Introduction to INSURGENCY ON STRATIS

This is a guide to introduce players to the game modes INSURGENCY ON STRATIS and INSURGENCY ON ALTIS by DAP.

The First Tab

"INSURGENCY ON STRATIS" and "INSURGENCY ON ALTIS" by DAP are some pretty fun Coop gamemodes, but they can be hard to learn for newcomers. While the names are similar, these modes can hardly be considered as similar to modes like "Insurgency - Altis" and its spinoffs. In this mode you are not clearing red grid squares until the map is clear, but instead you are pulling off a COIN op in which you will be tasked with destroying enemy weapons caches. The catch is the cache locations are not (initially) available to you via the map. This is where intel comes into play. For the screenshots in this guide, I will be using "INSURGENCY ON STRATIS." This guide is written assuming the reader is a team leader or squad leader, but most players should still glean some benefit from it. Note: These modes are pretty rare, but their all-caps name stands out in the server list. If you can't find it in the server list, set your filters for a cooperative mission. It says cooperative even when you can play on the other team. I mainiy used the Stratis version for this guide, and that's why it's named what it is, but the same principles apply to the Altis version.
The guide's title image is not my own. It's just something I got off Google.

The Author:

Is pretty awesome.

TL;DR

If this is too long for you, you probably should just skim the "Contact, Intel, and you" and "Miscellaneous" sections since they contain the most esoteric and/or important info. If you don't feel like reading those, why are you here? This guide is not for underachievers, the illiterate, or people named George.

Objectives

PRIMARY:

Destroy all insurgent weapons caches in the area before running out of time (You will usually have 12 hours from the beginning, so time isn't much of an issue unless an Admin gives a reasonable time limit).
Minimize BLUFOR casualties.

SECONDARY:

Exterminate guerilla cells to clear up AA coverage and allow our pilots greater freedom of movement.
Capture cell leaders alive for interrogation. This will make it easier to find weapons caches.

What we are up against

If it's your first time playing this mode, you may want to know who and what will be shooting at you. Generally, each enemy cell consists of some combination of FIA riflemen, autoriflemen, AT and AA missile specialists, and a leader. I have found only one area where this is different, and that is at the Western end of Almyra airfield on Altis, where several technicals and two officers can be found (note: that place is kind of abnormal, and has resulted in me having to insert "usually" and "mostly" in several places in this guide). Also, enemy technicals can be found driving around Altis' roads, but don't expect to find any on Stratis. If the time is set during the night, it's worth knowing that the enemy will not have access to night vision.

The biggest threats are the autoriflemen and AT/AA riflemen (if there are any friendly vehicles around). These guys both wear light bulletproof vests and use weapons that can make your day miserable (the MK200 LMG and Titan missile launchers respectively). The riflemen are still dangerous, but they use the same rifle as the AT/AA riflemen (TRG-21) and wear chest rigs instead of bulletproof vests. Their chest rigs provide no armor, meaning a single shot to the chest from any weapon can potentially take them out.

While you should be looking out for these heavy hitters, you should focus on determining the identity of the leader. These ones will nearly always be crouched (in the case of variant 2, often on top of or very close to the cache) with their weapons down, staying there even when fired upon. This will help you identify them. They will not move or (usually) fire upon you until you move too close (then he'll pursue you like any other AI guy) or kill all other members of the cell (then he'll run away with his tail between his legs. He'll also be a bit more trigger-happy). Two variations exist, and the presence of either usually will determine whether there is a cache there or not:

Variant 1: An FIA team leader. He can be distinguished by his crouched posture, uniform (AAF digital with scarf and civilian pants), and weapon (he will be the only one who has an MK20 [read: F2000] with grenade launcher). I've never found this type of leader near a cache, and he has a chance to give you no information when interrogated.

Variant 2: A CSAT officer. He can be easily distinguished by his crouched posture, CSAT uniform, slash bandolier, and Katiba carbine. This guy is found near a cache 99% of the time, and will always know something about the locations of other caches when interrogated, at least until the end of the game where he might give you redundant information.

Be aware that travel is very dangerous. The enemy has IEDs along most roads and AA specialists are very trigger happy. Don't go too fast when driving and keep an eye out for odd piles of junk along the side of the road. When traveling by land, make sure that an explosive specialist with a mine detector and toolkit is in the lead vehicle. Explosive specialists can disarm IEDs if equipped with a toolkit, and they shouldn't go off unless a vehicle comes to close, even if it's a chopper. If flying over an area that hasn't been thoroughly checked and cleared, pilots need to be careful, fly low (but not too low over roads, since you might set off an IED), and, if applicable, be ready to launch countermeasures. Also, pilots should be skeptical if someone reports a forest as clear, since there's a decent chance an incline or cluster of trees concealed a well-hidden cell.

Contact, Intel, and You

Since your map looks like this when you start,the first thing you're going to want to do is to look at your map and think, "where would I expect to find an insurgent presence?" Cities and (on Altis) airfields are likely to house some bad guys, but also expect to find some away from buildings in the forests or near the coast, usually in a bay. Once you've found a place that may be harboring insurgents, go there and take a look around. If you cannot find anyone, mark the positions as "clear" on your map in side channel. This way, no one else will waste time searching that location. If you do find some bad guys, that's when you go to work. Begin by finding a safe spot so that you can mark "contact" on your map, like so. In this screenshot, I've spotted enemy personnel at Camp Tempest and some buldings East of it. They haven't spotted me, so I found some concealment and marked their positions on the map. This way, any friendly units in the AO will know to either avoid that area or help me take it out. Notice how I changed the shape and color of the icon to make it stand out more so that it isn't confused at first glance with more general and less important markers, i.e. the standard black dots.. I also marked other possible enemy cells on the map with question marks, offering both better awareness of possible AA threats for pilots and new leads for strike-teams.

Before I go into beginning an engagement, let's go into more detail about officers and intel. It's important to leave the leader alive because he can be captured and interrogated. The information these guys give you ALWAYS leads to a cell with a cache, but keep in mind that the FIA team leader may not know anything. It's best to leave the leader for last, but sometimes you'll have to take him down prematurely in self-defense. To take him alive, use a small/medium caliber weapon and aim for the legs and feet. Don't use a large-caliber weapon like a sniper rifle or he will die immediately. The same will happen if you hit him in the chest as long as he isn't wearing a decent vest, so make sure you don't aim too high! 7.62 is the highest you should use, but you'll be pushing your luck. You'll have the best odds of taking him alive using your standard issue 9mm PO7 (PD7? Who knows, who cares?). Shoot him in the legs and (preferably) feet if he's still up. When you see him stop and go prone, stop shooting so he can roll over and start bleeding out. Leaders will never go prone unless they've been incapacitated. Once you've taken one down, someone must heal him. If he is lying there for too long he will bleed out, so don't take your time to admire the scenery. Once you've healed him, he'll roll over and get up. His weapons should appear at your feet and he should be unarmed. There's a rare glitch where he can get up with his weapon in his hands, immediately trying to kill you. In this case you need to incapacitate and heal him again until he finally drops his weapon or dies. Once he gets up without his weapon and puts his hands behind his head, wait a few seconds then look at him, open your action menu, and select "interrogate." After you've done this, a new red circle should show up on your map. This red circle is the approximate location of another cache. After interrogation, the leader is useless. He has no more information to offer, but will neither move nor shoot at you anymore. What happens next is up to you, but keep in mind that killing POWs is against international laws of war not very nice.

Now, once you've marked the enemy position, consider your situation. If they've seen you already, skip straight to lighting them up, but make sure everyone is trying to avoid hitting the leader. If they haven't seen you, set up your team, assign targets, and try to find out where the officer is. If you can find the officer, relay his position to your team and start firing on the other guerillas when ready. If you can't find him, too bad; start shooting when ready. When all the guerillas are dead, attempt to capture the officer. If he dies, you're back to square one. Once the leader has been taken care of, seek and destroy the weapons cache then decide your next course of action. If the leader was an FIA team leader, don't bother looking for the cache and just start drawing up your plans.

Caches can be blown up by explosives or sufficient gunfire. While their explosions may seem notable, they do not deal damage to humans. The epitome of the explosion's harmlessness was demonstrated when I blew one up with gunfire from a distance while the officer was sitting on top of it. He came out completely unharmed. However, the cache explosion can destroy buildings, so do not use gunfire to destroy a cache that is in or on a building occupied by friendlies. the building can and will collapse, killing everyone inside.

The caches aren't just there for show, and you can easily resupply there if you're low on ammo. In fact, that's where players on the Opfor team get their weapons and ammo, but more on that later. Here's some screenshots on what can be found in the cache:



Last subject

In this screenshot, I've cleared the two caches from earlier and, despite killing the team leader at Camp Tempest, gained information from the officer East of the camp. Don't mind the black dot and personal waypoint on the hill; that's so I can remember where I landed my chopper. As you see, the cleared areas show up as green circles, while the new location showed up as a red one. Note that Camp Tempest did not have a weapons cache, but was simply occupied by a guerilla cell. These green circles show up whenever an enemy cell was completely exterminated. If you've cleared an area but the green circle didn't show up, then you missed someone, a guy is running away, the officer hasn't despawned (this can be solved by killing him or walking away; the despawn distance isn't far), or you haven't blown up the cache yet. Also, if you've taken out the officer and destroyed the cache (if it's there), you can leave the area and the remaining guerillas will generally disperse and despawn after you've gotten far enough away.

P.S. Depending on how many red circles are on your map, further officer interrogations from unmarked cells may give you duplicate information. This may be a bug. In any case, you'll just have to cut your losses and move on, but consider the marked caches a priority target.

Edit: If you find a campfire near an enemy cell, try to remember to put it out after you finish off the guerillas. At night these campfires can be used to detect enemy cells from afar, so leaving them lit in a cleared area can be distracting.

Gear, and why your choices are wrong

Once you go to the ammobox on most servers running this mission, you'll probably be confused and think something along the lines of "where are all my toys?!" This is because the standard version's virtual ammobox has had its stock reduced both to increase difficulty and to give the OPFOR team a chance. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since it's now unlikely that anyone will be running around using enemy weapons and items, but it also means you will not have access to all the optics or gear you may want. If you want to get past this gear restriction, save your loadout in VAS before entering the server, or leave and come back. Don't worry if you're too lazy to do so, since the standard choices give you the essentials. While I'm on this topic, I gotta address how many players use their gear incorrectly. I've had my fair share of poor gear choices, but I can usually justify those as experiments.

Please, please, do not bring a sniper rifle for ranges under 500 meters. Even if you've gotten kills and avoided death at close range using a sniper rifle, that does not mean you should use one. If you want to snipe, bring a DMR like the Mk18 ABR unless you really know what you're doing. If you aren't sure you know what you're doing, look up ShadowPhoen1x's guide on practical sniping; it's about more than just being able to hit your target. One rookie sniper's inability to stay hidden allowed me to easily pick him off from 800 meters with just an MX with an ARCO. Besides, the caliber is a bit much for a mode where you'll be facing poorly armed and armored guerillas, and they're extremely heavy. Most officers and team leaders die on the spot if they're hit by just one round to the foot, so don't use one unless you want a difficult search for another cache and many angry teammates.

Don't bring an RPG unless on Altis or playing against enemy players that have secured one of your vehicles. When on Stratis and facing only AI or enemy players who haven't secured a vehicle, you'll be lugging around what is basically a very heavy glorified grenade launcher. Just pack an MX 3GL if you want to blow stuff up.

Think about your situation before you pick your primary (if you weren't told to be autorifleman or grenadier). If you're supposed to clear out a building-cluttered close-quarters area, bring an MXC. If it's very close i.e. Agia Marina's streets, an SMG like the Vermin is acceptable. If you're engaging from distance, maybe from the top of a hill, bring an Mk18 ABR. Otherwise, the standard MX is pretty balanced and can handle most ranges. Stick to that or the MXC if you're unsure.

We can't have everyone on the team using the same weapon either, since that will decrease versatility. It's the responsibility of the team leader to make his team is well armed and effective in any situation. I'd recommend having at least one medic, one explosive specialist, someone with a grenade launcher, and someone with an LMG with your team. Out of those choices, only the medic and explosives specialist are mutually exclusive since they're only given to those who picked that slot in the lobby. Nothing's stopping you from having a two man team made up of a medic with a grenade launcher on his rifle paired with an explosives guy with an lmg. However, keep in mind that these are only suggestions.
While I have been able to pull this off with just one 40mm, and similar results can be gained with an lmg with the added bonus of suppression, I don't usually force my teammates to use certain weapons as long as they aren't impractical like a sniper rifle. Normally my team is equipped almost exclusively with DMRs and things work out fine, but my tactical options are limited because of this. Use your judgment.

One last thing about personal gear; if you have mods, you can use their weapons, uniforms, and vests, but realize that players that dont have the same mods will not be able to see or hear them. This usually is harmless, but can be irritating and result in friendly fire. As rule of thumb, at least use a vanilla uniform. Go ahead and use modded weapons if you want to, but if you use a modded uniform you will show up as wearing your underwear. This can be a bit. . . distracting for some players and, in PvP, will make you stand out more and may result in you being mistaken for an oddly thinking enemy, then killed by friendly fire.



On the subject of vehicles, you'll notice that you have many MRAPs, but (on most servers) not too many choppers. You may think from this screenshot, "hey, that's a lot of choppers you dummie, wai yoo say thar no manny flyeeering thingies?" Well it's understandable you're either mentally handicapped or from Minnesota, but the only one that is operable is the one off to the far left. All the other ones are controlled by the AI, ready to pick up anyone that calls for evac. I'd recommend using the Hunters to clear the town and any other close cache locations, but the roads are too dangerous to use them much more than that. Unless the server is packed with players, you should stick to the Ghosthawk since it has countermeasures and miniguns, letting your team's best pilot fly. Any overflow should take the MH-9 Hummingbird, but (if the server you're playing on has one) stay away from the AH-9 Pawnee. Avoid that chopper like the plague since it holds just two people, it tends to cause friendly casualties, and it obliterates attempts to capture the officer alive. Then again, maybe you're the kind of person that likes people being pissed at you. An exception can be made for the raid on the last cache, but even then it's preferable to use an experienced pilot.

It's rare for a server to have so many players that it fills up both these choppers, but let squad leaders take the best spots on the choppers if the server does get a lot of traffic. Just make sure they drop their rallypoints as soon as they land.

Edit: Hunters can still be useful if you have a well-equipped explosive specialist to clear IEDs and/or if primarily driving off-road. If roads are avoided entirely, your chances of survival increase dramatically, but you'll be moving much slower.

Gear subsection: Player slots for Blufor

When joining one of these servers, you'll probably notice that in the lobby there are four groups with eight slots each on the Blufor team. Each of these groups has an in-game name that will show up whenever you choose the "Squad Status" option through the action menu, or when typing in side-chat. The groups correspond with the first four letters of the NATO alphabet. From top to bottom, the group names are Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta. On a server with just a few players, this shouldn't matter much past which roles are chosen but, on a server with many players, it's very helpful to divide tasks between these groups. I would recommend any influx of players or rookies to slot into Alpha or Bravo, using those groups as standard infantry units. Charlie can be set aside as a support unit used things like EOD, scout-sniping, or chopper piloting (and/or crewing). I usually save Delta for use as a sort of command-team and it's usually the one with the least players in it. While Delta can be used like Alpha and Bravo, I usually reserve its Squad Leader position for the player that will lead the entire Blufor team, keeping tabs on each other group and assigning objectives as-needed. Barring that, some players that want to work only with their friends or by themselves may use Delta since few players ever slot-in down there. I use Delta as both, but that's cuz I'm awesome. #420noscopes #mlgpro
(did I do that right?)

Side note: Try to join in as whatever role you want to play as. It makes your starting loadout easier to modify if you haven't already saved one and it can make the group leader's job a little bit easier.

Gear Subsection: Personal Arsenal

The use of Personal Arsenal is cheating. Dont use it.

Use it as its developer wanted it to be used and not as a way to get infinite ammo and enemy uniforms like a moron.

Miscellaneous

I hope I spelled miscellaneous correctly. This mission includes some features that you won't often find anywhere else, such as the rallypoint and the transport/evac request systems. The game briefs you on these in a tab on the map (I think it's under briefing), but I'm going to go into a bit more detail.


Rallypoints: These are basically mobile, infinite, indestructible teleport beacons. Only Blufor players slotted in as squad leaders can use these (or, in the case of certain bugs usually associated with friendly fire and friendly vehicle destruction, whoever the game chose to be the group leader), but they are very powerful when used well. An action called "place rallypoint" will always be in the action menu of squad leaders, and using it will place down this flag. There is no cooldown for this action and no delay before it can be used.
Once the rallypoint has been placed, players that are part of that squad, including the squad leader, can go to this building, labeled "HQ" on the map, and select the action "move to rallypoint." This does exactly what it says on the tin. Note that the rallypoint will never disappear until the squad leader places a new one, even if he/she dies. This is a very powerful tool, and can save spots in a vehicle in a crowded server.
Pro TIp: Squad Leaders should get into a habit of putting one of these down every time they exit a vehicle and every few minutes when on foot and not in combat to save some time..

Evac/Transport: This system allows stranded players to RTB without having to kill themselves. To use it, press 0 then 8, then choose whether you want evac or transport. Transport normally doesn't work on most servers, so just dont press it and choose evac instead. Evac calls an AI transport chopper to make a beeline straight to you, pick you up, and make a beeline straight back. Make sure that only one person calls it at any time since these choppers have a tendency to crash into each other in such a situation. Also, they aren't invincible and are liable to be shot down by enemy AA, so put on a parachute as soon as you get in the chopper. Most importantly, make sure the person who called it is the last one to get in, since the chopper will leave as soon as he/she enters. In the case that transport does work on your server, use the map to tell your pickup where you want to go.

Disappearing Acts: If no player is around an object for a certain period of time, it will disappear. Vehicles aren't exempt from this but they will respawn at base. If you don't have enough players for a dedicated pilot, this will probably happen to your chopper. It's common, so just suck it up, call for evac, and try again. The good thing about this is that you don't always have to blow up crashed vehicles, and the respawned vehicles are brand new with full repairs, ammo, and fuel.. However, this also means that if your team gets wiped out attacking an enemy cell, the remaining guerillas will all despawn and then respawn when you get close again. They'll get a free ammo refill, the survivors will have their wounds patched up, and about 0-4 new fighters will show up depending on how many losses they've taken.

Opfor players

Some servers offer players the opportunity to play as the Opfor. Having players on both sides adds several new things to consider. The Opfor's goal is to stall the other team's progress until the time runs out. However, unless the server has an active admin changing parameters to reduce the time limit, it's very unlikely that the Opfor will be victorious. I'll begin by describing the Opfor players' situation.

The player ratio has to be at least 3:1 for a player to join the Opfor team. That means Opfor players will always be outnumbered at least three to one (not counting the AIs that will be helping you. Opfor players start out with no weapons and items besides their uniforms, vests, maps, etc. To rearm, they will need to go to a weapons cache and pick out some gear. Looking at the cache also gives these players the option to pick a backpack. Looking at the cache inventory listed under the contact and intel tab, you may see that Opfor players do not have access to any optics other than the MRCOs attached to a few MK200 LMGs. The ammo for these LMGs only comes in tracer form, so they'll likely just take the lmg, detach the scope, and ditch the gun in favor of something more practical. You'll also notice that there are a total of 8 katiba rifles and a total of 8 magazines for them. Smart Opfor players should simply ignore the other katiba variants and stick to the carbines, splitting the mags for 4 mags each. This is a good choice since although the carbines are the lightest version of the katiba, the range and accuracy difference between them and their full-length counterparts is negligible. The caliber is the most powerful the Opfor have access to (besides the zafir's 7.62), and there are enough magazines for a small skirmish (just make sure to resupply ASAP). Also, there are only a few RPGs and just as few missiles in the crate, so Opfor players will likely wait until they can make their shots count, so (if you're in a vehicle) keep moving to keep them guessing. The sidearms in the crate have only one magazine each, so don't expect every player to have one. The weapon you'll be seeing the most often is the TRG-21. There's a lot of them in the crate and enough ammo to have at least 5 for every rifle. Basically, Opfor players will be hurting bad for better guns. However, there is one area they aren't underequipped on: mines. Before moving to an endangered cache, Opfor soldiers should immediately survey the area surrounding the cache they're next to and place mines on areas likely to see traffic. For example, the bridges and roads in Agia Marina are perfect targets for AT mines, while the hills and slopes around the Kill Farm are perfect for APERS mines. Once they've equipped themselves, Opfor players must wait until Blufor approach a weapons cache. Once Blufor go near a cache, Opfor players get a notification and can use a new action when looking at a weapons cache to teleport to the threatened one. Then the Opfor simply must hold off Blufor forces for as long as they can. The other special action given to Opfor players basically let's them yell "Allah Akbar," audible to all nearby, even Blufor players. It's preferable to avoid doing this in combat unless you enjoy giving away your approximate location to the enemy and then being perforated with lead. It's also a bad idea since it makes you sound like an uneducated moron trying to be funny by using a statement that isn't. Besides that, Opfor players should steal vehicles if at all possible. This prevents the vehicle from respawning at the Blufor base. If you can somehow steal a chopper, you'll have dealt a significant blow to the Blufor team's mobility. You can either hide or use what you steal, but remember that it'll still despawn if you go too far away. Opfor players should also be on the lookout for enemy corpses, since Blufor players will almost always have much better gear on them. Specifically, look for weapon optics, NVGs, suppressors, binoculars, rangefinders, armored carrier rigs, helmets, first aid kits, medikits (the ones that go in the combat life saver's backpack; the Opfor CLS doesn't spawn with one), and higher-grade weapons. Examples of higher-grade weapons include: Pistols and pistol ammo since your caches don't supply you with much of either and they aren't a hassle to carry; MX-series weapons, since they fire 6.5 rounds instead of the TRG's 5.56; DMRs like the Mk18 ABR, since those are very powerful and can countersnipe nearly all snipers you'll find on most servers; rockets and rocket launchers if you can find them; and, potentially, sniper rifles. I'm kind of iffy about the sniper rifles though, since they have low clip capacity, the guys who carry them usually dont bring enough ammo, and they're terrible in CQB. Only take sniper rifles if you think you can engage the enemy from far away.

Now, from the viewpoint of a Blufor player. While the enemy is very poorly equipped, they are still very much a threat. Skilled players can use iron sights and still beat an enemy with optics in an otherwise fair fight. Also you may want to consider bringing a mine detector to help avoid enemy traps. Make sure your plans utilize your advantages: Long range optics, vehicles, suppressors, and night vision. if you're playing at night you have a massive advantage over your enemies, who are effectively blind past a certain point. Aside from RPGs, the enemy has no weapons capable of doing anything more than popping your tires in a Hunter, and even then that takes a lot of bullets. Since it's likely you'll be the one starting engagements, suppressors are a great choice for concealing your position until the enemy players have either died or lost all their AI support; however, remember that the enemy will still hear the noise of your bullet as it passes them. Also, while not always available or practical, the use of smart and experienced snipers can wreak havoc upon the enemy before they can even get in range to return fire. Also, on the topic of vehicles, do not let them steal one, especially helicopters. Make sure your team always has someone with/in the vehicle to prevent the enemy from stealing it. Destroying the vehicle is the preferable choice if no designated driver or pilot is available; it will just respawn at base. Keep in mind you will always have AI evac available. Don't let the enemy steal equipment from your fallen comrades either, since they will almost always have something the Opfor players want. Move their their weapons, NVGs, first aid kits, helmets, vests, and attachments to your backpack, to a safe and tough-to-find spot like in a bush, or to a vehicle. Or just make sure you've massacred everyone in the immediate vicinity.

On first-aid and revival, an Opfor player can be incapacitated just like a cell's officer. If you are an Opfor player who has been "downed," your AI teammates will attempt to revive you if they are nearby, since your player teammates can only obtain first aid kits from corpses and vehicles. However, if a Blufor player heals you first, you will get up but your hands will be behind your head and you will be unable to use your weapons just like a captured officer. In this state, it's advisable to use the respawn command since the only way out of this condition is to be downed and healed again and again until you can freely move and use firearms. Also, you'll not able to fight, but instead only able to give the enemy information, so you're simply a liability. I haven't tested whether or not this works if an Opfor player heals a downed Blufor player, but the AI will probably gun down that player before you can extract any information anyways.

Note that some Opfor players may be cheating using Personal Arsenal to gain equipment that is on-par or even better than Blufor's; Blufor players should stay alert until they've identified what they're really up against.

Specific tactics for Stratis

This tab pays special attention to certain cache locations on Stratis and different tactical approaches that can be utilized to take them down. I'm probably not going to make one of these for Altis since that's a bit daunting.

Some potential cache locations have been left out in a few of these screenshots. I'll try to address these in each location's notes section. And you might have to click on the screenshots a few times to enlarge them if you can't read them very well. Aaaaaaaand the marks aren't marked in any order for the most part. AAAAAAAAAAAND I'll try to rate specific caches based on difficulty (Cakewalk < Easy < Average < Tough < Maxwell).

Some of these tips are not limited to this gamemode and can be applied to other situations if they take place in the same area.

I won't be going into too much detail about a few bays, since many can be approached in similar ways. For most of them, you should just place a rallypoint behind the nearest hill out of view of the cell, find some cover, and pick them off until you're done. Two of these can be found in the section covering the area North of Agia Marina.

Agia Marina:

1. Drive in using armed hunters from the airbase. I've never found IEDs along this road, but enemy players may have placed AT mines on it.
2. Keep driving past the bridge. If there are Opfor players, this bridge is an excellent chokepoint and it is extremely appealing for mine placement. If this bridge is mined and you are unable to clear it, try going back to use the bridge to the East.
3. Turn right here and scan around for hostiles, paying special attention to the walled-off area to your right. If you don't see anyone, the town is clear. If it isn't clear, you'll be greeted by several armed thugs. Prioritize enemies with RPGs since they are the only real threats to you. When you don't see anymore insurgents, wait to see if more come out of hiding. Then, hop out of the hunters but leave a gunner or two to cover everyone else while they breach #4.
4. If the town is occupied and a team leader wasn't found in the courtyard outside, this building should hold the officer and cache. At this range, the officer will almost definitely activate and try to kill you, but you might be able to hit him through the windows before he can open fire. Plant charges on the cache and leave. Difficulty: Easy
5. Go here to the radio tower after checking the town. You'll be moving North from here in the next section.
6. Most Opfor players will probably try to fire down at you from the radio tower. You may also find a few on the docks, but anyone there will likely be easy to deal with.

North of Agia Marina:

1. After checking and/or clearing Agia Marina, you should take some armed hunters, which hopefully still have ammo in them, up here to the tower.
2. From there, move North to the bay at the base of another hill, then set up your rallypoints.
3. Move on foot to the top (or left side) of the hill to assess the sitiuation. Consider leaving some guys in the hunters to drive up and provide fire support when ready. Try to move a bit down the other side and find cover so you don't silhouette yourself. This is also a great firing position once the shooting starts.
4. A cell can be centered around this area. Difficulty: Cakewalk
5. Be careful if players are on the Opfor team, since they can flank (from your East) or take potshots at you from decent cover (hill to the North).
6. After you've checked out the area at #4, move North to this area. If you still have operational hunters, it's a simple drive, and there's a notably flat area on one of the hills near that marker that you could easily land a chopper on.
7. Move North until you can see this area. Be careful, since there isn't too much good cover on the hill you came from. Consider moving West to use the rocks near the coast, or East to look for other cover (I've never tried that, so just hope you find a nice big rock). This area isn't too friendly to vehicles either. Difficulty: Average
8. If players are on Opfor, look out for any camping out atop the hill across from you and down towards the coast.
9. When you're done with #7, somehow move down to this point. If flying, fly low or you might be exposed to AA. Be careful on the roads, too. I often find an IED near that intersection to the East.
10. Set up your rallypoints here. If you still have a hunter or two with ammo and there are players on the other team, consider leaving a guy here on a hunter's turret to cover you from anyone trying to flank you.
11. There are high rocks that provide an excellent vantage point on the Kill Farm. If there are Opfor players, these cliffs are perfect places to place mines on and around, so watch where you step or bring a mine detector. You'll be close to the target and you may find enemies trying to run up the road behind you, flanking you, so try to stay aware of your surroundings.
12. A cell may be located around here, with the cache in the shed, the building, or the balcony. Difficulty: Average
Notes: A cell may be located South of the Kill Farm, in the woods West of Camp Rogain. These guys can get trigger-happy with AA if you aren't flying low enough.

Camp Rogain and Surroundings:

1. To be honest, I don't know any ways to get to Rogain that are both quick and safe. I would just move to this location by either flying low or, if coming from the Kill Farm with operational hunters, driving. In the case of the former, be ready to launch flares; in the case of the latter, keep an eye out for IEDs. Once you get there, place your rallypoints and start moving South.
2. Rogain can be a bit tricky. There are only a few entrances and the bad guys will likely have the best cover. I'd recommend tossing grenades over the walls towards the HQ bunker and into the watchtower before assaulting the camp from several entrances. The cache is almost always in or on the HQ bunker. Difficulty: Average-Tough depending on your own numbers and how many bad guys you kill with grenades.
These next two objectives can be dealt with simultaneously, so I'd advise splitting up your team based on whether or not you see any bad guys at #4. Also, you might wanna read #5 first.
3. If there are baddies at #4, spilt off a buddy-team (2 guys) to go check out the woods around this area while the rest of the group attacks #4. If the buddy-team reports contact, split your team in half to attack both areas. If there are no bad guys at #4, then everyone should check this area out in the first place. There's not much else to say; it's in the woods, so the firefight will be difficult. Difficulty: Tough
4. This cell location is easily viewable from Rogain and offers only a little cover to its inhabitants. To take down this cache, the guys at #5 should pick off as many guerillas as they can while the rest of the group advances through the valley. Then, all that's left is the room-clearing. Difficulty: Easy
5. When you've cleared Rogain, send any of your marksmen (or whoever has powerful optics and/or a DMR) to this spot immediately to get eyes on #4. There's admirable cover down the hill and it's an excellent vantage point for a bit of target practice and overwatch. Keep at least one guy here until #4 is confirmed clear.
Notes: Cells may be located West and/or Southwest of #4. Once #4 is clear, consider scouting those valleys.

Specific Tactics for Stratis cont.

The Kaminos and surroundings:

1. To begin, fly here, preferably after Camp Rogain has been cleared since it has a pretty good view of the area. If Rogain hasn't been cleared, just fly low around the coast and you shouldn't run into too many issues. It's pretty hard to take off from here, so it's best to just have a pilot drop you off and bug out.
2. After moving a bit South, you should be at the edge of a hill with a very good view of Old Kamino. Drop a rallypoint around here. Once taking a nice long look at it, everyone with a DMR or decent optics should start picking off guerillas.
3. Once they've been softened up, everyone else should move up to the compound to clear the buildings. Leave a buddy team up at #2 to cover your approach. The only tough part about this cell is the building-clearing but that isn't too bad if you brought tons of explosives or grenades, but be careful about the Officer if you don't know where he is. If Opfor players are on the other team, watch out for mines in and around the buildings and be extra cautious when breaching. Difficulty: Easy-Average
4. It's a pretty long run but you should be safe unless there are Opfor players or the bad guys from #6 noticed you coming in. Go to the lighthouse and set up a rallypoint.
5. Move South using the rocks down the hill for cover. This cell is a little painful due to the close quarters but grenades can even the odds. I can't think of anything helpful beyond finding rocks to use as cover and tossing grenades as if they've all been primed and dropped into your pants. Difficulty: Average-Tough
6. After checking #5, head through the woods towards this area where a cell may be located. Chances are that if a cell is there, they've already been alerted to your presence from either your insertion or the noise that came from #5 and #3 when they were being cleared. Stay on your toes. Just put down a rallypoint at #5 then throw people at the hill until they submit. Difficulty: Tough
7. If driving by land, you might be able to avoid IEDs until you get here. From this spot you can easily move on to #3 and #6 but it's tough to get here and its advantages over the other spots you can attack these cells from are questionable at best.
8. If there are Opfor players, be on the lookout for them around the woods or the firing range itself.
Notes: You can easily move from #7 and #6 to the Southwest to clear another possible cell covered in the next screenshot. It may be easier to get to, but Opfor players can easily ambush you along the way. Besides, once you get to the area there is little cover and barely any height advantage from the direction you came from.

Southwest of Kamino:

1. Those who packed DMRs or maybe even a (ugh) sniper rifle should begin here. Place your rallypoints.
2. Those with anything else should begin here. Place your rallypoints.
3. Let the marksmen at #1 wreak havoc on this position. Once most targets have been eliminated, the guys at #2 should move down the hill, mop up, and attempt to secure the officer. Difficulty: Cakewalk
4. With Opfor players, keep an eye out for them around this area, the woods, or the building. Mines might be placed around the building and road. Make sure you have 360 security to make sure nobody can flank you.
Notes: I forgot to mark a cell to the Southeast at Keiros Bay. This one's in the woods around 059044 and you'll have the best sightlines from this direction so it might be worth checking out.
Also, there isn't much cover on the way down from #2. Consider using the woods near #1 as cover during your advance if you aren't feeling safe enough.

Camp Tempest and outlying ruins;

1. Land on this hill and drop your rallypoints. Move around the hill until you can get a good viewpoint on #2 and #3. Use this spot to fire upon #2.
2. Camp Tempest isn't too tough from #1. Do your initial scouting and then rain lead. If someone packed an grenade launcher, 40 mike-mikes should be very effective against the cargo HQ's roof and door, the watchtower, and most insurgents outside. After you've started the party, some bad guys will start piling out the cargo HQ's door, but they'll be easy pickings if you can get them before they reach an H-barrier (they're even easier for an autorifleman aiming at the door from the get-go). When you can't see anyone else, move in, clear the tower and HQ, and attempt to secure the officer. Difficulty: Cakewalk-Easy
3. Move to #4 and have the marksmen start picking off thugs while everyone else moves up. These guys are pretty bunched up at first so grenades are highly recommended. The officer is normally in the building, but since it's made of wood try not to spray the building with lead or he might get killed. Difficulty: Easy
Red 4. Use this position to observe and attack #3
Yellow 4. Sorry, I forgot I already dropped a 4. At least I made it a different color. With Opfor players, keep an eye out for them along this hill.
5. If you aren't comfortable with moving towards Tempest from #1, you can move from the coast since there's better cover until you get pretty close to the camp. I don't recommend this route because the camp's cover is much more effective due to the lack of a height advantage and the entrances are very hard to reach safely without first taking out the guards outside. You might want to try leaving the marksmen at #1 to cover everyone else moving in from here.
Notes: I got nothin else.

Girna. Yep, just Girna:

1. Land here, but fly low. The hill blocking this spot from the rest of the town is not very tall. Set your rallypoints. From here you can move into the woods, but there's little cover beyond a few trees if you do that, so we'll plan on going to #2 or #3.
2. I prefer moving by the coast to this spot. The buildings serve as good cover and provide some good sightlines. As a bonus, there's only a small area that bad guys can come at you from. The only downside is that there is no good escape route if you get overwhelemed, but that's pretty unlikely. Try to have two or more guys post up here, or just one if you're strapped for manpower.
3. This is a very obvious and appealing spot. This spot seems useful but #2 is definitely better. That being said, it has its uses. If someone is posted up both here and at #2, a sort of crossfire is set up and much more cover becomes unsafe. The only problem is that the only cover provided here is one low stone wall and a small chapel. I've found this area to hava a much higher mortality rate than #2, so be very careful when using it.
4. If a cache is present, both it and the officer will probably be in one of the buildings very close to this marker. Difficulty: Average-Tough
5. Like #4, but in a different building. This one's fairly uncommon, however.
6. With Opfor players, keep an eye out for any trying to flank you from the woods, or firing at you from across the village.
Notes: Nothin worth mentionin.

Stratis Tactics cont. again

Camp Maxwell and the South:

1. Camp Maxwell. To be honest, I have no clue on how to take down this cell easily. All of my strategies have usually failed and devolved into a war of attrition. Enemies have exceptional through-tree aiming abilities in a camp surrounded by trees. The camp is on top of a hill and surrounded by H-barriers. If you attempt to move from the South, you run the risk of being seen and attacked by other cells. If someone is cheating with virtual arsenal or you're on a server with everything available to you, you can try softening it up with a mortar. I'm free to suggestions. This cell gets its own damn difficulty. Difficulty: Maxwell
2. You might want to try landing here and moving into Maxwell. I haven't tried this myself, so do so at your own risk.
3. After you've finished with that hellhole, send some guys to the West to see if there's another cell there. These guys have a pretty good viewpoint of the areas you're going to move through later, so it's important to take them out beforehand. It's at the top of a hill in the woods and there's very little cover, but a well-placed LMG can help tip the scales. As with most cells in the woods, just set your rallypoints, get prepared, and throw people at the cell until one side has been beaten into submission. Difficulty: Average
4. Here comes the fun part. Once you've cleared #1 and #3, bring in a sniper with lots of ammo to this location (Edit: the map marker is a little off. Go to hill 207 to the south). This guy will cover you as you move upon #5. If both those earlier caches have been cleared, the sniper will be almost completely safe and free to unload all his ammo upon the poor unsuspecting faces of the guerillas at #5 and, if Opfor players are present, bad guys at #7.
5. Everyone else but that sniper should move up along the road towards this cell. Set up your rallypoints as you go. Move in and clear the buildings. If Opfor players are there, be on the lookout for mines around the buildings. Remember that you probably aren't too safe even if you've got a good sniper, since there are several blindspots. After clearing this cell, the sniper should either go somewhere else or RTB and rearm with more practical equipment. Difficulty: Depending on your sniper, Cakewalk-Average
6. This cell is like the last one, but this time you won't have sniper support. Head in from #7 and clear it. I don't have many tips for this one. Diffculty: Average
7. This place is important for #5 and #6. While attacking #5, the sniper should keep an eye out for Opfor players in this area, since there's a very appealing watchtower there that has a semi-decent view of the village at #5. After #5 is clear, this area has decent cover on the the way to #6, so it should be used as a place to drop rallypoints and attack from.
Notes: There are possible cells at the bays to the West and Southwest of #6. Consider using #6 as a sort of stepping stone to scout out those bays.

Stratis Maps

This tab is where I'll put screenshots of cache locations on Stratis. I might make another tab for Altis some other time, but Altis is a whole lot more to search.


This depicts all known possible enemy cell locatoins on Stratis. I forgot about my compass blocking Girna, but you can probably infer that there's another location there. If anyone finds any other cache locations, go ahead and post it in the comments and I'll check it out.


Close-up of the Northern segment


Close-up of the Southern segment


Focused on Agia Marina

The part where you cry

I know you're bummed that it's over, but you're gonna have to learn the rest on your own through trial-and-error. There aren't too many servers that still run this, but you might still find a couple. You can also find this on Armaholic and host it yourself. Post a comment if you have anything helpful to add, like a cache location, a flaw in my tactics, or something else I missed. If you ever find me on a server feel free to ask questions. Remember that an angel gets its wings every time someone gives this guide a thumbs up. Peace out.

P.S. SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO DEAL WITH CAMP MAXWELL!

[Willownu]

Glad you enjoyed it Connor.