RAGE 2 is out now, bringing with it the promise of the legendary id Software first person shooter combat in a post-apocalypse open world crafted by Just Cause creators Avalanche Studios. And as is to be expected from a game like this, there’s a lot to take in and digest here. In this guide, we’ll be taking a look at fifteen basic tips and tricks to help you out as you get started on your journey to become the wasteland superhero.
DON’T IGNORE THE ARKS
RAGE 2’s combat rests on two pillars- the weapons, of course, and the abilities, with the latter being what puts the “superhero” in “wasteland superhero”. And as you start out in RAGE 2, you have none of these abilities- most of them, in fact, you need to track down and obtain yourself, without the game pushing you in their direction. The Arks are where these Nanotrite Abilities are found, so keep an eye out for them, and make sure you track them down whenever you can.
SHATTER
Of all the abilities, the one you should get first is Shatter. It’s a super powerful kinetic blast that sends your enemies flying away, and can be incredibly useful. It can throw strong enemies off heights, it can slam others into walls to immediately kill them, while it can also knock off armours pieces of foes who’re harder to take down. You can find it in the Junkers Pass Ark in the Twisting Canyons region.
SLAM
Another ability that comes in incredibly useful is Slam, which should also be one of the first ones you get. Slam allows you to jump up into the air and, as the name suggests, slam into the ground to send out a devastating shockwave that kills (or deals deadly damage to) everyone around you. The higher up you are before you slam down, the more damage you deal. It’s great for crowd control, as you can imagine. You can find it in the Earthscar Ark in the Torn Plains region.
COMBINE GRAV-JUMP WITH DASH
Some abilities in RAGE 2 also affect traversal. For instance, there’s Dash, which lets you zip around the battlefield to dodge incoming fire, while Grav-Jump lets you double jump, or even hover for a few seconds if you’ve upgraded it. Combining both of them, you can reach high and far off points in the environment and really open up traversal options.
BFG-9000
The iconic DOOM weapon, the BFG-9000, is available in RAGE 2, but only if you got the Deluxe Edition of the game. If you did get it, though, you’ll still need to physically find it in the game itself. Right at the beginning of the game, when you leave Vineland, you’ll see a red meteorite crashing into the ground not too far away- it’s not something the game draws your attention to in particular, so keep an eye out. Go to the point of impact, and you’ll find the weapon, and you’ll find the weapon embedded in the rock.
SMART ROCKET LAUNCHER
The rocket launcher is an incredibly useful weapon- I mean, it’s a rocket launcher, so of course it’s incredibly useful. In RAGE 2, it’s alternate fire mode even lets you lock on to enemies. In battles with tough enemies or large groups, it can be very handy- so find it and add it to your arsenal as quickly as you can. You can find it in the Strongbox Ark in the Torn Plains.
KEEP SMASHING CRATES
Often in RAGE 2, you’ll see wooden crates lying around the environment, labeled as Supply Crates of Fletrite Crates- these contain useful resources, supplies for crafting, and Feltrite, which is an important upgrade currency. Smash this crates using your melee attacks whenever you see them- or shoot them open, if you want to waste your bullets.
FELTRITE DISAPPEARS QUICKLY
But of course, those crates aren’t the only source of Feltrite in the game. Enemies that you kill in combat also drop Fletrite, and you need to physically collect it off the ground where the chips were dropped (you can also summon the chips close to you by holding down L1 or LB). But make sure you don’t leave them lying around for too long. Feltrite chips disappear very quickly, so collect them as soon as you can- no matter how chaotic the firefight you’re in is becoming.
VEHICLE KILLS GIVE NO FELTRITE
While it might seem like a good idea to just barrel over enemies using your car, or tank, or whatever vehicle you’re in, RAGE 2 makes sure to balance how easy that can be- at least to some extent. Enemies that you kill using your vehicle drop no Feltrite chips- and Feltrite, as we’ve discussed, is a pretty important currency. So keep that in mind if you do decide to take full advantage of your vehicle’s offensive capabilities.
FIXING YOUR CAR
RAGE 2’s vehicles aren’t invincible, of course. They have their own shields and health, and when these are depleted, the vehicles explode- with the exception of the jack-of-all-trades Phoenix – the vehicle you start out with – which just stops working if its health goes down to zero. You can easily fix your vehicle in a jiffy though. Just look at it and hold down L1 or LB (though you might want to avoid doing so if you’re in the middle of a firefight).
BRING BACK VEHICLES TO YOUR GARAGE
There’s tons of vehicles to find and drive in RAGE 2. Basically, as the developers themselves put it, if it has wheels, you can drive it. Any time you get into a vehicle in the wasteland that you’ve never seen before and you take a liking to it, you can make it yours- just bring it back to the garage in any one of the hub cities in the game’s world.
SELL YOUR JUNK
This is a tip that applies to a lot of games- it’s almost a thumb rule, really. Any time you’re at a vendor, make sure you sell off all your junk. That’s all it’s good for, and the money you get from it can be used to buy other resources, purchasing locations for Ark chests, and loads more.
SHOOT MBTV BALLOONS
Every now and again, you’ll find an MBTV balloon popping up on your map as an icon, or you might even see it out in the open world yourself. Those aren’t there just for decoration. Track them down and shoot them down, because the resources they drop can be pretty useful.
COOK YOUR GRENADES
Like any first person shooter, RAGE 2 allows you to cook your grenades when you throw them, but here, cooking them can actually be a necessity a lot of the times. That’s because your enemies will, every so often, pick up the grenades you’ve thrown and throw them right back at you. So make sure you don’t give them enough time to do that. While cooking your grenades, there’s a meter that tells you how much they’ve been cooked, which comes in pretty handy as well.
EARNING REPUTATION
RAGE 2 has a very open-ended structure. Once you’e done with the introductory mission, the game tells you to track down three characters in the wasteland, and then build your reputation with them by doing various activities- but you don’t have to track them down if you don’t feel like it. Doing missions and activities in the open world gains you reputation with them nonetheless, even if you haven’t met them yet- so once the introductory mission has wrapped up, you’re free to do whatever you want, in whatever order you please.