General tips for Ghost Recon: Wildlands

Last update: 04 April 2017

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands is a difficult game, especially when you've chosen one of the more demanding difficulty levels. Effective cooperation of all team members is an absolute must, yet there are a number of tips that will surely prove useful during your operations.

1. Make use of synchronized shots. It's a very useful ability that helps in silent elimination of enemy groups, more so that AI-controlled enemies never miss. This ability enables you to complete some of the assignments without firing a single shot. Invest your first skill points in additional sync shots - you can mark up to three targets at once when upgraded.

2. Use a drone to mark enemy units. The drone offers an airborne view of the situation, in addition to being a safer option. Also, remember that you can order synchronic shots when controlling a drone.

3. You can also mark other targets. Drones or your binoculars can be used to mark enemy units, however both items are much more versatile. You can use them to mark additional objects, such as the power supply (generator), drone jammer, a SAM site, or a machine gun or mortar emplacement. These aren't valid targets for synchronic shooting, but it is more than useful to know the location of such objects.

4. Upgrade your drone. You are left with a number of upgrades that increase its speed, range, or battery life, or add new features, such as nightvision, termovision, an EMP, or an explosive charge. Some of these upgrades cost a fortune, but offer a measurable advantage against your enemy.

5. Don't forget about your binoculars. A drone is a powerful tool, but an overwhelming number of Unidad bases and sites are guarded by drone jammers that render us unable to use the drone. Fortunately, each member of your team is equipped with binoculars that are also useful in creating a map of the area.

6. Start with a safe recon. The areas inhabited by enemies are marked with red tint. You can mark the individual opponents, who will appear as red dots on your radar. If you are standing before an area that is covered with red overlay, start marking the individual enemies - if you managed to catch all of the enemies, the red tint will be washed, leaving only the dots representing the individual opponents.

7. Customize your loadout in response to the mission objectives. If you are embarking on a stealth mission, choose a weapon that is equipped with a silencer, and aim for a good versatility, for example choose a combo of an assault rifle and a sniper rifle. In case you want to engage in all-in combat with your opponent, choose a weapon that allows you to fire longer barrages, such as a light machine gun.

8. You are free to change your equipment in any given moment. You don't have to search for an ammo crate to change a sniper rifle for a shotgun, for example - simply go to the equipment window and change the weapon.

9. Always replenish your ammo supply. Ammo crates can be found in many locations, but combat often see us engage in shootouts that deplete all available ammo without an ability to replenish it. If you are near an ammo crate, always load up on ammo to avoid any unnecessary stalling.

10. Ammo crates also replenish additional equipment. Aside from ammunition, you'll also receive additional C4, frag grenades, flashbangs, as well as other utility items.

11. Begin each approach by eliminating snipers and scouts. They are often located in locations that offer good visibility, such as towers or high vantage points on buildings. Consider using a sniper rifle or a sync shot to eliminate the threat from the distance and avoid risking exposure.

12. Machine gun emplacements are also a major threat. Heavy machine guns deal serious damage, while most of their emplacements offer good visibility and defense for their crew - try to take care of the crew and all opponents nearby to decrease the chance that someone will be able to man the weapon.

13. Same thing applies to mortars. In case of detection, the enemy manning the mortar will constantly fire at your position. Mortar fire isn't very accurate, but will finally HIT, destroying a key object (e.g. a vehicle that you're about to steal) or hitting a part of your team.

14. Beware of enemy helicopters. The pilot can make use of the weaponry on board to destroy his target, while most of the time there are additional soldiers on board, including snipers. To get rid of a helicopter, you can either fire at it until it goes down in flames, use a grenade launcher, or kill (e.g. by using a sniper rifle) the pilot to make the machine useless. You can also use a drone armed with an EMP charge - if the helicopter was in range, it will also be taken care of instantly.

15. Watch out for grenades. The area around the thrown charge is marked with a red field. To avoid being hit, leave the blast zone. In turn, your team is outnumbered - using grenades can often help you emerge victorious from many encounters. Be careful to avoid throwing grenades under your feet.

16. Use additional equipment. C4 charges, decoys, mines, or flares increase your effectiveness on the battlefield and can often be the turning point of many encounters.

17. You can control up to fifteen C4 charges. Simply lay all the available charges and then proceed to an ammo chest and replenish your supplies to be able to lay another batch of explosives. Use this method to prepare an ambush or to clear a troublesome area. Remember that the charges explode in order in which they were laid.

18. Engage in side assignments to unlock rebel support and use it in combat. The support is free of charge, while the support of the rebel forces can shorten some of the missions in half. Rebel support can be unlocked by completing at least one assignment (marked in green - more details in the separate section of this guide) from each side mission group.

19. Help the rebels in order to gain viable support in combat. Completing the assignments from each side mission group allows you to increase the efficiency of the support given to you by the rebels, by making it more effective or decreasing the cooldown period. After a few successful missions, the ability will advance to the next level, offering a more powerful bonus - a new vehicle, more rebels in action, or larger area of effect.

20. Use the rebel forces that are stationed in the vicinity of your target. You don't have to use your ability - the local rebels will gladly join the fight if the location of your assignment is close to their positions.

21. Aim for a balanced build. This mainly involves investing in the initial skills from each skill tree. These abilities are of low cost while offering powerful bonuses - improving the stability of your aiming, increasing the amount of your health points, or increasing the range of the drone and its battery life.

22. Unlock the Parachute as quickly as possible. It may not be that useful as an offensive measure, but it might save your life when, for example, the enemy shoots down your helicopter, and you are looking for a safe landing.

23. Buy all initial abilities from a given skill tree - as they enable you to unlock the final ability from the tree (provided you've reached the required level). The final tier abilities are very powerful, including a skill that allows you to resurrect your character.

24. Mark resource stashes for the rebel forces. Such objects are marked on the mini-map (you have to be at least 50 meters from them) - marking them gives you a varied (albeit small) amount of one of four available resources used to unlock the upgrades. They may not be much, but they are common around the world - thorough marking of these stashes will allow you to gather a considerable amount of resource points.

25. Take your time to find collectibles. You can find new weapons and equipment, additional skill points, or special medals that increase the effectiveness of your abilities. All of these items are marked on the maps available in the separate chapter of this guide.

26. Use a silencer whenever needed. The silencer is useful during a stealth approach to a base, but becomes useless once you've been detected. You can equip or remove it at will - all you have to do is choose your weapon, and the button responsible for the silencer will appear on the screen.

27. Free the rebels imprisoned in enemy bases. You can often encounter various cages or cells that are used to keep caught rebels. Destroy the lock on the door to free them - the imprisoned units will find a weapon and assist you in combat. You can also use them to distract your opponents - destroy the lock from a large distance, wait until the rebels start fighting with the soldiers, and hit the enemy from the other side.

28. Some vehicles are equipped with a car alarm. Use it - firing at such vehicle will initiate the said alarm, while the enemy soldier will approach the vehicle to find out what is going on.

29. There are numerous Fast Travel spots around the country. These points are marked with a house icon, and you can use them to quickly move from a location to a location. Nevertheless, the fast travel is unavailable if you are pursued by the enemy.

30. Avoid engaging in open warfare with Unidad forces. The enemy units correspond to an engagement level, which is represented by an indicator in the upper right corner. When the enemy engagement reaches four stars, you'll be facing hordes of enemies, mortar fire, and helicopters - a combination which is undefeatable, not to mention very irritating.

31. Killing civilians and unarmed enemy soldiers is a bad idea. A few incidents of that kind will end the game prematurely, forcing you to reload the latest save.