by: Tony "RadarX" Jones

The Pravus Research area is a secret Bane facility nestled in the Concordia mountains north of Ranja Gorge. This heavily fortified area is prepared to defend against any attack by AFS forces. The type of research currently in progress is unknown, but is believed to be linked to Machina which plague the Wilderness area. Your mission is link up with Lt. Perkins and assist in any way possible with an assault on the facility and stop the Bane at all costs. The codename for this operation is Grim Reaper.

This instance is designed for squads of players level 10 but can be soloed usually by level 13 or 14. There is a full Medic available to repair your armor and sell you supplies and ammo so bring your credits. Make sure you grab The Escapist from Lt. Commander Parsons just outside the facility which requires the completion of Machinations (see our Wilderness LZ/Memory Tree guide). You'll zone in to a very peaceful looking Forean village. Don't let it fool you, it's going to get worse

First, locate Ranger Nylla in the first hut around -181.2, -124.1 to completed The Escapist , and pick up the Means of Production. Apparently Nylla wants to you stop whatever is creating the Machina inside the facility so get cracking! Before you leave however head past that hut to -181.4, -93.2 and pick up the Communications Logos.

As you leave the village you'll notice Sgt Price (-267.7, -129.0) with a walkie talkie over his head, reminding you to rendezvous with Lt. Perkins up the hill. Accept his unsubtly named mission called Assemble with Lieutenant Perkins which requires you to defeat Machina at the Frontline's Entrance. Heading up the mountain will cause a few troops with Price charge up with you. Having them send backup is never a good sign.

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Pravus Research Map

At the top of the mountain you'll find the luxorious Frontline's Entrance (around -125.6, 13.9) which consists of nothing more than sandbags and bunch of trigger happy soldiers. You'll be there mere moments before Bane ships will zoom in and start dropping down troops. Take cover behind the sandbags to fight or be a hero and rush out into the fray, but after killing 15 Machina the objective will update.

Head to the southwest and find Specialist Johnson (Thanks Tannian). He'll also give you a new mission called Pirate Radio(note: Recent changes may have been made to require you finishing the interior before getting this mission). Apparently there is some goop on the radio communication towers and you need to blast it off. You can find the towers at -53.0, 166.7 near Perkins, -43.6, -223.1 to the northeast, and -64.5, 177.2 at another bunker to the south of the Frontline's Entrance. You'll need to report to Perkins now to the northeast. Follow the northern trail from the Frontline's Entrances until you see a path go into the mountain around -112.1, 117.9. Up this path at -183.4, 130.8 is the Control Logos.

Head back out and turn left heading north along the trail until you find a bunker and Field Lt. Perkins who will complete Assemble with Lieutenant Perkins giving a choice of an Eclipse Leechgun, Photonic Shotgun, or Pulse Chaingun.

While you are near the south bunker, why not stop by -55.6, -316.4 and pick up the Machine Logos? Once you have cleared the last bit of goo, head to Information Specialist Johnson at -83.2, -120.4 to complete Pirate Radio and collect your reward of either a Pulse Chaingun or Dynamo Leechgun. This is the last mission you can complete on the exterior, it's time to move in to main building which is more fun and adventure.

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Victory is Mine!

There are a number of approaches you can take to getting up to the entrance. You can walk through the wastelands on the north and south side but this will require running through a fairly hectic battlefield. Some may call it challenging, others may call it fun. The bridge to the entrance is around 76.9, -8.4. You may notice two security cameras hovering around; take these out unless you are keen on fighting a Juggernaut to get inside. At the end of the bridge is a small group of Thrax soldiers who have the key to get inside.

Once you are inside, head downstairs and make a left at the bottom. You'll see a room with basically three ways to go, your choice will be straight ahead. Head up the ramp and down the left passage at 215.2, 89.3. The passage splits left which will take you to some Linkers, the right to the Machina production machine. I've been unable to verify if the deaths of the Linkers are necessary to complete the zone so we'll cover it just in case.

There are three Linkers down this passage (139.7, 98.4), and if you are unfamiliar with Linkers they are known for reflecting damage back at you. You'll see them hit you with a bolt of lightning and right afterwards is when you strike. Using sonic or an EMP, you should be able to cut them down almost immediately.

All that remains is the final room. It's important to take this room slowly and ignore that trigger happy Rambo in the forefront of your mind. There is a large machine in the middle of the room that will keep spawning Machina until its destroyed. Throw a dozen Thrax soldiers in the mix and you got yourself a party. The machine has to go, but how? Looking up towards the vertical center you'll see a large green glowing target which is hard to miss once you know what to look for. If you can't see it right away trying clearing a set of Machina and circling around it (sometimes there is some machinery that obscures your view). When it appears, shoot it immediately and you'll just need to clear the room.

After you have destroyed the machine Ranger Nylla shows up just in time not to help at all. Complete the Means of Production mission and receive your reward of 1050 credits and a nice EMP pistol as a souvenir. Congratulations, you are done! We hope this guide has been helpful to completing the Pravus Research facility. If you see anything we missed or that needs adding, please email me and you'll get full credit.

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