THE CONCEPT
Once I had this idea of a challenge for veteran 'Far Cry 2' players. The challenge was to never enter armory or pick up anything from the armory, unless forced by scripted events, which roughly happens once in the game, namely in the beginning. I called this challenge the "rusty" challenge, but the "no armory" fits as well.
THE FRAMEWORK
The challenge discards not only picking up weapons from the armory, but even resupplying in ammo and other valuables there. Simply put, you do not enter armories. Nonetheless, you still can and you still wholeheartedly should upgrade your gear at the gun vendor. Vehicle upgrades seem a good investment, minding infinite ammo supply on those armed, as well as durability factor in the face of collisions and attacks.
Weapon reliability upgrades limit gun deterioration rate and bring up the speed of unjamming, which perhaps is good to know. Weapon specialty upgrades improve accuracy and shooting recoil.
Remember that handgrenades are failproof in this game. They are your friends. Speaking of friends, in rescue scenarios the buddies usually will give you a gun - it is usually a gun in some proper condition. Ultimately, the golden 'Kalashnikov' is a perfectly valid weapon in the challenge, if you know how to find it.
The 'Molotov' cocktails make little difference in the thick of green jungle but in the dry lands with massive sunburnt brushwood coverage they can create incredible impact if used properly.
Progressing through the main storyline, you will find out that the unlocked safehouses get upgraded with viable resources - otherwise commonly found only in the armories - becoming of strategic value for resupply.
THE TECHNOLOGY
Understandably, the challenge does make sense mostly playing as close to vanilla 'Far Cry 2' as possible and on the 'Infamous' difficulty level. Recommended and proven game upgrades are the 'Multifixer' by 'FoxAhead' next to the 'NTcore' universal patch (links: Github.com, Ntcore.com).
THE DETAILS: INTRODUCTION
Doing my homework around the challenge concept, I have established a list of guns, sorted by their nominal reliability level and popularity - which is, availability. Further, is what I found.
Weapons of highest reliability, total - sorted in blocks, starting from the most excellent:
Homeland 37 (primary, shotgun)
AK 47 (primary, assault rifle)
PKM (special, portable machinegun)
MGL 140 (primary, grenade launcher)*
Star 45 (secondary, pistol)
FAL (primary, assault rifle)MP5 (primary, submachinegun)*M79 (secondary, grenade launcher)*
* Hard to ever find these random on opponents, therefore they practically discard.
THE DETAILS: SPECTRUM
Other common weapons in the game, collectible off opponents - sorted in blocks by reliability descending:
Dragunov (primary, sniper rifle)
Makarov (secondary, pistol)
UZI (secondary, submachinegun)
SAW (special, portable machinegun)
RPG 7 (special, rocket launcher)
SPAS 12 (primary, shotgun)
AR 16 (primary, assault rifle)
Eagle 50 (secondary, pistol)
Carl G (special, rocket launcher)
G3 KA4 (primary, assault rifle)
M1903 (primary, sniper rifle)
MAC 10 (secondary, submachinegun)
Default reliability of any gun mentioned in this section is lower compared to guns mentioned earlier.
THE DETAILS: BREAKDOWN
Most popular random weapons among the opponents, based on observation and sorted by game difficulty curves - strategy of relevant weapon upgrades:
Early game - Homeland 37, Star 45, Makarov, G3 KA4, M1903
Mid game - AK 47, Dragunov, RPG 7, SPAS 12, Eagle 50, MAC 10
Late game - PKM, FAL, UZI, SAW, AR 16, Carl G
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: PRIORITIES
Guns of choice to relay on the most when it comes to collecting off defeated opponents:
Homeland 37, AK 47, PKM, Star 45, FAL
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: EMERGENCIES
Guns of occasional or opportunistic use, collectible off defeated opponents:
Dragunov, Makarov, UZI, SAW, RPG 7
THE AFTERWORD
Guns other appear to fall below sufficient reliability level, especially minding the already worn down condition as they are picked up on the weary battlefields of South Africa, therefore these apply only under circumstances of having choice very little. I am not aware of any game mechanics in 'Far Cry 2' telling that a gun of decent nominal reliability can be found random in a condition inferior to a likewise random found gun of poor nominal reliability. Therefore, I assume there is at least an average, suggesting that guns of higher nominal reliability are still more practical to use in terms of the challenge.
Do you think the challenge would be doable, but more importantly, do you think it would be fun?
MISCELLANEOUS
The initial image of a mosaic is posted by the courtesy of Internet. Thank you.
Good idea!
I haven't played Far Cry 2 enough to have an opinion about if this challenge is doable, but I believe it would be fun. Because difficulty and randomness are fun.
It could be a good idea to buy the Camo Suit and the Makarov 6P9 with both upgrades, as some enemies use the 6P9.
The accuracy and reliability/unjam speed upgrades are actually books (Operations Manual and Repair Manual) that the player character orders. I wish we could buy the books without having to buy the weapons.
As you wrote buying the Homeland, AK, PKM, Star and FAL and getting at least the Repair Manuals for them would help. Buying more weapons and their Repair Manuals for the next tier too, as funds allow.
Also ammo upgrades as needed: Grenadier, Pistol, Shotgun, Assault and Gunner for the above mentioned "PRIORITIES".
Maybe use the Utility Truck, a sturdy offroader with a heavy machine gun to level the playing field a little. "DLC cheat". Upgrade.
Using the weapons from the tutorial, getting rescued for a secondary in mint condition and especially using a gold plated AK goes against the spirit of this challenge IMO.
(The original secondary is dropped at the place of rescue so it can be swapped back.)
The crates teleporting weapons between safehouses is weird. Could "roleplay" moving stuff from one safehouse to another with a vehicle.
I wish vehicles could be used for storage.
You are right some hooks go against the spirit of immersion here but in my opinion, if the tool is in your toolbox and nobody says it is disallowed to use it, then it is allowed - the challenge setup does not explicitly tell you are disallowed anything save for one thing, which is using the armory feature or even going in there.
Is it really a "challenge of rust" though, if only the special slot is from enemies, because my secondary is from my buddy and my primary is a gold plated AK?
(After the three brand new weapons from the tutorial deteriorate.)
I do not know, ultimately it is up to you. I know some people use to beat the entire game just with a pistol but on average you do not see people rocking the **** out of enemies with a Makarov only, I guess. We also need to play with vanilla game setup and the rules of the challenge should be simple. If you feel like the balance is disturbed, sure get rid of the golden AK, still though since the golden AK is obtainable outside of armory, it is fine, technically speaking. Nobody also says infinite ammo supply on armed vehicles or non-jamming of guns on such vehicles is super rusty either. Do you want to get rid of using guns on armed vehicles then? Grenades should also fail sometimes if to be consistent, they should even insta-kill you on hand once in a blue moon, is that right? I mean, somewhere we need to just accept it is a game.
By the way, the golden AK does deteriorate eventually. I know there is an exploit of somehow regenerating the golden AK and I consider this a cheat, not acceptable.
We are having a friendly conversation about where to draw the line.
If you say "no armory" but you are also calling this The Challenge of Rust, it makes SO MUCH sense to me that the player's weapons should be limited to the used, rusty weapons.
There are 7-8 gold plated, rust resistant AKs in the game, probably enough to use one all the way to game completion. The tutorial and the rescue buddy also provide new weapons.
Yes, the mounted guns don't deteriorate, but the player is exposed and cannot move. It would be an interesting but very different challenge to try to use mounted weapons as much as possible, but I'm pretty sure the game can't be completed with only those.
Yes, grenades could also fail sometimes, but according to my search when a frag grenade fails, it does not explode, and the failure rate is only 1-2%, so it would give a very limited sense of annoying realism if on average one in fifty would not go boom.
The whole part where you are "doing your homework around the challenge concept" is about used guns, so it seemed to me that using used guns is the core of your challenge. I'm surprised you are arguing for non-used guns that are obtainable without an armory.
Sure, if the only rule is "no armory", then technically speaking all those new weapons available are fine, but your challenge also has a core concept, a meaning, a spirit, which inspired me. Not to circumvent the rule, but to focus on the actual idea behind the challenge.
I am glad you have found some inspiration in whatever you did encounter here. There is a concept of the challenge, which is a foundation. The challenge does have a name, true. Then, there is a superstructure, which is mostly technical. The challenge in the end is not about elusive concepts but about rules and games are mostly built around rules - which the rules are limits. Ultimately, the game is about playing around the limits, which involves gimmicks. No limits, no gimmicks, no games.
I understand your standpoint - it is idealist. You want to stay at the level of foundation. That is good, if it fits your style and you want to be thorough. Most people though want to simply beat the challenge, if they decide to pick it up at all. They will use whatever "legal" means necessary. Do you think it is a wrongdoing such demeanor?
If you want to go the extra mile, you are welcome but then you have a challenge of own, based on personal taste rather than hard measurable and binary criteria.
I think it is who goes for new weapons obtainable outside of armories is the one who is "going the extra mile" and who has "a challenge of his own" and has a different experience than what the core concept of your proposed challenge entails.
The concept is not elusive at all, in fact it's very clear from the title and the content of your article: use weapons dropped by enemies. The experience then is of abundance, variety and slot-machine-like randomness with many decisions to make.
However, if a player decides to do "The Challenge of Rust" by avoiding rusty weapons, the experience is different. There is a distinct lack of the qualities mentioned above: instead of abundance and variety, there are only the tutorial weapons, the gold-plated AKs, and the new secondaries from the rescue buddy.
Yes he stays within the boundaries of the "no armory" rule, but has avoided the strife of unexpected failures of rusty weapons and has created a different experience for himself.
This of course is not a wrongdoing, there is no place for morality in this context!
It's just a different challenge, not of rust and scavenging weapons right from where the action happens, but of going on detours to places the character should not know about and allowing enemies to win to get a secondary in new condition.
Ultimately it's the difference between immersion and metagaming. Both is fine, but Far Cry 2 is very much about immersion. In my mind your challenge brings even more of it.
Beating the challenge "technically", in a beaurocratic sense, is not really beating the challenge.
The presence of rusty weapons is just as "hard measurable and binary" as not entering any armory.
It's not that my standpoint is idealist, it's that the metagaming standpoint misses the point.
I like that you have reflections on the topic but what are you arguing about really? You like the idea or not? If you have something to add or take away, do a spin on it. In the end, play the way you like, because I do not really know how to help you in this case.
My concept introduces just one rule. If you want to have more, sure.
If after all this you have the question of "what are you arguing about really?" then I have failed to express myself in a way that is understandable to you and I've lost my faith that I can. I give up.
I like the idea, yes.
I have nothing more to add or take away, it's all there above.
I don't need any help with anything.
I understand in your perception my concept is flawed and I agree it is flawed, just like anything else. You did point out a real challenge but again, it is one rule I talk about.
The rule cannot be elusive in order to be operable.
No, your concept is NOT flawed in my opinion, I think it's perfect. I like it a lot.
The "no armory" rule is good and it is sufficient. I even enjoy the simplicity.
Anyone is free to use new weapons obtainable outside armories, the machete, throwables and mounted weapons to mitigate the annoyance of weapons failing, even to the extreme of never picking up any weapons dropped by enemies, completely avoiding the challenge, turning it into a different kind of experience.
I'm not proposing any additional rules. If I did, it would be "don't pick up any of the gold plated AKs". (The secondary from the rescue buddy is less impactful. The starting weapons only delay the challenge.)
Thank you for your kind words. I recognize you have a deeper level of understanding to the concept. You seem to want something more out of it and you are perfectly welcome but again, I do not know really how I can help you out with that. It is entirely up to you. Once again, I just wrote an introduction of sort and whatever the story emerges further, depends on your choices. If you want to pick up another rule in order to make the challenge more visceral - such as with the golden AK guns or lack of these - feel free. Once you start doing it, it is your thing anyway.