Thanks for clicking! I hope that this guide will be useful to you and help you learn new skills and strategies.

Disclaimer: This was largely written in 2017/2019 when I was a teenager. The insights aren't perfect, and most sections don't account for the DLC maps that were released long after the plug was pulled on the servers. It's still a good guide in most places though.

Let's begin.

The most recent major change was to the Weapons section, on 2/14/19.

The following sections cover glitches that let you access things you shouldn't, and they apply to only one map.

The following advice is Broken hope only!

Ever wanted to see what's behind that $2500 door? Or maybe you want access to heal grenades sooner? Well, here you go.

This section is also outdated, as since my original release I encountered another way of doing this glitch. I can't record anymore, so be sure to see if the text mentions anything different from what the video shows.

First off, jets and cars automatically have an advantage over tanks and trucks. Jets give very flexible mobility, and the vehicle weapon on cars is rather powerful. But that isn't the reason for choosing these types. One of the main purposes is to be able to bust open the $2500 door right at the start of the game!

In order to do this, you first need to access the bridge hanging over the map. As Silverbolt and Air Raid (this glitch isn't doable as Jetfire, he's too big), it's no problem, but as a car, it's a bit more difficult. One way you can get up is by standing on the broken tank, jumping to the pipes outside the Scrapmaker room, then hopping over to a space on the bridge, transforming after landing to be able to fit through. Another method is shown in the video below.

Next, you want to make your way over to the purple spawner on the bridge that is closest to the room. What you need to do is phase through it. Here's how:

Car- turn yourself sideways and adjacent to the spawner and jump up (as a car). When you reach the peak of your jump, boost yourself towards the spawner. When the car appears to catch on a ledge, transform back into a robot. You should be able to walk through. If it doesn't work, try turning yourself the other way. (easiest with Sideswipe in my experience) (check the video)

Silverbolt/AirRaid- as a jet, you need to fly straight at the spawner, and then turn yourself downwards. Once you are perpendicular to the ground, and you can see through without the purple distortion, transform into a robot. You should be able to walk through. You can also turn yourself sideways at the spawner like with the car method, barrel roll into it, and 1/2-2/3 of the way through, turn back into a robot. (shown in video)

This is impossible as a tank or truck, to my knowledge.

Great, you're in the room. Now what? You should see a small tunnel, only tall enough for vehicle form, leading to a wall. Transform yourself into your vehicle, and ram yourself into the wall, preferrable into the large dot that looks like a button slightly to the right of center. (again shown in the video) Hold your boost for longer than the video shows, for about 10 seconds. If the glass doesn't bust, then keep trying. What usually plays when the glass on the front of the room is broken is a loud shattering sound, loudest at the start for me. Even if you dont hear it, occasionally go and peek through the spawner to see if the glass is gone. If you've been trying for a while and it doesn't work, just feel around at the back of the tunnel.

Once the screen is broken, follow the same steps you used to enter to get out. Then you can hop in the rather expensive room and loot the ammo, health, etc., while having access to weapons like the magma frag launcher early on.


Working method for ALL jets- Once inside the spawner, turn your attention to the wall on your left. Transform, back up and boost right at where the floor meets the wall. You'll either pass through or bounce off. Repeat until you pass. Do not go too far! Immediately after you pass, stop boosting. Follow the hallway inside the wall (the world will be mostly blue, so be careful) until you make it into the back of the $2500 room (multiple entry points). Be careful not to enter the $1000 room! Stand inside until the glass breaks.

The following advice is for Broken Hope only!

If you're a jet, once you farm up $400 points for yourself, you can open a door that allows access to 2 rooms at once, and the enemies can't get in, either! Even better, they hardly spawn in this area at all, either, making this a fantastic place to hang out.

Head into the room near the spawn with the health and photon burst rifle dispensers. Transform, and fly up to the roof a bit away from the health dispenser, against the wall, towards the entrance (see video). You should see text telling you that a door can be unlocked. Put your points in and a bridge will open above you. Fly up and you can sit there, well protected for a large majrity of the game (I stopped doing this because it's less fun and gets boring after a long time).

If you are playing with other players (which you should be since it's more fun and you don't insta-die when your health bar goes out), only one person needs to be able to fly in order for everyone to take advantage of this glitch. As cars, trucks, and tanks, you can either jump up from a debris pile near the bridge and onto a ledge, then allowing you to jump on. Or you can get onto the higher bridge (the one from earlier) using one of the two methods explained earlier, go to the other end, and then transform to fit through the gap (this might only work with cars and jets, never tested with other forms). (video)

This does make the game less fun, so I don't recommend doing this too often.

The following advice is for Broken Hope only!

The price of the Scrapmaker door is just so expensive these days. Well don't fear, you can cut the cost to access it almost by half, by using a similar glitch to the one above. Near the EMP shotgun machine, you are again able to fly up and open the bridge inside the room allowing you access without having to pay the full price. Good deal! This glitch is shown in the video above.

Too bad there's definitely not a way to save even more money than this. But don't be silly, nobody could possibly be THAT cheap.

The following advice applies to Broken Hope only!

What? You're still too cheap to open the Scrapmaker room it all? Alright, well, If you're playing as Silverbolt, you can still get the weapons inside anyways. Keep in mind, you're saving practically no time by doing this glitch.

Follow the steps outlined as "Working method for all Jets" for opening the $2500 door. But once you boost yourself through the crack in the floor, you need to direct yourself into the spawner of the Null Ray/Scrapmaker room.

Warning: Entering the room from any point other than the enemy spawner will render you trapped inside, making your exit more difficult. More elaboration later in this section.

Once you're inside of the spawner, glitch yourself inside the room (just like with the other spawner) and buy your Weapons. Once you have it, go back in the spawner, and go to the back of it.

This is where things get tricky. Transform into a jet, hold V and W, and press yourself into the wall. Slowly turn your aim up until Silverbolt begins quaking. Hold this position (or reposition) until you sink into the floor and underneath the room. Once inside, you can head back to the original spawner and glitch yourself back into the map.

Congratulations, you're now the proud owner of weapons!


----For those who messed up----

Got into the room by going around the spawner? End up outside the map completely? Never fear. Or have some fear. You probably should.
If you entered the room NOT through the spawner, then the way into to the spawner will be blocked off. This means that you can't floor-sink into a place where you can navigate back to the Rocketeer spawner. There is flat ground near the Energon Repair Ray that you can sink into, which will take you outside of the map. Sink into it like you would have with the spawner.

Since you're now outside the map, you need to get around the skybox. Fly away from the map, and then up past the skybox, and back into the map. Then, fly above the window where Megatron's ugly face appears at the beginning of the game. Floor sink against a flat area just a tiny bit, and you can transform and fall through the skybox.

You can use a similar glitch to open the bridge from the overshield room that leads to the $2500 room. However, it's a rather pointless thing to do. This will still create an entryway for enemies, and it won't open up access to Thermo Mines.

Not really important, but there's a spot in the $300 room that renders you nearly untouchable. It's high up on the doorway on the opposite side of the spawner, it is accessable to anyone (maybe not Jetfire, he might be too big). It's easy access with a jet, but you need to triple jump as anything else.

The following advice is for Remnant only!

As a Seeker, you can escape the map and unlock doors through the floor or wall. If you go to the left area from spawn you will see a view out of the map. If you fly yourself near the top left, you can get out of the map (Hard to get back inside as Slipstream so I recommend a Seeker model). If you go to the side opposite of where you escaped (and a few on this side), you can open doors from the outside. If you go behind the place to buy them, you can buy them through the wall (video). This way, you can open certain doors while skipping others so you don't need to pay the full price to access the overshield or scrapmaker rooms.

This also means that you can make easy camping spots. Certain rooms only spawn enemies if their intended entrance is opened, meaning you can hide in them with no risk of enemies jumping on your head or poking you in the side.

The following advice applies to Remnant only!

In Remnant, if you are a jet of any kind, you can access some of the vents in the areas available upon startup. When you start the game, fly towards and health/ammo machines and head up to the spawners above them. Then, turn yourself sideways to them, and barrel roll into it. When your side collides with the barrier keeping you out, transform. You can then phase through the spawner and walk around above the map.

On singleplayer, enemies will NOT spawn in here, making it viable as an AFK spot. In multiplayer, however, this is where most of the enemies spawn for the first 6 rounds. You can farm out the most points out of everyone in this vent. Just make sure you don't die up there.

Phasing through spawners and floors is more difficult when you are not hosting the game. Be careful when getting into places you shouldn't be when you aren't hosting. The worse your latency is, the more trouble you'll have.

These tips are more general and focus less on boundary glitches. They will apply to all maps unless stated otherwise.

Warcry- Amazing. This ability will greatly reduce the damage you take while increasing your damage output by quite a bit. This effect is also given to nearby teammates. It will make revives much less stressful. Very useful, especially with others.

Shockwave- Very effective burst damage. This ability does delivers instant heavy damage in an area, making it great for emergencies. It one-shots weak mobs and soldiers until late rounds, and will still do tons of damage to them when it no longer disintegrates them. Additionally, this ability can be used while cloaked, which will allow you to use it and get away with no damage. However, a lot of its value is derived from its ability to kill soldiers, and falls off a bit once it can no longer do that.

Whirlwind- Excellent. Not only does this ability allows you to run through huge crowds and kill/significantly damage many enemies at once, it is one of the best ways of taking out titans, shotgunners, and brutes. While the brutes are easy to deal with and can be one-shot with a well aimed shot from the EMP shotgun, the titans and shotgunners are not so easily disposed of. With this ability, you are able to take down shotgunners while hindering their ability to shoot you. The same goes for titans. Using this ability on one can take out 3/4 - 1/3 of their health, depending on the round, and they won't be able to damage you back. But it gets better. While you can't activate the ability while cloaked, you can activate it and THEN cloak to run around to go on a bashing spree, risk-free. This makes some of the best characters (Air Raid and Skyward) even better.

Sentry- Mostly garbage. The SMG sentries are bad enough, doing little damage and becoming negligible very quickly, but the Rocket Sentries are even worse, with a slow rate of fire and still pitiful damage. They also have little health and can be easily killed in just a few shots. Their main redeeming quality is that they can shoot at Brutes that are chasing you, or provide a momentary distraction in a pinch.

Drain- The best. If you're low on health, activate this ability to help slay your foes and help heal you up. It's more powerful than Whirlwind, while still making you the most sustainable player. Especially useful in mobs, restoring most of your health instantly and dealing huge amounts of AOE damage. This makes you of little liability to your team and will make you a very reliable medic.

Moleculon Bomb- Not particularly great. It's a rolling mine that slows enemies, doing minor damage within a certain radius, before finally exploding after about 10 seconds. However, both the speed debuff and damage are quite low, and the explosion is fairly weak. The ability is significantly buffed if you're using DarkElement's DLC patch (which most of your probably are), but it's still not great.

Guided Missile- Admittedly, it's not that great of an ability, but it's still pretty fun and definitely effective at times. It's a controllable missile that causes enormous damage. You can send this missile to any part of the map (with proper control, anyways) and wipe out almost any enemy with it. It's of little value in an emergency, but it's definitely awesome.

Dash- Extremely versatile. Can help get you get to health machine faster and will let you evade rockets and shotgun blasts, but it can also help you duck behind cover easier. It can get you to destinations faster, and make hard jumps easy. A solid ability.

Barrier- Decent, but used by quite a lot of characters. It blocks incoming fire, but also outgoing fire as well. It does not obstruct any players or enemies from passing through, but the AI won't usually push through it as long as you stay where you are. Mostly best for emergencies or revives, rather than for cover to be used offensively.

Hover- Also decent. Hover increases damage output by a respectable 40%, which is a boost comparable to that of Warcry (50%). However, it cripples your mobility and makes you somewhat of a sitting duck. If you're able to compensate for this, or have close access to health, then this ability can certainly help you destroy titans and tanks. You can use this in conjunction with the Null Ray to sustain it's one-hit potential for all rounds. The cooldown is a bit on the longer side as well, given how often you'll need to cancel it to avoid dying.

Cloaking- Unmatched. This ability allows you to go by undetected by any enemy, allowing you to enter and leave situations at will, revive teammates without being shot at, and buy whatever you need undisturbed. Any character with this ability will likely last the longest every time.

Ammo Beacon- This ability is very strong, but needs to be used strategically and cooperatively. It allows for careless ammo use with boosted damage, meaning that heavier weapons can be used with little regard for usage to deal lots of damage extremely quickly. It's stellar for holding a position or making a last stand. However, players must use this ability sparingly. Its recharge time is a whopping 3 minutes after the beacon expires (180 seconds with DarkElement's patch).

In this section I will be breaking down each of the characters and what they're good for.

Air Raid- With his jet form for excellent mobility, combined with his cloak and the versatile whirlwind ability, he's a terrific character to be. While he doesn't possess effective vehicle weapons, his ability combo still makes him one of the top choices. Air Raid can be played very effectively as a Lone Wolf role, making him viable in single player but also as a survivalist with friends.

Bumblebee- My personal favorite, Bumblebee is arguably the most versatile Autobot you can be. His small size and Dash makes him hard to hit, and his vehicle form makes him both fast and deadly. He also has the Shockwave ability, which proves useful for rapid combo attacks and bursted damage. Bumblebee's agility makes him very good as a support role, or for dealing concentrated damage.

Ironhide- A decent Autobot, with Dash and Whirlwind. However, his Dash is less effective than some Autobots because his standard speed is low, 5% lower than a Scout. However, using Whirlwind and Dash together can help close the gap between enemies quickly and also assist in a clean escape.

Warpath- Probably the most forgettable Autobot, Warpath has Barrier and Shockwave as his abilities. However, Warpath is a mediocre choice due to his large size incredibly slow movement speeds, which make it hard to escape from dangerous situations.

Ratchet- One of the less useful Autobots, Ratchet utilizes Barrier and is the only Autobot to have the SMG Sentry. While most of the Sentries are overall uneffective, some people do prefer to have it, which makes Ratchet a good choice for them. Despite what one may expect, Ratchet doesn't fill the healer role very well, due to his slow overall speed.

Sideswipe- A character similar to Bumblebee, Sideswipe makes for a good damage-dealing role with the addition of his Whirlwind ability. His size is even smaller than Bumblebee's, making him even tougher to damage in battle.

Silverbolt- Silverbolt, like Warpath, has Barrier and Shockwave as his abilities. However, his use of these becomes much more effective when you factor in his Jet form. Being able to travel anywhere with such ease makes arrivals and escapes more swift than for nay other vehicle. Despite his slow walking speed, his Jet velocity can carry over into robot form for a brief time if the user knows how to maintain it. His Barrier and swiftness makes Silverbolt the most effective player for a medic and rescue role, being able to pop into situations where his team is struggling.

Jetfire- Jetfire is the only Autobot to Hover, which provides a substantial damage increase at the cost of mobility. Due to the presence of the Null Ray weapon, this makes Jetfire a valuable pick because of his ability to improve its damage to kill enemies in one shot, even at the difficulty cap. However, Jetfire also has the nearly useless Rocket Sentry ability, and his large wingspan makes turning tight corners difficult as a vehicle.

Optimus- Optimus is uniquely the only Autobot with the Warcry ability, which grants a substantial damage increase and decrease in damage taken, turning him and his team around him into killing machines. His Dash synergizes with this, allowing him to cover more distance to damage more enemies within the lifespan of the ability.

Arcee- Arcee is one of the two Autobots who can use the Cloaking ability, rending a time of short invincibility. Being a car, she also has high mobility and is able to use the Assault Rifle vehicle weapon. Arcee's a very good choice for both survivalists and damage-dealers alike.

Megatron- Megatron is a high-risk, high-reward character. He has Hover to increase his damage output, and his Drain makes him nearly invincible at times while being able to deal huge amounts of AOE damage. This ability eliminates him as a liability to the team, and makes him a reliable reviver as well due to his health recovery. However, Megatron's lack of mobility makes it very hard to escape danger. This is especially bad after a revival, as the enemy hordes will likely put him back on the floor again the moment he gets up.

Soundwave- Soundwave is the only truck available to the (standard) Decepticon roster. The weapon and ability that the truck form has proves useful on Remnant, as they can deal large amounts of AoE damage. However, he also uses the SMG Sentry. While being able to detect Cloakers that fall from vents, the Sentry does little damage overall while still being a pushover for even your most standard enemies.

Breakdown- Breakdown is the Decepticon equivalent of Bumblebee, and is effective in all the same ways. However, due to the layout of Remnant and the nature of the enemy AI, it's difficult for Breakdown to navigate the map in a swift manner.

Brawl- Brawl utilizes Dash and Whirlwind, two very effective abilities on Remnant. Like Ironhide, he can close the distance between enemies while using the Whirlwind ability. Unfortunately, he faces the same problem as Megatron, having poor standard mobility and abysmal vehicle boost. This downfall is softened by his Dash ability, which makes him able to mobilize much faster than Megatron can.

Barricade- Barricade is arguably the most effective healer on this map, with Barrier to protect players and a swift car vehicle form to move quickly. The car Assault Rifle is effective as always, and his Shockwave can deliver powerful burst damage.

Starscream- Starscream is a less effective Decepticon, featuring Hover and Shockwave as his abilities. Given the playstyle of Remnant, using the Hover ability is an extremely risky move, as you have nearly no mobility while in the air. Without a source of healing in this position, dying is a very likely occurence.

Thundercracker- Thundercracker is easily the worst Decepticon, with Dash and Rocket Sentry as his abilities. Despite the versatility of Dash, his lack of any effective Energon abilities renders him a poor choice on Remnant. Those who choose to use him must be aware that they will have no powerful abilities to fall back on in bad situations.

Skywarp- Being a character similar to Air Raid, Skywarp is especially effective on Remnant due to his Cloak and Whirlwind combo. The close quarters and tight groups of enemies on this map makes the synergism of these two abilities very effective.

Slipstream- Slipstream is similar to Skywarp in that she posseses the Cloaking ability, something essential to slipping in and out of different situations with ease. However, she has Shockwave instead of whirlwind, which can be used while Cloaked for free damage.

The weapons of Escalation are not all created equal. I'll be comparing them here, as well as the best ways to use them.

Neutron Assault Rifle: This is the starting weapon for all characters in Escalation. It does a very good job for the first few rounds, but its DPS is low in comparison to the Scrapmaker, and rate of fire slower than the Car Assault Rifle. This weapon is very accurate at medium-long ranges when bursting 3-5 bullets at a time, even with just a quarter second in between bursts.

x12 Scrapmaker: This is the bread and butter of Escalation. It has the highest DPS and boasts a great ammo economy, making it nearly essential once Titans start spawning. However, the Scrapmaker is quite inaccurate at medium-long range after firing for long periods of time. At this range, bursting or simply waiting is a better strategy than spraying and praying.

EMP Shotgun: This is a very common weapon of choice for late-game play thanks to its enormous burst damage. It has awful range and sustained DPS, but its value comes from its ability to delete whatever non-Titan mob is directly in front of you. It's one of the safest ways to kill Shotgunners and is the fastest way to dispose of a Brute. However, its its limited magazine size makes accuracy crucial, so take care to line your shot up before firing. Also, oddly, this weapon seems to do far more damage when NOT using fine aim at truly point-blank ranges.

Photon Burst Rifle: This is a scoped rifle that fires 3-round bursts with moderate damage. It's very accurate when zoomed in, and offers solid DPS at range. You'll usually want to use this scoped in at medium-long range, since the spread is terrible when unscoped, and scoped shooting in close quarters isn't always easy. Other weapons provide better DPS at close range anyways.

Energon Battle Pistol: This is the more close-quarters alternative to the Null Ray, with less damage, twice the ammo, and greatly improved unzoomed spread. The first shot is very accurate, but very high recoil and becomes very inaccurate with consecutive shots. Waiting a small time in between shots will greatly benefit you when trying to control it. It's great for headshots, being able to one-shot basic soldiers at any round, but it's not great if your aim isn't good enough to utilize that. The ammo economy and damage aren't very good for body shots.

Scatter Blaster: An alternative to the EMP Shotgun, the Scatter Blaster is a fully automatic shotgun that sacrifices its damage for ammo and rate of fire. The main issue with the Scatter Blaster is that it has very low stopping power against enemies in high rounds, which is what the EMP Shotgun is good for. When point-blank burst damage isn't required, weapons like the Scrapmaker have much better DPS than the Scatter Blaster. Additionally, the weapon has a poor ammo economy, needing frequent reloads and dealing low damage across its entire ammo pool.

Plasma Cannon: In theory, a great option for handling crowds. Full charged blasts from this weapon have respectable range and deal quite a lot of damage. The weapon's mechanics make lower-power shots possible as well. Unfortunately, on some maps, the weapon suffers from terrible hit registration, and will often fail to deal any damage at all. It's particularly bad on Broken Hope, less so on Remnant. Can't speak for the DLC maps.

Energon Repair Ray: A risky investment that can be extremely valuable in Multiplayer. Costing an enormous $1250, the Repair Ray does exactly what the name suggests. This will cut down on your team's healing costs, and save struggling players when they really need it. The weapon also doubles as a "death ray". While extremely weak, it can be used to lock onto fleeing Cloakers, which are generally very hard targets to hit. It's less powerful on easier maps such as Broken Hope or Forsaken.

Thermo Rocket Launcher: Despite the perk of locking onto enemy vehicles, this weapon is made completely obsolete by the Null Ray. The Rocket Launcher is unique in that it is NOT a hitscan weapon, making it the one of the only weapons with travel time after firing. This is only aggravated by the fact that it deals lower damage than the Null Ray, and also has less ammo. The only benefit to this weapon is the ability to lock onto vehicles, which lesser skilled players may have a difficult time tracking.

Null Ray: My personal favorite, this powerful sniper rifle is capable of one-tapping most enemies until round 12. It costs only $300, and is versatile in almost all situations. Its hip-fire spread is extremely high, but it still is effective for unscoped hits at close range. However, the Null Ray won't one-shot basic soldiers after a certain point, and with its low ammo capacity, it won't earn many kills after that.

Magma Frag Launcher: A very powerful grenade launcher that can deal huge damage with direct impacts. Onslaughts with its splash damage are very effective as well, making it a very ideal choice to deal with groups of enemies. In the later rounds, the Magma Frag Launcher serves as a good secondary weapon for eliminating tanks or for clearing crowded rooms. The main limitation of this weapon is its ammo, with only 3 grenades per magazine and only 12 grenades in reserve.

Flak Grenades- Cheap auxilary damage. Good for clearing out clustered areas and rooms, can kill weak enemies for many rounds, and can deal great amounts of damage to shotgunners. You can throw one in the middle of a reload to finish off enemies, without interrupting the reload. Tossing one of these at a Brute's shield often makes him turn around, letting you attack his backpack.

EMP Grenades- A versatile grenade that stuns enemies by suspending in the air for a few seconds. They're great for stunning enemies in an emergency so you can escape or reposition, and can be used preemptively to prevent a messy situation from happening in the first place. Be careful of the splash effect though, as stunning yourself can also mean game over. EMP Grenades don't have to be used defensively though. You can also use them to hold enemies still while you shoot them, and they disable Shotgunner overshields as well.

Thermo Mines- They're decent. For the first 10 or so rounds, will kill rocketeers and machine gunners, and will always one-shot cloakers. Can be deployed as you run away from trouble to dispose of pursuers, or just deal damage to a crowded area. They're a bit expensive for their benefit in later rounds though, once they stop one-shotting basic soldiers.

Energon Grenades- God-tier of grenades. They provide a revive to a teammate you can't reach (most of the time) while giving them some extra health at the same time, they will give you almost near invincibility while you are being surrounded, and can just be used when everyone around you is low on health and don't have time to line up for health/overshields. They cost a lot, but they can save the day quite often.

Ion Displacer- A cool thing to have when these drop from tanks. Not cost-efficient when bought, but can get you through some tough times, and will rip through practically anything that comes your way. Match that with a high ammo count and this could last you a few minutes against any onslaught.

Nucleon Shock Cannon- This weapon is a large risk when using it. If you find it dropped from a tank, be careful using it- you are slow, and are likely to inflict splash damage upon yourself. The splash damage doesn't work particularly well either, but this weapon is very effective against tanks. Don't ever buy this weapon- if you want a turret, use the Displacer.

Spider- (Broken Hope only) Worth $10. These enemies are nothing to worry about. Their damage is minimal and are simply pests at most. They can be a pain as they stop regeneration and sometimes can stop you from reviving someone.

Holo-Brute- (Remnant only) Worth $25. Annoying enemies that will stun you, they are very easy to kill and have no ranged attacks, but can be deadly if they surround you and can take out lots of health at once if they get you with a combo attack. Be careful of their invincibility frames, though.

Machine Gunner- Worth $25. The most basic enemy in the game. They are enemies with a Neutron Assault Rifle, Photon Burst Rifle, or an Energon Battle Pistol. The ones with PBRs are incredibly annoying and deal huge amounts of damage, and the ones with NARs are annoying as well. They don't have too much health and can be disposed if easily. WARNING: These enemies have a tendancy to just back away from you while opening fire, preventing you from landing a melee hit while draining your health very quickly. They also just love to transform over and over again, rendering them invincible (I don't know why) while still being able to shoot you.

Rocketeer- Worth $30. Another staple enemy that comes your way, these guys are equipped with Thermo Rocket Launchers, dealing more damage but having attacks that are easily avoidable. Not much of a threat. They do like to transform repeatedly to keep your from landing damage (not sure why this works) while still damaging you, however.

CQC Specialist- Worth $50. Cloakers. Not much to say. Easy to kill but they do high damage. When using a melee attack, expect instant retaliation after the kill, as they immediately discharge their Plasma Cannons.

Jet- (Broken Hope only) Worth $75. The most point-efficient enemy in the game. Low health, and they don't do much damage. Their bombing runs can hurt pretty bad, though. Watch out, they can deal large damage when there are 3 or more firing on you. Interestingly, if you destroy their boosters, they give you an extra 125-250 leaderboard points. These only count towards total score and are not spendable.

Shotgunner- Worth $75. By far the most dangerous enemy. Their health and damage are insane. They can take out almost half your health in a single shot, and they are very, very tanky. Their high mobility makes them even more dangerous. Cloaking characters should go invisible and aim an EMP Shotgun or fully charged Plasma Cannon right at the head to kill/nearly kill them.

Brute- Worth $100. These guys usually aren't too much trouble, but they can be devastating if they aren't dealt with appropriately. A few melee hits, or a shotgun blast or two should take them out nicely. TIP- Throwing a Flak Grenade right at their shield will often make them turn around, making them susceptible to damage.

Titan- Worth $100. The next most dangerous thing to a Shotgunner. They can easily be shot from cover without much retaliation, but out in the open, they will rip you to shreds. They have lots of health, usually taking over 2 full Scrapmaker magazines to take them down. TIP- Using the Whirlwind melee ability will hit them repeatedly, removing about 1/3-2/3 of their health while making them unable to shoot you. Be sure you can get away after, though!

Tank- (Broken Hope only) Worth $300. Not too much to worry about, but can deal serious damage when its attacks hit, and we're talking to the extreme. The grenades can take out a third of your health, and trying to take on its plasma blast, even with a full overshield, will most likely result in a dead Autobot. Scrapmaker is very effective, and the Magma Frag Launcher and truck rockets can also do splash damage to all parts of his armor. You can safely ignore these guys if you're covered. Upon death, they have approximately a 33% chance to drop an Ion Displacer or a Nucleon Shock Cannon. The Tank also gives extra non-spendable leaderboard points in increments of 50. They are given when armor is broken and upon its death.

This section will highlight basic and general progression points throughout a normal game of Escalation.

Round 1: An easy round of simple spiders and machine gunners. Glitch open the $2500 door if you want, and finish the round.

Round 3: You and your team should have enough money to buy EMP Shotguns or Photon Burst Rifles if you're interested. Cloakers and Rocketeers begin spawning this round.

Round 4-5: Your team should have enough money now to begin opening doors. It is recommended to open the door leading to overshields, or to open the Battle Pistol room. Jets will begin spawning on round 5.

Round 6: Shotgunners will begin spawning. It is essential to have access to escape routes and corners to shoot around in order to avoid being killed by them.

Round 7: You and your team should open the $700 door, and obtain some more powerful weapons. The Null Ray and Scrapmaker are available.

Round 8: Brutes will begin spawning. The bridge between the Overshield room and the Battle Pistol room should definitely be open by now.

Round 10: Titans will begin spawning instead of Brutes. Machine Gunners and Rocketeers are no longer susceptible to one-hit kills from melee.

Round 12: Titans and Brutes will begin spawning alongside each other. Machine Gunners and Rocketeers are no longer susceptible to one-hit kills from Null Ray.

Round 13: Jets are no longer susceptible to one-hit kills from Null Ray. The team probably has enough money to open the door to Energon Grenades by now, or soon.

Round 15: Tanks will begin to spawn. Be extra careful when venturing outside.

Round 18: This wave is the difficulty cap for Broken Hope. All rounds beyond this point will be identical to this one. Best of luck!

As always, playing Escalation should be done how you want to. You really don't have to listen to the guy on the internet who wasted his time writing a guide. This section is just for less experiences players to see how games play out, and how you play is up to you!

This section will highlight basic and general progression points throughout a normal game of Escalation. You can choose to skip or ignore any of these pointers.

Round 1: An easy round of Machine Gunners and Holo-Brutes.

Round 3: The team should have enough money to open a door. Choose which side of the map you wish to progress on, as reaching the Scrapmaker room is important before round 7.

Round 4-5: A $500 door should be able to be opened by this point. Cloakers and Rocketeers may begin spawning on these rounds.

Round 6: Machine Gunners are no longer susceptible to one-hit kills from melee. Cloakers and Rocketeers may begin spawning on this round. It is important to try to open the Scrapmaker room sometime during this round.

Round 7: Holo-Brutes no longer spawn. Shotgunners now spawn. The team should be able to buy Scrapmakers by this point.

Round 8: Titans will begin spawning. The team should have enough money to open the way to Overshields now, or at least soon.

Round 10: Brutes will begin spawning. The team will have enough money to begin opening doors on the other side of the map to get items they may want. It is important to begin investing in Energon Grenades. The rest of the rounds after this should be similar to this one (difficulty cap is unknown). Best of luck!

As always, playing Escalation should be done how you want to. You really don't have to listen to the guy on the internet who wasted his time writing a guide. This section is just for less experiences players to see how games play out, and how you play is up to you!

Money management is essential if you want to get far in Escalation. It's important to save money for important purchases, but to keep yourself from spending too much. Here are some tips you can follow to help keep you and your whole team well stocked.

Health and ammo can always be afforded (in a sense). It's usually better to just top off if you're sitting at half capacity, rather than run the risk of dying early because you caught yourself in an unexpectedly bad spot. This is especially true if you're just skimping to open a door early. Having a Scrapmaker at round 6 instead of round 8 isn't gonna change much.

Map economies aren't created equal. It's much easier to rack up points on Broken Hope than Remnant for a number of reasons, and because Remnant is a much harder map, you can expect to be buying health/shields much more often. Keep this in mind when spending points and making acquisitions. It's easy to stockpile $10000 on Broken Hope. It's hard to stay above even $2000 on Remnant.

Be a good teammate. Top off your friends' (reasonable!) purchases if they need them. They might need that Overshield more than you need those $50. Additionally, buy them weapons if you can afford them but they can't. A new player that joins at round 17 will have a very tough time killing tanks with their Neutron Assault Rifle. And finally, be sure to open doors together. Don't make that one guy open the way to Energon Grenades alone. Work together and support your teammates. It makes a game that much better.

Be mindful of the cost it takes to kill certain enemies. Think about your kills sometimes before you go for them. For example, killing a Jet with a Null Ray will earn you $75 and 5% of your ammo. In comparison, meleeing a shotgunner to death on round 20 will earn you $75 and most likely cost you $100 in health (or $200). Make sure to avoid much of a net loss when making your kills, and strategize accordingly.

Don't steal kills. Unless you're really hurting for cash, firing those 8 bullets at an already ignited Brute is something only a jerk would do. Or finishing off a smoking jet while your teammate reloads. Or stealing that Shotgunner with a Shockwave. You never know, maybe that player spent $200 meleeing that thing.

Save for emergencies, but keep in mind that certain equipment avoids them entirely. EMP Grenades could make it hard to afford a new Overshield when you need one, but when used effectively, may also keep you from needing a new one in the first place.

Sometimes ignoring your problems will help you solve them. Sometimes it's just about being direct. Whatever it is, the enemy AI is rewarding to players who play confidently.

Brutes are very likely to ignore you (about 80%) and will probably target other players if you act passive around them. If you ignore them, or simply stroll past them, odds are they'll stroll right past you too. You can then continue to pay attention to whatever you were shooting before, or turn around and shoot the Brute.

Jets in their robot form like to hover around and be annoying. The quickest way to make them vulnerable is to simply walk towards them. They'll scoot away, and then hover, immobile. This reveals their boosters. Their boosters take extra damage, making them an easy kill.

One of the easiest ways to attack Shotgunners is to do it the most counter-intuitive way you can imagine. Stand still when you shoot them, or walk with your ADS to slow you down. When you don't actively pursue them, they don't tend to move away from you or strafe you. Shotgunner AI behaves so that they shoot more frequently when they run. When they're at a standstill, they shoot much less often.

Keeping your cool and playing confidently is a good aspect to have when playing Escalation. Try to practice it.

A triple jump is possible as every vehicle form except jet, which means that you can have easier and faster access to spots (while being able to show off to people who don't know about this glitch!). As a robot, do your normal double jump, and then hit your jump and transform key at the same time. You have a chance of performing a third jump for extra height. (demonstrated in video)

A compilation of small advice and tips, mentioned before or maybe not, to help you in game.

-Throw Flak Grenades at the shield of a brute to have a chance to make him turn around.

-A well aimed EMP Shotgun blast can one-shot a brute.

-If an enemy is close enough to be practically touching you, the EMP Shotgun (and perhaps Scatter Blaster?) seems to be far more effective when not zooming in. If the enemy fills the crosshair unscoped, you might as well fire it like that, unless you have a very clear shot at their head.

-Whirlwind can clear out crowded areas, and using it and then Cloaking can render you invisible while you smash up some robots.

-Don't be afraid to use vehicle form sometimes, the weapons are powerful (except for jet) and offer great mobility and a smaller hitbox.

-Respect Shotgunners. Deal with them as soon as you can, and from a distance if possible.

-For the most part, it isn't a good idea to use the Nucleon Shock Cannon, unless you're very careful about using it.

-Place Thermo Mines to damage or kill enemies as you run away from danger.

-Try to stretch out your ammo for the first few rounds, use melee attacks or shoot explosives that lie around. It can save you a few bucks to open some doors.

-Truck ram can smash through cluttered areas, killing enemies and letting you through.

-Since you can't start boosting for a moment after you transform to truck or car, wait a half second and then shift dash a split second before you begin boosting. This will overcome the acceleration period and get you on your way faster.

-Healing grenades are very handy in multiplayer, allowing for near invincibility and allowing you to revive teammates from afar.

-Try to help out players that join mid-game, if you have tons of points buy them a Scrapmaker, let them have Jet and Brute kills, etc.

-If a teammate is downed by a Brute, always take out the Brute before attempting a revive. If you don't, he will simply destroy your teammate and probably kill you too. Their death explosion won't (usually) damage downed players, leaving them unaffected and even clearing out nearby enemies in the meantime.

-Plan on keeping your last ammo magazine. This way you can still fight something if it gets in your way as you try to restock. Ammo pickups refill only your reserve ammo anyways, so you won't be getting any more ammo if you use that last magazine.

-The Photon Burst Rifle takes down Brutes surprisingly fast. Line up your shots well, and you can take one out in half a magazine.

-EMP Grenades will make Titans and Shotgunners easy prey for your Scrapmaker.

-High-damage weapons like the Null Ray do far less damage to brutes than you would expect. Use guns with high projectile count.

-The car vehicle's Assault Rifle is comparable to the Scrapmaker in DPS, while being much more accurate.

-Comboing melee/shockwaves/Null Ray blasts can 2-hit kill shotgunners up until round 10.

-When you're in jet form and near a health machine, sometimes you'll find that the health won't purchase. However, you can avoid this completely with an easy fix. As you begin to approach the dispenser, hold your V key. Being closer to the ground not only makes you harder to hit, but will nearly guarantee your ability to buy the health you need. This is especially useful when you're downed and going to die soon.

-Pickups on Overshields are not particularly reliable. There's a high chance that if you're needing a revive, you won't be able to pick it up. Health dispensers are far more reliable in this respect.

-Using your ammo at the beginning of the game isn't the worst thing you could be doing. The price to refill is only $50, and as long as you don't shoot 2 clips at every machine gunner, it won't have a big drag on your early game. Ignoring your weapons means you have to try for melee kills, which often results in health loss. Would you rather spend $100 in ammo in the first 5 rounds, or $300 in health?

-A stomping melee attack has less recovery time than a normal swing. You can use this to make consecutive attacks faster.

-Shift-Dashes and Barrel Rolls can be used as a last-ditch escape for players who don't have the Dash ability. You can use this in a wide variety of ways. If you're stunned by a Brute, with a room full of Shotgunners, you can Vehicle Dash behind a corner to escape. If a Tank is spraying plasma your way, you can duck out of the way with a sudden Barrel Roll. And if you have Dash as well, you can still use these in conjunction with one another!

-Make friends. Finding people to play this game with is seriously hard in 2019. Do your best to friend players you meet, so you can know when people are on and play with them!

-Most people believe that the "Cycle Players" function is broken. However, the correct key is actually the brackets on your keyboard: [ ]

-Dashing before landing will stop you from flinching after a hard fall. Saves time and lets you shoot sooner.

-Jetfire, although not a particularly effective character, can use Hover and gain enough damage to sustain the Null Ray's one-tap potential. Keep this in mind if you really like sniping.

-You can move incredibly fast in robot form after transforming. Boost, and when you hit max velocity, jump. Transform, and then keep double jumping the second you hit the floor. You'll maintain your previous velocity, while still being able to look around.

-Warcry's animation is intrusive on shooting and using melee. Try to use a Dash or use your melee attack a split second before activation to cancel its animation.

-Throwing Flak Grenades while reloading is an effective method of continuing an onslaught, or finishing off a Shotgunner you couldn't quite finish off.

There are many bugs within this lovely game. Here's a list of those bugs.

Host/Client Discrepancies

-The host, when reviving, is vulnerable to interruption by enemy melee attacks. Clients are not. Clear out Holo-Brutes, Spiders, etc. before attempting a revive if you're hosting the game.

-The host will consume truck rockets twice as fast as clients. Use this to your advantage when you aren't hosting.

-Transforming will reload your selected weapon as the host, but not as the client. If you've joined a game, be sure to remember this.

-When a game starts, sometimes connected players will not load into the game. Their camera will remain at the default position, and they will not be able to participate until they rejoin.

Invincibility Frames

-Any transforming enemy will be untouchable during their transition to and from vehicle form. Avoid wasting your ammo during this period and for a moment afterwards.

-Holo-Brutes have invincibility from melee while using some of their attacks.

-Brutes have short invincibility periods after damage from the Photon Burst Rifle.

Cloaking Awareness

-Brutes will know your location while you're cloaked. They will turn their shield towards you if their aggro is targeting you.

-Standing in front of a downed player while cloaked will cause most enemies to stop shooting from that direction. Rocketeers, however, will try to shoot "around" you, causing splash damage to you and ending your cloak.

Purchases

-There are pickup bugs with health and especially overshields. Standing on the pad to buy them after being downed does not guarantee your revive.

-The EMP Shotgun, Photon Burst Rifle, and Energon Battle Pistol take an excessively long time to purchase on Broken Hope. This time extends itself as your latency increases.

Vehicle

-Transforming before a truck boost has recharged will render it unusable for a short time when returning to truck form.

-Falling at the wrong angle and velocity on Broken Hope has a rare chance to clip you through the floor and into the "Death Void".

-Going down a split second after transforming from jet form will cripple your jet boost and hover until you go down again.

-Going down a split second after transforming from vehicle form will completely eliminate your transform animation until you are downed again (experienced only on Bumblebee). This is theoretically advantageous as it allows you to move as a vehicle sooner.

Other

-Certain grate walls in Broken Hope will allow you to shoot through them at random. This is determined at the beginning of the game, is player-specific, and there seems to be no indication of the cause. Some players can shoot through them, while others cannot.

-Rocketeers will sometimes get stuck on the props in front of the $2500 room.

-Dashing immediately before your health runs out has a chance to let you walk while downed.

Many players are disappointed with the fact that there are no DLCs for this game, which means we get no other characters and have a lot less maps. However, some of you know that it is possible to get an improved "Coalesced.ini" file (originally created by The14thPrime) that grants access to the characters included in the DLCs. You can google a tutorial pretty easily, or I'll explain the process here. First, find a link to the file (the easiest way is to find The14thPrime's post in the community forums) and download it. Then, you need to find the folder with most of the necessary files for the game. It's normally located under "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Transformers War for Cybertron\TransGame\Config\PC\Cooked", but if yours isn't try and find the Transformers War for Cybertron folder. Inside, find the Config folder and find "Coalesced" (should be a .ini) and rename it "Coalesced Backup". Then, place the new Coalesced file into the folder, and you should be able to have a few new features.

Along with the DLC characters for Escalation (READ FARTHER DOWN), the file also contains a few visual modifications, an Optimus model for Decepticons in multiplayer (called Shattered Glass or Nemesis Prime by many players), unlocks the Zeta Prime model for multiplayer, and the other 2 seeker models for multiplayer besides Starscream, if you want a different melee and transform animation. But this isn't really relevant.

READ THIS
Now, before you jump in and start using the Escalation characters, know that come with a flaw. They lack models (except for Zeta Prime for some reason), and they will crash your game if you try to use them with a host who does not have this mod/file (or whatever you call it). The characters, while having the menu image files, have reused models. I read on a rather long forum that this is because the characters are technically in the folder, but are simply dummy placements that don't have models, and were locked from use. So, the edited file unlocks them and gives them a model already used (i.e. Sideswipe, Barricade, Brawl). Remember that Zeta Prime still does have a model and will work with hosts who don't own the mod. This is because, for some reason, his model, sounds and animations, along with even his voice are included, just locked. Now, we'll look at the ablities, and the actual practicality of these characters.

Autobots-

Jazz- used model: Sideswipe (Car)
Recharge Ability- Barrier
Energon Ability- Moleculon Bomb

Zeta Prime-
Recharge Ability- Ammo Beacon
Energon Ability- Warcry

Scattershot- used model: Ironhide (Truck, with Tank weapon)
Recharge Ability- Barrier
Energon Ability- Guided Missile

Decepticons-

Shockwave- used model: Thundercracker (Jet)
Recharge Ability- Hover
Energon Ability- Shockwave

Dead End- used model: Barricade (Car)
Recharge Ability- Cloaking
Energon Ability- Rocket Sentry

Demolishor- used model: Brawl (Tank)
Recharge Ability- Ammo Beacon
Energon Ability- Whirlwind

Onslaught- used model: Soundwave (Truck)
Recharge Ability- Dash
Energon Ability- Guided Missile

Jazz- He's certainly not great. Barrier isn't exactly a high-end recharge ability, and Moleculon Bomb isn't very good either. Definitely better picks out there, but is still a unique one.

Zeta Prime- Can basically replace Optimus in any strategy, as he still has the excellent Warcry ability. His Ammo Beacon is great for the team, it keeps everyone full while buffing up their damage. He's a good pick for a team player.

Scattershot- He's a fine character to use for many situations. Tank Cannon and Guided Missile make him good for group damage.

Shockwave- Shockwave has the same abilities and vehicle form as Starscream, making him somewhat redundant. Because he's basically the same as Starscream, he's also a bit mediocre like Starscream.

Dead End- Dead End is a top-tier character, with Cloaking being reason enough to choose him. His Rocket Sentry isn't useful of course, but his ability to go invisible makes him less of a liability to his teammates as well as a chance at survival if he's the only one left. While he lacks the vehicle mobility of Skyward or Slipstream, his car form gives him an extra deadly weapon to work with.

Demolishor- Certainly a solid character to be, with his Whirlwind being able to kill groups of enemies and his Ammo Beacon refilling the team. Since there are often situations when ammo isn't able to be reached, he can get all players out of a pretty nasty pickle. However, as a tank character, he can be very vulnerable in situations that are too tough to stand and fight.

Onslaught- Like Scattershot, he's capable of taking out hordes of enemies very quickly, with truck rockets and the Guided Missile. His Dash ability is a bit rarer for the Decepticons faction, and is very valuable on difficult maps like Remnant.

Hope you learned something from this. If there is some info that I didn't cover, feel free to leave a comment. Please, leave me some feedback or ask some questions if you have any. Have a nice day.

-TrueEvil on the 3rd party servers (previously EvilflameGMD)
Oh and if you play TWFC feel free to add my steam.

So what's new in my 2019 revision? Well, quite a lot. Here's a list, though there are a few changes I may have forgotten about.

Added Sections:
Basic Progression for Broken Hope
Basic Progression for Remnant
Economy
Saving $700
Notable Bugs
Confidence is Key
Autobot Characters
Decepticon Characters

Expanded Sections:
Energon Abilities
Cooldown Abilities
General Tips
Glitches Sections

Removed Sections:
How to NOT Play Escalation Correctly
Cheap Healing Grenades
Another Lil' Spot
Changelog
Characters

Revised sections:
DLC Sections (eliminated redundancies)
Ability Sections (recredited Hover, Shockwave, Drain, and Dash)
Skipping Ahead (rename and addition of Jetfire-working method)
Weapons (small changes)
Glitches Sections (rename and revisions)
Weapons (Complete Overhaul)