Firewall Zero Hour 101: Attacking and Defending

Hi all, I’m back again to share more with you as we ramp up to the release of Firewall Zero Hour! Firewall Zero Hour is the 4v4 team-based tactical shooter we developed exclusively for PlayStation VR.* And it comes out August 28!

Today, we unveil the second half of our Firewall Zero Hour 101 video series. Last week, we introduced the first two videos in the series: Game Overview and VR Immersion. Now, it’s time to delve into team strategy! In Firewall Zero Hour, you’ll play each match as either an Attacker, or a Defender. Within the next two videos of our series, Attacking and Defending, we go over several strategies you can use to lead your team to success.

Firewall Zero Hour 101: Attacking

Here we learn what you do as an Attacker: infiltrate a location, find the access point, and disrupt the firewall. Once the firewall has been disrupted, your task is to find and hack the laptop that the Defenders are trying to protect. Keep an ear out, because your contract handler will give you cues along the way. As an Attacker, you have an arsenal of equipment at your disposal, including assault rifles, SMGs, shotguns, pistols, frag grenades, flash grenades, and smoke grenades. With the PS VR headset, you can scan your environment carefully, turning your head in all directions.

Communication is a key element of team success, and you can easily stay connected to your teammates thanks to the PS VR headset’s directional audio with built-in mic. As an Attacker, you’ll want to organize a plan of attack with your teammates, call out enemy traps or locations when you spot them, and of course shout out when you’re down and need a teammate to revive you.

Explore using different Contractors with special abilities that can help when Attacking. Like Fang, who has the Lightspeed skill, which lets him reload magazines faster. Or Red, who has the BangBang skill, giving him a whole extra frag grenade. Or Nala (Contractor unlocked at level 20), her Ghost skill lets her walk past mines without setting them off– easily bypassing the ones placed by Defenders.

Firewall Zero Hour 101: Defending

Here we go over what it means to be a Defender. You’ve been hired to stop Attackers from getting to the laptop. You have a plethora of strategic items at your disposal, such as lethal traps you can set like a C4 Charge and Proximity Mines. You also have other items you can place that will impede Attackers from success. Like Door Blockers (unlocked at level 42), that you can place on doors which Attackers have to dismantle. Or Signal Modifiers (unlocked at level 21), that you can place near the Laptop which Attackers must dismantle before they can begin the download. Strategize with your teammates to set up traps, go on lookout, or camp near the laptop. Protect the laptop at all costs!

Try out different Contractors to see how their special skills can help when playing as a Defender. Like Okoro with his Heavy Duty skill, allowing him to take less explosive damage. Or Raha, her Scout skill heightens her ability to detect incoming enemies (visually via her wrist tablet mini-map, as well as audibly hearing their footsteps). Or Texas (Contractor unlocked at level 10), with her Bullet Sponge skill letting her take less bullet damage overall.

Firewall Zero Hour 101: Contractors

Each Contractor comes with an embedded Skill and a customizable Skill. Skills are abilities available for Players to apply to their Contractors to further customize their classes. For example, you can gear your Contractor to be more of a support role in your squad by using the Quick Fix Skill (unlocked at level 38) to revive your teammates faster. In Firewall Zero Hour, you can customize your Contractor to the way you want to play.

Unpredictable outcomes of 4v4 gameplay

Whether playing as an Attacker or Defender, experiencing map layouts in PS VR is a whole new level of immersion. Every match begins with a randomized spawn point for Attackers, and a randomized spawn point for Defenders (and their laptop). With nine different maps to choose from, you’ll have a ton of tactical hiding spots, choke points, staircases, doorways, trenches, and cover points to explore–all in PS VR. Round after round, experience the unpredictable outcomes of 4v4 gameplay based on the choices you make: the maps you play, the Contractors you choose, the loadouts you equip, and the teammates you work with. Progress by earning XP and Crypto after every match, and unlock new Weapons, Items, and Contractors.

Communication is key in Firewall Zero Hour and it starts even before you take on a Contract. You want to communicate with your squad in the lobby and strategize your plan. For example, as defenders, we had multiple Contractors equip the Signal Modifier. The plan was to plant two Signal Modifiers near the Laptop and defend the Jammers, not the Laptop.

We’re excited to see the growth of our community leading up to Firewall Zero Hour’s release date. There will be several Firewall Zero Hour content drops coming up over the next few weeks, so stay tuned for more!

*An internet connection is required for all game modes. An active PlayStation Plus membership is required for multiplayer.