Does Anyone Else Think Spec Ops Mastery 2 and Higher Are Just Bad?

[poetic_justice_]

Due to the nearly-dead online community for Special Operations (or is it lack of matchmaking?), I am forced to progress toward Mastery 3 solo. However, the mission designs don't accommodate single-players; Spec Ops is clearly designed for two people: one PG-240X carrier following one spearhead. The spearhead takes the fight to the enemies defending a water source, killing as many as possible and clearing the way for the PG-240X carrier to safely reach water. However, it is like Ubisoft was too lazy to reconfigure the missions for one person instead of two. It's frustrating to sprint from water-to-water with the no-protection Parkour set, slide into water, then constantly catch on fire (despite BEING IN WATER), juggle healing, changing battle gear to Street Surgeon, Fuego II, or Riot II, deploying equipment, reviving my dead amigo, and trying to survive. Every water point is a struggle. If there is a little shade between water locations, I hide there and snipe every enemy I can see, but most of the time there isn't any shade, enemies catch it on fire, or the dumb AI gets itself killed in the most exposed long-distance position possible, alerting all the enemies to where I am.

 

The end of the spec ops levels are the least enjoyable. The mindless chatter between Lola and Dani ceases to be humorous the third time it's repeated. Lola is late; Dani complains, and Lola remains late. If a player dies, he has to hear it all over again.

 

Mindless AI banter would be a non-issue if the fights were balanced, but they aren't. A single-player is at a massive disadvantage. Sources of water are rare and usually exposed to enemy fire, flammable vegetation, and sunlight. Maceo in particular suffers from this Catch-22. The final apartment complex layout creates a dynamic where enemy mortars on the top of the apartment buildings surrounding the player are impossible to shoot with normal weapons due to solid floors and walls. A second player could scale the rooftops, obtain a direct line of sight, and shoot the mortars. However, when there is only one player carrying high volatility PG-240X, that one player is stuck in the bottom of a bowl where the most accessible source of water is located. Consequently, the mortars on the top of the apartments rain shells on the player below, creating non-stop explosions that interrupt healing, cooling, and reviving. If the player is willing to run through significant amounts of sunlight and enemy fire, it is possible to climb ladders to higher roofs. However, in moving to the higher apartment rooftops, the probability of the PG-240X exploding is very high. The run distance is quite long, completely exposed, and subject to constant flamethrowing/molotov-tossing enemies in a 360 radius. Once the player reaches the ladder, the player's back is exposed the entire time he is climbing the ladder. It is the longest ladder in the game, longer than anything in the campaign. If the player reaches the roof, the player's amigo will be stuck on the ground and almost certainly be downed. The player will be unable to revive the amigo without parachuting off the roof, reviving the amigo (who probably died in the most exposed, on-fire, enemy-covered area possible), running back, and starting the process of climbing to the roof all over again. The alternative is to abandon the amigo, remain on the roof, and fight fifty or so enemies alone for the next ten minutes. There's water on the apartment roofs in Maceo and that's it. This is not enough in-game logistical support to balance an extremely tough firefight.

 

I use a combination of the Triador Supremo with La Varita to shoot the mortar operators up and through the walls, but La Varita is weird: sometimes it can shoot through solid objects, and other times it can't. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to this. Sometimes enemies die with a single body shot, and other times they take multiple rounds without dying. The Triador's smoke is useful for providing some camouflage while reviving dead amigos, but even then, most enemies see me clearly despite the smoke and open fire.

 

Most of the game was fun, but Special Operations makes me not want to play anymore. Once I get these five mode-related trophies done, I won't continue Special Operations. The level design isn't good for a "co-op" mode that is, unfortunately, 95% single-player. People don't seem to like Spec Ops and the online servers have issues. I tried to finish a match with a random this week, and despite clearing 100% of the enemies, the game refused to end the operation. We committed suicide and fought through the end battle again, but the operation still wouldn't finish. We eventually had to abandon the match with nothing to show despite investing over 30 minutes into the mission. Although Special Operations mode is better than Far Cry 5's zombie co-op DLC, Special Operations seems to be a step in the wrong direction for Far Cry. I don't hate the game, but I feel disappointed Ubisoft didn't spend a few more hours adjusting these Spec Ops levels to accommodate single players. Three months after launch, the mode already seems to be a ghost town. For trophy hunters, it seems like the current configuration could cause hours of frustration attempting Mastery 2 and Mastery 3 operations solo. It sucks at Mastery 2; I haven't finished anything on Mastery 3 solo yet.

Edited January 22, 2022 by poetic_justice_

[Sapper_Unknown]

Having done it alone myself, I would have to say no. I enjoyed the challenge.

 

The best advice I can give is to never stick around too long at any of the small camps while you are trying to return to the taxi pick up area. Head to the water source of each campsite along your route, cool the PG-240X completely, then book it out of there in the direction of the next camp (ensure you are wearing the parkour set). Once you're at the pick up area waiting for Lola, change to the Fuego gear set, and release Oluso. Aim for head shots with armor piercing rounds. Use your Triador Supremo with La Varita when it's charged, and blast helicopters/tanks with EMP rounds with your grenade launcher of choice. Stick around shaded areas near a water source and cool down your PG-240X as needed. Revive Oluso when there's a lull in the battle.

 

I was causing too much havoc to even pay attention to what Lola and Dani were bantering on about. 

[poetic_justice_]

I managed to finish Cocodrilo and Tres Santos on Mastery 3 solo, and the last three operations with a partner. Puerta del Eden was the toughest; the amount of fire and grenades made keeping the PG-240X cool difficult. I was already doing everything Sapper_Unknown mentioned, save using the Zeusito instead of a grenade launcher. My opinion remains unchanged. This wasn't enjoyable, particularly on single player. Glad you enjoyed the challenge, Sapper.

[PhantomFear94]

I moaned about it originally, but after doing my first 1-2, I didn't find them that bad. I did them all first time aside from Maceo, where I had to restart the final stand. I don't think Maceo is that fun because you're so exposed all the time, but otherwise, I found them pretty fun. I wish there was more variety, maybe other packages you pick up, but this is Ubisoft we're talking about.

 

La Vartia + Triador (Stealth) supremo in the final stands is insanely OP. Renders choppers and tanks moot if you time it right. 

[poetic_justice_]

13 hours ago, PhantomFear94 said:

 

La Vartia + Triador (Stealth) supremo in the final stands is insanely OP. Renders choppers and tanks moot if you time it right. 

 

I'm not sure if it's distance or the number of solid objects between La Varita and the target, but the bullets don't always damage targets even with the Supremo mode active. When a target has the red smoke around them, that seems to be the inidication of a one-shot kill. However, if there is no red smoky outline around a target, the bullet from La Varita may or may not damage them. I 100% agree La Varita + Triador Supremo is the Supremo of choice for the final stand of each operation.  Having the Resolver Zeusito is an ideal back-up, as one charged Zeusito shot will down any helicopter. Zeusito will also stun-lock tanks, allowing you to hijack them. As long as you keep the tank out of fire, the tank counts as shade, protecting the PG-240X.

 

All of these are simply strategies for staying alive, though. The fun factor of Special Operations doesn't seem to be there for over 99% of Far Cry 6 players. I haven't been able to match with any randoms for days. 

[Keyser Soze]

I got all mastery 3 trophies both version solo, Im not saying it was cakewalk but its not insanely difficult, just need to find the right path and take your time, I spend almost an hour on most spec ops. 

[poetic_justice_]

Did you enjoy Special Operations?

[Keyser Soze]

1 hour ago, poetic_justice_ said:

Did you enjoy Special Operations?

no, not really lol. Eastern Front sniper rifle did most of the killing, flambe fajitas really helped out with flamethrower guys, you can down a helicopter with one shot of La Varita Triador surpremo weapon. 

[sluggerJD]

If you guys are still struggling with this, you can go into game settings and change the difficulty to “story mode”. It makes doing these SO much easier. Before I learned this I was doing it on whatever the default difficulty is and was struggling bad. Now I’ve cleared a bunch with little to no issues. 

[UlvenFenrir]

I didnt like the special operations at all. Really boring and not much thought put into them. I also dont expect much from ubisoft anymore, they are very predictable when it comes to ideas.  

[JunkSkelington]

The spec ops are bad because theyre bug ridden like the rest of the game has been. Hardest part of cocodrilo is getting past 77% without the game bugging out on you and forcing you to quit. After being stuck with the infinite respawn loop for months from paradise lost and now this...this game has been such a complete chore. 

[captainskyhawk]

On 26/01/2022 at 3:20 AM, Keyser Soze said:

flambe fajitas really helped out with flamethrower guys.

Definitely need this. Made a huge difference on the final map. 
I finally managed to clear them all solo, so it is possible, just requires a few practice runs, lol.

I would say the 4th map is quite easy as you can stand in the water fountains to keep cool, it’s quite open so the  La Varita + Triador Supremo work really well.

[MatThaRiPP3R84]

Spec ops aren't bad, they're the best part of FC6. it's just that the game itself is dire...

 

honestly all you need is rank 20, that crazy resolver weapon that shoots fireworks, the mp7 and ppsg assault rifle that heal you when you do damage, surgeon gloves and revolutionary set and you can facetank everything solo no problem. 

 

healing gas grenades, throw em down at a water spot and you'll heal through it all, extra hp syringes which instant heal you, honestly it's no problem, but if your rank is too low they will delete you regardless of what shit you have

 

when doing mastery 1 and 2 just look for the quickest way to shoot all 3 alarms at the base quickly if your more confident at shooting then running, and when running use full parkour.

Edited January 30, 2022 by MatThaRiPP3R84

[Kaapew]

Hello,

Can we play Spec Ops in coop? Easier to complete them with someone? And is it possible to start a Spec Ops Mastery 3 without unlocking it thanks to our friend who unlocked it ?

Thanks in avance.

[GJohny]

with the proper gear they really easy on the hardest difficulty after u get the hang of it . u practice the best routes and places while unlocking mastery 3 . and then its really easy in my opinion

[Keyser Soze]

2 hours ago, Kaapew said:

Hello,

Can we play Spec Ops in coop? Easier to complete them with someone? And is it possible to start a Spec Ops Mastery 3 without unlocking it thanks to our friend who unlocked it ?

Thanks in avance.

yeah you can play spec ops in co-op, I don't know if its easier cuz I never tried co-op, I heard there are more enemies in co-op, and you can join someones game with mastery 3 unlocked. 

[poetic_justice_]

3 hours ago, Keyser Soze said:

yeah you can play spec ops in co-op, I don't know if its easier cuz I never tried co-op, I heard there are more enemies in co-op, and you can join someones game with mastery 3 unlocked. 

Co-op is definitely easier in my experience. One player assaults a water location while a second player with the PG-240X hangs back in the shade and snipes stragglers. Both players can use Amigos, so it's possible to stealth kill anywhere from 50-100% of any enemies at a water location before the situation escalates into a full firefight. This keeps the heat and enemy focus off the player with PG-240X, allowing that player to remain in Parkour gear the entire trip back to Lola. If the carrier player is fast enough, the team doesn't even need to do a full clear of each watering point (although this is the safest method). The assault player and Amigos can clear a path to water, ideally in stealth. The carrier sneaks in to cool the PG-240X. A firefight may or may not occur, but that is a secondary issue. The main focus is to cool the PG-240X. As soon as this is done, both players run out of the area toward the next watering location. Don't even bother to kill the remaining enemies; just get ammo and leave. Enemies usually won't track you between watering locations.

 

It is clear that co-op was how Ubisoft meant for Special Operations to be played. Single-player is much more tedious.

[Viper]

I've only done enough of them to get the main game trophies (and one of them on Mastery 1 and that was after it blew up like 4 times)...but that was enough for me, I don't think I'll be 100% this game because I really don't like them at all. (Unless someone has Mastery 3 on all of them done and wants to help me get the trophies?)

 

I think the thing that bothers me the most is the PG-240X, lets say you make it from shade spot to shade spot without gaining a bar, that bar you didn't receive doesn't just reset, it's just waiting for you to hit the sun again and as soon you do it goes right up in a second. So even if you're good at finding shaded spots, it's just completely inevitable that it'll explode. You have to know the exact path to take because you HAVE to make it to the water sources (that are too few and far between) while also knowing where the shade is in between. 

[poetic_justice_]

On 1/29/2022 at 4:56 PM, MatThaRiPP3R84 said:

all you need is rank 20, that crazy resolver weapon that shoots fireworks, the mp7 and ppsg assault rifle that heal you when you do damage, surgeon gloves and revolutionary set and you can facetank everything solo no problem. 

 

healing gas grenades, throw em down at a water spot and you'll heal through it all, extra hp syringes which instant heal you, honestly it's no problem, but if your rank is too low they will delete you regardless of what shit you have.

l forgot about those healing gas grenades! Never used them during the rest of the game because they were unnecessary. Healing gas grenades are a solid idea. That and the Fajitas Flambe food perk provide significant anti-flame advantage.

On 2/3/2022 at 8:29 PM, Viper said:

I've only done enough of them to get the main game trophies (and one of them on Mastery 1 and that was after it blew up like 4 times)...but that was enough for me, I don't think I'll be 100% this game because I really don't like them at all. (Unless someone has Mastery 3 on all of them done and wants to help me get the trophies?)

 

I think the thing that bothers me the most is the PG-240X, lets say you make it from shade spot to shade spot without gaining a bar, that bar you didn't receive doesn't just reset, it's just waiting for you to hit the sun again and as soon you do it goes right up in a second. So even if you're good at finding shaded spots, it's just completely inevitable that it'll explode. You have to know the exact path to take because you HAVE to make it to the water sources (that are too few and far between) while also knowing where the shade is in between. 

Viper, this is how I feel, which is why I made the initial post. However, using the Parkour set makes a HUGE difference in movement speed. With Parkour equipped, holstering your weapon and sliding make you run even faster. Parkour gear doesn't make solo Special Operations better, but it does make it manageable. I was able to complete all Mastery 2 solo and two Mastery 3 solo using Parkour. If I had known about the Fajitas Flambe and the healing gas grenades, I think doing the last three Special Operations solo would have been possible.

 

The Triador Supremo and La Varita can be used 2-4 times during the final waves if a player has an overclocked weapon with the "Headshots gain a lot of Supremo" mod equipped. Doing the Danny Trejo Special Operation unlocks a very good overclocked M16 assault rifle. Holding L1 and tapping Square changes the AR fire mode to burst, which makes the M16 extremely accurate for headshots. The M16's ammo needs to be Armor Piercing rounds. That 20-round magazine M16 is my main Primary Weapon, and with headshots it charges the Supremo quickly. As soon as Triador Supremo was charged, I crouched in shade and let loose with La Varita. That was the main strategy I used to get through Spec Ops. 

[MatThaRiPP3R84]

5 hours ago, poetic_justice_ said:

l forgot about those healing gas grenades! Never used them during the rest of the game because they were unnecessary. Healing gas grenades are a solid idea. That and the Fajitas Flambe food perk provide significant anti-flame advantage.

Viper, this is how I feel, which is why I made the initial post. However, using the Parkour set makes a HUGE difference in movement speed. With Parkour equipped, holstering your weapon and sliding make you run even faster. Parkour gear doesn't make solo Special Operations better, but it does make it manageable. I was able to complete all Mastery 2 solo and two Mastery 3 solo using Parkour. If I had known about the Fajitas Flambe and the healing gas grenades, I think doing the last three Special Operations solo would have been possible.

check this out.

 

Far Cry 6 BEST SOLO BUILD | TO MAKE END GAME EASY - YouTube

[Viper]

9 hours ago, poetic_justice_ said:

l forgot about those healing gas grenades! Never used them during the rest of the game because they were unnecessary. Healing gas grenades are a solid idea. That and the Fajitas Flambe food perk provide significant anti-flame advantage.

Viper, this is how I feel, which is why I made the initial post. However, using the Parkour set makes a HUGE difference in movement speed. With Parkour equipped, holstering your weapon and sliding make you run even faster. Parkour gear doesn't make solo Special Operations better, but it does make it manageable. I was able to complete all Mastery 2 solo and two Mastery 3 solo using Parkour. If I had known about the Fajitas Flambe and the healing gas grenades, I think doing the last three Special Operations solo would have been possible.

 

The Triador Supremo and La Varita can be used 2-4 times during the final waves if a player has an overclocked weapon with the "Headshots gain a lot of Supremo" mod equipped. Doing the Danny Trejo Special Operation unlocks a very good overclocked M16 assault rifle. Holding L1 and tapping Square changes the AR fire mode to burst, which makes the M16 extremely accurate for headshots. The M16's ammo needs to be Armor Piercing rounds. That 20-round magazine M16 is my main Primary Weapon, and with headshots it charges the Supremo quickly. As soon as Triador Supremo was charged, I crouched in shade and let loose with La Varita. That was the main strategy I used to get through Spec Ops. 

The Parkour outfit was one of the first complete outfits I unlocked in the main game...and I used it for the rest of the time I was playing (couldn't live without that near infinite stamina). So I don't know what it's like to do a Spec-Ops without it...but the fact that I had the trouble I did with it, means it only helps so much. Killing enemies was never much of a problem, it really just comes down to keeping the PG-240X cool...and that just ends up becoming a headache. 

The fact that we need apparent builds and we need to learn the perfect route, just shows how poorly designed this whole thing is. 

[IKARUS-RG]

So I've finished up all 5 of the Mastery 3 trophies and I figured I'd weigh in on this with some thoughts; I enjoyed the game mode and I liked learning the routes to take to avoid overheating, but it definitely feels like this was not really designed / balanced for a single player to complete.

 

My loadout was:

- Triador Supremo (pretty much mandatory although I completed Maceo before I had it)

- RAT4 Rocket Launcher with lock-on and improved aimed weapon damage (for vehicles mostly, grenade launcher works fine too)

- SKS Rifle with Large Rectangular Suppressor / 5x optical zoom (easily killed a lot of enemies at a distance with headshots with this)

- La Varita (good to have the perks on this one, but I don't think the refund on the headshot works or if it does it's really inconsistent)

- Libertad Custom Mark VI (from Lola, I bought the perk that reloads all weapons when you reload the sidearm; really useful as you can just cancel the animation when you put in one bullet and it instantly reloads everything else to save time)

- Parkour Cap / Revolutionary Vest / Parkour Shorts / Revolutionary Boots / Revolutionary Gloves (never switched off these)

- I didn't actually use any amigos for these (because I sort of forgot about them), but Oluso can be pretty useful

- Healing syringes are really helpful to boost your health instantly, I relied on these a lot in the Puerta del Eden Mastery 3

 

For Maceo final stand I stayed on the rooftop and just sniped enemies / used RPG on the vehicles, never went down the ladder. For the rest I pretty much just camped in shady / watery spots until my Supremo recharged and then abused that as much as possible. Once I figured out the routes for the levels I just sprinted past all the enemies and cooled off when necessary.

 

Decent game mode but could definitely be tuned a little better for one player, and I kind of wish you could just choose Mastery 3 off the bat to save time.

[Vault-TecPhantom]

I think they're fine if you have the right gear and level as they're clearly endgame content. The ones that were there at launch are quite easy and can be done solo.

It's the new ones that are annoying,. The flamethrower enemies on the Eden map are absolutely ridiculous. Way too many of them. It was hard in co-op so I can only imagine what it would have been like solo. The Los Tres Santos map is also tricky on mastery 3 because the water sources are quite far from one another and the PG-240X meter goes up so quickly on that difficulty, so whoever is holding the PG-240X either has to know the map really well or have your co-op partner scout water sources for you.

 

But for the most part, mastery 2 & 3 are not too bad. In fact, the bigger problem is the fact that the game forces you to play through all the lower levels to unlock the higher ones which feels like a desperate way for Ubisoft to extend playtime. However, there is a way around this: if you complete level 3 mastery in someone else's game it will unlock all levels for that ops in your own game which means you can help someone else by hosting level 3 so that they don't have to run through all the levels. Saves a tremendous amount of time for new players.

 

 

[Taliesin_2943]

16 minutes ago, Vault-TecPhantom said:

I think they're fine if you have the right gear and level as they're clearly endgame content. The ones that were there at launch are quite easy and can be done solo.

It's the new ones that are annoying,. The flamethrower enemies on the Eden map are absolutely ridiculous. Way too many of them. It was hard in co-op so I can only imagine what it would have been like solo. The Los Tres Santos map is also tricky on mastery 3 because the water sources are quite far from one another and the PG-240X meter goes up so quickly on that difficulty, so whoever is holding the PG-240X either has to know the map really well or have your co-op partner scout water sources for you.

 

But for the most part, mastery 2 & 3 are not too bad. In fact, the bigger problem is the fact that the game forces you to play through all the lower levels to unlock the higher ones which feels like a desperate way for Ubisoft to extend playtime. However, there is a way around this: if you complete level 3 mastery in someone else's game it will unlock all levels for that ops in your own game which means you can help someone else by hosting level 3 so that they don't have to run through all the levels. Saves a tremendous amount of time for new players.

 

 

Lol the only real problem we had on los res Santos was because the water was a fair distance apart it kept teleporting me back to you a couple of times I had to signal you just so I could finish killing enemies without the stupid teather rubber banding me but overall i think we did well except the Ubisoft disconnect at like 95% that was just bad

[Vault-TecPhantom]

28 minutes ago, Taliesin_2943 said:

Lol the only real problem we had on los res Santos was because the water was a fair distance apart it kept teleporting me back to you a couple of times I had to signal you just so I could finish killing enemies without the stupid teather rubber banding me but overall i think we did well except the Ubisoft disconnect at like 95% that was just bad

 

Oh, definitely - we did really well overall. I'm just setting expectations for those who haven't done those yet to let them know that the maps, themselves, on mastery 3 are not a cakewalk like the launch ones haha. I was more referring to how far the water sources are from one another on that map (while the PG-240X goes up really fast on mastery 3) which is why the method we used of me carrying the PG-240X and you scouting ahead for water sources was a solid strategy, and why I'd recommend doing this map in co-op (as opposed to solo).

 

And yeah, Ubisoft being Ubisoft...You should have seen the trouble I had with Ghost Recon Wildlands servers recently - messed up my trophy progress and I had to start a new game!