Back to the Main Page This page is simply an HTML version of my Fire Fight FAQ. Current version: 1.04, last updated 11/11/05.
Your contributions are welcome; just email me with anything you think should be in there.
This FAQ is copyright 2001-2005, Robert Marney. All rights reserved.
Looking around, I see that plenty of people remember Fire Fight, but nobody's made a FAQ for it, or even a complete list of secrets. As you'll see, I don't like long strings of text, so here it is, the most complete Fire Fight resource on the Net, including ALL the secrets (even the ones not on the official maps), a rundown of all the enemies and weapons with approximate stats, all the story I can find, and the all-important goodies list. Have fun!
Fire Fight is native to Windows 95 and runs on DirectX 2.0. Windows 98/ME users should have no problems running the game simply by putting the CD into their primary CD drive and choosing not to install the DirectX version that comes with the game.
Windows 2000 users should run this from the Start -> Run box: regsvr32 %systemroot%\apppatch\slayerui.dll This will enable the "Compatibility" tab on shortcuts you create. Create a shortcut on your desktop to the LOADER.EXE on the Fire Fight CD, right-click and select "Properties", then go to the "Compatibility" tab and select "Windows 95". You should now be able to run the game properly.
Windows XP users have the "Compatibility" tab enabled by default, so they should just create a shortcut to LOADER.EXE (may also work with FFSTART.EXE) and enable Windows 95 compatibility.
Fire Fight does not install any files on your computer. What it does install are registry entries. (To access these, enter "regedit" from the Start->Run menu.) They should be hiding inside HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> Software -> chaos works -> Fire Fight. There you'll see each player profile's selected key bindings and mission progress (in hex code) for each difficulty level, among other things. If you can't save your game, check to see if you're logging on as the same user and that Fire Fight is allowed to make automatic registry changes.
This FAQ is copyright (c) 2001-2005, Robert Marney. Feel free to copy and distribute the FAQ as long as it is not changed or altered, and as long as credit is given. Fire Fight and related materials are copyright 1996, Chaos Works.
In Fire Fight, not only will all your weapons come in handy throughout the game, you actually need to worry about ammo. Fortunately, there are plenty of places to get a refill.
Your ship can carry varying amounts of ammunition for each weapon (and usually one of each powerup), but can only use one weapon at a time. (You can use multiple powerups at once, though). Each weapon has a rating telling you how much ammo it can hold, as well as how much each size ammo pack gives you.
Each weapon below has a number telling you approximately how many points of damage it does per shot. For reference, your ship has 24 armor. Running into a wall on turbo speed (unless you have doubled shield on) does 1/3 damage.
You can get ammo from enemy ships (all of which leave small packs), from buildings (listed under "Goodies" in each mission"), by getting 100% kills (in which case a medium rotating pack will appear next to the landing pad), or simply floating around in the air.
A small ammo pack gives you 5% of the total possible ammo, a medium pack gives you 30%, and a large pack gives you 100%.
Vulcan
Ammo: 300
Reload: 4/sec
Power: 1
Speed: Excellent
Auto-aim: Good
Your basic weapon - very little worries about ammo or aiming, but not enough
punch to be useful against big stuff unless you're circle-strafing.
Swarmers
Ammo: 150
Reload: 1.5/sec
Power: 4 (1 each)
Speed: Good
Auto-aim: Excellent
Like the name implies, let loose with hordes of these to get multiple targets. They eat ammo fast, though, so that's their only use.
Plasma Gun
Ammo: 200
Reload: 4/sec
Power: 2
Speed: Fair
Auto-aim: Shoots in a spray
The next step up from your basic vulcan, it's powerful but slow. Avoid it in multiplayer, since opponents will simply dodge.
Missiles
Ammo: 40
Reload: 1.5/sec
Power: 7
Speed: Good
Auto-aim: Very Good
Just like the Bruiser's munitions, they won't hit strafing or close targets but do nicely at everything else. Excellent for multiplayer.
Cannon
Ammo: 30
Reload: 0.5/sec (heavy recoil)
Power: 4-12, depending on distance
Speed: Excellent
Auto-aim: Fair
The best weapon in the game, hands down. Just make sure you can target by sight (in one-player) or by radar (in multiplayer) or you'll just waste ammo.
Grenades
Ammo: 50
Reload: 1.5/sec
Power: 48
Speed: Poor
Auto-aim: Good
Impressive building demolition for one-player and "bombing runs" for multiplayer, and nigh-infinite ammo. Just be careful, they can kill you too!
Shield Restore
Ammo: 1
Time: Instant
Extremely valuable, it's a storeable large health pack. Makes most missions or dogfights a piece of cake.
Doubled Shield
Ammo: 1
Time: 30 secs
When activated, your ship visibly gains armor and takes half damage from enemy fire. You also become invulnerable to damage from running into walls and debris from large ships. Perfect for minefields or saving yourself from a cannon sniper.
EM-Shock
Ammo: 5
Time: 3 sec delay
When activated, lightning appears in a wide circle centered on your ship. When it goes off, everything in that circle except you dies. The uses of this sort of thing are obvious, but remember, something can be in the lightning before it goes off and survive, as long as it's not inside the circle when the EM-Shock triggers.
Cloaking Device
Ammo: 1
Time: 30 secs
Makes you completely invisible to everything except the homing devices on missile weapons. The single best item on any multiplayer map, as you don't uncloak when you fire so cannon kills are extremely easy.
Mines
Ammo: No limit (5 each)
Time: Instant
Available in multiplayer only, these mines drop right beneath your ship. They will not track opponents but will still count as kills for you. They're plentiful and won't trigger on you until after you've moved outside their radius, so use liberally.
Chaos Works
Ammo: 0 (Technically a powerup, not an inventory item)
Time: Instant
This gigantic powerup counts as a large pack of all six basic weapons and a large health pack. It appears as a secret in the missions Frost Bite, No Escape, and Mudskipper.
Each enemy has an "Armor" rating that goes with the Weapons section above. (For reference, one missile does 7 damage.) They also have a description of the weapon they use, the ammo they drop when killed, and a general description.
Missile Tower
Armor: 14
Weapon: Big Missiles
Ammo: None
The computer will warn you when one of these starts shooting, so they aren't a problem unless you're distracted. Avoid their shots and blow them away, or use them to demolish opposing buildings by standing behind them.
Ion Tower
Armor: 14
Weapon: Ion Gun
Ammo: None
One of your biggest threats, an ion gun can fire nearly a dozen shots before reloading and shoots bolts that move faster than you can. They should be dealt with quickly, and since grenades bounce off them, practice is needed to deal with them.
Mines
Armor: 6 or your ship moving within range
Weapon: Self-destruct
Ammo: None
Mines do loads of damage when they explode - but their self-destruct takes a couple seconds to trigger. Bait them if you're good at maneuvering or shoot them out of the sky before they can surround you. However, your ship will stop when it hits a mine, so be careful you don't run into one!
Sea Mines
Armor: 4 or your ship moving on top of them
Weapon: Self-destruct
Ammo: None
Found only on the mission Runaway, these mines are much less powerful, explode instantly, and won't slow your ship down if you bump into them.
'98 Crescent
Armor: 6
Weapon: Vulcan
Ammo: Small Vulcan
While they fire only one vulcan shot at you every few seconds, they're almost guaranteed to hit you with that first shot. They're deadly only if you're low on health.
K-1 Dicer
Armor: 10
Weapon: Mini-plasma
Ammo: Small Plasma
The game's easiest and most plentiful enemy. Strafe or run away from their shots and shoot them down - they're even slow enough that plasma shots will reliably hit them.
J-4 Cuttle Shark
Armor: 15
Weapon: Ramming
Ammo: Small Health
Once you become comfortable with the quick movement abilities of your '99, these will become much-needed free health packs. Just make sure it can't rebound from a wall and retarget you.
The Bruiser
Armor: 12
Weapon: Small missiles
Ammo: Small Missiles
A priority target if I ever saw one, these guys can dish out serious damage for a fighter, and only the closest of cannon shots will kill them. Feel free to spend 2 missiles on one and recoup your losses when it dies.
Cannon Ship
Armor: 32
Weapon: Small Cannons
Ammo: Medium Vulcan
The big version of a Crescent, their shots are hard to avoid but won't do all that much damage. They tend to show up all the time on Challenge difficulty.
Plasma Ship
Armor: 40
Weapon: Mini-plasmas
Ammo: Medium Plasma
It's just a bigger Dicer. Yes, it's that easy.
Missile Ship
Armor: 40
Weapon: Big Missiles
Ammo: Medium Missiles
If it didn't drop more missiles than it took to kill it, this ship would be fearsome. As it is, it's just a missile tower that moves. Still dangerous if you don't kill it immediately, though.
Cuttle Shark Mothership
Armor: 56
Weapon: Cuttle Shark Generator
Ammo: Medium Health
Found in normal mode only on the missions Mudskipper and Tool of War, these guys are the mother of all enemies, the only thing in the game that can withstand a grenade blast. Since it generates short-lived "shadow" Cuttle Sharks, you can't get close with your cannon, so you'll need to spend quite a few grenades or missiles to take it down. However, it does drop lots of health as a reward. When it dies, however, its weapon fires 3 times, so watch out!
For each mission, this FAQ lists the planet it's on, as well as the description of your mission. Each secret is listed by location and requirements before the secret is available, while the goodies are listed by location and contents (i.e. ammo, powerups, hostages). Goodies which are mission objectives are not listed.
Building Reference
Turbine: Tall Darius building with a fan on top.
Tank: Gray Darius building with a wheel on top.
Box: Brown Darius building connected by phone lines.
Cone: Brown Jarventia building that takes 1 damage.
Dome: Low Jarventia building with a center dome.
Plant: Flammable Ch'ok vegetation that takes 1 damage.
Complex: Huge Argus High building that crumples when shot.
Briefing: Unauthorized transmissions have been detected on Jarventia and will not be tolerated. Perform a standard suppression sweep" by destroying all structures in this remote area.
Secrets
South of start; none
West of first swarmer pack; nearby cones
Southeast of first ion gun; nearby cones, 100% kills
Briefing: Several nuclear containers are stored at a processing plant on Darius. Local politics are uneasy, and Council members are nervous. Collect all containers and wait for further orders.
Secrets
Farcaster north of first container; first objective
Goodies
First tank; medium swarmers
Tank north of turbine; medium plasma
Second box northwest of turbine; small grenades
Second box west of secret farcaster; hostage
Fourth box west of secret farcaster; medium swarmers
Briefing: Return to Jarventia under galactic code 486-5. The verdict of the Council is guilty. Obliterate any and all structures at your drop zone to ensure no further resistance.
Secrets
North of third objective; open
Southeast of fifth objective; nearby cones, 100% kills
Goodies
Top cone southeast of first objective; medium swarmers
Dome northeast of first objective; medium swarmers
Dome east of first objective; small swarmers
Dome east of second objective; small swarmers
Cone directly west of second objective; small health
Dome northwest of third objective; small cannon
Dome northeast of third objective; small plasma
Dome east of third objective; medium health
Dome southwest of third objective; small grenades
Cones northwest of fifth objective; small missiles, shield restore
Briefing: Military hardware amassed on Ch'ok threatens to upset the balance of power. Take out all hostile forces in the area and remind them that the council is still in charge.
Secrets
Farcaster in second area; plants in third area, objectives complete
Northeast of second area; wall (CHAOS WORKS)
Notes
You must move to lower left-hand corner of the first area to activate an enemy.
You must pick up a missile pack near your landing site for the last
enemy to appear.
Briefing: Officers loyal to the Council have been taken captive on Ch'ok! Rescuing them has become a top priority, as well as teaching the ice planet a lesson in respect.
Secrets
North of first objective; wall, nearby plants
Southeast of third objective; area northeast of third objective
Briefing: Officers loyal to the Council have been taken captive on Ch'ok! Rescuing them has become a top priority, as well as teaching the ice planet a lesson in respect.
Secrets
North of first objective; wall, nearby plants
Southeast of third objective; area northeast of third objective
Briefing: Intelligence reports forces on Jarventia are massing for an attack: target unknown. Head in and force them to scramble early. Eliminate their ability to launch a successful operation.
Secrets
Southwest of second sector; cones in north of second sector
Farcaster southwest of third sector; none
Goodies
Domes southwest of third sector; small cannon, small swarmers
Domes west of fourth sector; medium cannon, small plasma
Briefing: The Council sees dissidents of Ch'ok blocking the path to peace. Lead the final assault: collect multiple components of an explosive device and use it to destroy head military outposts.
Secrets
Northwest of first installation; hostage in first installation
East of third installation; wall
South of first installation; mission complete
Goodies
East of start; medium vulcan, medium swarmers, small missiles
Second installation; small rotating, medium vulcan, small swarmers
Briefing: The Council's main satellite uplink on Jarventia has been commandeered. Rescue friendly personnel to activate the satellite antennas. Eliminate the enemy stronghold.
Secrets
West of fifth objective; none
South of farcaster; mission complete, cones by first objective
Briefing: The Darians have built a new weapons factory. Nuclear fusion containers are hidden beneath the river bed. Destroy water pumps to lower water level, and retrieve the containers.
Secrets
Northwest of final pumps; first two large ships
Farcaster east of second container set; all pumps
Southeast of first pumps; first two large ships, ONLY two pumps (CHAOS WORKS)
Goodies
Western box north of start; small swarmers
Turbine east of start; small cannon
Tank north of first objective; small vulcan
Tank northwest of L-shaped wall; medium missiles
First tank north of L-shaped wall; medium health
Tanks south of mines; medium health, small swarmers
Boxes southwest of mines; 2 medium swarmers, small missiles
Briefing: Jarventia is now unsafe for friends of the Phantom Council. Rescue our officers who fled into the jungle, then take out the remaining resistance once and for all.
Secrets
Northwest of fourth captive; four captives collected
Farcaster east of first landing pad; captives collected
Southwest of final objective; none
Goodies
Fifth captive; small health, small swarmers, small plasma
Cones east of first landing pad; enemies
Buildings north of reactor cores; medium health
Cones in east of mid-farcaster area; small vulcan, small swarmers
Cone in west of mid-farcaster area; small missiles
Cone in south of mid-farcaster area; small health
Final building; medium health, medium vulcan, small swarmers
Briefing: En route to Darius, Commander Riley noticed a disturbing number of forces gathering at the outer edge of Nihil. Sweep the area and eliminate potentially hostile craft.
Briefing: An emergency signal has been received from Commander Riley's envoy on Darius. The barge in use has been ambushed and badly damaged. Escort the barge and lead it to safety.
Briefing: A trip to Argus-High has left you seemingly lost within its massive cityscape. Cut off from communication, you must navigate the maze and make your way back.
Secrets
East of first area; all of second switch area
West of third switch; wall
Northeast of large ship; wall
Note: To get 100% kills, you have to use an EM-shock to destroy a Cuttle Shark near your starting position.
Briefing: The Phantom Council has grown tired of Darian turmoil. Lead the final assault on Darius by cutting off their fuel supply. Destroy gas tankers and all hostile forces along your path.
Secrets
South of start; first objective
Southeast of fourth objective set; fourth objective
Goodies
Second objective set; (west to east) mine, rammer
Boxes by second objective set; small plasma, medium missiles
Third objective set; (west to east) medium vulcan, mine, medium plasma
Eastern box east of fourth objective set; medium health
Although the missions are great fun, the really good part of Fire Fight is the
multiplayer. Up to four can play over TCP, IPX or a modem, on six maps:
War: Argus-High map with many medium/large ammo packs.
Shotgun: Big Argus-High map with open spaces and goodies along the walls.
D.M.Z.: Long, narrow Darius map with lines of small ammo packs.
Amazon: Jarventia map with cloaking and EM-Shock along the southern wall.
Strike: Argus-High map with goodies hidden or behind mines.
Buh!: Big Argus-High map with many scattered small ammo packs.
There are two multiplayer modes: Fire Fight (deathmatch) and Base Building, where the objective is to gather small multicolored "base parts" and return to your base. As you get shot, the base parts you've collected fly out from your ship. However, as you get more base parts, your base gets "built" by adding towers (a fully equipped base has 2 ion towers and a missile tower). When you die, you leave a special "weapon recycler" powerup that gives the next guy to pick it up all the ammo you'd collected (your powerups disappear). Although some maps (like D.M.Z.) can work well with deathmatch mode, in my experience Base Building is more fun and offers an additional incentive to gang up on powerful players besides the recycler. Unfortunately, since the first kill makes the player almost invulnerable compared to the guy who got shot (who respawns with 60 vulcan), 2-player games are over very quickly, but a free-for-all is much cooler than the missions (since your opponents will strafe, cloak, lay mines, etc.)
Intro: Sometime in the future, the galaxy is at peace. More or less. The Dominion of Man is ruled by the Phantom Council, transmitting its decrees from a hidden base in complete secrecy. The word of the Council is law. As the crack pilot Jaxon, you command the latest and greatest technology in law enforcement: the '99 Jagger. Armed to the teeth with everything from machine guns to plasma cannons to cloaking devices, you are on a mission: protect the galaxy and put
down rebellion in the name of justice. Fight around eerie ice walls, devastate the landscape, fly through jungles and wastelands, and rescue hostages. The council has ruled and the verdict is guilty. Eliminate all resistance. Good luck.
Ending: The final assaults on Darius, Jarventia and Ch'ok proved effective in halting aggressive uprisings. Negotiations are under way for re-establishing Council laws and enforcements. Argus-High has already transmitted their allegiance to the Phantom Council. The death and destruction that led to the events will weigh heavy on us all, but hopefully it will be eased by what lies ahead: An era of true peace... Game Over
Jarventia Plants: Groundcover may catch fire (1 armor)
Buildings: Uncommon (low armor)
Missions: Static, New Order, Jump the Gun, AKA Future Strike, Meltdown
Multiplayer Maps: Amazon
Description: This jungle world may look serene, but it is the harbinger of war. If Jarventia rebels against the Council, its influence as a manufacturing and communications center will lead other colonies to rebel with it.
Darius Plants: None
Buildings: Common (medium armor)
Missions: Hot Cargo, Thin Air, Mudskipper, Runaway, Tool of War
Multiplayer Maps: D.M.Z.
Description: This is a dark and dreary planet; a heavy atmosphere makes this a land of continual rain. Darius has always been a quiet, unassuming planet; sources loyal to the Council can only conclude that Darius is getting supplies from secret shipyards somewhere in the copious mountain ranges.
Ch'ok Plants: Large spiky things (1 armor)
Buildings: Rare (heavy armor)
Missions: Frost Bite, Fire and Ice, Cool Surface
Multiplayer Maps: None
Description: This is a cold and icy world, only recently colonized and far from the major trade routes. Ch'ok has been known to harbor thoughts of rebellion against the Council. They believe that they are too far away to be concerned with and can thus build up illegal military forces without retribution. They are about to get a lesson in obedience.
Argus-High Plants: None
Buildings: Everywhere (low armor)
Missions: Insurance, No Escape, Mission X, Watchdog, One Way Out
Multiplayer Maps: War, Shotgun, Strike, Buh!
Description: Argus-High is one of the closest colonies to Earth itself, and thus is a major manufacturing center. All the habitable land on the planet is taken up in gigantic cities and hydroponic farms. Argus High's government is arrogant; they believe that their firepower makes them invincible. If they decide to revolt, it will be a serious threat to the stability of the Dominion of Man.
In a mission, hold C, W, and the + on the numpad to toggle cheat mode. Once you've activated it, at any time you can press F12 and give yourself full shields, full weapons/powerups, or total invulnerability. Beware: although your weapons carry through to the next mission, your invulnerability does not!