EPISODE 2 – Contemplation (Part 1)
Mission Medals List:
- Gold: Knocked down an enemy 5 times by blinding them with the light, then hitting them with a physical attack
- Gold: Cleared the seige in the bar without any of the windows being broken
- Silver: Stunned 10 enemies with Moira's light
- Silver: Defeated 8 enemies with sub-weapons
- Silver: Defeated 3 enemies using the stealth attack
- Silver: Defeated 8 enemies with a headshot
- Bronze: Created 3 sub-weapons by combining items
- Bronze: Openend 3 military boxes
- Bronze: Found 6 hidden items with Moira
- Bronze: Escaped from the village without taking damage from mutant Pedro (spoiler, highlight to reveal)
Collectible Count:
Tower Emblems: 5/9
Kafka Drawings: 6
After watching the recap of the last episode and meeting up with some other survivors from Terra Save, you'll gain control of Claire in the Wossek bar. Swap to Moira and perform a sweep of the inside bar area for items. You should be able to find: Fishing Village Map, Odorus Chemical, Cloth, Empty Bottle, Decoy Bottle, hidden Ruby (250 BP), hidden Handgun Ammo (5), hidden Handgun Ammo (5), hidden Topaz (100 BP) and a couple of barrels to smash.
Note the power box and red button on the wall of the upper area as this will be important later on. After a little bit of exploration, a quick scene will play out and the front door of the bar will be opened. You don't have to follow Gabe immediately, so if you still have looting to do, continue. When you are ready, leave the bar.
Kafka Drawing (1): On the Wossek sign shown in the cutscene above the bar doors.
Follow Gabe to the Western gate and open it up when you reach it. Ah, things are looking up. There's a damaged helicopter there, just waiting for some parts to repair it. Guess we know what Claire and Moira are gonna be doing. The parts you need include a new battery and fuel (their locations shown by new markers on the map). You'll also spot an ominous looking tower in the distance, but for the moment it can just stay there and be all spooky looking. Make sure to check the ground next to the helicopter for a military box with a Parts Box – Lv.2 Damage inside. You should also be able to find a Green Herb.
Kafka Drawing (2): On the tail of the helicopter
You're now free to explore the small town, but we'll take a slight detour first. Return to the doors to the helicopter area and look to the left to find a gap in the wall you can walk through. In here you'll find a small house with Odorous Chemical and an Empty Bottle on the ground as well as a military box for Moira to unlock with a Parts Box – Lv.2 Firing Rate inside. There is also a crate to break just outside the house too. Backtrack to the gate and reenter the town.
Examine the ground next to the barrels in the shed to the right after passing through the door with Moira's flashlight to find a hidden Topaz (100 BP). As you move further to the East towards the bar, Moira will hear the scream of an afflicted nearby. Enemies (afflicted and ironheads) will be scattered through the town from this point on, so be ready to deal with them. Take a left (North) and circle around behind the wire fence to reach the area behind the bar building.
Tower Emblem (1): Leaning against the slope in the corner here is the medal.
You should be able to grab a Decoy Bottle off the barrels at the rear door of the bar. You can also find some Gunpowder on the ground next to the slope where the emblem was. Leave the back area of the bar and move to the front of it. Move down to the building against on the edge of the area to the South, being prepared to deal with any enemies that appear (an afflicted in my case). Once you've dealt with it, enter the house to find an Exploding Bottle and a crate to smash.
Continue moving South, checking the small alley between the buildings here for hidden Handgun Ammo (5). When you reach the South West corner here, you'll find a bricked up doorway with a large painted X on it. These require a character with a drill, so we'll need to find one first before we can reach the fuel (which is inside). Wind your way through the buildings to the East from the drill door, breaking the crate on the way and return to the entrance of the bar.
We'll now head over to where the battery is. First head East and then North from the bar entrance to find a path leading North. Ignore the path for now and look West to find a locked metal door in a blue house (marked by an objective dot on your map). Pick up the Red Herb in the small alcove to the left of the front door. You can't get through the front, so circle around the back, jumping the small fence around the side.
Check the corner of the backyard for a barrel to shatter before approaching the broken ladder on the back wall of the house. After reaching the top, drop down inside the house and grab the Gunpowder off the shelf next to you. Bypass the blue door for now, and use Moira's flashlight on the cabinet here to find a hidden Ruby (250 BP). When you are ready unlock the other one. As soon as you do, an ironhead will drop down through the roof where you did a few seconds ago. Leave through the front door and swap to Claire to take it on with the shotgun. You can circle around the back of the house again if you need to, as climbing over the small fence will slow it down.
Once the ironhead is dead, go back inside the blue house and open the other door inside. In here you'll find a military box for Moira to open, which holds Expansion Bag (Moira). These valuable items add another row to a character's inventory (finally!), making it possible to carry more items at once. The Battery you need is on the shelf near the door as well. In the corner of the room is an Empty Bottle to pick up too.
Leave the battery house and head South. Stay one row of buildings away from the beach area to the East and you should stumble across Pedro looking through the window of a house. Happily for us, Pedro is wielding a power drill, which allows him to break through those annoying painted bricked walls. He also uses a shotgun in a fight, making him a good support character to use when he is available. Talk to him and he should break through a wall next to him, allowing you entry to the house.
Inside you'll find an MP-AB50 (machine pistol), which will automatically be added to Claire's weapon wheel when she picks it up. It's slightly more powerful than the handgun, but fires rapidly. Due to this, it works well against weaker enemies such as afflicted, but should be used in short bursts to maintain accuracy. It can also be a good fallback if you run out of shotgun ammo. On a shelf nearby you can read the "traveler's diary," left by the dead body on the floor. Check the corner of the room with Moira's flashlight for a hidden Ruby (250 BP) and under the stove for hidden Handgun Ammo (5).
Leave the house and head South-East, around the houses toward the beach. You'll probably run into a crate to smash next to one of the houses and an ironhead. Depending on how you want to play, you can have Pedro and Moira damage and blind it, while you knock it down and use follow up attacks as Claire. Or you can just blast it with the Shotgun. Due to the scarcity and essential nature (especially later in this part of episode 2), you may want to try and conserve your shotgun shells when you can.
At the far South end of the beach, you'll find a crate to break apart. Backtrack a bit to the West and explore the shack just above the path leading South away from the town. Inside you'll be able to net yourself an Empty Bottle. Another ironhead and an afflicted will likely appear when you approach the path to the South, so be wary as you do. After dealing with any enemies, take the path to the South. At the first bend, you'll run into a military chest for Moira. Unlock it and retrieve the Parts Box – Lv.1 Capacity from inside.
Tower Emblem (2): Return to the south doorway of the shack where you just found the empty bottle. If you look up towards the chimney of the house to the East, you will be able to spot a emblem leaning on it.
Now work your way to the West side of town to the objective marker. When you get close, make sure all your weapons and sub-weapons are prepared before Pedro starts drilling the door as all hell is about to break loose. As Pedro begins to drill, large numbers of afflicted and a few iron heads will attack.
Use a few decoy bottles if enemies get too close, or throw an explosive bottle against afflicted clusters. Other than that, stick to the typical tactics for the enemy type and blast them down as Claire. Remember to keep moving to avoid being grappled and take advantage of follow up attacks when you can.
Once the monster deluge has ended and the doorway is open, scuttle inside and pick up the loot within: Handgun Ammo (30), Shotgun Ammo (10), hidden Machine Pistol Ammo (10) and a couple of barrels to smash. Be careful as you get close to the rear room as there is an afflicted just inside waiting to blindside you.
Take him out and grab the Fuel off the nearby shelf. Now you have everything you need, you can take it back to Gabe at the helicopter. Make sure you head back to the workbench in the bar and equip your new upgrades to your weapons (freeing up inventory slots and powering them up).
After handing over the items to Gabe, a short scene will trigger. The siren on the roof of the bar will start blaring, luring all the nearby afflicted and ironheads towards the town. You need to beat feet down the street back to the bar and disable the siren. Fight your way inside the bar, killing the afflicted and ironheads in your path. When you get inside, immediately climb up the stairs at the back of the room and push the red button in the corner I pointed out earlier. This will stop the siren, but you'll still have to deal with the oncoming enemy horde.
Pedro will join you inside the bar and help you deal with the invading monsters. The afflicted will initially be stopped by the windows, but will begin breaking through them. Keep in mind that you will need to deal with a lot of enemies here, so don't go firing wildly. Pick a decent defense location such as the top of the stairs or behind the wooden bar and take steady aimed head-shots with the pistol until enemies get close. When they do, swap to the machine pistol or use a decoy bottle to get them away from you.
After killing a fair few of them, Pedro will think the coast is clear and move toward the front door. Oh Pedro, nobody should put their back to a possibly unsecured entrance in a horror game. Afflicted will grab him through the door. Shoot the arms holding him in place and more afflicted will begin swarming the bar building. Retreat back up the stairs or behind the wooden bar once more and resume your head-shot tactics. After taking care of this wave of enemies a short scene will occur.
After the scene ends and you regain control, avoid the mutant by circling around the wooden bar and moving away from him. At this point you have the choice of attempting to kill the mutant or just running away. Killing it requires a fair bit of ammo, so decide based on your situation. Killing the mutant during this part will allow Barry access to the drill at an earlier point, allowing him to break through one drillable wall that is otherwise unreachable (with items and a collectible inside). If you plan to escape, after a short period of time (around ten or fifteen seconds), more afflicted will burst through the front door of the bar building. When they do, sprint through them to get outside the deathtrap of a building.
Now that you're outside, you'll need to keep moving around, killing any afflicted you can while avoiding the mutant. After around twenty or thirty seconds, Neil will show up on the roof of the bar and lower and emergency ladder. This is your cue to get the hell up it. Dodge and jink through the enemies and climb up the ladder as fast as you can. The character you aren't controlling should follow you automatically, but you may need to climb the ladder with them.
Afflicted will follow you up the ladder if you dawdle, but thankfully the mutant doesn't seem to be able to climb. Once both characters are on the roof, Neil will lead the way across a plank of wood to a thin path above the trail North of the town. When you reach the end, he will jump over the gate, unlocking it from the other side for you. Drop down off the upper ledge and rush through the gate to safety.
Follow the trail to find a Green Herb on the ground and a little further on another drillable marked brick wall blocking the path. Walk over to it and help Neil move it out of the way, allowing you all to get through. Drop down from the ledge and pick up the Town map off the crates against the left wall. A little further down the tunnel is an Empty Bottle and Odorous Chemical. Keep trailing after Neil and you'll find two barrels to smash.
Kafka Drawing (3): On the wall behind the barrels
Opposite the barrels at the base of the stairs is hidden Shotgun Ammo (2). Ascend the stairs and open the door at the top to emege onto a street with the tower looming ever closer.
Tower Emblem (3): On a third floor balcony directly to the West (out of the accessible area) when you emerge through the door from the underground area.
A crate can be found against the wall to the East. Be on the alert as you walk to the West past the wrecked cars. A new type of enemy will show up, Orthrus. These things are like a cross between a dog, pig and porcupine. They move extremely fast and have a row of spines on their backs that they can extend and retract. Their method of attack is to extend their spines and then charge at a character, slashing them with the spines as they leap past.
The good news is that they are pretty fragile. Two or three handgun rounds anywhere on the body will bring them down. The hard part is landing your shots. Moira's crowbar is nearly useless here due to it's slow swing speed, so make sure you are using Claire. Her knife swipe is quick and is good for staggering any Orthrus that gets too close. Neil will help you with the occasional shot. Take advantage of any staggers he pulls off and unload on the enemies when they are stationary.
You'll have to deal with two Orthrus initially and then another pair will show up when you get close to the Western door.
Kafka Drawing (4): Along the wall to the the right of the boarded up door you have to get through.
Get ready for another duo of Orthrus to attack after you break the first board off the door. After they are finally all dead, you can safely finish prying the boards off and enter the doorway.
You'll walk through into what looks like a back alley with a crate against the roller door in front of you. As you move up, more afflicted will be stuck behind a gate. Ignore them and head over to the broken ladder. Give Moira a lift up and then climb up after her to trigger a scene. Is it just me or is this guy really suspicious? I haven't played ahead at this point, just a gut feeling. When you regain control on the balcony, look in the corner for a Topaz (100 BP) before entering the building.
Walk past the shelf and through the next door to find some Alcohol sitting on a shelf in front of you. Open the desk drawer for some Cloth before you leave the room. You'll emerge on the upper level of what looks like a diner/ pub. Check the corner on the upper level for another military chest for Moira to open. Inside you'll find a Parts Box – Lv.1 Scatter to add to your collection. Be ready for a battle when you descend the stairs, an ironhead is hiding behind the counter and an afflicted will emerge from near the roller door. Be careful going near the roller door as another afflicted will appear when you do.
Once the fight is over, look on the floor to find a wire crate you can move to reach top of one of the shelves on the wall next to the counter to find Shotgun Ammo (5). Grab the wire box again and circle round the counter to place it underneath the shotgun mounted on the wall. Climb up and grab it to obtain Shotgun TAP194. This shotgun has a larger capacity and fires quicker, but deals less damage per shot, so choose your weapon based on which you prefer. Check the floor to the right of the shotgun for a Ruby (250 BP) and find a crate against the opposite wall next to the roller door.
When you are ready to leave, lift up the roller door and you'll come out onto a street. Look to your right immediately to see a pair of ironheads walking around. Stealth isn't really an option here as there is an orthrus in the area as well that will attack when it spots you. Try and finish off the ironheads fast as fighting them and the orthrus at the same time is a real pain. An afflicted will also be walking around on the West side of the area along with an orthrus lying on the ground that will attack when you get close, so try and avoid triggering them until you've dealt with the other threats.
Once the coast is clear, return to the roller door and look against the wall to the South for a crate to break. Check the grass is the South-West corner for a Red Herb. Check under the park bench along the West wall for hidden Machine Pistol Ammo (10). The North-West corner of the park has an Empty Bottle to pick up as well. Check the East wall near the blue roller doors for a hidden Topaz (100 BP). Once you've got everything, approach the bus with the two crates of junk blocking the door. Push the crate that isn't directly in front of the door in the opposite direction to the door. Once it's moved, you can just push the other crate out of the way of the door.
Enter the bus and check between the seats at the back of it for a Topaz (100 BP) before dropping out onto the street again. Directly across from the hole in the bus is a hidden Topaz (100 BP) to find. As you move up the street, the camera will swing around to face a small girl, who flees into the building. At the moment we don't know if it's Natalia or someone/ thing else. So, follow her up the stairs, grabbing the Empty Bottle at the base of them on the way.
Opening the blue door at the top of the stairs leads you into what looks like a security area with a large locked metal gate in front of you. You will probably notice the security office next to it with the obvious control switch. As usual for a horror game, we'll have to take the long way round. Follow the blood splattered corridor around the security office, walk past the door and shine Moira's flashlight down onto the debris blocking the corridor to find a hidden Topaz (100 BP).
Backtrack down the corridor and descend the stairs this time, checking under the sink at the bottom for a hidden Ruby (250 BP). Before opening the door, let me give you a little advance warning. The enemy in the room beyond is called a Sploder. Guess what it does. Yeah, as you may have predicted it explodes. Unlike most games, the exploding enemies here need to be hit several times to detonate. They will swell when shot, exploding after they take enough damage. You can use the explosion to your advantage if there are enemies near the sploder when it blows up, dealing massive damage to them.
Don't use the shotgun against one (due to damage drop off at range). Instead, you'll have to use the handgun or machine pistol. Wait until the sploder moves away from the door and quickly enter and then retreat. The sploder should follow you around the door into the hallway. When it does, fill it with lead from range to avoid the explosion. An ironhead will also be in the room and is likely at this point following you, so pull out your shotgun and deal with it. Check the corner of the operating theater room for a military chest holding a Shotgun Ammo Case, hidden Machine Pistol Ammo (10) on the ground nearby.
As you leave the room, an afflicted with a growth will rush at you from around the corner. Take him down with a quick head-shot before moving on. Cautiously climb the stairs to spot another sploder in the room. Quickly pick him off before he gets too close. Check the shelf for "Mock Experiment Results," and Alcohol. Open the desk in the corner to find Handgun Ammo (15).
Kafka Drawing (5): On the West wall in this room.
Opening the blood splattered, rusty door will place you inside the security office (finally).
Unlock the previously locked door of the office and open the drawers of the desks for a Cloth. The metal gate is on a timer, so when you pull the security room lever, you'll need to sprint through the door, around the office and through the gate all in one go. Otherwise the gate will close and you'll have to try again. You'll also have to do it for both characters, just to make it more annoying. Don't go rushing ahead as Moira before Claire joins you, as there is a sploder right behind the left metal door.
Check under the beds in the sploder room to find a hidden Topaz (100 BP) and smash the crate against the wall. The hole in the floor leads back to the operating theater, so don't bother dropping down. Instead, take the other metal door in the prior room. This leads to a short walkway with stairs at the end. Halfway down the stairs, you'll see the little girl running through another doorway.
Tower Emblem (4): Under the stairs.
Be careful as there is an afflicted lying on the ground behind the wrecked car in the middle of this area who will attack when you get near. Smash the crate on the East wall before following the girl through the metal door. On a shelf to your right inside is some Gunpowder, with a workbench in front of you. Drop off your parts box and swap out the shotgun you don't want to use. Set up your attachments before moving on as we're about to walk into a heavy firefight shortly. When you are ready to move on, go through the white wooden door.
Pick up the Ruby (250 BP) off the mailboxes on the left wall here. Before using the elevator, make sure you use Moira's crowbar to open the nearby boarded room. This will allow Natalia access later in her section for a gimmick box. You can also obtain a Parts Box – Lv.2 Quick Load in here too.
You don't have a drill, so you'll have to take the elevator instead. Press the button and ready your weapons for two afflicted to rush out of it when the doors open. After they are taken care of, press the button again to open the doors and step inside. Press the button on the inside to start the ascent. When the doors open, walk out into the room. The camera should swivel around to show the small girl again. Before following after her, pick up the Empty Bottle from the corner.
Tower Emblem (5): Before crossing the gap, chasing the girl. Move close to the hole in the wall and look at the shipping crate below to see the emblem.
Jump across the gap after the girl and follow after her. Swap to Claire and open the blue door ahead for a scene. Looks like we've got a new party member. Walk down the corridor and look on the metal shelves around the corner for some Cloth. Open the white door here to enter a room with another workbench (they're really hinting that a big fight is on the way aren't they?). Break the crate next to the door and check the central area (multiple desks) for a Ruby (250 BP), Gunpowder and two hidden Topaz (100 BP), You can also grab an Empty Bottle off the shelf to the right of the workbench.
Leave the room and descend the stairs.
Kafka Drawing (6): Overhead on the ceiling as you descend the stairs.
Partway down, the stairs will be broken and you'll need to drop down. Make sure you have everything ready, all weapons reloaded, sub-weapons crafted and equipped and plenty of healing herbs/ tourniquets on both characters. This drop is a one way ticket to a dangerous fight. During the scene, you'll see an ironhead to the left and an afflicted to the right. Pull out your shotgun immediately and start firing at the ironhead. Why? Because otherwise you'll be backed into the broken stairwell and be smooshed by melee attacks. You will likely kill off the afflicted if he runs in front of the ironhead. If he doesn't, pick him off afterward.
There may be an additional afflicted wandering around on the East side of the room. If he is, pick him off from range from near the base of the stairs (avoid walking too far into the room as that triggers the next phase of the fight). The less enemies you have to fight at once, the better. Reload your shotgun, and make sure your explosive bottles are ready. Fire won't work very well against the next enemy. Once you're prepared, move further into the room. A new type of enemy, the vulcanblubber will drop down through the ceiling. This enemy has a ton of health, shoots ranged flaming projectiles in lots of three and leaves the areas they hit on fire. Yup, he's a bundle of fun.
A bunch of afflicted and sometimes even sploders will also continuously spawn and attack during this fight, making things even more difficult. A good strategy is to spam explosive bottles on the vulcanblubber when he appears (hopefully catching nearby afflicted, and then pour on damage as you can with your machine pistol. The machine pistol will allow you to quickly change targets if an afflicted gets too close. You may also want to use decoy bottles to draw away the afflicted while you concentrate on the vulcanblubber. Remember to keep moving to avoid being backed into a corner and to avoid the flames left by the vulcanblubber's projectiles. This battle may take a few tries for you to emerge victorious. Mine certainly did.
Once the battle is over, you can call down the girl from the upper level and scour the room for items. There's a crate next to the stairs to smash and another on the far side of the doors leading outside. When the enemies broke objects in the fight, they may have left behind ammo to retrieve as well. Pick up the hidden Handgun Ammo (5) next to the green desk near the stairs. A Green Herb is sitting on top of some cabinets at the far end of the room you can climb up and nab. There's also some Machine Pistol Ammo (30) in one of the cabinets on the East wall.
Once you've looted everything, approach the double doors and interact with the hole next to it to let the kid (she still hasn't told them her name), through and unlock the door. You can find hidden Handgun Ammo (5) next to a wooden box directly across from the door. Head to the far South corner of this area for hidden Machine Pistol Ammo (10). The nearby car has a Ruby (250 BP) on the ground next to it as well. When you have everything, head North along the road for a scene that marks the end of this part of the episode.
