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  1. #1

    Sick of the Shangi-La arcade mode in this game

    As if there weren't enough dumb flaws in the game you have to do the Shangi-La thing over and over, running around like a demented chicken. If I want an arcade game I'll get one but I don't need this BS in a FPS. The final Shangri-La is the worst. Mind you, the one where you fly is a real piss off too. Last time the sort of "shoot 'em 100 times to kill" nonsense came my way was way back with Unreal in the 1990s. It was forgivable then, not now.

    If only they'd stuck to the formula of FC1 and FC2. Here's a clue Ubisoft - examine Just Cause 2 and learn FFS.
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  2. #2
    Frag_Maniac's Avatar Banned
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    Others have mentioned their dislike for both the flying and final boss in Shangri-La. It's almost always made easier by their listening to a bit of advice on how to get through them though.

    The flying requires navigating over the wind spires to keep elevation. They're marked by blowing leaves. On keyboard you're better off with subtle taps vs holding the keys to steer, which can cause over steering and the need to correct it. Often times if you've over steered you run out of time or space to correct. Tapping is preventative maintenance.

    The final boss is made much easier if you immediately run to the other side of the area whenever it turns blue to go into it's spawn attack. This helps you avoid ground skirmishes and focus on the bird and get in good shots when you need to. It also helps to take note where the ground troops are via the detection indicators and the tracers of slung arrows so you can stay opposite the ground enemies and stay moving to avoid their arrows. It's a bit of a dance yes, but a simple two step once you get the hang of it. You also have to shoot the bird in the mouth when it opens it, then send the tiger to it when it drops. You as well need to shoot it in the mouth when it's on the ground.

    I made this video specifically to show how to make it easy after many complained, and to prove it can be done in a little over 3 min with no ground skirmishes or healing, even on Hard, because after having done it on Normal and explained it for the benefit of those struggling, I was called a liar. This is not intended as bragging, I'm sincerely trying to help.

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  3. #3
    MikeWeeks's Avatar Senior Member
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    It's the very concept of the Shangri-La "missions" within this FPS game based around an earth-bound environment which I find totally a waste of time (as was the ink monster in FC3). Great to have posted here how to get thru the final mission on Hard without it being a long drag-out fight, but frankly I have zero interest in doing it, and thankfully don't have to. I discovered, even on Hard, that you can get thru the first two basically by racing thru the waypoints with a minimum of effort, and get that second bell rung - which for the specific skill point is the only reason I did it.
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  4. #4
    Frag_Maniac's Avatar Banned
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    Originally Posted by MikeWeeks Go to original post
    It's the very concept of the Shangri-La "missions" within this FPS game based around an earth-bound environment which I find totally a waste of time...
    The Far Cry series started out with heavy under tones of sci fi. The only one that didn't have it is Far Cry 2, which didn't rate all that well with most users. Sci fi is sci fi whether genealogical or spiritual. Most I think have embraced Shangri-La. I feel it's quite a step up from the voodoo stuff in Far Cry 3.
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  5. #5
    MikeWeeks's Avatar Senior Member
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    The best part of original Far Cry were the mods generated afterwards which had few (or no) trigens and fat boys and allowed you to complete the objects any way you wished, as was the case in FC2 ...

    But yes, Shangri-La is a set up from the voodoo stuff. And thank goodness it can be ignored is one wishes to do so.
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  6. #6
    Frag_Maniac's Avatar Banned
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    Originally Posted by MikeWeeks Go to original post
    The best part of original Far Cry were the mods generated afterwards which had few (or no) trigens and fat boys and allowed you to complete the objects any way you wished, as was the case in FC2 ...

    But yes, Shangri-La is a set up from the voodoo stuff. And thank goodness it can be ignored is one wishes to do so.

    Yeah it's funny how there's this little cult of FC2 worshipers running around now trying to insist it's the best FC, but where were they when the game was out and being played while it was literally being torn a new one by the many whom couldn't stand it's crap story, insta re-spawn checkpoints, constant malaria pill scavenging, weapons that fail all the time, etc, etc.

    At the end of the day Ubi would not be continuing to use sci fi elements if most thought it deplorable, nor would they be getting awarded shooter of the year.

    Retro grouches tend to always skew things their way, while everyone else goes on about their business.
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  7. #7
    GiveMeTactical's Avatar Banned
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    Originally Posted by Frag_Maniac Go to original post
    At the end of the day Ubi would not be continuing to use sci fi elements if most thought it deplorable, nor would they be getting awarded shooter of the year.
    Hmmmm, I would beg your pardon on the first sentence, we all know UBI does not listen to their core customers and will do whatever they think they will like people to do or like.

    The second sentence is pretty much debatable as well, we know their pockets run rich and they rather pay their way to the top than make a decent game and get there on its merits but... at the end of the day, we gain nothing with it

    The game is supposed to be rated M for mature and pretty much all of their quests are for kids or kids alike... take the Naked and whatever from Yogi, swim around a cave, do it again, get to a jetski and get to your guns and Presto, you finish? Really... way to make an effort there!
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  8. #8
    I got cheesed off after the first 2 shangri Las & didn't bother with the others and it does not affect you completing the campaign, currently reactivated the outposts & the 2 SL are still available to play if i wanted
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  9. #9
    MikeWeeks's Avatar Senior Member
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    Originally Posted by Frag_Maniac Go to original post
    Yeah it's funny how there's this little cult of FC2 worshipers running around now trying to insist it's the best FC, but where were they when the game was out and being played while it was literally being torn a new one by the many whom couldn't stand it's crap story, insta re-spawn outposts, constant malaria pill scavenging, weapons that fail all the time, etc, etc.

    At the end of the day Ubi would not be continuing to use sci fi elements if most thought it deplorable, nor would they be getting awarded shooter of the year.

    Retro grouches tend to always skew things their way, while everyone else goes on about their business.
    It wouldn't surprise me if it's a case of a good number of serious FPS gamers who, having now seen what u-b-"soft" has produced twice since, have even more respect for how FC2 was structured. Which BTW, didn't have instant re-spawning outposts as used now in FC3/4 - they were simply roadblocks, and an active civil war was taking place; so you go around them if they had re-spawned, or just blow them away again. No big deal. The malaria pill scavenging wasn't even close to "constant". Was an interesting method to have the player head over to a specific area in which other free-roaming activities could take place. At least with malaria pills it fit nicely into the environment the player was involved with. Weapons never failed all the time that I'm aware of. You simply had to maintain them, as you actually might in such an environment. The method used were the armories and weapon crates at the safe houses - no big deal, and not an issue for anyone who understood how the game was structured.

    Sure, the story line in FC2 wasn't all that great, especially the ending. But compared to FC3 for example, heads and shoulders above .. The best part however - the player's character didn't speak!!

    My bottom line on all this noise is that after a couple of spins thru vanilla FC4's Kyrat, it's off to immerse one's self with hopefully a good mod or two which will attempt to re-shape the game to better fit those who enjoy FPS games at a more challenging open world level.
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  10. #10
    Frag_Maniac's Avatar Banned
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    Originally Posted by MikeWeeks Go to original post
    ...Which BTW, didn't have instant re-spawning outposts as used now in FC3/4 - they were simply roadblocks...
    Actually Checkpoints, and that was obviously a typo. I've played all Far Cry games extensively and know them well. It's just that we've been on the outpost system for quite some time now that I've become conditioned saying it that way. And I do find it far superior to the checkpoints used in Far Cry 2. I don't think you'd get too many people wanting to go back to insta re-spawn checkpoints. It was in fact a big deal and the main thing complained about. I don't think most would have cared if they'd at least had a realistic amount of time before they re-spawned.

    The pill scavenging wasn't literally constant, no, but often enough to become annoying. The attacks would often interrupt at the worst possible time. If they'd at least had some special missions where you could get a decent amount of them instead of having to always get a small quantity, it wouldn't have been so bad.

    Actually the pickup weapons failed so much they were pretty much pointless to use. And when you finally bought decent weapons, which you expect to be brand new or at least in excellent condition, turns out they jam more than would be realistic even if you DID maintain them. Weapons, vehicles, etc, failed a lot in Desert Storm, yes, but that's a full on desert with sand storms. The African Savanna isn't as windy or sandy, it's mostly grass and much lighter winds, and the arid climate if anything helps avoid corrosion. The most ridiculous thing about the weapons is the Jackal would have been shot long ago had he supplied such trash to those factions. I mean they rarely worked for more than a couple clips without jamming.

    I didn't particularly like the weapon crate system and wasn't compelled to use it much. I typically kept a loadout that was versatile, rather than crate hopping all the time, which gets monotonous. I doubt there's anything you could mention about the game structure I'm unaware of. It's simply a matter of preference. Realism has it's place, but so does gameplay practicality. The two have to balance somewhat for a good gaming experience. You could make the most realistic cop game ever, but it would be mostly boring patrolling and report writing.

    I'm sorry, but I'll take the open world setting and story of Far Cry 3 over Far Cry 2's linear Jackal's suicide sycophant "structure" any day of the week and twice on Sunday, and not even give it a second thought. There aren't any of Far Cry 3's flaws that are worse than the many in Far Cry 2.

    And as you even admitted, Far Cry 4 is a step up from Far Cry 3. As far as challenge goes, I didn't really have any trouble getting through the hardest mode in Far Cry 2, and never saw it as compelling enough to want to play mods of it. The only ones I sought in Far Cry 3 were to remove HUD elements, and they fixed that in Far Cry 4. Far Cry 3 also had a Master difficulty mode patched in, and it's too soon to tell whether Far Cry 4 will.

    Far Cry 4 on Hard with no HUD provides a decent challenge for most, and the Escape From Durgesh DLC even more so. I'd certainly play on Master Mode if they offer it, but right now I'm content with Durgesh on Hard with no HUD, and I don't see a lot of people begging for it like with Far Cry 3. Mods can be OK and it's nice that PC has that option, but anymore I find with games that use a proprietary file system, they are either compilations that contain a lot of stuff you don't want, or designed that way by a given modder. They can also introduce performance and/or bug problems.

    There's nothing quite like a game that is for the most part made well to begin with, and since the recent patching, that describes Far Cry 4 to a T. No other Far Cry game has offered so much so well. It's easily the best in the series and the only one to have won shooter of the year, deservedly so.
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