Ranger Hardcore Difficulty

[medenko1975]

I hope 7 molotovs will be enough for final bear in Volga?

 

made it

 

edit : DAMN SWAPS

Edited March 13, 2019 by medenko1975

[JoaLoft]

I thought Ranger Hardcore was not that hard, to be honest. Sure, you need to manage your supplies minutiously if you tend to rush through certain sections, but I looted a lot of lockers and rooms, and still ended up a few times with 300 units for both tools and chemicals on the highest difficulty (which is the total capacity).

 

I enjoy the game so much, and the character building, that I felt obliged to get the good ending again during my Ranger Hardcore run. Which explains why I visited certain locations that you can otherwise completely ignore.

 

The only parts where I struggled for a little bit (meaning around 5+ retries) were:

 

- The sanctuary at the beginning of the Volga chapter (tried to stealth my way back to the boat without any knockouts)

- The slave ship at the Caspian Sea (the one in the upper right section of the map, where you need to pull a lever to free the slaves)

- The final confrontation at the Baron's penthouse at the Caspian Sea

 

Stealth is your friend on Ranger Hardcore. So, whenever it's an option: take the stealthy approach. Works wonders and you'll save yourself a world of hurt and supplies you'll be able to utilize for mandatory firefights. Other than that, just stay focused and prepare yourself accordingly for certain encounters. Nothing too difficult.

 

On a sidenote: can't wait for the expansions! I hope they're going to have at least the same level of quality the main game has, regardless of trophies obviously. Those come second.

Edited March 14, 2019 by Aponac1987

[Avatar_Of_Battle]

7 minutes ago, Aponac1987 said:

The only parts where I struggled for a little bit (meaning around 5+ retries) were:

 

- The sanctuary at the beginning of the Volga chapter (tried to stealth my way back to the boat without any knockouts)

- The slave ship at the Caspian Sea (the one in the upper right section of the map, where you need to pull a lever to free the slaves)

- The final confrontation at the Baron's penthouse at the Caspian Sea

 

For anyone that may have struggled on these sections.

 

When it comes to the church there is a very easy way to the escape boat silently. I don't even think you need to encounter more than 1 person. When you leave Katya's room just go to the opposite side of where you leave so that you're on the dock side. When you go down the stairs you might encounter someone I don't remember, but if you leave the church so that you're outside, but on the opposite side of where the 2 guys are talking to someone in a room, you will find a boat hanging by a red barrel. From there all you have to do is drop to the lower part of the dock and cut or avoid the tin can alarm system. Straight line to the escape boat from there.  I truly believe this is the biggest factor in getting the good outcome here because it was the only one I failed on my first playthrough and I got the bad outcome. (I think I did the boat stealing section bad too though) 

 

That boat where you free the slaves doesn't have to be done. On my first run I couldn't even figure out how to get into that boat embarrassingly enough lol. I freed the slaves you could see working on your way to the lighthouse, there is a boat with an easy path to the top where you can kill the "masters" and as long as you don't kill the slaves you're good. Free the 2 when you're stealing the water, and don't kill any of them when going through the grate on your way to the baron. That's what I did and Damir stayed with me.

 

That confrontation is the 2nd difficult section to me. The first being the heavy suit in Yamantau. In both instances Molotov's are your friend. Have at least 2 on you when fighting them and they go down rather quick. If you wait a bit during the penthouse battle I think Damir will come along and help you. In all sections with a partner you can hang back and be safe.

[JoaLoft]

12 minutes ago, Avatar_Of_Battle said:

That confrontation is the 2nd difficult section to me. The first being the heavy suit in Yamantau. In both instances Molotov's are your friend. Have at least 2 on you when fighting them and they go down rather quick. If you wait a bit during the penthouse battle I think Damir will come along and help you. In all sections with a partner you can hang back and be safe.

 

Funny enough: I thought my first run-in with a heavy guy (at Yamantau) would be challenging. Turns out it wasn't. I already knew that molotovs did plenty of damage to them, so when he appeared, I just threw two of them in his direction. And before I knew it, he was down ... We're talking mere seconds. Didn't even have to restart that part once, because of how well it went, the first time around.

 

I'm not including the melee cannibals who try to charge you during the encounter as part of the difficulty, because those are a piece of cake to take down.

 

As for the church part: I discovered the route you mentioned during my Ranger Hardcore run, but I kept getting spotted by the two villagers you mentioned. Hence the reason why I kept restarting until I was finally able to dodge them by being quick enough, and dropping down at the stairs.

Edited March 14, 2019 by Aponac1987

[Avatar_Of_Battle]

1 minute ago, Aponac1987 said:

Funny enough: I thought my first run-in with a heavy guy (at Yamantau) would be challenging. Turns out it wasn't. I already knew that molotovs did plenty of damage to them, so when he appeared, I just threw two of them in his direction. And before I knew it, he was down ... We're talking mere seconds. Didn't even have to restart that part once, because of how well it went, the first time around.

 

I'm not including the melee cannibals who try to charge you during the encounter as part of the difficulty, because those are a piece of cake to take down.

 

The only challenging part for me was the jackasses that flanked you. For some reason they were parkour ninjas and avoided everything and got through the tiniest little cracks where I was hiding behind things. Fire also didn't seem to bother them as they ran right by it.  I restarted twice before they kinda just didn't do anything. The heavy guy might prove difficult for people that don't know beforehand they are very vulnerable to fire.

 

Thinking back on it though the baron's penthouse is the hardest section on Ranger Hardcore. Dead City can be tough, but you can exploit Miller's invincibility on the first section, rush through the putrid tunnels recklessly, and when it comes to the medicine building...Railgun.  

[JoaLoft]

3 minutes ago, Avatar_Of_Battle said:

Thinking back on it though the baron's penthouse is the hardest section on Ranger Hardcore. Dead City can be tough, but you can exploit Miller's invincibility on the first section, rush through the putrid tunnels recklessly, and when it comes to the medicine building...Railgun.  

 

The Baron's penthouse was the hardest section for me. Took me six or seven retries max, I think.

 

Dead City is, in my opinion, the best chapter of the entire game. Everything in the franchise (but in this game, in particular) builds up to that moment, narratively speaking. That entire chapter oozes atmosphere, tension, typical Metro gameplay, and it was a great climax to a great game, with great atmosphere.

I let Miller go to town on those Nosalises with the railgun while you wait for Kirill to crawl through the ducts, pick off some of the stragglers myself with the crossbow. I actually took my time in the putrid tunnels (and the optional room on the left) killing everything. And at the Institute, I snuck around all six Blind Ones, although you could kill them all with the railgun. I tend to roleplay my games often, so I could not resist sneaking around them, even on Ranger Hardcore.

[Avatar_Of_Battle]

1 minute ago, Aponac1987 said:

The Baron's penthouse was the hardest section for me. Took me six or seven retries max, I think.

 

Dead City is, in my opinion, the best chapter of the entire game. Everything in the franchise (but in this game, in particular) builds up to that moment, narratively speaking. That entire chapter oozes atmosphere, tension, typical Metro gameplay, and it was a great climax to a great game, with great atmosphere.

I let Miller go to town on those Nosalises with the railgun while you wait for Kirill to crawl through the ducts, pick off some of the stragglers myself with the crossbow. I actually took my time in the putrid tunnels (and the optional room on the left) killing everything. And at the Institute, I snuck around all six Blind Ones, although you could kill them all with the railgun. I tend to roleplay my games often, so I could not resist sneaking around them, even on Ranger Hardcore.

 

Dead City was probably my favorite chapter as well. On my first run I did the stealth approach with the Blind Ones and didn't take the railgun. So with Ranger Hardcore I wanted to see just how powerful it was lol. It's crazy strong because you could kill 2 of the Blind Ones without even reloading.

[JoaLoft]

Just now, Avatar_Of_Battle said:

 

Dead City was probably my favorite chapter as well. On my first run I did the stealth approach with the Blind Ones and didn't take the railgun. So with Ranger Hardcore I wanted to see just how powerful it was lol. It's crazy strong because you could kill 2 of the Blind Ones without even reloading.

 

I hear you, it's an incredibly powerful gun. Ubdoubtedly part of the reason why Dead City went so well for me, aside from one or two unfortunate deaths: one of them happened while I was fending off the Nosalises after you drop down from the residential quarters.

 

Then again, the fact that it's such a great chapter is a testament to how talented the teams at 4A Games are at their job. I almost wished I could explore more above ground, because of all the cool effects, in particular the electrical wires (of the traffic lights and such) cradling in the wind.

[Valkirye22]

On 3/14/2019 at 2:12 AM, Avatar_Of_Battle said:

 

Dead City was probably my favorite chapter as well. On my first run I did the stealth approach with the Blind Ones and didn't take the railgun. So with Ranger Hardcore I wanted to see just how powerful it was lol. It's crazy strong because you could kill 2 of the Blind Ones without even reloading.

I actually didn't kill a single Blind One during all my three playthroughs, one being on RHC.

I loved the Library part in 2033 where you realize you can just walk past and I prefer the tension of distracting and stealthing through there - it is a part of the atmosphere there.

[Avatar_Of_Battle]

25 minutes ago, Valkirye22 said:

I actually didn't kill a single Blind One during all my three playthroughs, one being on RHC.

I loved the Library part in 2033 where you realize you can just walk past and I prefer the tension of distracting and stealthing through there - it is a part of the atmosphere there.

 

I definitely preferred the Library in 2033. I liked the Librarians more than the Blind Ones mainly because of how they interacted with you. 

 

Like I told Aponac though my 2nd time around the Blind Ones I took the Railgun to see how powerful it was. 

[WatertownsFinest]

On 3/13/2019 at 8:12 PM, Avatar_Of_Battle said:

 

Dead City was probably my favorite chapter as well. On my first run I did the stealth approach with the Blind Ones and didn't take the railgun. So with Ranger Hardcore I wanted to see just how powerful it was lol. It's crazy strong because you could kill 2 of the Blind Ones without even reloading.

 

Dead City was legit the best final level in any game ive played. I've never experienced such a horrific feeling from an atmosphere before but god damn did they nail it here. Its truly bone chilling imo

[SuperSaiyan3985]

On 3/19/2019 at 1:17 PM, Avatar_Of_Battle said:

 

I definitely preferred the Library in 2033. I liked the Librarians more than the Blind Ones mainly because of how they interacted with you. 

 

Like I told Aponac though my 2nd time around the Blind Ones I took the Railgun to see how powerful it was. 

You kidding me? The Librarians were HORRIBLE.

[Avatar_Of_Battle]

2 minutes ago, SuperSaiyan3985 said:

You kidding me? The Librarians were HORRIBLE.

 

...you have to elaborate when you make a statement like that lol.  (if you do I may not reply until the morning though)

[SuperSaiyan3985]

On 3/20/2019 at 9:44 PM, Avatar_Of_Battle said:

 

...you have to elaborate when you make a statement like that lol.  (if you do I may not reply until the morning though)

They were horrible as in scaring the living shit out of me. Which, considering this is a survival horror game, may actually be the point. My heart just can't take it.

[Avatar_Of_Battle]

3 minutes ago, SuperSaiyan3985 said:

They were horrible as in scaring the living shit out of me. Which, considering this is a survival horror game, may actually be the point. My heart just can't take it.

 

Haha I guess in a way they do have the better design if they succeeded that much.  

 

What interested me most about the Blind Ones was pretty much what I liked most about this game. Possibilities. What else is out there? Blind Ones weren't around Moscow so what other creatures may be native to other cities? 

[SuperSaiyan3985]

2 minutes ago, Avatar_Of_Battle said:

 

Haha I guess in a way they do have the better design if they succeeded that much.  

 

What interested me most about the Blind Ones was pretty much what I liked most about this game. Possibilities. What else is out there? Blind Ones weren't around Moscow so what other creatures may be native to other cities? 

The series has enormous potential. Exodus was laid a great foundation for venturing outside of the Metro but I'd like to see the game explore other parts of the world.  

[littlelostkiwi]

I am not sure if anyone still refers to this topic but I will throw my thoughts in as well.

 

I have just finished the Caspian level (ranger hardcore), with the only encounter left that I am worried about is the bear round 2.

 

So far it has been straightforward, and not as difficult as I thought it would be. That is, taking it quietly, using stealth and playing at night.

 

The one reason I wanted to post thought is that this play through is SIGNIFICANTLY easier from my learnings from my first play through.

 

I would strongly suggest playing the good ending on your first play through on one of the easier difficulty levels, followed by a more direct evil play through on the ranger difficulty level. That also allows you to carry your weapin upgrades through via ng+.

 

Knowing the encounters and map makes the harder play through so much easier.

[Avatar_Of_Battle]

6 hours ago, littlelostkiwi said:

I am not sure if anyone still refers to this topic but I will throw my thoughts in as well.

 

I have just finished the Caspian level (ranger hardcore), with the only encounter left that I am worried about is the bear round 2.

 

I was such a fucking idiot here. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings and backed up a bit too much and fell over one of the sides of the area you're in for an instant death. I nearly threw myself out of the window I was so pissed.

[DaveMcDamage]

I've been trying to do the hardcore ranger exploit all morning. Got every other trophy except for that and the bad ending. Rushed though iron man mode and still snagged the good ending without even doing half as much as I did in my very first play through. 

 

The DLC was ok. I think I preferred the Two Colonels to Sam's Story though. 

 

So because I played through the game twice and done all the DLC, I just wanted to be done with the game but I couldn't get the hardcore ranger exploit to work. Just installed the patches again and was prepared to give hardcore ranger a legit playthrough, but I have play the game so many times that I just cannot face it. Gonna retry the exploit one last time, but if it fails again I will just havce to suck it up and go hardcore ranger legit. Its not the difficulty that is putting me off, but the amount of times I have already played. Also I don't like the idea of killing innocents and stuff so again I was hoping to avoid that with the exploit. 

 

But my predictions for tough section of RHC will be...

1: Running out of gas filters. 

2: The heavy gunners at the cannibal level and the end of the caspian level. 

3: The final bear fight as I have no idea what it takes on hardcore to nail it. 

4: The final section with the two blind monkeys. Though I saw someone mention the rail gun to dispose of them. Is this the one that you get from the colonel and if so then what ammo type, standard or fire?

[SuperSaiyan3985]

On 6/22/2020 at 10:17 AM, DaveMcDamage said:

I've been trying to do the hardcore ranger exploit all morning. Got every other trophy except for that and the bad ending. Rushed though iron man mode and still snagged the good ending without even doing half as much as I did in my very first play through. 

 

The DLC was ok. I think I preferred the Two Colonels to Sam's Story though. 

 

So because I played through the game twice and done all the DLC, I just wanted to be done with the game but I couldn't get the hardcore ranger exploit to work. Just installed the patches again and was prepared to give hardcore ranger a legit playthrough, but I have play the game so many times that I just cannot face it. Gonna retry the exploit one last time, but if it fails again I will just havce to suck it up and go hardcore ranger legit. Its not the difficulty that is putting me off, but the amount of times I have already played. Also I don't like the idea of killing innocents and stuff so again I was hoping to avoid that with the exploit. 

 

But my predictions for tough section of RHC will be...

1: Running out of gas filters. 

2: The heavy gunners at the cannibal level and the end of the caspian level. 

3: The final bear fight as I have no idea what it takes on hardcore to nail it. 

4: The final section with the two blind monkeys. Though I saw someone mention the rail gun to dispose of them. Is this the one that you get from the colonel and if so then what ammo type, standard or fire?

Ranger Hardcore wasn't that bad, but yeah I think gas filters will be your biggest foe.

I don't remember any particular part being too difficult, but I remember shitting my pants so hard during the Blind Ones section. You just gotta be really, REALLY stealthy. 

[Wagszilla]

It's way easier than Metro Last Light on PS3. 

[Ich1994-1994]

Edit: i figured it out

stupid game

Edited January 11, 2021 by Ich1994-1994