___________________________________________ * * * R.U.S.E. * * Walkthrough/Strategy * * Version: 0.3.6 * * Last revised: 04/30/12 * * by: roar888 * *___________________________________________* =========================== Table of Contents [TOCT] =========================== I. Opening Notes........................[OPNN] 1. Revision History.....................[RVSN] 2. Introduction.........................[INTR] 3. Walkthrough..........................[WKTR] 3.1 Prologue...........................[PRLG] 3.2 Taking Command!....................[TKCM] 3.3 Kasserine Pass.....................[KNPS] 3.4 The Wild Bunch.....................[TWBN] 3.5 Digging Out the Fox................[DOTF] 3.6 From Bait to Prey..................[FBTP] 4. The Ruses............................[RUSE] 5. Nations..............................[NTNS] 5.1 Germany............................[GMNY] 5.2 Italy..............................[ITLY] 5.3 United States......................[UNST] 5.4 France.............................[FRNC] 5.5 United Kingdom.....................[UNKD] 5.6 Soviet Union.......................[USSR] 6. Battles..............................[SKMS] 7. Operations...........................[OPNS] 8. Contact Information..................[CTIN] 9. Copyright & Thanks...................[CRTY] ========================== I. Opening Notes [OPNN] ========================== Thank you for reading my R.U.S.E. FAQ/Walkthrough. I appreciate suggestions and all other constructive input. All recommendations and strategies detailed in this guide are geared toward the various singleplayer modes, though many may work (sometimes even better) in the multiplayer as well. This guide is currently authorized for hosting on Cheat Code Central and Neoseeker only. If you are reading this on any other site, it is in violation of copyright and may be outdated, and I ask that you please notify me of such an occurrence. Thanks! ============================= 1. Revision History [RVSN] ============================= 0.3.6 - 04/30/12 *Completed walkthrough for From Bait to Prey scenario. 0.3.4 - 04/29/12 * Completed walkthrough for Digging Out the Fox scenario. 0.3.2 - 07/27/11 * Completed walkthrough for The Wild Bunch scenario. 0.3.0 - 07/21/11 * Corrected Contact Information entry in Table of Contents. * Reworked introduction for The Ruses section. * Updated copyright information. * Minor clarifications to The Ruses section. * Began Walkthrough section, completing Prologue, Taking Command!, and Kasserine Pass. 0.2.5 - 07/17/11 * First published version! * Set up the basic layout of the guide. * Completed the Opening Notes section. * Completed the Introduction section. * Completed the Contact Information section. * Completed the Copyright & Thanks section. * Completed The Ruses section. ========================= 2. Introduction [INTR] ========================= R.U.S.E. is a real-time strategy game set in the World War II time period. It differs from other RTS games in a couple of ways. First, fog of war is handled differently. By default, you can see all of your opponents structures and units, though the units are represented by a dot, which denotes whether it is a heavy or light unit, but not its actual unit type. Line of sight on a unit will reveal the specific type of unit. Also, you can hide your units in a forest or town and they will actually vanish from the map if your opponents don't have line of sight. Another unique aspect of R.U.S.E. is the ruses themselves. I will discuss them in a later section, but suffice it to say they can be game-changers. Also, the various strengths and weaknesses of units in R.U.S.E. are much more important than in some other RTS games. For example, (and you may have already learned this the hard way) a couple of anti-tank guns concealed in a forest can literally wipe out an entire line of medium tanks without breaking a sweat. You actually will need units of every type to combat what your enemies will throw at you. Last, the units in R.U.S.E. don't run around the map as quickly as in other games. Nor are the resources as plentiful. You'll need a well-formed plan of attack to emerge victorious. ======================== 3. Walkthrough [WKTR] ======================== The R.U.S.E campaign follows the story of American commander Joseph Sheridan throughout his tour of North Africa and Europe. It is a satisfyingly long campaign; you really would get your money's worth even if the game simply included the campaign and the skirmish mode called Battles. In addition to the aforementioned Campaign and Battle modes, you also get the typical Multiplayer mode along with a game mode called Operations, which is essentially the RTS version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's Spec Ops. These other game modes are covered later. While I will describe the strategy and tactics needed to complete the missions, I don't believe in spoiling the story for others and therefore will reference it as little as possible unless it affects the dynamic of the missions itself. ---------------------- 3.1 Prologue [PRLG] ---------------------- This is understandably an incredibly easy mission, so I won't waste much time on it. To teach you the dynamics of combat, you are given control of a couple of tanks, Super Pershings. Just drive them up to the specified points, letting them destroy the enemy units along the way. They will have no trouble doing so, as they outmatch every other unit on the field in this mission. When you get to the final rally point, the mission will end. ----------------------------- 3.2 Taking Command! [TKCM] ----------------------------- You'll start this mission with a few infantry units, with orders to head up the road to rally with some anti-tank guns (AT guns from here on). There are a couple scattered enemies to take care of along the way, but nothing your units can't easily defeat. Another few enemy infantry occupy the town ahead, but they split up before you get there, allowing you to easily handle them piece- meal. Once you rally with the AT guns, moving on to the objective is simply a leapfrogging maneuver. As you forge ahead, move your AT guns to the front when faced with tanks and your infantry to combat enemy infantry. With this tactic you'll easily make it to the final objective before the enemy catches up with you. ---------------------------- 3.3 Kasserine Pass [KNPS] ---------------------------- You start with some AT guns and infantry. Move the AT guns that are farther from the river closer together so they both have line of sight on the two roads nearest them, and the ones closer to the river so that they both have line of sight on the bridge and the road that runs along the river. Keep your infantry inside the city behind the AT guns unless you're faced with an infantry assault. These positions allow your AT guns to shred enemy tank columns regardless of which direction they come from. You'll be introduced to the Decryption ruse, which allows you to see enemy units' orders in the chosen sector. You might as well use it as you get the opportunities, since there's nothing to save it for. Your allied support units across the river will hold off the enemies for quite a while, so they're not a threat for the early stages of the mission. At about halfway through you'll be reinforced with some paratroopers, but you shouldn't even need them, since the enemy attack waves are very light. After you destroy all attacking units, the mission ends successfully. ---------------------------- 3.4 The Wild Bunch [TWBN] ---------------------------- You start with control of a few light tanks, tasked with running straight up the center pass at the enemy. Essentially, just head to the objective point, taking out enemy units as you go. Once you near your objective, you'll encounter some medium tanks. The first lone one you can destroy, but the next two are together: too much for your puny light tanks, so you need to fall back and await medium tank support. It helps to have your light tanks preselected so you can immediately turn them around when you get the order to retreat. Once you rendezvous with your medium tanks, they are turned over to your control, so roll in with your whole force and tear the enemy a new one. There are a few infantry units mixed in with those medium tanks, but they should be easy to clear out. After taking the town where the objective lies, you'll have to hold until your allies can set up a barracks for you. Since the enemy has AT guns, you'll need infantry to get to them. You should be able to split up your forces 50-50 and defend both sides easily enough. If you lost more than a couple tanks, though, you may want to sit in the middle and take on the threats with your full strength as they present themselves. After the barracks is constructed, you automatically get a few infantry, so it's time to go to work. Move out against the AT gun battery, making sure to cover your infantry with tanks, while ensuring the tanks stay out of range of the AT guns. The enemy will counterattack in an attempt to prevent the infantry from reaching their goal, so stay wary. Once you have destroyed all the AT guns, the mission ends in success. --------------------------------- 3.5 Digging Out the Fox [DOTF] --------------------------------- You start this mission with several infantry units and few light tanks, medium tanks, and anti-tank guns. Your first objective is to take out the enemy HQ, though there are several points you'll want to handle along the way. First, use the Spy Ruse to reveal the anti-tank guns that are dead ahead of you. Hit them with your infantry, since the couple of infantry units they have covering them won't put up much of a fight. Move your other units up parallel to your infantry to provide cover against a few advancing tank units. Stagger your advance, allowing your AT guns to take out enemy tanks, while using your tanks to take on infantry and your infantry to hit enemy AT guns. Use your tanks to destroy the enemy armor base, while sending your AT guns west to deal with the tanks lying in wait there. Your infantry can then sweep up the remaining AT gun hiding behind them. Move west along the lake, repeating this strategy as necessary, until your tanks are in range to destroy the enemy HQ. Oh yeah, the HQ is a decoy. So once you destroy it, you'll have to hold off an enemy assault against the city you're trapped in. It's largely a tank assault, so you'll want to maximize the effectiveness of your AT guns. Two on each end of the city should be enough to hold off the tanks. Station some tanks on each side as well, to deal with any accompanying infantry. After you hold the city for the allotted amount of time, you'll get some reinforcements of tanks, AT guns, and infantry. Use these to accomplish your next objective, which is to aid the allied force on your left flank by destroying some AT guns there. The infantry reinforcements you receive should easily be enough to defeat them. Next, your advisor will panic over the appearance of a Tiger tank, which is a heavy tank. Use your AT guns to make short work of it, making sure to keep them covered with your remaining tanks and infantry. Your final objective is to score 1000 points. Your best bet here is to just sit tight while your units handle any enemies that come close. Once you reach the 1000 point threshold, the mission ends in success. ------------------------------- 3.6 From Bait to Prey [FBTP] ------------------------------- ** For directional purposes, it seems that "north" is diagonally forward and left from your initial viewing angle. I'll be using the directional cues used by the game. For example, east is diagonally forward and to the right from your initial viewing angle. You may want to realign your view so these directions are easier to understand. ** The first few objectives in this mission are very scripted, outlining exactly how many buildings and units to deploy and where to deploy them. This is described in the following paragraph. Go ahead and skip to the third paragraph if you so desire, since it's really kind of unnecessary. You start with just an HQ, with the directive to set up a supply depot dead ahead of your position. Do that, and then follow the subsequent order to build a Barracks nearby. Move your recon units to the designated location to reveal some troops hiding in the forest east of your position. You'll be told to deploy some infantry to handle the situation, so go ahead and deploy 4 units to take them out. You'll be advised to use a Ruse to unveil the enemy unit types and/or their orders, though both of these things are fairly obvious through the use of recon units and common sense. Once the easy part is over, things start to get interesting quickly. You'll be expected to take on several hidden units in the forests around your HQ, so use your recon units to reveal them to eliminate the possibility of an enemy surprise attack. Next, you'll have to take the city to the north, again, using only infantry. There will be enemy infantry occupying the town, so you can recon ahead, or overwhelm them with numbers, as there are only two. After taking the town, have your infantry occupy the town square to set up an ambush for the approaching enemy armored units. While this is happening, you'll want to deploy infantry to the forests all around your HQ, as you will shortly begin to see attacks from all sides. If you deploy them correctly, they will be able to lay ambushes against any approaching enemy units. After repelling the Italian offensive, a large force of Panzers will move in on your left flank, or rather, what seems to be Panzers. Don't panic just yet: they turn out just to be decoys. The real attack is coming on your right flank in the form of an Italian armor and infantry offensive. It shouldn't be too difficult to fend off, since they hit you in twos and threes rather than all at once. After the attack on the right flank begins, the Italian forces will also resume their assault on the town, so be prepared with another ambush there. They will try to mix things up as well, going around the town rather than through it, though any infantry you had in place to fend off the fake panzer attack should be enough to handle them. Once you destroy all of the attacking forces and clean up any stragglers, the mission will end in success. ** More coming soon! ====================== 4. The Ruses [RUSE] ====================== The ruses are obviously the reason for the game's title, but do they really impact the strategy of the game as seen on TV? That entirely depends on how you use them. You can play through the game without using them, but it will be much more difficult. Misusing or not knowing how to use them will garner the same results. On the other hand, if you make efficient and effective use of your ruses; combining a fake tank assault with a well-timed radio silence order, for example, you could entirely outflank your opponent when he thought for sure he had you on the ropes. The aspect of the game that really makes the ruses useful is its take on fog of war. The fact that your opponent can essentially see what you're doing at all times means you need some other way to conceal your intentions and augment your forces' abilities. The list that follows will detail the effects of each ruse as well as my recommendations for their use. Blitz | Description |Increases the movement speed of all units in the sector. _________________|____________________________________________________________ | Recommendations | This works well in combination with Radio Silence when | attempting quick flanking maneuvers. I also suggest using | it at the start of a game to speed up the early building | process, especially of supply depots. In multiplayer, Blitz | could be used with Reverted Intel to sell your opponent on | a deception that a group of infantry is really a large | column of tanks. Fanaticism | Description | Causes your units to fight to the death. No retreats! _________________|____________________________________________________________ | Recommendations | Works well in skirmishes between units of the same type, | especially if your units are inferior to your enemy's. | Also useful in difficult situations where you're forced | to try to take out enemy units with units that are weak | against that type (tanks vs anti-tank guns). This ruse | can give them that extra push to get through and hit the | opponent with the big guns. Last-ditch defensive efforts | could also see this ruse being useful. Terror | Description | Causes enemy units to retreat with less damage. _________________|____________________________________________________________ | Recommendations | Can be deadly when used in combination with Fanaticism, as | it allows your units to finish off the opponent's more | easily. Keep in mind that this won't necessarily help you | in a tank vs anti-tank situation if your tanks can't make | it in range in the first place. Like Fanaticism, this ruse | works best in even skirmishes between same-type units and | in defensive positions where you are otherwise overmatched. Decoy Base | Description | Continually builds a booby-trapped base in the sector. _________________|____________________________________________________________ | Recommendations | This ruse comes in 4 flavors: Armor, Airfield, Artillery | & AA, and Barracks. In general, this ruse will have the | same effect regardless of which you choose. You may want to | weigh the believability vs induced panic, however. Will | your enemy believe that you'd place an Artillery base one | grid over from his HQ? Will he overreact to the Armor base | you placed near his weaker left flank? In any case, this | ruse is useful for diverting your enemy's attention from | another action you're mounting elsewhere. One added bonus | to remember, though, is that if your opponent tries to | capture the base instead of destroying it, it will blow up | and kill the infantry sent to capture it. Fake Offensive | Description | Constructs free controllable dummy units of chosen type. _________________|____________________________________________________________ | Recommendations | Like the Decoy Base ruse, this one comes in multiple | varieties for maximum effect; however, the type of unit you | select seems to have a greater impact on the type of | reaction you'll provoke. One thing to note is that the | first option will generate units of all types, which will | probably cause your opponent to scramble everything to hold | it back. A fake tank assault is useful for showing where | your opponent has lined up his anti-tank defenses, while a | fake air assault is a good way to cause the opponent's | aircraft to waste ammo and fuel, forcing some to land, thus | thus lightening the air cover you have to deal with if | yours is thinner than ideal. Spy | Description | Reveals the specific types of enemy units in the sector. _________________|____________________________________________________________ | Recommendations | First, an important caveat to this ruse is that if your | opponent is using radio silence in the sector, this ruse | does nothing since if you have no line of sight on the area | there appear to be no units to identify. If you do have | line of sight, sending a spy is redundant since you can see | the unit types anyway. In the case where using this ruse | will have an effect, it is particularly useful when your | opponent has a lot of light units, since they are more | varied than heavy units. It is also good for determining | the composition of a large enemy attack force if you think | you're not properly prepared to repel it. Decryption | Description | Continuously reveals the orders of enemy units in the | sector. _________________|____________________________________________________________ | Recommendations | This serves as an early warning system of sorts when you | have an idea of when an attack is coming. It also can serve | to show whether your opponent is reacting to an action as | you had planned. Used in combination with the Spy ruse, you | will literally know exactly which of your enemy's units are | doing what in real-time. Keep in mind that, like Spy, if | your opponent's units are under Radio Silence or hidden in | forested areas, this ruse will treat them as if they didn't | exist. Unlike Spy, however, if you have line of sight on | enemy units, this ruse could still be useful, as it will | show the orders for the units your troops can see. Radio Silence | Description | Will cause any of your units not in line of sight of enemy | units not to appear onscreen in any form. _________________|____________________________________________________________ | Recommendations | As mentioned earlier, used in combination with a fake | offensive elsewhere, this ruse can be used to outflank your | enemy to great effect. Radio Silence can also be used to | prevent enemy artillery from targeting your troops if your | opponent doesn't have line of sight on them anyway. Another | use for Radio Silence is to hide your units from view | before sending them to hide in a forest or town so that | your opponent doesn't know where to look at all. Camouflage Net | Description | Will cause any of your buildings or construction units not | in line of sight of enemy units not to appear onscreen in | any form. _________________|____________________________________________________________ | Recommendations | Like Radio Silence, Camouflage Net is useful for protecting | your investments from artillery fire and bombings, except | applies to buildings and construction units instead. The | other most effective use is to hide a building you have | placed closer to the enemy HQ than would otherwise normally | be recommended. Reverted Intel | Description | Will cause your light units to appear as heavy units to | your opponent and vice versa if they are not in your | enemy's line of sight. _________________|____________________________________________________________ | Recommendations | As mentioned earlier, this ruse could be used with Blitz to | better sell your opponent on the deception. Another fun use | for Reverted Intel is to watch your opponent have his | machine gun nests all set up for an infantry assault while | you roll in with tanks. This could also be used on defense | to cause your enemy to think he's going up against a group | of tanks rather than a battery of anti-tank units. Overall, | much hilarity could ensue from the use of this ruse. ===================== 5. Nations [NTNS] ===================== Coming soon! ==================== 6. Battles [SKMS] ==================== Coming soon! ======================= 7. Operations [OPNS] ======================= Coming soon! ================================ 8. Contact Information [CTIN] ================================ Feel free to email me with comments, questions, suggestions, corrections, etc. I will gladly respond to any game- or FAQ-related emails. Please include something like "R.U.S.E." or "R.U.S.E. question" in the subject line. DO NOT contact me with any kind of advertisements, spam, malicious attachments, etc. Email: rhurley24@gmail.com **I will probably get back to you within 24-48 hours. Check out my other work: Alien Swarm - FAQ/Walkthrough (PC) =============================== 9. Copyright & Thanks [CRTY] =============================== Copyright 2011-2012 Ryan Hurley. This work may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. Use of this guide on any other web site or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited and a violation of copyright. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission from myself. I reserve the right to require any website hosting this work to remove it. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. Websites currently authorized to host this guide: CheatCC.com and Neoseeker.com. Cheat Code Central and Neoseeker - For hosting my work. Eugen Systems - For developing the game. Ubisoft - For publishing the game. My readers - AKA you. Yeah. Most people don't realize that I appreciate your reading my work just as much as you appreciate the help you (hopefully) get from reading it. I guess I just enjoy doing things to help people. So yeah. Thank you. __ __ __ /'_ `\ /'_ `\ /'_ `\ _ __ ___ __ _ __ /\ \L\ \ /\ \L\ \ /\ \L\ \ /\`'__\ __`\ /'__`\ /\`'__\/_> _ <_\/_> _ <_\/_> _ <_ \ \ \/\ \L\ \\ \L\.\_\ \ \/ /\ \L\ \ /\ \L\ \ /\ \L\ \ \ \_\ \____/ \__/.\_\\ \_\ \ \____/ \ \____/ \ \____/ \/_/\/___/ \/__/\/_/ \/_/ \/___/ \/___/ \/___/