Multiplayer Strategy Guide for GTA 2
It is always a hard time when you start a new game. If it is on the internet this is even worse, as the people you play will be more interested in killing you than playing you! This guide is designed to give the total newbie a concise guide to improving. I will try to introduce the mental aspect which is so crucial to winning.
This is a LONG article that covers everything from the basic elements of net play to advanced techniques of the masters!
Pig-Headed Ignorance!
You have to believe that whenever you meet your enemy you will kill them. You will treat them not as an opponent - not even as a human - but as prey. That is a rather over-dramatic way of describing it, but essentially you need self-confidence in yourself and assume that winning is your default result.
Another approach mentally is you play from the Zen perspective where no matter what happens that is how it was meant to be. This calmer, more patient approach can be more helpful when you are starting out.
The Fundamental Knowledge
The weapons you can have are described here. Most levels do not include them all.
| Shots per Second | Rating | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullets | Pistol | 1 | 1/5 | Only useful in desperate situations. |
| Dual Pistols | 2×2 | 2/5 | Hard to aim but fun to watch. | |
| Shotgun | 0.5 | 2/5 | Short range but takes a fair chunk of health off. | |
| Machine Gun | 10 | 3/5 | Actually rather effective when your prey is on foot. | |
| Silenced Machine Gun | 10 | 3/5 | Same as the Machine Gun, but nicer sound. | |
| Powerups | Electro Fingers | Continuous | 0/5 | Useless because of extremely short range! |
| Instant Gang | 4×2×2 | 3/5 | Four bodyguards who protect you with dual pistols. | |
| Double Damage | Continuous | 4/5 | Increase damage caused by any weapon. | |
| Fast Reload | ×2 | 4/5 | Rapid Fire. Great with Vehicle Machine Guns! | |
| Thrown | Grenades | Fast | 3/5 | Has a delay before exploding which can be used tactically. |
| Molotov Cocktails | Fast | 4/5 | Detonate on impact. Can be used like artillery. | |
| Powerful | Electro Gun | Continuous | 5/5 | Jumps between nearby objects. Takes a while to kill. |
| Flame Thrower | Continuous | 5/5 | Touching the flame kills after a couple of seconds. | |
| Rocket Launcher | 0.5 | 5/5 | Destroys most vehicles with one shot! | |
| Vehicle | Oil Slick | Fast | 1/5 | An excellent countermeasure but not deadly in itself. |
| Bomb | 5 second timer | 2/5 | Everyone can here when you set the 5 second timer. | |
| Machine Guns | 2×5 | 4/5 | Prey cannot jump when being shot. Destroy cars quickly. | |
| Mines | Fast | 5/5 | Can be placed rapidly to destroy strong vehicles. | |
Make sure you know these weapons and their characteristics! Your knowledge should be this much before you start. When the game starts you should immediately get a fast car and get the Rocket Launcher or Vehicle Machine Guns. This is crucial, because in GTA 2 you tend to find that whoever gets the first kill tends to get a string of kills… until they slip up really.
Make sure you know the locations of all the weapons. If you want to win, ask the prey to show you round the level before you start a competitve game… or find a “coach” on the internet (such as myself) who will take you round the level and give you some training lessons if you need them.
Have at least one of the “Powerful” weapons at any times. A combination of Vehicle Machine Guns (an excellent all-round weapon against a prey on foot or in a car) and the Electro Gun (a perfect weapon if they get out of their vehicle) will give you fewer vulnerabilities than just getting rockets and a strong car.
Cars
A well-driven car can be the best weapon! My top choices are in the table below.
- Stinger
- Most controllable car in the game with great top speed. Agile at low speeds and in reverse.
- GT-A1
- Best top speed but hard to control. Terrible at low speed.
- Jefferson
- Controllable and agile. Narrow width makes it excellent through traffic and with Vehicle Machine Guns.
- Furore
- Strange slow speeds but much better at high speeds.
- Eddy
- Stable and safe. Can survive a direct hit from any exploding weapon.
- Bulwark
- As strong as the Eddy but slower and heavier. Can take an entire Instant Gang.
- Sports Limo
- A big target but strong and suprisingly agile. Can take an entire Instant Gang.
Fundamental Strategies
There are various tactics and techniques you can employ in GTA 2 due to the extreme range of weaponry. This is what makes the game so brilliant over the net!
Most players never use Lamer tactics. Normally they start as Newbies and learn to be Drivers, making good use of Vehicle Machine Guns. After this, they begin to learn weapons skills and gain elements of the Commando. After several months of gaming, they slowly learn how to respond to rapidly changing situations, how to anticipate the other players’ attacks and so on.
Lamer
Frustrating and boring, the lamer relies on spawnkills, hiding, placing mines underneath bridges, invulnerability, invisibility and other unsporting tactics. They only attack when they are certain they have far more weapons than the other player and they will quit the game if they think they are about to lose. Pathetic wastes of time.
If you find someone doing this, do the same thing to them…it REALLY annoys them to get a taste of their own medicine!
Newbie
They know about fast cars and weapons but are not aware of all the tactics and strategies.
They normally attack players without getting powerful weapons and choose cars which explode after one rocket hits them. They lack the experience to quickly switch weapons when attacking.
Driver
A great driver can dodge the attacks from players whilst attacking with Vehicle Machine Guns. They drive quickly to the powerful weapons after respawning and attack when they are well armed.
Their opponent ends up chasing them all over the map, instead of getting weapons. This gives the Driver an advantage against unwise opponents.
Vulnerable to well-timed attacks with rockets and Vehicle Mines.
Commando
Prefers to attack on foot, requiring great aim and fast reactions to beat. Vulnerable to Vehicle Machine Guns with a very good Driver.
Opponents can just drive off, so the Commando wastes time getting another vehicle to chase. However, by destroying the opponent’s car the Commando can put their close range weapon skill to deadly use.
Mercenary
A consumate professional with deadly aim, the Mercenary is are fully aware of all strategies, weapons and cars. They are masters of countermeasures and can turn any situation to their advantage.
By combining the skills of the Driver with the Commando, the Mercenary always has powerful weapons and knows how to use them.