Processing plants are large structures found in some sectors on the island of Metavira. Jack Richards will often remind you that you cannot harvest any more Fallow Trees unless you expand capacity, ie, obtain more Processing Plants.
These facilities are instrumental to the game as they both provide a means for the valuable Fallow Sap being processed from the Fallow Trees growing on the island into precious lifesaving medication, and are also the player's primary source of income.
Locations[]
There are a total of four Processing Plants on the island that were built when Jack Richards and Lucas Santino were still working together, and each has a different processing capacity:
Sector 60: 20 Trees
Sector 54: 25 Trees
Sector 27: 35 Trees
Sector 31: 30 Trees
The player starts with exactly one plant, the one located in Sector 60, at the beginning of the game, with the rest of the plants in enemy hands.
Capturing the Second to Fourth Plants[]
There are several ways to go about capturing the plants without setting off the C-4 explosives, and all of them require extensive care and time. If you want the plant to go into operation right away, be prepared to spend most of an in-game day taking the sector.
The Scout[]
The first obstacle to overcome is the radio-equipped soldier(s) outside. To keep him from tipping anyone off, a quick and quiet kill is imperative. Silencers and pistols (preferably modified .357 Magnums) are a must, as gunfire reports will be heard by the other soldiers inside the plant. Keep your mercs together - the soldier is best killed the moment he is spotted, to minimize the chance of him seeing you and notifying the others before you are able to kill him.
- Protect the trigger point - alternatively, each rigged plant map has a "trigger point" that enemy soldiers rush to after spotting the player's mercs in order to detonate the C-4 explosives. If you take control of the point before getting detected and kill the enemies running to it, they will be unable to do so. There are however no indicators where that point is so this is only possible with prior knowledge.
- Sector 27 plant's trigger point is on the north-east island, in the first room of small building on the left or west side.
- Sector 31 plant's trigger point is inside the processing plant, north of the two smaller rooms inside.
- Sector 54 plant's trigger point is on the north-eastern trees which are like a peninsula.
Infiltration[]
Once you enter the plant itself, there are several ways to approach the problem of the men and C-4 explosives inside:
- Eliminate All red-shirts - quickly and efficiently killing all the red-shirts in the sector without giving any of them a chance to flee or set off the detonator. one of them inside may have a remote control device to set off the C-4. Kill all swiftly.
- Defuse the Detonator - if one or two soldiers are eluding confrontation or you are low on ammo, a quick and thorough search of the premises will reveal the detonator, which is usually mounted in an object on a wall. Naturally, make sure someone well-versed in explosives tackles this, lest you end up doing the enemy's work for them.
- Defuse the C-4 Explosives - the C-4 explosives themselves are planted amidst the processing equipment in the main rooms of the plant. Searching amidst the pipes and machines with someone with explosives skill will generally reveal the C-4 explosives, which can then be defused. There are numerous C-4 explosives however, and the search-and-defuse process risky and time consuming - this method is recommended only as a last resort. It is better to try this once all enemies all be eliminated.
Securing the Premises[]
Be sure to position a full of compliment of guards in the sector once it is taken - the enemy considers sectors with plants in them tactically important, and will focus their attentions on re-taking them if they are able. They are not shy about crossing the water to do so, either.
Also if you manage to traverse to a neighboring sector after alerting the enemies, doesn't matter if it is because you get spotted or you fire unsuppressed weapons, the enemies' alertness will be reset if you return. This can be taken advantage of if your mercs are still happen to be next to a border.
Sabotage![]
"The processing plant we managed to capture today has been sabotaged. It could take my men a couple of days to get it up and running!" - Jack Richards
Capturing the plants, unfortunately, is never a straightforward process.
Each of the plants are heavily guarded by the enemy, both inside the plants and outside. In addition, the processing equipment in each of the labs are rigged with explosives, which the enemy has orders to detonate should they realize you are making an attempt to capture it. If an enemy inside the plant detects you, one predetermined guard will run to set off a pre-planted detonator mounted on a wall or on a tree. Additionally, there is always at least one guard patrolling the grounds outside each of the plants equipped with a radio, who will notify the man tasked with setting the C-4 explosives off once he sees you, which can result in the plant being detonated before you can even make an attempt at infiltration. Once alerted, the C-4 explosives operator will make a suicide dash to the detonator, ignoring anything in the way. Should the original demolition operator is killed, another enemy will be immediately assigned to take his place. This can make things easier if you know where exactly the detonators are as they will rush toward the detonator with no regard to their safety. Beware however, if the path to the detonator is blocked by your mercs, the enemy may cheat and will seemingly use a remote control.
If the explosives are successfully set off, the plant will need to be repaired and refurbished before it can go back into operation, a process which takes 2 days.