WD's Dead Space 2 Zealot Guide

[WytchDokta]

I'll do this over several posts, starting with the basics. I have a mate of mine going back over parts of the game as I write up this guide/FAQ so as to double check things. I will add his input to this thread too.

So, "let's do this!" said Leeroy Jenkins.

Part 1: The Basics

• Complete atleast one full playthrough before even thinking about starting a Zealot run. Two or even three fully completed playthroughs is even better. The reason for this is beecause you will then have your upgraded weapons and equipment, aswell as a decent amount of ammo/meds/stasis/credits stockpiled in your Inventory and Safe.
  
  While the amount of pickups remain the same throughout difficulties, the amount of ammo received from each ammo pick up decreases. I will cover ammo conservation and consolidation in the next part of this guide. Likewise for meds, you recieve less health from Medpacks on higher difficulties.
  
  Having completed prior playthroughs will also allow you to familiarise yourself with what types of enemies spawn where, and especially when enhanced Slashers spawn behind you because they can move up behind you completely silently. They can also one-hit-kill assassinate you from behind. If in doubt, frequently check your six, especially on the latter Chapters.
  
  
• Conserve your ammo, make every shot count. Go primarily for limbshots. Again, i'll come back to this in Pt. 2. On Zealot the enemies are a lot tougher and hit harder. Oh and see those Cysts on the wall/ceiling/floor? You don't need to shoot them to kill them. Breakable containers are your friend. More on this in Pt.3.
  
  
• Save at most save stations. That's what they're there for right? On Zealot you have unlimited saves, on Hardcore you don't. Save especially if you're not confident about doing well in upcoming areas. Save before all miniboss fights (Tormentor and Female Tripod in church, Tripod outside hospital, Tripod nest at end of Chapter 9 etc). If in doubt, save.
  
  
• Take your time. This is not a speed run. Observe your surroundings and maintain a high level of positional awareness - the environment can also kill you. Having your back to a wall when facing enemies is a good idea. Don't rush (except for legging it from the Ubermorph, and the 'Red Room' in Chapter 13) and remain calm.
  
  
• Stock up on ammo, meds, and stasis. For your backup weapon you won't need more than three full stacks of ammo, it's a backup weapon for a reason. Three to four full stacks of ammo for your other weapons should be carried with you at all times. A minimum of three Medium/Large Medpacks and three full stacks of Stasis packs is a good amount to have with you at all times. Always keep some ammo for each of your weapons, some meds and stasis packs in reserve in your Safe. A minimum of three full stacks of ammo held in reserve in your Safe is a good amount.
  
  
• Stop at most if not every Store. Refill your Inventory then move on. Plus it gives you a momentary break from the carnage.
  
  
• Choose your weapons of choice widely. Go for weapons that will allow you to effectively cover all situations: backup weapon, crowd control weapon, heavy damage weapon and additional weapon.
  
  
• ######ing around on Zealot is a death sentence. Stasis barrels in the environment can kill you. Your own Detonator mines can kill you. Grenade launchering yourself can kill you. Stomping on Crawlers while saying "lololololololol" can kill you (you know you like doing it)
  
  
• Decompression Windows. They are not always your friend. There is one nasty one in Chapter 9 in a smallish room, and an Exploder always spawns right next to it. You have nanoseconds to shoot the emergency shutter switch if you blow out that window. On the contrary, there's a few good ones around the game that can be blown out to very good effect, taking whole bunches of enemies with them, and you'll have plenty of time to hit that emergency shutter switch on those ones too. Also remember that Javelin Spears can still blow out Decrompression Windows after the Spear has embedded in an enemy - the enemy will not be impaled to the window, the window will outright shatter upon contact with a Javelin-impaled enemy.
  
  
• Where Infectors (Necromorphs that 'create' other Necromorphs from dead bodies) are present, especially around dead bodies, take them the hell down first.
  
  
• Know which enemies to keep at a distance/drop first on Zealot before doing your run. Keep Leapers, Exploders, Crawlers and ehanced Slashers at a distance, or face the consequences. Stay away from Pukers when they die, or face the consequences. Take out Guardians and Nests (which I previously incorrectly lables 'Sacks') from a distance, even those both of those types remain stationary (they are stuck to surfaces.) Pack, although weakling little ######s that die in like one shot across all difficulties, can be extremely dangerous in groups and up close. Look for choke points to draw them into. At chokepoints their sheer number will count for nothing. More on this in Pt. 3
  
  
• Swear lots throughout the duration of your Zealot run. Swearing solves problems.
  
  That's Part 1 wrapped up peeps. Soon be time for Part 2 in which I'll cover weapons and equipment.
  
  
  

Edited April 19, 2011 by WytchDokta

[Zeealex]

nice work wytch, i dont play DS i know blaspheme right? but it seems informative as to what you should be doing

[WytchDokta]

Round 2, fight!

Part 2 - Weapons and Equipment

What weapons should I use?

No weapon is the perfect weapon for every situation. Most authors of DS2 Zealot/Hardcore guides advise taking only two weapons - enemies in DS2 generally drop ammo for the weapons in your Inventory. So having two weapon means more ammo drops primarily for those weapons.

While it is indeed sound logic, the iconoclast within me advises against the two weapon approach for a couple of reasons: (1) Having four weapons increases your combat effectiveness, allowing you to cover all combat situations; (2) The two weapons only approach is rendered redundant if you have a decent stockpile of ammo in your Safe from previous playthroughs.

The actual choice of weapons is yours to make. If you're going down the four weapons path, make sure to take weapons to fill specific roles. Also, make sure all weapons you take on Zealot are fully upgraded or nearly fully upgraded as the enemies can take severe punishment, especially from unupgraded weapons. As a guideline, I had the Plasma Cutter as a backup/general alll round weapon, the Pulse Rifle as a general crowd control/anti-Pack/anti-Swarmer weapon, the Detonator as an anti-Stalker/general cover my six/secondary crowd control weapon, and the Seeker Rifle as a soften tougher enemies up/anti-Brute/additional weapon. I found this to be a good weapons combination. I also swapped out the Detonator for the Contact Beam at certain intervals in the game - like during the 'drill ride' part, the 'run like hell to the Marker' part at the endgame, the 'mining excavation lift' part, where it's alt fire makes life easier.

I'd advise against the flamethrower on Zealot because even when it's fully upgraded, you'll have to hit and run with it, the enemies have a high resistance to fire on Zealot. Light them up, run. Light them up again and run. And you can't dismember with it. And it's short ranged. And it has a long reload time. Ripper and Force Gun are not so good in a crowd control role on Zealot either - the Ripper is shortranged, you need specific aiming to delimb with it, and enhanced Slashers particularly seem to have Ripper Blade resistant limbs on Zealot (it will take a while to rip off a single limb with the Ripper); the Force Gun fully upgraded is meh on Zealot. And it's very shortranged. And it takes like five shots (at point blank range) to take down an enhanced Slasher. On the contrary, the Pulse Rifle has the highest damage per second of all weapons in game. And if you combine the magazine size (fully upgraded) with the rate of fire, it potentially has the highest stopping power of all weapons in game, especially in the hands of somebody who takes pride in accuracy and scores constant limbshots from medium/long rnage with the weapon. Just some thing to bear in mind there.

Overall, I'd advise using the DLC weapons in conjunction with a DLC suit.

What suit is best for Zealot?

How long is a piece of string? When you work the answer out, that is the answer to your question. As with the weapons, no single suit is right for every situation. Go for DLC suits - if you are confident that you will get continually raped, go for a suit that gives you more health per Medpack; if you are confident that you won't get hit, go for one that gives you weapon damage bonuses. Personally, I never stick to one suit for an entire playthrough, because like I said, no single suit is perfect for every situation. The Hacker Suit, while granting neither Medpack or weapon bonus, is another solid choice, especially from Chapter 14 - it reduces number of stages required to hack door panels, meaning you can make your intial escape from the Ubermorph much quicker.

How can I conserve ammo?

Simple: don't shoot. Use Kinesis to throw stuff at enemies for a start. It's much harder to impale enemies on Zealot, most enemies will withstand two or even three spikes through them, and still keep coming at you. Another way is to primarily go for limbshots. Don't waste ammo, I can't stress enough how little ammo you get per ammo pickup on Zealot. Also, the quick will be able to kill Cysts with their own pod (using Kinesis), the quicker will be able to one-shot kill Pukers by catching their puke and throwing it back at them (using Kineses, requires direct hit), and the sly will be able to lure other enemies towards Cysts which will in turn fire exlosive pod out at any Necromorph (not just the player) that gets too close.

In particular with Cysts, you don't need to shoot any of them to kill them - simply throw any object at them. Depending on the object, it may take 2-3 hits to kill it, but that's 2-3 ammo you've saved right? From experience, the best object to kill a Cyst with is a breakable container. This is because only the sides of the container will break, the top and bottom are indestructible. So, throw a breakable container at one, then keep picking the top/bottom part of the container and throw it at the others. For pure fun factor, use Kinesis to throw Medpacks or ammo at Cysts. It will do a lot less damage than other objects, but is more fun than other objects.

What was the 'ammo consolidation' you mentioned earlier?

Ammo consolidation is what I said, ammo consolidation. Pick up all ammo you see, even stuff you don't need. Find a Store. At the Store, move ALL incomplete ammo stacks from you Inventory into your Safe. This will add to/complete any incomplete ammo stacks already in your Safe. Then move all required completed ammo stacks back into your Inventory. Do this as often as possible to avoid buying extra ammo (you can put the credits to better use.) Always try to have completed ammo stacks in your inventory.

How much ammo will I need?

You'll need as much ammo as necessary. You need more ammo if you're careless, if you're trying to pull off trickshots, if you're spinniing around on the spot shooting the ceiling or floor while saying "lolololol", or if you're playing DS2 while you're drunk (which is fun and hilarious, believe me). Take more ammo for the weapons you will use more often, and less for weapons you will use less often. You don't need a million rounds for your backup weapon, not even for the endgame (in fact, you can 'kill' the Marker in around four seconds if you know what weapon to use and how to best use that weapon ) Use your Inventory space wisely with regards to ammo.

The same above goes for Medpacks and Stasis stacks. It's better to have too much than not to have the supplies when you need them. Then again, don't overdo it, you won't need 15 Large Medpacks in your Inventory for Zealot. Also, be aware of the area ahead and adjust your Inventory accordingly. For example, during the Tripod nest sequence (where you have to throw the nitrogen trichloride barrels into the huge storage tanks with nest tenticles wrapped around them), take extra meds and a lot of extra Stasis packs. Using only stasis, you can complete that sequence without firing a single round at the Tripod(s) - spam stasis on the Tripod(s), empty your stasis pool entirely, then refill it with a Stasis pack. Rinse and repeat. Who needs ammo anyway right? Stasis is much more fun.

Anything else?

I. Need. To. Sleep. *Sleep? What's that?* So I'm wrapping up Part 2 right about now. In Part 3 I'll cover dealing with certain enemies on Zealot.

nice work wytch, i dont play DS i know blaspheme right? but it seems informative as to what you should be doing

Yes, you should be ashamed. Besides, DS2 is not for the faint-hearted.

I don't think it's about what people should or shouldn't be doing, that is a matter of perception. It's about freedom of choice - they don't have follow my advice.

Edited April 19, 2011 by WytchDokta

[Zeealex]

[

nice work wytch, i dont play DS i know blaspheme right? but it seems informative as to what you should be doing

Yes, you should be ashamed. Besides, DS2 is not for the faint-hearted.

I don't think it's about what people should or shouldn't be doing, that is a matter of perception. It's about freedom of choice - they don't have follow my advice.

yeah, but it's there if they need it.

[WytchDokta]

Three's a crowd.

Part 3 - Enemies

What do I need to be wary of in regards to the enemies on Zealot?

As I've already stated, the enemies are considerably tougher and hit a lot harder than on Normal. If an enemy grabs you and the quick time event comes up where you're to spam the action key/button, and you survive the quick time event, you will left with a yellow RIG or worse. Don't take unnecessary risks.

Be particular and medthodic with your dismembering - shooting off an enemies legs will not stop them on Zealot, they'll still keep coming by crawling along the floor. Decapitating enemies on Zealot is ineffective, shoot the head off an enhanced Slasher and it will simply frenzy, flailing it arms about everywhere while charging (they can damage other enemies awhen frenzying), shoot the head off a Puker and it wll prevent the Puker from using it's ranged attack, but it will still keep coming. Pukers are particularly resilient. I'll come back to this later in this section. A good way to put an enemy down fast on Zealot is to shoot off one arm and one leg, and the head for good measure. When you shoot their arm off, Kinesis-grab the spike off it and throw it back at the enemy. It will weaken them, but likely not kill them. And it save you some ammo.

Also note that enhanced enemies on Zealot can survive multiple headshots from the Seeker Rifle alt fire (which is powerful, believe me) or multiple Detonator mine blasts, even if you have those weapons fully upgraded. The Detonator can double up as a grenade launcher with impact detonating grenades, but against enhanced enemies on Zealot you'd just aswell be firing blanks using it this way.

Remember, rip off their claws and spikes with Kenesis and throw them at enemies. One is not enough to kill them on Zealot, but atleast it weakens them somewhat.

What do you mean by 'enhanced' enemies?

I believe that is self explanitory. They are even stronger versions of the standard Necromorphs. You begin encountering them in small number roughly halfway through the game. Towards the end of the game, virtually every enemy will be ehnanced.

If you thought the standard enemies on Zealot were tough enough then you've got a big surprise waiting for you when you face enhanced enemies, as they are damage sponges, moreso than standard enmies. Enhanced enemies can be identified by their black colouration. Always try to keep enhanced enemies at a distance.

Not every enemy has an enhanced version. For example, you'll never encounter enhanced Cysts, Crawlers, Swarmers, Exploders, Guardians, Nests, Dividers or Pregnants. Aned you only encounter enhanced Pack (commonly known as 'Shadow Pack' among the DS2 community) during the final boss fight.

Which enemies are a particular cause for concern on Zealot?

Leapers are fast and charge straight at you. If their charge connects, it will knock you down and initiate a quick time event. Failing the quick time event will kill you, surviving it will nigh on kill you. These guys can walk on walls and ceilings like Lurkers. However, unlike Lurkers who only use ranged attacks, Leapers only use melee attacks. The also do a scorpion like tail attack thing if they're close enough, and if it connects, it deals considerable damage.

Lurkers can also walk on ceilings and walls, but are baby sized and are slow. They have a particularly damaging ranged attack, especially the enhanced version. Cut off two of their three tail barbs to kill them quickly. Shooting them in the body is like shooting blanks. They usually attack in groups of two or three, and tend to spread out rather than stick together.

Stalkers are not your friend either. The enhanced version can survive multiple headshots from the Seeker Rifle alt fire while charging. These guys specialise in hit and run attacks and will always try to ambush/flank the player. Detonator mines is a very good counter (not just for Stalkers), just fortify you position witth many Detonator mines (placed far enough apart that they will run through several. Not too far apart and certainly not too close so that one mine sets off the other), then go get their attention and wait for them to run through the mines, finishing them off with other weapons as necessary. As with all enhanced enemies, the Contact Beam drops them in one shot.

Slashers. The standard version aren't much of a cause for concern on Zealot. It's the enhanced ones you need to worry about. Enhanced Slashers will spawn behind you in certain areas, and can close in behind you completely silently. It is possible for them to one-hit-kill assassinate you from behind if they are close enough. Don't say I didn't warn you. Also, shooting off their head will cause them to frenzy which can damage other nearby enemies.

Pukers. Resilient ###### that refuse to die. These things keep coming with multiple limbs blow off, even if their head and both legs have been blown off. Their ranged puke attack doesn't do much damage on any difficulty, but it does slow you down, leaving you vulnerable to attack from other nearby enemies. Shoot off their head to prevent them from using their ranged attack. Stay away from their bodies as they die - they spray acid blood/puke out everywhere while dying.

Exploders, Crawlers, Cysts and Guardians are only a threat if you get too close. You can use the explosive sack of the Exploder as a bomb using Kinesis. This will save some ammo. Same thing for Crawlers, shoot off their head and pick up their body with Kinesis to acquire a mobile bomb. You can even throw their heads at other Crawlers to explode them. If done correctly, you can get through all areas where Crawlers are present without firing a shot. Guardians can be one-shot kiled easily by the Detonator (used as a grenade launcher), Pulse Rifle alt fire or Javelin Gun alt fire (in effect using two shots as the alt fire uses up one more Spear). I detailed how to kill Cysts without firing a single shot in Part 2 of this guide.

Nests are only ever encountered in vaccums. They, like Guardians are 'stuck' to surfaces. Disputed 'female' versions of Guardians. When you get close, it uncovers it's three yellow weakspot sacks which in turn launch homing projectiles at you. Pretty easy to kill, with precise aiming, even on Zealot. I've one-shot-killed one of these with a Javelin Gun before now, but that was on Normal.

Dividers are thankfully only ever encountered twice in the whole game. Thes guys are very tall and quite fast. Limbshots are pointless against Dividers as each limb is a body within itself; each limb can survive, move and attack independently of the main body. So essentially, one becomes five. Each 'limb' can also climb walls and ceilings and leap at the player to attack. The 'head', independent of the main body, is particulary dangerous. Spam this guy with crowd control weapons.

Brutes. Use heavy damage weapons on these guys. They are somewhat resistance to stasis as they don't stay in stasis very long at all, it's a matter of seconds if that Their weak spots on their shoulders can be hard to hit. Easy way to drop them is to wait for them to get close, stasis them, fire Contact Beam primary fire into the tiny weakspots on their hind legs. Then while it's momentarily down, re-stasis it and fire Contact Beam primary fire shots into the weakspots on it's shoulders. You'll have a matter of seconds in which to do this due to their resistance to stasis. Alternatively, hit those shoulder weakspots many times at distance with something powerful. Could even have then run through a bunch of Deonator mines. Extremely dangerous up close, and can kill you outright if they charge attack connects.

The Pack always attack in large groups. They are very weak and can be killed with ver little ammo from even weak weapons on any difficulty. They are by no means not dangerous though. They can dodge ranged attack and I've even seen them duck under Javelin Spears I've fired at them. Engaging them in melee is a death sentence. Use pri marily crowd control weapons on these guys, and always put your back to a wall when facing them or they WILL surround you. A good tactic to counter them is to locate chokepoints in the areas where you encounter them. Example, in the church, head back to the corridor that leads to the main room with the Female Tripod. The Pack will be funneled into a narrow opening where their massive number will count for nothing. There's not always chokepoint available though. Example, where you first encounter the pack in Chaper 3, when you enter that shopping area they can attack from your right and left. Counter this by immediately legging it left, and heading all way to the Store. Make your stand there. They will not be able to surround you, and will only be able to attack from one direction. Sometimes the very terrain itself is the best weapon. Remember that.

Swarmers, like The Pack, attack in large groups and are very weak. Their stength is their number. These things are tiny and can crawl straight under any Detonator mines deployed on the floor without triggering them. That's how small they are. Sometimes you'll find a swarm of Swarmers on their own. Mostly however, 'Pregnants' will release a swarm of them. They are only really dangerous once they jump on your back. A number of them on your back in Zealot is a death sentence. Crowd control weapons needed here too. The Detonator once again comes out top for this, used as a grenade launcher. Alt fire on the Pulse Rifle also serves as a grenade launcher, but consumes 25 rounds each time alt fire is used. Whereas a single well aimed Detonator mine (aimed at a Swarmer so it explodes on impact) will decimate a whole swarm.

Pregnants will claw open theirown chest area to release a swarm of Swarmers if they take enough damage, or if you are not very careful with your aiming. Take off an arm, a leg and their head at distance. Stasis them first as they're quite fast when they charge. Be careful using explosive weapons (or the Force Gun) near them as this can easily rip open their chest. Thus avoid deploying Detonator mines in an area where Pregnants are around. If you're willing to risk it, the Javelin Gun is a good to counter them - fire a Spear into the Pregnants chest so they release their Swarmers, then immediately hit all fire. If timed correctly, you'll take the Pregnant and Swarmers all at the same time. If not timed correctly, good luck. It's risky, but it works.

That's Pt. 3 done. I'll sort out Pt. 4 soon. In that part of the guide I'll cover potentially difficult areas of the game.

Edited April 20, 2011 by WytchDokta

[WytchDokta]

Pt. 3 updated to include Swarmers and Pregnants. Spitters are still moissing from my list, but they're not really any different to a female Slasher, except Spitters have a ranged attack aswell as melee.

[WytchDokta]

Part 4 - Troublesome Areas

What are the tough areas on Zealot in singleplayer?

There are quite a few areas that you may or may not trouble with. You might end up doing better on some of the areas I will post than I did. I don't you'll do to badly if you're cautious, methodic and careful, and if you prepare for upcoming areas/Chapters accordingly. So it begins:

Chapter 1 - First Tripod Encounter, Just Outside The Hospital

Weakspots on Tripods on Zezlot are incredibly tough. But there's an easy way to kill this first Tripod. As soon as it appears and you regain control of Isaac after the cutscene, immediately move, or it will leap on you, knocking you down. Head for the huge pillar in the centre of the room, it has a red cross on it. The Tripod cannot destroy this pillar, but he can destroy all of the other pillars. Then simply run in circles around the pillar, taking shots at the weaspots as and when you safely can. Stasis helps, make you take as many stasis packs as you can carry from the store before this area. It save you having to keep booking it to the stasis recharger on the wall. This method may take a while, but if done correctly, you'll take no damage whatsoever.

Chapter 3 - First Pack Encounter, After The Hanging Upside-Down Part

Easily done with the Pulse Rifle. As you go through the door, The Pack will close from you left and right. Do not stand in the middle of the room, you can be surrounded. Instead, leg it left, running past all The Pack for now. Head all the way to the Store. Stop here, turn 180 degrees and make your stand. Here The Pack can only attack you from one direction and thus cannot surround you. Easy.

Chapter 4 - First Stalker Encounter, Church Lower Levels

Pretty straight forward and a piece of cake with the Detonator. As you approach the big door in that area, attach Detonator mines to each of the pillars. After something damages the door, head back the way you can to trigger the spawning of the Stalkers. When you hear them arrive, leg it back to the door and attach additional mines to the side of each archway to you right and left where some gates will open. Then sit back and enjoy the fireworks. Detonator FTW.

Chapter 5 - Female Tripod, The Pack and The Tormentor

Well, it's just a matter of 'shoot the weakspot' on the Female Tripod and on the Tormentor, they shouldn't present a problem. When The Pack arrives, leg it back to the corridor that you entered this area though (back where the lift is). You can be surrounded in the main area. Put constant fire from the Pulse Rifle out through the archway at the end of the corridor and you should do fine without taking any damage.

Chapter 6 - First Fight With A Brute (Not The First Brute Encounter)

Not much to say here really, other than the Contact Beam is your friend. Stock up on stasis packs before this and spam the Brute with stasis. Easy peasy.

Chapter 7 - Tripod Attack On The Solar Array Lift

Take the Detonator and atleast two full stacks off ammo for it (20 rounds, plus 7 in the mag). Stand in the hexagon(?) in the centre of the floor of the lift, the Tripods will have a hard time hitting you here. Use the Detonator as a grenade laucher, a single Detonator mine will instantly knock a Tripod off the lift. Around 20 Tripods in all will attack. Introduce each one to the Detonator and don't move from the center of the lift until they have stopped attacking.

Chapter 7 - Making A Stand At The CEC Door (Same Area You Fought Your First Brute, After The Freefall/Skydive Part)

This is a tough one, even on the lower difficulties. Make sure to take extra meds and stasis for this part. Head straight to the CEC door. Turn 180 degrees to face away from the door. Deploy Detonator mines to the area to the right, NOT just one mine, three or four (or ten for good measure). Deploy additional mines out in the area in front of you. Then go Rambo with the Pulse Rifle (while remaining at the door). Watch out especially for the Leapers and Pukers here, but the mines should take care of some of them for you. Try to drop The Pack before they trip the mines, so that Leapers and Pukers can trip the mines instead.

Chapter 9 - The Tripod Nest, At The Very End Of Chapter 9

This is the part I was fearing most on my Zealot run, and I managed to do it without taking any damage or killing any Tripods. First and foremost, max out on stasis for this one and take additional meds. Drop a save at the save station. Then crash the party. Throw an explosive barrel into the storage tank, stasis the Tripod. Rinse and repeat. Drain your entire stasis pool before refilling it. Explosive barrels are located in either side of the area, and you'll need to move to grab them, kinesis won't reach that far otherwise. Don't waste your ammo on the Tripod(s), they just keep spawning anyway if you kill one. So don't kill the first Tripod on that part. Easy when you know how.

Chapter 10 - 'Two Brute Corridor'

Have the Contact Beam for this part. Drop a save before this part if you're not feeling confident. Spam stasis on the first Brute, try to get behind it and fir ethe CB into the weakspots on its hind legs. If it gets back up, re-stasis it and go for the weakspots on it's shoulders. As you head forward, before you head far enough forward that Count Brute the Second shows up, deploy Detonator mines behind your position groing across the corridor as you go forward (if you still have the Detonator at this point). The second Brute spawns some distance away, and it may be difficult to hit the weakspots from that distance. Same thing applies, stasis-spam it and blast its weakspots with the CB. You know thos Detonator mines you just deployed behind you? Well any second they'll start going off because a mass of enemies will now be spawning in front of and behind you. *If* you set up up enough detonator mines and had then perfectly spaced out, you can just focus on the enemies in front of you - the mines will take care of any enemies behind you. Good idea of mine (LMAO, check out my pun right there), no?

Chapter 11 - Mining Excavation Lift

As you ride the lift downm, you'll continually be ambushed by enemies - mainly in groups of two, sometimes in threes. Contact Beam sent you a friend request for this part too. Stand in the middle of the lift and keep spamming that Contact Beam alt fire. It's advisable to reload after each shot on this part, so you don't end up needing to reload as another group of enemies shows up. Go easy on the ammo. Enhanced Slashers may require two doses of Contact Beam alt fire medication.

Chapter 12 - The Drill Ride

Fun time! Contact Beam alt fire is good for this too. Stand in front of Ellie so she can perv on your ass. Pukers primarily spawn from this side. You can even see over the side from here to see when the enemies are climbing up. One Contact Beam alt fire should hit enemies coming up both sides, but you may need to increase the dosage for the Pukers. Also take either the Seeker Rifle or Javelin Gun to deal with the Lurkers on this part. They will require several shots from each weapon (Javelin Gun alt fire will be able hit several of them at the time.) if you're a crackshot with the Plasma Cutter or Line Gun, take those instead - Lurkers die instantly when two of their tails have been cut off.

Chapter 13 - 'The Red Room'

This room is at the end of the Chapter. It's three tier room that has a red glow. You'll fight the last Brute of the game (an enhanced one at that) on the last floor of this room. A large number of enemies, mainly enhanced, spawn in the room. If you go in guns blazing, you'll use up the majority of your ammo. There's a lot of enemies in the room alright? However, no need to stock up on ammo. Instead, run Forrest run! Simply sprint to each doorway leading down to the next level, drop Contact Beam at fire in the doorway and book it down to the next level. There may be some enemies in the sloping corridors leading down to each level, and some enemies from the main room may drop in through the vents, so be careful. You won't be able to run past the Brute though.

Chapter 15 - Run Like Hell

What I said above. Ruuuuuuun! Drop Contact Beam alt fire at every doorway, and everytime two or more enemies show up. Some doors will take a few second to open. Increase the Contact Beam alt fire dosage when this happens. Use a primary fire on some enemies. Save at every save station on this part. Every enemy here will be enhanced (except for the Nest). Keep moving. Use a combination of Contact Beam primary fire and alt fire. Don't get one-hit-kill 'assassinated' by the enhanced Slashers or by the Ubermorph. The Ubermorph can deal considerable damage if you allow it to.

Chapter 15 - The Endgame

Guess what? Two words: Contact Beam (how did you guess that?) CB primary fire Nicole a couple of times, then prescribe the same treatment to the Marker core. Rinse and repeat. If done correctly, you can end this fight in seconds without taking any damage, using the Contact Beam.

Edited April 20, 2011 by WytchDokta

[WytchDokta]

NP. Keep me posted on your Zealot run progress. If you have any questions, post them up.

[zeealice]

nice work, defiately think this should be pinned

[WytchDokta]

Thanks. The descision to flag it as pinned isn't mine though, it's that of a mod/admin.

Hurry up and buy DS2, I can't answer any questions in this thread after Friday because Brink is coming out, and no doubt will use up all my gaming time (in the character customiser alone). Actually, DS2 will always have a place in my heart and I will always have time for it.

On a semi-related side note: A patch has been released for the console versions now, although it's not known fully what's in the patch. Visceral didn't even announce the patch on their FB page this time. Some tests that the community has done reveale this patch fixes the Hacker Suit/EA Suit bug issue (where purchasing one of those suits would delete the other one from your Safe automatically). Hopefully it's fixed more than that though.

[JohnTC02]

Thanks for taking the time to do this guide Wytch.

Thread pinned.

[WytchDokta]

Thanks for taking the time to do this guide Wytch.

Thread pinned.

Oh, thanks for the pinnage.

Hopefully my guide will help some people out (if it does, let me know). Only 6% of people that own DS2 have completed Zealot difficulty, according to Visceral. It's really not that hard. I figure it might be time for yet another quick playthrough (a 'speed run') to see what the patch has fixed.

[zeealice]

YES! my suggestions were accepted sorry just had to mention both the pinning and the fact the idea was taken on, that's a rarity these days (not having a go at you guys, it's all over the place) anyway, i already have it wytch, i got it on the 360 yesterday, played through it a couple of times, been a zombie just sat down in front of the t.v screen all day, today and yesterday, the Zealot guide is fantastic, helped me out allot through Zealot mode, hence why i asked for it to be pinned

slightly gorier than expected in places, not exactly one i should play at 2 o' clock in the morning seeing as that it when i am at my faintest of heart.

Alex would play it 24/7 for 3 years before getting bored of it, it's her type of game. i'll let her loose on it after her French exam which is monday.

Edited May 11, 2011 by zeealice

[WytchDokta]

So have you completed Zealot without dying yet? And did you find the Peng treasure? Hopefully you completed a few playthroughs before doing Zealot. (I completed a 'few' playthroughs before doing Zealot and thus had everything fully upgraded and had accumulated about 10, 000 rounds of ammo for each weapon prior to my Zealot run)

Just out of interest, which suit(s) did you use and what was your weapon loadout?

On a side note, I see that a mod has been in here and adjusted the thread title.

Edited May 11, 2011 by WytchDokta

[zeealice]

SO FAR i have ALMOST died twice, i'll probably ###### up somewhere along the line.

at present i am using the soldier suit and i am being a cheat and using the hand cannon and the plasma cutter for the most part.

still quite close to the beginning, i'll be playing it all night, so i'm not particularly worried, but i am in Chapter 4

where you go into a room with stalkers running after you so having a little fun with the mines there so far so good. my ALMOST deaths were due to human error on my part, not making a quick enough decision, or my brain going completely dead.

[WytchDokta]

I still need to complete Hardcore. Apparently I have a unique ability that prohibits me from being able to get past Chapter 13 on Hardcore without dying (or running out of ammo) between there and the endgame. I want that handcannon, so hopefully one day one of my friends here will buy DS2 on Xbox and complete my Hardcore run for me.

I meant which weapons and suit(s) did you use for your Zealot run?

Edited May 11, 2011 by WytchDokta

[zeealice]

exactly, i'm usin the soldier suit with the hand cannon and plasma cutter (fully upgraded) i haven't changed suits yet, probably change to the Zealot suit (i bought the limited edition) at some point but i kinda like the soldier suit.

haven't completed it yet

Edited May 11, 2011 by zeealice

[WytchDokta]

exactly, i'm usin the soldier suit with the hand cannon and plasma cutter (fully upgraded) i haven't changed suits yet, probably change to the Zealot suit (i bought the limited edition) at some point but i kinda like the soldier suit.

haven't completed it yet

Am I not following? The Soldier Suit and Handcannon is awarded for completing Hardcore.

[zeealice]

which i did, on one of my playthroughs that's what i usually do, start from easy then work my way up then try the Zealot mode. that's the way i work.

am i confusing you?

Edited May 11, 2011 by zeealice

[WytchDokta]

My guide isn't designed for cheating Zealot mode by using the Handcannon, noobs do that.

I'd recommend DLC weapons/suits for a Zealot run - the Forged Plasma Cutter deals +10% damage.

EDIT: ooops, that should have read Forged Plasma Cutter. The Agility version has increased rate of fire,

Edited May 12, 2011 by WytchDokta

[zeealice]

i am a noob, always have been always will be

cool, i'll go on live and have a look at whats available, thanks

[WytchDokta]

i am a noob, always have been always will be

cool, i'll go on live and have a look at whats available, thanks

You can do that through the game menu - on the main menu go to the Store tab. All DLC is there. You can only get the cool Hacker Suit if you have a save file from DS: Ignition present on your console (and then you have to go find it in a previously locked area of the game (DS: Ignition unlocks this area)

You started that *legit* (that is without using Handcannon) Zealot run yet? This time, see if you can locate and retrieve the Peng treasure.

Edited May 12, 2011 by WytchDokta

[WytchDokta]

Cross your heart and hope to die, stick a needle in your eye!

Step 3, Isaac. STEP 3!!

[zeealice]

i am a noob, always have been always will be

cool, i'll go on live and have a look at whats available, thanks

You started that *legit* (that is without using Handcannon) Zealot run yet? This time, see if you can locate and retrieve the Peng treasure.

i have indeed using the plasma cutter and the contact beam with the odd use of the pulse rifle now and then, do you have suggestions as to which DLC to go for? i'm liking the Shockpoint suit in the Occupational Hazard pack and the Triage suit. but i do like the bloody vintage suit in Martial Law also, any ideas?

that part was kind of creepy, must have hurt isaac pretty bad and the way nicole just says yes get inside, that is one brave man

Edited May 12, 2011 by zeealice

[WytchDokta]

i have indeed using the plasma cutter and the contact beam with the odd use of the pulse rifle now and then

You what? Just three weapons and no Seeker Rifle or Javelin Gun? You are now in direct violation of multiple sub-sections of this guide. And you're not my friend anymore.

do you have suggestions as to which DLC to go for? i'm liking the Shockpoint suit in the Occupational Hazard pack and the Triage suit. but i do like the bloody vintage suit in Martial Law also, any ideas?

My suggestion(s) for your choice of suit and weapon loadout depends on a few things: your play style; the frequency at which you're getting hit (noob); if you're not getting hit much, base your suit choice around your weapon loadout. Generally, it's either increased weapon damage OR additional healing. There was never anything wrong with the Engineer Suit (an updated version of the Level 3 Engineer Suit from DS1) and Refurbished Plasma Cutter (original Plasma Cutter from DS1 available in DS2 if you have a save file from DS1 present on your console). Neither that suit nor the Plasma Cutter provide any bonuses, but they're a homage to DS1). The EarthGov Security Suit and weapons (DLC) look really cool, digital desert camo. And the Bloody Vintage Suit (DLC) is just awesome in appearance.

that part was kind of creepy, must have hurt isaac pretty bad and the way nicole just says yes get inside, that is one brave man

I was referring to Stross, when he tries to stab Isaac in the head with the screwdriver. But yeah, the part you're talking about part does hurt if you don't align the needle correctly at the moment before you lower it into his eye. As for the brave man thing, I take it you haven't played DS1. To say he went through some ###### in DS1 is an understatement. People kept betraying him and betraying him, and he still continued alone his quest, against seemingly impossible odds.

Stick around, I'm full of bad ideas.