Five agonizing years after the previous game, Homefront: The Revolution is finally here and we’re again engaging in guerrilla war against Korean occupiers — this time working alongside an underground resistance across the war-torn city of Philadelphia.
The experience has drastically changed though, as now you are working across an open world, capturing strike points and completing tasks to win the hearts and minds of the populace rather than playing through scripted levels.
Work hard enough, and the downtrodden citizens just might rise up against their occupiers to cast off the shackles of the KPA. Here’s what you need to know to keep the resistance alive and send those Norks packing!
Nabbing Achievements Early
This re-imagining of the Homefront universe isn’t skimpy with the achievements/trophies, and there are quite a few you can unlock before even getting into the heart of the main storyline if you just take a little time to explore.
While first searching for the resistance safe house after being saved by Benjamin Walker, look at every single object inside any building. Most objects – trash cans, dresser drawers, computers, lockers, couch cushions, etc. — can be opened.
Inside you will find valuables you can sell at market vendors for extra cash. Grab them all! From duct tape to power supplies to old shoes, these give you an early edge when you walk through the market and sell them.
Not long after, you will automatically unlock the There Are Many Like It, But This One Is Mine achievement when the game forces you to modify your pistol to turn into an SMG. If you picked up enough valuables to earn $300, you can also buy the holographic sight early and equip it on the fly to your fancy new SMG, netting the Accessorize achievement ahead of schedule.
Upgrading Your Pistol / SMG Hybrid
Immediately afterward you will automatically earn the Welcome To The Resistance and Cooking Up A Storm achievements when you make the molotov cocktail before leaving the tunnels.
Don’t think that molotov is your only source of fiery death, though! As soon as you leave and actually get out into the city, keep an eye out for spouts of green gas coming out of vents. There are several around the starting area and the Westbury Sugar Plant. If you shoot the gas while a KPA soldier is standing next to it, he will explode and unlock the Fyre Starter achievement.
Be On The Lookout For Green Gas!
Navigating The Philadelphia Landscape
Since you aren’t running through limited levels anymore like in a traditional FPS, you need to re-think how you approach any area. While there’s plenty of hidden spots, you can remain oriented and figure out where to go by watching for specific clues.
Always be on the lookout for blue colors, as this means you can probably jump up somewhere or use a secret escape roue. Yellow instead means breakable: hit it with your knife and see what it hides!
Although you probably wouldn’t expect it since Homefront: The Revolution is an FPS, much of the game is based around vertical movement. Always be on the lookout for ways to climb up inside or outside of buildings, and this is especially true when hunting down collectibles or resistance stash locations.
Forget Green, Blue Means Go!
The converse is also true. If an object isn’t found by going up, take a look around for a tunnel offering access that goes down. Keep thinking in three dimensions: if all else fails, go to the next building over and look for something that can be knocked over to make a bridge to the area you can’t directly access.
Staying Alive In Homefront: The Revolution
When soldiers are within view, stay in the crosswalks and don’t go in the fenced areas, as the KPA will attack if you visibly go off the beaten path. Your goal is to have the authorities notice you as little as possible, as you aren’t capable of taking on the entire military force.
With that in mind, keep flight in your bag of tricks and be ready to pull it out at a moment’s notice. While the dirt bike lets you get away farther and faster, its also hard to control and easy to get stuck somewhere or end up taking a turn into a squad of soldiers. In most cases, fleeing on foot is a better call, as you can hide more easily and then get back into the fight.
Its A Fast Getaway, But Don’t Hit Anything!
To avoid being overwhelmed by reinforcements, stay away from the drones — or if possible, destroy the seeker drones immediately by shooting their yellow fuel cells. (But if they see you and survive, you will quickly have airship support in the area, which is deadly.)
Less deadly but still capable of quickly taking you down are snipers, which are situated across the red and yellow zones of the city. You can usually see their giant red beam of light before they shoot at you, but just in case, always bring a few resistance members along. If you have some cronies traveling alongside you when heading out into enemy territory, they can get shot instead. Hey, it’s a rough world.
The best way to take out snipers when you discern their location is obviously from behind, so look for a way up to wherever they are, but don’t expect a direct shot. Buildings are never linear and there’s usually not a straight staircase — but keep looking, because there’s always a way through rubble or up railways to reach higher locations.
When you are forced into a firefight, you don’t want to be worrying about counting ammo, which is scarce. While you can usually stay stocked up on ammo if you have the chance to loot KPA bodies, that’s not always an option in a serious fire fight, and you don’t want to be caught using just your knife.
To avoid that issue, pick up the Stacked Mag Pouch upgrade early, which is available at any of the weapons stores in the various safe houses.
More Ammo Is Always Better
Running An Effective Guerrilla War
Moving away from the traditional ideas and more towards a Far Cry style, you don’t have to hit a workbench to make items or even to modify your gun.
Most of this can all be done directly from a menu wheel anywhere in the city, so be sure to grab all the GTK ingredients you find – igniter, propellant, chemicals, and batteries – and always make more molotovs or other explosive items whenever you have a free moment.
A good stockpile is crucial to being ready for any situation, especially when you get caught off guard by a large group.
You Want Lots Of These Flaming Beauties
To keep stocked and upgraded you need money, which is earned through missions or by picking up valuables. Unfortunately there’s not infinite room in your inventory, and your backpack will fill up quickly, so be sure to head back to a safe house or market stall regularly to sell off whatever loot you’ve picked up.
To keep your war running smoothly, always hack a transponder whenever one is available in your area to create a new safe house. Not only does this give you more opportunity to grab resistance members or pick up a dirt bike, but it also reveals the resistance stashes, certain collectibles, and even new missions in the surrounding area.
Once an area is under your control, it’s time to focus on raising your hearts and mind percentage. Before heading to the next story mission, always take the time to pick up radios from fallen soldiers, destroy armored cars, kill the non-respawning snipers, and unlock new strike points on the map.
Unlocking New Strike Points
With these Homefront: The Revolution tips and tricks in mind, you will be well on your way to taking back one of America’s most historical cities from the invading force! Let us know if you have any other Homefront strategies to share, and stay tuned as we bring new guides on finding collectibles and dominating in multiplayer.
Published: May 17, 2016 03:11 pm