Tips for Destroying Hives in Prototype

In Prototype, I love destroying Hives and Military Bases. It feels good to throw off the equilibrium between the military and the infected.

Of course, sometimes this is the objective of your mission. Destroying a hive will usually be a requirement of an Infected Consume Event.

So how do you do it? Here are a few tips.

Forget Devastator Attacks

Either in one of the tips of one of the help screens, the game suggested that you use Devastator attacks against bases and hives. While they do damage (and more damage than your regular attacks), it's not enough.

Even with your abilities maxed out, the handful of Devastator attacks you unleash won't be enough to destroy a hive. That'll leave you standing around staring at a bunch of hunters, wondering what to do next.

Use Tanks

Early in the game, you learn how to hijack tanks. At this point, this will be the easiest way to destroy a hive.

Once you get in the tank, unleash all of your weapons. I usually hold down the machine gun button and tap the artillery button. There's enough ammo in the average tank to take down a hive.

As long as you keep moving, you shouldn't have to worry about taking damage. Hunters will slice open your tin can if you sit still, but they rarely do significant damage to rolling tanks. You should avoid pissing off the military, though, because rocket launchers (or enemy tanks) can really ruin your day.

On that note, it helps to pick up a tank before you get to the hive. There is usually a tank or APC in the area. If you're disguised as military personnel, you can simply enter the tank without hijacking it. You don't raise an alarm. You can then roll into the hive, unleash on it, and roll out without pissing off the military.

Use Helicopters

Once I learned how to hijack helicopters, I couldn't get enough of them. At first, I was really bad at using them to attack other moving targets (like helicopters), but even the worst pilot can use a helicopter to bring down a hive.

Hijack a helicopter (or pick one up off a rooftop near one of the events) and hover above the surrounding buildings. Target the hive. Unleash your medium-sized round (the explosive artillery round, not the seeker missiles).

The average helicopter comes with enough ammo to take out three or four hives. It'll take a few seconds to bring the hive down, but you face virtually no threats. The infected have no flying units, so nothing is going to attack you if you stay up in the sky. It almost feels like cheating.

What If I Can't Hijack Stuff?

Well, maybe you shouldn't be destroying hives. In fact, I'm not sure if you can destroy a hive before you learn how to hijack armor.

If you want to try, though, you're last option is to try missile launchers. One launcher (with 4 to 5 missiles) will not be enough to bring a hive down. This means you'll have to grab a couple of extra rocket launchers off dead marines and hope you have enough ammo.

You'll be much better off hijacking some armor and using the big guns. With a tank or a helicopter, destroying a hive is a piece of cake.