Nouredine Abboud
Hi Everyone!
Ghost Recon has always been about putting you in the boots of elite soldiers deep behind enemy lines. After working for years on that franchise, when we started Ghost Recon® Wildlands in the summer of 2012, the question we asked ourselves was: what next?
With the new consoles and PCs, how can we deliver the Ghost Recon promise like never before?
This is how the very first military shooter, set in a massive open-world, that you can play from beginning to end in 4 player co-op or solo, was born.
“This game gives you freedom of choice like never before.”
This game gives you freedom of choice like never before. Choose your weapons, your vehicles, your location, the time of the day, and the friends you play with. Play, have fun…and choose again. This freedom of choice is incredible, and, having played our own game for nearly five years, we are still surprised by some scenes we have never played before.
That’s why this Prima Guide is important. As players, you will have an incredible insight into how deep this game is. Play the game, read the guide, play the game again…there are so many possible game situations that we believe you could spend many hours playing the game and enjoying the world it depicts again and again.
And after years of hard work, of key moments like the first time we’ve shown the game to the players at E3 2015, for the many game developers in Ubisoft studios worldwide, flipping the pages of this book is like time travel; it’s a testimony to our work, so we hope you enjoy it.
“That’s why this Prima Guide is important. As players, you will have an incredible insight into how deep this game is.”
However, we’ve also decided to go the extra-mile. Because we are so passionate about Ghost Recon, you will find in this Prima guide some extra content to enjoy in addition to our game world.
We’ve included a tabletop role-playing game that gives you the possibility to live the life of a Ghost with your friends when you’re not playing the video game. The fictional Bolivia we’ve created for the game is a fantastic game setting, and we hope you’ll enjoy playing in it even after you have finished playing the video game.
We hope you’ll have a great time. We are happy and honored to have created Ghost Recon® Wildlands for you!
Nouredine Abboud - SENIOR PRODUCER
Eric Couzian
When we started this project we wanted to offer a unique experience while remaining faithful to the spirit of Ghost Recon. We have been in love with Ghost Recon for years and we wanted to deliver to the fans the ultimate experience everyone can expect and dream of when talking about Ghost Recon: play as a team of spec ops with total freedom of action in a huge open world with the emotional thrill of being on your own behind enemy lines.
The open world of Ghost Recon® Wildlands offers a total freedom of approach of the missions available in the game. You can do the missions in any order, and each mission can be done in a completely different way. Each player will thus have his own way of completing a mission, as the game is entirely non-scripted.
We made the deliberate choice to not force a gameplay situation which means that the game will not force you to play a certain way to accomplish your mission, and that you won’t be penalized depending on the way you’re playing. This game is built to allow you to adapt your playstyle to the situation. You can start a mission playing stealth, develop a whole strategy based on drone recon and try to be as invisible as possible, and then decide to finish the mission all guns out.
“This game is built to allow you to adapt your playstyle to the situation.”
Assault-type players will tend to use short or middle range weapons, or even snipers. These players will favor a direct attack to quickly take down the threat. On the contrary, Stealth-type players try not to get spotted by the enemy. Some of them kill the enemies stealthily by equipping their weapon with a suppressor, while others are true ghosts and try to avoid being detected at all while not killing anyone.
The game’s AI is programmed to react differently according to the playstyle the player is using. If the player is going all guns blazing into a camp, then the Santa Blanca will call motorized reinforcements to try to defeat the Ghosts. If, on the contrary, the player tries to be as stealthy as possible, then the AI will try to detect him. The AI can also send patrols to look for the player it has detected if he is attacking from a distance. Nothing is scripted. There are also the snipers, those who like to kill enemies from a distance and have fun with the game’s realistic bullet drop system. These examples are only a few situations you’ll be facing in Ghost Recon® Wildlands, as each enemy reacts differently based on his own agenda and behavior, as well as the action of each player.
In the end, whether you like to play it commando or like a real ghost, Ghost Recon® Wildlands allows you to play as you are and as you like. The game, as open as its world, will let you share intense stories with your friends. Now it’s time to meet and kick some ass in the online world of wildlands. Have fun.
Peace & Love.
Eric Couzian - CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Jean-Marc Geffroy
Hi Ghosts,
From the very beginning of this project, our goal was to put freedom at the heart of the design. It is a huge ambition which was built around strong choices: freedom of movement, action, and pace. The choice of a massive open world without any movement restrictions from the very first minute of the game, the choice of a non-linear narrative progression, of a large customization of both your character and his weapons, of providing lots of aerial, naval, and land vehicles at any moment—all without shackles. Basically, everything to allow you to express yourself and play Ghost Recon® Wildlands the way you want.
Nothing will ever be imposed on you in Ghost Recon® Wildlands. Each game situation was designed without knowing how the player would approach and react to it. Are you going to attack this camp at night or during the day? Are you going to choose a frontal assault or a stealthy approach? Short range or long range? Do you play solo with your AI teammates or do you coordinate with your friends to come up with creative and unique strategies? Which kind of weapon and items have you chosen? Will you try an approach with a parachute or with a land vehicle? You have so many possibilities that each situation will be unique and different for every player.
“In a word, the main focus of the game is based on your creativity.”
In addition to the gameplay, building the world in all its diversity was particularly important to us. Bolivia was an incredible source of inspiration. It is a beautiful country where you can find many different ecosystems (the salt lake, the Amazonian jungle, dry canyons, and many others), with a deep culture that nourished our thoughts. We went there with other members of the production team to capture the essence of this wonderful country, and came back with tons of pictures, videos, sounds, and of course lots of memories and inspiration to create the amazing world of Ghost Recon® Wildlands.
In a word, the main focus of the game is based on your creativity. And this is the purpose of Ghost Recon® Wildlands design, to allow each player to play his own game style whenever he wants, alone or with friends.
And I hope you’ll enjoy this freedom as much as I do every time I lead my Ghost squad in the Wildlands!
Jean-Marc Geffroy - SENIOR CREATIVE MANAGER
Freedom of Choice
For several millennia, cocaleros have played a big role in Bolivian culture. The coca leaves, whether chewed or made into a tea, offer numerous medicinal benefits, as well as used in religious ceremonies. Attempts, largely funded by the United States, to eradicate the crop were only partially successful as the farmers banded together to fight the government. Bolivia is the lone country in world where coca farming is legal.
As the leader of a successful drug cartel in Mexico, El Sueño realized a great opportunity to expand into Bolivia. Santa Blanca made their presence known right away with brutal acts of defiance against current drug traffickers, cocaleros, and the police. Violence escalated between the cartels and law enforcement. In response, the new president created a special operations division, La Unidad, to combat the ongoing drug epidemic.
The leader of La Unidad, General Baro, made a last ditch effort for peace, reaching an agreement with the cartel: if the fighting comes to a stop, they can continue drug trafficking unimpeded. Unidad assists Santa Blanca by restricting who enters the region, but if the cartel does break the agreement, action will be taken. This allows the cartel to strengthen their operations in Bolivia, taking over villages and building bases in 21 provinces.
Santa Blanca has a very straightforward hierarchy. Each province is ruled by a buchon representing one of the cartel’s four areas of operation—Production, Security, Influence, and Smuggling—with an Underboss and Head of Operations leading each operation. At the top, El Sueño rules over them all with a brutal, but shrewd, iron fist. Demanding loyalty from his followers, he delivers swift punishment to those who oppose him.
After a deeply undercover DEA agent is killed in an embassy bombing, the United States sent in a Special Missions Unit, referred to as Ghosts, with the lofty goal of dismantling the cartel. The Ghosts are a team of four special operatives, but they are not alone in their fight. CIA Case Officer Karen Bowman leads Operation Kingslayer, while a passionate group of Rebels, called The Katari 26, provides support. These rebels want to send the Santa Blanca back to Mexico. As long as aid is sent their way, they assist in any way they can.
In Ghost Recon®Wildlands, play as Nomad, captain of the Ghosts, or join others online as one of the three remaining teammates—Holt, Weaver, or Midas. As the specially trained quartet, explore the vast array of biomes that make up Bolivia, recon enemy encampments, and infiltrate the strongholds—taking down the cartel by any means necessary.
There is an unprecedented freedom of choice when approaching a Santa Blanca camp or Unidad base. A diverse selection of weapons, tools, and vehicles allows you to attack in a number of ways. Whether assaulting the enemy with guns blazing or strategically sneaking in and out with a well laid out plan, the result is all that really matters. This variety of gameplay and vast game world may seem daunting at first, but that is where we come in—providing the player with everything necessary to find the cartel bosses and dismantle the Santa Blanca Drug Cartel.