GCW Speedrun Guide
Some initial notes: Not gonna lie, this category sucks. It is two missions longer than the CW Any% run, and also is much, much more random. Be prepared to reset a lot after you get the basics of this strategy guide down and start grinding for some good times. As always, strategies are subjective with this game and can and should be improved for faster/more consistent times. These are just the ones I believe are currently optimal for the category. If you haven’t read the other guide, I give the same disclaimer of assuming you know maps, classes, and game mechanics for the run.
Same blurb as before about 1.0/1.2: XBox and PS2 run the same stats as PC version 1.0 with the exception of slightly longer PC/PS2 load times (than the XBone version anyway) and no auto aim. However, version 1.0 only came on the three disc set. Best of PC, Fan Favorites, and the Steam version all come with version 1.2, which has some differences from 1.0.
BOTH Vehicle hitpoints lowered
CW 1.2 EMP Launcher reload time increased, longer jet recharge time for REP Jet Trooper, more health for Droideka Shield
GCW 1.2 Shotgun spread lowered for IMP Dark Trooper, Shorter jet recharge for IMP Dark Trooper
Also, I’m going to be up front with this: Pilot is probably the best class for PC for this run, but on PS2/Xbox, Auto Aim does level the playing field a lot for rifle/pistol accuracy, and many runners are successful with it. This run is not as linear and there are many times where you just take your best class and run with it, and you may have to switch classes depending on the situation.
Tatooine: Dune Sea Spawn (best class) at the Sand Crawler and pick up a speeder bike and drive it to the far Rebel CP (the Bluff). Hide behind a rock or the CP and pick off enemies if they fire at you or seem to be lingering. This is a large CP that takes twice as long to capture as a normal CP.
Once you take it, jump back on your speeder and go to the Homestead and run in, forgetting the fact that enemies are firing at you from all sides. Camp near the ammo/health droid and pray that no one throws a grenade in while picking off enemies that try to stop your capture. The key to this map is that it does not matter whether you or the Tuskens own the CPs, as long as there are none neutral and none owned by Rebels – it’s preferable that the Tuskens don’t lose their CPs to the Rebels or your Empire. If all went well, this map is over. Yes, that’s literally it.
Situational Strat: There are times when you start fighting with the Tuskens to take the bluff. If this is the case, and there are no Rebels in the vicinity, just take a bike to the homestead and let them finish the job.
Safe Strat: If you are having trouble with taking the Bluff, you can take a TIE instead and land above the bluff. If you go prone on the ledge, you can take the CP and avoid fire. This is slightly slower but definitely safer in the long run. Then you need to perfect the art of abandoning ship to land right into the Homestead.
Keep in mind: If you can get someone to help you take the CPs, try to protect them.
This map has about 47 different ways it could end, and you might as well reset if you are looking for top times because it is the first map. The top example is the Tuskens losing the Cisterns to either team or just fighting for it endlessly. Sometimes the Rebels grab the Sand Crawler. I had one grab the Dune Sea once. Anything can happen in this game.
Tatooine: Mos Eisley Spawn (Dark Trooper) at the Market (top CP) and make your way down the straight stretch at the top of the map to the top Rebel CP (Shops). Go through the buildings behind the CP so that a bunch of Rebels leave and you don’t get mauled by 10 Rebels that were just going to go about their business. There’s normally 3ish left, so take them out and grab the CP. If you’re looking for a nice spot to sit, the ammo droid is still in the capture radius but is relatively safe compared to the rest of the CP.
After it is taken, bypass the Hangar and go to the bottom Rebel CP (Cantina). The reasoning is that the Hangar is much, much easier to capture as the last CP than the Cantina because of the AI spawns. Most of the time, Vader is also helping to kill off the Rebels in the Cantina, so it’s generally not too hard to take as the second CP.
After capturing, jet jump to the top of the wall and make your way to the Hangar CP on the barge. You should probably crouch and roll like mad and chuck grenades at the other side of the barge, because it can get a little hectic up here, but definitely survivable. If you didn’t lose a CP, you’re good. Don’t reset right away if you lose a CP, though, because the map is small enough that you can get to them quickly.
Alternate Route: You can take the Cantina first very quickly, but I’ve found that it is harder to take the Shops, so you want to hit it right as the AI leave but before they all start respawning.
Risky Strat, Big Reward: This is more RNG based than anything, but you could try going after the Hangar instead of the Cantina. Sometimes the AI is able to push and take the Cantina, saving a ton of time. However, be prepared to fight through a madhouse if you try to take the Cantina as the last CP.
Fun Strat: This is the only time I’ve found a use for a “jet-nade” in this campaign. It can save you a few seconds to get to the Shops but is pretty much a frame perfect trick. You have to be just in front of the grenade and it has to go off at the same time you jet jump. If you hit it at the wrong angle you will hit the ceiling of the level. Save yourself some extra grief and just jet jump twice.
Keep in mind: This is the first map we use the Dark Trooper. The DT is a tough unit to use initially, but is incredibly worthwhile. Its jet jump is much more focused and allows for some long stretches to be cleared quickly, while its shotgun is one of the most powerful weapons you use. If you practice one unit in this run, this is probably it. You can save a lot of time on maps 2-4 by using it effectively.
Rhen Var: Citadel Spawn (Dark Trooper) and fly up to the Ruins with your first jet jump, then towards the Rebel Courtyard with your second jump. You should be at the steps down into the courtyard. Chuck two grenades at the very bottom of the steps and then fly over to the other set of steps the Rebels can climb up. Throw your other two grenades at the bottom and then jet up to the Terrace CP (top right) and capture it. It’s good to stand near the ammo droid and throw grenades to the relative area of the Rebels.
When it is captured, kill the closest Rebel(s) to you that tried to make it up the steps and then jet down to the Courtyard CP. Preferably, you want to fly into the 2nd level (the one just above ground level) and go down and sit just behind the wall to the CP where you can still capture it. Kill any rebels that see you and when you take the CP, and assess the situation.
In a perfect world, you are done with the level. However, the chances of this happening aren’t too good so you’ll want to kill the closest Rebels and work your way to either the white CPs (generally the Watch) or the now Rebel-controlled Terrace.
Keep in mind: This map is pretty straightforward, but it really depends on how dumb your AI are feeling that day and how annoying the Rebel AI decides to be.
Yavin IV: Arena Spawn (Dark Trooper) and jump into the Arena ASAP and grab the CP. You should throw a few grenades into the Rebel Box CP, but this does take a little bit of practice to hit correctly. After capturing, pull out all the stops and jump right into the box CP. With any luck, your grenades have thinned out the AI and you can camp out near the ammo and health droids, either throwing grenades at the entryways or just picking off stragglers.
After you take the Box, check and make sure there aren’t any AI who could cause issues, then fly towards the last Rebel CP. I like to go off to the far right of the CP and then work my way back in to get it to avoid the occasional sniper and turret, but you could sometimes feasibly YOLO down the middle if traffic doesn’t look too heavy. Sitting along the outside pillars of the CP is the easiest way to take it without attracting attention, and as long as you don’t shoot or the AI gets distracted, it should be an easy (if lengthy) capture. Hold it for 20 seconds or pick up whatever CP was lost.
Keep in mind: This is the second truly straightforward map in a row – there’s no risky strats that I’m aware of and you’re just dealing with RNG. The Rebels don’t normally recover if you cover your bases and make sure no one is left to quickly take the Arena or the Box back before you go take the Gate CP.
Notes thus far: If you’ve made it this far, and you’re like “Boy this is easy!” well, as they say, this is where the fun begins. You are now the Rebel Alliance with no Dark Trooper. Temple is the only one with an even playing field of 200-200, the rest are 250-200 in favor of the Empire. This adds on even more pressure to take all the CPs, not because you will lose in easy, but because there are 50 extra units to cope with if you don’t get all the CPs. On top of this, all these maps are pretty heavy RNG based, and you could easily go all 5 without winning one by captures.
There is potential for HUGE time save on these maps as opposed to the first part of the run. For example, you could feasibly as a seasoned runner run a sub 16 on the first four maps (under 4 minutes a map) even with some unlucky RNG. If you would have the same luck on the next 5 maps, you are talking about anywhere from 5-15 minutes (I hate Hoth) per map. However, you could also run a 2 minute Hoth or Platforms, a 3 minute CC, or a 4 minute Temple and Endor. This is where the potential to “break the category” lies.
Yavin IV: Temple Spawn (best unit, otherwise Pilot) at the temple and grab a speeder bike. WAIT UNTIL THE AI START SPAWNING! I don’t normally capitalize stuff, but this is important: WAIT! If you do not, then the next strat is harder. Go down to the Viaduct (left side) and sit behind the CP, taking out whoever is in the turret or the AI stragglers. If you do not wait, they will all spawn and then swarm you, making this capture a lot harder.
Hopefully you still have your bike and can take it around the back way to the Overlook. You can walk if there is no bike left, but it’s kinda slow. This CP takes forever to capture and AI will spawn there, as it is usually one of the last 2 Empire CPs remaining. Kill everyone that spawns and take it over.
If you are a pilot, respawn as trooper, rocket, or sniper (your best unit). You need grenades (grenade launcher generally isn’t strong enough) to execute the next strat. Slide down the hill to the fountain. I generally take rocket to destroy the turrets and while I’m still in the water, execute a nade jump to the top of the nearest of the Stonehenge looking pillars. While in the water, the nade detonates faster and requires a little bit less timing. If you destroyed the turrets or at least got rid of the gunners, you should still be alive and can go prone to avoid all fire. When it’s neutral, you can take out all the enemies around and win the round.
Keep in mind: The Overlook has this fun thing where one or both AT-STs can get stuck. It really, really sucks, because as soon as that CP goes neutral, the AT-STs will reroute and come back. The only way to avoid them is to crouch behind the CP and hope that it doesn’t get close enough to see you. Also, you can lose the Viaduct or Temple or Dry Pool or the Altar… dumb RNG.
Hoth: Echo Base This is the level that proves your mettle. Sub 2 minutes or 12 minutes? You decide! (Actually RNG pretty much decides if you have good execution).
Spawn (any) and take a snowspeeder and fly to the Forward Camp CP (set up your tow cable to one side). It doesn’t hurt to wait a second or two to let the Imps walk away. Once you get the CP, fly your snowspeeder at an AT-ATs legs, quick swap and fire at an AT-ATs legs and swap back, circling the AT-AT. Please practice this a lot because it’s more consistent than waiting for the AI. After you destroy the first AT-AT, if there are a couple Imps at the Forward Camp, you can shoot them down to hold the CP. Once you destroy the 2nd AT-AT, and hold all other CPs for 20 seconds, the battle is over.
Safe Strat, Minor Reward: I normally would recommend a safe strat but not this time. You can wait for an AI to spawn and get in your snowspeeder. They make it faster to take the CP, but don’t save any time on the AT-AT and can really get on your nerves if they keep missing (they are usually fine though). I recommend learning the solo snowspeeder strat and sticking to it.
Keep in Mind: The AT-ATs are on a respawn timer – something like 2 or 3 minutes, I don’t remember for sure. If you’re going to destroy them, please take them on while they are both alive instead of individually because you can’t win if one of them respawns, even if you have all the other CPs.
This map can get out of hand pretty quickly because of the size of the map as well and waiting for a snowspeeder can be time consuming. No death runs here can be sub 2-minute with AI help and bad runs can sit at 15 minutes.
Bespin: Cloud City I’m still kind of rerouting this one, especially after I broke this map’s back by running a 3:15 on it. Currently it sits at: Spawn (Pilot) and jump to courtyard. Heal and take the CP.
Go towards the nearest Imperial stairwell and Rambo your way up it and make a beeline for the back CP. It really depends on RNG and spawns whether or not you get destroyed here, but if you don’t, then take the Forward Flank CP. If you die, I would just go down the hallway, but it is also feasible to just try to take the FF again. If you take the forward flank, work your way to the ring platform and go the back way and just YOLO the CP. Try to keep out of range of the troopers on the ring platform. If you get the CP, the map should be over, or the Empire will have grabbed the Courtyard. If they do, just spawn and jump down and try to take it back as fast as possible.
Keep in mind: I didn’t even think a time like this was possible, but because of how the AI pathing is, it can be replicated and the time dropped more. I actually started my 3:15 running down the hallway, which is also a viable strat, but the problem is that the FF is notoriously hard to capture at the end and at some point you do have to get the Courtyard. Possible strat is to nade a friendly down there, which would be amazing if you could get it right.
Bespin: Platforms Spawn (best unit) and get an X-Wing and go as fast as you can to one of the back Imp CPs, gunning down the AA turrets on your way. Grab the CP, jump back in, (die, spawn again,) grab the other back CP, then drive your plane straight into the area where you should have blown up the third AA turret. There are spots at the top of the stairwell where you can take the CP with no risk to life or limb.
Keep in mind: Obviously, if you’ve seen anything this run, this is NOT this easy. You’re probably going to get mauled by an AA turret, have 3 guys spawn while you take a CP, then lose the back CPs, then somehow lose the extractor, and it can turn into a real mess, real quick.
Endor: Bunker Spawn (Wookiee) at either of the back two CPs (sometimes it’s just easier to use the Rebel Outpost at the very back) and grab a speeder bike. You’re going to want to go to the Shield Generator, but you are not going to want to go down the main path. Right when you go by the Camp, following the AT-ST path (you’ll know it by the logs), go straight instead of veering towards the Barracks with those pesky AT-STs. You’re going to have to find a path, and the AI do take that way so you can use that as a reference. Once you get there, jump off, ignore enemies and go into the generator room. Toss down all three time bombs on the CP and the panel in front of it. It takes four well-placed bombs, which means you are one short. This is the tricky part. You either have to make it to the ammo droid or get an ammo drop. You will probably need to use the grenade launcher or bowcaster to kill AI in the turrets, and you need to be quick about getting your ammo to get back inside and destroy the generator. If you die, chances are a pilot will fix it by the time you get back.
Go outside and take your bike to the Barracks CP, and YOLO it. If you get an AT-ST, you better grab it and destroy everything. However, you probably won’t and the turret will drop you and you will be forced to try to grab the Camp, which is the worst CP in this entire map, and there is no cover from enemies that shoot from all sides and above you. Even if you do grab the Barracks, it’s the same story. You have to try to grab the Camp, which is a suicide mission. If you grab it or you kill the rest of the Empire, you win!
Keep in mind: Just take your best unit after you destroy the Bunker. It’s nice to have a missile launcher for some stuff (random mines, 16 missiles, etc) but if you are just trying to kill AT-STs you are wasting your time. I prefer a pilot’s healing for the grind for the Camp CP, but bullets are coming so fast that it usually doesn’t matter.
Congratulations! I would love to see some other people try to run this category because as I was in the middle of writing this guide I ran two straight sub-40 times using mostly these strats. I want to see someone break this category now. 34:06 is not the lowest this category is going.
