How Not to Play Far Cry 5

Far Cry 5 isn't a new game. In fact, Far Cry 6 should be out soon. Far Cry 5 has been out almost three years, so you've likely played it already. You may be on NG+ two or three.

But not me.

I've played many of the series, starting with Far Cry 2. I probably spent the most time on Primal as it was so different, but it helped me learn more about the games' crafting aspect.

I came late to FC5 as I do with most games because I always either play them once they are heavily discounted or come to PSNow or Plus.

I'm cheap that way.

So, where did I go wrong?

The game starts the same for all of us. I'll try not to put out too many spoilers, but that shouldn't be much of an issue for a three-year-old game. Once I got to where I could roam freely, I was on my way to something on the map when I came across that intersection with the gas station. You know the one.

I had a pistol with about three bullets in it and got killed repeatedly trying to farm the area, upgrade my weapon, or just survive. Spoiler alert: I never saw the machine gun emplacement across the street. Until later.

Finally, I resorted to the same tactic I've employed in many games over the years.

I ran like hell.

I ran until I was lost in the woods somewhere, but at least I wasn't being shot at. I end up using this tactic instead of the one most of you use. Git Gud.

Anyway, I stumbled through the game, managing to survive until I liberated Fall's End. Then I did a couple of close-by missions and felt like I was finally getting the hang of the game.

Soon after that, I was on my way to somewhere when I got back to that intersection with the gas station. I didn't have good memories of it, so I carefully looked around to see what I missed the first time.

And to quote Jimmy Buffet in God's Own Drunk (Find it on YouTube if you've never heard it), that's when I saw the bear.

Literally.

I had somehow survived so far without encountering any wildlife. That's one of the things I hated about 3 and 4. You're walking along, minding your own business, and you get killed by a badger. A badger? You kidding me?

So, guess what I did. Employed my gaming skills to outmaneuver it and bash his head in with my trusty bolted pipe?

Nope. I ran. But it was okay because that's when I stumbled upon the machine gun. I quickly swiveled it around to shoot at the bear. I want to say I used my superior hand-eye coordination to fire a burst right between his eyes.

But that's not what happened. I strafed around in my typical spray and pray method, hitting and exploding the gas can that was right behind me.

Luckily, it blew up the bear and not me. Of course, then I proceeded to catch myself on fire. Never a good thing.

But once the fire went out, I got back on the machine gun.

And that's where the wheels came off.

I started shooting at everything that came by. First thing was a fuel truck. That was fun. Then one of those pickups with the machine gun mounted in the bed. I shot those guys and hijacked the truck. I parked it in the middle of the intersection and commenced to blow up everything that came down the road.

Innocent civilians? Who gives a crap?

And that's where I stayed. For weeks, every time I played Far Cry 5, the game loaded at that intersection with me holding my pistol. I grabbed the machine gun, shot and commandeered the first mobile gun, rinse and repeat. At some point, someone would blindside me with an RPG.

Or I'd shoot down a plane bearing down on my location. Hint: That rarely ends well.

I killed hundreds of the faithful, freed a crapload of hostages, and blew up dozens of fuel trucks. That was fun.

Finally, I decided enough was enough, and it's time to move on. But no more of this walking across the country on foot or grabbing some crappy Ford Fiesta. I had a truck with a machine gun. This should be easy.

It was at that point that I learned more about the game's leveling system: Resistance Points. As you probably know, the more resistance points you get, the more challenging the missions become. But if you've played the game correctly, you've gotten a lot of new and better equipment, and more importantly, recruited a lot of deadly companions.

I had a pistol and a dog.

But because I had been blowing up all those fuel trucks and freeing all those hostages, my RP was very high.

So, what's the first mission that gets thrown at me? Storm a compound, steal a plane, and go after old John Seed, Joseph's little brother. In a plane. With a pistol and a dog.

Don't do that.

So, I bailed on the plane. Literally. Then I went back to my trusty intersection and grabbed another truck-mounted machine gun. As you probably know, that was useless against John Seed and his airplane.

I wandered around a bit, trying to figure out how to fix the problem, but the missions I needed to recruit help either weren't available anymore, or I couldn't figure out how to get back to them.

So, yesterday, I found myself visiting Joseph Seed's compound with a couple of sheriffs trying to wrestle The Father into a helicopter while the faithful shot at us down.

I started over. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I've restarted many games over the years. It's a good way to use the knowledge you have gained to advance quickly, and hopefully, get beyond that boss fight that hung you up. The game will be different this time. I'll level like I'm supposed to. Hopefully, I'll end up OP instead of vastly under-powered.

And when I need it, I know where to find a machine gun.

I've been a gamer for over 50 years. You can read about that journey here. If you enjoyed this, please click the little heart. It's how I level up in this game. If you really liked it, consider dropping me a tip. I'm saving up for a PS5.