “pattern reset” function. Remember, every time you stop firing the weapon’s pattern resets to its original pin-point shot. If we consider the first 3 shots are almost dead on, firing in 3-shot-bursts basically grants the user almost perfect accuracy (the 4th shot can be also be used while at close ranges). So, fire in 3 shot bursts (2 at really long distances), and use the “in-between bursts” to dodge if necessary, as the sudden change of speed (walking->dodge roll->walking->ad nauseam) tends to throw opponents off. At close ranges aim straight at the head or upper chest, and the further way the lower into the chest you should aim, this assures that at least one of the bullets gets a critical hit, while the other/s get a normal hit.

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But most of all, remember to not give up at first, as the Gauss Rifle only starts shining after much use.

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The Swing.

Unlike the Plasma Sword or the Counter Sword, the Storm Bat doesn’t have a heavy and light slashes… In fact it doesn’t have any slashes at all… A left-click on the mouse will always deliver the same: the classic bat swing. This simple looking swing will send your enemy flying back, delivering 34 damage on a normal hit, and 68 damage on a critical hit, with the possibility of an additional 14 to 20 damage if your opponent is sent against a wall. The kind of swing Barry Bonds would envy.

The Jump Attack.

The very core of the Storm Bat. Contrary to the PS or the CS, the bat’s jump attack has no delay, meaning a single mouse click will instantly bring down a massive attack on your opponent. Delivering 65 damage on a normal hit, and an impressive 116 damage on a critical, this jump attack will also stun your opponent for approximately 1.5 seconds, leaving them open to a follow up swing. It’s a one-hit-kill.

The Storm Wind.

The secondary attack of the bat is a moving, spinning, swing that can be chained up to 3 times in a row, hitting all opponents in it’s path, delivering approximately 54 damage if all hits connect. If each click is timed correctly, the storm bat will unleash the Storm Wind, a devastating electrical hurricane that delivers anywhere from 72 to over 130 damage (if all 3 hits critical) in it’s path, knocking any surviving enemies down with the last spin.

The normal whirlwind.

The Storm Wind.

The Bad.

But no weapon is without it’s flaws. While this bat will deliver unforgiving damage and knockback on a hit, it’s also equally unforgiving of your own mistakes. The jump attack will leave you open for no less than 2 seconds, if you take the extra swing after, another 1-1.5 seconds where you cannot move or in any way avoid an enemy. The Storm Wind comes with an equally painful 2 seconds of punishable recovery time. On top of that, it does not have any “quick moving high damage” attacks like the plasma sword’s dash, or the counter sword’s jump attack, limiting its range… It’s the hefty cost of its own power.

Strategy.

As seen above, the Storm Bat’s biggest advantage lies in its quick attacks, and it’s biggest disadvantage in its slow recovery time. As such, you’ll want to use and abuse the normal swing. Surprisingly, the very simple swing is fast, let’s you move while attacking, does decent damage, and better yet, knocks the enemy back, preferably into a wall. Not only is this attack of exceptional tactical use in Touchdown (to knock enemies away from the ball carrier, or the enemy ball carrier away from your base), but also for regular fighting, as knocking the enemy into a wall leaves them stunned long enough to allow a follow up with the deadly jump attack.

Save the jump attack as a “punisher”, as it has no starting delay, making it fast enough to hit any enemies stuck on their own attack animations. It’s also particularly useful on unsuspecting enemies.

The Storm Wind is best used as a “crowd control” tool (especially when several enemies are engaged fighting allies in a small space like the Station 2’s train) or to finish off a nearly dead opponent.

But above all, remember to plan your movements ahead and not take unnecessary chances. Take your time, use normal swings until your opponent is knocked into a wall or makes the mistake of missing an attack of his own.

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There is 1 common prerequisite to ALL missions: There have to be at least 10 people in-game (minimum of 5 vs. 5 or 6 vs. 4) for ANY mission to count.

That said, the missions:

“X Weapon Kills “

Pretty simple and straight forward, just get the set number of kills with the designated weapon. Kills count in both DM and TD, but you only get a kill for the mission if you do NOT get assistance in the kill. You have to be the only person shooting at the target, and consequently killing them, for the kill to count for your mission (although it seems to count sometimes if you do a high percentage of the damage, I’d guess around 80% of their life). You can, however, use different weapons, so long as the killing weapon is the one designated by the mission. For example, if you’re doing a Mindshock mission, you can shoot someone down to low HP with SMGs or any other weapon, and then finish them with Mindshock. The kill counts as Mindshock. The reverse, however, does not work. If you start killing with Mindshock, and finish with another weapon, the kill will always count as your finishing weapon and not Mindshock’s.

“Avoid by Fainting Practice”

One of the most controversial missions. What you need to do here is to use the dodge roll (side + jump) to break out of a melee weapon’s stun or avoid a melee attack (works best with jump attacks). You get 1 point per effective “dodge”/”stun-break”.

“Deathmatch Kill Practice”

Just kill the set number of people in Deathmatch games. Kills do not count if they’re assistances.

“TouchDown Offence Practice”

The objective here is to rack up a certain number of TD Offence points. Obviously this mission can only be done in TD, and you get Offence points for: grabbing the fumbi (2 points), killing someone while carrying the fumbi (4 points), protecting the fumbi carrier by killing an enemy that has attacked him (4 points), assisting a kill by the fumbi carrier (2 points), assisting a touchdown (5 points) or scoring a touchdown (10 points).

“TouchDown Defense Practice”

The polar opposite of the above mission. You get defensive points by killing the enemy fumbi carrier (4 points), assisting in killing the fumbi carrier (2 points) or any enemies assisting/near the enemy fumbi carrier (2 points).

“TouchDown score a point”

This one is a bit confusing. While it does say “score a point”, what you need is a set number of “scoring points”. These usually appear in 5 point increments up to 20 points. Scoring a point in TouchDown grants you 10 points towards this mission, and assisting a touchdown (being the last person to touch the fumbi before someone else on your team scores) grants you 5 points.

“TD/DM Playing Game”

Play a set number of TD/DM games. It’s not as easy as it sounds though, you have to be in the game room and ready (“waiting”) -BEFORE- the game starts, if you join after the game starts, even if you join right after, the mission does not count. You have to play the game till the very end, if you leave, are kicked for inactivity, crash out or in any other way leave before the game is over, the mission will not count. And last the game has to be at least 20 minutes long (20 minutes or 80 points for DM – 20 minutes or 8 points for TD). You do not need the match to last the full 20 or 30 minutes though. If you met all other requirements, and the game ends earlier due to touchdowns/points, you still get the mission. Also, note that while the game does not have to start with 10 people, it only counts towards the mission if there ARE 10 people in-game when it ends.

“TD/DM Winning Game”

Same as above, but you also have to win the matches.

That’s pretty much it. If I forgot any, leave a comment and I’ll add them.

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Setting up.

First thing you might want to do is to make sure all of these boxes are unchecked. They’re unnecessary, they get in the way, and they slow your computer down… When you know how to use it better, you can decide if you want them on or not, but for now, keep them off.
Don’t mess with the rest for now and skip straight to the Movies tab.

First thing to do here is to set up your movies folder. Do note, you’re going to need a LOT of room… Like, a LOT… Seriously… At least a few Gigabytes… One of the reasons fraps generally runs smoothly and doesn’t disturb your gameplay much, is because it does not compress your movie files automatically, it records them “raw”, and while this gives you good quality and performance, it means a simple 30 second clip can go up to 800mbs – 1 gb of space.
So set up the folder you want your movies in, and then setup your “Video Capture Hotkey”. This is the key that, when pressed, will start and stop recording with Fraps. Keep in mind, that if this key overlaps an in-game key, this might cause some issues as you’ll need to press it in-game whenever you want the recording to start or stop. Keep that in mind and set it to a key that does nothing in-game.

After that, set Fraps to record in either Half-size or Full-size. Which to pick? Honestly I think Half-size is more than enough in most situations, and it means your clips will be a bit smaller and easier to handle. If you’re some quality fanatic, go full-size, otherwise, half-size has a pretty good quality as is and it saves space.

And finally, the fps. This sets up how many frames Fraps will record per second. Ideally, you want to set this up to whatever frame rate you have normally in-game (Fraps will show you this when it’s on). So if you get, say, 80-ish fps [average in most of these games is 60, by the way] choose the last option and write “80”. For S4, fps is, as far as I noticed, capped at 60, so we’ll check option “60 fps”.
Now that we’re done setting up Fraps, time to use it.

Recording.

First thing you got to do, is to make sure Fraps is working with your game. By default, if it’s on, you’ll see the fps counter in a corner of your screen [top left corner by default I believe].

When you’re ready to go, just press whatever key you assigned above as your Video Capture Hotkey  to start and stop recording. Easy.

Post Production.

But wait, your movie isn’t ready yet… Mostly because it’s in a raw format most players don’t recognize, and also because it’s this unnecessarily huge file.
For this part, you’ll need a video editing program… Almost any will do, but the most commonly available and easy to use would be Windows Movie Maker, which comes free with Windows. It’s a rather bug ridden memory hogging piece of crap, but it’s easy to work with and readily available so we’ll go with that.

What we’re going to do now is open the massive raw files and save them as a more manageable type, like avi, for instances.

After your file is in the storyboard (or timeline), just press “Save to my Computer”.

Choose a name, a location to save your new file to and press Next. After that you’ll be asked to choose a file type.

Personally, I tend to pick the 2.1 Mbps NTSC. Good quality at an acceptable size. Usually I never record or even compile so much in-game footage that 2.1Mbps just makes it too big, and this way I get good quality out of it.
Keep hitting next till it starts encoding, wait till it’s done, and there you go. You can now delete your massive raw file and keep your in-game footage with good quality in a file about a hundred times smaller.

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Guide by : Caliostro

So we’re gonna talk about Invisible.
Let me start by saying that, contrary to what you might think, invisible doesn’t ACTUALLY make you invisible, just transparent, and consequently far harder to see. People can still see your shape distorting the background, however, so don’t go by it’s misleading name and charge head on with it, you will die. I suppose “Transparency” would be an even worse name though… But anyways…

First thing to know, as I already mentioned, is that you CAN be seen while using invisible, which means you STILL have to sneak around if you don’t want to catch a lethal case of facial led poisoning. You’re probably asking yourself at this point “Why do I want an invisible skill that doesn’t make me invisible?”, well, because as I said before, it makes you hard to see. In fact, it makes you very hard to see, almost invisible (but not quite).

The thing here is this skill is tailor made for people who enjoy sneaking around, and used together with aforementioned stealth maneuvers it makes you almost impossible to spot. It’s just NOT, however, an “I win button”, as many newbies seem to think.
So we’ve established that this skill is mainly for people who enjoy sneaking around. The other thing you need to remember is that the skill will automatically turn off as soon as you attack, so, ideally, you want something that gets the job done fast, preferably before other people see you, so you can go back to sneaking around.

You have a few options here:
•If you’re the kind of guy that likes to get up close and personal, I’d recommend a Storm Bat (although in all fairness almost all melee weapons have one way or another to one-hit-kill). That jump attack “batslam” is extremely fast, damaging, and best of all, silent.

• If you have some kind of grudge against melee, a revolver is a good choice too, as a close-range head shot is a one-hit-kill. Keep in mind, however, that if you miss you’ll need an extra shot or two, compromising your position… And it’s not nearly as silent as the stormbat.

• Alternatively, a pair of SMGs is also good, as a full-headshot burst will do over 130 damage. Keep in mind, however, that missing a single shot will keep your victim alive and able to spot you, and that an SMG burst isn’t as quick as a revolver shot but is also fairly loud… While this isn’t much of an issue if your target is isolated, if it’s not, this raises the chances of being spotted.

• If you prefer to stay as far away as possible, when possible, a railgun is also a good choice. This has a few advantages and disadvantages though. While the railgun allows you to one-hit kill anyone at any distance, the charge up time is considerably slow if you compare it to, say, the Storm Bat’s jump attack or a single shot/burst from the Revolver and SMGs. It also likes to leave a nice trail which is a bit bothersome as it tends to instantly compromise your position if you miss, and it is fairly easy to miss with it.

Keeping in mind that really basically any weapon works to kill someone if you get the drop on them, these are the weapons I think are more efficient at it, and to me the choice comes down to “Do I want to get up close and personal and play “silent ninja” style [Storm Bat] or do I want to go around the map sniping people as I go, more of a “lone sniper” style [Railgun]”. Honestly, they both work, comes down to personal preference.

So we’ve established that invisible is meant for sneaky people who like to play “silent assassin” and is preferably used with quick-kill weapons. There’s one other thing you have to keep in mind while using Invisible, and that is that invisible will automatically drain your SP while on, and when it’s done, you’ll turn visible again… This is something you should plan for, as there are few things quite as vexing and frustrating as becoming visible while invading an enemy base, only to have all your effort quickly set back by a million billion bullets to the jaw.

So how long does Invisible last?

Note: The test is done with no SP+ clothes.

Approximately 22 seconds with default SP. That gives you an average idea of how far you can go before you have to “recharge”. Keep in mind, though, that evasive maneuvers still drain SP normally on top of the Invisible drain. So if you plan to run or dodge while invisible, keep in mind that your invisibility will last far less.

Simply running while invisible means you only have around 7 seconds of stealth. That’s less than 1/3 of the time you have just walking normally, even less if you intend to wall-jump or dodge roll, keep that in mind while charging at an enemy’s position.

And that’s pretty much all you need to know about invisible.

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To a lot of people the ability to move through the air is enough of a reason to overlook all the other skills. The ability to reach the unreachable, to get the high-ground, to soar through the sky, is some people need to ignore all other skills. But here they are faced with a problem: Fly or Anchor? Both skills are used for the same ultimate purpose: Reach places and circumvent physical barriers. But which is the ultimate? I’m sure a lot of people have their favorites, but to avoid bias here is an extensive empirical side by side comparison of each skill.

Duration

Because a skill is entirely useless after it runs out, the most important thing to ascertain is how much you will be able to use them before you run out of SP.
[Note: ALL tests bellow are done with only default SP. No SP mastery or any SP enhancing clothes]

Fly:

Fly will grant you a total of ~16 seconds of airtime, which, as you can see, is more than enough to get you… well, anywhere really… and hold you there for while. Do note that which time you “re-open” the wings (active after deactivating) it costs around 1/5th of your default SP, so naturally you’ll have less airtime if you need to reactivate them.

Anchor:

Anchor gives you a total of exactly 3 uses before you run out of SP. 3 uses might seem little if you never used it before, but keep in mind you can get pretty much anywhere an anchor can take you in 3 uses, often in only 1 or 2.

Result: For sheer duration, it’s a tie. Both skills will deliver exactly what you buy them for, ability to reach anywhere you want, with SP to spare in case you miss.

Speed

Because getting somewhere is only as important as how fast you get there. Speed is crucial in making sure you get somewhere before the action left or before it arrived. Speed is equally crucial if you decide you need a bit of breathing room, so you can escape before you fall victim to a lethal case of lead poisoning.
[Note: The time was measured from the moment of the jump to the moment the character lands under full control on the top platform.]

Fly:

 Approximately 8 seconds from bottom to top.

Anchor:

Approximately 6 seconds from bottom to top.

Result: I honestly expected the anchor to get a far more significant advantage on this one. However, it seems that, while the anchor is considerably faster traveling through the air, the startup delay is considerably slower.

As we can see here, in short distances the movement speed advantage of the anchor is nullified by it’s considerable startup delay. In such a short distance, both Anchor and Fly end up taking the same 4 seconds to reach the platform. Regardless, however, in longer distances the Anchor proves to be the fastest method of travel, shaving off a significant couple of seconds over Fly.

Control

In a world where there are generally several people trying to kill you at any time, the ability to control your movement sounds – mildly – important… The capacity to change course to pursue (or avoid) a player, or even the ability to correct a mistake, are crucial features. Getting somewhere fast is only important if you get where you want…
Fly: Grants you full, albeit slow, control over your character. You can easily change turn around, deactivate and instantly reactivate the wings or just sour above everyone. You are also able to switch and use any weapons you may be carrying.
Anchor: Only allows linear movement between 2 points at a constant speed. Cannot fire while hooking. Leaves the player “stuck” for a minimum of ~2 seconds while aiming the hook. Does allow instant cancelation (jumping will instantly cancel the hook) and instant “reactivation”, will leave the player “stuck” again for another ~2 seconds minimum every new activation.
Result: For sheer versatility Fly takes the cake. While Anchor simply provides a method of transportation from point A to point B, Fly actual grants you a whole new level of control where you can move and shoot from.

Versatility

Because the capacity to adapt is fundamental to survival (in real life and in S4), it is required that not only the player, but also his equipment be as versatile as possible. Movement and placing are only half the battle and we never know what the other half has in store for us. As such, the most a player can take from a skill, the more prepared he’ll be. Therefore, here are a few of the major advantages of either skills.
Fly:
- Allows the user to quickly get out of melee range.
- Allows the user to fire from above, straight downwards at enemies, greatly raising the chance of getting a critical hit.
- Can be used while reloading.
- Allows the user to fire while flying.
- Allows easier access to get to some “harder to reach” spots for an anchor.
- Activates instantly, without any delay.
- Generally faster than the anchor for smaller distances
Anchor:
- More SP efficient. It’ll generally get you further with less SP.
- Will freeze you in place midair if used, granting you a few seconds to aim anywhere.
- After the hook shoots, the movement through the air is considerably fast, making the user harder to take down.
- Allows the user to quickly wall jump from any surface it hooks onto.

Final Decision

After all the testing it’s time to pick. I suppose it should be obvious from the start that whatever you pick will depend mostly on how you play and all of the above data is merely a nudge in any direction, so my final saying is this:

It’s an age old classic: Speed vs. Control. If you play TD a lot or if you like to see yourself as a ninja, moving quickly from one place to the next before anyone notices what gives, then anchor is probably the skill for you. If you prefer to DM a lot, or TD more defensively, the extreme versatility of Fly will probably just be too good to deny. In an even simpler way to put it: If you want a quick way to go from point A to point B you want Anchor, if you want the ability to move and shoot freely through the air you want Fly.

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Reasons to use fly
By: Caliostro 

In the most basic way of putting it, Fly basically gives you free (albeit slow) movement in a whole new dimension. Unlike the Anchor there is NO place you can’t get to (providing it is… you know… reachable) with fly. It also has another advantage on the battle field: Axial movement. If you’re firing and you suddenly see a melee user jumping at you, most of the time you have enough time to think “Oh Crap” and die… 

Coming Soon!

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