Resident Evil 5: The Mercenaries - Ancient Ruins DUO strategy

This is a post for archive information for strategies of Ancient Ruins DUO in Resident Evil 5 - The Mercenaries.

Bottom Spawn strategy



Player: OkitaxRingo

This is the most popular strategy for the Bottom spawn on Ancient Ruins DUO. Even though it shows a Jill player, this is the Wesker strategy basically.

The player that starts at the bottom needs to run to the right at the beginning and pick up the first combo chest off to the left down the side path. Ignore the 30 second time bonus behind the wall structure - it will be hit toward the end. A shield Majini will hop off the top walkway at the end of the path, so prepare to melee kill it. The Jill player in the video hits the 30 SECOND TIME BONUS when passing by it, but I would recommend passing up the 30 second time bonus in the tunnel - the main focus at the beginning is on keeping the combo and hitting the time bonus would delay your character in doing so (it's all up to you and your partner though).

The first torch Majini in the stage camps in the tunnel. He is a scripted Cephalo. It takes too long to perform an instant kill melee to him with any non-Wesker, so shoot him in the head to expose the Cephalo then run right by him. Many players use the Cephalo in order to keep the combo once they reach the 90 seconds - aka. grab a flash grenade from near the 90 seconds then toss it at the Cephalo as the combo starts to fade. The Explosive Arrow Majini up the first set of stairs leading the 90 second time bonus is a scripted Duvalia. Try to perform an instant kill melee to him or try to knock him down then melee kill him with a ground melee - either method will cancel the Duvalia spawn.

NOTE: A Wesker player should kill the Torch Majini's Cephalo instantly, or melee kill it with STARS Wesker. It's best just to kill it as quick as you can. Wesker cannot cancel the Duvalia easily though (unless he shoots the tip of its arrow and makes it explode or gets luck with a critical headshot).

NOTE: Any other character besides BSAA Jill, should run up the stairs and collect the two flash grenades from behind the 90 second time bonus right when they reach the 90 second area. Pick up the combo bonus from the combo chest then toss one of the flash grenades to kill the Cephalo and/or the Duvalia that follows in order to keep the combo going - wait until the combo counter is blinking then toss the flash grenade.

If the Duvalia is not cancelled, throw a flash grenade at it. The player on bottom is the main combo keeper, so try to melee kill as much as possible, but bullet kill if the combo is ever at risk. The bottom player must fight in the 90 second area until a little bit after 40 combo. At 40 combo, the enemy spawn will begin dry up. If you haven't hit the 90 SECOND TIME BONUS by then, go ahead and do so and be sure to collect the flash grenades.

NOTE: The corridor above the stairs is a good fighting area for just about any character. Try to stay in that corridor, but move out to the walkway or below the stairs if needed.

1:39
The player activates one of the scripted Cephalo spear Wetland Majini with a Double Knee Drop. Instead of tossing a flash grenade instantly, he turns to the scripted Cephalo torch Majini, that he couldn't get a leg stun on earlier, and activates its Cephalo then tosses the flash grenade to get rid of them both.

3:19
The player equips Jill's flash grenades to make Jill turn quicker when running. When using type A or B controls, equipping a grenade or egg will cause your character to make an instant turn when turning the camera and aiming.

NOTE: While up on the top walkway, the player passes by a vase to the right that ALWAYS contains a green herb pickup when broken. Be sure to keep this in mind since the bottom player will have no healing up until then if no healing item starts in the character's inventory.

Move down the walkway and follow it to the north then run around the right corner of the wall structure at the end then hit the 60 SECOND TIME BONUS on wooden walkway around the right corner. Wetland Majini will begin to spawn while a player is in the north area so prepare to melee kill them along the way to hitting the 30 SECOND TIME BONUS below the bridge to the side.

4:51
The player makes the choice of whether to go and help his Wesker partner out or allow him to continue to fight by himself - after the player sees the Wesker player get lucky with a random flash grenade drop and toss it as a scripted Duvalia spawns, the Jill player decides to leave his Wesker partner alone.

NOTE: If Wetland Majini are not spawning that much and your partner needs help at around 60-80 combo, move down the stairs where he is fighting and help him fight off the enemies. This is usually when the bottom player gives the top player flash grenades. There are a few scripted Duvalias on the top player's side. There are also some scripted Duvalias that might come to the bottom player also however.

5:35
The player activates yet another scripted Duvalia. Since he is starting to run low on flash grenades, he allows the Duvalia to linger while he kills other Majini. If he activates another scripted plagas, he can kill them both with one flash grenade toss. In the video, only the Duvalia remains once the rest of the Majini in the area have been cleared out, so he tosses the flash grenade to kill it.

Once the Giant Majinis begins to spawn from the ledge spawn point down the walkway path to the south, that is your cue to move back down the path. There are usually two Giant Majini that spawn from the ledge spawn point. Their spawning times will vary each run based on how quickly each one is killed off. The player should leave the northeast area at 100-110 combo.

NOTE: If you passed up the 30 second time bonus in the tunnel below the walkway, fall from the ledge off to the right (near where the Giant Majini spawns) then break it.

On the way back to the south, the bottom player is going to face several Wetland Majini scripted Cephalos. They will carry spears and some of them will be weaponless. For a non-Wesker, it is best to instant kill melee just about every Majini on the way back. Only shield Majini and Explosive Arrow Majini do not run the risk of being a scripted Cephalo.

6:20
The BSAA Jill player starts to instant kill melee just about every weaponless and spear Wetland Majini at this point. They ALL have the potential to be scripted Cephalos. Even if you know what spawn point they come from, it doesn't help in picking them out at this point.

The player needs to drop from the walkway eventually and fight below. Hit the 30 SECOND TIME BONUS behind the wall structure in the south while fighting. The player needs to fight off the remaining Wetland Majini in the area. Run to the partner's side toward the end and help him out with the remaining Majini there. Keep in mind that any of the weaponless and spear Wetland Majini that your character runs into have the potential to be a scripted Cephalo!

NOTE: Sometimes, the top spawn player will not hit the 30 second time bonus in the alcove outside the bridge area, so be sure to check on it!


Top Spawn strategy



Player: Skylark/ZyZARD

This is the most popular strategy for the Top spawn on Ancient Ruins DUO.

In a duo game where one player plays Wesker and the other plays a non-Wesker, the top spawn player is often the Wesker player. As you can see, there is A LOT of running from area to area for the top spawn player at the beginning. The bottom spawn player basically keeps the full combo up until 40 combo for the most.

NOTE: Incendiary grenades can really help out a Wesker player for the top spawn side. He can toss one to burn a group of Wetland Majini then dash through them all and kill them with one or two hits.

Incendiary Grenade = 500 damage
Wesker's Dash = 200 damage
Wetland Majini health = 700 damage
Instant quadruple dash after a crowd burn = Priceless

Ignore the combo chest off to the left as you start then kill the Explosive Arrow Majini and the first few Majini near the time bonus down the stairs up ahead. Hit the 30 SECOND TIME BONUS on the middle of the stairs after or while fighting enemies. Move down the right set of stairs and run to the bridge area. The top player needs to kill all the camping enemies in the bridge area.

NOTE: The two hand grenades on the right side railing near the 30 seconds in the middle of the area can come in handy for Duvalias with non-Wesker characters.

Kill the CHICKEN on the bridge then melee kill the Explosive Arrow Majini and the Giant Majini. The FIRST GIANT MAJINI starts out in the bridge area and all the rest of them spawn. Move up toward the 90 SECOND TIME BONUS in the bridge area then hit it. A Wesker player should break the two vases near the time bonus and take the Green and Red Herb - the vases will always contain these items. Be sure to take the chicken egg also.

NOTE: Conserve the chicken egg as much as possible. Use other healing items before using the chicken egg since the chicken egg will not count against random green herb drops when a player is in orange health.

Kill any enemies that are in the area - the enemies are very random in how they will spawn in the bridge area for now. The player in the video takes the combo bonus from the combo chest in the bridge area. The combo bonus is really optional - it takes quite a while to get over to it with non-Weskers and combo bonuses after 20 combo (by the time you reach it) don't really give that much extra points to the overall score.

Some players choose to hit the 30 SECOND TIME BONUS in the alcove outside the bridge area after exiting the first time and some choose to save it until the end. Really, it is best to hit it after first exiting the bridge for the first time like in the video. Rush all the way back down the outside corridor. Ignore the 30 time bonus at the end of the corridor and move up the stairs. Move up to the top walkway that extends to the east and west then go left.

The SECOND GIANT MAJINI SPAWNS AT 10 COMBO from the spawn point above the northwest 90 seconds, so he will be on the walkway by the time your character gets there. Kill the Giant Majini and kill any other Majini along the way. Hop across the gap in the bridge on the west side then kill the Explosive Arrow Wetland Majini camper then move up the stairs to the right and break the 90 SECOND TIME BONUS at the top of the stairs. You should reach this area around 30-40 combo.

NOTE: The two hand grenades near the 90 second timer in the west can come in handy for Duvalias with non-Wesker characters.

Fall down from the right dropoff instead of going back down the stairs. The Majini that were following your character will likely be coming down the corridor to the right as your character falls. At this point, start melee killing the Wetland Majini around the area. Kill all Wetland Majini then work your way back to the stairs.

NOTE: Keep in mind that after 40 combo, the Wetland Majini on the bottom player's side will start to dry up. You will be the combo keeper for about 40-55 combo while the other player moves to the 60 second time bonus in the northeast.

4:10
The STARS Chris player gives the Wesker player his flash grenades in order to help the Wesker player deal with the Duvalias quicker on his side. The Chris player stays for a while and helps the Wesker player to fight off the Wetland Majini then leaves and goes back to his side. This is all sort of optional (giving flash grenades).

Move down the stairs and fight along the walkway near the wall at the bottom of the stairs. It's very important to stay in the area below the stairs until 80 combo to allow enemies to spawn in the northwest spawning region. A Giant Majini will appear eventually around 60 combo. After 80 combo, the player needs to move toward the area in front of the 30 seconds below the west walkway. When a player steps into the area near the 30 seconds, they are entering the middle spawning region, which will make enemies spawn.

Hit the 30 SECOND TIME BONUS at the end of the path when you have time - fight your way toward it. The player needs to run back toward the bridge area at 100 combo. When the player gets there, enemies should start to spawn from the bottom middle spawn region. Stand by the spawn points near the water and keep the combo with the magnum if needed.

NOTE: If enemies don't start to spawn once you reach the path outside the bridge area, quickly step into the bridge area to make enemies spawn then shoot one of them as they hop onto the bridge.

The top spawn player needs to run into the bridge area and make enemies spawn in that area. While in the bridge area, TONS of Wetland Majini will start to spawn. As you can see in the video, they can REALLY pile up greatly. The top spawn player is the main combo keeper from 100-150 combo for the rest of the Ancient Ruins run for the most part. Try to fight on the right side of the bridge since enemies do not spawn in the path that leads to the combo bonus chest on that side.

NOTE: It's very important that you practice on dealing with crowds of Wetland Majini for the bridge ending while playing as the top spawn player. The top spawn player is really under some major pressure while on the bridge toward the end of a duo run.

NOTE: The top spawn player might deal with several Duvalias on the way back to the bridge area. It will be random per run. Ancient Ruins has a total of about six Duvalias. most of them hop out of the water spawn points in the top middle area - one of them hops down from the ledge above the stairs that leads to the southwest 90 seconds. It's actually possible to plant a proximity bomb to kill the scripted Duvalia Majini in the southwest before leaving for the first time (plant it on the stairs) since he is the only Majini that spawns from that spawn point.