Endgame

Endgame is a mission in Medal of Honor: Vanguard. This is the first mission of Operation Varsity. This mission is a massive difficulty spike when compared with earlier levels, especially on Elite, as this level is far longer than previous levels, as well as there being far greater quantities of enemies and very long intervals between checkpoints.

Character[]

Overview[]

Endgame starts with a parachute drop past the Rhine into Germany, there are two designated areas in the drop, one is on the beach where there is an M1D Garand conversion kit, the other (far more difficult) option being a tower. Try to aim your jump at the tower,because you can kill the two German machine gunners,and yet use the MG-42 against the germans,giving to you more american soldiers alive to help you.

The first objective is the eliminate the MG42 in the tower, if you landed on the beach use the M1D Garand to snipe the machinegunners, if you landed in the tower, then this objective is trivial, simply shoot them from the roof, where they can't see you, when you have taken the tower pick up an MP40 as your secondary weapon.

Your next objective is to clear the beach of hostiles, if you landed in the tower, then go to the beach first and get the M1D scope before doing this objective, the beach contains a very large number of German infantry, far larger than the amount found in previous levels as well as having a minefield surround the designated path, the player must be careful to avoid stepping on a mine as they fight their way through the beach. First kill the machinegunners in the distance overlooking the beach after they are killed stay behind cover and use the Garand to pick enemies off from a distance as they focus on your squadmates, on Elite, be especially careful around enemies with Karabiner 98s as they can kill the player in two shots. While fighting across the beach the squadmates will inform the player of their objective, which is to destroy Flak 88s so the Army can deploy into Germany. When Keegan reaches the end of the beach a large number of German soldiers will advance on the player's position, when this happens run behind cover and pick them off, then quickly advance, if the player does not advance these enemies will respawn indefinitely.

After reaching the hill (and checkpoint) Keegan will immediately be greeted with a machinegun nest, use the M1D to deal with it from behind cover, after advancing a second MG42 will block the players path, deal with it the same was as the previous one. At the end of the hill, turn right, then kill the two German soldiers guarding the first Flak 88 before destroying it with a charge.

After the Flak 88 is destroyed move upwards and kill the two Nazis guarding the farmhouse ruins, once they are dead a lengthy cutscene will play, in which, a halftrack starts firing on Keegan's sqaud's position, suppressing them, while an allied plane is shot down by another Flak 88 and German infantry prepare to assault your position, beginning the hardest part of the mission. This section is another 'hold the line' segment, however unlike previous ones you are pinned down by two bunkers with 4 MG42 each and two halftracks, attempting to leave the farmhouse ruins will result in Keegan getting mowed down in a hail of 7.92mm bullets, the only option is to defend the ruins from three waves of massive quantities of infantry, to make this section even harder, if you die here you will be sent back to the bottom of the hill, which could be up to 5 minutes earlier in the mission.

For the first wave, the Germans will attack from the left side of the farmhouse, move over there and crouch behind a wall (be careful not to be within the line of sight of either the machinegun nests or halftracks) and pick off the enemy infantry with the M1D. When you hear the enemy say 'Fight! Press the fight!' the second wave will attack, this time from the front, your squad will retreat behind the ruins, and they will suggest you do too, however, it is easier to kill the German soldiers from inside the middle of the ruins, as they are less likely to shoot the player there, although if you decide to do this be extremely careful not to expose yourself to either the halftracks or MG42s, a safer version of this tactic is to stay behind cover and kill these enemies with grenades. When the Germans say 'Storm the building!!' the third wave will assault the farmhouse directly, when you hear this immediately run into the dugout in the farm house and stay behind cover with the MP40, this way they are unlikely to target you and will instead try to kill your allies, simply shoot the enemy infantry with the MP40 as they run past. Once the final enemy assault has been stopped, wait for your allies to run behind a pickup-truck as cover and quickly do the same, be extremely careful when doing this as the MG42s and Halftracks are still a threat and if you are killed here you will go back to the bottom of the hill, as there is still no checkpoint. Then carefully and quickly move into the trench, when you reach the trench you will have finally reached the second checkpoint as well as the rest of the mission being considerably easier.

The first section of the trench contains three soldiers armed with MP40s then an MG42 nest supported by another three soldiers with MP40s and a marksman, after clearing them out turn right and you will find the second Flak 88, which is being guarded by three more MP40 wielding soldiers, kill them then destroy the Flak 88. Advance to the bunker, kill the soldier who tries to shoot you through the firing port and then breach the door, clear the out the bunker, this part is quite easier compared with the earlier parts of the mission.

Once the bunker has been cleared, place a charge on the exit and leave the bunker, outside there is an AA gun guarded by regular German infantry in the trench, as well as Waffen SS armed with Sturmgewehr 44s who fire upon you from outside the trench. Afterwards a Tiger 1 will try to drive across the trenches, but will get stuck, however the turret will still fire at you. There are no Bazookas in this mission, so you have to walk up to it and destroy it with a charge, when walking up to it, there is a dugout containing German infantry, clear them out first before dealing with the tank. After destroying the tank, there will be several Germans firing at Keegan from outside the trench as well as some in the trench others in a dugout and a second bunker with an MG42, use the Garand to snipe all of these threats before advancing. After all immediate threats are eliminated, advance with the MP40 and breach the bunker door, clearing the second bunker is pretty much the same as the first one.

After clearing it there will be a short cutscene, then your objective will update to 'clear third section of the trench' and the bunker door will open, directly outside are a fireteam of 4 riflemen, on Elite they could kill you immediately if you are not careful. After killing them move forward then right and you will find the third Flak 88, guarded by a few soldiers with MP40s, kill them and destroy the Flak 88. Continue to move through the trench, along the way some Fallschirmjägers will try to stop you. After killing them, kill the mortar teams. Finally place a charge on some boxes blocking Keegan's squads path and then a cutscene will play, during the cutscene a Tiger will drive over the trench (this time it wont get stuck), heading for a nearby factory, an allied bazooka team will attempt to destroy it, but only manage to immobilise it, before being killed by the Tiger's 88mm cannon, the bridge will collapse from the blast, separating Keegan from his squad, then the mission ends as Keegan and the three soldiers who were not trapped on the other side move into the factory.

Upgraded Weapon Location[]

The M1D conversion kit is found by the green flare on the beach, right at the start of the mission, it can be obtained even if the player did not land in that spot, as it is possible to simply walk over there after landing.

Weapons[]

M1 Garand (starting weapon, can be converted to an M1D)
Mark II fragmentation grenade
MP40
MG42 (emplacement)

Background Music[]

"Approaching the Tarmac" (MoH: Frontline Soundtrack) (Played during Keegan's monologue)
"Panzer Blockade" (MoH: Underground Soundtrack)
"Defusing the Charges" (MoH: Airborne Soundtrack)
"Shipyards of Lorient" (MoH: Frontline Soundtrack)
"Thüringer Wald Express" (MoH: Frontline Soundtrack)

Trivia[]

This mission features the hardest landing spot in the game, although landing in it is worth it as it allows the player to circumvent the first objective entirely.
This level is considered one of the most difficult in the game, due to the number of enemies and the fact that the control points are reduced. This level is much more difficult on the "Elite" difficulty, due to the fact that the Germans will be much more agile, will throw grenades and unload all their ammunition on the player.
The loading screen of the level is contradictory to what takes place in the level. To begin with, there is no bridge as seen in the image, second, the bunkers are inside the trenches, not like the one that appears on the loading screen which is outside, and third, the area is not the same as the mission.
Regarding the above, this image can be found in the mission A Shallow Grave, it is in one of the photographs that are in the document room on the farm.
Allied soldiers, including Garrett and Slauson, will have a single character model, in this case Strickland's.
All allied soldiers in this tier are equipped with M1 Garand's rifles, except Garrett and Slauson, who are equipped with M1 Thompsons and B.A.R.
The German soldiers will have only one character model, that is, the Heer Infantry will have one model and the German Paratroopers another model.
If we keep one or two allied soldiers alive during the German counterattack, they will return to the ruins and stay in a safe place, they will not follow the player. There is also the slightest chance that they will thank you for saving them.
In this level, only five German paratroopers appear, in the next level, the enemies will be mostly members of the Fallschirmjäger.
When we jump out of the plane, if we look around the area while parachuting, we can see the next level factory.
This will be the last level where the player will be able to use an MP40.
In this level you can find two telescopic sights for the M1 Garand, if we choose one and then we go to look for the other, a message will appear that you already have this improvement.
Almost all German soldiers at this level are equipped with MP40 machine guns, while the Fallschirmjäger is equipped with STG 44 submachine guns.
When we face the Tiger tank that gets stuck in the trenches, if we go to one of the rooms, we can find three German soldiers talking, they will not detect the player, unless he approaches them, by doing so, they will grab their guns and start shooting.
It is very strange that the German soldiers who were in the trench room did not realize that the Tiger fell there and got stuck.