Renegade Ops – Let’s Talk About Upgrades

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Hello again, I’m pleased to be able to drop back onto the PS Blog to supply you with more information about our PSN PLAY bound title Renegade Ops. So I’ve talked previously about the story, the characters and the vehicles, but now it’s time to give you the lowdown on the upgrades you’ll be able to pimp your vehicle of choice with.

First though, allow me to give you the first exclusive look at the latest trailer which surprisingly enough shows off some of these upgrades.

The better you are at the game – in other words the more enemies you destroy, stunts you pull (smashing your way off cliffs, bridges, through buildings etc) and collectables you grab – the quicker you’ll reach the next level, and in this game levels mean prizes…well, upgrade points. So, how can you spend these points? Well you’ll have the choice of three skill trees to spread your points over, so you can customise your character depending on how you best play the game. The only limit to this is the amount of upgrades you can have active at one time; the higher your level, the more upgrades you can equip.

What I’ll do below is detail the upgrades you’ll have access to, and then give you an example using my current level 19 Roxy build.

All Character Upgrades

Defence

Spare Parts: Chance of spawning health pick-ups from your vehicle when hit by explosive damage
Nitro: Double tap turbo button for nitro speed boost, also extinguishes fire if used when burning
Second Chance: Death is delayed by 10 seconds so you can find a health pick up to stay alive. Second chance only triggers once per life
Extra Life: Increases the numbers of loves you start each mission with by 1
Hardened Hull: Maximum health increased and health received from pick-ups increased
Auto Repair: Automatically regenerate health when low

Offence

Auto Reload: Automatically generate ammo for secondary weapon over time
Ammo Surplus: Secondary ammo pick-ups give more ammo than normal
Advanced Arms: Rocket launcher – homing rockets, Railgun – shorter charge time, Flame Thrower – Damage increased
Magazine Size – Basic: Secondary weapon magazine size increased
Magazine Size – Elite: Secondary weapon magazine size greatly increased

Now it starts to get different, with each character having unique upgrades, as follows:

Renegade Ops for PS3 (PSN) - Roxy

Roxy Upgrades
Special Ability: Rocket Strike – Drops beacons that are hit by a rain of rockets from the sky, causing area damage.

Offence

Rocket Launcher Kit: Start Every life with Rocket Launcher and some ammo equipped

Tactical

Efficiency – Basic: Rocket Strike cooldown reduced
Efficiency – Elite: Rocket Strike cooldown greatly reduced
Auto Strike: Rocket Strike automatically targets and attempts to directly hit enemies in area
Bombardment – Basic: Rocket Strike duration and radius increased
Bombardment – Elite: Rocket Strike duration and radius greatly increased
Quick Strike: Rocket Strike hits instantly and has increased damage radius

So, to give an example to provide further context, here’s how this ‘expert’ Renegade Ops player does it:

Roxy (Currently level 19)

Defence –

  • Nitro (short additional speed boost, removes fire if burning)
  • Extra Life (Start each mission with 1 extra life)

Offence – Ammo Surplus (Secondary ammo pick-ups give more ammo than usual)

Tactical –

  • Bombardment – Basic (Rocket Strike duration and radius increased)
  • Efficiency – Basic (Rocket Strike cooldown reduced)
  • Quick Strike (Rocket Strike hits instantly and has increased damage radius)

Current skills equipped – Ammo Surplus, Efficiency – Basic and Quick Strike

This build means that the already nimble Buggy that Roxy drives is now suitably powered too; secondary weapons can be spammed a lot more due to the extra ammo, and I’ve skilled up my special ability into something quite devastating. The only problem is without any defensive abilities equipped I’m currently something of a glass cannon…but hey, you play how you play, and in this game I like to be in and out of the action quickly dealing as much damage as possible.

Usually in co-operative games I play a support role, whether that’s as a medic or engineer, but in Renegade Ops I want to be nimble and explosively deadly, and that’s why I prefer Roxy. However, you may like to support your teammates by causing disabling effects to the enemies, so your preference may be for Diz and her awesome EMP special ability.

Renegade Ops for PS3 (PSN) - Diz

Diz Upgrades
Special Ability: EMP – Releases an electromagnetic pulse over a large area disabling all enemies within this area making them susceptible to attacks for a limited period.

Offence

Railgun Kit: Start Every life with Railgun and some ammo equipped

Tactical

Static Shock – Basic: EMP causes minor damage to enemies in addition to normal effects
Static Shock – Elite: EMP causes high damage to enemies in addition to normal effects
Black Out: Duration of EMP effect on enemies increased
Efficiency – Basic: EMP cooldown reduced
Efficiency – Elite: EMP cooldown greatly reduced

Super Charged: Increased EMP radius and enemy rockets are disabled in mid-flight when hit by EMP

Renegade Ops for PS3 (PSN) - Armand

Armand Upgrades

Special Ability: Armadillo Plating (Shield) – Extendable shield plating that causes enemy bullets to bounce back at the attackers.

Offence

Flame Thrower Kit: Start Every life with Flame Thrower and some ammo equipped

Tactical

Efficiency – Basic: Shield cooldown reduced
Efficiency – Elite: Shield cooldown greatly reduced
Rebound: Shield deflects enemy bullets and rockets back at the enemy for damage
Time Extension: Maximum Shield duration increased
Guarded Repair: Regenerate health over time while Shield is active
Ram Plate: Destroy small enemy vehicles when ramming them and no penalty when driving through buildings

Renegade Ops for PS3 (PSN) - Gunnar

Gunnar Upgrades
Special Ability: Heavy Cannon – Extends heavy cannon that fires high velocity, armour piercing rounds causing extreme damage. Vehicle cannot move while active.

Offence

Rocket Launcher Kit: Start Every life with Rocket Launcher and some ammo equipped

Tactical

Efficiency – Basic: Heavy Cannon cooldown reduced
Efficiency – Elite: Heavy Cannon cooldown greatly reduced
Power Hydraulics: Increased Heavy Cannon turret rotation speed
Explosive Rounds: Heavy Cannon causes additional splash damage to enemies near area of impact
Riot Shield: A shield protects against bullets from front while Heavy Cannon is active
Counter Shot: Heavy Cannon shots destroy enemy rockets in mid-flight

I hope this outline gives you a good idea of the depth of the upgrades available and shows how you can experience four different play-styles by trying every character, or playing the same character using different builds depending on your mood, or the composition of your team. The upgrades are not only there to make you more bad-ass, they are there to help you tailor your character to your preferred play-style. Ultimately though all four characters can be played balls-to-the-wall, and you’re never going to have enough time to sit back and take in the glorious scenery for too long.

Finally, if any of you are going to Gamescom this year you’ll be able to get the chance to try some of the game’s earlier levels by joining me at the Sony stand where we’ll be proudly displaying our wares. So come and find us, get your hands on the game, ask as many questions as you like, and prepare for Renegade Ops, and PSN PLAY. Hopefully I’ll see some of you there!

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