Extinction Nightfall - SOLO Strategy Guide to Complete Map

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Extinction Nightfall is one hell of a difficult map and without the right strategy you've got absolutely no chance playing SOLO. In this strategy guide I'll be sharing some of the tips which have helped me out - I hope you find them useful too.

Let's start from the top..

Loadout and Class Setup

Ok, if you're an Extinction noob then you really should go back to Point of Contact and level up to at least level 22 or higher. Without the unlocked Sentry Gun, you're going to find it almost impossible to complete Nightfall on SOLO.

Next, I prefer to go for the Tank or Medic class as the starting point. The Engineer class is awful, and the Specialist is not great. Medic is desirable because of the added protection from Scorpion acid which becomes more of a problem as you progress to later hives. On the flip side, the Tank class will give you extra health which you can double in strength using Skill Point upgrades.



To back the class up, I go for the following skill trees:

• Amour Piercing Ammo or Explosive
• Armour
• Grenade Launcher
• Sentry Gun

Some people like the Riot Shield which is great when placed on your back, but an upgraded grenade launcher is a great way to protect the Sentry and Drill while actually gaining money rather than losing it. The downside of the Grenade Launcher is that when the Rhino appears, you'll have to forgive the turret and go on the run.

It all depends on your style of play, if you want to run and fire, choose the Riot Shield. If you want to barricade yourself in with maximum firepower then go for the Grenade Turret.

Finding supplies

When you start the map, there's only one alien (hidden inside a container). Kill that alien and you'll have a lot of time to explore the map without interference and collect a hell of a lot of supplies.

First up you should scout the initial starting area (before the gate), there should be two packages. Then immediately outside the gate you can collect the supplies from the man killed by the Breeder. Should be grenades and ammo.

Then work your way round the edges of the map, searching and picking up supplies. You should find enough to take you over $1000, with some kind of special ammo for the pistol, flares or Hypno Knife and maybe a laser guided rocket.

Generally I prefer to collect the Hypno Knife early and get an alien onside and then save the flares for the barrier hive, later areas or in times of desperate need.

Finding the Locker Keys

Weapon lockers - find the keys!

On your way round the edge of the map, you may find Locker Keys when you search. It's absolutely pivotal that you collect these because they're basically free upgraded weapons from the lockers - Maverick, Bulldog, Vepr, LMG etc.. I'll explain this later.

First two hives - Knifing

The first two hives are important to set you up for the rest of the game. In the early hives I prefer to stick to knifing, even though cash has been reduced from $90 to $60 in Nightfall, knifing is still preferable to save ammo and avoid reloads.

It still takes two swipes to kill a scout with the raw Tank class. Good players won't find this too much of a problem though.

Most of the early Skill Point challenges are for Melee or 50% above accuracy so using the knife helps you achieve those two.

Early Skill Points

I know alot of players who prefer to spend early skill points on melee and health upgrades for the Tank class. I agree that the Scout aliens are more powerful than in Point of Contact and an upgraded melee does help, but it'll come back to bite you against the Breeder..

Personally, I save up the skill points and after 2 hives I go straight for the Sentry upgrade using 3 skill points. This makes for a powerful sentry with a larger ammo capacity. The perfect start to saving money on ammo.

It's important not to deploy the Sentry before you've upgrade the skill tree so you avoid wasting points. Carry the Sentry Gun from one hive to the next ensuring to protect it from alien attacks.

You'll be surprised how far an upgraded Sentry Gun can take you in the early hives.

Once you've got the Sentry upgraded sufficiently, buy Skill Point upgrades for Armour Piercing Ammo so you've got plenty of resupply for the Breeder. If you're lucky, you might get the full 8 Skill Points in the starting area, but it's unlikely playing SOLO.

Using Sentry Guns

As mentioned above, the Sentry Gun is your best companion on SOLO. You've got no one else to back you up while you reload or fight aliens from several directions. Therefore, place your Sentry Gun in the corners of the map (depending on current hive location) and stand behind it, picking off aliens who try to destroy it. The Sentry will do most of the work and save you a lot of ammo reloads which you can't afford alone.

If need be, place a Grenade Turret behind the Sentry and blow aliens away that come too close. Aim for the floor and you'll take out any small aliens behind you too. Don't worry about damaging the Sentry - you can't!

When moving from hive to hive, take the Sentry with you and always replace the Sentry as soon as it's out of ammo or destroyed. You must always have a Sentry nearby!

Choosing a Weapon

In the early rounds you should go for the free weapon(s) from the lockers. Even if that weapon is the useless Bulldog, it still gives you free ammo early on. If you're lucky to get the Upgraded Maverick or LMG then you want to keep that permanently.


Secret locker room behind Hive

If you can't find the keys then buy the Maverick from the starting area or the LSAT from the secret room. The LSAT's ammo count and firepower will outweigh it's slow reload but you'll wish you had the Maverick in the second area. Both are adequate in the first area especially when used in combination with a Sentry.

Spending Money

The maximum you can carry is $6000 which means you've got to be intelligent between Hives. You don't want to start losing out on money just because you're going over the limit.

If I go over the $5000 limit and the drill is not over 80% to completion then I usually buy a Turret to keep on standard, or Ammo resupply if need be. The important thing is to make sure you buy something useful, as it's always better than losing money because you can't carry anymore.

Which hives to destroy first

Hive locations are random each game but my preference is to destroy the one on the LHS of starting point because that offers little protection when the game gets harder. Then work your way upstairs and take out the Hive blocking the secret room. That'll also give you access to more supplies and possibly a free weapon if you've found the Locker Key(s).

Then move onto the hive in the far corner (LHS) from the starting area. Place the Sentry to the left of the hive so it can provide covering fire for any hive attacks. It'll also take out the Scorpions who perch on top of the crates or hill tops.

Lastly, if available, the final hive to destroy in the starting area should be the one near the electric fence. During this hive you can activate the Electric Fence and place the Sentry next to the Hive whilst providing protection from behind the Sentry.

Never leave the "open-space Hives with no trap protection" for the later stages. It's too risky.

Killing the Breeder - Barrier Hive

Everyone who plays Nightfall SOLO knows that the Breeder is a complete bitch! It takes some well-timed skill to defeat the BOSS and the quicker the better before you run out of money. We've covered killing the Breeder in our other guide, along with a video so check that out:

How to kill the Breeder

2nd Area

Now that you're in the second area, you've obviously killed the Breeder - well done!

Now's the time to max out the Sentry skill points and get two of them. It's going to cost in terms of points and money but it's a necessary step to staying alive. I prefer to line two Sentry's side by side rather than one covering the other. First of all because I can guard two Sentries easier than two that are spread out, and secondly, it's a waste of resources for one to provide only covering fire for the other.

Once you enter the 2nd area, walk straight leading slightly to the right, and go past the stop sign. You'll see a hive straight in front of you that's blocking the entrance to another locker room. If you've found more keys then I suggest destroying that hive first because you'll have access to another free weapon which also means money saving/free ammo. Don't start drilling yet, make a note of the location.



Follow the same steps as mentioned above and always use your time to scout the area for supplies before placing the drill for the first time.

Flares are very important

Flares are even more important on the later hives, so pick one up and make a note of the location of any others you've left behind. Then go back and pick them up later. Throw flares as soon as you see the first Phantom or Scorpion aliens on a Hive. This will give you some early rest bite and a chance for the Sentries to lockon and give you some extra cash. Spend the cash on a grenade launcher and you'll be ready for the next time those harder aliens come along.

Flares are great at this stage but I would suggest avoiding the following:

• Burst fire attachment
• Trophy
• Hypno Knife (now almost useless)

Decision Time - More Skill Points for Grenade Launchers or Riot Shield

Now that you've already maxed out the Sentries, you can max out the Grenade Turret or the Riot Shield.

It's surprising how economically viable the Turret actually is. A 3 x upgraded Grenade Turret comes with 30 grenades, yep 30! It costs less than $2000 so you can easily earn more than you spend without losing any ammo. Anyone with good financial sense knows that's a good choice!

I prefer to place the Grenade Turret just behind the two Sentries and literally blast aliens who come anywhere near. You can also shoot your own feet and kill aliens behind you, this is thanks to the great blast radius of the Grenade Launcher.


However, once the Rhino comes along you've got to make a run for it and hope the Sentry's take him out while he follows you. If you've got the Riot Shield skill tree, activate it and place on your back. This provides and unbelievable amount of protection while you run circles.

At the end of the 2nd area, once the hives are destroyed, the Breeder alien will reappear. Thankfully he only breaks a barrier for you and then disappears. This barrier leads upstairs and into the research facility. On the way you'll see more supplies and the obelisk featured in the trailer.

Moving onto the 3rd area

If you've made it this far then you're doing very well. Use your time wisely again and scavenge for supplies in the facility. You'll notice alot of lockers so make use of the free upgraded weapons and avoid unnecessary ammo reloads.

There's little more we can say except for one final tip..

Make use of the Electric Trap on the upper platform. Activating this particular trap will kill a large percentage of aliens (especially on hives above ground level). Also go straight for the Hive blocking the small room leading to the Venom-X weapon. That sucker is going to serve you well against the Rhinos and the final Breeder alien if you make it past the 3rd area.

The Hives become extremely difficult in the 3rd area and unfortunately we haven't made it through there yet on SOLO...although it's only day two!! We'll be posting more tips on the later stages of the map soon..

Respect and luck to those of you taking on the Nightfall map SOLO..