The Engineer’s Role in War

The main objective (the essence and outcome of the war) in the Canyon and the Testing Grounds is capturing the enemy base, which is impossible without an engineer. Therefore, this guide is primarily aimed at them.

Basic Capture Gear

First of all, the engineer needs 6 points of Intelligence to successfully capture the base; otherwise, they won’t be able to use the required gear.

The loadout depends on the engineer’s experience, the number of squadmates, and the intensity of the combat:

• Shield Suppressor — the most crucial device, without which capturing is impossible. It’s recommended to bring extras (at least 5), as enemies will try to destroy it, and a single device’s charge might not be enough.
• Energy Shield — highly recommended (not strictly necessary for the engineer themselves, as squadmates covering them can carry these). It allows you to protect the engineer while hacking the “microwave,” when they are most vulnerable. Protects against NPCs, robots, and other players.
• MTV-1 — optional but recommended. In case of death, this allows you to quickly resume the hack without wasting time running back from the other side of the location.

Base Capture Guide

In the Canyon:

1. Preparation: Reach the enemy base shortly before or during the war, clearing out the NPCs first.
2. Deploying Suppressors: Place them near the base (the radius of effect is shown on the map in the corresponding section of the wiki).
   • If the capture is uncontested (AFK), one device is enough.
   • If it’s an active war, place as many suppressors as possible in different spots to confuse the enemy.
3. Waiting: Defend the equipment for 3 minutes. This time is needed for the dome to collapse. The number of suppressors does not affect the speed at which the dome falls.
4. Hacking the Core: After the dome falls, run to the command core (“microwave”):
   • North Base: 2nd floor of the store (on the balcony).
   • South Base: 2nd floor of the small building with canopies.
   • To protect yourself during the hack, place an MTV nearby, set up energy shields, and mine the entrances with MON-50 mines.
5. Result: After successful reprogramming, the base is considered captured instantly.

In the Testing Grounds:

1. Beacon Check: The beacon color updates every 10 minutes of real-time (and robots respawn with it).
   • Green: Good to go. First, kill the Annihilators, then the Grenadiers and Shockers. You can ignore the rest.
   • Orange or Red: The beacon will update soon. Starting the capture is pointless. At best, you can leave the Annihilators with low HP (after the beacon updates, their health won’t restore, making them easier to finish off).
2. Deploying Suppressors: Approach the fortification (tower) and place the device a couple of meters away. If any robots are still alive, block them with shields.
3. Hacking: After 1 minute, the “microwave” hack will become available.
4. Repeat the entire process at all three fortifications.
5. Defense: The main base only activates if you successfully defend all three points until the very end of the war.

Hacking the Command Core (“Microwave”)

Core reprogramming is implemented as a code-cracking mini-game. Your task is to figure out which of the 8 toggles (levers) need to be pulled up so that all 4 indicators light up green.

Through trial and error, you’ll notice that when a toggle is in the correct position, one of the four indicators lights up. As a rule, a successful hack requires finding a combination where three specific toggles are up and one is down. The remaining four toggles are neutral and don’t affect the outcome.

For a detailed breakdown of the hacking process, check out the video at this link.

Command Core Hacking Process

Below is the core hacking scheme (finding the correct lever positions).

First, pull levers No. 1, 2, 3, 4 to the up position (levers No. 5, 6, 7, 8 are down). Then, depending on which lights turned on (or didn’t), follow the algorithm detailed below:

However, when hacking, we still recommend figuring out the combinations yourself rather than using ready-made hacking schemes, as most of them are incomplete, outdated, and inaccurate (especially considering that the game administration periodically changes the codes).