I think we can all agree that the Shipyard for Security is the most stress inducing, rage insighting level on the game. But since the game's come out, I've become increasingly better at attacking it to the point where I now win on the map more then I lose as Security. So I'll share with everyone some of my tips and tactics in soldier class on how to stop Founder's Tower from having one hell of a huge window on it.

Please be advised, my tactics may not work for everyone, as everyone plays the game differently. But if you can adapt my tactics to your style, more power to ya'.

Fool's rush in - Biggest mistake you can make is just rushing either the crane or missile control center without a plan. Yes, the AI rushes all the time, but they're bots...they don't know better. Your best bet is to follow the largest group of bots, but at a distance. Let them initiate combat with the enemy bots and soften them up. Then from a safe distance, you deliver the finishing blow on that wave of enemies. This will give you vital seconds to set up a perimeter around either objective and mount a defensive while the enemy respawn.

Off the beaten path - Did you know there are FOUR ways to get to the crane? Yes...there is. Problem is, no one...especially human players...ever use them. To the far left of the main barricade is a stairwell opening that will take you to the far left of the crane from the directionality of the main barricade. And to the far right of the side barricade there's a similar inclined hill that DOESN'T have a blockade. This area leads you down the long corridor that the Resistance AI often funnel down. Difference being, you're BEHIND them. A medium or heavy soldier can clean up in this area, as there's enough distance for you to retreat to cover if the number become to much for you...while also drawing the AI's attention away from the crane, buying the engis valuable time.

Attack 1st, objective 2nd - I was just like everyone else at 1st. I'd try to take the objectives quick. But as anyone can attest to, it rarely works. Cleaning up the defenders 1st is imperative, because again...it buys vital time for the objective classes to do their work. And every second counts.

DON'T defend the objectives - At both the crane and the missile controls, the absolute last thing you want to do is have your attention trained at the objective itself. You're not doing the engi or op any service doing so. Instead, you need to be proactive in drawing the enemy as far away form the objectives as possible. If you have a weapon equipped with the GOGA, even better. Because you can attack the enemy at distance and (usually) take a couple down before they turn their guns on you. The key is drawing them away from the objectives. Usually that's what I'm doing when I play soldier, but I'm doing it alone when playing with bots. With human teammates however, this tactic is far more effective. As we all know, the moment you shoot at an enemy bot, it gets ADD from the objective and turns to try and whack you. Use that to your advantage and by Mr. Fixit and The Hacker some time!

AI Bots don't snipe - So you should. Again, if you're a medium soldier with an AR and a GOGA equipped, you are the best line of defense for the objective classes. Find yourself a good vantage point close enough to the objective, but far enough to keep the AI bots off it, and start sharpshooting. They AI will 99% of the time return fire, even if they can't hit you. And what's more? If there's more then one of them, their friends will join in, too. Drop them quickly, reload, and ready up for the next wave. If your supply meter starts to get low, leave your spot, scavenge a couple bodies to refill, and get back fast. At the crane, there's a cluster of cans and steel walls on the side where the main barricade is. If you take the staircase route to it mentioned above, you can usually get to it before enemies can see you. A couple soldiers behind this safe zone can wreak some hardcoe havoc on Resistance defense efforts. And if you're a heavy soldier, setting up right of the crane facing the corridor the AI funnel out of with a chaingun or MG equals stunted Resistance advance every time. It's a good idea to let a few come up closer before you drop them, so your slow ass can go scavenge them and refill your supply meter. Buff your ammo, reload, assume the position again, and get ready for more shooting.

Hopefully these strategies will make conquering the shipyard a little easier for some folks. Again, if you can apply anything mentioned above to your chosen class, by all means. But for you soldiers out there, doing any one of these tactics will help your cause.

It's actually one of my favorite levels, for both Resistance and Security. I think it's a lot of fun. It's Early Launch that gets to me.

I'm inclined to disagree with you on some counts, but must give credit for the effort included and the interest in helping others.

First, I find it very enjoyable as a level from both sides.

Off the beaten path, there are actually more paths than just four, although a few require lights to climb up and over or jump across the gaps. The left path is good (the under ground one) and does get used, and only lightly defended. The far right rear path is often heavily defended at higher bot levels (they leave multiple turrets) and there's an MG nest overlooking it.

Don't defend the objectives I disagree. Wipe the defenders and keep them back as they spawn and charge from the three paths behind the crane, same with the hack defense. Numbers have a huge advantage once you cause the first wipe and it becomes much more usefull to have your medics and ammo men in the same place.

And depending on how many people are involved a good sniper is viable on all maps, but too many becomes a problem. As a soldier the first thought should be as a crowd control demolitionist. Your grenades/molotovs/satchel charges can make the entire experience swift and entertaining.

There's no way in hell it's as easy as just "dropping them", considering they zip about and strafe and you can only tend to take out a couple or a few bots with a clip... and I don't think I've ever been somewhere where they "can't hit" me. Nope, instead they just fire ARs/SMGs on full-auto with pin-point accuracy and bring you down to orange health in a second.

Other than that, nice tips, I'll try those flanking routes a bit more often...

I've found that when repairing the crane, if you crouch behind the crane controls on the side that is facing the direction of the main barricade you apparently become invisible to the AI, or at least mostly invisible. Its very odd, by far the safest place to repair from. People standing facing the controls are just waiting to die.



Now if there were only tips for the hackbox portion!

Dont forget that as a Light Character you can also take the following path:

Towards the Main Entrance
Right through the first door
See the box to the left, Jump up it, look to your left
Jump across to the balcony, take a right
Come out right near to the crane, inbetween the 2 barricade entrances

If playing with bots, there is usually a bot in the small passageway to the right after you've jumped to the balcony.

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As far as the Hackbox goes, the only worthwhile tip is to set up before you try to Hack. That's why it's so difficult with bots.
The best thing to do, I find, is to try to set up and just use good timing to get it done. The faster you can kill 3/4 enemies the larger the gap you've got to get as much hacking done as you can while they're all spawning. Switch to your weapon often because you cant trust the bots to prioritise the hackbox.