Descent 2 Weapon and Enemy FAQ Descent 2: Counterstrike Descent 1: First Strike PC Contents: 1- Introduction 2- Robots 2.1- Descent 1 Robots 2.2- Descent 2 Robots 2.3- Descent 2 Bosses 3- Player Weapons 3.1- Primary Weapons 3.2- Secondary Weapons 4- Equipment 5- Robot AI Types 6- EULA 1- Introduction Well, you now have Descent 2, the second game in the Descent series. The mines are seemingly easier to navigate, but the pesky predators are more cunning and vicious, the accursed thief especially. The bosses are more powerful, as are the pesky predators that haunt the mines, many of them capable of firing more than one type of weapon. I’ll also be covering Descent 1: First Strike. It is possible, after patching the snot out of Descent 2, to replay (or play for the first time) Descent 1. Don’t ask me how, it’s a very long and complex process. There will be some glitches and some MASSIVLY messed up AI, but it's possible. 2- Robots Well, along with some old favorites, Descent 2 has its own host of pesky predators that haunt the mines. They range in size and toughness from the lowly PEST to the ever frustrating Thief Bot. Descent 1’s robots will be covered as well, seeing as it’s possible to replay Descent 1 with a patch for Descent 2. If more than one threat rating is displayed, it pertains to that particular robot when it’s grouped with others of the same kind. 2.1- Descent 1 Robots A warning about the old robots, some of the sounds have changed, but the big change is the AI. Many of the old AIs have been lost and some of the less vicious robots are now more powerful than ever before. Name: Class 1 Drone Appearance: Orange with Red Eyes and Weapon Arms Weapon: Pulse Cannon (2x) Threat: Minor/Low Description: The rather skittish AI that once lived within these in D1 has been replaced by the PEST’s rather irritating AI which insists on closing the gap between the robot and player. While not much of a threat singly, these can be dangerous if there are more than 2. Name: Class 2 Drone Appearance: Blue with Green Eyes and Wedge-Shaped Weapon: Argon Welding Laser (2x) Threat: Minor/Low Description: Another case of damaged AI, these have gone from circling you at a distance to rushing you firing blindly. Still not much of a threat, they’re still an nuisance at best. Name: Small Hulk Appearance: Green and Bulky Weapon: Argon Laser (2x) Threat: Low/Medium Description: Their AI was damaged as well, but to a far lesser extent, making this bot a danger to your shields. Still capable of dodging most “dumb” ordnance, Concussion Missiles will be useless, most surprisingly, it has the ability to dodge Mercury Missiles on occasion as well. Use weapons that home if you can. Name: Medium Hulk Appearance: Light Brown and Bulky Weapon: Concussion Missile (2x) Threat: High Description: Finally! An intact AI. These are still slow to move, but will fire at you if given the chance. These are very dangerous if you have a wall anywhere near you because the splash damage from their missiles hurts, a lot. As I’ve said before, if you’re fighting these, get the hell away from the walls! Name: Cloaked Medium Hulk Appearance: Cloaked and Bulky Weapon: Concussion Missile (2x) Threat: Very High Description: Dead silent compared to a normal Medium Hulk, these love to wait until you’re distracted to attack. If you’re taking missile fire and don’t know from where and there’s no homing indicator, these are probably to blame. Name: Super Hulk Appearance: Red and Bulky Weapon: Homing Missile (2x) Threat: Very High Description: Of the nasty robots in the mines, you’ll face these the most often. Usually employed as guards for high security areas, these have Homing Missiles and will snipe at you with them. Unlike the player’s version, they hurt quite a bit. Name: Mini-Boss Appearance: Violet and Huge Weapon: Fusion Cannon (2x) Threat: Very High Description: Slow, but amazingly tough, these take 2 Mega Missiles to kill. Other than the bosses, these are the single toughest bot in the game. It’s fortunate that they’re usually faced singly. In rare cases you’ll encounter them in groups, such as on S1 guarding the Yellow Key. Name: Mega Hulk Appearance: Yellow and Giant Weapon: Homing Smart Missile (2x) Threat: Impossible Description: The first boss you encounter in D1, this bot is equipped with Homing Smart Missiles, and because they’re Smart Missiles, even if the main missile misses, you have about 10 powerful Homing Plasma Globs to dodge. Unlike its Descent 1 original, upon patching Descent 2, this bot becomes unable to cloak and teleport, removing PART of its nastyness. Name: Uber Hulk Appearance: Flashing Red and Yellow with a Giant Eye and Giant Weapon: Mega Missile (4x) Threat: Impossible Description: The final boss of D1, it's considerably less evil than it was because its weapons are toned down from doing 150-190 shield damage to 45-80 shield damage. Unlike the original AI in D1, it doesn’t fire at random if it can’t see you. Still dangerous though. Due to patching, this bot is unable to use its cloaked teleporting ability AND its robot generating ability. Name: Medium Lifter Appearance: Green with Claw Arms Weapon: Diamond Swing Arms (2x) Threat: Low/High Description: Even with damaged AI, these are annoying at best. They rush toward you because their weapons are melee only. If they get close though, they claw away at you until you kill them. They’re surprisingly fast as well. Name: Advanced Lifter Appearance: Red with 4 Claw Arms Weapon: Tungsten Swing Arms (4x) Threat: High/Very High Description: Dead silent as always, these like to sneak up on you and rip you to pieces. They work in groups of 3-5 and love to gang up on you. Kill them from a distance if you can. Name: Cloaked Lifter Appearance: Cloaked with Claw Arms Weapon: Swing Arms (2x) Threat: High Description: While these aren’t terribly common, they usually take the time to stealthily sneak up on you and tear into the Pyro GX without hesitation. Though rarer than their visible cousins, they’re still just as dangerous. These might look like an x-wing with the wings closed in a well-lit room. Name: Secondary Lifter Appearance: Red with a Claw Arm Weapon: Argon Laser (1x) Threat: Medium Description: It doesn’t really fall into the Lifter family like the rest of them as it doesn’t try to claw you. It instead rushes you while blindly firing its laser. Usually found in groups of 3-5. Name: Spider Processing Robot Appearance: Red and Spider-like Weapon: Pulse Cannon (3x) Threat: Medium Description: Its cannon really packs and a punch and it fires in three-shot bursts. Upon death it usually breaks into 3-5 Mini Spiders that have little more than a light laser to use against you. Keep firing a little after its death to eliminate these. Name: Mini Spider Appearance: Red, Small, and Spider-Like Weapon: Argon Laser (1x) Threat: Minimal/Low Description: These normally spawn from a dead Spider Processing Robot, but they can also be found in hidden rooms where they’re hiding as a trap. While not armed heavily, they can be a problem in groups larger than 3. Name: Supervisor Robot Appearance: Blue and Spherical Weapon: none Threat: Varies Description: These can do one of several things when they die, most frequently they spawn 3-4 additional robots (Usually Class 1 or Class 2 Drillers.) While not much of a threat to begin with, they alert other bots in the area to your presence. Kill them quickly, but watch out. Name: Class 1 Driller Appearance: Silver with an Under-Slung Rotary Cannon Weapon: Uranium Mass Driver (1x) Threat: High Description: These will chew through your shields very quickly. This bot is very aggressive and will usually chase after you should it hear fighting in the general area. Be careful to watch your back. Name: Cloaked Class 1 Driller Appearance: Cloaked with an Under-Slung Rotary Cannon Weapon: Uranium Mass Driver (1x) Threat: Very High Description: With the change in AI, these went from passive to very aggressive these will now chase after you and shoot until you’re dead. For some reason these also seem able to see through cloaking devices. Watch your back. Name: Class 2 Driller Appearance: Dark Brown and Crystalline Weapon: Plasma Cannon (2x) Threat: Very High Description: Usually found in groups of 2-3, these are very powerful and very dangerous. They happily chase after you while firing until you either destroy them or they destroy you. Name: PTMC Defense Prototype Appearance: Silver and Light Brown Weapon: Argon Laser (4x) Threat: High Description: Usually found in pairs, these bots fire 4 shots before having to wait for their weapons to recycle. While not terribly accurate, the Argon Lasers hurt quite a bit. Be sure to have lots of room to dodge. Name: Laser Platform Robot Appearance: Peach and Sleek Weapon: Argon Laser (3 shot burst) (1x) Threat: Medium Description: An unusual design for a robot, these are usually stationed such that there’s a wall behind them to keep them from being snuck up on. While the cannon they have isn’t terribly powerful, they fire it in rapid bursts, but they don’t overheat like other bots do. Usually found in groups of 2-3. Name: Missile Platform Robot Appearance: Green and Sleek Weapon: Concussion Missile (3 shot burst) (1x) Threat: Very High Description: Standard nasty robot, these will fire their missiles rapidly without regard for their safety at all. While they prefer to fire from a distance and keep it that way, they will not hesitate to fire at short range either. Name: Gopher Robot Appearance: White and Wedge-Shaped Weapon: Proximity Mines or Argon Laser (2x) Threat: Minimal/Low/Medium Description: Normally little more than an nuisance because they fly all over laying mines and generally annoying you. Some of the ones in D2’s remake of D1 have argon lasers installed on them, increasing their threat and combat range. The ones that have lasers usually are found in groups of 3-7. 2.2- Descent 2 Robots Well, finally, Descent 2’s robots have come up. Many of them are far more dangerous that anything in Descent 1’s inventory of enemies. Many of them are capable of firing more than one kind of weapon, and most usually fire in bursts of 3-5 to start with. Name: Guidebot Appearance: Light Blue and Hexagonal Weapon: Flares Threat: Minimal Description: Yes, it has a threat rating because it is capable of hurting you. The little bastard will usually pop you from time to time with a flare or two as it frantically tries to open doors to get to the keys, generators, and whatever else you tell him to find. If you press Shift + 7 he’ll go away until you summon him again with Shift + 1-0. Name: Portable Equalizing Standard Transbot (PEST) Appearance: Green and Wedge-Shaped with Weapon Arms Weapon: T1 Stream Rock Cutter (2x) Threat: Minor Description: While not terribly powerful, these can be a nuisance if there’s more than one of them. They only take a few hits from nearly any weapon to kill them. Alternate Form: This bot is sometimes converted to a mine laying variant. Name: Internal Tactical Droid (ITD) Appearance: Blue and Disc Shaped Weapon: Light Vulcan (2x) Threat: Minimal Description: While these don’t pack much of a punch, they’re rather likely to go summon a more powerful robot to come and squash you. Their weapon isn’t very accurate, acting more like a shotgun than a Vulcan. Name: Preliminary Integration Groundbot (PIG) Appearance: Red and Cone-Shaped with Weapon Arms Weapon: Xenon Laser (2x) Threat: Low Description: While their weapon isn’t powerful, they can fire it rapidly. Not agile, but they can take a beating. Name: Thief Bot Appearance: Brown with Three Claw Arms Weapon: Flares and Flash Tractor System Threat: Very High Description: The only bot in the game capable of seeing through a Cloaking Device, this one is very dangerous because it can steal any weapon, piece of equipment, or power-up you might have picked up, including Invulnerabilities and Cloaking Devices. Kill it quickly if you can. It can take a pounding, and homing weapons don’t work against it as it dodges them quickly. Name: Smelter Appearance: Light Orange and Brick-Shaped Weapon: Repulsion Smelter Threat: High Description: Large and fairly fast for its size, its weapon is powerful. Similar to the Phoenix Cannon in appearance and power, the shots from the Repulsion Smelter bounce off walls twice before coming to a stop. If you think you’ve dodged it, think again as it might have bounced back at you. Usually fires in 3 shot bursts, it sometimes fires in bursts of up 10. Alternate Form: This bot is sometimes conveted to a mine laying variant Alternate Form: This bot is sometimes cloaked as either a standard variant or a cloaked mine layer. Name: Diamond Claw, Second Generation Appearance: Brown with 4 Claw Arms Weapon: Diamond Swing Arms (4x) and Short-Circuit Threat: High Description: A vicious rusher much like their cousin the Medium Lifter, but they’re equipped with a Short-Circuit system that causes them to release Homing Plasma Globs when stuck with Energy Weapon fire. Kill them with Missiles or the Vulcan or Gauss Cannons to prevent them from Short-Circuiting. Alternate Form: This bot is sometimes cloaked. Name: Sidearm Appearance: White and Blue and Boxy Weapon: Phase Pulse Cannon (3x) and Flash Missile (1x) Threat: Medium Description: What it lacks in mobility it makes up for in toughness. Its ability to rapidly fire Phase Pulses AND Flash Missiles at the same time give this bot a bit of an edge, but isn’t much cause for worry because it’s a rather poor shot. The other thing about this bot is that should you fail to destroy the small bots it spawns on death it’ll reassemble itself and keep fighting. Name: Sidearm Modula Appearance: White and Blue and Small Weapon: Flash Missile Threat: Low Description: The minibots that spawn upon the death of the Sidearm. A nuisance at best, these are skittish and love to fire away and dance backward off the recoil. Kill these fast or the Sidearm will respawn. These are often found singlly too, and are unable to assemble to create a new Sidearm. Name: Lou Guard Appearance: Green and Bulky Weapon: Homing Missile Threat: High Description: Similar to the Mega Hulks from D1, these fire Homing Missiles at you. Kill them as fast as you can to preserve your shields. They can take a beating, but they’re not very agile either. Name: Internal Tactical Security Control Robot (ITSC) Appearance: Blue and Cylindrical Weapon: Concussion Missile and Light Vulcan Threat: Low Description: This is the bot most likely to be summoned by the ITD bot. It’s skittish and usually fires and dances backward as it does so, making it a difficult target from time to time. They like to hide and ambush you as well. Name: Fox Attack Bot, External Operations (FAB, EO) Appearance: Hexagonal with Claw Arms Weapon: Spreadfire Cannon (2x) Threat: Medium Description: These prefer to ambush you when possible, otherwise they like to snipe at you with their Spreadfire cannon. Not very strong, but their cry is likely to confuse you for a few moments before you open fire on them. Name: Seeker Appearance: Blue Egg-Shape Body with Large Dark Brown Weapon Arms Weapon: Mercury Missiles (2x) Threat: Medium Description: Fairly tough with a fast powerful weapon, this bot actually has some degree of danger to it. Kill it from a distance or from around corners with Guided Missiles if you can. Its Mercury Missiles don’t travel nearly as fast as yours do, so don’t worry about them too much. Name: Red Hornet Appearance: Red and Wasp-Like Weapon: Small Laser Threat: Low/Medium Description: Irritatingly agile, these bots pose a reasonable threat in groups. While not very tough, they’re very fast. Usually fires in 3 shot bursts, but on some levels, it bursts can reach up to 10. Name: TRN Racer Appearance: Cylindrical with Claw Arms Weapon: T1 Stream Rock Cutter (4x) Threat: Low Description: Not very powerful, even though it can keep up a steady rate of fire. It only takes a couple of missiles to kill this bot, and as it has low agility, any kind of missile will work. Name: Omega Defense Spawn (ODS) Appearance: White with Red Highlights Weapon: Self Destruct Threat: High Description: This bot homes in on you and explodes when it finally comes in contact with you. The explosion is pretty powerful and will frequently throw you a short distance. It also hurts your shields quite a bit. Even killing them nearby will throw you a short distance, but it won’t damage you. However should you use missiles to defeat this bot, the explosives this bot is laden with will detonate. Alternate Form: This bot is often converted to a mine laying variant Alternate Form: This bot is often converted to lay mines and carry keys Name: E-Bandit Appearance: Gold with Large Paddle-Shaped Arms Weapon: Energy Siphon System Threat: Very High Description: This bot rushes toward you and siphons energy from your generator and from your shields. It eventually will drain you dry if left unchecked. The upside to them is if you let them siphon a little energy from you, upon death they’ll usually drop 3-4 energy boosts. Name: Bulk Destroyer Appearance: Dark Brown and Blocky Weapon: Gauss Cannon (2x) Threat: Medium Description: This bot will usually take the time to snipe at you from long range instead of rushing you and firing away. Nothing really special about them otherwise. Name: Ice Spindle Defense Robot (ISDR) Appearance: Blue Spherical Body with Three “Legs” Weapon: Helix Cannon (2x) Threat: Medium Description: Large in size and unusually mobile, this bot fires rapidly and can cause much damage to you very quickly. Use a powerful weapon so take it out quickly as it can take a lot of punishment. Name: BPER Bot Appearance: Dark Brown with Claw Arms Weapon: Plasma Core and Phase Pulse Cannon (2x) Threat: Very High Description: The BPER’s cannon is very powerful, capable dropping your shields very quickly. It also has a Plasma Detonation Core, so it damages you badly upon death at short range. Kill them from a distance if you can. Name: Boarshead Appearance: Dark Brown and Dark Green and Shaped like a Head Weapon: Plasma Cannon (3x) and Smart Missile (1x) Threat: Extreme Description: This is probably one of the most dangerous bots you’ll encounter, it has the ability to fire several Plasma shots in rapid succession and fire its Smart Missile at the same time. Locate and kill it quickly or you risk death. Hiding around a corner will not save you because even if its Smart Missiles miss they’ll break into Plasma Homing Globs and strike you from behind. Name: Spider Appearance: Dark Green and Dark Brown and Spider-like Weapon: Rapid Fire Concussion Missile System Threat: Very High Description: Very high on the list for nasty bots, this one will unleash a hail of up to 5 Concussion Missiles at once as it closes on you. Upon death it breaks into 5-6 of the bot called Spawn, making it a danger even in death. Kill it from a distance if you can, but be prepared to keep firing after it dies. Name: Spawn Appearance: Green and Wasp-Like Weapon: Medium Laser Threat: High/Very High Description: These work well in groups with each other, making them difficult to fight because they swarm around you. Deceptively powerful for their size, depending on the situation, they’ll either swarm you or use hit-and-run tactics to try to destroy you. Alternate Form: This bot sometimes lays mines. 2.3- Descent 2 Bosses These are the baddest of the bad robots in the game. These will chew your ship up and if there's anything left, spit it out only to descent-igrate the rest. Much like the Diamon Claws, these have the ability to short circut when struck with energy weapons. These also generate robots at random when they're struck with weapons fire. System: Zeta Aquilae Name: The Red Fatty Weapon: Flash Missile (2x) and Homing Missile Vulnerabilities: All weapons Threat: Low Description: Released once you reach the middle of the boss chamber, this bot isn't much of a threat. The only thing to worry about is the homing missile it fires simutainusly with twin flash missiles. System: Quartzon Name: The Water Boss Weapon: Mercury Missiles (3x) and Mines (Smart and Proximity) Vulnerabilities: All weapons Threat: Very Low Description: Easily the weakest boss in the game, this boss is quickly picked apart with whatever weapons you have, Mega Missiles finish the job the fastest. System: Brimspark Name: The Fire Boss Weapon: Mega Missile and Extra-Rapid Phoenix Cannon Vulerabilites: Ammo Weapons Only Threat: Medium Description: While not terribly powerful, the Phoenix Cannon it has is very nasty. It's more powerful and has a MUCH higher rate of fire than the one availible to you. Use of a cloaking device is recommended to assist in defeating this boss, as the Mega Missiles it fires hurt. System: Limefrost Spiral Name: The Ice Boss Weapon: Homing Flash Missile and Omega Cannon Vulnerabilities: Ammo Weapons Only Threat: High Description: The Homing Flash Missiles it fires aren't the real threat this boss has, as they're fairly simple to avoid. The Omega Cannon it has is the real punching power this boss has. Make use of a cloaking device or the Pyro GX's afterburner in order to eliminate this boss. System: Baloris Prime Name: The Desert Boss Weapon: Gauss Cannon and Mercury Missile Vulnerabilities: Energy Weapons Only Threat: Low Description: Because this boss forces you to use energy weapons against it, you have the added challenge of avoiding Short Circuts. As its weapons don't home in on you, you have the run of the place pretty much. System: Tycho Brahe Name: The Alien Boss Weapon: Rapid Fire Homing Earthshaker Missiles (2x) Vulnerabilities: Weakspot on its Back Only Threat: Impossible Description: This is easily the most difficult boss in the game unless you make use of cloaking devices and invulnerabilities. The Earthshaker Missiles this boss fires home, so a direct hit strikes you with both the seperation charge and the homing flachets at once. A good stratagy with this boss is to get a cloaking device, then slam an Earthshaker Missile into the wall behind him (or his back if he's facing away from you at the time.) On the Trainee setting, 3 Earthshakers will turn this boss into scrap. On the Insane setting it takes 10 or more, depending on how good of a shot you are. 3- Player Weapons Foregoing the damage tables, I’m just going to jump into the weapons. Anything in ( ) is for the Quad Lasers power-up. *’s indicate new weapons. 3.1- Primary Weapons These are the weapons that appear on the left-hand side of the screen when you’re in the cockpit. Mostly energy weapons, these will be your main means of killing most of the pesky predators in the mines. Weapon: Lv. 1 Laser Appearance: Orange Attack Power: Very Low (Low) Firing Rate: Average Firing EN Consumption: Very Low (Low) Description: Same as Descent 1, not dramatically powerful, but they get the job done. Find power-ups quickly. Weapon: Lv. 2 Laser Appearance: Violet Attack Power: Low (Medium) Firing Rate: Average Firing EN Consumption: Very Low (Low) Description: More powerful than the Lv. 1’s, but still underpowered as far as the weapons go. Weapon: Lv. 3 Laser Appearance: Blue Attack Power: Medium (High) Firing Rate: Average Firing EN Consumption: Very Low (Low) Description: More powerful that the Lv. 2’s, getting more powerful, but only half-way there. 3 more levels to go. Weapon: Lv. 4 Laser Appearance: Green Attack Power: Medium (High) Firing Rate: Average Firing EN Consumption: Low (Low) Description: It changed between 1 and 2, more powerful, more EN consumption. Two more levels. Weapon: *Lv. 5 Super Laser Appearance: Gold Attack Power: High (Very High) Firing Rate: Average Firing EN Consumption: Low (Low) Description: New weapon, more powerful, new sound. If you find a Super Laser power-up, it automatically your lasers to Lv. 5 regardless of level. Weapon: *Lv. 6 Super Laser Appearance: White Attack Power: Very High (Very High) Firing Rate: Low Firing EN Consumption: Low (Low) Description: The epitome of laser weapons. Powerful and able to dispatch many enemies in just a few shots. The quad laser power-up makes these hurt. Firing speed drops a little between 5 and 6, but the firepower more than makes up for it. Weapon: Vulcan Cannon Appearance: Impacts Ammo Appearance: Box of Bullets Attack Power: Very Low Firing Rate: Very High Firing EN Consumption: none Description: The firing rate more than makes up for the lack of attack power. If there happens to be lava around, you can shoot it as the lava is explosive. In that case, you may as well have a flamer installed on the Pyro GX. The ammo was doubled between Descent 1 and Descent 2, you have 20,000 rounds availible instead of just 10,000, but with the ammo rack power-up, you can have a whopping 40,000 rounds! Weapon: *Gauss Cannon Appearance: Small Explosions Ammo Appearance: Box of Bullets Attack Power: Medium Firing Rate: Low Firing EN Consumption: none Blast Radius: Small Splash Damage: Low Description: This is a little more like a shotgun than a rotary cannon. It can dispatch many robots in just a few shots, ripping them apart with a collection of high-speed slugs. Overall it consumes ammunition a much slower rate than the Vulcan Cannon does. It works a little less effectively than the Vulcan if you shoot lava with it, but it really makes little difference when it comes to destroying robots. Weapon: Spreadfire Cannon Appearance: 3 Blue Energy Globes (Horizontal then Vertical) Attack Power: Medium Firing Rate: High Firing EN Consumption: High Description: A good weapon for narrow tunnels, but not much good for sniping. It soaks up EN pretty fast and its overall downsides easily outweigh its strong points. Only use for small tunnels at short range. Weapon: *Helix Cannon Appearance: 5 Green Energy Globes (Rotates 8 Times) Attack Power: Medium Firing Rate: Very High Firing EN Consumption: High Description: Burns EN pretty fast, just behind the Plasma for consumption. its wider shot pattern and higher firing rate make this a much better weapon than the Spreadfire. While it’s still limited to a relatively short range, it works very well against clustered enemies. It also works well in narrow tunnels because it practically floods the tunnel with energy blasts. Weapon: Plasma Cannon Appearance: Plasma Globes Attack Power: Medium Firing Rate: Very High Firing EN Consumption: Very High Description: Same old Plasma as Descent 1. The high firing rate and attack power easily outweigh the EN consumption. It still burns EN fast though, so try to avoid using it if you have less than 100 EN. Weapon: *Phoenix Cannon Appearance: Orange Globes Attack Power: Very High Firing Rate: Very High Firing EN Consumption: Extreme Description: This weapon has several unusual characteristics. Its first being that it bounces twice after hitting walls, giving you the ability to ricochet shots around corners. The other is that it has the ability to kill the player should said player misdirect the Phoenix’s line of ricochet. On the EN Consumption list, this is at the top, soaking up around 1 point of EN per shot, so be careful not to fire in long bursts. Weapon: Fusion Cannon Appearance: Violet Fusion Globs Attack Power: Very High Firing Rate: Very Low Firing EN Consumption: Varies Description: Still among the most powerful weapons in the game. It still penetrates multiple enemies and grows in destructive power with each one it passes through. The ship still jumps involutarily when you use this weapon. Weapon: *Omega Cannon Appearance: White Lightning Attack Power: Extreme Firing Rate: Extreme Firing EN Consumption: Varies Description: Easily the most powerful primary weapon in the game. It has a reservoir of 100 before it needs to cool and recharge. This limits the destructive power of it somewhat, but it’s still a devastating weapon. 3.2- Secondary weapons These appear on the right side of the screen when you’re in the cockpit. You’ll mainly use these to back-up your primary weapons or simply to take out a bot that would otherwise use up too much of your precious Vulcan/Gauss ammo or if you’re low on energy. All of them are explosive weapons with a blast radius of some kind, so be sure to keep your distance if possible when you fire these. Weapon: Concussion Missile Appearance: Silver Missile Ammo Appearance: Silver Missiles with White Bands Firing Rate: Average Attack Power: High Blast Radius: Small Splash Damage: Low Description: Standard rocket, point and shoot. Careful not to slam them into the walls or floor near you. Most robots will dodge this weapon. Weapon: *Flash Missile Appearance: Silver Missile with Red Bands Ammo Appearance: Dark Silver Missiles with Dark Red Bands Firing Rate: Average Attack Power: Very Low Blast Radius: Medium Splash Damage: none Description: These are a little trickier than standard Concussion Missiles. These stun enemy robots and other players (and you if you’re not careful.) They turn the player’s screen white and cancel sound for a few seconds if used Carelessly. Weapon: Homing Missile Appearance: White Missile with Blue Bands Ammo Appearance: White Missiles with Blue Bands Firing Rate: Average Attack Power: High Blast Radius: Small Splash Damage: Low Description: Point and shoot, and it homes. Only faster robots will be able to dodge it, the only robot completely immune to it is the Thief Bot, but then again, that robot is capable of dodging all but the fastest of weapons. Weapon: *Guided Missile Appearance: White Missile with Green Bands Ammo Appearance: White Missile with Green Bands Firing Rate: Low Attack Power: Very High Blast Radius: Medium Splash Damage: Medium Description: As the name implies, you guide this missile with the mouse, joystick, or keyboard depending on which you’re using. It’s a little tricky to get the hang of, but once you do, these work well for scouting, hitting hidden switches, and general sniping. Press fire once to launch, then guide it with your preferred method, then press fire again to turn it into a regular homing missile. Most robots will shy away from this weapon if they’re stuck with it once and it fails to kill them. You'll find yourself using this one very often just to explore the mines. Weapon: Proximity Mine Appearance: Red Orb with Silver Spikes Ammo Appearance: Red Sphere in a Silver Cage Firing Rate: Average Attack Power: High Blast Radius: Large Splash Damage: Medium Description: These work well for if something is chasing you or if you plan on laying a trap for the Thief. Weapon: *Smart Mine Appearance: Gold Orb with Silver Spikes (breaks into 8-10 homing particles when struck.) Ammo Appearance: Gold Sphere in a Silver Cage Firing Rate: Average Attack Power: Very High Blast Radius: Small Splash Damage: none Description: Another good weapon for laying traps or dumping on hapless robots dumb enough to pursue you. You can also drop them then shoot them to release the homing particles and use them as a weapon as well. With some skill, these can be used in a "dive bombing" manuver that's usually fatal because of getting hit with both the homing particles AND the seperation charge. Weapon: Smart Missile Appearance: Large White Missile with Green Bands Ammo Appearance: Large White Missile with Green Bands Firing Rate: Average Attack Power: Very High Blast Radius: Small Splash Damage: none Description: These start as a standard rocket, but when they strike anything, they instantly break into 5-8 Homing Plasma Globs. Useful for shooting around corners an through doors into robot infested rooms. These can also be used in the same way as a Concussion Missile. You fire it directly at a target, so instead just the homing globs hitting it, the target gets hit with the fairly high damage seperation charge as well. Usually fatal, but not always. Weapon: *Mercury Missile Appearance: White Missile with Copper Highlights Ammo Appearance: White Missile with Copper Highlights Firing Rate: Low Attack Power: High Blast Radius: Small Splash Damage: Low Description: Easily the fastest traveling of all the missiles and one of the few the Thief is unable to dodge. In terms of velocity it’s only outpaced by the Vulcan and Gauss Cannons. The missile cam barely has time to show an image before impact when this missile is fired. Weapon: Mega Missile Appearance: Large Red Missile with White Bands Ammo Appearance: Large Red Missile with White Bands Firing Rate: Very Low Attack power: Extreme Blast Radius: Huge Splash Damage: Extreme Description: Good for grouped robots and bosses alike. It homes and has an enormous blast radius for good coverage. Between D1 and D2, they adjusted both the recoil and the damage dealt to the player. While it is no longer fatal to slam this missile into the floor or walls near you, it still hurts A LOT. Weapon: *Earthshaker Missile Appearance: Large Blue Missile with White Bands Ammo Appearance: Large Blue Missile with White Bands Firing Rate: Very Low Attack Power: Overkill Blast Radius: Giant Splash Damage: Overkill Description: The single most powerful weapon in the game. There is no rival to this weapon. It’s so powerful that it causes the mine to tremble and lights to flicker when it strikes something. It works like a Smart Missile at first, being sent out as a single missile, but upon striking anything, it breaks into 8-10 large homing missiles with giant blast radiuses. It makes a good room clearing weapon, but you have to be prepared for the earthquake that follows. These can be used in the same way that the robots use them in game. Fire it AT something instead of just near it. Whatever you fire it at will get hit with the powerful seperation charge AND the homing flachets at the same time. It's ALWAYS fatal to whatever gets hit. 4- Equipment There’s a number of additional power-ups than you can find that don’t exactly fall under weapons or ammo. Name: Ammo Rack Use: Doubles ammunition capacity for all ammunition based weapons EXCLUDING the Omega Cannon. Name: Headlight Use: If you press ‘H’ you activate/deactivate this power-up. It lights up dark areas and causes confusion among the bots if you have a cloak and the Headlight running. The downside of it is that it soaks up energy at a pretty good clip. Name: Converter Use: By pressing ‘T’ you can recharge your shields at a rate of 1 shield for every 2 energy. Not a real popular thing for the Thief to take, but then again the Thief steals things that random. Name: Afterburner Use: By pressing and holding ‘S’ you can give yourself a massive burst of speed for about 30sec. It only works for going forward though, not reverse. It’s useful for outrunning missiles and dodging bots. The thief often takes this. Name: Quad Laser Use: As the name implies, it allows you to fire 4 lasers instead of 2. One of the more useful power-ups in the game. The thief often takes this. 5- Robot AI Types You’ll encounter a number of diff types of AI and frustrating tactics to go with them. Rusher: Probably the most common AI, the bots will rush you firing blindly. Sniper: The bots will hang back out of harm’s way and snap shots off at you from a distance. Hit and Run: The bots will pop out of hiding, snap a few shots off, then retreat. Be warned though, this tactic can also be used to lure you into a trap. Hide and Seek: This is the term I liked to use for the game that the Thief-Bot plays with you. He’ll steal a piece of your gear, then run off and hide for a while, then when you’re in the middle of a firefight or something, he’ll come and steal something else from you. Mine Layer: A number of bots throughout the game will be converted to mine layers. The PESTs, Smelters, and Omega Defense Spawn are the usual ones. They’ll lay a string of mines, or more likely lay several mines within a group of bots then you’ll chase after something and fly right into the mines. 6- EULA Thx to GameFAQs for hosting this and Parallax Software and Interplay for creating the Descent series. You can contact me at chaosshade2638@yahoo.com if you need to ask about something. Please don’t e-mail me damage tables because they’re not accurate and I’ll deleted them.