Basic Gameplay Mechanics

Projectile weaponry (or “Blasters”) in Troopers utilize a magazine/reloading system. Each blaster carries a limited number of power in each powerpack; thus, every pack can carry only a certain number of shots. Manual reloading of a powerpack into a weapon can be done at any time by pressing the “Reload” key, configurable under the “Controls” tab of the “Settings” menu. In addition, the player may choose to activate automatic reloading, causing the weapon to cycle through the reload process by itself once the current powerpack has been expended and the fire button is pressed. This option can be toggled on or off under the “Game” tab of the “Settings” menu. Players are advised to always keep an eye on their ammunition counters, lest they run out of power at an inopportune moment.

Should you desire, at any time during gameplay, to switch out your current weapon with a new one of the same category, regardless of its initial team orientation, you may do so in one of two ways. First, select the weapon you wish to replace, then stand over the weapon you wish to pickup. Upon pressing the “Throw / Swap Weapon” key, you will pick the grounded rifle / sidearm up, and your current weapon will be replaced in the exact same spot. Alternatively, pressing the “Throw / Swap Weapon” key when you are not standing above another weapon will toss the blaster out in front of you, giving you the opportunity to find a weapon that suits you for replacement. This ability can be used to effectively remove your current weapon from combat in certain situations, disallowing others from picking up and using your discarded blaster. Some class-specific items like Medpacs and Proton grenades can only be used by the class that spawns with them and can't be thrown out.

As the maps in Troopers are generally larger than those in UT2004, all blasters have been fitted with low-power zoom scopes. You can engage a weapon’s zoom by pressing and holding the “Zoom” key or by tapping the "Zoom Toggle" key. Certain weapons have more advanced zoom scopes, allowing for multiple levels of magnification. Tapping either the “Zoom” or "Zoom Toggle" keys while using such weapons will activate and deactivate the scopes; holding down either key is not necessary.

Iron Sights

Troopers: Dawn of Destiny features no crosshairs, and instead features only blind fire from the hip as well as aimed fire through crosshairs available on each weapon. This allows for a gritty and realistic experiece as would have been seen from the boots of a Trooper on the lines of the Galactic Civil War. While this does require a learning curve, players of other mods such as Red Orchestra: Combined Arms (or the full retail version) will be intimatly familiar with the set up.

Recharge Stations

Unlike many other games and modifications in the FPS genre, there are no health or magazine pickups in Troopers. In order to replenish failing health and refill drained powerpacks, recharge stations must be interfaced with. Two types of recharge stations complement the maps of Troopers: ammo stations are used to refill empty powerpacks with new energy, effectively replenishing the player’s cache of projectile ammunition, while health stations use bacta to repair physical damage, steadily increasing even minimal health to maximum.

Both the Rebel Alliance and the Imperial Forces have their own recharge stations, the former based upon mechanical ingenuity, the latter carrying the vestiges of cutting-edge technology. Though the visual appearance and inner mechanics of the two sides’ stations are different from each other, both designs work to achieve identical effects. Ergo, Imperials may use Rebel stations, and Rebels may use Imperial stations. To use a recharge station, simply walk up to its front and press the "Use" key. Diagnostic systems will classify wounds or power loss and refill either as appropriate. Only one player can be diagnosed at a time by recharge stations, and then only until their internal reserves have been depleted. Once an ammo station has been emptied of power or a health station has overused its bacta supply, time must be taken to refill capacitors or clean the bacta tanks. During these periods, the station’s screen will notify their inability to provide replenishment, and an audible tone will sound should a player attempt to use the station.

Blastech A280 Blaster Rifle

Weapon Category: Main Firearm / Primary
Initial Affiliation: Rebel Alliance

The main firearm for Rebel troops, the A280 is a powerful semi-automatic blaster rifle with a slow-to-charge but deadly shot. Equipped with an advanced zoom scope comprised of four separate ranges, it makes up for its weak rate of fire with its strength as a sniper rifle.

When out of the A280's sniper mode, the blaster will act as any other blaster, releasing powerfully charged plasma bolts that must traverse the distance between the wielder and the target. In the A280’s sniper mode, shots instantaneously impact the target, however the wielder must deal with his or her breathing rate, which affects the scope view. Should the player move about too much and so have a high heart rate, breathing becomes more rapid, and the scope shifts more frequently. Should the player work to move slowly or stay stationary, his or her heart rate will slow, and the need for heavy breathing will diminish, making the aiming of the weapon an easier task.

The current magnification level of the A280 is displayed in the upper-left corner of the screen. The player can cycle through four different levels by pressing the “Alternate Fire” button. Upon identification of an enemy beneath the reticule, the A280’s internal targeting system automatically displays target readout information in the lower-left of the screen. The target information readout includes a hologram of the target, as well as altitude and range dials.

In situations where multiple enemies and friendlies are moving about in a general area, the A280’s user has the option of locking onto a particular target. Pressing the “Use” key while a target is beneath the reticule will lock the weapon onto that target. So long as the target stays within view on screen and does not die, the A280 will remained locked on, and all available data will continue to be received, including altitude and range.

It is important to note that while the unzoomed fire of the A280 consumes only one bolt of powerpack energy, the instant-hit fire consumes two charges.

Blastech DH-17 Blaster Pistol

Weapon Category: Sidearm / Secondary
Initial Affiliation: Rebel Alliance

The DH-17 is the primary fallback weapon for Rebel Alliance troops, and operates as a semi-automatic pistol. The blaster’s plasma bolts are relatively unfocused, delivering high-speed damage to short-range targets while losing strength at longer ranges. The pistol is capable of a fairly high rate of fire, however, as it is semi-automatic, the wielder must release the trigger to allow the firing chamber to charge from a supplied powerpack before each succeeding shot. Operating the secondary fire mode of the blaster charges each shot with only half the plasma, allowing for only half the inflicted damage per shot, but at up to twice the rate of fire.

Blastech DL-44 Blaster Pistol

Weapon Category: Sidearm / Secondary
Initial Affiliation: Rebel Alliance

Commonly recognized as the preferred sidearm of famed smuggler-gone-respectable Han Solo, the original DL-44 was modified to fit the needs of pirates and thieves across the galaxy. The variant quickly became one of the most common designations of the blaster available, and is as commonly found in Alliance hands as it is in smugglers'. While the blaster has only one semi-automatic firing mode, the wielder can use it as an effective bludgeoning tool at extremely close range.

Pistol-whipping an enemy with the DL-44 can either kill him (should the enemy have insufficient health to sustain the hit) or darken his vision to blackness for a few brief moments. Consequently, bludgeoned players can be quickly taken down by a couple extra blaster shots in the time during the vision blackout.

Blastech DLT-19 Heavy Blaster

Weapon Category: Main Firearm / Primary
Initial Affiliation: Imperial Forces

The primary weapon of the Imperial Forces, the DLT-19 is a massive blaster rifle, capable of delivering both rapid-fire semi-automatic carnage and bursts of blaster triplets. Pressing the “Primary Fire” button releases powerful bolts in single fire succession, much like the Rebellion’s DH-17. Unlike the Rebel sidearm, however, the DLT-19 is a powerful force to be reckoned with at both short and medium ranges, and its secondary fire makes it a match at longer ranges. Pressing the “Secondary Fire” button releases a three-pronged burst, trading rate of fire for powerful, precision accuracy.

Blastech DLT20-A

Weapon Category: Main Firearm / Primary
Initial Affiliation: Rebel Alliance

The DLT-20a is a custom blaster based on the A280 frame, that was made famous by the Bounty Hunter IG-88. Inexpensive and easily repaired, the DLT-20a is commonly used in place of more expensive and hard-to-obtain blasters. While not a powerful weapon, the DLT-20a is more than capable of piercing Stormtrooper armour in the hands of a skilled Rebel marksman. By under-charging the gas in the combustion chamber, the DLT20-a can fire less volatile pulses at twice its normal rate of fire. With the cyclic rate doubled, a skilled marksman can devastate any target with saturated bursts of fire from the DLT-20a.

Blastech E-11 Blaster Rifle

Weapon Category: Sidearm / Secondary
Initial Affiliation: Imperial Forces

The E-11 is the standard-issue sidearm for most Stormtroopers. A robust rifle with the capability of inflicting decent amounts of damage at varying rates of fire, it is a multipurpose scalpel that can perform surgery at any range. Unlike the other weapons in the game, the E-11 works off of three separate firing modes; ergo, while the “Primary Fire” button triggers the blaster’s current firing setting, the “Secondary Fire” button switches between available modes. The player can see what mode the rifle is currently in by looking at the ring around the ammo-count display. If the player switches away from the E-11 and then back to it, the current firing mode will remain the same.

The E-11’s default firing mode releases single plasma bolts in semi-automatic fashion, draining only one unit of energy from a powerpack for every shot fired. Due to its average rate of fire and controlled recoil, the default mode is most effective at medium ranges. The ammo-count will have a solid ring around it when in this mode.

The second firing mode for the E-11 is its burst fire setting. Once activated, the E-11 will, with every depression of the trigger, release two tightly packed plasma bolts along a singular course. While energy consumption when in burst mode is similar to that of normal mode—every shot fired expends a single unit of energy, resulting in two energy units lost per depression of the trigger—the slow recharge time between bursts makes the setting dangerous to use in close quarters; recovering from a poorly-aimed salvo could prove difficult against aggressive enemies. Consequently, burst fire is most advantageous when taking out targets at long ranges: because of the lack of recoil between each bolt in a single burst, a well-aimed salvo at a distant enemy’s head can prove fatal to the target. The ammo-count will have a ring broken into four parts around the number when in this mode.

Upon selection, the E-11’s final firing mode turns the blaster into a fully automatic rifle. Combining a high rate of fire with powerful shots, autofire allows the wielder to mow down targets at close ranges, sacrificing ammunition to maintain firing rate. When in fully automatic mode, the E-11 expends two units of energy for every shot fired, resulting in a drastic loss of power when engaged for too long. Fortunately, the weight of the weapon and its sturdy chassis allows for significantly longer durations of minimum-recoil automatic fire before shots become too uncontrollable. The resultant hailstorm of red energy has led soldiers to affectionately nickname the effect “crimson rain.” The ammo-count will have a ring broken into many parts around the number when in this mode.

Blastech Modified E11 Blaster

Weapon Category: Main Firearm / Primary
Initial Affiliation: Rebel Alliance

BlasTech T21 Light Repeating Blaster

Weapon Category: Miscellaneous / Tertiary
Initial Affiliation: None / Neutral Pickup

Cloud City Fleet Officer Pistol

Weapon Category: Sidearm / Secondary
Initial Affiliation: Rebel Alliance

Merr-Sonn Munitions Class-B Thermal Detonator

Weapon Category: Miscellaneous / Tertiary
Initial Affiliation: None / Neutral Pickup

Available in an almost unlimited variety of shapes, sizes, and blast radii, thermal detonators are a bounty hunter favorite, a Stormtrooper standard-issue, and a battlefield necessity. Baradium, a highly volatile and notoriously unstable element, is wrapped in a thermite casing beneath a detonator's outer shell; upon detonation, the fusion reaction within the baradium creates a quickly-expanding particle sphere that destroys or severely damages anything within the radius. In the case of the Class-B standard-issue detonator, that radius is one of approximately five meters.

Thermal Detonators can be found in packs of two on the battlefield, and only two of them can be carried at any one time. Once a detonator is thrown, it is lost to the player's inventory, and more must be found to replenish the supply; as such, detonator counts cannot be replenished at an Ammo Station -- there is nothing to recharge.

Once picked up and equipped, thermals can be either thrown overhand or rolled underhand towards a target. Pressing and holding the Primary Fire key will arm the detonator and raise it for a throw, while pressing and holding the secondary fire key will arm it and lower it for a roll. To throw or roll the detonator, the player need only aim and release the held button.

Once the detonator is armed, a countdown sequence begins, after which the thermal will explode, whether it is at its target, flying through the air, rolling across the ground, or still within the wielder's hand. If, at any time during the countdown sequence, the player decides not to use the detonator, the sequence can be terminated by pressing and then releasing both keys at once.

Thermal detonators are thrown and rolled at constant speeds; no matter if the explosive is released immediately or after waiting until just before the end of the countdown, it will move the same distance, so long as time allows it to do so. Ergo, to attack nearby targets, the player should aim relatively low before throwing, and wait until the countdown is almost complete so that the sphere does not move too far before releasing its payload.

While the prevention of an armed detonator from firing is an impossibility once it has left the wielder's hand, it is possible to minimize the damage caused by the thermal's explosion. By shooting at the detonator before its countdown timer has elapsed, the baradium core is forced into a partial fusion with its thermite casing. The resulting explosion carries only half the power of the full blast, with a radius of only 2.5 meters.

Merr-Sonn Munitions Power 5

Weapon Category: Sidearm / Secondary
Initial Affiliation: Imperial Forces

SoroSuub X-45 Sniper

Weapon Category: Main Firearm / Primary
Initial Affiliation: Imperial Forces

SoroSuub Q-2s5 MOA Scout Pistol

Weapon Category: Sidearm / Secondary
Initial Affiliation: Imperial Forces

Standard Issue Electro Binoculars

Weapon Category: Miscellaneous / Tool
Initial Affiliation: None / Neutral Class Equipment

Standard Issue MedPac

Weapon Category: Miscellaneous / Tool
Initial Affiliation: None / Neutral Class Equipment

7-PrG Proton Grenade

Weapon Category: Miscellaneous / Tool
Initial Affiliation: None / Neutral Class Equipment