What have you beaten recently? What are you playing?

[x88x]

Anyway I've now done everything up top except the last 2 buddy missions as the last buddy won't spawn in the bar (I have to kill my rescue buddy to be able to do these which is a MAJOR design flaw with the game...)

No, that would be a design decision, not a design flaw. Just because you don't like the way they made the game doesn't mean they screwed it up.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Considering that your buddies do die you get to do the missions eventually.

[Munty]

No, that would be a design decision, not a design flaw. Just because you don't like the way they made the game doesn't mean they screwed it up.

But if it makes it impossible to obtain 100% completion then it's a flaw surely? I have to watch my character do enough questionable things as it is, I shouldn't be forced to murder someone I resued immediately after they've just saved my life simply to make room in a half empty bar for another 'buddy' to give me missions. Should I?

Anyway it's screwed either way as I've booted up this morning and done absolutely everything there is to do yet I can't move on as the final buddy won't spawn in the bar... I got myself killed, shot my rescue buddy in the head then went to the bar but nothing changed. Went to my safehouse and accepted the new character as my rescue buddy but still nothing changed. Went to the bar and now there are only 3 people there (best buddy and 2 others whose missions I've done) the fourth space is now open as the new rescue buddy is out in the wilderness and my previous acquaintance is dead.

Nothing happens though, that last person never arrives no matter what I do. I've spent a few hours finishing up today AFTER killing the guy and accepting the new buddy, expecting it to eventually sort itself out. It doesn't... I then killed my new rescue buddy and accepted the next one. Rested in my shack for several days, still no change. There are now only 2 people in the bar!

So what can I do? I can't finish this mission later because the buddy will be dead and I'll have missed out on 2/40 side missions. Bye-bye 100% completion, on a game that will have taken 40 hours to play through. Don't get me wrong I'm still really enjoying it but like it or not this is a flaw, not a decision...

[The boy 4rm oz]

When I played through I only got my buddies at triggered events so it may be possible that you have missed the trigger or completed a mission before it was meant to be completed. Either way even if you do travel to the south area you can come back at any time and may find your buddy then. Unless they have changed something in a patch this was the way it was for me.

[Munty]

I had to reload to an earlier game but I figured it out. Basically there are 6 buddies in the North and you're only guaranteed to meet 2 of them (maybe 3) The other three are prisoners of the enemy soldiers in various locations... Now once you go south you'll NEVER see any of those buddies again, regardless of whether you left them locked up or if you let them out, if you did their jobs or not. Hence my desperation to do the missions before leaving the north...

Turns out the bar only has space for 4 of your six buddies, as I already mentioned. Your best buddy is always there and your rescue buddy is never there. That means in order to do missions for your rescue buddy you need to either kill your best buddy so rescue gets a promotion, otherwise improve relatiosn with your rescue buddy until they outrank your best buddy and replace them, or as I did improve relations with another buddy by doing their jobs until rescue buddy is demoted.

In this way I got jobs done for best buddy and the other 3 I'd already found, then with one space in the bar I went and rescued the fifth and did their missions. The mistake I made with the sixth seems to have been rescuing them before killing my rescue buddy and accepting the new one (therefore making space in the bar) By doing it the other way round and killing my rescue buddy first it seems to have forced the newly rescued buddy to immediately warp to the bar and I got the missions done

Working on the second map now having completed the north and central parts completely (though I still need to unlock one more underground location in the north if that's counted) I'm not as keen on the southern map as the northern one so far but I'm sure it'll get better as I find my footing over the course of some missions. Big annoyance so far though is an enemy wielded mortar which is practically impossible to track down! I googled the location of a guy who was giving me trouble in the end and chopped him up with my machete as that's how angry it had made me searching for him while trying not to explode :p Enemy cars and boats have 'nade launchers in the south too which is great when I have them but particularly challenging when the bad guys do

[blueonblack]

Oooooooooo.... The Invisible Mortar Guy! I HATE Invisible Mortar Guy.

[Kayin]

Had to replace my PSP to finish FFIV: TCC today. On the Lunar Surface, with all secret summons, currently inside the Giant of Babil. When I get its firmware updated, tis on like Donkey Kong.

Also, have over 1000 Sirens to farm with. Life (on this game) is good.

[x88x]

Enemy cars and boats have 'nade launchers in the south too which is great when I have them but particularly challenging when the bad guys do

Only some of them. IIRC, all of the boats do, but there are three different types of trucks, one with a normal machine gun, one with a big heavy gun, and one with a grenade launcher.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Only some of them. IIRC, all of the boats do, but there are three different types of trucks, one with a normal machine gun, one with a big heavy gun, and one with a grenade launcher.

You can also upgrade your jeeps using diamonds that you collect so they have the grenade launcher too, as long as you get the jeep from a safe house it will be equipped with whichever weapon you unlock.

[Munty]

Aye, having plenty of diamonds from doing so much up north I've got a repair manual for the defender (is SOOO worth it!) and all of the accessories (camo, ammo belts, syringe pack, etc) I haven't spent much on weapons yet but I have an uzi for a sidearm and a very nice scoped assault rifle for primary (forget the name) It's a shame the sniper rifle doesn't fit in the specialist weapon slot as I wouldn't really call it a primary one. I'd rather carry that than a mortar/rocket launcher/flamethrower etc. but I want something for automatic fire too with a little more punch than my uzi. Perfect world I'd have an uzi, my assault rifle and a sniper rifle on me at all times. Invicnible

As for the mounted weapons I'm not entirely sure when they upgrade but it's something to do with mission progress (when you get that 'safehouse upgraded' message for doing main missions your best buddies way) In the north you get the safehouse vehicles upgraded to the 50 cal MG which is personally my favourite over the grenade launchers anyway. I believe the GL upgrade for your safehouse upgrades is the last one you get but there are plenty already being driven around by the baddies so I just use theirs! Personally I think that's a bad upgrade as it's impossible to engage at close quarters with a GL so I'd rather keep the 50 cal

Anyway I managed to do all the gunshop missions yesterday and have a few more assasination jobs before they're all out of the way too. I have 3 out of 5 buddies in the south so I'll be doing their missions next before moving onto finish the main story. I'm not using maps for the south area (yet) as like I said, the game marks down which ones you've found as you go. That means it'll be easy to fill in the gaps later. For now I'm just securing safehouses and scouting outposts as I go, picking up diamonds every so often when I see the blip. Already found about 20 more so a lot of them are quite easy anyway. By roadsides, shacks, etc...