Gameplay Tips, Tricks, and Mechanics (2024)

Unofficial list of gameplay tips, tricks, and mechanics.

General[]

• Make sure to communicate with your team. Especially:
  • Before the round starts, to decide on tactics and equipment (quiet/loud, lights on/off, spawn(s) to pick, if someone should get shield, etc)
  • When standing up if it will put you in their line of fire (to prevent friendly fire)
  • When you see a door trap, hostage, enemy, or anything worth noting (ping it if possible)
  • When you need to reload while engaging with an enemy
  • If you want to turn off lights (to ensure everyone is equipped and ready)
• While easy to miss, there's a compass at the top of your screen in-game, which allows you to communicate directions more clearly to your teammates

Weapon Damage[]

• Weapon Damage follows a specific formula based on the damage a chest/neck shot does.
• Thorax Shot (Neck+Chest) = TS
  • Headshot = TS+100 (making it always a 1-shot kill)
  • Shoulder/Stomach/Leg = TS-5
  • Arm = TS-8
• Example (Mark12/SKS)
  • Thorax = 45
  • Head = 145 (45+100)
  • Shoulder/Stomach/Leg = 40 (45-5)
  • Arm = 37 (45-8)

CO-OP[]

CO-OP mode is a new installment we added where players can play to achieve the experience of SWAT units. This game mode will allow you to play bigger operations that you can either tackle solo or with a team of up to 5. With each operation, you are tasked to complete objectives such as bringing order to chaos. There are more objectives such as rescuing multiple hostages, arresting or neutralizing specific suspects and more which are being added down the line. Suspects may or may not have patrolling routes that are random every session and can interact with the environment to give it a challenge. They can hide under beds, tables and inside closets. They are also capable of taking a hostage and use them as a shield, making it harder for you to engage. Suspects can also surrender based on a few criteria; If a suspect is outnumbered from behind they will always surrender and if you are one on one with a suspect, based on the suspect's fear level, they may or may not surrender.

• Always watch for door traps. Be especially careful if you or a teammate are low on health, as door traps do area of effect damage and can injure/kill multiple teammates.

Difficulty Levels[]

There are two difficulty levels to select from, regular and hardcore. Both difficulty levels come with the same amount of suspects and the same amount of objectives. The only differences exist in the suspect's stats.

Regular[]

In regular difficulty, suspects will have larger spreads and slower reaction time. Most suspects will prefer staying in rooms and push less. Their fear level will rise at a faster rate and chances of them surrendering will be a lot higher. They will take more cover and their chances of hiding will be a lot more. A smaller number of suspects will have flashlight attached to their weapon. Suspects will also have a very small prediction time if their target is not in their sight. Chances of suspects taking hostage is a lot lower.

Hardcore[]

In hardcore difficulty, suspect will have smaller spreads and faster reaction time. Most suspects will think smart and may flank from behind and catch you and your team off guard. They will go through various rooms and check. Most suspects will not back down without a fight and their chances of surrendering upfront is minimal. Suspects will still take cover and may hide but the chances will be rare and randomized. Most suspects will have flashlights attached to their weapon and are more alarmed if lights are turned off. Suspects will be able to predict a target's movement for a longer period of time even when not in sight and their chances of taking a civilian hostage is a lot more.

Stealth Approach[]

It is possible to take a stealthy approach to all missions but based on the difficulty selected and the layout of the map it can be easier or harder. You can take cover behind objects and as long as your head is not in their sight you will be able to sneak past them. This approach can be made a lot easier with all lights being turned off but do note this will also make them more alarmed of the situation and will shoot you on sight. Their vision will be affected but based on whether they have flashlights or not, this effect can be minimal. AI are not currently affected by players using flashlights or lasers any differently than players not using them.

AI Behaviour[]

• Calling out for Compliance:
  • Compliance has a range of 15 meters, but if some enemies hear it even if it is just one. Every enemy on that whole floor gets alerted also. Which means that if someone hears your shout for compliance. A whole floor of enemies get alerted^[1]
  • Suspects will only raise their hands if they can see you when you call out
  • If approaching from behind (on regular difficulty), don't call out, as they will actually be less likely to surrender than if you just sneak up on them. Once your close enough behind them, they should just drop their gun and surrender.

• In order to avoid penalties for unauthorized force (on regular difficulty):
  • Killing a suspect that is actively shooting at you should never give you a penalty (except in rare instances where you shoot their gun out of their hands right before killing them)
  • If you see a suspect that isn't aware of you:
    1. Call out for compliance when you can see the suspect
    2. Wait for suspect to put their hands up
    3. Optional: Try shooting the gun out of their hands to guarantee they surrender
    4. If they start lowering the gun again, you can shoot them
    5. If they drop the gun, they've surrendered (shooting them at this point is basically a guaranteed penalty)
  • When suspect is moving towards you but isn't hostile yet (gun isn't raised), you need to shout for compliance and then wait a few seconds to give him a chance to surrender, if he's still pushing towards you, shoot them.
  • If suspect is kneeling or prone you are allow to shoot them without shouting for compliance because he has already established a fighting position and won't surrender.

• You can shoot guns out of suspects hands, however make sure you only shoot the gun/hand holding it or you may get a penalty (if they are surrendering or unaware when you fire). One strategy is to shoot the gun hand, move into cover, and listen for the surrendering sound (it's pretty distinctive). Also verify there's no one behind the gun hand. If you shoot after they've lowered the gun, they may start shooting at you, freeze for a few seconds, then surrender.
• Suspects have to reload, which is often the best time to move out of cover and shoot them.
• On hardcore mode, suspects will often shoot you without even trying to surrender when you call out.
• The AI suspects can't use the cameras currently, so shooting them isn't necessary.
• Kicking doors puts suspects on alert (guns raised, ready to shoot you)
• AI suspects can disable the shield and shoot you if you're in melee range.

Arresting Suspects[]

Arresting suspects can be easy when playing as a team and coordinating every move orchestrally but if you go in alone, your chances of being arrested is minimal. The arresting system depends on the suspect's fear level and whether or not he is outnumbered. Arresting mostly works when you approach from behind and you and your team have your guns pointed. You can also use flash bangs and it will disorient the suspects and increase the chances of them surrendering.

Picking up Guns for Ammo[]

• Most guns: If you have 2 or less magazines (this includes empty magazines, so double-tap the reload key to drop them) and you pickup an enemy gun of the same type as your gun (rifle, smg, pistol) you will gain 1 full magazine
• Shotguns: If the shotgun is empty, and you pickup an enemy shotgun, your gun will be reloaded to full capacity.

• Turning off lights isn't currently very beneficial, as the AI suspects can often see you from farther away in the dark than you can see them using NVGs or a flashlight.
• If a suspect is fake surrendering, you can shoot their gun out of their hands. However you need to wait until they start to bring their hands down again before shooting to avoid a penalty.

Stamina[]

Sprint Time[]

• Shield: 5 seconds
• SR 7.62 (SCAR H): 5.5 seconds
• Valkyrie (AS-VAL): 6 seconds
• Tactical Shotgun: 6 seconds
• M4: 6 seconds
• Rattler (MP7): 6.5 seconds
• MP5: 6.5 seconds
• FN57: 7 seconds

Stamina draining activities[]

• Sprinting (see above)
• Melee
  • Shield: ~4 hits
  • Guns: ~6 hits
• Going down stairs at fast speed (though not going up)
• Shooting (though it won't drain below 25% by itself)
  • Shotguns use the most stamina per shot
  • The Bizon on full-auto can drain the most due to the large magazine and fast rate-of-fire
• Kicking doors (you can kick roughly 6-7 times with a full stamina bar, which is more than enough to breach any door)

Recovery Time: Always 20 seconds if not doing something that drains stamina

• Walking, Crouching, Prone, etc do not affect recovery time

Getting the Highest Score[]

After every completed mission you will be brought to the score menu, where you can see the score of your team's overall performance. Completing all objectives will give you 40 Points and the rest is earned by performing while respecting the "Rules of Engagement". Engaging at a suspect who has not shown any signs of hostility will penalize your score along with triggering traps. Shooting in the lower portion of the suspect's legs will not trigger this penalty and will allow you to give them warning. Also making sure everyone from your team is alive will feed the score.

Points[]

• Mission Completed: 20
• Arrests: 20 if you get at least 1 arrest (multiple arrests won't raise points above 20)
• Neutralized Suspects: depends
• No officers down: 10 (3 if only 1/5 teammates are left)
• All weapons secured:
  • All guns: 10
  • totalguns = number of enemies
  • points =rounded upwards
  • Example: 9 enemies, 5 guns collected: points
  • etc (1 point subtracted for every gun missed after 1)

Penalties[]

• Shooting an unaware suspects will almost always get you a penalty
• Traps triggered: -3 to -5 for each (shooting them also counts as a penalty)
• Unauthorized force: Unique Occurrences/RB (e.g. 1/1 or 1/3)
  • RB = ROEs (Rules of Engagement) Broken
  • ROEs are listed at the beginning of each round, shooting suspects when ROE that applies says withdraw or ROE that says authorized doesn't apply, will get you a penalty:
    • Authorized to engage at a suspect that has shown any acts of hostility. (so if they haven't shown an act of hostility, such as pointing their gun at you, then don't shoot them)
    • Authorized to engage at a suspect if fired upon.
    • Withdraw from engaging at a surrendering suspect (don't shoot surrendering suspects)
    • Withdraw from engaging at a fleeing suspect (don't shoot if they're unaware or moving away from you with gun not raised in your direction)
    • Withdraw from firing at a hostage (don't shoot hostages. It won't give you a penalty, but you'll fail the mission objective to rescue them, thus losing points)
    • Withdraw from friendly fire (don't shoot teammates, though this won't give you a penalty if you don't kill them)
  • If multiple ROEs apply, you can get multiple penalties:
    • Example: If you flash a suspect before they become aware of you, then you shoot them after they drop their gun, then you have shot a suspect that hasn't shown any hostility and is also surrendering.
  • 
  • Examples: 1/2 = -10 and 2/2 = -10
  • Shotgun penalties are calculated per pellet, meaning 7-8 penalties per shot (8 for tactical, 7 for sawed off, if all pellets hit)

NOTE: You can't cancel out penalties with arrests. If you get any penalties, you will not be able to get max points no matter how many arrests you make.

PvP[]

• Cameras are extremely useful for the terrorists. If you're defending, make sure to utilize them. If you're attacking, make sure to destroy them.
• Defenders can’t rappel
• Defenders aren’t affected by door traps
• Defenders are affected by door wedges
• You have less Stamina in PvP

1. Zero Hour brings a very grounded CO-OP, 5v5, team vs team, Close quarter combat experience to the game that focuses on two teams with each player having their own roles. The attackers utilizing shields, weapons and the planning table and the terrorists utilizing traps and gadgets in order to fortify the area.
2. Please make sure you select your proper region to get the best ping possible. You can always change the region through the settings>Gameplay menu. Also make sure if you are playing with friends that you all are in the same region to make sure no one is left behind when queuing for a match.
3. In Bomb game mode, As an attacker you are required to defuse the bomb after the Time says "1:20" remaining. Even if the enemy team is taken down, you will need to defuse the bomb.
4. In hostage game mode, if your team member shoots while you are watching over the planning table, you will be able to see the location of the hostage at the given moment.
5. The hostage held captive by the defenders will have its own mindset which means it would run away if not careful. This indicates that it would be critical to keep an eye on the hostage and move it around wherever a player feels necessary.
6. You can play Custom matches amongst friends and even have tournaments set up. You can host the game as a caster and watch the match as it unfolds from every angle.

References[]