Successfully extracting an Artifact in HAWKED can be quite the challenge. You have to solve puzzles to get the Glyphs, stock up on weapons and ammunition to defend yourself, and fight off enemies while trying not to get downed by rivals.
Keep these tips in mind and your chances will increase significantly. Listen up, Renegades!
1. Surf’s Up
Effectively traversing X-Isle is about balancing speed with stamina. You can find stamina buffs on the way to speed up your trips and holstering your weapons can give you a small increase in speed.
That said, the fastest and quite possibly safest way to get around X-Isle is by surfing on its many rivers and streams with your trusty Hoverboard. Surfing does not drain stamina. It can be a little risky as there’s not much cover in the middle of the river, but your velocity more than makes up for it.
By activating your Hoverboard while in the water, you will automatically start surfing X-Isle’s waterways to quickly reach your destination.
2. Mind Your Traverser
The Traverser is not a simple grappling hook. It also doubles as a radar that conveys important information. Your Traverser will glow red when there’s a hostile Renegade in the vicinity, warning you that you should be cautious moving forward.
Nellie has also buried secret caches all over X-Isle, and you can locate them using the Traverser. When the tool glows blue, that means there’s buried treasure nearby that you should excavate. As you get closer to the cache, the signal will get stronger and the glowing blue light on the traverser will become more intense.
Uncovering a cache can reward you with powerful weapons and equipment that could put you many steps ahead of your opponents, so watch and listen closely!
3. Be Resourceful
To successfully extract your first Artifact, you must be crafty and resourceful. X-Isle is full of dangerous monsters and angry VEKTR agents, but it’s full of helpful consumables that grand a number of buffs.
Some consumables grant you increased health and shield, others give a speed boost, and one very special crystal can even make you invisible. Don’t sleep on these consumables, because they could give you a serious advantage over your opponents.
For example, if there’s an enemy with a sniper aimed in your direction, it’d be dangerous to charge them head-on. You also don’t want to run away from the fight since they may be carrying some good loot. Break open a nearby invisibility crystal and close the distance without them seeing you.
Use everything at your disposal as even a single consumable can make a huge difference in your chances of extracting your first Artifact.
4. Don’t Be Trigger Happy
It’s so easy to spot an enemy Renegade and start blasting. In some cases, being first to pull the trigger can help you secure a win. But often it’s best to avoid a firefight where one isn’t needed.
If your enemies are far from your position and you don’t have long-range weapons, wait for them to get close… or simply let them pass (there’s no shame in taking the stealth approach). If you engage unprepared, the enemy may be better equipped for a long-range firefight and seize the upper hand.
Learn to be patient and engage when the time is right. Fight only when you know you have the upper hand over your opponent or equal footing, be it through superior firepower, equipment, or positioning.
5. Extract Trinkets Before Raiding Vaults
Has this ever happened to you? You’ve found a ton of Trinkets, you reach the Treasury, raid it, and then a rival Renegade ambushes you, defeats you, and yoinks all your hard-earned loot. This is a common occurrence for Renegades who forget to extract smaller treasures before opening the big Treasury.
By extracting Trinkets before raiding the Treasury, you’re not only playing it safe with your less valuable loot but also leaving extra space in your inventory for more valuable Trinkets in the Treasury. If your inventory is full of Trinkets, head over to the nearest Extraction Point, extract them, and then resume your hunt for the Artifact.
Bonus Tip: Don’t Lose Hope
The key ingredient to your first extraction is not losing hope. Keep in mind that extraction shooters like HAWKED are competitive by nature, with multiple teams of treasure hunters all vying for the same loot with different loadouts.
Learn from your mistakes, follow these five expert tips and you’ll be extracting the ultimate treasure in no time.
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