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This is one of the first really memorable stages in Prodeus. The center of this large level is a tower held by several snipers with Arc Rails, at least 2 of whom can draw a bead on you at any given time. You’ll need to be fast, tactical, and situationally aware to avoid getting lit up like Times Square.
Here’s how to find all the secrets and loot in Marksman.
Prodeus Secrets & Ore Guides:
Sacrum | Research | Fuel | Wretch | Genesis, Part 1 | Genesis, Part 2 | Excavation | Chaos Generator | Memoriam | Marksman
How to Find All the Secrets & Ore on Marksman
Many of the hidden drops in Marksman are effectively “hidden” behind the imminent threat from the snipers in the central building. It’s not that many of these secrets are difficult to spot, find, or reach; it’s that doing so will require you to leave cover for long enough to get Arc Rail’d through the face. As I learned in college, this is only fun once.
The snipers aren’t that hard to dodge or outwit; all enemies with ranged attacks in Prodeus are coded to automatically fire at you after their wind-up animation, so you can easily bait out an attack and move afterward. The snipers’ Arc Rails are hitscan weapons, however, so you can’t simply dash past them and hope they miss.
As such, the safe way to gather many of these secrets is to wait until the end of the level, after you’ve dealt with the snipers and claimed the Rune. There are no points of no return on Marksman, so you can simply kill everything, then go back through and pick up anything you’ve missed.
Secrets: 5
During Prodeus‘s time in Early Access, there was a trick to unlocking the Bandolier upgrade that involved finding three different levels’ secret exits, one of which was on Marksman.
This is no longer the case in the release version of the game. Now Meltdown is the only stage with a secret exit. Don’t bother messing around on the edges of cliffs in Marksman.
#1: Near the start of the level, you’ll find a big door with a green lock on it with a big staircase nearby. This, once you’ve got the green key, is your exit gate. Jump off the staircase to the nearby yellow crate (circled below), then onto the ledge above the door to the open vent (also circled).
From here, you can drop into a locked compartment with two large rocket packs.
#2: There isn’t a great way to describe this area in text. It’s the second big outdoor zone in the level, reached after a brief run indoors.
This whole area has a hidden tunnel running behind it, which is visible through a gap in the wall near the facility that contains this level’s Rune. You can access the tunnel in one of two ways: either jump onto the yellow crate by your entry point (circled below), then to the nearby ledge, or double-jump onto the entrance from the other side.
The former approach is a lot less dangerous, even if you take a Rail hit along the way. The latter route lands you in the middle of a big enemy crossfire with an explosive barrel right next to you, and even on low difficulties, the barrels hurt.
The tunnel contains a ton of zombies, a minigun, two large cases of bullet ammo, and an Ore Fragment.
#3: Just outside the entrance to the Military Train Depot, near the Nexus Point, you can spot a large health pack on the other side of a grate (circled below).
If you’re willing to risk the snipers to get there, you can circle around the nearby fence and use a ledge on the side of the cliff to reach the health pack. If you come back here after the snipers are dead, there’s nothing to it.
The primary element keeping this a secret seems to be that you only have to come through this part of the level if you don’t have the double jump. Otherwise, you’ll probably go straight onto the bridge and up into the Depot.
#4: When you drop into the drainage canal underneath the snipers’ building (below), turn right as you come out onto the cliff.
You’ll find a hidden stash of plasma ammo.
#5: In the snipers’ nest, there’s an easy-to-miss switch on the wall above them.
Shoot it to drop the force fields on a couple of alcoves one floor below them, which gives you access to two health flasks and an Ore Fragment.
Ore Fragments: 10
#1: After the big indoor zombie ambush, you can spot this Ore Fragment in an alcove near the elevator with some plasma ammo, but it’s locked behind a force field that you need the green key to disable. You have to remember to come back for it later. Fortunately, it’s not much of a detour.
#2: See Secret #2, above.
#3: This can be found in a concealed alcove near the tunnel mentioned in Secret #2, above, next to a Nexus Point. It’s easiest to spot if you’re coming back through the area at the end of the stage.
#4: As you progress into the trainyard, this can be found on a high ledge across from the parked train, next to the crate that contained a minigun zombie. It’s difficult to get to the Ore Fragment without injury as long as the snipers are alive.
#5: When you emerge from the drainage canal, turn left and go up the hill to find the snipers’ building’s side door.
Before you go in, however, double-jump up the nearby cliffs to find this Ore Fragment hidden behind the light post.
#6: See Secret #5, above.
#7: After you’ve dealt with the snipers, you’ll find this Ore Fragment out in the open in one of the cars of the parked train. You actually can’t miss it; there isn’t enough clearance on either side of the Fragment to scoot by without picking it up.
#8: This is technically available at any time, but as with a few other Ore Fragments, it’s difficult to get while the snipers are still up. It’s easy to spot if you get to a high vantage point, such as the top of the parked train, and look around.
This Fragment is on top of a mesa near the green-locked door that leads into the chamber where you find the Rune, roughly above the back tunnel mentioned in Secret #2. To reach it, double-jump onto one of the yellow ammo crates (circled below), then from one stone column to the next until you’ve got enough height to reach the Ore Fragment.
#9: Check the roof of the facility that contains this level’s Rune. If you look up from the inside, you should spot an armored vest through the windows in the roof, but the Ore Fragment’s a little too far back to see.
Once you’ve got the green key, use it to leave the building. Clear out the area, then use the nearby stone columns to get some height and double-jump to the small ledge above the building’s door (circled above). From there, another double-jump can carry you to the roof.
#10: Check atop the exit door. An Arc Rail sniper spawns up here when you return with the green key.
The double-jump and air dash are both required to make it up there, and even then, the only way to reach it seems to be to use the green lampposts on top of the stairs to reach the top of the nearby mesa (circled below). Otherwise, you won’t have the height to make the jump.
Victory on Marksman unlocks a second Shop location, which is identical to the first (i.e. you don’t get another free Ore Fragment), and the next stage, Descent.
