[jkalltheway]

So i'm having trouble getting past this mission. Near the end when i have to disable to front cannons of the Abel? It shreds through the Temraraire within seconds! Its a pretty damn small window to act. Anyone got any tips aside from bringing it down to medium?

[Mongoose]

If Darius didn't balance that mission for Hard, which is more likely than not for user-created campaigns, there just might be no real way to get it disarmed in time.  I don't remember that specific mission myself, so I'm not really sure how much time you're given to do the job.

[jkalltheway]

The task didn't seem impossible, just Hard. Seconds is probably a not right. more like 30 seconds - a minute i think

[General Battuta]

Yeah, this is Forced Entry. Notoriously tricky

It shouldn't vary by difficulty level - the key is being in position in time.

Just make sure you have at least four (preferaby more) Trebuchets ready at the end of the mission. Don't use them earlier. As soon as the Temeraire jumps in, order all your ships to defend it, afterburn as fast as possible to the Temeraire, keep burning past it.

As soon as the Abel jumps in, lock on to one of the forward beams (use 'v' to target the turret under your reticle) and fire two Trebuchets at it. Then lock onto the other forward beam and Trebuchet it as well.

It might pay off to take out the two rear stinger beams as well. Use your remaining Trebuchets and primaries to do that.

The only other thing I usually Trebuchet in this mission is the main beam on the Lilith that jumps in.

Forced Entry is a really awesome mission (especially because of the music), but it's extremely unforgiving.

[eliex]

Choosing a correct loadout is extremely vital in Forced Entry. Use trebuchets, but don't bother loading them on your allies. The AI doesn't use Trebuchets properly IIRC.

[jkalltheway]

yeah got the trebuchets loaded, tried em on the AI last few plays, even managed to take out the two front beams. Then the two small beams on its back took out the Temraire before i could take those out. I ended up using the perseus because it holds more trebuchets. But i think it has weaker armor? I've died more easily with the perseus than before

[eliex]

It's not that the Perseus has weak armour, it's rather that Darius buffed the damage of shockwaves to be highly destructive. I've died more times in Forced Entry due to bomb shockwaves rather than Shivan gunfire.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

In Forced Entry, you could try using a Herc II with dual banks of Trebuchets. You'll spend most of the time lobbing those at beam cannons, so you can divert more energy to shields and engines. Use single-fire missile mode for every Shivan ship except the Abel.

When the Abel jumps in, dump all energy to engines and afterburn to the Shivan destroyer. Switch to dual-fire missile mode and target the main beam cannons the moment they enter the Trebuchet's lock range. Once they're destroyed, concentrate on the upper secondary beams.

I tried this method out on Very Easy and ended up with about four to seven spare Trebuchets remaining at the end of everything.

[eliex]

A single Trebuchet has enough force to knock out a Ravana's front beam if it hits the cannon from above, so fire the Trebuchet at an angle from the beam cannon and conserve your ammo.

[Aardwolf]

Maxim. Its 3000-meter range and high anti-subsystem damage shan't be ignored.

[jkalltheway]

upon checking my options, i realize i am actually playing this on medium. Sigh... Oh well. I almost got it down, i think if i dont do something stupid the next time through i will beat this.

[Mobius]

Choosing a correct loadout is extremely vital in Forced Entry. Use trebuchets, but don't bother loading them on your allies. The AI doesn't use Trebuchets properly IIRC.

Depends. The good-secondary-time SEXP is intended to solve that problem, I think...

[Sushi]

...but unfortunately, it's impossible to know whether a mission designer put the right SEXPs in when you're loading out your wingmen. I never give them trebs unless they already have them. If they already do, I trust that the mission designer made sure they get used right.

[Rodo]

consider the mirmy, in this case the 4 primaries will pay off if you load balors on them, and you get plenty of space to load trebs.

[eliex]

What would be even better is the inclusion of the Helios bomb in the weapons loadout. 

[Androgeos Exeunt]

The Helios may be powerful, but it's too slow. In the case of the Temeraire, what you need is something that hits hard and fast. You only have thirty to sixty seconds to disable the Abel's beams; if you use the Helios, by the time they find their mark, the Temeraire's already dead.

[eliex]

I meant that it would be interesting to see the buffed up shockwaves rip through in formation Aeshmas as they never break formation and travel at a relatively slow speed.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

Hmm ... you could use a Piranha, or an Infyrno...

[colecampbell666]

Forced entry was quite easy on hard. Timing, timing...

[jkalltheway]

Ack i finally got past it. Used a myrmidon armed with full Trebuchets. Promethius and Kayser. I managed to take out all four of its lasers, then let the bomber squadrons do the rest of the work while i ran away gallantly. And now to finish this awesome campaign! Thanks for the help guys.