Overview
This guide aims to cover any tricks and pointers that help to optimise your run as the dreaded Infiltrator!
Study The Map
The Infiltrator Mode’s map can seem overwhelming at first, but it is simple enough to familiarise yourself with, when breaking it down into different sectors.
Most objectives and items spawn in randomised places, however some items like grenades, guns, certain intel and even yourself, will always spawn in the exact same places. These are too plentiful to list comprehensively in such a guide, but you’ll likely get a feel for where things are, or should be, the more you play.
For the randomised objectives, it helps greatly to know where to expect them. In the image above, note that the Scavenger Weapon Cache (.45 Long Slide and Uzi) will always spawn somewhere in the lower-left area, near to where you start each game.
If you work your way through one of those sectors, and still haven’t found its respective weapon cache, you can know it’s been accidentally passed by.
Plan Your Route
Time is the best score multiplier in the Infiltrator Mode, capped at x2.0. This means you can effectively double your final score if you work your way through the map fast enough.
Once you feel comfortable with your knowledge of where things should be and where they are likely to spawn, plan so that you travel in a continuous path.
Whenever possible, do not cover the same ground more than once. Try to work it so that you never have to back-track.
This will save you precious time, and help you cover more ground, and complete the objectives faster.
Intel is Critical
When collecting intel, objectives are revealed to you at random. The more intel points you accrue, the more objectives are revealed.
This is critical for planning a route through the map. If you don’t know where important objectives are, you are stuck choosing an area or direction at random, increasing the likelihood of passing through an area again, wasting valuable time.
It may sound tough, because it likely will be, but it’s possible to clear the first room of the lab with only the M-16 and two magazines of ammo. When you find the lab, go for it!
This gets you a Red Plasma TC2000-R, and a MINIGUN very early on, which will help you sweep through Resistance Checkpoints and Tech-Com Checkpoints with ease.
You can also loot the Resistance Laboratory enemies for valuable intel. This will unlock several objectives on your map in one swoop, allowing you to plan your route much more effectively.
Random intel can be found all over the Infiltrator map. Regular sheets of intel are often worth 5 to 10 points, while resistance laptops are worth an entire 20 points each.
Look for the glow of some candles, or a subtle glint as if from something shiny, that’s the surest way to know there’s a hideout or intel hiding there.
Loot as many enemies as you can. Most enemies will only provide ammo, but about a third of all bodies will provide bits of intel. Tech-Com units with V-25A Violet Plasma Rifles often carry 15 to 20 points of intel on them.
Always loot Fallen Skynet Units! They can carry a lot of intel, and even if they don’t, they’re bound to supply you helpful upgrade chips.
Complete Every Single Objective
Your final score is based on two multipliers. This means that missing even one hideout or food supply cache will cost you dearly, more than you will intuitively expect.
You can earn 2175 points in total from completing all of the objectives, not counting intel collected from random pickups, or the score you achieve from terminating human targets.
For example, observe the impact on a standard baseline score when missing 2 of the 4 Scavenger Hideouts:
By leaving just 200 points in the field, you could accidentally be giving up hundreds of points more.
The toughest difficulty features a x1.5 score multiplier. Easy has a x1.0 multiplier, and Normal has x1.15. Consider how this difference affects the score from above:
Luckily, difficulty only affects the enemy’s damage per shot. It does not improve their reaction time or behaviour.
This means that if you are playing Normal or higher difficulty, you can just as well try playing Extreme, as the difference in challenge is minimal.
Finally, using a repair kit to recover health also costs you points. Only ever heal when you absolutely need to.
Knowing What to Check or Skip
To save more time, you can learn which clues to look for, so that you don’t happen to miss a valuable objective.
You can train yourself to spot such special features in the map, even from far away, so that you can more accurately plan your route in real-time.
The most common landmarks to look for are distinct piles of rubble, and closed/sealed doors.
For example, Weapon Cache locations are capped with rubble like this:
Objectives like Scavenger Hideouts and Food Supplies could be hidden behind such doors:
Also pay attention to any light sources. While they are faint in the below screenshots, they are easier to see for yourself in-game.
Candles or glints of light always have something worth finding, whether it’s simple Intel, a Resistance Laptop, a Hideout or Food Supplies. Any light coming from an otherwise dark building or corner is worth checking out.
Weapons To Look For
Most of the guns in the Infiltrator Mode are useful, but some stand out especially:
TC2000-R:
A big step up from the starting M-16. Can take out most enemies with one shot to the head, and is the ideal gun for breaching doors.
TC2100-R Scoped:
The same as the above rifle, except it features an infra-red scope that reveals enemies even behind cover. This is something your standard infra-red can’t do.
Enemies don’t use this gun in the map, so it can only be found in the Resistance Weapon Cache, (where you also find the grenade launcher).
Use this rifle instead of the regular one, and possibly even instead of the below R95. The scope’s usefulness for revealing enemies and pre-firing at them around corners is a significant tactical advantage.
R95:
If you recover one of these from a fallen Skynet unit, use it instead of the standard TC2000-R. It has slightly better damage per shot, and doesn’t need to reload, which saves that little bit more time.
Minigun:
A tremendously useful weapon for clearing large groups of enemies, especially early on. Has a surprisingly quick reload time, and a massive “magazine”, so you’re very unlikely to need to reload until after a battle.
VSB-90:
My preferred weapon for clearing the Tech-Com bunker. Highly accurate, and great damage per shot. When augmented with a boost in fire-rate and damage, it melts through enemy groups with ease.
M-79 Grenade Launcher:
It takes some practice to reliably place shots, but it is outstanding at clearing groups of enemies in the open, especially the Resistance and Tech-Com Checkpoints.
The only drawback is that it has a long reload time. It is also not recommended for use in areas with loads of cover and geometry, as explosion damage is entirely blocked by even simple barriers like furniture. This affects regular Pipe Bombs and Can Grenades too.
.45 Long Slide with Laser Sighting:
Last but not least, possibly the most useful gun in Infiltrator Mode. If you are good at placing headshots, this pistol is for you.
It can be found very early on in the Scavenger Weapon Cache. Despite only using Small Calibre ammunition, it has a very high damage per shot, and features pin-point accuracy even at long distances.
This pistol can take out a heavy Tech-Com soldier with only three shots to the head (they wear helmets and are most often manning Miniguns). This makes it good for initial entry into the Resistance Laboratory.
Some images above are courtesy of the Terminator Wiki[terminator.fandom.com].
Infra-Red View
While this may be an obvious point, the Infiltrator’s Infra-Red view is incredibly helpful at pointing out enemies and important items like Fallen Skynet Units.
Use this view to find enemies and items from a distance. It will likely help you plan your route in the moment, and might even save you from wandering into a checkpoint or the Radio Station unprepared.
This view is also the safest way to find snipers. You’ll see them long before they see you.
Use Infra-Red View as often as possible, but the standard “human” view has more contrast to it.
Luckily, switching between normal and Infra-Red is instant, so switch whenever you’re having trouble seeing something. One or the other will likely show you what you need.
Menus Pause The Timer!
The Esc Menu, map and inventory all pause the game timer.
This means that any time you spend looking at your map, or customising your plasma chip upgrades, will not count against your final score. You can take as much time as you need to optimise your inventory, and plan your route.
This applies to all of the difficulties, including Extreme.
Don’t Loot Snipers
Snipers are often a serious threat, given how much damage they can potentially inflict with just one good hit on you.
Terminate them for the sake of your score, but never go out of your way to loot them.
Most Snipers spawn in high up places that require you to climb several flights to stairs. This is valuable time that is best spent completing other objectives.
Additionally, their Rail Plasma RG01 Sniper Rifle is not very well suited for Infiltrator Mode, due to the rifle’s very slow fire-rate.
The sniper rifle’s damage is also overpowered for Infiltrator Mode, as most enemies can be killed with a headshot from just a regular plasma rifle. Given that most enemies appear in groups, this rifle is the least efficient way to deal with any enemy other than a lone sniper.
General Gameplay Tips
The below are more subtle, yet valuable ways to save time moment-to-moment:
- You are immune to Fall Damage.
If you need to jump from a high-up place to save time, jump! You will be perfectly fine, even if you are already badly damaged from enemy attacks. - Enemies do not seem to notice your flashlight.
Keep it on as often as you can. This will help find important clues and objectives. - Do not waste time using melee attacks against boarded-up doors.
While you cannot walk through them, you can run straight through them. Your heavy Terminator frame pushes through the wooden boards effortlessly. - Red Plasma guns (R95 and TC2000-R) are excellent for breaching doors.
They have the shortest delay before you’re able to start shooting. Certain guns are downright bad for breaching, because of how long it takes to deploy and fire your first shot. The Violet Plasma V-25A is considerably affected by a long delay. - Save time on reloading with a melee attack.
When the HUD shows a full magazine near the middle of most reload animations, do the attack, and you can go right back to picking up objects or looting fallen enemies.
Otherwise, you cannot pick up or interact with anything, until the reload animation is complete.
You can instead pick up and interact with objects during a melee attack, even while the attack animation plays out. - Reload after a battle, or after looting everything you need.
Waiting for a reload animation to finish doesn’t waste too much time once, but when those few seconds are wasted after every battle, your time multiplier will suffer for it.
Good Luck!
If you have any tricks of your own to share, or if the pointers in this guide helped you improve your score, please feel welcome to share any feedback below!
Remember, the future is not set. No fate but what we make.
As a bonus, here is an excellent synth/techno cover of the Terminator Theme: