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Hosted Projects - FS2 Required => Blue Planet => Topic started by: Skyline on June 30, 2009, 11:23:52 am

Title: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Skyline on June 30, 2009, 11:23:52 am
First, I want to say that I'm new here, love FS2 Open (I played FS2 years ago and then discovered Open and all the great mods created since), and am now trying Blue Planet after playing Derelict.  I'm hopelessly stuck on Forced Entry, and I really don't want to cheat.  I don't get even close to seeing the Ravana, and the Naberus chews through the ships in no time at all.

I normally snipe at long distance with missiles, but that requires a support ship that I don't have in Forced Entry, so after killing off the first two Shivan ships I try to rotate Alpha and Beta on protection detail of the different ships coming through.  I try to take out beam cannons, and I send Delta and Sanctuary Beta after ships, if I get that far.  I've read the other thread and have changed my loadouts to favour the Trebuchet, Prometheus and Maxim/Kayser.

Am I slow, rusty, not a very good pilot, using a bad strategy or some combination of all four?   :D  I've played it on every difficulty level from Medium to Very Easy several times.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: General Battuta on June 30, 2009, 11:29:51 am
Hrm. So, the main problem you're having is taking out the beams on the Naberus?

Well, my advice would be to take only Trebuchets and not use any of them on Shivan fighters or bombers. Just use them to take out beams, including the Naberus' rear beam. You can target the turret under your reticle with 'v'; use that to select the beam rapidly. Sounds like you're doing everything right, so as long as you can get the Naberus' beams out, you should be okay. Just remember: as soon as the Temeraire jumps in, scramble everything to protect it, and rush to get as far behind it (towards its entry point) as you can.

Forced Entry would be ungodly frustrating if it wasn't so cool. Don't worry, we'll help you through it. (Took me a good six or seven tries...)
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: asyikarea51 on June 30, 2009, 11:31:32 am
Not your fault, the mission is like that, very difficult.

And no, I never finished it (the ironic twist was me surviving the longest in my most hated fighter craft in all of FS...)
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: General Battuta on June 30, 2009, 11:36:34 am
Wait, you never finished it!?

Oh, man, you are missing so much good stuff. Including the even better (but nowhere near as difficult) mission that comes right after it.

The key is to carry a lot of Trebuchets. Know where the Shivan warships will jump in, and be ready to disarm their main beams. Don't get caught in bomb shockwaves. Kill the Aeshmas before they nail the cruisers with their Hornets, too. When you get to the end, try taking out the Ravana's rear stinger beams as well as the two forward beams (the LReds mounted on the two lowermost of the four forward prongs.)

When you succeed, you're going to feel like a golden god.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: asyikarea51 on June 30, 2009, 11:43:29 am
[hey, how about use some spoiler tags next time - Battuta]
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Kolgena on June 30, 2009, 12:02:25 pm
For me, the Lilith caused me more headaches than the Ravana did. Probably because I only got past the Lilith and bombers once, and therefore saw the Ravana once, and was lucky enough to somehow be within range of it with Trebbs when it jumped in.

But yeah, follow GB's advice. You seem to be on the right track, and I don't think it's bad piloting skills that is responsible for your difficulties. No one passes that mission in one shot unless they've memorized where all the ships jump in.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on June 30, 2009, 12:13:36 pm
No one passes that mission in one shot unless they've memorized where all the ships jump in.

I can. I just rely a lot on sensor data and ETS power shunting.

A Herc II with two banks of Trebs should be more than enough to disable the beam cannons of every hostile warship. Your missile firing system should also be set to single-fire mode unless you're disarming the Lilith. andicirk says that one Treb is enough to kill a beam cannon on the Ravana, but I usually use two for good measure.

Use your wingmen to their fullest extent. Order them to protect any warships except the GTL Solace, which seems capable of holding its own, even without escort. When the Temeraire jumps in, get at least one wing to guard it.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Skyline on June 30, 2009, 12:37:54 pm
Well, I did it.  The Temeraire made it out at 3%, but a win is a win.  Thanks for all the advice...I was about 2.5 km behind the Temeraire by the time the Ravana showed up and it helped a lot.

One thing that confused me was that the objectives say to destroy forward beam cannons, but the Temeraire got destroyed twice by other beam cannons after I killed the forward cannons.  I ran out of Trebs at this point and had to perform surgery on the Ravana to get the rest of them.  Is that supposed to happen?

What's the right angle to take on the Lilith?  I ran out of Trebs because sometimes, one is enough.  The majority of the time I approach it, it takes two to take out a beam cannon.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: asyikarea51 on June 30, 2009, 12:58:35 pm
I got stuck at the Lilith - the LRed tears through the... cruiser or corvette... whatever it was, waaay too fast (charge/shoot/cooldown/charge/shoot/etc)... and I always happen to be outside of Treb range.

BTW skyline just curious, you say you ran out of Trebs, which ship did you use to finish the mission?

(sorry Battuta - just strung out atm. crapz. I should've mentioned that this is my second playthrough and the first run was a VERY LONG TIME AGO XD)

That time long ago when BP first came out, I think I got as far as the Ravana and I was either Trebbing or launching bombs at it... then it was a classic case of a friendly getting shot down, or the Ravana just decided to "tear me up" with anti-warship beam fire...
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: General Battuta on June 30, 2009, 01:01:47 pm
Well, I did it.  The Temeraire made it out at 3%, but a win is a win.  Thanks for all the advice...I was about 2.5 km behind the Temeraire by the time the Ravana showed up and it helped a lot.

One thing that confused me was that the objectives say to destroy forward beam cannons, but the Temeraire got destroyed twice by other beam cannons after I killed the forward cannons.  I ran out of Trebs at this point and had to perform surgery on the Ravana to get the rest of them.  Is that supposed to happen?

What's the right angle to take on the Lilith?  I ran out of Trebs because sometimes, one is enough.  The majority of the time I approach it, it takes two to take out a beam cannon.


Well done! You're a hero!

There's one more mission that might give you a really hard time (Keepers of Hell), but assuming you're using the newest version of BP, you shouldn't have tooo much trouble.

What do you think so far? Liking it?
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Skyline on June 30, 2009, 01:32:52 pm
Quote
BTW skyline just curious, you say you ran out of Trebs, which ship did you use to finish the mission?

Myrmidon with Prometheus S/Kayser and 3-3-5 Trebuchets.  Swapped out the rest of Alpha with Myrmidons and a similar loadout except a Tornado/Hornet combo for secondaries, and Beta got Herc IIs with Maxim/Prometheus and Harpoon/Tornado, if I remember correctly.  Played on Very Easy.

Statistics said that one Trebuchet actually missed its target, and I had to double up on the Lilith.

Quote
Well done! You're a hero!

There's one more mission that might give you a really hard time (Keepers of Hell), but assuming you're using the newest version of BP, you shouldn't have tooo much trouble.

What do you think so far? Liking it?

I don't know about hero...flying that close and in front of an active beam cannon was risky to say the least...crazy may be more accurate.

The version of Blue Planet I'm using was downloaded from the BP site...the version from the installer gave some errors.

Blue Planet is pretty engrossing and I like it as much as I like Derelict so far.  The music really fits, especially on Forced Entry.  I don't know if I have enough of the story yet, but from what I've seen, it's been done really well.  I like the new ships except the new heavy assault fighter.  Difficulty wise, Derelict was easier.

My only real complaints are that when I fail a mission, there's no recommendations.  Some campaigns give you the crown jewels to the mission, but all I want is subtle hints like the ones in FS2.  That may not be possible on a mission like Forced Entry, but I failed my first attempt at Preserving the Balance and got no debriefing nor recommendations. My second is my grumbling about "forward beam cannons" - the mission shouldn't say "OK, you're done disarming this Shivan capital ship, go prioritize bombers" when the remaining beam cannons that I didn't touch are going to destroy the ship I'm going to protect.  That'll make me start ignoring directives.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Rodo on June 30, 2009, 02:01:04 pm
mirmy loaded with balors and trebs.

DON'T USE TREBS until you see the Ravana jumping in.

destroy the shivan cruisers beams without getting pulverized.

hunt bombers with a load of balor volts

don't get near the bombs

take your time and give orders to your wingman.

Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: General Battuta on June 30, 2009, 02:20:22 pm
Quote
BTW skyline just curious, you say you ran out of Trebs, which ship did you use to finish the mission?

Myrmidon with Prometheus S/Kayser and 3-3-5 Trebuchets.  Swapped out the rest of Alpha with Myrmidons and a similar loadout except a Tornado/Hornet combo for secondaries, and Beta got Herc IIs with Maxim/Prometheus and Harpoon/Tornado, if I remember correctly.  Played on Very Easy.

Statistics said that one Trebuchet actually missed its target, and I had to double up on the Lilith.

Quote
Well done! You're a hero!

There's one more mission that might give you a really hard time (Keepers of Hell), but assuming you're using the newest version of BP, you shouldn't have tooo much trouble.

What do you think so far? Liking it?

I don't know about hero...flying that close and in front of an active beam cannon was risky to say the least...crazy may be more accurate.

The version of Blue Planet I'm using was downloaded from the BP site...the version from the installer gave some errors.

Blue Planet is pretty engrossing and I like it as much as I like Derelict so far.  The music really fits, especially on Forced Entry.  I don't know if I have enough of the story yet, but from what I've seen, it's been done really well.  I like the new ships except the new heavy assault fighter.  Difficulty wise, Derelict was easier.

My only real complaints are that when I fail a mission, there's no recommendations.  Some campaigns give you the crown jewels to the mission, but all I want is subtle hints like the ones in FS2.  That may not be possible on a mission like Forced Entry, but I failed my first attempt at Preserving the Balance and got no debriefing nor recommendations. My second is my grumbling about "forward beam cannons" - the mission shouldn't say "OK, you're done disarming this Shivan capital ship, go prioritize bombers" when the remaining beam cannons that I didn't touch are going to destroy the ship I'm going to protect.  That'll make me start ignoring directives.

There's a thin line between madness and heroism.

Hrm. We're going to re-release a voice acted version at some point (pretty soon, hopefully.) We should definitely toss in some recommendations. Good idea!

The story going forward is quite bold and twisty. I liked it my first time through, and as I've spent more time with it, I've grown to love it (as evidenced by my BP dev team badge!) Stick with it, I promise it'll pay off.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Skyline on June 30, 2009, 07:25:50 pm
There's a thin line between madness and heroism.

Yeah, and I'm confident I crossed it.  In my defense, the cannon fired after I brought it down below 20%.

Quote
Hrm. We're going to re-release a voice acted version at some point (pretty soon, hopefully.) We should definitely toss in some recommendations. Good idea!

No problem.  If I have other suggestions, how do I get them to you?

I'd love to see a voice acted version of this campaign.  It's great.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: General Battuta on June 30, 2009, 08:27:44 pm
We're almost done voice acting it. Hopefully it'll be out by the end of the summer.

You can post a review thread right here! Stack it full of praise and criticism - it's what keeps creative minds going.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: asyikarea51 on June 30, 2009, 10:24:13 pm
Myrmidon?

....

I wasn't expecting that but oh well. XD
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on June 30, 2009, 11:35:56 pm
One thing that confused me was that the objectives say to destroy forward beam cannons, but the Temeraire got destroyed twice by other beam cannons after I killed the forward cannons.  I ran out of Trebs at this point and had to perform surgery on the Ravana to get the rest of them.  Is that supposed to happen?

Destroying the forward beam cannons should be your main objective as a single blast from both will easily destroy the Temeraire. The Abel also has two smaller beam cannons located on top of it that will do a lot of damage, but not enough to destroy the Temeraire. You also have to bear in mind that the Shivans aren't so stupid as to rely on their large ships to destroy other large ships. That's why they sent bombers out in the first place.

Myrmidon?

....

I wasn't expecting that but oh well. XD

Believe it. The Myrmidon is faster and more agile than the Herc II, so it's also a viable alternative if you don't want to shunt ETS energy about. It can also carry 11 Trebuchets, which is just enough for every beam cannon you need to take out if you fly it right.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: General Battuta on June 30, 2009, 11:43:29 pm
Destroying the forward beam cannons should be your main objective as a single blast from both will easily destroy the Temeraire. The Abel also has two smaller beam cannons located on top of it that will do a lot of damage, but not enough to destroy the Temeraire. You also have to bear in mind that the Shivans aren't so stupid as to rely on their large ships to destroy other large ships. That's why they sent bombers out in the first place.

To be fair, if the Abel gets a shot off with its LReds, the rear stinger SReds can still kill it. I always try to disarm them.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: eliex on July 01, 2009, 12:01:18 am
Even if the frontal beams are destroyed, the secondary stinger SReds can pull off about 3 volleys on average before the Temeraire's torpedoes destroy it. With little hull integrity to begin with, leaving those SReds alone is devastating.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Droid803 on July 01, 2009, 12:28:14 am
You could tell all your bomber squadrons to gank the Abel to bring it down faster.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: eliex on July 01, 2009, 02:06:11 am
That's true, although on Hard difficulty, most bombers are destroyed in the attrition of battle resulting in less impact by the survivors.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Rodo on July 01, 2009, 07:30:48 am
that's why I said you should not use your trebs until you see the Ravana, when the Ravana enters the field you should burst your way to it and when you are 2.5K away you target the front beams and fire double trebs on them, a single direct shot like that will blow those turrets away.

by the time both front turrets are destoyed you should be right on top of the Ravana, at this point you should target the upper beams and shoot double trebs at them fast fast fast! then when those are destroyed order your bombers to destroy the Ravana and you focus on shooting the fighter escort down.

If you selected the Myrmi then you'll have no trouble at all as it is a fast ship and you'll catch up fast with anything in the field and also you can carry a lot of trebs, not to mention the 4 banks  of balors will chew up ANYTHING the shivans can throw at you.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Skyline on July 01, 2009, 04:34:39 pm
Destroying the forward beam cannons should be your main objective as a single blast from both will easily destroy the Temeraire. The Abel also has two smaller beam cannons located on top of it that will do a lot of damage, but not enough to destroy the Temeraire. You also have to bear in mind that the Shivans aren't so stupid as to rely on their large ships to destroy other large ships. That's why they sent bombers out in the first place.

To be fair, if the Abel gets a shot off with its LReds, the rear stinger SReds can still kill it. I always try to disarm them.

This was part of the confusion.  The player is told "Kill the forward beam cannons!", but the player can do everything right (according to what he's told) and still lose.  Maybe it should say "Kill the forward beam cannons, but try to take out as many secondaries as you can!", just plain "Disarm the Ravana, now!" (which may have the player aiming for the Weapons subsystem) or the Recommendations can say something to that effect if the player fails the mission.  Maybe my memory has failed me, but FS2 didn't put me in a situation like this.

Also, I wasn't able to knock out both forward cannons before one of them fired.

You could tell all your bomber squadrons to gank the Abel to bring it down faster.

I did.  There's one heck of a delay between when I call Delta and Sanctuary Beta and when the remains of them actually show up, if they have any bombs left.   

that's why I said you should not use your trebs until you see the Ravana, when the Ravana enters the field you should burst your way to it and when you are 2.5K away you target the front beams and fire double trebs on them, a single direct shot like that will blow those turrets away.

by the time both front turrets are destoyed you should be right on top of the Ravana, at this point you should target the upper beams and shoot double trebs at them fast fast fast! then when those are destroyed order your bombers to destroy the Ravana and you focus on shooting the fighter escort down.

If you selected the Myrmi then you'll have no trouble at all as it is a fast ship and you'll catch up fast with anything in the field and also you can carry a lot of trebs, not to mention the 4 banks  of balors will chew up ANYTHING the shivans can throw at you.

You're a better pilot than I am if you can get that to work.  I'm way too far from the Lilith to be able to disable it's cannons without the use of Trebuchets, because I haven't memorized where the Lilith jumps in.  At least the Maxim has a 3 km range.  I was heavily considering the Morning Star also for this reason, but I doubted it would be effective on a Lilith.

I'll try it in the simulator someday and see if it helps.

I will also freely admit that my targeting skills with primaries aren't all that great, so I wanted cannons with more hull penetrating punch, hence the Prometheus S/Kayser mix.

Anyway, thanks again for all the advice, I'm still playing through Blue Planet (I'm at The Great Preservers), and really enjoying this campaign.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: CaptJosh on July 01, 2009, 07:16:45 pm
Maxim cannons, man. Go with the Maxim. That thing will blow the hell out of capships at extreme range.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Droid803 on July 01, 2009, 07:30:57 pm
Morning Stars are anti-bomb and bomber annoyer weapons.
Long Range. Fast fire rate. Moderate energy consumption. Highly accurate. Low hull damage. High kinetic effect.

Go with Maxims if you actually want to be able to kill something like a beam turret.

The player should really be told "Kill all the beam cannons on that Ravana! Start with the forward ones!"
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: General Battuta on July 01, 2009, 07:31:24 pm
I think his pure-Treb tactic was pretty good.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Droid803 on July 01, 2009, 07:33:41 pm
Yeah, when I went through it I used pure Trebs. Against the glitched Ravana...
In an Artemis if I recall correctly :nervous: or was that another mission/campaign?
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: CaptJosh on July 01, 2009, 08:10:09 pm
I combined Maxims and Trebs once I knew for sure what I was up against. The Maxims let me kill the Shivan cruisers at range without being engaged by their anti-fighter beams and without using missiles. Also, despite the fact that they don't do a lot of shield damage, they do enough that with all of them on an enemy fighter, it goes boom PDQ. Also they're very good against bombs at extreme range, which, given the nastiness of Shivan bombs, you want.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on July 02, 2009, 09:04:10 am
I think his pure-Treb tactic was pretty good.

That's every elite pilot's tactic in that mission, Battuta. :rolleyes:

This was part of the confusion.  The player is told "Kill the forward beam cannons!", but the player can do everything right (according to what he's told) and still lose.

If you play FreeSpace long enough, you'll learn to NOT listen to Command 99.99% of the time. :p


Also, I wasn't able to knock out both forward cannons before one of them fired.

1. Load a Maxim.
2. Use an all-Trebuchet loadout.
3. Shunt energy to engines.
4. If you don't like 3, fly a Myrmidon.
5. Order your wingmen to protect friendly targets.
6. Disable beam turrets first before attacking or protecting stuff.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: General Battuta on July 02, 2009, 10:43:41 am
I think his pure-Treb tactic was pretty good.
That's every elite pilot's tactic in that mission, Battuta. :rolleyes:

Do you read threads? This keeps happening with you! People were discussing the use of primaries to supplement the Trebuchets and I was saying the Trebuchets were adequate. Not that maxims aren't necessarily a good idea, but the Trebs can get you by.

Besides, given that you play on Very Easy with cheats, what are you doing discuss elite pilots?  :p

This was part of the confusion.  The player is told "Kill the forward beam cannons!", but the player can do everything right (according to what he's told) and still lose.

If you play FreeSpace long enough, you'll learn to NOT listen to Command 99.99% of the time. :p

Well, this wasn't Command talking, it was the Temeraire's tactical officer, and she's really cool (because her voice actor was really sweet). Skyline, we'll change that dialogue up for the special edition release, okay?
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Sushi on July 02, 2009, 11:39:50 am
I wish I remember how I did it, but I don't remember having much trouble at all with the mission (medium). I either used a Herc2 with trebs + maxim + (antifighter stuff) or a Perseus with one bank of trebs used very strategically. I don't remember which, but those are my two main fighter choices for anticap-escort missions. :)
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: asyikarea51 on July 02, 2009, 12:25:12 pm
iirc i actually fared better with the sdg to some extent (the round where i survived the longest doesn't count because i hate that ship). but it's a huge risk with the armour. stilettos counter that somewhat but lately i've been having some problematic issues when it comes to big ship subsystems... the cause isn't BP tho but its enough to frustrate me as it is in fred and in-game...
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: General Battuta on July 02, 2009, 01:15:23 pm
What are the problems?
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on July 03, 2009, 01:17:03 am
People were discussing the use of primaries to supplement the Trebuchets and I was saying the Trebuchets were adequate. Not that maxims aren't necessarily a good idea, but the Trebs can get you by.

Are Trebuchets almost essential, though?

Besides, given that you play on Very Easy with cheats, what are you doing discuss elite pilots?  :p

I don't cheat on Blue Planet anymore (although I still play on Very Easy). :nervous:

Well, this wasn't Command talking, it was the Temeraire's tactical officer, and she's really cool (because her voice actor was really sweet).

Oh yeah, I forgot... :nervous:

Now that I've brought this up (sorry), Command was more or less absent from the whole of AoA, right? Usually, it's either the Temeraire, Orestes or the Sacred Keeper giving orders.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: General Battuta on July 03, 2009, 01:29:52 am
Well, how exactly would Command reach you?
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: eliex on July 03, 2009, 01:31:22 am
Now that I've brought this up (sorry), Command was more or less absent from the whole of AoA, right? Usually, it's either the Temeraire, Orestes or the Sacred Keeper giving orders.

The Temeraire, Orestes and Sacred Keeper is technically "Command" in BP given the role they play.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on July 03, 2009, 01:38:29 am
Well, how exactly would Command reach you?

They can't, right? I mean, there's...

Spoiler:
...the dimension discrepancy...

:nervous::yes:

The Temeraire, Orestes and Sacred Keeper is technically "Command" in BP given the role they play.

Yeah, technically. However, they're a very capable lot. :)
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: asyikarea51 on July 03, 2009, 11:11:20 am
naah, it's not related to bp:aoa. more to general modding... and i don't want start up an off-topic rant.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: SpardaSon21 on July 03, 2009, 02:36:44 pm
No wonder the orders in AoA make sense.  Command isn't giving them!
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: General Battuta on July 03, 2009, 05:16:40 pm
Except for the orders in 'Journey's End'.  ;7
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: The E on July 03, 2009, 05:21:40 pm
Well, they make sense now. And even back when BP was new and shiny, they made for an awesome sequel hook.

And I honestly believe that AoA would have less of an impact for someone who read the prose on the site and then started playing. The feeling of utter WTF that last mission/cutscene provoked is something seen far too rarely in campaigns, IMHO.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: General Battuta on July 03, 2009, 05:41:46 pm
Yeah, you're not supposed to read those until you've finished AoA.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on July 03, 2009, 10:39:47 pm
Yeah, you're not supposed to read those until you've finished AoA.

Thank goodness I completed AoA thrice before those came up. I would have read the prose first before playing. :nervous:
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: paralaje on July 07, 2009, 10:53:32 pm
Quote from: Skyline
Myrmidon with Prometheus S/Kayser and 3-3-5 Trebuchets (...) Played on Very Easy.
In case anyone else is having trouble with the mission (like I did), this does the trick. Fighters and bombers are very easy in very easy difficulty mode (duh) so the only real threat are the capital ships. You need 1 trebuchet to take out the Cain's front beam cannon and 2 for each cannon on the Lilith, that's 5 trebuchets. Then you need 4 more trebuchets to kill the Ravana's main guns (2 each) and the two last to kill the other two cannons that are facing the Temeraire. That adds to exactly 11.
I'm not sure if turrets have more hit points on higher difficulty modes, but I had a really hard time to replicate this tactic in medium, which is the difficulty I normally play on.
Anyway, I'm thankful to the people that contributed here. Before being pointed to this thread I kept failing horribly at this mission.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on July 08, 2009, 02:56:45 am
I'm not sure if turrets have more hit points on higher difficulty modes...

I doubt it. Lower difficulties reduce the AI's capabilities and firing rate. On Insane, they can fly and shoot at a rate equal to an actual player, and Shivan beam cannons are absolute Hell.
Title: Re: Critique my strategy for Forced Entry
Post by: eliex on July 08, 2009, 03:16:00 am
That's true especially with the damage reduction factor removed, the pilot in swarm attacks is pretty vulnerable to focus fire and more annoyingly collisions in a dogfight.
I really dislike missions that have your wingmen colliding into you at the start. It's not a big deal on Easy-Medium but on Insane, it can deal a whopping 7-8% damage.