Friday, February 29, 2008

Tabula Rasa - The control point and you

Alright, here we go yet again back into the world of Tabula Rasa. Like the last walkthrough, we are again hooking up with Z. Mainly because she's high enough level to solo Control Points found in the Wildneress, which is where players will first encounter the field Control Points.

Control Points should be familiar to anybody who has played Planetside. Players most remove an opposing force from the base, then capture the base for their side. Like the bases and towers in Planetside, Control Points in Tabula Rasa can be used to respawn, reload, as well as serve as points of travel to move around a zone.

If you complete the training segment of Tabula Rasa, you'll be taken through a mock Control Point assault. However the assault is aided by the cannons and shield wall being susceptible to a single detonator charge, which players will never run into out in the real game. There are several other twists that the in-game training does not cover.

We find Z hanging around the Memory Tree in Wilderness - 1. Just wondering, but do you know enough of the Logos Language to translate what the Tree says?



Z checks her map and finds that both Control Points in the Wilderness currently belong to the AFS, her side.



Z decides to head over and check the Landing Zone Outpost. Seems fairly calm.



Scratch that, a metric ton of Bane are incoming.

At Z's level there is a catch here that isn't immediately noticed. All of these bane are far below her level. However, if you are in the Wilderness at a Wilderness appropriate level, you'll find that the Control Points are assaulted by Bane that anywhere from 2 to 4 levels over the Zone average.



Since Z is the only AFS elite soldier hanging around, looks like it's up to her to fight the Bane back.



Most control points signify the end of an assault by friendly NPC units dropping in and helping to wipe up remaining Bane forces. Here we can see that despite Z's best efforts, the Bane did manage to drop the shield on the front of the control point.



Okay, the shield is back up, the Control Point is safe.



Oh dear. Z has switched to Wilderness - 3 where the Bane have control of both Landing Zone Outpost and Imperial Valley control points.



Z heads to the hostile Landing Zone Outpost.



If you are attempting to take down a Control Point while at a zone appropriate level, it's a good idea to start taking out the turrets that guard a Control Point.



With the turret down, Z can now turn her attention to the rest of the battle. As you can see though, standing still is just inviting trouble. Had Z been at a zone appropriate level, that big ugly purple thing would have her for lunch.



Z's now going after the shield for the Control Point.



The best way to take a shield down is to EMP weapons. Since Z is a Demolitionist, her choice of EMP weapons is largely limited to EMP shotguns, EMP rifles, EMP Pistols... and EMP bombs.

Trust me on this. For Control Point offensives, stock up on EMP bombs.



Shield is down, and Z is into the courtyard.



Courtyard is clear, time to recap the base.



You probably did this part in the Basic Training segment, so you know how to click on the Control Point tower.



What you may not be aware of is that just because the courtyard is clear, does not mean that the Bane won't show up again. Z's been interrupted by some Bane that just dropped in.



Once Z has cleared out the Control Point again, she completes the capture.



Once a Control Point is recaptured, the front shield immediatly comes up. A quick look at Z's radar shows that multiple friendly units are now on the scene to help finish wiping up any leftover Bane.



A check of the map shows the Control Point is now controlled by the AFS... but there still is one more in the paws of the Bane. A soldiers work is never done.


A couple notes for the end of this. First, I was planning to do a crafting walkthrough. Seems I got beat to it: http://www.rgtr.com/community/community_news/crafting_101.html

I'll probably still run mine anyways, just for the fun of it.

Second : if you came from here :
http://www.rgtr.com/community/community_news/weekend_wrapup_2252008.html

welcome. And a very hearty Moo to you.

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