1) You know that starting animation you have to sit through each time you enter a new Vital Suit? Learn to love it. It turns out that while that startup phase is unfolding, you and the VS are invulnerable. This works particularly well in single-player boss fi ghts, when the titanic bugs never seem to let up on their attacks.

2) The regular hand grenades don’t deliver a huge bang by themselves, but pop a round or two into them with your gun and they explode with twice the intensity. Try tossing one into a nest of bugs (or online foes) and shoot it for instant carnage.

3) Going head-to-head against an enemy VS is a real pain, but they’re not as unstoppable as you might think. Armed with nothing but a standard machine gun, you can down any VS stomping your way. Just aim for the legs and feet — you’ll know you’re kicking ass when sparks and smoke start fl ying everywhere. Pinpoint blasts with heavy weapons can take out some VSs in one shot.