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Contract Wars: GUIDE

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Post by Third 2014-01-01, 02:46

My weapon guide (DPS Chart). This chart is not the Ultimatum. There are some guns very similar to each other, or place higher on the overall list. This is purely DPS with accuracy as a reference.

Spoiler:
Spoiler:


SKILLS

If you go off of the path suggested, remember that SP are extremely valuable once you are at end game. A mistake earlier in your progress can cost you to lose out on one or two vital skills. If you decide to reset your skills, it will cost you a lot of GP. You will receive all of your SP, 1/2 of spent GP (on skills), and none of your spent CR.

The skills chart on the right side of these image display in which tree you have spent the most SP. The tree you have spent the most SP in will be your designation, you will receive the bonus from the clan skill in that category (if the clan has the skill unlocked.)

Correct path: Green
Wrong path: Red
Extra skills: Purple (only get after all green)

Order of skill tree progression:

#1 Sniper/Assault: You will get Sniper completed quicker (all accuracy skills), but with Assault you will get +15 damage. Your choice. Get one, and then go for the other before going on to other Skill trees.

#2 Destroyer: Go for recoil first, then you can decide if you want a grenade or not.

#3 Scout: Mobility skills and reload speed are useful, but not mandatory in anyone's build.

#4 Gunsmith: Gunsmith is useful if you want to max out your gun's potential, follow the skill tree guide to the letter if going Gunsmith. The rest of the skills are CRAP.

#5 Any Other Skills: You can decide to get armor whenever you feel like it, but it is only worth getting +20, +60, or +100 (40 has the same coverage as 20). Any other skills can also be purchased at this time.

Scout:
Spoiler:

Assault:
Spoiler:

Destroyer:
Spoiler:

Sniper:
Spoiler:

Gunsmith:
Spoiler:

CONTRACTS

Contracts are the most important way of gaining SP. You will gain more SP from completing contracts than you will leveling up to 70. Gold contracts are the only way, outside of daily bonuses and buying, to get GP for free. Most GP contracts require that you rent/purchase a GP weapon. If the completion of the contract requires the rental of a weapon, try and decide if the contract can be completed in a day. If it can, you should only rent the weapon for a day, as you will always profit in this manner. However, if it is an extremely difficult contract that requires a GP weapon, but don't want to spend the GP on the weapon, you can try and wait for a daily discount on the said weapon and then purchase it.

Some of these contracts have been replaced because of difficulty, though there are some end game contracts that are insanely difficult yet have not been replaced. There is talk of a contract system rework in the future, though no specific time frame was given.

BRONZE
Spoiler:

SILVER
Spoiler:

GOLD
Spoiler:

LEVELING

Fastest:

Hunting VIPs in Team Elimination on either Old Sawmill or Evac. Kill VIP for 300 points (no boost), 900 points (X3 boost), or 1200 points (HC match). If you spawn as VIP, kill yourself or get in the open where people can kill you.

Leveling Speed:

No Boosting: Level 59 can be achieved in a month.

With Boosting (x3): Level 59 can be achieved in 24 hours. Or roughly 5 days.

About EXP:

Leveling is based on an exponential curve. Once you hit level 59, in order to hit level 60 you will need the same amount of EXP that was required for levels 00-59. From level 60-61 you need around 500k exp, and from 61-62 you need 1 million EXP.

As an example of how big of a curve leveling is, level 70 requires 100m EXP. So far no one has come close to that.

Leveling Bonuses:

If you are boosting SP from the Careerist tab (tree), then you will receive two SP every five levels (5,10,15, etc) instead of one. This is very, very useful and will give you an extra 13 SP by level 65. There are 10SP available for your purchase at 50 GP within the "add resources" screen. Eventually you will need to purchase all of these. Total cost: 500 GP

After you reach level 60, every level after that will give you 100 GP as a bonus. Smile

WEAPONS OF NOTE:

KAC PDW Tier 1
Spoiler:
The KAC PDW is the best CR gun in Tier 1. The KAC PDW has a weapon task of 35 longshots and gives a Red Dot Sight and a silencer. Without the weapon task, the KAC PDW has significant muzzle flash that obscures the user's vision while firing down the sights. It is highly recommended that you use it as a hip fire weapon, bursting at heads until you have completed the weapon task. This is the gun you should use until you have reached Tier 3.

Best maps:
Medium to Long Range

PDR-C Tier 3
Spoiler:
The PDR-C is a SMG that has one of the longest ranges of any other SMG in the game. It can be found in Tier 3. This gun is highly underrated, and is very usable when aiming down the iron sights. It receives a weapon task of a silencer and a RDS after the completion of 35 double kills. It also has one of the highest accuracy ratings of any other SMG in the game, which is very useful for killing VIPs via headshots. Or any long range shooting across maps.

Best Maps:
Short to Medium Range

M4A1 Tier 4
Spoiler:
The M4A1 is one of the best guns in the game. This assault rifle can be found in Tier 4 and has a weapon task of 150 longshots, which is easy to complete, it just takes a while. The weapon task gives you a silencer and a Micro H-1 sight. This is the first weapon you have access to that can obtain 100 accuracy and 1 recoil with skills. It lacks on penetration, but it makes up for this with accuracy.

Best Maps:
Medium to Long Range

Vector SMG Tier 4
Spoiler:
The Vector SMG is the highest DPS weapon in the game, and can reach 115 fire rate with the fire rate skill in scout. Though it has the highest fire rate in the game, it lacks in accuracy and range. I only have found this gun useful once it has the weapon task of 20 prokills. The weapon task gives you a cobra RDS, which significantly improves aiming with the gun. I recommend everyone purchase this gun at some point, just for the fun factor Smile.

Best maps:
Short to Medium Range

9a-91 Assault Rifle Tier 5
Spoiler:
The higher penetration brother to the M4A1, this gun can also reach the 100 accuracy, 1 recoil club. This gun's largest limitation is the 20 round magazine, though in every other way it equals or exceeds the M4A1. The weapon task of 50 triple kills gives you a silencer and Micro H-1 sight.

Best maps:
Medium to Long Range

P90 Devgru Tier 6
Spoiler:
The first GP weapon of this review (895 GP), it is a high capacity gun with a 50 round magazine. This is a preferred weapon of Evac players as it allows you to mow down people in tight spaces without running out of ammo. Though it can be used on Old Sawmill, it is limited by its range. Some people like the Holo sight, but it a lot of people complain about it obstructing their view and prefer the CR equivalent P90 who's task gives you a red dot collimator, but no silencer. The built in silencer of the p90 devgru gives no damage penalty, and benefits from the ability to use many of the Gunsmith skill bonuses on it (addition accuracy for silencers). No weapon task.

Best maps:
Short to Medium Range; though it can be used on Long Range maps with high accuracy bonuses.

ORSIS Sniper Rifle Tier 6
Spoiler:
The ORSIS Sniper Rifle is the best bolt action sniper in the game, and is a GP weapon. It is the only sniper in the game that can currently one hit any player, even through armor. This is due to its very high damage (175) and its high penetration (70). The sniper's sights are very comfortable and are easy to use. The ORSIS also has the fastest Aim To Scope action in the game, and with some middle mouse button practice, can be fired even faster than waiting for the bolt emote to complete (mmb interrupts this emote). If you are seriously into sniping, I highly suggest you purchase this sniper (1000+ GP).

Best maps:
Long Range

AS VAL Mod. 3 Special Set
Spoiler:
Unlocked through the middle column of the Assault Tree, the Mod. 3 is one of two primary weapons that can be found in the Special Set (the only one that is worth the SP). It costs 555 GP, 350k CR, and 1 SP. It currently is the best assault rifle in the game, and has no weapon task. The AS VAL Mod. 3 sports a built in silencer, red dot collimator, laser (cosmetic), and an extended magazine (30 rounds) compared to its smaller AS VAL Kobra little brother. This gun is the second highest DPS assault rifle in the game, only the SR3M beating it. Though the SR3M is a higher DPS gun, the AS VAL Mod. 3 has much better accuracy, making it the better choice.

Best maps:
Medium to Long Range; though it holds its own in CQC because of its high fire rate for an assault rifle.

Noveske Diplomat
Spoiler:
Considered to be one of the best guns in the game, this GP weapon from tier 6 is the big brother to the M4A1. To add the silencer, you must complete its weapon task of 15 pro kills. This gun has the highest mobility (tasked) of any AR, and untasked it is possible to have the highest mobility of any gun in the game (even a pistol). It has an extremely high reload speed of 94 providing nearly instant firing capability. Next to the AS VAL Mod. 3, it is probably my favorite gun in the game. This gun lacks at long range, with a minimum of 11 damage. But it is still very usable on OSM (my favorite map to use it on).

SR3M
Spoiler:
Shown here with its task (silencer), the SR3M is the highest DPS AR in the game, it has a maximum accuracy of 93, achievable through gunsmith with +5 accuracy to silencers. Before the Val3, it was considered one of the best ARs in the game. However, not many players used it after it was nerfed within the first few months of the game's release. It can achieve a minimum recoil of 29 with gunsmith.


ARMOR

Damage modifiers

As you know, Contract wars has complex damage model, which means hits will cause different amount of damage depending which part of the body they hit.

The modifiers are:

Head x10.0
Chest: x1.0
Abdomen: x0.9
Shoulder and upper arm: x0.7
Forearm and wrist: x0.5
Thigh (upper leg): x0.8
Leg (lower leg): x0.6

The fingers and the feet don’t register as hits and do no damage, even though visually the bullet goes through the model of the player and sometimes even blood splashes.

The damage is rounded up. For example, you are shot several times with a 22dmg weapon in the lower leg. Modified for that part is x0.6, so you should take 13.2dmg each hit. The first hit deals 14dmg, the next four hits deal 13dmg.

Armor

You can get armor via various skills. Armor covers only the chest and shoulders, and does not cover the abdomen, unless specifically stated otherwise in the skill description (e.g. head protection). If you have armor, and are not hit in the chest or shoulders, it doesn’t apply it’s protection. Shoulders have a x0.7 modifier but armor seems to cover them and make them x1.0, same as chest, so this will be something to test again.

Formula for armor interaction:

HP lost = dmg x penetration/100

Armor lost = (dmg – (dmg x penetration/100)) / 2

or, more simply: (dmg – hp lost) / 2

Dmg is the damage of the weapon. Penetration is /100 because it is percentile.

For example, you are hit in the chest by a weapon with 100dmg and 30penetration. You lose 30hp (the “penetrated” damage), and 35 armor (there is 70dmg that didn’t “penetrate”, divide it by 2).

It is interesting that armor has a special bonus for the player when it runs out. The damage that should have been absorbed by the armor goes to HP, but it is still halved. For example, you are hit by the same 100dmg 30penetration gun, but you only have 10 armor. First, you lose 30hp (the “penetrated” dmg). After that the leftover 70dmg is halved to 35 and removed from armor, which leaves you at -25 armor. This negative armor is converted to HP loss. In the end, you lose 55hp and all the 10 armor you had. This is good, because even 1 armor point will greatly reduce any damage, especially from guns with low penetration.


Last edited by Third on 2014-11-26, 06:11; edited 25 times in total
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Post by ShadoWTigeR 2014-01-01, 13:38

Great job, Third! I was undecided about which skills to get, but I got it now much clearer, Thanks for this guide.
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Post by Kine² 2014-01-01, 21:56

thanks Third !

question - why leave out weapon fast switch ?
5 extra SP to get there +15 GP but if it's instant wep. switch I want it Smile
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Post by Third 2014-01-01, 22:07

Kine² wrote:thanks Third !

question - why leave out weapon fast switch ?
5 extra SP to get there +15 GP but if it's instant wep. switch I want it Smile

Weapon fast switch isn't instant. The closest comparison I have is ATS without Sniping Operator vs. with Sniping Operator. If you play this game much, you quickly find that it isn't like begone where you are in CQC all the time and running out of bullets, much slower paced and therefore do not need to switch weapons. The secondary in CW is more like for when you run out of ammo with your primary.

On top of that, 5SP is a huge investment in a skill that doesn't actually help you get a kill, or increase kill speed. I would be willing to trade 1000gp+ for those 5sp if I had mistakenly spent them and needed them at level 60+.

I would rather use those 5sp towards building up my gunsmith tree. The gunsmith tree is vital for maximizing a gun's accuracy and damage (if using a silencer). it will get you those last 5 accuracy points making your gun 100acc, 1 recoil. Gunsmith also has the strongest clan skills (check out the clan skills), and distributing "wasted" SP in Scout is going to throw off your SP allocation.


Last edited by Third on 2014-01-01, 22:14; edited 1 time in total
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Post by Third 2014-01-01, 22:10

Boss1337 wrote:Nice guide Third. If it's not too much to ask for, could you re-color code the DMS(what is this an acronym for? dmg per sec?) chart by Weapon Set?

I'm not sure what you are asking, because they are currently color coded based on the Tier they come from. Are you asking for some other color key?
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Post by Third 2014-01-01, 23:30

Boss1337 wrote:
Third wrote:
Boss1337 wrote:Nice guide Third. If it's not too much to ask for, could you re-color code the DMS(what is this an acronym for? dmg per sec?) chart by Weapon Set?

I'm not sure what you are asking, because they are currently color coded based on the Tier they come from. Are you asking for some other color key?

Maybe it's just my computer screen screwing with me, but it looked like there were more than 6 colors being used. Could you make a key then?

There are 7 total colors. The seventh is the Special set.
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Post by Kine² 2014-01-02, 03:05

Contract Wars: GUIDE XkHgoPD

what are these ?
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Post by Third 2014-01-02, 04:35

Kine² wrote:Contract Wars: GUIDE XkHgoPD

what are these ?

A is the number of kills on your gun, B is the gun's level. Once that gun hits 500 kills, the 2 will become a 3. This currently has no uses, but in the future it will determine gun modifications. Which is the next major update to come.

Gun levels have an exponential curve like a player level. Here is my AS VAL Mod. 3 at level 13.

Contract Wars: GUIDE Cf2V4hQ

There is a limit to a gun's level, level 31, but once you reach it the kills keep on going to 999,999 and it will never turn over. People have reached level 31 (only a couple), but obviously no one is even close to 1 million kills. I believe level 31 is around 70,000 kills
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Post by Kine² 2014-01-06, 22:22

Accuracy
+25
Recoil
-27
Damage
+15
Mobility
0
Reload
-12

Game Time = 45 hours
Level 54

Core skills pending are the ones in Scout class (mobility, weapon range, rate of fire and -5 reload speed) that'll need either 16 or 22 SPs.

I 'wasted' 9 SP on 2 sniper skills (-20% recoil when aiming and 150% accuracy when crouching) + 1 scout pistol skill (+5 acc. pistol). Unlocked these first day of Contract Wars coz I believe it'd help rank me up faster.

These I use alot and I put it down to personal preference, though on hindsight if I had 9 SP right now I'd put them towards getting a Grenade (5 SP) and +20 armour (4 SP)

As far as I can tell, not having scout skills at level 50 - 60 isnt too big a deal. Been shooting high level players just fine so far. I recommend keeping these as your last ones to unlock.


--------------------

Took me 4 days to get to this level. Average (Below average) scores mainly because I was busy completing side missions to task weapons, contracts and stupid weapon achievements. I think if a Creedling ignored those the first days of playtime you'd rank up faster than I did.

Spent all day Saturday and Sunday grinding and bit more effort on Monday and Tuesday.

Thought I'd share the info for other Creedlings that haven't tried CW yet who might be wondering about the rate of progress for the game.

-------------------

Armoury

Pistol = Sphinx
SMG = PDR
Rifle = 9A-91
Sniper = RFB

I skipped buying starter guns but instead made full use of the free 1 day premium guns game gives out when you reach levels 10, 20 and 30.
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Post by Kine² 2014-01-06, 22:39

Third didn't specify which skills first though. I think that should go into the guide.

What holiday XP btw? I didnt see it mentioned anywhere
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Post by Third 2014-01-07, 01:47

updated
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Post by Kine² 2014-01-07, 02:13

question about the SP boost.. currently it says unavailable

so I assume I can only purchase them when I at those intervals?

- if so did I miss my opportunity to boost since I've gone past all those levels and now at 54 ?
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Post by Third 2014-01-07, 20:06

gun guide update. more to be added later.
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Post by Third 2014-01-08, 03:14

armor mechanics update
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Post by Mortalus 2014-01-08, 05:00

Third,
As part of your 'Fastest' leveling approach, you mention the TE missions. I fully agree with that due to many factors which make it one of the best ways to level up but I question the suggestion to get yourself killed as quickly as possible when you are the VIP. However, this may be based on incorrect assumptions on my part so I seek a little clarification.

As VIP, are there benefits such as reduced damage taken and/or more damage given against enemies?

It seems to me (and it may just be a false perspective) that I hit harder and last longer in a shoot-out while I am VIP. If this is not true, disregard. Smile

If it is true that there are benefits, I would merely suggest that you use the advantage as well as possible. The biggest advantage I see is that everyone is gunning for you. Odd to see that as a good thing but bear with me. This means you more easily spot enemies because you know their goal (you) and I quite often get my longest killstreaks while in VIP mode. This means more mortars/sonars, double/triple/rage kills, higher exp gain overall plus other miscellaneous advantages.

Even if my assumption stated far above is not true, I would still recommend you go for the kills, don't purposely get killed off without a fight, and never ever (VIP or not) play the defensive or try to camp.

You (and most everyone else) have more experience at this game than I do so please take my opinion as just that: a simple opinion open to rebuttal, debate, and correction as necessary.

P.S. Thank you for the guide and assistance. Without it, I would be at a total loss about many aspects of the game.
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Post by Third 2014-01-08, 05:49

The reason that you try and die as quickly as possible is so that the VIP will spawn on the other team. For the most part, especially when boosting, you will gain much more EXP by killing the VIP than killing a normal player. It is therefore more profitable to kill as many VIPs in a match as possible rather than a high KD or high kill count.

This is assuming a number of factors:
1. You do not have any easy kills around you, obviously take those guys out before dying on purpose. Obviously I don't try and run off a cliff as soon as I turn VIP, I prefer just to rush into their team and get as many kills as possible before dying. I normally last a clip in evac using this method. I try to die quickly.

2. You are confident that you can reach the VIP before your teammates can and can get the kill EXP. (Later when we get "full exp for assists" clan skill this will not matter if you reach first, just so that you "tag" the VIP).

3. You are not worried about your KD, because this method does hurt it.

The VIP does not receive any more boosts other than the x10 HPs of a normal player.

Right now you are getting your longest kill streaks as VIP because you are not experienced in spawn points or other factors that can increase a kill streak. Once you get to this point, you will see that it is not beneficial to be VIP if you are attempting pro kills (20 kill streak) or any other type of achievement where you need to live for a long time. Being VIP just attracts too much attention. I believe less than three of my 19 pro kills have been from when I was VIP.
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Post by ShadoWTigeR 2014-01-08, 11:05

When I'm a VIP, I rush the enemy base trying to kill as many as possible, and, It's true that you kill more than when you're a "normal player", but, as Third said, If you know the spawn points, you can get a good amount of kills until the spawn point moves to another site. So, my advice is, try to kill as many as possible when you're a VIP without camp and hunt the enemy VIP as soon as possible.
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Post by Third 2014-01-08, 18:23

Spawn points work like this. If you don't rush them, they wont move. So don't rush spawn points and you can just spawn kill the whole match. If you are unlucky enough to have a team mate that spawn rushed, then the spawn point will switch to the opposite side of the last spawn point.
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Post by azh 2014-01-13, 04:26

You should add some common sense stuff (hold shift while ADS, even when standing still, stand still a moment before hipfire). I didn't know some of the basics until way late.

Also you should include that bold action reload trick you taught me earlier. I've already forgot it unfortunately.
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