S2 Tut Script

S2 SA Nadeless Strats Tut

INTRO:

What's up guys, I'm DynamixDJ and today we're going to be looking at two new strategy innovations for Surface 2 Secret Agent on Goldeneye 007 - the "Snowbank Strat" which is being used to achieve 53 & 52, and the "Long Comms Strat" which is being used for 51 & 50.

This tutorial will focus mainly on the Snowbank strat, as it is by far the easiest nadeless strat found to date.


BRIEF HISTORY:

So, these new strategies were founded in September 2020 when Henrik and Alkamaass were spitballing with various different ideas in the forums, and I'll post a link in the description to that if you want to have a look.

Initially, a lot of people were using the "Long Comms" strat to get better times, but it has since been discovered that this is the non-optimal method for gaining 52 or 53.

The original "nadeless" strat (dubbed the "Finnish Window") was used by players to achieve 56 and 55, and was discovered in August 2019 by Kytoz.

Skilled players such as Frosthops were able to push this strat to the limit to achieve 54.

However, with the innovation of the newer strats, the Finnish Window is now effectively obsolete, as the Snowbank Strat is a much easier way to achieve a better time.

With that said, the Finnish Window can still be considered for an RTA, so you may wish to mess around with it if you do plan to play some full Secret Agent runs (although personally, I would recommend going with the "Close Comms" strat).

The Close Comms strat basically involves positioning yourself similarly to how you would 00 Agent to blow the comms, which is the method I used to initially get 55.

This is the first time that a nadeless strategy other than the Long Comms or Finnish Window was used to get a PB.

Fayk Nooz then used this strat and optimised it to gain 54.

Cal Brabham then optimised it further, which was the first example of the Snowbank Strat being used. Tideking, McGarbage and GroMic were also among the first to use this strat to obtain 54s.

I then went back to this newer strat to push it down to 52. This is the fastest time achievable using this strategy.

WhiteTed Strats posted a video entitled "Shootable Where" which I'll also put a link to in the description. This video highlights exactly where the comms table is and isn't loaded, and where it can be shot from.


SETUP/NADE FARMING:

So let's look at the setup for these strats. Firstly, you want to remove Auto-Aim. Secondly, you want to make sure that the screen settings is set to Full - this way the comms tower fills more of your screen and effectively makes it easier to hit the target that you are aiming for.

You also want to use Normal as opposed to 16:9 aspect ratio.

It shouldn't matter if you are using on NTSC-U or NTSC-J. PAL can also be used if you do not have an NTSC version, as GroMic has proven - he was able to achieve 50 using the Long Comms strat using PAL.

I would also recommend using 1.2 control style, although 2.x is an option if you are able to use 2.x without setting Cruise Control, as you cannot back up with Cruise Control set.

Before diving into the strategies I would firstly like to talk about the option of farming for a nade at the start of each run. By watching some of the first cutscene and all of the 2nd cutscene you can position the guards in such a way to easily acquire a grenade, which you will have a 3.2% chance of getting with each run.

You can then use this nade to rlean for a shot at 47 or 48, or, you can the "old nade" strat for 49 or 50. I shall put a link to both tutorials in the description.

The main problem that I found with trying r leaning a nade is that I am unable to hit the shoulder button whilst in right strafe - the only way for a Keyboard player to comfortably press the shoulder button whilst right strafing is to rubber band down C right, and this effectively makes the nadeless strats impossible.

If you are able to perform an r lean without the need to rubber band C Right, then by all means go ahead and attempt an R lean on a run with a nade.

Otherwise, you will have to use the old nade strat, which I was able to get two "comms damaged" runs with, but no completions.

The pros of farming a nade this way is that one in every 30 runs on average you will have an "exciting" run with the prospect of getting a time better than you would do using the nadeless strats.

Additionally, the line you take for the snowbank strat is almost identical to the line taken for the old nade strat.

The cons are that you have to watch the cut scenes resulting in fewer runs per hour, and also the fact that you will lose roughly 0.15 seconds or so due to having to take a wider line to kill the first spawning guard.

I was able to achieve 52 with the snowbank strat whilst farming for a nade, so the time lost killing this guard will not ruin your chances of getting an optimal time, but, if you are aiming for 52 and are finding it difficult to pace while farming a nade, then don't feel as though you have to farm one - it's entirely optional.


SNOWBANK STRAT:

So, to begin with, you want to to take the same lines as you would on any Surface run, by taking a line as close to the trees as possible. When you get to the final tree line you want to almost brush up against the final corner, as so.

Coming off from the tree lines, the only real identifier is this big corner at the top of the first snowbank.

If you can see this corner as you approach it then you are angled too much to the right. If you don't see it at all then you are likely too much to the left.

Ideally, you want this corner to be on screen for a few frames as you go over the snowbank - this way you should end up taking a line directly to the corner of the snowbank by the comms tower, which is ideal.

If the corner is just off-screen to the right as you pass it, then that should be fine too.

When you approach the snowbank by the comms tower you ideally want to be just to the right of the line in the corner of the snowbank. If you are too much to the left then the result will be a slower run.

Once you get to the corner of the snowbank, look up and set your dot in line with the tree trunks in the distance.

One of the biggest errors that I see players making is that they tend to curve round to the left before taking the shots - try to avoid doing this.

Ideally, you want to watch as the snow brightens; just after the flash in the snow turn very sharply to the left and then begin C backing.

You can see on my 52 that I take a moment to line up before shooting - this is fine to do, just don't spend too long lining up. Shoot seven bullets as fast as possible, and then turn into left strafe.

For the shots, you want to line your height to be in the centre of the railing, and just to the right a touch. This picture taken from Whiteted's "Shootable Where" video is a great example of where to shoot.

Note that there is a box in the room that can be loaded from this position, and you may find that you blow the box instead of the table. If this happens then you are likely shooting a little too low and a little too much to the right.

You can often hear the table being damaged as you shoot it when you are closer to the tower - the further you are from the comms tower, the less likely you are to hear this sound.

One mistake that I realised that I was commonly making is that I was using my middle finger for pressing C Down - if you are a keyboard player then try to get used to using your index finger instead.

This is the optimal way to C Back, as it allows you to slide your index finger onto C left when you are ready to turn into left strafe. Using your middle finger will result in lost time when transitioning between strafing and c-backing.

Another option is to rubber band C-Down, which is the method that I used to obtain 52. This was you can feel comfortable that you will be C backing optimally each run without losing any time.

I found that I was still able to perform the old nade strat on a run where I'd farmed a nade with C down rubber banded.

Once you have finished shooting the comms, you want to take a line directly to the helicopter - this corner of the snowbank is a good reference to the line that you should take.

Be aware of a spawning guard that can sometimes ruin your approach to the helicopter. He usually likes to boost you just as you're getting ready to throw the mine.

For the mine throw, you want to use this corner of the snow to line yourself up - take note of the distance between the edge of the screen and the corner of the snowbank.

For the timing of the throw, you can use the top of the bunker as a reference - as the top of the bunker comes into view, look up so the top of the helicopter is just about still in view, and throw.

You shouldn't need to turn whilst throwing the mine.

This is very similar to the bug throw on Frigate, except it doesn't need to be so much of a 'flick'.

After you have thrown the mine avoid looking down too sharply - this can cause the helicopter to become deloaded resulting in a missed mine throw, similar to Frigate.

If you find that you are not hitting the throw with consistency then try to get into the habit of manually detonating the mine so you can see where you're going wrong.

You definitely do not want to miss the mine throw on an A complete run.

For the approach to the door, I suggest curving around in left strafe and swapping to right strafe just before you press B. I see a lot of players swapping to right strafe at this corner, and this, in my opinion, this is not the optimal approach.

Curving around the corner this way also makes it easier to not get stuck on the corner, and also sets you up nicely for the warp without getting stuck on the extending panel, which can often be a problem.

If you do feel that you are going to get stuck on the panel, then try to wiggle around it.

The warp can be done in a number of different ways. One option is to hold Z after throwing the mine, then release Z after pressing B to initiate a weapon swap.

I found that this only works well if you have obtained a Klobb from the initial spawning guard, however, if you only have a Pistol then you'll probably find that you will not warp consistently, which is the problem that I had.

My suggestion is to throw the mine and release Z to swap back to the Pistol, then immediately press A to swap to the mine. This way you can then swap to unarmed for the warp, which creates more lag than swapping to the Pistol.

I would also suggest that you avoid double-tapping A from Pistol to Unarmed, as this often results in a lost input, which will result in you swapping to the mine, which does not create enough lag to warp.

Another option for the approach is to stay in Left strafe for the warp, which some players find more consistent than swapping to right strafe.

Looking up as you warp can also help with consistency.

You can analyse your comm shots by looking at the final accuracy - each shot on an explodable object will count towards your overall accuracy. You ideally want to see 71.4%, or, 75% if you landed the headshot on the starting guard while attempting to farm a grenade.

The biggest problem is the fact that you may have hit the box while shooting, so the final accuracy is not 100% reliable to gauge if your shots were on target for the table.

Also bear in mind the fact that it is very possible to blow the table with neither of the comms being destroyed.

If one of the comms are destroyed then you will see this message appear at the top of the screen, with no A Complete.

Note that sometimes you may get a late A completion.

With a bit of refinement, you should be able to pace 53 fairly soon - most people have been able to achieve 53 in less than 5 hours or so of grinding.


LONG COMMS STRAT:

Ok, so this strategy is ill-advised, seeing as it is incredibly difficult to get a completion this way. To put this into perspective - I spent roughly 70 hours grinding this strat and during this time I was only able to achieve four A complete runs, along with a number of Comms Damaged runs.

For the amount of time that I invested into this strat, I would have been better off just trying to r lean a grenade.

If, however, you want a time that's better than 52 without the hassle of farming for a nade, then this strat is always an option.

There are two choices for the starting line - the first is to take a line identical to the line that you would take if you were going for the r-lean.

After passing the 2nd tower you want to aim for this corner in the snowbank to line up for the shots.

However, in my opinion, it is roughly 0.1 - 0.2 seconds faster to go to the left of the hut. The line you take will not make or break the run; it's entirely optional.

If you do plan to go to the left of the hut, then use this dot on the snow as a reference as you go over the first snowbank.

Try to take a line parallel to the hut as you pass it, and avoid getting stuck on this corner as you approach it.

After passing the hut, you want to micro-adjust to the right - this line in the snow is a great reference to gauge your line.

As you progress you want to just see the shadow of the first guard tower - if you do not see this shadow then you will likely end up taking a line directly into the 2nd guard tower, which is bad.

Optimally you want to just brush up against the right side of the 2nd guard tower as you pass it (without actually touching it).

Another line to consider is going to the left of the second guard tower, although, this is not as fast as going to the right of the second tower.

As you approach the corner of the snow you want to aim your dot up with the tree lines in the distance.

Once you are in position you want to shoot a specific point on the tower - the exact point to shoot can be extremely difficult to identify. I use this screenshot taken from Ted's Shootable Where video to identify the exact place to shoot.

You will not have time to fire two clips for this strat for two reasons - firstly you will have 0% chance of achieving 51 with two clips, and secondly, the comms table becomes deloaded once you have backed up so far, as Ted's video highlights.

One thing to note about this strat is the fact that the box is not loaded from this spot, so your final accuracy can be used to identify exactly how many shots have hit the table.

Weapon sway is also a huge factor for this strat - note that while C backing the weapon sway is partially negated.

51 is very doable with this strat, but if you wish to get 50 then you will need to start C backing immediately, which is incredibly yolo. At the time of making this video only one person has been able to achieve 50, which is Gro Mic.

As soon as you have fired 7 bullets, turn left and swap to left strafe. Don't turn right, as I was initially doing.

For the Mine throw, the timing of the throw is the same as the Snowbank Strat approach - look up as you see the roof of the bunker.

The line-up, however, is slightly different. Take note of how much closer this corner of the snow is to the edge of the screen compared to the snowbank strat approach.



OK, so that's all from me regarding the various nadeless strats on Surface 2 Secret Agent! To finish the video off I'm going to show some example runs of each nadeless strat ranging from 56 - 50.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below, or, check me out on my twitch channel Twitch.TV/DynamixDJ where I'll be happy to answer any questions that you might have.

Take it easy, good luck on getting those times, and I'll catch ya later!

0:56 - Finnish Window Strat (Kyto)
0:55 - Close-Comms Strat (DynamixDJ)
0:54 - Snowbank Strat (Cal Brabham)
0:53 - Snowbank Strat (Breakneck)
0:52 - Snowbank Strat (Dynamix DJ)
0:51 - Long-Comms Strat (GroMic)
0:50 - Long-Comms Strat (GroMic)

CREDITS:

Original Long Comms Strat innovators:
Henrik, Alkamaass

Snowbank Strat innovators:
DynamixDJ, Fayk Nooz, Cal Brabham

First to achieve 50 using Long Comms Strat:
GroMic

Special thanks to WhiteTed Strats for his "Shootable Where" video, which was instrumental for the innovations of these strats.