Just had an encounter with two mercs that hopped off their AT and started firing at me with their PKMs. Before that, they fired with AK47s.
Before the encounter I went to the arms dealer and purchased a Star .45 pistol for fun and drove off, met the patrol and thought, wow, strange sound, and hey, they got different guns! So I reloaded my savegame that put me right in front of the arms dealer again, and I drove off without purchasing that pistol. Of course the patrol showed up and yes, they used AK47s to shoot at me.
OK, taking stock:
primary weapons
silent MP5
secondary weapons
Makarov
Silent Makarov (aka 6P9)
M-79
IED
special weapons
Dart Rifle
Now, when I purchase that secondary weapon, the star.45, the mercs upgrade. I don't believe that manuals for vehicles go into the equation regarding weapon upgrades for mercs, but just to mention it, I got all there are for Leboa.
Going to reload the savegame where I stand in front of the arms dealer again, and purchase a different weapon. Let's see if there is a relation :) Maybe I'll go back to a savegame after the first arms dealer mission, using weapons unlock to check it out :)
Be back in a bit.
Cool... one of these days soon we'll be able to decipher all the developer's secrets :-X
hehe, they've loaded the game with them ;)
Alright. What I've done so far is this: Use the same save game mentioned above, purchase different weapons. It didn't seem to matter which weapon, the mercs always had their weapons upgraded.
The arms dealer I "used" is the one in the southeast of Leboa, there is an AT patrolling and a GP nearby. So each time I played around, I checked both the AT crew and the GP crew.
Their upgrades comprise (new / as opposed to)
FAL paratrooper / AK47
PKM / AK47
SPAS / homeland
So I guess it has to do with the amount of weapons you posess, not which ones. But. I don't know if it plays a role in which order you purchase them. See, my inventory was basically the same from start, after the first convoy mission I unlocked all Leboa weapons and bought my loadout all at once. Now that I purchased one more weapon, the mercs upgrade all of a sudden.
Anyone out there wants to help investigate and/or share their wisdom? :)
"Argh, stupid" lol - I decided to go back to that savegame and NOT buy the star.45 so I could influence the barge mission. Now guess what. The next GP I "examined" had mercs with PKM and SPAS ???
So my new guess is, it has to do with your overall game progress, like I recently reached "Act1-20%" and that is much more probable. I didn't pay attention to "upgraded mercs" because I used to shoot them from afar or blow them up before they had a chance. Since I never collect weapons from the dead, I didn't notice any change in their loadout.
Nevertheless, when do they upgrade? After 16%? 20%? Going back to a 16%-savegame to find out what happens if I buy a star.45 ;)
OMG, 16%, they have SPAS and FALs...
why didn't I notice that?! :o
Ok, 12%-savegame. Didn't matter if I bought a star.45, the mercs did not upgrade to PKMs
But they already had SPAS and FALs, but mostly they used Homelands, G3-KA4s (sub), star.45s (lol), and of course AK-47s.
That leaves only one conclusion: They upgrade when you progress. Apparently those PKM appear at 20%. Funny how I never payed attention to when exactly stuff like that happens. I did realise mercs upgraded, but when... never much cared to check that out.
Man, anyone payed any attention to any of this before this topic?
Would you please give us details? :)
Hey PZ... how about changing Art's status to "FarCrylogist" ;)
;D ;D ;D
Something just occurred to me: What if those mercs upgrade whenever you do an arms dealer mission? Ie, you get access to better weapons, so do they. Example: Carl-G RL. Some guard posts used to have RPGs and later they will use CGs.
Now my problem is, does the weapons unlock cheat have any influence on mercs upgrading? Gah... :)
Man, I must have missed the tail end of this thread entirely!
It is an interesting thought that the mercs also get upgraded weapons. I'm new into Bowa at 54% and have not been to Sepoko where there is an RPG guy usually in the center of the area. I'll pay more attention to which weapon he carries - although I may have already completed all the weapons dealer missions already.
I'm at 58% now and returned to Leboa for some leftover assassination missions, and the RPG guy at Mokuba now has a Carl-G.
yup, the very GP I started my observation and this topic with, now has mercs with Deagles :)
This is interesting news. I wonder if there is any merc weapon difference in the different player difficulty levels.
wonder how much Merc weaponry is influenced by players weaponry ?
i've noticed in doing the Arms dealer missions first tends to see more mercs with AK47's.
but what Artblade says about the RPG upgraded to Carl-G is interesting, when i've played have never gone back north after hitting south map as i've done all i can up there before moving on. Didnt even know you could get back to north map. Cheers Art :-X
welcome :) Perhaps you'll find this Article (http://openworldgames.org/owg/forums/index.php?action=articles;sa=view;article=31) interesting, then :)
already read it, nice :-X
its great that after playing FC2 for so long there is still stuff to learn and discover about it.
It sure is - for instance, the recent IED posts have set up an entirely new playing scenario for me. This might hold me until Rage comes on the scene ;D
when i discovered you could plant more than one IED at a time must of spent the next week or so blowing up everything and anything i could, still like to stick them on barrels then push them towards mercs ;D great for clearing outposts if you dont want to take too much time on it. just a shame its in the same slot as pistols, should be a special i reckon.
sweet, I did the same things :) yeah, I'd like to carry them on top of the three weaps hahaha ;D
now that would be fun :-X
if they had put a bit more thought into it they should be more like grenades and molotovs, but instead of just picking them up you should have to collect them from destroyed vehicles and outposts.
I've kept this topic in mind and I thought of a simple approach: Not doing any weapons dealer missions. :) I started a new career and cheated with weapons unlock so I didn't need them. I observed the mercs and I found out that they do upgrade when you progress with the main mission. That's it, so simple :)
Makes sense. Reckon on my next play through going to try to do it without spending any diamonds, just use weapons that other mercs drop, golden AK's etc. Should make for an interesting adventure ;D
if you don't spend any, leave the diamond suitcases alone that are out there in the wilderness. Like that, you'll keep the merc diamond hunters in the environment, which will add a few surprises and happy meetings :)
Indeed, first time I stumbled across one was north of the fort, west of oasis. thought he was lost so just ran over him with a Unimog ;D
hehe, sometimes there are diamonds near safehouses, so you have to kill the mercs locking it, and surprise, there comes another merc you didn't expect. Typically he arrives after you entered the newly unlocked safehouse and when you get out, you get attacked :)
yeah, had that at the safe house with the grenade launcher in, went in and spoke to my buddy, slept then as I left got shot by a merc in a cowboy hat.
This is an old topic but I made an observation about when the mercs start carrying FAL's. I noticed that the change over occurs when I acquire a Level 2 Rep, which obviously coincides with the completion of a mission.
So I don't know if it is the mission or the rep upgrade...or both.
Nice, good question. :)
As far as I know myself, I would have noticed and mentioned if I had gained a rep level the moment I realised the mercs upgraded. As far as I remember, it was "just" an advancing in game, like you said, after a mission. I think that it just coincided with a reputation rise, so that is something that needs approvement.
Anyone who notices anything about that, please post away :)
First I want to say hello to all here on OWG and that I'm very glad I discovered this great forum (although I did many searches for Far Cry 2 fora before).
Quote from: Art Blade on December 05, 2009, 02:41:09 AM
if you don't spend any, leave the diamond suitcases alone that are out there in the wilderness. Like that, you'll keep the merc diamond hunters in the environment, which will add a few surprises and happy meetings :)
Is this really working? Yesterday I have finished Far Cry 2 for the second time and although I didn't rush through the game I never noticed any merc diamond hunters.
Ah I'm looking forward to my next playthrough - rolled back to 1.2. to prevent the annoying Jackal tape bug - and now the first time with the Predecessor missions + Fortune's pack (I had the pack installed before btw.). Didn't know that (I hope so) its working this way, because I always thought the Fortune's Pack requires the patch 1.3. which causes the boot tape bug. But this just as a sidenote. Oh and sorry for reanimating this thread but I'm too curious about the diamond hunting mercs :)
Hi TheStranger, welcome to OWG
Never be sorry for bumping an old thread here... we love to re-read old adventures and stuf... a bit of nostalgia ;D
The diamond hunting mercs are somewhat of a speculation from our part. The thing is: there are diamonds spread out in the wilderness and some mercs wandering near a few locations with suitcases, so we put 2 and 2 together and came up with this explanation. It doesn`t mean it IS like that! :)
Anyway... always good to see someone else going to Africa! :-X
Welcome, TheStranger!
I can echo JRD's comments about the wandering mercs, although I have stumbled upon quite a few in the bush that were never there before. However, I attributed their presence to my having done something to attract their attention.
Also as JRD mentioned, it is never a problem to resurrect old threads - most of us like remembering the good 'ol times in FC2, and for me, I've lost count on how many times I've played through.
Ah thanks for the info. I will have an eye on those mercs in my next playthrough, kinda like your explanation :)
I also think so about resurrecting old threads, but in my internet career (lol) I encountered many fora, where it was nearly a sacrilege to reanimate old threads. So it's good to have so many open minded people here :)
Welcome TheStranger. It's always good to see a new face. :-X
My observations on these roving mercs near diamond cases (at least the ones I'm aware of) are always there whether I've taken the diamonds or not.
Near the North Oasis there's the mission you report the location of the King's Gold there's a diamond case (actually West of there and due North of the Old Fort out on the sand) that has one of these roving mercs who patrols a loop on foot a bit to the East. This is one of the diamond cases that I will usually grab fairly early in the game to raise the funds to build up my gear before going on Buddy or faction missions.
Even though I've removed the diamonds that merc is always there out in the middle of nowhere and I've made it a habit of stopping any time I'm passing through thereafter and either standing on top of my AT to spot him and then either tagging him with a sniper rifle or if I spot him in a drivable area I'll jump back into the AT and run over him nice and friendly like. >:D
There's another patrolling merc near a diamond case in the second half of the game when you are going South from the Sepoko compound towards the cell tower. Almost immediately beyond that first Guard Post (GP) to the South of Sepoko there is a low ridge of rocks just off the West shoulder of the road that hides the diamond case the merc I'm referring to seems to be guarding or possibly searching for. Though he is close to the GP (usually a bit to the West of the diamond case) he is not posted there as he wanders off far enough that I can often wipe out the GP to get past it without alerting him to my presence though he has been known to charge in if I'm too noisy with my mayhem and once again he's going to be there whether I've taken those diamonds or not.
Quote from: TheStranger on May 16, 2011, 11:38:58 AM
...I also think so about resurrecting old threads, but in my internet career (lol) I encountered many fora, where it was nearly a sacrilege to reanimate old threads. So it's good to have so many open minded people here :)
You'll find that many of us old guys have poor memories (probably all except Art :-() ), so it is not uncommon to see several different threads relating to the same topic. OWG is quite unusual in that we treat our posts almost like a conversation among old friends rather than us attempting to maintain a pristine database. While there are literally hundreds of "gems" to be found among the FC2 posts, it would take a long time to read through them all, so feel free to post any thoughts or questions that pop up ;)
Hello and welcome to OWG, Stranger :)
Enjoy the forum and FC2. We're all still or again playing that game. And with regard to resurrecting old topics and members.. well, let's see what else you'll find and revive here :-()
Allow me to add my welcome to TheStranger :)
As some of the other guys have mentioned, sometimes you come across a lone merc just wandering around the landscape. I think what happens sometimes is that a merc may see you drive past the Guard Post or wherever he normally hangs out and he goes running off after you without telling his mates. You may not be aware of this and once you get a certain distance away from him, he'll give up the chase, but instead of returning to his GP he'll just start hanging around where you left him. Then later, if you haven't completely left the sector and triggered a respawn, you'll unexpectedly run into the merc when you return to that place and find yourself wondering where he came from.
I've also had the experience where a couple of guys in a patrol vehicle will spot me and will stop and get out of the car to engage. But if I give them the slip, instead of returning to their vehicle they'll just start wandering around the immediate area. Occasionally I've come across an abandoned patrol vehicle with the crew nowhere in sight - they've just wandered off into the shrubbery where they can no longer be seen from the road.
It's one of the things I love about FC2 - the cool, funny and sometimes nasty little surprises 8)
Quote from: fragger on May 18, 2011, 02:17:15 AM
I've also had the experience where a couple of guys in a patrol vehicle will spot me and will stop and get out of the car to engage. But if I give them the slip, instead of returning to their vehicle they'll just start wandering around the immediate area. Occasionally I've come across an abandoned patrol vehicle with the crew nowhere in sight - they've just wandered off into the shrubbery where they can no longer be seen from the road.
It's one of the things I love about FC2 - the cool, funny and sometimes nasty little surprises 8)
You`re right... those are funny surprises ideed :-X ;D
I`ve come across an empty patrol jeep with no one around; a patrol jeep with two dead bodies around (I didn`t do it ;D ) and a patrol jeep in a burned area in the wilderness (I didn`t do it either ;D )
One must love the way AD (Artificial Dumbness) performs in FC2 8)
^+-+
AD is a known abbreviation here but the common one, AI, can also be read as "Artificial Idiots" :-()
:-X ^+-+
Well, the mercs dont seem to need to upgrade their weapons. as I recall, I have NEVER seen a merc standing there with a gun in his hand, trying to unjam it.
I on the other hand have had more than ample opportunity to slap my guns on the side, yank on the slide or bolt, and try to find some friggin cover all at the same time.
Mercs cant upgrade, boo "friggin" hoo :'( ,
My sentiment is ,,,,,,,,,,
screw em. >:D
They may not need to but yet they do :) At the very beginning they sport a star45 or makarov while later on they'll all have desert eagles.. so the question was, what made them switch weapons eventually.
I was the airport the other day and killed the snipers as I always do, but was surprised when I heard the bark of the Dragunov again. Another merc had evidently picked up the weapon of his downed friend and began using it on me.
That is cool :-X
Quote from: Art Blade on October 22, 2011, 05:18:31 AM
They may not need to but yet they do :) At the very beginning they sport a star45 or makarov while later on they'll all have desert eagles
Yeah, I got that, my entire post was an attempt at humor. ::)
Quote from: Art Blade
.. so the question was, what made them switch weapons eventually.
Could it be, your reputation level ?
I would hope that the programmers of the game would be smart enough, to make the game a little more difficult, as you progress in your abilities.
Marrying the AI with Rep level makes sense to me.
I don't think we really found out if it has to do with reputation (kind of hard to control your rep level to experiment with) and I think you've got a good point there. :)
Note to self: I need to get to know, detect and stop falling for his attempts of humour. ^-^
In the gamemodesconfig.xml in the "<pack name>" section, there are "difficulty xx" parameters which determinates when enemies swap weapons. Difficulty 1 means the first mission, difficulty 2= the second mission, etc. ;)
I remember that I once was surprised when I hadn't purchased any big weapons, that the mercs didn't use big weapons, either. I believe that I was convinced that mercs adapted to the player's weapon grade.
The M249/PKM appears in the mercs' hands after the 7th mission I think, according to the gamemodesconfig.xml ;)
Quote from: GKID7891 on March 08, 2015, 03:34:04 AM
The M249/PKM appears in the mercs' hands after the 7th mission I think, according to the gamemodesconfig.xml ;)
Is this with a modded game? I don't recall seeing mercs with the 249, but it has been a while so I could be mistaken
Spoiler
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="7" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.PKM.PKM_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="8" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.PKM.PKM_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="9" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.PKM.PKM_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="10" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.PKM.PKM_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="11" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.PKM.PKM_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="12" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.PKM.PKM_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="13" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.PKM.PKM_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="14" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.PKM.PKM_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="17" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.PKM.PKM_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="18" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.PKM.PKM_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="21" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.PKM.PKM_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="22" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.PKM.PKM_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="23" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.PKM.PKM_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="19" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.M249_Saw.M249_Saw_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="20" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.M249_Saw.M249_Saw_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="21" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.M249_Saw.M249_Saw_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="22" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.M249_Saw.M249_Saw_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="23" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.M249_Saw.M249_Saw_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="24" probability="0.50" archetype="weapons.Special.M249_Saw.M249_Saw_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="25" probability="0.50" archetype="weapons.Special.M249_Saw.M249_Saw_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="26" probability="0.50" archetype="weapons.Special.M249_Saw.M249_Saw_Merc" />
<PrimaryWeapon difficulty="27" probability="0.25" archetype="weapons.Special.M249_Saw.M249_Saw_Merc" />
I was a bit off when I claimed the mercs spawned with the M249 after the 7th mission :D :laugh:
:laugh: :-X