Strike Vector EX: From rookie to Antonio!

Whats up!
This is a Guide from me TzeroX and "The Italian" Lorenzinco, we are the top 2 players around and bring alot of experience with us wich we would love to share with you to assist you on the way to get super hot like AKA and HoN (Or perhaps create your own clan and have some fun with us :D)
So in this guide we will explain you all you have to know and care about in Strike Vector EX, weapons, maps and some minor tips.
At the end of this guide (and with a lot of practice), you will learn on how to take advantage of the enemy's weak spots, map refresh rates, crates and last but not least, weapon mechanics, lets dig in!

Weapon statistics

In this session i will let you know the base stats for all the weapons in the game.

• ROCKET
  ___________________________________
  Fire Rate: 1,3 seconds of reload
  Damage: 25(x2)
  Blast Radious: Big
  Projectile speed: Medium
  Range: 17000 units (medium-high)
  ___________________________________
  
  
  
  
• CARABINE
  ___________________________________
  Fire Rate: 0,9 seconds of delay between shots
  Reload Time: 1,7 seconds
  Damage: 24(x2)
  Blast Radious: Small
  Projectile speed: Fast
  Range: 20000 units (high)
  ____________________________________
  
  
  
  
• SHOTGUN
  ___________________________________
  Fire Rate: 0,9 seconds of delay between shots
  AFK for reload*: 2,5 seconds (*The time you need to way until it starts reloading)
  One shot reload: 1,3 seconds
  Damage: 140(x2)
  Blast Radious: HITSCAN
  Projectile speed: HITSCAN
  Range: 2900 units (really low)
  __________________________________
  
  
  
  
  
• PLASMA GUN
  ___________________________________
  Fire Rate: 2,5 seconds of reload
  Damage: 80(x2)
  Blast Radious: HITSCAN
  Projectile speed: HITSCAN
  Range: 50000 units (across the map)
  ____________________________________
  
  
  
  
• HOMINGS
  ___________________________________
  Fire Rate: 2,8 seconds of reload
  Damage: 40(x2)
  Blast Radious: Really Big
  Projectile speed: Incremental (from slow to fast)
  Range: 128000 units (can it reach this?)
  ___________________________________
  
  
  
  
• SWARM MISSLES
  ___________________________________
  Fire Rate: FULL MAGAZINE OUT
  One shot reload: 1 second
  Damage: 16(x6)
  Blast Radious: Big
  Projectile speed: Slow
  Range: 8000 units (low-medium)
  __________________________________
  
  
  
  
• GATLING GUN
  ___________________________________
  Fire Rate: 0,15 seconds of reload
  Spread: 2,8 (Accurate at medium range but not at long range)
  Damage: 3,5(x2)
  Blast Radious: HITSCAN
  Projectile speed: HITSCAN
  Range: 4200 units (low)
  __________________________________

How does a projectile work? And why sometimes its a hit, sometimes is not! *bullet phisics EXPLAINED*

In this Section of the Guide i will explain you how does the projectile phisics work in Strike Vector EX.
Let's bring it on!




I will use this situation as an example:
We're using the Carabine, a really accuracy-needing weapon.
For the bullet to trigger, explode and deal damage, there is a minimum units required
For the carabine, it is a 100.
Does this mean that if i shoot here i will deal 48 damage?
No, you won't. In fact, a 100 units is the minimum distance required to trigger the explosion of the carabine bullet.
Let's say now that you're going to shoot exactly at 100 units away from TzeroX.
How much damage are you going to deal then?
The answer is: low, REALLY LOW.
The more you get close to the target with your bullet, the more the damage dealt is higher, until it reaches the maximum damage set for that weapon, in our case: 48.

So to explain it in another way, imagine your Vector as a Hitbox, the closer the projectile gets to the center of this hitbox the higher the damage.







The minimum units required for the bullet to trigger are different for each bullet-using weapon,
here's the list:

• Carabine 100
  
• Rocket 180
  
• Swarm 250
  
• Homing 200

Getting started with your weapon

So, now that i've told you how does a projectile work and all the weapon stats,
which weapon is the best for you?

Depends on you, obviously, but here is something that will help you choose:

• Shotgun
  
  PROS
  -High damage in low amount of time
  -No need to predict
  -Your aim doesnt have to be perfect to land a hit
  
  CONS
  -High bullet spread
  -By being close to your enemy to shoot him, you put yourself in danger
  -Useless at long range
  
  
  
• Rocket
  
  PROS
  -You can keep your enemies at distance using the blast damage
  -Especially good in closed maps
  -High damage
  
  CONS
  -You're going to self damage if the enemy that you're shooting is too close to you
  -Slow projectiles/Easy to predict
  
  
• Carabine
  
  PROS
  -High bullet speed (difficult to dodge)
  -High damage output
  
  CONS
  -Precise Aiming needed
  -Requires a solid prediction
  -Reloading
  
  
  
  
• Swarms
  
  PROS
  -Hit n Run Weapon
  -You don't have to face your opponent while your missles are reloading
  -Consistent DPS
  
  CONS
  -Low Damage per missile
  -If not Consistent your enemy can just heal himself
  
  
• Plasma
  
  PROS
  -One shot, one kill
  -Really good at both close distance and long
  CONS
  -Really difficult to use
  -Reload time is long
  -Superb Aiming required
  
  
  
  
• Gatling
  
  PROS
  -Really easy to use
  -No Magazines
  -High Damage output(dps)
  -Keeping enemys at bay
  
  CONS
  -Useless at Close range
  -Useless at Long range
  
  
• Homings
  
  PROS
  -High Damage
  -High Blast Radius
  -No need to predict, just lock-on
  -Beginner Weapon
  
  CONS
  -Easy to counter (Double Dodge)
  -Really low fire rate
  
  
  

Maps Basics

Choosing your fauvorite weapon was tough uh?
Now let's see how to gain a full advantage of it in different maps!

Closed Maps

In closed maps the best weapons overall are the ones with a high blast damage and blast range:
Rocket, Carabine, Homing and Swarms.

There are 2 Closed maps in the game:

• Iron Fortress
  
  strategical points play a big role in this map, most of the fights take place in the central big fan as the crates spawns there, that area is also full of N-regens to keep you healthy enough to keep fighting for a long time.
  There are aswell plenty of shafts you can use to either escape or set traps for oncoming enemys with plenty of explosives around.
  
  
  
  
• Firestorm
  
  In this map there is no safe place... Usually played in CTF or in KOTH, keep an eye on the explosives placed around, as they can change completely the results of a fight.
  Try to flank the enemy team going trough the lower and the lateral tunnels to help your team's advance from behind.
  Incase of a CTF it is always adviseable to have one player blocking the 2 main routes.
  
  
  

Semi-Opened maps

There is no best weapon here, as the map has different areas for each weapon to do its best.

• Sandstorm
  As said before, there is no best place here. Where you have to fight depends on wich weapon you're using.
  -Hitscan and fast projectile weapons: With those weapons your best option is to stay at the top (Or bottom if needed) to assist your team in longrange sniping.
  -Blast/Short-range weapons: In this case you want to concentrate to keep yourself in the center tunnel of the map as there is less space for the enemy to dodge your shots.
  
  
• Inferno
  Most of the fights in this maps takes place on the roof of the circle, but it's no match for blast weapons. If you're using a blast weapon, stay in the middle of the building and concentrate on killing the enemies there
  If you're using an Hitscan or fast projectile weapons like the carabine, Stay on the roof or on the building's sides and spread damage all over the enemies.
  It should also be notes that there are several Nano-kits at the top wich you can grab for emergencys or snack them away from your enemy.
  
  
• Last Resost City
  This is one of the most complicated maps, as its not easy to take advantage of the buildings correctly, it requires a lot of practice.
  Blast weapons users, should maintain a lower altitude, flyng trough buildings to avoid being sniped from far away, but dont crash.
  Hitscan/Fast projectile weapons, try to tend traps using your stealth-flyng mode, land few hits and then run away in open space, where its no match for blast.
  In this map it really depends on your game style, if your more of the sneakier guys i suggest the Plasma or Carabine (If your Aim is solid) in combination with cloak -> wich will last long enough for you to fly behind the many buildings.
  If you prefer the hardcore combat i suggest a Gatling/Rockets/Swarms like that can keep track of your enemy and even hunt them down if they decide to fly betweens the buildings.
  This map is also perfect to get your flying skills practiced, just fly through the city and try not to crash.
  
  

Open Maps

Simply being in disadvantage doesnt mean that you cant turn things out.
Most of the best rocket players in the world, such as TzeroX, tend to win every fight, wherever its in open space, or not.

• Air Shot City
  This map here is a fully open map, which means that hitscan users weapons are more advantage compared to blast ones.
  There are no safe places here from snipers or solid carabine players, all you can do is spam your dodge button and barrel roll to the victory.
  Should u be using close ranged weapons/slow projectile weapons (such as Shotgun Rocketlauncher etc.) i suggest a heavy Armor and Nanobots to heal your self consistently while trying to hunt down your enemys, if u got the skill u can even snipe your enemys with rockets, wich feels awesome.
  It should also to be notet that this map has PLENTY of explosives around, so keep an eye out for those and if possible use it to your advantage.
  ALSO REMEMBER Ships are the only explosive in the game that explodes 2 times!
  
  
• Slum 405
  There are a lot of N-regens on the inside border of the lower circle, use mainly that spots to recover faster
  If there are too many players sniping around just try to stick yourself to the lower center of the map, theres also a crate spawn point.
  Otherwise do as we advised for AirShotCity (Do a-lot- Barrel Roll)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• FarWest
  This is the favorite map for every Plasma and Gattling lover out there.
  First thing you should get used to - Dodge right after u spawned, becouse as soon as you get to the max skillmaking chances are high that you will get sniped away 5 seconds after u spawned.
  If you have a good eyesight you can snipe the enemy spawn point (As soon as u get used to wich direction they will go, but ya, forget that, it takes quite some experience to pull this off)
  There are 2 "Towers" for each side, this is the spot where you want to snipe from.
  Gattling players tend to keep themselfs more on the center of the map since gattlings cant hit on long range.
  If youre crazy and experienced you might go with rockets or swarms, in this case try to stick to the center Bridge, most likely underneath it to cover yourself if necessary - this is more of a hit and run style.
  -> This is also advised for CTF gamemode, rather go underneath the bridge and take the "longer route" to cover yourself from snipers.
  
  
  
  
• Death Canion
  For longrange weapons this map can be quite situational, it depends where the enemys are - in the center is pure action since there are tons of explosives, use those to your advantage as make sure to stay away from them while doing so.
  Pretty much every weapon can be used quite solid here.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Sanctuary/Rival Santuaries
  Rival Sanctuaries is often played in TDM and CTF while Sanctuaries just has one platform for some hot DM and Bountyhunter Action.
  There are plenty Nano-Kits laying around, even on the rotating wrecks - just make sure not to crash while picking them up (Yes, this can be quite tricky and takes some practice)
  Incase of Rival sanctuaries both teams have their own Crate Spawn so keep an eye on the timer (see below)
  Some might think this map is preferable for longrange weapons but due to the wreckage you have to be quite solid with your aim, if u miss once your enemy is already behind the next wreckage building up his way till hes right next to you - So @ll shortrange people on those maps, use the wreckage for your advantage since some of them also contain Nano-Kits.
  
  
  
• Platform93/75011
  This is a solid CTF map infestet with snipers and close ranged players annoying you.
  For Longrange weapons the top/right/left/bottom of the map is suggestet, similar to sandstorm, same for closerange players - stick to the center of the map, like this you can actually quite easily outdodge plasma users.
  Booster is also advised for the carrier (CTF)
  
  [/list] [/previewim[/list]
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

N-Regens, Strike Damage/Speed/Shield

As you already know there are only 2 ways to recover health inside Strike Vector EX:

• Nanomachines
  It's a special ability that allows you to recover part of your health while you're still fighting
  
  
  
  

• N-Regens

  Each N-Regen has a respawn time of 35 seconds and give's you 20 Health.
  Unlike the first Strike Vector, N-Regens now have a "Magnet like Hitbox" which means that if your vector is inside of its range, the N-Regen will trigger and automatically recover your vector even if you haven't touched it.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Bonus Crates

  
  There are 3 different Crates in the game, each of them has a duration of 30 seconds and the respawn time is ALLWAYS 2 Minutes!
  It has to be NOTED though that if the map contains a Drone AND a Spawncrate then both spawns will "switch" - for example first the dispenser spawns a crate, 2 minutes later a drone and 2 minutes after that the dispenser again (I hope this was'nt confusing)
  
  Here's the list:
  
  
  Strike Speed
  Effects:
  -It halfes your reloading time and doubles the fire rate.
  -It doubles your movement speed, feel like Flash!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Strike Damage
  Effects:
  -Quaddamage, we all know it!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Strike Shield
  Effects:
  - Blocks 80% of the damage taken (4/5) feel like god! (dont try this against me, lorenz or another vet, we find a way to get through it)
  
  
  
  
  
  

Dodging, when and why

In the map part of this guide, we spoke a lot about dodging, but when it comes to the real thing most players tend to wrong-time their dodging and they end up using it in a non-efficent way.

So "When am i supposed to dodge and how can i feel that its the right moment?"


First, let's analise the dodging base stats:

Stationary mode dodge

• Dodge duration: 0,4 Seconds
  
  
• Units traveled: 1200 Units
  
  
• Dodge cooldown: 0,7 Seconds

Fast mode dodge

• Dodge duration: 0,8 Seconds
  
  
• Units traveled: 1500 Units
  
  
• Dodge cooldown: 0,7 Seconds

As you can see from the stats, each dodge has its unique characteristic.
Stationary mode dodging offers a slightly faster dodge at the cost that its range is lower (you will travel less space dodging), while the Fast mode dodging allows you to travel much more units, at the cost that it is slower to do so.



All you need to do to is feel when its the right moment to dodge is to immagine your opponent's prospective this is something that comes in with the experience, the more you play, the more you will feel better at guessing what the opponent is doing.
"Is he going to shoot?"
-yes, dodge
-no, wait until he's almost ready and dodge to mess his aim up

Most generic playstiles and how to counter them!

Two flyng modes, multiple playstyles!

In StrikeVector(EX) you have 2 "Flying modes"
One is literally flying (We like to call it Jetmode)
The other one is the "Stationary Mode"

• Stationary mode

  
  
  
  You can imagine this mode as being a Turret wich can "float" around.
  This is extremly usefull for close combat fights as you can turn yourself 100x by 360° and still have your enemy on focus.
  If u get the Experience to use all 6 Degrees of Freedom while in Stationary mode you can pretty much "easily" dodge any oncoming shots while still "penetrating your enemy"
  This is also the mode wich is recommended for plasma and especially gatling players, since you are stationary u dont fly towards your enemy and can get more DPS out of it.
  
  How do i counter someone who mainly stays in stationary mode then?
  This can be quite tricky, you can literally choose between both options, one safer then the other.
  Suicidal option: you dont give a thing and decide to go into jetmode flying towards your enemy at lightspeed, spam your dodge buttons and shoot!! You will close the distance to him quite fast! This is however not recommended if you are getting to those high skilled ratings where u face hardcore players, they will predict your dodge easily since it has a cooldown.
  Safer option: Go into Stationary mode yourself and work your way closer to the enemy by just moving slowly towards him, just dont forget to dodge left/right and if u can up/down - also shooting at your enemy helps to keep him busy while he tries to aim at you.
  (*DOES NOT APPLY WHEN USING THE SAME WEAPON AS HIM!*)
  -> Lorenzinco says that, it only works if you both use plasma becouse then it depends if you prefer to fight closerange or shortrange with plasma.
  
  
  

• Fast mode

  
  
  
  You can only fly in one direction: forward, to make it more unpredictable you can spam your dodge buttons and do barrel rolls, if you want to get to the iceberg try using your mouse to fly "zick-zack" to confuse your enemy! This can however be very tricky and hard when fighting against veterans.
  Obviously you are flying where you aim at, so if you want to shoot your enemy you are flying straight at him - even if you are a highskilled player this results in you flying straight for a brief moment and depending on your enemys experience this could result in you being hit.
  In this flyng mode though, you will advance much faster than in stationary mode, which can result in pretty interesting dogfights in the middle of the skies... Pretty cool ain't it?
  In the very early stages we used to have our dodgefights only in jetmode using the stationary mode just for fast 90°-180° turns, this still works quite well, giving you time to apply to the highskilled cieling.
  
  
  
  

Viewing mode

During my career of Strike Vector player, i've heard a lot of times: "Should i use 1st or 3rd person view?" (Me 2)

Let's examine them both!

• 1st person mode

  First person:
  Pro:
  - Your own Vector is not in the aim sight
  - Very precise flying and dodging around corners
  Cons:
  - Your vision of action is quite narrow, seeing only the things in front of you (and sort of left/right)
  
  

• 3rd person mode

  Third person:
  Pro:
  - Better feeling of what is happening around you
  - Resulting in being able to dodge even shots from behind you (If your reflexes are that tough)
  - It just looks so much fancier
  - Also very good for some hardcore dodge fights (If there are enemys in front/left/right/behind you .... you know.. JUST EVERYWHERE EXPLOSIONS!!!)
  Cons:
  - Your own Vector often blocks your vision of sight
  - The feeling to "drift" when taking sharp corners wich can set you of (resulting in ALOT of crashes)
  
  
  
  "What should i use then?"
  Sure, since you can switch the modes with just one button while in action we all would say "get used to both then you can switch between them whenever you need it" buuuut... lets be realistic?
  Me (TzeroX) use first person since i can remember haha, while Lorenzinco prefers third and we are both on the top.
  So it really depends on your gamestyle, do you like more action and heavier predtictions/reflexes and fancier looks in general? Or would you like to fly precise through superb tight corners and aim at your enemy without having a black blop in the center of the screen? (You could fly a Hello Kitty Vector in first person... you wouldnt see it..... .. ... ;'( )
  So ya, if you can both, welcome to the vets and give me a hit in Discord.
  

[Lorenzinco]

Glad that it's helping! ;)

[afujludchsgu]

rookie only played 10 mins here and continue suck exp from this article. THX

[ToasterInaPyre]

This is pretty sweet, concise and rich! ON a sidenote and a sort of request, have you tested the weapon perks? Are they providing the same amount of buff across all of them? I just saw the other guide, my bad
xoxo