Conflict: Vietnam Skills Profile

Conflict: Vietnam features a new skill system that will let you customize your squad.

Conflict: Vietnam is the third entry in the Conflict series, which began with Conflict: Desert Storm. Developer Pivotal Games is taking the series a few decades back to the Vietnam War and is placing you in the role of a new recruit who finds himself cut off behind enemy lines during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Your goal is to make it through 100 miles of booby-trapped and enemy-infested terrain, along with your squad, to get to the capital city of Hue. Today we'll offer a look at the new skill system that's being implemented into the latest iteration of Conflict to add a new element to its gameplay. The skill advancement system in Conflict: Vietnam lets you choose one of nine different skill sets for the members of your squad to specialize in. These features add a level of customization that makes it possible to build up all manner of squad configurations, such as a stealth-kill team consisting entirely of snipers or a squad of heavy-weapon experts.

You'll increase the different skills available to you with points that you earn for completing primary and bonus objectives, such as taking down enemy soldiers and vehicles, maintaining fire accuracy, and successfully executing stealth kills. Points are deducted for killing civilians and friendly soldiers. These points are split among the four squadmates and are then spent to raise their skills in such skill categories as Pistol, Assault Rifle, Sniper Rifle, Machine Gun, Grenade, Shotgun, Medic, Rocket Launcher, and Booby Traps. The higher the skill, the more points it costs to raise. Below is an overview of the nine skills and what affect raising them has on gameplay.

Pistol

Though never used as a primary weapon, it's always handy to have at least moderate sidearm skill when ammo for your main weapon is running low. Increasing a character's skill in pistol gives him a steadier hand at quick targeting and provides for a more accurate aim, eventually allowing him to hit targets that would otherwise be too far away to even attempt taking a shot at.

Assault Rifle

The most commonly used--and arguably the best--weapon to have on the field is the assault rifle, whose skill covers arms such as the AK-47 and the M16A1. The higher a character's assault rifle skill, the better his accuracy while employing one. Having this skill maxed-out makes the burst option that's available with most assault rifles quite deadly.

Sniper Rifle

Corporal Bruce Lesh begins as your squad's main sniper, but any member can become equally proficient by accumulating and using enough skill points. The tactical advantage of being able to take down enemies from a distance is undeniable, and an effective sniper is an intimidating opponent. Increasing sniper rifle skill steadies your character's hand when going into sniper mode, thus improving his accuracy and allowing him to take shots in a quicker fashion.