Far Cry 4
Far Cry 4 Beginner’s Guide
Help us, help you
If you’re going to make it through Far Cry 4, you’ll need friends. Liberate outposts so the Golden Path can set up shop in the area. These soldiers will patrol the surrounding roads and take on any enemies that stray into your territory. But that won’t stop the Royal Army from trying to take back the outpost. You may be called upon to provide some backup if one of your outposts is attacked, and it would be wise to heed the call.Of course, you can also help Golden Path rebels throughout the world to earn yourself some Karma points. Rack up Karma and use Guns for Hire tokens to call upon the Golden Path when you’re in a tight spot. You should also look out for Sherpas on your journey. These travelers can provide you with a roaming storefront – somewhere for you to unload some loot and gear up. It’s always nice to have a store nearby when you’re running low on ammo.
Hunt early, hunt often
This one seems pretty obvious (especially if you played previous Far Cry games), but we really can’t stress enough how important hunting is. Not only can you use animal pelts to craft new gear, but you can also use the meat for predator bait. Even if it seems like you don’t need the pelts right away, hang onto them because the next upgrade for that ammo bag or syringe kit might require that animal skin you were about to sell.Listen
One of the keys to surviving in Kyrat is paying attention to your surroundings. Don’t just rely on what you can see; listen carefully to the world around you. If there are animals circling nearby, you’ll probably be able to hear them coming before you see them. Listen for the howl of the wolf pack or even the soft hiss of a snake hidden in the grass. Your ears could save your life.Don’t just listen for danger. Listen for assistance, as well. The various NPCs throughout the world can be pretty chatty. Take a minute to stop and hear what they have to say. You might even discover something about Kyrat, Pagan Min or even yourself. Paying attention to the radio could be beneficial as well. You’ll hear much more than just the DJ talking about the local drug scene.
Music cues also alert you to nearby hidden collectibles like the Masks of Yalung scattered throughout Kyrat, so be sure to stay alert.
Weigh your options
Making important decisions is never easy. The pros and cons of a choice might not always be immediately clear, forcing you to make a call without all the details. You may find yourself choking down your initial instinct in certain situations. Take the Golden Path missions as an example. On the one hand you can side with Sabal – a staunch traditionalist and strong soldier. On the other hand you have Amita – a forward-thinking strategist.
Sabal believes the old ways must be protected, but Amita thinks the people of Kyrat must get their hands dirty in order to survive in a post-civil war society. Do you side with Sabal when it seems like he’s doing the right thing for the present moment? Or do you agree to help Amita because Kyrat is going to need resources for the future, even if those resources come at a high moral cost? Each decision will have consequences that ripple throughout the world and the story, so don’t make them lightly.
Take the wheel
Maybe you’re driving along and just want to take in the scenery, or maybe you’re in the middle of a vehicular battle and don’t want to focus on driving and shooting. Either way, the autodrive function is there to help you out. If you’ve set a waypoint and you’re on a main road (not one of the smaller side roads), you can turn on the autodrive function by pressing the left joystick then simply sit back and relax… or shoot the hell out of whoever might be coming after you.Don’t be afraid to get a little creative with your vehicle. Once you reach your waypoint – say, an outpost for example – hop out of the car (or truck, or tuk tuk, or whatever), pop a little C4 on that bad boy, kick off the brake, and send it rolling into enemy territory before blasting it sky high. Not only is it super effective, it looks badass too.
Leader of the pack
Pack animals like wolves have an alpha. The alpha will be visually distinct from all the other members of the pack. When you find yourself surrounded, try to seek out the alpha and aim all your firepower in its direction. Kill the alpha and the rest of the pack will flee. If you try to take on the whole pack, you can quickly find yourself overwhelmed.Of beasts and men
Sometimes just charging into a situation guns blazing is great. But sometimes you want to take your time and get creative with your attack strategy. It’s times like this when using the world around you works wonders. When you’re clearing an outpost, do some surveillance. There might be a cage containing a dangerous creature. Shoot the lock off the cage to unleash hell on the outpost. Just be careful about heading into the camp after you set the animals free. They could very well turn their aggression toward you.
If there are no cages, you can always toss some bait into the area. If there are any predators nearby they will charge in after the bait and you’ll get the same results. Then you can just kick back and watch the mayhem unfold. If you’ve never seen a honey badger take down an outpost by itself, then you haven’t truly lived.
Find another route
The smartest path isn’t always the most obvious. Sometimes if you want to survive, you’re going to need to search the area for a potentially hidden route. If, for example, you’re trying to get to an outpost on top of a cliff, and the road up the cliff leads directly into the camp where enemies are waiting, you might want to steer away from the beaten path and opt for a more stealthy approach. Search the area surrounding the cliff for possible grappling locations. Not only will this quickly propel you up the otherwise unscalable surface, it will allow you to silently sneak into the outpost to cause some damage on the down-low.
Hunting the Hunters
The Hunters are a new type of enemy. Silent and deadly, these archers carry bows and have unique control over wildlife. Tossing out bait to draw in predators could end up working against you if a Hunter is nearby. As if that didn’t make them tricky enough, you also can’t tag a Hunter for more than a few seconds. Whereas tags on other enemy types last as long as they are alive or you’re in range, a tag on a Hunter will disappear very quickly. If you spot a Hunter, take him out quickly. It could save you some pain in the long run.Secret endings
Yeah, that’s right. You can access a couple of secret endings throughout the game just by making certain choices. It’s even possible to beat the game in less than 15 minutes if you make the right (or wrong?) choices. You’ll have to figure out how, though. We don’t want to spoil the fun, but we will leave you with a hint if you want to give it a try: When Pagan Min asks you to do something in the intro to the game, do it.We don’t recommend going for the 15 minute playthrough on your first go as it gives away some pretty key plot points. Save it for after you beat the game.
A Day in Kyrat
I flew over the peaks and valleys of Kyrat as enemies shot up at me from the ground. I survived the dangers of Shanath Arena. I stuck C-4 on a truck and rolled it into a crowd of enemies before diving out and blasting the vehicle (and my targets) to pieces. I punched a freaking tiger in the face. I did all this and so, so much more in my brief hands-on time with Far Cry 4. The following seven highlights are just a taste of what I experienced, and a small slice of what you can expect when you jump into the game on November 18.
I was in a small village learning about Ajay’s father when Pagan Min’s voice drifted into my ears. Now, I was sure any second he’d start spouting off some threat of bodily harm, but instead he started talking about… Kanye West? “Do you follow that guy on Twitter? It’s gold. I would love to shoot the breeze with that young man.” Color me surprised. Pagan Min wants to be besties with Kanye. That’s a selfie I’d like to see.
There are few things cooler than soaring through the air high above the ground and getting a breathtaking view of Kyrat’s valleys as you break over the crest of a mountain top. I spent a good chunk of my hands-on time with Far Cry 4 simply seeing the world from a bird’s perspective and getting a feel for the massive and beautiful landscape beneath me. Then of course, I steered the Buzzard over an enemy outpost and rained hell from the sky, and that was pretty glorious too.
That’s not even an exaggeration. It really does seem like everything in Kyrat wants you dead. As I was on a mission searching through some corpses, a pack of wolves surrounded me, forcing me into a fight for my life. Not too long after that, I entered into a shootout with some Royalists, and a massive eagle came out of nowhere and began clawing at my face. I won’t lie to you: I did jump a little – but you would too if you suddenly had a screen full of talons and beating wings. A little recon before you take on enemies wouldn’t go amiss either. If you spot a Hunter among them, it might be wise to take him out first. These new enemies are tougher than the average grunt and can charm animals into going after you, making them even more deadly.
It really does pay to do some good in the world. Gain Karma by completing Karma Events and spinning Mani Wheels in order to get reduced costs at Trading Posts. More importantly, increase your Karma level to get Guns for Hire tokens that you can use to call in Golden Path rebels to fight for you. Aiding the Golden Path rebellion as they work to unseat Pagan Min is a good way to up your Karma level. These “Karma Events” pop up quite a bit in Kyrat, so you’ll have plenty of chances to help out.
The Himalayas are frigid and unforgiving. So unforgiving that you may find yourself having trouble performing the simple act of drawing breath. In certain areas high up on the mountain, you may need to get your hands on a gas mask to supply you with oxygen. Be careful, though, as your oxygen will deplete. Keep an eye out for canisters on the ground, and if you can’t spot any lying around, you can always just kill someone and steal their oxygen.
Many of the NPCs you encounter in the world will offer you insight into the history of Kyrat as well as the current political situation. Some of them even provide details on Ajay’s family and who he is. You can just walk up and interact with people in towns and at captured outposts and they might have missions or just information that’ll help you fill in some of the blanks and gain a better understanding of the mess you’ve stepped into.
What’s more terrifying than being dropped – naked and unarmed – into an arena full of armed opponents and angry animals? Not a whole heck of a lot, but that’s exactly what you get the first time you enter Shanath Arena, Noore’s pride and joy. Survive waves of enemies with only the weapons you collect inside the arena and Noore will allow you to leave with your life. It’s a pretty generous offer if you ask her. I’m not quite sure if Noore is seriously insane or just a pawn in Pagan Min’s game, but I’ll just have to wait until I get to know her better in November.
Of course, the next question was: What the heck is a fortress? Which was followed by someone else who requested the fortress be smart. “And I want it to be able to fight back, and I want it to effectively adapt to me playing against it,” Hay adds.
It was that moment – a brainstorming session where Hay said yes to as many things as possible – that Far Cry 4 was truly born. Prior to that meeting, the team had actually considered going with a more traditional (by Far Cry standards, that is) sequel. “We definitely had the option of making a 3.5, of making a choice to just stay in the same location with the same characters,” Hay says. “We talked about the idea of taking Jason’s story and growing it, maybe figuring out a way to bring Vaas back. And very quickly we realized that it wasn’t going to be a thing that we wanted to do. So we stopped that conversation and said, that’s the end of the 3.5 conversation – which lasted probably about four days.”
“We like the fact that we’re a little bit Wild West,” Hay says. “We like the fact that somebody’s going to be able to kick out an idea that people will think is way too much. And then somebody else goes, Maybe that’s why you should do it. Maybe that’s what makes sense.”
It’s the “we want it all” approach that first introduced elephants to Far Cry. But it also introduced verticality. And the ability to fly. And the ability to do it all in co-op. And new enemy A.I. like the hunter, which can charm an animal and send it charging back at you, creating yet another layer of enemy A.I. in the form of these living tanks.
It’s this approach that also helped inspire the creation of the Shangri-La gameplay. “We talked about the mushroom missions [from Far Cry 3], and we said, maybe we just do another mushroom mission or something like that,” Hay says. “And the answer was no, we want to build a game within the game, and we want to have features that support that.” That’s when the Toronto studio came in, and put together a fully interactive and ethereal experience that was separate but still meaningful to the main game. With a pet. Who happens to be a tiger. Which the player can control almost like a permanent co-op partner who is really good at stealth. “We want to have an organic drone that can effectively be used as a weapon,” Hay recalls. “And everybody’s like, seriously? And you want the other thing with the outposts, and you want the other stuff with the—” Hay pauses for a half second before adding: “Yes. We want it all.”
This approach also extends to the game’s narrative. While the team remains proud of the story, characters and setting in Far Cry 3, they readily concede that there was often a disconnect between the player-created anecdotes about their open-world experiences and the game’s narrative. “Far Cry 3 was written very well,” Hay notes. “But we know that the real hero of that game was the open world.”
This time around, the team has purposefully built the narrative to complement the gameplay. The protagonist is, by design, “relatively thin,” with a history in Kyrat that he’ll learn about at the same time as the player. Ajay Ghale doesn’t bring a lot of baggage with him, and is ready to grow up in this new world right alongside you. The characters you meet along the way also have more nuance. Everyone had a clear idea understanding of Vaas from their initial meeting – and that legendary antagonist didn’t change much throughout the game. This time, though, Far Cry 4 has characters like Pagan Min, who’ll keep you guessing throughout the game.
Far Cry 4’s narrative also gives players a deeper agency in the world. The narrative will branch depending on the choices a player makes. The dev team has gone so far as to make content that some players might never see, depending on their choices – giving everyone a unique experience in both the open-world and in the narrative. In other words, your Ajay Ghale will be different from my Ajay Ghale. “When you you’re done playing Far Cry 4 and you talk to a friend about it, they will have a subtly different experience,” Hay smiles. “They will grow up a little different.”
It’s this abundance of content, of choices, of features, of, well… everything that makes Far Cry 4 both familiar and something altogether new. “We love the idea that people who loved Far Cry 3 are going to pick this up and go: I completely get this, and this feels natural,” Hay says. “And we also love that within five minutes, they’re going to go: Wait a minute, this is different. I love it, it’s similar, but it’s very different.”
Are You There Ajay? It’s Me, Pagan
I was in a small village learning about Ajay’s father when Pagan Min’s voice drifted into my ears. Now, I was sure any second he’d start spouting off some threat of bodily harm, but instead he started talking about… Kanye West? “Do you follow that guy on Twitter? It’s gold. I would love to shoot the breeze with that young man.” Color me surprised. Pagan Min wants to be besties with Kanye. That’s a selfie I’d like to see.
Bird’s-Eye View
There are few things cooler than soaring through the air high above the ground and getting a breathtaking view of Kyrat’s valleys as you break over the crest of a mountain top. I spent a good chunk of my hands-on time with Far Cry 4 simply seeing the world from a bird’s perspective and getting a feel for the massive and beautiful landscape beneath me. Then of course, I steered the Buzzard over an enemy outpost and rained hell from the sky, and that was pretty glorious too. Death Around Every Corner
That’s not even an exaggeration. It really does seem like everything in Kyrat wants you dead. As I was on a mission searching through some corpses, a pack of wolves surrounded me, forcing me into a fight for my life. Not too long after that, I entered into a shootout with some Royalists, and a massive eagle came out of nowhere and began clawing at my face. I won’t lie to you: I did jump a little – but you would too if you suddenly had a screen full of talons and beating wings. A little recon before you take on enemies wouldn’t go amiss either. If you spot a Hunter among them, it might be wise to take him out first. These new enemies are tougher than the average grunt and can charm animals into going after you, making them even more deadly.
Guns for Hire
It really does pay to do some good in the world. Gain Karma by completing Karma Events and spinning Mani Wheels in order to get reduced costs at Trading Posts. More importantly, increase your Karma level to get Guns for Hire tokens that you can use to call in Golden Path rebels to fight for you. Aiding the Golden Path rebellion as they work to unseat Pagan Min is a good way to up your Karma level. These “Karma Events” pop up quite a bit in Kyrat, so you’ll have plenty of chances to help out.
Don’t Hold Your Breath… Or Maybe Do
The Himalayas are frigid and unforgiving. So unforgiving that you may find yourself having trouble performing the simple act of drawing breath. In certain areas high up on the mountain, you may need to get your hands on a gas mask to supply you with oxygen. Be careful, though, as your oxygen will deplete. Keep an eye out for canisters on the ground, and if you can’t spot any lying around, you can always just kill someone and steal their oxygen.
Stop and Say Hello
Many of the NPCs you encounter in the world will offer you insight into the history of Kyrat as well as the current political situation. Some of them even provide details on Ajay’s family and who he is. You can just walk up and interact with people in towns and at captured outposts and they might have missions or just information that’ll help you fill in some of the blanks and gain a better understanding of the mess you’ve stepped into.
Step Into the Arena
What’s more terrifying than being dropped – naked and unarmed – into an arena full of armed opponents and angry animals? Not a whole heck of a lot, but that’s exactly what you get the first time you enter Shanath Arena, Noore’s pride and joy. Survive waves of enemies with only the weapons you collect inside the arena and Noore will allow you to leave with your life. It’s a pretty generous offer if you ask her. I’m not quite sure if Noore is seriously insane or just a pawn in Pagan Min’s game, but I’ll just have to wait until I get to know her better in November.
Of course, the next question was: What the heck is a fortress? Which was followed by someone else who requested the fortress be smart. “And I want it to be able to fight back, and I want it to effectively adapt to me playing against it,” Hay adds.
It was that moment – a brainstorming session where Hay said yes to as many things as possible – that Far Cry 4 was truly born. Prior to that meeting, the team had actually considered going with a more traditional (by Far Cry standards, that is) sequel. “We definitely had the option of making a 3.5, of making a choice to just stay in the same location with the same characters,” Hay says. “We talked about the idea of taking Jason’s story and growing it, maybe figuring out a way to bring Vaas back. And very quickly we realized that it wasn’t going to be a thing that we wanted to do. So we stopped that conversation and said, that’s the end of the 3.5 conversation – which lasted probably about four days.”
We Want It All
So what makes Far Cry 4 the next evolution of the Far Cry franchise – aside, that is, from the new story and setting? The answer is easy: everything. Or, to be more precise, the “we want it all” approach to this game.“We like the fact that we’re a little bit Wild West,” Hay says. “We like the fact that somebody’s going to be able to kick out an idea that people will think is way too much. And then somebody else goes, Maybe that’s why you should do it. Maybe that’s what makes sense.”
It’s the “we want it all” approach that first introduced elephants to Far Cry. But it also introduced verticality. And the ability to fly. And the ability to do it all in co-op. And new enemy A.I. like the hunter, which can charm an animal and send it charging back at you, creating yet another layer of enemy A.I. in the form of these living tanks.
It’s this approach that also helped inspire the creation of the Shangri-La gameplay. “We talked about the mushroom missions [from Far Cry 3], and we said, maybe we just do another mushroom mission or something like that,” Hay says. “And the answer was no, we want to build a game within the game, and we want to have features that support that.” That’s when the Toronto studio came in, and put together a fully interactive and ethereal experience that was separate but still meaningful to the main game. With a pet. Who happens to be a tiger. Which the player can control almost like a permanent co-op partner who is really good at stealth. “We want to have an organic drone that can effectively be used as a weapon,” Hay recalls. “And everybody’s like, seriously? And you want the other thing with the outposts, and you want the other stuff with the—” Hay pauses for a half second before adding: “Yes. We want it all.”
Growing Up Different
How do you keep a game like Far Cry 4 from collapsing under the weight of all its features? “We try to figure out how to add to the game without breaking anything,” Hay says. “We do it carefully, we do it optimistically, and we try to make sure that it all makes sense.”This approach also extends to the game’s narrative. While the team remains proud of the story, characters and setting in Far Cry 3, they readily concede that there was often a disconnect between the player-created anecdotes about their open-world experiences and the game’s narrative. “Far Cry 3 was written very well,” Hay notes. “But we know that the real hero of that game was the open world.”
This time around, the team has purposefully built the narrative to complement the gameplay. The protagonist is, by design, “relatively thin,” with a history in Kyrat that he’ll learn about at the same time as the player. Ajay Ghale doesn’t bring a lot of baggage with him, and is ready to grow up in this new world right alongside you. The characters you meet along the way also have more nuance. Everyone had a clear idea understanding of Vaas from their initial meeting – and that legendary antagonist didn’t change much throughout the game. This time, though, Far Cry 4 has characters like Pagan Min, who’ll keep you guessing throughout the game.
Far Cry 4’s narrative also gives players a deeper agency in the world. The narrative will branch depending on the choices a player makes. The dev team has gone so far as to make content that some players might never see, depending on their choices – giving everyone a unique experience in both the open-world and in the narrative. In other words, your Ajay Ghale will be different from my Ajay Ghale. “When you you’re done playing Far Cry 4 and you talk to a friend about it, they will have a subtly different experience,” Hay smiles. “They will grow up a little different.”
It’s this abundance of content, of choices, of features, of, well… everything that makes Far Cry 4 both familiar and something altogether new. “We love the idea that people who loved Far Cry 3 are going to pick this up and go: I completely get this, and this feels natural,” Hay says. “And we also love that within five minutes, they’re going to go: Wait a minute, this is different. I love it, it’s similar, but it’s very different.”
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