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Splinter Cell: Blacklist |OT| Warning: May Contain Trace Amounts Of Stealth

TentPole

Member
Regular heavies or heavy heavies? Seems like sometimes I can drop a helmeted enemy with one shot in M&E while the guy he's standing next to just gets his helmet pinged off. Not sure what exactly is at work here - whether its weapon power/distance, angle, or both.

Both. Sam will grab them at the beginning of the animation. perform the any other executes you have marked, and then snap there neck.

I always try to have meter to mark heavy heavies when I am sneaking up behind them so that even if they hear you and turn around you can get an instant melee kill before they alert anyone else by burning your execute meter,
 
what weapons/mods can take down armored guards during mark execute or headshot in 1 hit?

Someone mentioned prototype sniper, what else?
I can *sometimes* take normal helmeted soldiers down in M&E with the prototype sniper, sometimes, but I'm not sure exactly what determines it. That said its a guaranteed one-shot-kill to them center of mass regardless of range.

So find a nice nook and clear house.

Both. Sam will grab them at the beginning of the animation. perform the any other executes you have marked, and then snap there neck.
Oh, you mean melee. I thought you were talking about using firearms.
 
I know you are complaining about the realism of the game world and not actual game mechanics but I just wanted to point out to anyone who doesn't know that you can still get an instant kill on heavies with mark and execute as long as they are within arms reach when you trigger it.

Oh now I definitely was complaining about game mechanics. I just ended up in such a contrived situation that I had the last two enemies in the wave marked but they already spotted me and I would not be able to take them out quickly enough before Sam went down in a hail of gunfire. Mark and Execute would be serving it's exact purpose of oh shit need to take care of these guys quickly, any hit on the body or around the target would have taken them down but a shot in the helmet just made it go ting and at the end of it left Sam a sack of meat and bullets.

Edit: Also I am going to note that those were just regular grunts with a helmet, not heavies or any other special npc.
 

TentPole

Member
Oh, you mean melee. I thought you were talking about using firearms.

I am talking about mark and execute. If you trigger it next to an enemy Sam automatically takes them out with a melee move as part of his mark and execute and it works on heavies even if they are facing you.
 

Gaz_RB

Member
Oh now I definitely was complaining about game mechanics. I just ended up in such a contrived situation that I had the last two enemies in the wave marked but they already spotted me and I would not be able to take them out quickly enough before Sam went down in a hail of gunfire. Mark and Execute would be serving it's exact purpose of oh shit need to take care of these guys quickly, any hit on the body or around the target would have taken them down but a shot in the helmet just made it go ting and at the end of it left Sam a sack of meat and bullets.

Their helmets would have fallen off and they get stunned. That would give you a few precious seconds to escape to cover.
 

Marleyman

Banned
This is my favorite SC game to date, and I really enjoyed SC:CT. I am really into the story so far and I am all about 100% ghosting on Realistic the first time through. Multiplayer is a mixed bag but I am enjoying it however the depth really lies in the co-op missions; they are amazing.
 
I am talking about mark and execute. If you trigger it next to an enemy like I said Sam automatically takes them out with a melee move as part of his mark and execute and it works on heavies even if they are facing you.
Gotcha, and thanks for explaining it twice. It stuck this time.

I've done that on accident without realizing it. Had a surprising melee chain unfold out of it. Good to keep in mind if I've got an execution at the ready and have one coming my way.

That didn't happen as Sam was dead the moment the mark and execute event/cutscene finished.
The night vision guys recover from helmet-ping stuns almost immediately.
 

TentPole

Member
Oh now I definitely was complaining about game mechanics. I just ended up in such a contrived situation that I had the last two enemies in the wave marked but they already spotted me and I would not be able to take them out quickly enough before Sam went down in a hail of gunfire. Mark and Execute would be serving it's exact purpose of oh shit need to take care of these guys quickly, any hit on the body or around the target would have taken them down but a shot in the helmet just made it go ting and at the end of it left Sam a sack of meat and bullets.

Edit: Also I am going to note that those were just regular grunts with a helmet, not heavies or any other special npc.

It is really hard to blame the game when the rules are clear and consistent. I like that they create some situations where it isn't always a complete get out of jail free card and am of the opinion that creating more situation where you have to think about how to use mark and execute is good game design even if it comes at the cost of realism. That being said I guess I get the complaint. I just don't agree with it.
 
This is my favorite SC game to date, and I really enjoyed SC:CT. I am really into the story so far and I am all about 100% ghosting on Realistic the first time through. Multiplayer is a mixed bag but I am enjoying it however the depth really lies in the co-op missions; they are amazing.

The Coop only missions are pretty awesome, except for the parts towards the end where they for the player to defend a position or something.
Also, if you can find a good teammate, I would definitely recommend SvM classic over the blacklist mode. Some of the maps are laid out in a way that makes 4v4 pretty rough. Some of the abilities in blacklist mode are kind of overpowered too.
 

Marleyman

Banned
The Coop only missions are pretty awesome, except for the parts towards the end where they for the player to defend a position or something.
Also, if you can find a good teammate, I would definitely recommend SvM classic over the blacklist mode. Some of the maps are laid out in a way that makes 4v4 pretty rough. Some of the abilities in blacklist mode are kind of overpowered too.

I need to try some classic mode; thanks. I was playing against a group that had a few 40+ rankings as mercs and they were owning us constantly, no matter what we did.
 
It is really hard to blame the game when the rules are clear and consistent. I like that they create some situations where it isn't always a complete get out of jail free card and am of the opinion that creating more situation where you have to think about how to use mark and execute is good game design even if it comes at the cost of realism. That being said I guess I get the complaint. I just don't agree with it.

I think it's poor design when a reward or a special ability is not useful in a situation that it should be useful and is in fact detrimental and is a worse option than counting on pure luck or chance.
 

TentPole

Member
I think it's poor design when a reward or a special ability is not useful in a situation that it should be useful and is in fact detrimental and is a worse option than counting on pure luck or chance.

The way the system works is consistent. If you misused it and died then that is not the games fault. There are some tougher enemies in the game that the instant kill button doesn't work on and the game requires you to try more creative approaches. It may not be realistic but it is good design.
 
I think it's poor design when a reward or a special ability is not useful in a situation that it should be useful and is in fact detrimental and is a worse option than counting on pure luck or chance.
Its useful, its just not always decisive. I'll still mix mark and execute with gas to take down heavies and normal soldiers at the same time, and those helmeted guys also serve as fodder for co-op M&Es.
 
The way the system works is consistent. If you misused it and died then that is not the games fault. There are some tougher enemies in the game that the instant kill button doesn't work on and the game requires you to try more creative approaches. It may not be realistic but it is good design.

In what way is it consistent? These were not tough enemies, any kind of gadget or tool at your disposal will take them out. The only one that doesn't work on them is mark and execute due to it's particular quirk.
Its useful, its just not always decisive.
This is entirely my problem, it wasn't useful at all. In fact it got me killed. Shooting blindly would have provided me with a better chance of getting out of that situation alive.
 

Gaz_RB

Member
In what way is it consistent? These were not tough enemies, any kind of gadget or tool at your disposal will take them out. The only one that doesn't work on them is mark and execute due to it's particular quirk.

This is entirely my problem, it wasn't useful at all. In fact it got me killed. Shooting blindly would have provided me with a better chance of getting out of that situation alive.

Dude, you fucking hate mark and execute
 
I recently started playing Chaos Theory. A friend recommend it with much effort because I started playing when Conviction came out. Needless to say I wasn't a fan of that game (short as hell, too). I then succumbed and started playing CT, and my god it's so good. It's almost the perfect stealth game. Is this one like it? I know they're made more action-y to appeal to the newer generation, and I can tolerate some of that, but does the game respect the stealth approach like the classic games?
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Your last like 5 posts have been about how you couldn't mark and execute people with helmets on. There are things wrong with this game, that is not one of them.

Even then, Marks indicate the ones with helmets. Unmark those dudes, execute the ones that are arrows and then takedown the helmets.
 
Your last like 5 posts have been about how you couldn't mark and execute people with helmets on. There are things wrong with this game, that is not one of them.

Yes my previous posts were about an event that in the game that I found and unusual that from my experience had no previous precedent and people chose to reply to those posts. I in turn replied to them continuing the conversation to the best of my ability such as it is but I don't really have any control over how you see it.

Even then, Marks indicate the ones with helmets. Unmark those dudes, execute the ones that are arrows and then takedown the helmets.
Fair enough but if it was the designers explicit intention for it to not work it would be nice if the game just didn't waste time or resources going through the motions then.
 

Gaz_RB

Member
Fair enough but if it was the designers explicit intention for it to not work it would be nice if the game just didn't waste time or resources going through the motions then.

Except you could throw down sleeping gas in a crowd of helmet guards, mark and execute their helmets off, and have 3 knocked out guards on your hand. Or get a more powerful gun that shoots through helmets. Do you see what I'm trying to say? It's not a waste of resources to mark and execute helmet guys.

I think if you play through the game more and understand more of the games systems, you'll have an easier time understanding why your unusual situation could have been avoided.
 
Except you could throw down sleeping gas in a crowd of helmet guards, mark and execute their helmets off, and have 3 knocked out guards on your hand. Or get a more powerful gun that shoots through helmets. Do you see what I'm trying to say? It's not a waste of resources to mark and execute helmet guys.
I am just going to ignore that last bit because it's beyond incredibly obvious and trite.

Yes I could have taken them out with a gas grenade if I had the time, which I didn't, but I am interested as to why would you use mark and execute after that? Can you even do that, since the enemies become unconscious and the marks will disappear from them.
 
Fair enough but if it was the designers explicit intention for it to not work it would be nice if the game just didn't waste time or resources going through the motions then.
It does work though.

Toss some sleeping gas and then pull a mark and execute. You can drop multiple heavies simultaneously.

Or use co-op mark and execute.

Both *work*. It just doesn't work the same way as normal enemies. I mean, I get the complaint, but its fully intended to work the way it does. Armored enemies require different tactics.
 

Sojgat

Member
Is Abandoned City even possible to complete at the moment? I've had a number of the Briggs missions glitch out, but I've played through this one four times, and every time the two of us are just left sitting there at the end, with nothing happening forever.
 

Gaz_RB

Member
Is Abandoned City even possible to complete at the moment? I've had a number of the Briggs missions glitch out, but I've played through this one four times, and every time the two of us are just left sitting there at the end, with nothing happening forever.

It's a known glitch, only way around it so far is to not die and have to replay it. No word from Ubi yet.
 

Sober

Member
Is Abandoned City even possible to complete at the moment? I've had a number of the Briggs missions glitch out, but I've played through this one four times, and every time the two of us are just left sitting there at the end, with nothing happening forever.
Is it the final part of that mission? Just finished it with a friend but the final segment bugged out. Fixed when we reloaded the checkpoint.
 

Sojgat

Member
Is it the final part of that mission? Just finished it with a friend but the final segment bugged out. Fixed when we reloaded the checkpoint.

Never fixes for me after reloading the checkpoint. The entire sequence is messed up, only 3 enemies come, then nothing happens.

I am just going to ignore that last bit because it's beyond incredibly obvious and trite.

Yes I could have taken them out with a gas grenade if I had the time, which I didn't, but I am interested as to why would you use mark and execute after that? Can you even do that, since the enemies become unconscious and the marks will disappear from them.

Another way is Mark and Execute a heavy (or other helmet wearing enemy) and knock their helmet off. As the mark and execute is finishing keep the left trigger held down, the aim will stay glued to the heavy. Use a follow up shot to take their heads off. It will only work for the last enemy in a Mark and Execute chain ( I can't tell if the execute order is random or not , since they aren't numbered), so only using one mark is the dependable way to do this.

The helmets are there so that Mark and Execute doesn't just become an every case win button like it was in Conviction. It's not unfair or bad design, because the mark icon tells you whether or not an enemy is wearing a helmet.
 

strafer

member
So does anyone know what's wrong with the Steam version of Conviction? I can't seem to start it, all I get is a black screen, but I can hear the logo music and then the menu music.
 
The helmets are there so that Mark and Execute doesn't just become an every case win button like it was in Conviction. It's not unfair or bad design, because the mark icon tells you whether or not an enemy is wearing a helmet.

I kind of thought that was balanced in conviction by having to take down an enemy in melee before Mark and Execute became available and the number of targets that can be marked limited by the weapon you were using as well as the weapons range and so on. It really didn't let you casually stroll through the game in Conviction so much as rather the game was designed around it.
 
Never fixes for me after reloading the checkpoint. The entire sequence is messed up, only 3 enemies come, then nothing happens.

I and others have mentioned it on previous pages. I can actually see spawned soldiers standing still with no guns from Briggs perspective that you can't shoot. Or sometimes Sam will be able to use his assault rifle instead of his pistol when the checkpoint first loads!

Not playing that mission again until there's a fix.
 

danielcw

Member
As a possible solution? Well, I tried running in XP Mode. Launching in 640x480 res and as an admin, I even tried to change the resolution in the ini file. Nothing worked.

did you try:
running the game in windowed mode via .ini file?
pressing alt+enter (the big enter key, not the numpad key)?
does the small system validation window come, when you try to start the game?
does your monitor show you something - like unsupported format/resolution/frequency?
manually starting the dx9 or dx11 .exe file of the game?
drivers up to date? if you have a nvidia gpu, did you try the recent beta drivers?



Also, I fucking hate Uplay.
OK (but I guess it is not the issue here)
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
I kind of thought that was balanced in conviction by having to take down an enemy in melee before Mark and Execute became available and the number of targets that can be marked limited by the weapon you were using as well as the weapons range and so on. It really didn't let you casually stroll through the game in Conviction so much as rather the game was designed around it.

hahahahahaha...

Oh, wait you're serious? Let me laugh even harder.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

HOHOHOHOHOHO...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

Whew... that was a good one.

M&E was horrible and broke Pooviction like the knife broke Chaos Theory. Thank god Ubisoft had the sense to turn it off in Perfectionist.

Here's how Conviction was played, even on Realistic/hardest difficulty:

Melee a dude->Mark 3 enemies until you get the Five-seveN->Execute. Run up to a dude if someone is alerted, melee->Mark 3 dudes->Execute.

Blah blah blah... finally got the Five-seveN?

Melee->Mark FOUR (!) dudes in a group of five->Execute. ALERT!->Melee the one dude while abusing "Last Known Position"/Ghost Sam->Execute refilled->Mark four dudes->execute->LKP->Melee->M&E four dudes->...
 
They need to work on the spawns. Playing on PC tonight, Ive been in three different lobbies where mines were already waiting for me, getting shot before I can even take a step, etc. Just on lock down.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Also let's not forget if you have a Mark and Execute stocked, you could simply run(!) into danger, see four red arrows light up->Y/EXECUTE and then hit cover and wait for a dude to get close enough to melee and then M&E again. There was no cons to M&E outside of maybe getting caught in cross-fire on higher difficulties if you didn't time it right.


They need to work on the spawns. Playing on PC tonight, Ive been in three different lobbies where mines were already waiting for me, getting shot before I can even take a step, etc. Just on lock down.

Spawn trap is a part of the game, it seems. But they need to really look at the entire thing and overhaul it a little. I don't mind the front melee or respawns but they need to work on those especially.
 
To anyone looking to watch a walkthrough of the levels in Blacklist:
-Perfectionist Difficulty
-Ghost
-(no talking during V/O)
-fastest possible time
-Top-5 Leaderboard Scores:

...Then check out this guy called Centerstrain01, he's now my favorite Let's Player on Youtube.

Here is a playlist of his Perfectionist Ghost Walkthrough

"This will be a full Walkthrough on Perfectionist mode for Splinter Cell Blacklist. This will be complete stealth going for a ghost playthrough. I will show you how achieve the best scores and where all the little secrets are."

His Spies VS Mercs Playlist

EDIT: aww crap, gonna repost on new page... lol
 
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