It is kinda similar to zombies, as follows:
- Survival round after round
- Enemies get tougher each round
- You earn points to buy weapons, equipment, perks and ammo
And then again, it is different altogether:
- The enemies can shoot at you, take cover behind objects, toss grenades, lay claymores and other traps
- You get access to air support and equipment like C4 (YES!)
- You can only have one perk at a time
- You can level up from one game to the next, unlocking new weapons from the Armories.
- No Power Switch
- No Perks-a-Cola
- No Traps
- No 'flinger'
and most unfortunately, NO Pack-a-Punch machine...
My gameplay so far - reached level 45 in a week or so - shows that you can make round 30 or so in less than an hour, which is better than in zombies that just goes on and on for several hours to make round 30 in, say, KDT. This is much more manageable for gaming time, the number of enemies each round is more moderate and they are also relatively tougher earlier on. The fact that they can hit you at range is also tougher than zombies you could, more or less, easily flee via circuit.
There are four tiers of Survival Mode. The first tier gives you more startup bonuses like a better handgun, Self-revive (shoot an enemy dead then stand back up), body armour and some grenades. In the top tier you don't start out with Self-Revive, body armour or grenades, and you get a six-shooter handgun (with built-in 'slow reloading' feature).
And the AI routines are somewhat smarter but still amounts to the enemies closing in on you wherever you are, just like in zombiez, rather than tougher tactics like having some guys sniping at you from a distance in support of shock-troopers out in front, or teams harrassing you to run into an ambush.
Still, it is enjoyable and here are my first tips on how to get ahead.
1. Know how to get points.
You get more points for killstreaks and other 'contracts' on the lower left of the screen.
Both players and enemies wear body armour, so it takes a few hits to make a kill. In game terms though, this means that a killstreak/contract slows down when the player takes any hits.
And contracts pay better and better if you can extend them.
So rule 1a: don't take hits if you can avoid it.
And rule 1b. take notice of the contracts available.
Note that Headshots are worth more points than regular kills, and there are no bullet-hit-points.
Killstreak as a contract means that you get a killstreak of, say, 5 kills in a row without a hit - and you get $500 in-game cash for it. If you extend that to 10 kills you get an EXTRA $1000 in-game cash for it, therefore you scored an extra $1500 as well as whatever you get for each kill. Done carefully in Round 1, you can score more than $3000 in-game cash before Round 2.
Rampage is a kinda like a killstreak except you need to score lots of kills in a short amount of time. Even if you take a few hits, that knocks back your Rampage a little (look at the bar while you try this out) but you can still score a Rampage with taking a few hits on you. I like to use the MP9 machine-pistol to score these in the early rounds because it is like a fast SMG and quick to reload, so in a stairwell or similar space, I shoot - take a step back/reload - step in and shoot again. Works wonders.
Quad-kill has two main ways to get it, but you need to run some circles to round up the enemies first. Either use a Predator drone strike or try C4, cooked grenades or destroying a vehicle. It all works but it needs to work simultaneously.
Knife-kills - all I can say is I notice that if I hit an enemy with any bullet, even a pistol shot, the enemy is slowed down and ready for a stab, but in higher rounds the enemies are armoured and require multiple slashes to kill.
Extra points available for finishing a round fast, finishing flawlessly (i.e. no hits on you whatsoever) and some other points. Basically the bestest players get rewarded for a bestest performance.
2. Sentry Guns
In addition to getting more points/cash, one great way to extend the killstreak is to set up Sentry Guns in strategic locations.
Make sure that you do not get in the way of the Sentry Gun: it will not fire if you are in the firing line / arc.
The best locations to place Sentry Guns are open spaces with a long wall on either side of the sentry gun, preferably both sides but I don't find many, and perhaps a barrier of some kind to protect the sentry gun.
And if it helps you finish the round faster, you get a higher end-of-round bonus.
In multiplayer Survival, both players can move any Sentry Guns, not just their own. It looks like there is just one Sentry Gun per player in Multiplayer, but in Solo I can buy one, place it, buy another, place that, at least in some maps.
In DOME, the space between the dome and the bunker - alternatively, between the Weapons Armory and the Equipment Armory, is an excellent space for just this. I place an SG beside the barrier near the far corner, so that the SG faces the other barrier near the door to the Equipment Armory. Similarly, if I can, I put another SG behind that barrier and facing the door to the Weapons Armory /dome. These guns can then protect each other, but a few Claymores help too. So long as I'm not taking hits, my Sentry Gun helps deliver the Killstreak and the Rampage in the middle rounds, and some support for the tougher enemies in the higher rounds.
Note that attack choppers will shoot your sentry guns, and your sentry guns will shoot the attack choppers as well; but don't rely on the Sentry Gun to do the work. In the lower-tiered Survival maps, you could temporarily move the Sentry gun to undercover; however in higher-tiered maps, the attack choppers usually accompany heavy troops like Juggernauts, so it might not make a difference.
3. Handling the Attack Choppers
These start from round 4 or so. You can take them out with an MP5 - typically there are enough of these dropped by enemies in the first 5 rounds or so - but any ammo will do the trick and tougher ammo will work faster. $600 points each chopper.
4. Juggernaut
Around the same time as the choppers arrive. You'll see a transport chopper drop them off. The move slower but they don't stop for much. Stun grenades work on them, any gun works on them (I've finished one off with an MP9) and even stabbing works on them - you get some achievement for it :)
Then again, any Predator strike will take one out, actually it can take out three at once if you bunch them up in the open first, unless....
4b. Riot Shield Juggernaut.
This guy crawls around behind a riot shield, so if you use a Predator strike, make sure you hit behind the riot shield and not in front. After the shield is destroyed, it looks like the regular Juggernaut.
5. Air support.
There is a variety of air support available but by far the most reliably useful is the Predator strike.
You can always use it to scan the area, then cancel out rather than fire. And the damage it does is excellent - takes out Juggernauts in one good hit.
Delta team and Riot Shield team: these drop 3 guys to help you out. Not bad for gaining Killstreaks in the early to middle-rounds, but they only have the M16 gun at best, can't be upgraded, so they become less useful from round 12 or so.
Airstrike: not bad in the early rounds but there is a delay between marking the target and the actual strike. Doesn't take down a Juggernaut so I prefer to rely on Predator Drones and Sentry Guns.
Air support occupies the same 'slot' as Sentry Gun and Sentry Gun (bomb), but once you deploy a sentry gun you can get the other air support. Always remember this order:
First: Buy and call in a squad
Second: Buy and place a sentry gun
Last: Buy and hold onto a Predator strike or Airstrike.
6. C4
I love the C4 in multiplayer and now in Spec Ops Survival. Actually I have used it several times, throwing it over walls when I have no ammo, and it has delivered me the Quad Kill, Rampage and Killstreak contracts several times so that I can buy more ammo.
7. Buying and using weapons, and Refill your ammo
You can do reasonably well by collecting whatever weapons are currently dropped by the latest enemies.
Basically, as the rounds go up, the enemies are tougher and they are using better weapons and more heavily armoured.
Refilling all of you ammo - both loaded and spare ammo (unlike Zombies) - costs just $750. You can also scavenge about 12-15 rounds per same-weapon from the ground, so if you are expecting the attack chopper and want to save cash, pick up an MP5 or AK47 or anything but a shotgun, buy ammo for $750, use it, then scavenge off of the weapons on the ground: if you scavenge first, you will probably have to buy the ammo later. Sometimes just 2 or 3 clips of MP5 ammo do the job per each helicopter.
Now, to get more cash early on, you will need to buy better weapons.
For example, though I haven't unlocked it yet, the Barrett is the last sniper rifle to unlock. In MW2, the Barrett was recommended for taking down Juggernauts (Desert Eagle too, but in MW3 the Desert Eagle is not that good vs Juggernaut). So (presumably) if you had the Barrett early on and at the first opportunity on a Juggernaut, you can take out a Juggernaut at a distance for the $2000 or $3000 cost of the gun, rather than spending $2500 on a Predator strike or using heaps of bullets.
Using a Sniper rifle vs guys with Model 1885 shotties will ensure you get the Killstreak reward since you will shoot them from afar and never get hit yourself. Look out for good 'sniping funnels' in each map.
Using a better Assault Rifle will take down the enemies faster, in early rounds.
But as I said before, get the MP9 for just $1500 and use it in tighter spaces. It is faster than some SMGs, quick to reload and comes with heaps of ammo. Just keep aiming, take cover, reload, then go again. I've done reasonably well with it, even took out a chopper with it too.
I think by the middle rounds, it is good to have an LMG with grip and sight.
8. Armour and Perks
There is a shield at the bottom of the screen: it changes from gold to red, depending on how many hits you have taken. When the shield isn't there, you are out of armour. Replenish the armour costs $2000 for a full 'refill'.
Self-revive is a new perk, available from the start on lower-tiered Survival maps and for $4000 at any time from the Equipment Armory. Basically it is like Final Stand from MW2 or Second Chance from Black Ops, except that the enemy might still aim at you and your killing them gets you back on your feet. All you get is the starting pistol (not sure if you get your own sidearm if you buy and are carrying a pistol at the time), so in the higher rounds it is tougher for you to get back up by shooting some enemy dead. If you don't shoot someone, then you get back up after a number of seconds anyway.
Other Perks are available from the Airsupport Armory. Basically you call in a care package with the nominated perk. Note that if you do not take up the perk, it can be damaged/destroyed and therefore lost, but if you do take the perk, it replaces any that you already have, including Self-revive.
9. End game
The Survival Game ends when any one player dies without being revived. It looks like there is less time available to revive your teammate in the higher rounds, but I'm not sure if that depends (at least partially) on how many times they have been revived by teammates previously.
Unlike zombies, there is no easy way to get enough points to restock ammo and keep on going. It seems like this game mode will be a bit more about using skills to accumulate points, rather than simply herding zombies to milk points.
Anyhow, that's all for now, and probably anything on this topic, but as I find good setups for bunkering down, I'll add more details to this blog.
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