What would you advise? And thanks to Kimble for think of this kind of thread http://forums.station.sony.com/ps2/...gineer-to-spend-his-first-500-certs-on.73825/
You want to make sure you have a bolt action. NC start with the NC14 Bolt Driver so if that's who you are playin' as, you're golden. Else you'll need to pick up either the M77-B or XM98 for 100 certs. I'd also prioretize AP mines.
I should mention I'm VS, so I don't know how this will shift depending on faction: Get the 100 cert bolt-action rifle (XM98 for VS). It's not as good as the top-tier station cash item (Parallax), but the difference is really not noticeable except for moving targets and you won't be able to do that in your first 500 certs anyway. Then spend 30 more certs for the 12x scope. That's it for weapons for now. Practice with knife/pistolx2 combo for close-quarters combat. I have a Nyx and I still prefer this. Spend 200 certs on anti-personnel mines. Really, the most fun ever. Overload a generator, drop the mine, watch the poor engineer die trying to stabilize. This is going to sound weird, but spend 30 on Squad Leader Spawn Beacon. This will let you get to sniping locations otherwise unattainable. You need at least one buddy to use it. I recommend hanging with an engineer to keep you fed with ammo and to cover your backside with a MANA turret. I've also had very good times hanging with a medic to revive me when counter-sniped. The counter-sniper is totally feeling cocky and invincible and not expecting you to shoot him again. From here you have two options: Option 1 - Sniper If you don't mind slightly over-spending, put 150 into the Flash Turbo (total 510certs) this is AWESOME for finding sniping locations. Sticking to the budget, you can put 30 into Flash Stealth, 100 into Flash Surger Power Chasis (for the same reason, though not quite as good). This leaves you with 10 Certs. Buy a bunch of the 1 cert things, a dot of nanoweave and acquisition timers. Option 2 - CQC 50 certs on Sunderer Advanced Mobile Station (S-AMS) 31 certs on Advanced Terminal Hacking 30 on your choice of Sunderer Stealth or Mine Guard 11 on Sunderer Acquisitions 11 on nanoweave armor Squander a few points on 1-cert items
Good advice - but I would also get the first 3 levels of cloak quickly they just make life easier and dont cost much.
Mines. Much more useful at stopping solo back-cappers. Shooting people in the head from long distance isn't part of "the Meta". since they just respawn nearby 5 seconds later only to die again to someone else b/c they're not in a Vehicle. Vehicles are this game's Meta and you can't do anything to them. Now on the other hand getting a kill-message 5 minutes later and knowing that guy was probably alone and forgot to bring a Sundy b/c the map told him there was no defenders there?? = ****ng GOLD!
Nobody mentioned the Sunderer AMS and stealth yet? Those will run you a total of 80 certs together, and for that you get to turn any hacked vehicle station into an infantry spawn zone for your whole faction, which doesn't show up on the minimap of enemy players until they actually find it on their screen. If you're VS, you'll want the Manticore pistol pretty early too, but either of the other factions have great starting pistols anyways, and a 100 cert bolt action rifle is still more important if you don't start with one.
Do you want to snipe? [I'm Dulu -- BR 30, but I play only infiltrator - mainly as a sniper - I have a solid KDR, and regularly rack up 20+ kill-streaks, before dying because I'm out of ammo] If so, I find the following set-up very strong. Station Cash: Longshot (Parallax since you're VS) Rebel (Invest in a GOOD pistol as an infiltrator, it's your most important tool) Certs: 12x Scope (30 certs) [Get used to playing with it, it's not easy. Don't **** yourself by learning on anything less.] Suppressor for your pistol (100 certs) [The silencer on the pistol has no downside, from what I can tell. Bug or intended? IDK] Laser Sight for your pistol (30 certs) [Increased hipfire accuracy.] Advanced Cloaking 4 (160 certs) [Mastering how to use cloak is your life-blood as a sniper] Med Kit (50 certs) [Some people will say Bouncing Betty... but I find 50 certs for something that can SAVE your life, and keep you on the battlefield, earning more sniper kills, is more important than something that can kill one person. Also 150 certs cheaper and can be used by all classes.] Nanoweave Armor 3 (61 certs)[You will take damage, even as the best sniper. Friendly fire, random explosions not meant for you, etc. Having that 15% extra cushion room is nice. Eventually you will want Nano 5, but it's expensive. Nano 3 is great for a starter infiltrator. It may also make the difference in you surviving a body shot from an enemy sniper, and being able to stealth -> relocated -> terminate.] Sunderer: AMS (50 Certs) [Hack a vehicle terminal, spawn a sunderer, hide it somewhere nearby, and deploy. You're a hero to your faction.] Advanced Hacking 2 (31 Certs) [20% faster hacking for only 31 certs!] Total: 512 Certs, 1400 Station Cash = Fully equipped sniper.
For sniping: Parallax/Longshot/RAMS. The other bolt-action rifles are inferior. 12x scope. Extra ammo suit upgrade so you can stay out longer. Medkit vs AP mines is your choice. For team support: one of the scout rifles or the semi-auto close range sniper rifle. See my sig. Max sensor dart. AP mines. For infiltration: not viable at the moment, don't bother.
With the current render distances I don't see why you need a 12x scope. You can pop headshots just fine with the default one. All the 12x does is reduce your overview of the battlefield, making you miss opportunities or threats. Why Med kit and not Restoration kit? Does it (still) restore full health? Is there no animation? That second level is arguably not worth it if you're just starting out. It will save you about half a second. I'm not saying it's irrelevant, just not priority. Depends on what you want to achieve. I've seen impressive things from CQC Infiltrators in enemy bases.
With the restoration kit you have to wait (out of stealth) while your health goes up. The med kit happens instantly, so you can pop out of stealth for a second, heal, and get back in stealth. It's great when you're evading somebody with an automatic weapon that you've just bumped into.
I've had a few 700 meter one-shot kills. Without the 12x scope, they wouldn't be possible. This is an enemy sunderer spawn point, at about 400 meters, as viewed by a 12x scope. This is roughly your max effective range on even terrain. The render distance bug does seem to come into play during large battles (the crown), not so much in smaller conflicts, like 12v12 at 4am for a tech plant. As for "View of the battlefield" argument.. If you're sniping from 400+ meters, like a good sniper - you can freely "Q" spam to spot the enemy, no one will hear you. I'll post a screenshot. This enemy engineer is about 600 meters away, once you factor in elevation. I could spam taunt and spot all day, he would never know I'm there. I'd say from this view, I have a pretty good "View of the Battle", wouldn't you? Restoration kit is a noob trap. It makes you glow bright green, and you can't cloak while it's equipped. Med Kit allows you to de-cloak, full heal, recloak. As for the improved hacking.. 20% is 20%. Not much else you can spend for 30 points to have an effect on your gameplay. You can swap to improved recon gun instead.
