Sort of...

Here's a list of equipment I recommend ya use from time to time. It has a lot o' range, and depending on your level of tactical skill, can be used in nearly all the missions.

(For player use only- fill in any gaps with ally equipment settings, such as AT-4's and whatnot)

Main:
M-16 w/high scope, laser

Sub:
9mm w/silencer

Secondary:
smoke & medkits


summary-
M-16 has the range of a sniper rifle, and the accuracy of a quality assault rifle. It doesn't have full-auto, yet that doesn't matter much since the burst fire can be entirely controlled. Tap it once, you'll hear three shots but really only fire the one. Tap away as needed.

The 9mm may not be all that powerful, but it's your silenced weapon. If you're using a silenced weapon, you're likely making a headshot anyway. Hence the lack of stopping power doesn't matter.

Smoke, a pretty popular item in the single player campaign this time around. There are a few key positions in every mission where a good smoke grenade can work wonders. Whether it's to blind a convoy and take out the driver point-blank, or to confuse multiple enemies to work on your knife kill score, etc.

Medkits are a given. Only you can carry them (or human allies). Your team may (if AI) seem stump dumb, but they are good bullet sponges. They can also carry that extra equipment you can't. T__T Stock 'em with smoke grenades. Give them the tank-killers you can't carry.

All in all, your equipment set here also won't hinder your mobility at all.

Now if you need the extra stopping power, I suggest switching out the 9mm for the good ol' USP. Puts you slightly into the redline, so it'll hinder some mobility, but not every mission will require you run through long stretches. IE: Sea Wasp. Close quarters, narrow, USP towers over the 9mm.

Good hunting!


Side note- On missions where your 'tacked on' set of equipment (Satchels, etc) is lightweight, equipping the Mark 23 (aka USP) with either attachment will not put your load capacity into the redzone. Keep a lookout for missions where you can bring it along, as the extra stopping power and mag-size is best over the 9mm.

Winterblade- Near the enemy camp (where there's that radio tower and tent with the destroyable radio system inside) is a shallow body of water. In this area there's also a few broken and decaying trees. There are also a few boulders covered with light snow. Where the water meets the land, behind a lone boulder right on the shore, and against the mountain side is your first saugsage. Difficulty> 3/10

Reprisal- Found this one accidentally. Once you make your way up the mountain there are various entrances. Get yourself to the highest entrance (most North-Eastern entrance to the cave system). Just outside this entrance is a small flat area of mountain side you can walk on. It's literally just outside the entrance, allowing you to move East from a slight bit. Your second sausage is on the small floor area here. Difficulty 4/10

Whipsaw- Yargh. Involves a night mission. Always a pain on the eyes. Anywho, Instead of taking the SEALboat, turn around and climb the ledge to get on the street. There's a mofo up here (may be two or three, random spawns) so take him out. Enter the tunnel cautiously. Once you exit you'll be way on the other side of the map. Along the left side of the path is a cliffside. Follow the cliffside and scan it for treestumps. After a bit of walking you should spot a treestump with a paper target (same kind from the firing range) pinned onto a low-cut tree stump. Behind this stump is the sausage. Difficulty 4/10

Broken Chains- Easy. As soon as you enter the lighthouse, look left. It's on the book shelf. Difficulty 1/10

Stockpile- Argh. In short, this sucker is in the air vents of the main facility. It's by a window and a bunch of steam pipes (the kind with valve handles modeled onto them). It's aligned with the pipes so it's a bit hard to spot right away. Difficulty 5/10

Highwire- Between the area where Vandal is being held and the closest 'over water' bridge on the map is a fork that runs through the mountain. From the side coming from Vandal's path it's harder to spot this path's reachable point. Instead, head towards the bridge side and scan the map for that path cutting through the mountain. You'll find the reachable point on the map easier this way. Along the path you'll find two rebel soldiers (allies- don't shoot) sitting near a garbage can, flame cooking your next sausage. Look inside the can to obtain it. Difficulty 6/10

Disruption- Next one is inside the Mercenary facility. Also a pain the the arse to get to.
If you enter the Mercenary facility from the backdoor (the front gate is usually locked unless you snipe-explode the enemy vehicle before it drives away from here) you'll be face to face with a guard tower. There's no way into the second floor of this tower. (CONSPIRACY!!! Seriously...) Anyway, on the western end of the tower is one of the training obstacles. It's actually quite flat and is stepped, so you can climb it. Tricky part. If you're carrying equipment that puts your load capacity into the redzone, go pick up a dead baddie's guns to reduce weight temporarily. Otherwise you won't make it. Yep, you gotta jump from the top of the training obstacle, and onto the southern-most railing on the balcony of the guard tower's second floor. After any headaches, you'll find your next sausage on top of the barrel on the balcony. Good grief. Difficulty 7/10

Bombshell- Not too tough. Once you're on the second half of the mission (entering the building with the bomb), you'll come across the open space full of enemies outside the facility. It's obvious which part of the facility is the back entrance way, and which is the front. On the other side of the clearing from the front of the facility are three trailers. The middle one is the one you need to enter. Careful, there's usually a mofo hiding inside one of these trailers. Smoke recommended, or mad skill blitzin'. Anywho, inside the trailer are some cabinets along the bottom of the counter. Not too far from the door is a cabinet which has a darker colored door. Yep, it's openable. Difficulty 4/10

Sea Wasp- Easy. On the lower level of the ship, there is a cargo hold with the doors unsealed and the sunlight passing into the hold. You'll see this room if you enter the ship and look into the hold from up above. Behind the rations (the boxes) is the sausage. Difficulty 2/10

Blindside- Opposite the cave system is a small house where a hostage is being held. Further past this house is a small area where a few enemies may attempt to snipe you from. On this cliffside area is path where a tree stands. Behind the tree is the next sausage. Difficulty 5/10

Dragonfly- Along the shore of of this island, pretty much on the opposite side from where you start, is an area where grass reeds hide a tiny raft with a blue sail. On the raft is your next sausage. Difficulty 4/10

Stormcloud- This one is hidden in water, making it very hard to see. Look on your map. Find the area that looks like a circular lake. It's actually created by a waterfall. There's a path allowing you access to the top of the waterfall (no, the current won't kill you- there's an invisible border keeping you from falling). Try to run off anyway. At the bordered edge, a bit more towards the right from the middle, is the other sausage. Might be easier to head to shore and look into the water for it, or you can go all 'madman' and hunt it out. Difficulty 8/10

Chokehold- Head left from the start point and head towards the parking garage. Keep a lookout for a dumpster. Climb it, and climb the ledge just after it. The sausage is up here hiding in the darkness. Grab it and continue slaying mofos. Difficulty 2/10

Trailblazer- The next sausage is directly near 'WHISKEY'. Head there and look for barrels by the bridge. Climb the barrels and onto the small ledge, and move slowly towards the sausage at the other side. Difficulty 4/10

Snakepit- In the main facility, head into the kitchen (not the mess hall). In the kitchen are shelves similar to those in the lighthouse during the Broken Chains mission. The sausage is on one of the shelves. Difficulty 3/10

Frostbite- There's a snowman the enemies have built more towards the facility where the Mercenary Squad is stationed. Blow up the snowman with explosives of any sort, and search the remains for the sausage. Difficulty 6/10

Shepard- Towards the end of the mission (final waypoint) is an area where evil tanks and bombed-to-death house remains stand; two of them, with machine gun turrets in each. The dead-house closest to the exit point of the map- head towards the chimney. On the ledge along the chimney is your next sausage. Difficulty 5/10

Kingfisher- Last one. It's in the underground facility, in one of the rooms. You'll be clearing out each room to complete all the bonus and primary objectives, so keep a lookout for another set of cabinets. The darker colored door (as in Bombshell) has the last sausage. Difficulty 5/10.

Badges are unlocked by completing various tasks - earning a set amount of badges will unlock various game features for player use.

Below are the badge requirements in order of appearance:


1- CAPTURE: All 'capture' instant action missions are completed at the rank of ensign or higher.

2- DEFUSE: All 'defuse' instant action missions are completed at the rank of ensign or higher.

3- DEMOLISH: All 'demolish' instant action missions are completed at the rank of ensign or higher.

4- ESCORT: All 'escort' instant action missions are completed at the rank of ensign or higher.

5- EXTRACT: All 'extract' instant action missions are completed at the rank of ensign or higher.

6- RECOVER: All 'recover' instant action missions are completed at the rank of ensign or higher.

7- SECURE: All 'secure' instant action missions are completed at the rank of ensign or higher.

8- OVER-ACHIEVER: All instant action missions are completed at ADMIRAL difficulty.

9- COVERT OPS: The campaign has been cleared with a cumulative stealth rating of 300,000 points or higher.

10- TRIDENT: The campaign has been cleared with an overall score of 1,200,001 points or higher.

11- EFFICIENCY: The campaign has been cleared in a total of seven hours or less.

12- PDQ: The campaign has been cleared in a total of four hours or less.

13- EXEMPLARY RECORD: The campaign has been cleared with a cumulative performance score of 400,000 points or higher.

14- TADPOLE: The campaign has been completed at the rank of ENSIGN or higher.

15- FROGMAN: The campaign has been completed at the rank of COMMANDER or higher.

16- SEAL: The campaign has been completed at the rank of ADMIRAL.

17- SUB-ROSA: A mission has been completed with a stealth score of 30,000 or higher.

18- DODGER: A mission has been completed with no team members downed or wounded at all, and no medkit charges have been used.

19- MERCY: A mission has been completed without a single team member killing an enemy.

20- MARKSMANSHIP: A mission has been completed with an accuracy rating higher than 85%.

21- GRENADIER: Over 40 enemies have been killed by the SEALS during your profile career.

22- UNSEEN STRIKE: Over 20 enemies have been killed by throat slitting during your career.

23- BASTILLE: Over 40 enemies have been restrained (captured) by the SEALS during your career.

24- LIQUIDATOR: Over 600 enemies have been killed by the SEALS during your career.

25- SHADOW OPERATOR: Over 150 enemies have been killed stealthily by the SEALS during your career.

26- FIRST AID: Over 40 medkits have been used on the SEALS (including Specter) during your career.

27- ANTI-ARMOR: Over 10 vehicles have been destroyed by the SEALS during your career.

28- MELON HUNTER: Over 150 enemies have been killed by the SEALS by head shots in your career.

29- SUPPORT: All secondary objectives have been completed in any full rank of a campaign.

30- ABOVE AND BEYOND: All bonus objectives have been completed in any full rank of a campaign.

31- COMMUNICATOR: All crosstalk objectives have been completed in any full rank of a campaign.

32- SAUSAGE: All sausages have been found in any full rank of a campaign mode.


Further tips: To get the badgest fastest, do the following...

• Complete all instant action missions at admiral rank from the start, as it will reward two badges for lesser difficulties as well.

• Rush through the game (run n' gun) all the way through ADMIRAL rank. This will unlock the two time-based badges, and the three ranks cleared badges.

• Make sure you destroy all vehicles in a single campaign run - there are over 10 vehicles in the campaign, and if you destroy them all you will earn the anti-armor badge.

• Finally, run through the campaign again on ensign setting, making sure to clear all primary, secondary, bonus, and crosstalk objectives, while also obtaining the sausages. Having already obtained the speed bades, you can play the campaign with all the time in the world, on the easiest difficulty setting now. You can also concentrate on stealth kills, headshots, mercy badge, etc, or if you prefer, use instant action (not mission redeploy!) to obtain the Melon Hunter, Sub-Rosa, Dodger, Mercy, Marksmanship, Grenadier, Unseen Strike, Bastille, Liquidation, Shadow Operator, and first aid badges.

Last, very important note:
MISSION REDEPLOY- Clearing lost objectives under mission redeploy, and any kills or captures, etc, DO NOT COUNT when playing under mission redeploy. You must complete these objectives while in instant action only, or while on a full campaign run through.


Obtaining x amount of badges will unlock the following:


18 Badges- REBEL WEAPONS:
M16A2 assault rifle
M60E3 support machine gun
M40A1 US Marine Corps. sniper rifle
12 Guage Pump action shotgun

24 Badges- SEAL WEAPONS:
9mm Pistol
L96AW sniper rifle
HK7 sub machine gun
IW-80 A2 high powered assault rifle
HK36 assault rifle


32 Badges- MM1 12-shot 40mm grenade launcher

In between these badges are other unlockables, obtained for reaching other badge requirements (game does not state this after you clear it, so I can't relay it to you in detail), and for clearing admiral difficulty, such as adjustable scopes, other weapons, and attachment like grenade launchers.

When you're camping in a stage, and you're stationary when no enemies are around, your player character (Specter) will lower his weapon in an idle stance. When an enemy is within earshot however, Specter will raise the weapon into a ready stance. This also works if you're running around, though it can be a bit tougher to notice when not directly paying attention. Regardless, this also works online, and can be called a 'spider sense' or sorts, alerting you to enemies that may otherwise get the jump on you.

Works in Socom: Combined Assault and Socom 3.