Research Ruins

Research Ruins

Before attempting this Beacon, your Agent should have Firearms and Explosives skill levels of at least four. An Explosives skill level of five is highly recommended if you're playing solo and on a difficulty higher than Tough.

Equip your Agent with an Ultra Assault Rifle or Mach HMG-120 and a Flocket Launcher or Homing Launcher before setting out.

Absorption Unit 1
This unit is on a circular structure in the southwest corner of the ruined research centre in the northwest corner of northern Unity Heights. The unit is guarded by two armoured Cell soldiers -- both wielding Turret Machine Guns -- and two unarmoured soldiers wielding explosive weapons on nearby rooftops.

Target the explosive barrel to eliminate the armoured soldiers guarding the unit.

There is an explosive barrel on the Absorption Unit platform between the two armoured soldiers, so hit one of the soldiers with a rocket and you'll likely detonate the barrel and kill them both. Use your Homing Launcher or Flocket Launcher to take out the explosive weapon-wielding soldiers watching the platform nearby. Activate the unit when the area is clear.

Absorption Unit 2
The second unit is on top of one of the buildings next to the bridge south of the ruined research centre in the northwest corner of northern Unity Heights. Use the walkways on the west side of the building to reach the top.

There are a couple of explosive weapon-wielding Cell soldiers on the roof, so use your Flocket Launcher or Homing Launcher to take them down. As well, you'll encounter one armoured soldier wielding a Turret Machine Gun in the doorway just below the Absorption Unit platform. There should be an explosive barrel nearby you can use to kill him.

Climb up to the Absorption Unit platform when the area is clear and stand on one of the configuration panels to activate the unit.

Absorption Unit 3
The final unit is on one of the buildings west of the ruined security centre at the northeast end of northern Unity Heights. Cell soldiers are rife in this area of the city, so go at it with a Mach HMG-120 and a Homing Launcher or Flocket Launcher.

Start by jumping over the makeshift barricade covering the alley between the two buildings. There is a mess of soldiers on the patio behind the two buildings, so immediately throw a couple of Cluster or Shrapnel Grenades to wipe them out. There is also an armoured soldier wielding a Turret Machine Gun on either side of the walkway behind the buildings, so be careful. Take them out with an explosive weapon and then start climbing up to the Absorption Unit platform.

Shrapnel and Cluster Grenades are powerful Cell weapons.

Climb the column of windows along the north side of the building to reach the rooftop. There's a turret emplacement at the top, so take out the gunner before jumping up to the Absorption Unit platform. There are two more enemies to contend with (if you haven't already taken care of them): another armoured soldier wielding a Turret Machine Gun and a sniper. To ensure the platform is clear, toss a Shrapnel or Cluster Grenade onto it before jumping over to activate the unit.

Research Ruins Beacon
Ensure your Agent is equipped with a UV Shotgun, either a Homing Launcher or Flocket Launcher and Cluster Grenades before setting out. You'll have unlocked the Flocket Launcher when you levelled your Agent's Explosives skill to level three, but the Homing Launcher and Cluster Grenades are Cell weapons (the Homing Launcher is a bit more powerful than the Flocket Launcher).

To acquire a Cell weapon, you must take it from a dead Cell soldier and then bring that weapon to the marker at an Agency Landing Zone to store it. Once you've done that, you can then select the weapon at a Landing Zone or when redeploying your Agent. Cluster Grenades are quite common, but you can only find a Homing Launcher at Cell Tactical Locations in Unity Heights.

You can switch your Agent's weapons at an Agency Landing Zone or by selecting the “Extraction” option in the System section of the Intel Screen and redeploying him.

This Beacon deployment area is inside the ruined research centre in the northwest corner of northern Unity Heights. Drop through the opening on top of the circular building in the middle of the research centre to reach the Freak Lair. Stand on the Beacon Drop Point marker once inside the lair and call the helicopter to get started.

Use explosives to quickly bring down the giant Freak that appears at the start.

Remain at the bottom of the lair and wait for the first giant Freak to appear from the southeastern entry point. Immediately start firing rockets at the giant when he appears. He'll make a beeline for the Beacon and begin pounding on it. Toss a Cluster Grenade when he reaches the Beacon to preserve your rocket ammo.

The other attacking Freaks in this lair will perch themselves on the circular walkway above the Beacon and throw projectiles at the Beacon from there. Despite these enemies, remain on the ground floor for as long as you can. When attacking Freaks appear on your tracker, equip your Homing Launcher, lock on to one of the Freaks and fire a rocket at him to take him out. Jump around to avoid the Freaks on the ground floor.

Whenever you're not eliminating marked Freaks on the walkway, use your UV Shotgun to clear away the unmarked Freaks around the Beacon. Unmarked Freaks will still attack the Beacon if you're not close enough to distract them. As long as you remain on the ground floor, the Freaks there will ignore the Beacon and attack you instead. It's easy to keep these Freaks at bay with the UV Shotgun.

Another giant Freak will appear when the Beacon is 50 per cent charged. If you've been saving your Cluster Grenades, you can take him down with only a couple (provided your Agent's Explosives skill is at level five and you're playing on a difficulty level no higher than Ruthless). Save your rocket ammo for the attacking Freaks still to come.

Target attacking Freaks on the circular walkway with your Homing Launcher.

When you run out of rocket ammo, you may have to take to the walkway to clear off the attacking Freaks when they appear. By the time you run out of rocket ammo, however, the Beacon will most likely be almost fully charged and hopefully still in relatively good condition. If the Beacon isn't nearly destroyed, you can probably ignore the attacking Freaks and just continue clearing the Freaks below with your UV Shotgun. If the Beacon is in bad shape and you do need to kill the attackers, you can get onto the walkway by first jumping onto the pillar south of the Beacon and then up to the walkway.

Continue defending the Beacon from Freaks until the Beacon is fully charged.

Defending the Research Ruins Beacon