Scorestreaks Pt 2
Sentry Gun (800 Points): The Sentry Gun is more expensive than the Guardian, but it’s also more powerful. Rather than short-range EM waves, the Sentry Gun uses, well, bullets. It’ll automatically lock onto any enemies that it spots and starts filling the air with lead. It’s moveable and is usable in all the ways that the Guardian is, so it’s worth picking up if you find yourself regularly getting up to 800 points in a row. Heck, you can even plop down a Guardian and a Sentry Gun at the same time, if you like. The Sentry Gun has another advantage over the Guardian in that it doesn’t emit the visibile radiation that the Guardian does, so you can plop it down next to a doorway and be assured that your foes will plow through it without knowing what’s about to hit them.
The Sentry Gun can also be manually controlled by holding down your reload button. This will allow you to fire on enemies that duck behind thin cover, but it’ll also leave your body unprotected out in the real world, so be sure that the Sentry Gun will protect your prone body if you choose to take it over.
Death Machine (850 Points): Popping a Death Machine will replace your primary weapon with a 200-round minigun. This is one of the most devastating hand-held weapons in the game, capable of chewing through any enemies that you come into contact with, so if you ever wanted to make like Arnold in Terminator 2, this is your chance. What’s most impressive is that the gun stays in your inventory until you run out of ammo for it, persisting even through death. So you don’t have to worry about wasting a stream if you pop this and are immediately killed; it’ll stick around and net you some easy scores even in that unfortunate scenario.
War Machine (900 Points): This is similar to the Death Machine, but here you get a six-round grenade launcher. These grenades are very powerful, so a little goes a long way. Like the Death Machine, it’ll persist through death until you run out of ammo. Combine it with a UAV to scan enclosed spaces, then lob a grenade through nearby windows. A grenade that hits anywhere near an opponent will result in a kill, unless they have a Flak Jacket equipped, in which case you’ll probably have to aim a couple of rounds their way before they go down.
Dragonfire (975 Points): The Dragonfire is a quadrocopter armed with an infinite-ammo machinegun, allowing its controller to get an aerial view of the map and fire on any enemies that are highlighted. This can be shot down by enemy gunfire, so try to stay close to obstacles so that you can duck behind cover when needed. As an offensive weapon, the Dragonfire is extremely deadly, albeit not in the same way as some of the airstrikes are; you’ll still have to aim and fire, but any enemies not using the Cold Blooded perk will be highlighted on your screen, making them easy targets.
Dragonfires do show up on enemy minimaps, so you’ll rarely get to the time limit on it before it gets shot down. If an enemy pops a Dragonfire, try to figure out its heading and attack it from behind; it’s relatively weak to gunfire, especially if you’re using an FMJ attachment, so fire a few bursts at it for some points.
A.G.R. (1000 Points): The Autonomous Ground Robot is a tough little robot that uses both machineguns and rockets to kill your enemies. You have two options here: you can either set the AGR down and let it do its thing on its own, as it is perfectly capable of roaming around the battlefield by itself, or you can choose to control it yourself, using its targeting highlights to wreak destruction on the enemy team. You can flip back and forth between modes as needed.
The AGR is a powerhouse, capable of taking a number of bullets before falling, so if you spot one, you’re better off using EMP grenades or a Black Hat hack to attempt to disable it. That’ll be difficult to do considering its firepower, though. A better option might simply be to run, while warning the rest of your team as to its location.
Stealth Chopper (1100 Points): The Stealth Chopper, as the name implies, is a helicopter that you can call to hover above a section of the map, where it’ll target and kill any enemy that moves in the area below it without needing any player control or input. Unlike most of the other aerial streak rewards, the Stealth Chopper is invisible on the enemy minimap, making it difficult for Stinger-toting opponents to figure out where it is without running outside and looking around...which, of course, is going to get them killed. A fantastic streak reward for the price.
Orbital VSAT (1200 Points): This is effectively an un-shootable super-UAV, which will denote not only the location of all enemies on your team’s minimaps, but also which way they’re facing. The tactical implications are obvious: if you know that an enemy inside a room is looking out the window, you can sneak up and stab him; if you know he’s camping and facing the doorway, you can cook a grenade to toss in before mopping up. Multiply this advantage by every member of your team, and you’re quickly going to be recreating the shower room scene from The Rock.
If your enemy pops this, you’re gonna have a bad time. If you know someone out there has it and is capable of building up enough points to actually use it, you’d do wise to save up a Counter-UAV and hold onto it, as that’s the only way to counteract the effects of the VSAT.
Escort Drone (1250 Points): This launches a small drone that’ll follow you around as you move, automatically engaging any enemy that comes into range without needing any input from its controller. It’s a deadly tool, and it’ll open up some interesting options for you while moving around the map. It’s great for guarding objectives or locking down an open area. You’re not invulnerable while you use it, but if you stick to relatively close-quarters combat, you should dominate your opponents. The drone’s range is not unlimited, though, so it won’t protect you from enemy snipers who spot you from a distance. Keep your enemies close, and the drone will keep them...dead. Or something like that.
EMP Systems (1300 Points): If the VSAT is a super-UAV, then EMP Systems is something of a super-Counter-UAV. It shuts down all enemy minimaps, and will also destroy any deployed streak rewards or equipment, even including high-end stuff like a Swarm. They’ll still be able to use their guns, of course, but some advanced optics attachments will cease functioning. It doesn’t quite send your foes back to the stone age, but it’s about as close as you can get.
Warthog (1400 Points): Ah, the A-10 Warthog. A classic piece of military hardware, this plane will send strafing runs across the map, circling back and forth to rain bullets and rockets on anyone unfortunate enough to be caught outside when it does so. As such, most of your enemies will be flushed out of the open and into interior areas when the Warthog is called, allowing you and your teammates to operate freely in the open for a short period of time. Keep an eye on windows and doorways, as they’re sure to peek out for a view of the battlefield.
Lodestar (1500 Points): A powerful bomber begins rotating around the battlefield, allowing you to rain down guided missiles on anyone stupid enough to stay outside while your reign of fire occurs. You control the flight path of these missiles, allowing you to vector them into windows if you like, and you may have to do so, as most of the opposing team will head for cover as soon as you start raining death down on them. Look for enemy spawn points and pound anyone unlucky enough to actually pop up out of doors. You have unlimited missiles, so go crazy!
VTOL Warship (1600 Points): The most expensive piece of directly-controlled aerial equipment in the game, the VTOL warship will hover above the playing field and allow you to control its machine guns and rockets. You will have complete control over outdoors areas of the map so long as you’re flying this thing, but you can be shot down if enough of your enemies are packing Stingers, so keep an eye out for any suspicious tubes that are being pointed your way.
You can also reposition the VTOL after deployment, so if you sweep one area of the map clean, or your teammates flush it out, be sure to relocate to another hotspot rather than sitting around looking at walls.
K9 Unit (1700 Points): Puppy! Your dog assassins will roam the map, looking for enemies to take out, and they’ll do so often. They’re lower to the ground than humans are, and they move quickly, so they’re tougher to shoot than other players, but they can be shot and killed by a quick player, or one that backs himself into a corner. Dogs will also assault enemies inside buildings, which is relatively unique among the higher-powered scorestreaks. It’s a handy option if you feel that you can net the points for it, but if you’ve already got 1700 points, might as well try and nab...
If the sky starts looking like an afternoon on Coruscant, you’ll want to head indoors as quickly as possible.
Swarm (1900 Points): Everyone on the other team suddenly gets to feel like the Taliban did in late 2001, as the map is suddenly overwhelmed by a massive number of Hunter-Killers that rotate in the skies and start tracking down enemy players. If a single Hunter-Killer will often net you a kill, you can only imagine the kinds of points you’ll be grabbing if you deploy a Swarm. These Hunter-Killers, like the original streak, are completely automated, leaving you free to run around and kill anyone who attempts to bunker down. This will still have a hard time hitting anyone inside a building, so pop your flashbangs when heading through doorways and be aware that any enemy worth his salt will be crouching in a corner somewhere.
