Vanquish Achievement Guide & Road Map

Vanquish
Vanquish Achievement Guide

Overview:
- Estimated achievement difficulty: 7/10
- Offline: 50 (1000 )
- Online: 0 (0 )
- Approximate amount of time to 1000 : 20+ hrs (depending on skill)
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1 (2 recommended) + tactical challenges
- Number of missable achievements: 7 (see introduction)
- Do cheat codes disable achievements: No cheats
- Does difficulty affect achievements: Yes
- Glitchy achievements: No
- Unobtainable achievements: No
- Extra equipment needed: No

Introduction:
This game has a total of 50 achievements and requires only one playthrough + some tactical challenges to get 1000, although 2 playthroughs are recommended. There are no achievements that require you to play online, all of them can be obtained offline. Of the achievements, 7 are unlocked simply by playing through the story and will net you 265 if you play on casual or normal difficulty, or 13 achievements netting you 440 if you play on hard difficulty. The campaign on hard difficulty will take roughly 10-15 hours depending on skill. On casual it would be 3-4 hours.

About the missable achievements, there is the Living Legend achievement which requires you to do a full playthrough without dying once! I decided to put the story related achievements as missable too, because if you choose to use "mission select" while still in your playthrough, you will not receive those achievements. See the warning below for more information.

The remaining achievements will require you to collect Pangloss status, perform certain acts on particular missions, kill "x" enemies in a specific way, upgrade weapons, complete a full campaign without dying, and lastly... complete all tactical challenges.

Based upon several reports, 49/50 achievements can be rated as medium difficulty. There is only one achievement related to the tactical challenges, that will make many of you break your controller, as it seems pretty hard and frustrating to get! Good luck!

Warning:

"Complete all Acts" (see Survivor) requires playing through all Acts consecutively. If you use mission select at any time in your playthrough, you will not get the achievement for completing the game even though you have literally completed all Acts and have the achievements for each Act! You won't unlock the "Living Legend" achievement either!
The same applies to "Complete Act #". If you use mission select before having finished an entire Act, you will not get the achievement related to completing that particular Act. (thanks vithzeral for pointing this out).
When you use mission select, even after having beaten the game, all your weapons will be set to standard settings without any upgrades!

Step 1: Beat the game on Hard difficulty
Yes, that's right! Start on hard difficulty. If you're playing the game for the story and not for the achievements, go to step 2! The campaign is not too hard, but can be challenging at times. As mentioned in the introduction, you can get all but one of the achievements on your first playthrough. The achievements you've missed on your playthrough can easily be reattempted by using the "mission select". This is best to do after beating the game.

There are several reasons why I'd suggest to do 2 playthroughs. First, it's a fast paced game, and you'll really want to keep the adrenaline flowing through your veins and enjoy the story, unlocking all the "Complete Act"-related achievements (including the tutorial). On hard difficulty, you might die a lot (I did)! Sometimes it gets easier to get through a particular boss battle because of reloading checkpoint in the mission failed menu, as you'll get to keep your weapon upgrades and ammo restock, but doing so will make you miss the living legend achievement.

Step 2: Second playthrough on Casual difficulty (optional) + Pangloss statues + stay alive
Start a new campaign on casual or casual auto. You will blast through the missions. You can take your time to get the remaining Pangloss statues, the ones you didn't find in the previous step. I did casual auto and clocked off at 3h30 playtime, and that is with looking for 70+ of these statues. It'll be easier to get the Act-related achievements, such as "Flyswatter" just to name one. On casual difficulty it'll take many many bullets before you go into critical damage, making it easier to get the "Living Legend" achievement. Keep in mind the "Living Legend" achievement's description, in case you still die on this playthrough.

Step 3: Mop up
Use this step to get all the achievements you didn't unlock in the previous steps, using the "mission select" feature. Refer to the achievement's description on how and where to unlock them. You should end this step having 49/50 of the achievements bringing your gamerscore to 950/1000. The last achievement brings you to step 4.

Step 4: Tactical Challenges
This step is... very challenging! To get this last achievement, you need to do all 5 waves on all 6 challenges. Many challenges will be quite frustrating, especially challenge 6. I hope you'll all succeed. Good luck!

Conclusion:
Overall, this game is a medium difficulty for 950 and I think many gamers will be satisfied with this gamerscore. For the lucky ones who got the 1000, well done!!! It will be another completed game to be very proud of! I hope the guide and road map have been useful. Thanks for using it.

x360a would like to thank Trikke for this Road Map.

One Day at DARPA

10
Complete all DARPA training exercises.
At the very beginning of the game, Elena will ask you to use your to check the camera controls and tell you to change them in the system settings if they seem inverted. After that, you'll come into a tutorial menu. Once you've gone through the full tutorial, the achievement will unlock. The tutorials to be done are:
- Camera Controls
- Basic Control
- Movement
- Weapons & Tactics
- Close Quarter
- AR Mode
Space Normandy

15
Complete Act 1.
(1)
Story related achievement BUT it can be missed!

See also "Operation Overlord II" and "Survivor".
Storming Grand Hill

15
Complete Act 2.
(2)
Story related achievement BUT it can be missed!

See also "Ain't Life Grand?" and "Survivor".
I Don't Speak Kreon!

15
Complete Act 3.

Story related achievement BUT it can be missed!

See also "Cry on, Kreon!" and "Survivor".
My Way

15
Complete Act 4.

Story related achievement BUT it can be missed!

See also "The High Way" and "Survivor".
End to Major Combat Operations

15
Complete Act 5.

Story related achievement BUT it can be missed!

See also "Mission Accomplished" and "Survivor".
Survivor

30
Complete all Acts.
(5)
Story related achievement BUT it can be missed!

Warning:
- "Complete all Acts" requires playing through all Acts consecutively. If you use mission select at any time in your playthrough, you will not get the achievement for completing the game even though you have literally completed all Acts and have the achievements for each Act! You won't unlock the Living Legend achievement either!
- The same applies to "Complete Act #". If you use mission select before having finished an entire Act, you will not get the achievement related to completing that particular Act. (Thanks to vithzeral for pointing this out).
- When you use mission select, even after you have beat the game, all your weapons will be set to standard settings without any upgrades!
Once you've completed all missions on all acts, you will get this achievement after the credits. The complete list is below.

Act 1:
Mission 1: Landing
Mission 2: Breach
Mission 3: Giant
Mission 4: Rescue
Mission 5: Trust
Mission 6: Darkness
Mission 7: Seismic
Mission 8: Hostile

Act 2:
Mission 1: River
Mission 2: Rapids
Mission 3: Nightmare
Mission 4: Struggle
Mission 5: Assault
Mission 6: Stronghold

Act 3:
Mission 1: Forward
Mission 2: Attack
Mission 3: Vertigo
Mission 4: Dragon
Mission 5: Despair
Mission 6: Infiltrate
Mission 7: Phantoms

Act 4:
Mission 1: Silence
Mission 2: Brink
Mission 3: Maneuver
Mission 4: Slave
Mission 5: Emancipation

Act 5:
Mission 1: Denoucement
Mission 2: Soldier
Mission 3: Deception

See also "ARS Operator".
Operation Overlord II

25
Complete Act 1 on Hard difficulty or above.

Same as with the "Space Normandy" achievement, except done on Hard or God Hard difficulty setting.

Starting your first playthrough on Hard will unlock both achievements at the end of Act 1.
Ain't Life Grand?

25
Complete Act 2 on Hard difficulty or above.

Same as with the "Storming Grand Hill" achievement, except done on Hard or God Hard difficulty setting.

Starting your first playthrough on Hard will unlock both achievements at the end of Act 2.
Cry on, Kreon!

25
Complete Act 3 on Hard difficulty or above.

Same as with the "I Don't Speak Kreon!" achievement, except done on Hard or God Hard difficulty setting.

Starting your first playthrough on Hard will unlock both achievements at the end of Act 3.
The High Way

25
Complete Act 4 on Hard difficulty or above.
(1)
Same as with the "My way" achievement, except done on Hard or God Hard difficulty setting.

Starting your first playthrough on Hard will unlock both achievements at the end of Act 4.
Mission Accomplished

25
Complete Act 5 on Hard difficulty or above.

Same as with the "End to Major Combat Operations" achievement, except done on Hard or God Hard difficulty setting.

Starting your first playthrough on Hard will unlock both achievements at the end of Act 5.
ARS Operator

50
Complete all Acts on Hard difficulty or above.
(21)
Same as with the "Survivor" achievement, except done on Hard or God Hard difficulty setting.

Starting your first playthrough on Hard will unlock both achievements at the end of the campaign.

See also "Survivor" for a mission breakdown and other useful information!
Gun Runner

10
Scan and acquire all weapons.
(1)
You will get this one very early in the game, even before Act 2. There are 10 weapons to be found in the game. To pick up and add a new weapon to your BLADE memory, press when you come across a new one. Assuming you did the tutorial, you will start with 7/10 weapons that you acquired and put in your BLADE memory. This means that you're still missing the Sniper Rifle, Lock-On Laser and the LFE Gun.

You can always access your "Armory" by pressing while in the game to check which ones you have and how upgraded they are.
1. Assault Rifle
2. Heavy Machine Gun
3. Shotgun
4. Sniper Rifle (earliest found on Act 1-3: Giant)
5. Disk Launcher
6. Rocket Launcher
7. Lock-On Laser (earliest found on Act 1-5: Trust)
8. LFE Gun (earliest found on Act 1-6: Darkness)
9. Hand Grenade
10. EMP Emitter
See also "King of the Kill".
King of the Hill

20
Level a weapon up to maximum operational capability.
(3)
Throughout the game, you'll come across green crates with "Marines" written on it. Approach one of these crates and press to reveal the (random) weapon it contains, then press to pick it up. There are also grey metal drop pods where you can get weapons from. Unlike the crates, these drop pods have no random weapons. Once you find a drop pod with an Assault Rifle, that same drop pod will always have an Assault Rifle. Also, when you revive a teammate, he'll drop a random weapon as well. So do enemies on occasion.

As you'll probably remember from the tutorial, picking up the same weapon you're already carrying, will upgrade that weapon gradually if the ammo for that weapon is at full capacity.

Sometimes, enemies can drop an "Upgrade" item instead of a weapon. This will upgrade the weapon you're actually using in combat by a full rank (1 star). So, before picking up this upgrade, be sure to select the weapon you wish to upgrade by selecting it using the D-pad. Some weapons will be fully upgraded with 6 stars (grenades, rocket launcher), other weapons will be fully upgraded with 11 stars (assault rifle, heavy machine gun). You'll know that a weapon is fully upgraded as it'll show you a symbol (eagle with three stars) below that weapon in the bottom right of your screen.

You should get this achievement way before the end of the game. Just open every crate you come across and pick up every weapon especially if you're already carrying it.

But if you're in a hurry, a quick and easy way to get this achievement, is on Act 1-3 (Giant). On the part of the level where you have to defeat KNRB-0 Argus, there are approx. 8 weapons to pick up. Pick them up, let yourself get killed, choose "checkpoint", rinse and repeat. Note that doing it this way, you will miss the "Living Legend" achievement. Refer to that achievement's description for more information.
Fight or Flight

10
Manually trigger AR Mode and destroy an enemy robot.
(2)
See "Adrenaline Rush".
Adrenaline Rush

20
Manually trigger AR Mode and destroy three enemy robots in a row.
(3)
When boosting, evading, or when exiting cover, AR Mode can be triggered manually by pushing . This will put you into slow motion and a timer will be activated. You have to kill three robots before the timer runs out! The AR Mode will cancel automatically when the action is complete, your AR Suit overheats, or when the is released.

To manually activate AR Mode:
- boosting: hold +
- evading: push + press + hold
- exiting cover: push + press + hold
The red robots seem to be easy kills, especially on casual difficulty and/or with a fully upgraded Assault Rifle/Heavy Machine Gun. Make sure the robots stand close to each other, this will make it so much easier. Try to go for headshots as well, it helps a lot! Once the AR Mode timer runs out of time, your ARS temperature gauge will indicate it's overheated, so go into cover for a moment of cooldown.

Alternately, here is a solution as suggested by Solty on casual difficulty; use the Lock-On Laser on a group of red robots hiding behind cover when you're in AR Mode.

Another method would be throwing one or two grenades () at red robots grouped together, and when it hits the ground, go into AR Mode. If the grenades explode and destroy at least 3 robots, the achievement is yours. If all this fails, try again on casual auto.
Going in for the Kill

10
Destroy ten enemy robots with melee attacks.
(1)
See "A Heartbreaker and Lifetaker".
A Heartbreaker and Lifetaker

30
Destroy 100 enemy robots with melee attacks.
(7)
You can melee attack robots while standing or boosting, and press when you're next to them. Sam will then perform a melee attack depending on the weapon that has been selected for combat. Different weapon combos will result in different melee attack moves!

Some examples provided by Solty:
- disc launcher : no AR used, and disc is fired at the end of the melee
- shotgun : hold for supercharged punch
- assault rifle : tap repeatedly for flurry of punches
- HMG : press + hold to activate AR mode after the kick
- all weapons : boost with + press + hold to activate AR mode after the kick
Try melee attacks at least once with each and every weapon to see Sam's melee attack move to find the one you find most efficient. Be careful though, as every melee attack will make your ARS temperature gauge overheat, so get some cover after a melee attack. There is only one combo which won't make your AR Suit overheat, and that is when you've set the disc launcher as your main weapon.

As soon as you've destroyed 10 robots with melee attacks, you will unlock the "Going in for the Kill" achievement. Do this 90 more times and you will get the "A Heartbreaker and a Lifetaker" one as well. The melee attacks are cumulative across all playthroughs.

If you didn't get this achievement throughout the game, use level select after you've beaten the game and select Act 2-1 (River) on casual difficulty. You will start with a weapon crate at the very beginning. Kick it open. If it's the disc launcher, pick it up and let yourself get killed, then choose "checkpoint". That way, you can reload the last checkpoint over and over again, and have the disc launcher right from the start. You can also pick up the sniper rifle which is always there in a drop pod. I found that doing melee attacks with the sniper rifle equipped, I could kick multiple robots with a single melee attack. Anyways, boost under the truck and perform as many melee attacks as you can. Then, press and choose "checkpoint". Rinse and repeat until you get the achievement.
Helloooo, Nurse

5
Revive a friendly troop.
(2)
See "Knight in Shining White Armor".
Knight in Shining White Armor

15
Revive 20 friendly troops.
When one of your NPC teammates is severely wounded, you'll see a cross in a circle above him. Immediately make your way to him before he dies (eventually by boosting, hold ), and press when prompted to revive him. Do this 20 times to unlock this achievement. Doing this the first time will unlock the "Helloooo, Nurse" achievement. Upon reviving him, you'll be rewarded with a random weapon that he will drop.
Death Wish

20
Destroy three enemy robots while in damage-triggered AR Mode.
(2)
When you took a critical amount of damage, the AR Mode will be engaged automatically. Similar to the "Adrenaline Rush" achievement, you have to kill 3 enemy robots before the timer runs out of time.

The red robots seem to be easy kills, especially on casual difficulty and/or with a fully upgraded Assault Rifle/Heavy Machine Gun. Make sure the robots stand close to each other, this will make it so much easier. Try to go for headshots as well, it helps a lot! Once the AR Mode timer runs out of time, your ARS temperature gauge will indicate it's overheated, so go into cover for a moment of cooldown. If all this fails, try again on casual auto.
40 Yard Dash

30
Maintain a Boost dash to the limit of the ARS reactor without overheating.
(6)
This is quite an easy achievement. As soon as you gain control of Sam in Act 1-1 (Landing), you'll come into a long hallway. Hold to boost while you keep an eye on the ARS (Augmented Reaction Suite) temperature gauge on the bottom right of your screen. This temperature gauge will start to heat up while you're boosting. Once this gauge is almost completely red (leave a tiny bit of blue), let go the and the achievement should be yours. If you hold for too long, the AR Suit will get overheated and you will need a moment of cooldown before you can try again.

If you're still not sure how to get this, look at the video below. Look at the 00:58 mark, there will be a bit of blue left. That's where the author lets go of the unlocking the achievement.
Home Run

10
Destroy an incoming missile or grenade.
(2)
See "Home Run God".
Home Run God

10
Destroy ten incoming missiles or grenades.
(3)
Some enemy robots will be firing missiles or throwing timed grenades at you, especially the KNRB-0 Argus (first encounter in Act 1-3: Giant). It loves to treat you with a massive amount of these. As soon as you see missiles fired at you, go into AR Mode manually to slow down your surroundings, then aim for the missiles and shoot them out of the sky. As soon as you destroy the first missile, it will unlock the "Home Run" achievement. Destroy 9 more of these to get the "Home Run God" unlocked.
Brutality Bonus

10
Destroy a Romanov's arms and legs, then finish it with a melee attack.
(8)
The Romanov is one of the bigger robots you'll come across in the game. It is grey-colored, has some nasty weapons and a red weak spot on the back. The Romanov appears for the first time in Act 1-3 (Giant). You'll find Romanovs in three forms: rocket, drill and flame types.

Before taking care of the Romanov, focus on the regular red robots and take them out first. Once you've taken care of the regular ones, destroy a Romanov's leg and arm to start with. Going into AR Mode will make it easier to focus on particular body parts. Once he's just a pile of scrap metal crawling on the floor, shoot him a couple of times to deplete his health bar. Then once he's about to be destroyed, walk up to him and press to finish the job, giving you the achievement for it. If it didn't work by just disabling one leg/arm, try to get them both out of service, especially on harder difficulties as destroying all legs and arms will destroy the Romanov on casual difficulty.

Since you have to finish him of with a melee attack to get this achievement, it will also unlock the "Romanov This!" one.
Romanov This!

20
Destroy a Romanov with a melee attack.
(1)
See "Brutality Bonus" and/or "The Hand of God".
The Hand of God

30
Destroy two Romanovs in a row using only melee attacks.
(3)
The most important word in the achievement's description, is "only". An easy Act to get this achievement on, is Act 2-1 (River) on casual difficulty, but there will be other opportunities later in the game as well. On Act 2-1, you'll come out in the open where you will find 2 Romanovs.

Get close to one, melee attack it with , and seek cover with as your ARS temperature gauge will indicate it's overheated. Solty has suggested not to use the disc launcher, as it will launch a disc at the end of the melee attack, and thus it won't count as a melee. Boost-melee seems to be quite destructive! Rinse and repeat these steps. Focus on one Romanov at a time. But never shoot at the Romanov, only melee attacks. It's alright if your NPC teammates shoot at it, as long as you don't!! If you accidentally shot one, press and reload the last checkpoint, then try again. On casual difficulty this shouldn't be a challenge at all, as you almost seem invulnerable.

Since you can only use melee attacks to get this achievement, it will also unlock the "Romanov This!" one.
Robots Tend to Blow Up

10
Destroy three enemy robots at once with one hand grenade.
(2)
Throughout the game, you'll find several enemy robots grouped together, especially when they are dropped off from an enemy ship. Make sure you equip the hand grenade by pressing , then throw one () into a group of enemy robots. The regular red robots are the easiest to destroy.

On Act 1-3 (Giant), at some point Elena will say that the gates are open. On the northwest side, as soon as the gates open, there will be a number of red regular robots coming down the stairs. Just throw a grenade at them and the achievement is yours. If it didn't work, press and reload the last checkpoint. This time, throw an EMP Emitter first immediately followed a hand grenade. You'll get plenty of other opportunities throughout the game.
Hole-in-One

5
Destroy a Chicane with a hand grenade.
(5)
A Chicane is a crab like robot that deploys a wall to protect the enemy robots behind it. At the very beginning of Act 2-1 (River), turn left and you'll see a truck on the left side with a robot on top of a truck firing with the turret, and on the right of that you'll see a long small wall. These are 4 Chicane robots. Just throw 1 or more hand grenade at them with and you should get the achievement instantly after they explode.
Short Circuit

20
Destroy ten enemy robots that have been disabled with an EMP emitter.
(2)
This is a very easy one as well! Make sure you equip the EMP Emitter by pressing , then throw one () into a group of enemy robots. This will stun them for a brief moment (they will be surrounded by electric sparks). Eliminate the robots while they are stunned. After you've destroyed 10 of them, one less achievement to go.
Two Birds with One Stone

20
Destroy two or more enemy robots at once with the LFE gun.
(1)
At the beginning of Act 1-6 (Darkness) and after the cutscene where the APC "Mike" bursts through, you'll see the LFE gun for the first time on your right side (yellowish). Pick it up, and immediately equip it. As you move forward, there will be a few bug like robots crawling your way. Just shoot at them with the LFE gun and the achievement will pop.

If you didn't get it right away, a little further on that same level, there will be some huge "jellyfish" enemies with a lot of green dots coming your way. Destroy one and they'll stop moving. The green dots will become red dots, and it then explodes. Be sure to equip the LFE gun before it explodes, because you'll get a new opportunity of smaller bug like robots to destroy with it.
Trick Shot

20
Destroy three enemy robots at once with rocket launcher splash damage.
(2)
You will find plenty of rocket launchers in the game. Pick one up and equip it. You have to destroy three enemy robots with a single missile. As for many other achievements, the weaker red regular enemy robots seem to be the best to shoot at. If you see a group of these ones, just fire a missile into them. Having the rocket launcher upgraded a couple of times might help as well (more damage).

You can also get this achievement while going for the "Smoke 'em if ya got 'em" achievement. Refer to that achievement's description to find a video guide.
Flash! King of the Impossible

30
Destroy four enemies simultaneously with the Lock-on Laser.
(6)
Alright, this one took me several attempts to get. You'll find this weapon for the first time in Act 1-5 (Trust). This weapon shoots 4 homing missiles to the targets you've picked with the laser (). Another important part for this achievement to succeed, is that you must kill all 4 enemies with one shot. So, hold and move your to pick the enemies. As the homing missiles fly up in the sky, then rain down on the regular red robots, it'll be considered as headshots and thus insta-kills. But my problem was that some robots got locked-on twice. You may want to go into manual AR Mode to make it easier as well. Having the lock-on laser upgraded a couple of times, will fire more homing missiles.

If you didn't get this achievement throughout the game, then use level select after you've beaten the game, and select Act 2-1 (River) on casual difficulty. You will start with a weapon crate at the very beginning. Kick it open. If it's a lock-on laser, pick it up and let yourself get killed, then choose "checkpoint". That way, if you fail, you can reload the last checkpoint and you'll have the lock-on laser right from the start. Then, boost under the truck to get behind the red robots and the Chicanes. Don't worry too much about the robot using the turret. Now, destroy the red robots but leave 1 or 2 for your NPC teammates to focus on. Go into manual AR Mode and start depleting the health bar (but leave a small amount of health though) on all the Chicanes using the assault rifle or heavy machine gun. Then, switch to your lock-on laser, press and start targeting the remaining red robots and chicanes using your , and you should get it. If not, reload last checkpoint, and try again.
Piece by Piece

20
Destroy the arms, head, and back of an KNRB-0 Argus robot.
(2)
You will be introduced to the KNRB-0 Argus robot for the first time on Act 1-3 (Giant). This huge robot comes into 2 phases. The first phase, it will be four-legged. Shoot at the yellow glow on the arms and legs, destroying bits of the core in between when it's exposing it. After destroying the core, you will get a QTE.

In it's second phase, the KNRB-0 Argus robot will be standing on 2 legs. Again, shoot the yellow glow on his arms. Now, looking back at the achievement's description, are 2 words of great importance: "head" and "back". You won't see that same yellow glow on the head nor the back, but if you aim at it, you will see it also has a health bar. Now destroy both head and back. The order is of no importance. You might shoot the back first, then the head, or vice versa. It really doesn't matter. Once all these are destroyed, destroy the legs to expose the core a couple more times. As soon as you destroy the robot, the achievement will unlock.

If you didn't get this throughout the game, then you could try this. Select Act 2-3 (Nightmare) on casual difficulty after having beat the game. Enter the building, destroy the few enemies, and once you get out of the building, you'll be in the open again with 2 of these KNRB-0 Argus robots. One will be four-legged, the other one in the back will be two-legged. Go for the one in the back as it's already transformed into its second phase. Try to get weapon upgrades along the way. If you happen to die, reload last checkpoint. The reason why I didn't pick the one from Act 1-3, is that if you die when the Argus is in its second phase, you'll have to go all the way again to get it transformed from 4 to 2 legs.
That Ended Up Working Out Nicely

10
After taking control of the enemy transport in Act 2-2, do not let a single enemy escape.
(1)
Only on Act 2-2: Rapids

On Act 2-2 (Rapids), for the first time you'll be on a vessel with multiple wagons. After shooting a bunch of robot enemies on another identical vehicle, the one you're on will get stuck after a while. Once stuck, you'll have to take care of another set of robot enemies located in and on buildings. At some point, Elena will tell you that enemy ships are dropping in.

Continue fighting like you did before, until you have to catch up with one of the enemy ships, engaging a QTE. If you do exactly as prompted on screen, you'll get a cutscene where Sam kicks a red enemy robot off the ship and you take control of it. This ship has 4 turrets, one on each corner of the ship, but you cannot use these. In fact, Elena will take control of them. All you'll have to do, is aim using your and shoot using (not as with the regular weapons!)

Another enemy vessel, similar to the one you were on before, will catch up. In order to get the achievement, you'll have to kill all the enemies on that vessel as fast as possible.
Failure Breeds Success

15
Destroy two Argus robots in Act 2-3 while they are in bipedal mode.
(3)
Only on Act 2-3: Nightmare

Remember the KNRB-0 Argus from Act 1-3 (Giant)? Well, you'll be facing two of these now! I suggest doing this one on casual difficulty, preferably using level select after having beat the game. From the start of this Act, enter the building in front of you, destroy the few enemies inside, and once you're back outside, you'll find 2 of these KNRB-0 Argus robots. One will be four-legged, the other one in the back will be two-legged. It took me a moment to figure out what I had to do, until someone put me on track (thanks kr4t0s). In order to get this achievement, both KNRB-0 Argus robots have to be two-legged before you destroy them!

Take care of the four-legged one to start with, because the two-legged one in the back won't be attacking you (unless you start attacking it) as it'll be too busy attacking the ally ship flying around (thanks Solty). Back to the four-legged one, shoot its weak spots on the arms and legs, and the core when exposed. From the moment the core gets destroyed, a QTE will be triggered.

Remember, in Act 1-3, you had to use the buttons as prompted to make the Argus transform into its second phase? In this Act, it is the opposite!! Pressing the correct buttons when prompted, is NOT what we want to do this time, because this will destroy the Argus. Instead, do nothing at all in this QTE!! It will transform into its second phase and become two-legged (bi-pedal). Destroy both of them when 2-legged.

Here's a video that might help. The author starts attacking the 2-legged one first, then the 4-legged one. In fact, it doesn't matter which one gets destroyed first. But the video should give you an idea.
Leibniz Defense Agency

10
Defend the Pangloss statue in Act 3-2.
(5)
Only on Act 3-2: Attack

Remember those little Pangloss statues you've been shooting at? Or perhaps you haven't found any yet? Anyways, there's a big stone one on the plaza near the end of Act 3-2. In order to get this achievement, you have to destroy every enemy and complete the mission with the big Pangloss statue intact. It is not as hard as it sounds.

When you cross the bridge and arrive at the plaza, you will be ambushed from all sides mainly by red regular robots. They aren't any threat to that statue. The real threat will be an enemy vehicle with circular saw blades in front of it, the same one from Act 1-5 (Trust). Once you've destroyed some robots, you'll get an animation of this vehicle breaking through the rubble.

This vehicle is pretty fast and can destroy the statue in a matter of seconds. So, as soon as this vehicle appears, stun it by throwing an EMP Emitter at it, then shoot at the core at the back side of it. Rinse and repeat if necessary. On casual difficulty, you can destroy this vehicle with the rocket launcher. It should take no more than 3 hits. (thanks Solty)
Tightrope Walker

10
Destroy two cannons in Act 3-3 and complete the mission.
(2)
Only on Act 3-3: Vertigo

This is a tricky one! In this mission you'll come to a section where you'll have to cross a highway bridge collapsing from under your feet. At the end of that bridge, there are a couple of big cannons that will start collapsing, and 2 Romanovs as well. You just have to destroy any 2 cannons and finish the mission.

If you get all the way to the Romanovs, you'll see a big cannon behind them. The other one is to your left. Ignore the Romanovs or any other enemy! Destroy the cannon to your left to begin with. Then, take out the other one behind the Romanovs. You have to be quick and destroy both cannons before the bridge collapses. So, you might want to use the AR Mode here. Once both are destroyed, quickly boost past the Romanovs to end this mission and get the achievement.
Fisher is the Other Sam

15
Proceed on the monorail in Act 3-4 without being spotted by the enemy troops or searchlights.
(2)
Only on Act 3-4: Dragon

From the start of this mission, you'll be on a monorail transport vehicle with 4 sniper rifles on it. You will need these weapons. Don't use them to upgrade your weapon, as you will need them for their ammo.

Elena will mark the searchlights for you to destroy. Half way through this mission, an enemy patrol will fly your way. Quickly go into AR Mode and shoot 1 or 2 times at the robot. If you succeed in destroying that patrol, you will remain undetected. Note that you can also try to get the "Flyswatter" achievement on this same run! Now, continue destroying the remaining searchlights. If you have been spotted by the enemy patrol or the searchlights (you will hear the alarm going off), then reload last checkpoint. If not, the achievement will unlock at the end of your ride.

See also "Flyswatter" for a video guide on both achievements!
Flyswatter

20
Destroy all the floating turrets in Act 3-4.
(3)
Only on Act 3-4: Dragon

From the start of this mission, you'll be on a monorail transport vehicle with 4 sniper rifles on it. You will need these weapons. Don't use them to upgrade your weapon, as you will need them for their ammo.

Half way through this mission, you will have to take care of an enemy patrol. After this has been done, stay alert! At some point, your NPC teammate will say "Enemies ahead"! Use your sniper rifle's scoop and zoom in on the tunnel (to adjust zoom, press ). There will be 2 floating enemy turrets moving from right to left. These are the ones you want to take care of. Shoot the robots in the head if possible. You might also want to go in AR Mode to give you more sniping time. The achievement will unlock from the moment you destroy the 2nd floating turret.
Guardian

10
Do not allow any friendly armor to be destroyed during Act 3-5.
(1)
Only on Act 3-5: Despair

In order to get this achievement, you have to protect your ally APC from being destroyed. From the start of this mission, you will notice in front of you an elevated walkway that can be accessed from both left or right ramps. You will want to go up that walkway, then to the center. There are 4 gun turrets you can take control of. Use the gun turrets to take care of the enemies.

Once the first set of enemies have been destroyed, use one of the 2 gun turrets on the north side (facing that huge blasting cannon, which is the Kreon). You will get a brief animation of an ally APC driving from under the walkway. This is where the show begins! Do you see that rock in the center at the back of the court? From behind that rock, you will see enemy vehicles with circular saw blades in front if them, coming left and right. You will need to destroy all 5 enemy vehicles as fast as possible, before they get the chance to destroy one of your vehicles. Using the turrets makes getting this achievement a walk in the park.
Hurry the #@$% Up!

10
Destroy five or more enemy transports from atop the Kreon in Act 3-7.
(1)
Only on Act 3-7: Phantoms

Work your way to the top of the Kreon. After having fought an "unknown" morphing enemy for the second time, you will take an elevator to the very top of the Kreon and be back outside. Walk to the yellowish thing at the back, which will trigger a cutscene showing the Kreon's energy conduit and Sam saying something about destroying it. Once you gain control of Sam again, do not destroy the energy conduit just yet!

Instead, go behind it, and you will find a gun turret manned by a red robot. Kill the bot, then use the gun turret. There are plenty of red enemy transport ships flying around. You must destroy at least 5 of these to get this achievement. As soon you've destroyed the 5th one, the achievement unlocks.
Civil Disobedience

30
Ignore the elevator start order in Act 4-1. Instead, hold position and destroy all reinforcements.
(2)
Only on Act 4-1: Silence

On this mission, you will be in a wooded area where you will have to eliminate the enemy resistance. At some point, you'll be given the instruction to go to the elevator, where you will have to fend off the enemy whilst waiting for the elevator to arrive.

Once the elevator has arrived, you'll be told to board the elevator. Go camp inside the building and red robots from outside will start assaulting you. You'll get the instruction to push the elevator activation switch. DON'T!! Even if Burns or Elena say you must activate the elevator, just keep fighting the many waves of red robots until you got the last one. As soon as you destroy the very last one of them, the achievement unlocks instantly.
Buzzard Beater

30
Destroy the Buzzard without allowing it to reach ground level in Act 5-1.
(8)
Only on Act 5-1: Denoucement

For this specific achievement, miGu sama found a good strategy to get the job done:

Once the door opens to this area, rocket boost toward the left. There will be a bunker there with gatling guns. Equip frag grenades and throw one or two into the bunker to damage or even destroy the droids inside. There will be regular red droids and armored ones.

Once you open the door to the bunker, immediately trigger AR Mode as there will be an armored droid heading toward you. Depending on the success of your grenade toss, there might be two or three droids remaining. Destroy them quickly and equip your EMP grenades.

Toss an EMP grenade toward the Buzzard to stun it and then quickly man the gatling gun (NOTE: grab the one that is closer to the Buzzard). Shoot the Buzzard for roughly 4 to 5 seconds, let go of the gun and immediately aim and throw another EMP grenade at the Buzzard. After throwing, take control of the gatling gun once again and fire.

It will probably take a few EMPs to get the job done. If you do not use EMPs, the Buzzard will jump off the platform when its health is about 50%. If you do see the Buzzard jump, just Pause -> Checkpoint to restart at the beginning of that firefight, because the game will autosave as soon as the Buzzard hits the floor!

If you didn't manage to get in on your playthrough, you can always level select after having beat the game and can try again on the casual difficulty setting.
Smoke 'em if ya got 'em!

30
Destroy 10 enemies distracted by cigarettes during one mission.
(9)
First, you must get into cover. To get into cover, get close to a fixed object such as a wall or something and press . While you're in cover, press to light up a cigarette. Sam will light up a smoke, then throw it away which will distract the robots and they will start shooting at the cigarette. Shoot the robots while they're distracted. If you happen to destroy 2 or more robots distracted from a single cigarette, you will get the "Auld Lang Syne" achievement. If you manage to kill 10 robots during a single mission, you'll be rewarded with the "Smoke 'em if ya got 'em!" achievement. Note that you only have 3 cigarettes per mission. To see how many cigarettes you have left, look at the bottom right of your screen. It's that little 'stick' above your weapons that looks like this ""

As shown in the video below, a great spot to get this achievement, is near the end of Act 3-5 (Despair) right before you have to board the Kreon. On this particular area, the Kreon will be on your left side. You will find plenty of green "Marines" ammo crates in this area. Similar to the rocket launcher and lock-on laser achievement descriptions, if you don't have a rocket launcher on this section, kick the ammo crates open, and keep reloading last checkpoint and repeating previous steps until you get a rocket launcher. Then, let yourself get killed, so that you'll have the rocket launcher right from the start. Once you do have it, and as you move toward the Kreon, you'll be welcomed by a bunch of enemy robots and Romanovs on your left side when the hatch opens up. Get into cover, light up a cigarette, throw it away, and as soon as they all start shooting your cigarette, fire a few missiles at them. If you didn't get it and ran out of smokes, reload the last checkpoint. It is really easy.
Auld Lang Syne

15
Destroy two enemy robots who have been distracted by a cigarette.
(3)
See "Smoke 'em if you got 'em".
The Best of All Possible Worlds

30
Find and fire upon all of the Pangloss statues hidden on the colony.
(13)
This is a collectables related achievement. Throughout the game, you might bump into one of these Pangloss statues, but most of the time they are hard to spot! They are very small golden statues and when you shoot at them, they make a funny sound or insult you, and then turn red.

There are 112 of these little ones to be found throughout the game, and there are 4 Pangloss statues per mission (except Act 1 Mission 1 which has none). The good news is, once you've found (and shot) one, you don't have to look for it over again but only if you get to a checkpoint. They also carry over on multiple playthroughs.

If you have finished the campaign but didn't get the achievement, you can go to the main menu and "level select". Make sure you do this after you've beaten the game, as it will mess up your saved game! From the main menu, select "Game" then "Mission". You have access to all missions on all acts, where you get to see all kinds of statistics but also the number of Pangloss statues found. Just select the missions where you may have missed some, then press to start that mission. Use the video guide below to help you with this achievement.
Living Legend

50
Complete the game without dying, regardless of difficulty level.
(10)
Missable achievement

Alright, for this one, you will have to run through the full campaign without dying once! You can get this achievement on any difficulty. So, whether it be casual, normal or (god) hard, it doesn't matter. On casual difficulty, you almost seem invulnerable and it'll take quite a lot of bullets to bring you down. On hard difficulty, you will die a lot (at least, I did)!! Never, ever use "mission select" on your playthrough because it will make this achievement not unlock!

Now, several people have found this little trick (also shown in the video below): when Sam dies, you'll be brought back to the "mission failed menu" where you can choose to get back to the last "checkpoint", "restart" the whole mission, or go back to the "title screen". Choose "Title screen", and from there choose "Game" then "Continue". It is similar to the "Checkpoint" on the previous screen, except for these two major differences:
1. Title screen & Continue = registers zero deaths / Checkpoint = registers one death
2. Title screen & Continue = weapons are set to previous settings / Checkpoint = weapons remain upgraded
Tip: You might want to backup your saved game onto a memory unit or USB stick once in a while, so that you can return to an older saved game. If somehow you mess up by accidentally choosing "checkpoint" and you do not have a backed up saved game, you can press again, then select "restart". This will reset your deaths to zero but only on that mission (and not the entire Act!), and your weapons will have the same upgrades and ammo as when you started the mission the 1st time (thanks Solty).

Tactical Challenges

50
Complete all of the Tactical Challenges in VANQUISH
(26)
Once you've successfully completed an Act on normal difficulty or above, a "Tactical Challenge" mode will be unlocked which can be accessed from the game menu. There's one tactical challenge per completed Act. Once you've completed these challenges... surprise! A sixth one unlocks. These tactical challenges can be compared to the "firefights" in Halo:ODST or "hordes" in Gears of War 2. You'll have to eliminate the enemies coming in different waves. There are 5 waves per tactical challenge. As the number of waves goes up, so does the difficulty... Tactical challenge 6 has proved to be one of the very, very difficult ones.

This will probably be one of the last achievements you will get, as this is the most difficult achievement of them all. It is one of those achievements to be very proud of to have...

I suggest you search in the forums for strategies posted by members who used different methods and/or weapons.

Perhaps these strategies might help you for the most of it, or at least be a good start:

Thread with strategies/videos on challenges 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Thread with strategies/videos on challenge 6