Caravan is the twentieth chapter in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.
Defeating ten enemies using hand-to-hand combat on the back of the convoy trucks in Drake's Deception will unlock the bronze trophy Truck Brawler, and completing the chapter in less than 15 minutes in Drake's Deception Remastered will unlock the bronze trophy My Horse is Faster.
Plot[]
The chapter opens with Nate and Salim riding through the canyons of the Rub' al Khali on horseback in order to catch up with the convoy that is holding Sully hostage. They fight their way past the agents once close enough, jumping aboard some trucks and destroying others, as well as the motorcycles. As they ride through a pass, Nate is tackled off his horse by an agent, who inadvertently gets run over by one of the other trucks before he can shoot Nate.
Salim comes back to pick Nate up, and as they exit the pass, the other Bedouins can be seen joining the chase. As they reach the front of the convoy, an agent appears from one of the cars and is about to shoot Nate when Sully finally appears, punching him and then shoving him out of the car. He jumps to a nearby crane trailer but is suddenly grabbed by a Brute, forcing Nate to jump aboard to rescue him and fight the Brute. Eventually, Nate drops back onto his horse just before the crane crashes into a rock surface, which sends the truck sliding off a cliff.
With the convoy dealt with, Nate and Sully take a moment to properly reunite and catch their breath. Salim arrives and introduces himself to Sully, adding that they must hurry before Marlowe reaches Ubar. Nate is hesitant at first, but Sully agrees with Salim, stating that whatever Marlowe is after, it is not treasure and they need to be stopped. With this, Nate, Sully, and the Bedouin tribe continue riding through the desert, but soon come face-to-face with a massive sandstorm. Salim insists that it is where they need to go, but as soon as they enter, he and his tribe are separated from Nate and Sully. The horses become too agitated to continue on, forcing the two to proceed on foot.
Nate and Sully encounter a battalion of agents patrolling the area and a massive firefight soon erupts, made more difficult by the sandstorm obscuring their vision. They are also attacked by a couple of trucks with mounted turrets, which Nate must take out by using RPGs. Once the area is cleared out, the two enter a large room that serves as the entrance to the lost city. After solving a quick puzzle, two massive doors are opened, revealing none other than the Atlantis of the Sands.
Walkthrough[]
I. Once Nate and Salim catch up with the convoy, you must neutralize opponents on each truck before advancing to the next vehicles in line. This gameplay sequence requires purposeful action rather than careful strategy, though the below-mentioned tips will help you to triumph:
- Neutralizing opponents riding motorcycles whenever they appear is an absolute priority. Avoid being too profligate with your ammunition while shooting them: a shortage of bullets can be dangerous in this set-piece battle.
- Unless absolutely necessary, try not to waste ammunition on opponents firing from the trucks. Instead, ride behind or alongside them, then press X and the appropriate direction on the left analog stick to leap from the horse onto the nearby vehicle. Pull-down kills from a hanging position can be very effective here. Be sure to collect ammunition when you find it.
- Most vehicles in the convoy drive in groups of 2. Should the intervening gap be small enough, Nate can traverse from truck to truck.
- Once all hostiles have been eliminated, including any pursuing motorcycles, search for Nate's horse and leap back into the saddle. You can then push the left analog stick forward to reach the next vehicles.
- While riding, try to use trucks as cover should Nate encounter heavy fire.
- You can unlock the Truck Brawler Trophy by defeating ten opponents with melee attacks before the conclusion of this chapter.
II. Further along the convoy, you will encounter a truck with a soldier brandishing an RPG-7 stationed at the back. Neutralize him immediately, then jump on board. Use the rockets here to destroy the vehicles with mounted turrets on the road ahead. That done, retrieve your M9 and leap back to your horse. You must then destroy three motorcycles, so be prepared to fire on them when you return to the saddle. When Nate is separated from his horse, wait until his rescuer draws alongside his mount at a later point, then press X when the indicator appears to jump over to it.
III. Once you reach the lead vehicles, wait until Sully jumps to the crane trailer, then leap on board to rescue him. You must then confront the Brute. When the fistfight ends, press O to drop from the crane onto Nate's awaiting horse when the prompt appears, then quickly steer away from the rock wall.
Major Battle: Desert Ruins[]
IV:
- This is once of the most demanding confrontations in Drake's Deception. You need to approach the challenges lying ahead in a measured, thorough fashion. The low visibility makes it almost impossible to see distant foes, even with scopes. When attacked from afar, you must study the trajectory of each salvo of bullets, then estimate your opponent's position to return fire.
- Walk through the gloom until you spy two Desert Agents strolling along the sand. Creep over to the truck on the right, then carefully take the lone opponent down with a stealth kill. This will give you a T-Bolt Sniper, and a head-start in the frantic opening to this battle. Take up position at the rear of the truck, then look for a shotgunner standing behind a metal crate off to the left. Dispatch him with a single headshot to begin the battle.
- Your main target here is a PAK-80 brandishing juggernaut, so watch carefully for his arrival. Aim to drop him with the sniper rifle as he approaches your position, then turn your attention to a hostile in body armour armed with a rifle. That done, pick up the light machine gun dropped by the Brute.
V:
- Push forward to the vehicles, close to the stone arches, then grab the Tau Sniper from the truck on the right and a G-MAL. Use this to carefully pick off any visible opponents just beyond the arches, then switch back to the PAK-80. Move to the far right of the arches, then pass through and climb the ruined building directly ahead. Kill the enemy who climbs up here, then drop back down and, as before, retrieve the light machine gun.
- Your immediate priority is to quickly kill a sniper and a grenadier to the left of the building. After this, watch and wait for 2 shotgunners (one armored) who will sprint to Nate's position. Upon dropping them, you can work on dispatching the remaining opposition who can easily be hit from your current position, particularly on the right-hand side of the ruin.
- When prepared, clamber back onto the ruin and take cover. Grab the RPG-7, then shoot one of the 2 vehicles with mounted turrets. Get Tau Sniper ammo and, disregarding the snipers for now (they're too distant to shoot with ease), drop back down to acquire the PAK-80.
VI:
- You now need to carefully get to another building on the left-hand side of the area to find a second RPG-7, using cover positions to avoid incoming fire. When you reach it, clamber up, grab the launcher, and blast the second turret vehicle. In the event that you should miss, you can return to the opposite RPG location to collect another. Alternatively, destroy the last vehicle with 2 M32-Hammer blasts or 3 grenades.
- The remaining part of this battle is, if you are cautious and methodical, a simple mopping-up exercise as you clear the surviving enemy personnel.
VII. With all the enemies down, attempt to collect the M-32 Hammer dropped by an earlier opponent (or, failing that, the T-Bolt Sniper on the truck between the 2 positions where you used the RPG-7's) and a Tau Sniper before continuing. Squeeze through the gap in the imposing doors, then pick up Treasure #91. Run up the steps and approach the ladder to your right; after grabbing Treasure #92 via a detour, climb to the top. Collect Treasure #93, then return and hold triangle to move the lever. After Nate establishes that the door is stuck, Sully will step in to operate the device. Jump onto the moving buckets and, after rising to a sufficient elevation, jump over to the platform to the right.
III. Jump to the next platform down, then use the protruding bricks on the wall to the left to reach the beam. Walk to the end of it, then leap over to the chandelier; from here, use the next chandelier to reach another mechanism. Operate this with triangle to open the giant doors. The drop to ground level is far too great for Nate to survive, so jump back over to the closest chandelier to reach the other just beyond it. Move close to the open door, then spring backwards to reach the "ladder"; you can now safely descend and enter the miraculous City of Brass.