F.E.A.R. Hints

Combat Tips

• 1 of 13: F.E.A.R.'s neatest and most useful feature is SlowMo, which allows you to briefly slow down the game so that everything (including you) appears to be moving slower. That allows you, the human player, to react faster during situations that call for fast reflexes (like combat with multiple enemies). You can often react fast enough to dodge projectiles fired at you in SlowMo mode, and can more easily move directly in for the kill. SlowMo can also be used to help you retreat from a deadly situation.
• 2 of 13: The main problem with SlowMo is that it only lasts for a brief time. You have to wait for your SlowMo meter (bottom center of screen) to regenerate into the blue before you can use the power again. Whenever you run out of SlowMo time in the middle of a battle, quickly retreat to an enemy-free area and wait for your meter to recharge (and be ready for enemies to follow you, though they won't if you go far enough). Finding all of the reflex boosters in the game is very important, since each one will permanently increase your SlowMo charge bar by a little bit.
• 3 of 13: As in some other games (like Splinter Cell), the targeting cursor for your weapon will indicate about how accurate a shot fired at that time will be. You'll notice that as you're running around, the cursor will expand to reflect the fact that shooting while running gives less accuracy. To get maximum accuracy, stand still and shoot at something that's nearby (after pressing the Zoom key for even more accuracy).
• 4 of 13: Some games give you double or triple damage for head shots, but F.E.A.R. goes a bit further and defines several "kill zones" for enemies. Sure, head shots do a lot more damage, instantly killing human foes in many cases (especially if you shoot them in the back of the head before they even know you're around). You can also damage an enemy's arms to hinder his ability to shoot at you, and his legs to hinder his ability to dodge around and run away. Aiming for a particular "kill zone" is easiest when an enemy is nearby and hasn't spotted you yet, or if he's far away and you're using one of the game's two sniping weapons (ASP rifle or Type-7 particle weapon).
• 5 of 13: As in most of these kinds of games, it's very important to use strafing and cover to your advantage when fighting anything that can shoot back at you. Also, the old retreat-and-fire technique is frequently handy, especially with enemies who rush you rather than taking up a position near cover -- shoot them while retreating back through hallways and unlocked doors.
• 6 of 13: Even with the more cautious enemies, it's possible to lure them out one or a few at a time by letting one see you (or your flashlight) and then immediately retreating and waiting for them in Zoom mode to appear ahead of you. When they do, quickly activate SlowMo and shoot them down.
• 7 of 13: Keep your supply of medkits up whenever you can, since using them in the middle of combat (or right afterward) is essential to keeping yourself healthy. You can carry up to 10 at a time, and you should usually have about that many in stock, especially if you wait until you find another medkit before you use one that you've got to heal yourself. (This isn't always possible, but it usually is.)
• 8 of 13: It's also useful to find body armor to help protect your fragile health, but it's much rarer, and you can't carry it along with you to use later. Due to this, it's best to pass by any body armor you find (unless your current armor rating is less than 65) until you're sure all the hostiles in the area are dead -- just don't forget to go back and get the armor before you move on too far.
• 9 of 13: Besides the usual movement keys and mouse-look and so forth, F.E.A.R. also has keys for leaning left and right. These can be used to help you peek around a corner when you know there are enemies there. If you're careful, you can see exactly where they are before they see you by leaning around the corner. You can even shoot while leaning around cover to help minimize yourself as a target, though this is rather difficult.
• 10 of 13: Sustained fire from a weapon such as a sub-machinegun can kick up quite a cloud of dust and debris. This can be used to obscure your enemies' vision as you approach, but be warned that they will sometimes do the same thing to you! This makes it best to move from cover to cover during a prolonged fight rather than relying on one particular bit of cover to serve you the whole time.
• 11 of 13: It can sometimes be useful to use melee attacks against enemies instead of using up valuable ammo. If you can sneak up behind an enemy, you can whack him in the back of the head for an instant kill that probably won't be seen or heard by other enemies unless they're very close or are looking that way. SlowMo can help you move in for a melee kill with enemies who are already aware of you. (See page 11 of the game manual for a list of the various melee combat moves.)
• 12 of 13: Another way to quickly kill enemies by using little ammo is to shoot explosive yellow barrels, large electrical boxes, leaky gas valves, and other explosive hazards while enemies are next to them. Be warned, though, that such things are hazardous to you, too, so you may want to shoot them out before you pass by them if there are enemies in your area. (Also note that shooting a leaky gas valve creates a constant stream of fire, and you don't want to block a pathway by doing so.)
• 13 of 13: If you carefully use all the above tips, there are very few battles in the game in which it's impossible to emerge mostly undamaged. You may need to retry some battles several times (especially the first time you do them), using your previous experience each time to help you optimize your battle strategy. That's why it's so important to quicksave often -- if you're surprised and badly shot up by a group of soldiers, you can just quickrestore and try again, knowing exactly where they are this time. (The higher the difficulty level you're playing on, the more important this sort of thing becomes.)

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