The main problem with this game is that I'm not playing it right now.
Is there any tactical decision on whether to do a 2,3 or 4 island run or is it just a case of personal preference/medal list filling out?
So far I feel like I decide to go to the final mission early if I think my build isn't likely to get too much stronger, or not stronger enough to get ahead of what I know is coming.
The main problem with this game is that I'm not playing it right now.
Is there any tactical decision on whether to do a 2,3 or 4 island run or is it just a case of personal preference/medal list filling out?
My concept is that I go on a 2 island run if I'm doing poorly or got a weak start, because the final battle is easier to do on limited resources than a full 3rd or 4th Island.
Is there any tactical decision on whether to do a 2,3 or 4 island run or is it just a case of personal preference/medal list filling out?
Really depends on the squad and whether I need additional reactors to fill out my mechs. Some squads run leaner than others - for example, there are some science mechs that really don't need juice to be effective.
The Frozen Titans are just god-awful. How would you like to A) not be able to move Vek around, have one of your guys out of action half the time and C) not do any real damage?
Man, lightning whip guy is damn liability. Even ignoring the issues of unintentional chaining, he neither does enough damage to kill nor moves the vek at all meaning he can often do nothing to prevent an attack.
0
The Escape Goatincorrigible ruminantthey/themRegistered Userregular
Man, lightning whip guy is damn liability. Even ignoring the issues of unintentional chaining, he neither does enough damage to kill nor moves the vek at all meaning he can often do nothing to prevent an attack.
Selecting your island is really important for that. Take whichever island has the most low health enemies like hornets, mantis, and crabs until you get the power to up it to three damage where it takes care of most everything else.
Unless you're playing hard, in which case all is lost.
The Frozen Titans are just god-awful. How would you like to A) not be able to move Vek around, have one of your guys out of action half the time and C) not do any real damage?
Playing them is just painful.
You need to use the ice artillery so that you can freeze an enemy while leaving yourself in the path of another enemy attack or vek spawn so that you get unfrozen during the vek turn. In that way it can prevent two attacks a turn by itself.
You can also leave yourself opposite an enemy the mirror mech is going to shoot so you unfreeze yourself with the janus cannon.
Don't forget you can freeze buildings to prevent 1 attack as well, so if you can't get in a position to freeze an enemy and unfreeze yourself, you may be able to position to freeze the building being attacked instead.
It can actually be harder at the start of the game to do this because there will be less enemies at once during the first island, but it's a very powerful mech.
Unlike other artillery you want to be quite forward with the freeze mech, the sooner you can move onto a vek spawn every turn the better off you're likely to be.
Rami on
Steam / Xbox Live: WSDX NNID: W-S-D-X 3DS FC: 2637-9461-8549
So far, every team I've tried has been awful and terribly designed I don't know how anyone can possibly win with this team oh wait what if I try doing this instead what that's so powerful these guys are incredible.
The fact is that you're mostly resetting your learning curve for each team. What worked for you last time will NOT work for you now, so you have to find what will.
Entertainment value of freezing a Vek alpha hornet so it drops into the chasm it just rose out of and dies: 10 of 10, would have Bethany pull the trigger again.
I haven't gone for anything less than a 4 island victory yet. A lot of timelines have gotten screwed because I just refused to quit while I was ahead.
Now that I'm bashing my head in trying to play Steel Judoka through four islands, my folly is really becoming apparent.
Update, I'm now on the third island and I've abandoned the Judo Mech's throw for the self-damaging ram and the self-damaging jump-stomp to take advantage of its armor. It's like some sort of parkour mech now.
There's nothing as frustrating as a "no win" turn 1, where no matter what you do you're going to lose power. I do really like the game but the times when you're repeatedly faced with unwinnable positions do grate a bit.
Favourite squads have been the Rusting Hulks and Flame Behemoths, in both cases for their absolutely top notch crowd control. Rusting hulks obviously have the smoke going for them, but the push mech with upgraded shielding really carries you out of a ton of impossible situations. Flame Behemoths have everyone able to push and the fully upgraded swap positions mech is a lifesaver. Most other squads just seem to fall short for me, either through lack of killing power or lack of CC. Certainly nothing else seems to be able to do both at the same time in the same way as the above.
Pilot wise I'm only just forcing myself to use something other than "can't be webbed". It's just too damned useful.
There's nothing as frustrating as a "no win" turn 1, where no matter what you do you're going to lose power. I do really like the game but the times when you're repeatedly faced with unwinnable positions do grate a bit.
I can't prove it myself but I suspect that there's no such thing as a no win turn 1 if you deploy correctly. I've noticed that I tend to see no win turn 1s when I've deployed pretty lackadaisically with my mechs.
In case this is happening to you, some things I tend to do:
Place mechs along long sight lines with no buildings behind them: that way ranged Vek must choose to fire at my mech OR a building, but not both. That way none of your mechs is forced to tank a ranged Vek shot to save a building. Gives you greater flex in your first turn movement and target prioritisation. If this isn't possible, place your most mobile mechs behind buildings and your tough mechs out front with clear firing angles. Speaking of...
Give open firing lines to any mechthat can cause collateral damage, and along both axes if possible. Preferably along the first open line in front of your buildings. If not possible, at least ensure easy access to the front axis regardless of the Vek's first turn movement.
Throw a baiting mech out front if they have leapers or scorpions. Usually with the aforementioned clear firing lines. I'd rather have a melee Vek jump right into the teeth of my bruiser's guns and die than find one of those no-win firing angles where you can kill the Vek AND the building or neither.
The no win situation I encountered was on the first leg of the final mission. In that case you have both a restricted deploy zone and no prior knowledge of building positions (unless you've memorized it, which I haven't). 3 generators were under attack - 1 from a scorpion, 1 from a launched explosive thing and the kicker was a basilisk-looking thing that creates rocks around itself. It was going to take 2 mechs to move it no matter what I did, leaving 1 mech to deal with two other threats which were too far apart to deal with in one go. To add to it, the rocks/explosives/positioning also blocked movement to the point where I couldn't get into decent positions.
I get that deployment can help, and I know I've made a few screw-ups on that front, but equally I'm pretty certain no win turn 1s are possible.
0
BethrynUnhappiness is MandatoryRegistered Userregular
If you freeze a satellite rocket before it launches (on the turn it's trying to launch), it will not launch even when the ice is broken, and you don't get the objective star.
"Command, I don't think we have the rocket power to launch an additional twenty tonnes of water... can someone explain rocket science to these idiot 'time travelers'?"
I find that there are no-win situations, but they are extremely rare, and tend to happen in situations where you can't predict what is going to happen (like what critters are going to break ground, and which to stand on to prevent the most dangerous from emerging).
Anyway, my last two wins have been carried by the ice generator. Fully upgraded, that thing freezes like half the map. Only drawback is the showdown missions where you have to kill a leader... hard to get at them and do enough damage if they're in a solid block of ice.
Working on Blitzkrieg now... it's the last that I need a 4 island victory with. Definitely takes a different approach than the others, which is why this game is so awesome: EVERY squad requires a different approach.
+2
mysticjuicer[he/him] I'm a muscle wizardand I cast P U N C HRegistered Userregular
I’m loving Blitzkrieg so far. So much different than the base squad! I didn’t realize until recently that the boulder catapult leaves terrain behind if you target and empty square, which is another useful piece of tech.
I’m loving Blitzkrieg so far. So much different than the base squad! I didn’t realize until recently that the boulder catapult leaves terrain behind if you target and empty square, which is another useful piece of tech.
The boulder can also be a handy way to block Vek from surfacing at a critical juncture.
My (limited) experience with Blitzkrieg so far is "Hahahaha I'm crushing it, die Vek die another perfect mission... Oh, I've fucked it and everyone has died."
Blitzkrieg is the only pilot I haven't unlocked and I'm determined to keep his great power a pleasant surprise. He sounds like he'll be fun though!
Until then, I'm having a great time with Camila. It's so good just not worrying whether my Prime mech will get locked down by some trash Vek each turn.
Blitzkrieg is the only pilot I haven't unlocked and I'm determined to keep his great power a pleasant surprise. He sounds like he'll be fun though!
Until then, I'm having a great time with Camila. It's so good just not worrying whether my Prime mech will get locked down by some trash Vek each turn.
Blitzkrieg is one of the mech teams, not a pilot. And yes, her power to ignore webs and smoke is pretty good.
Blitzkrieg is the only pilot I haven't unlocked and I'm determined to keep his great power a pleasant surprise. He sounds like he'll be fun though!
Until then, I'm having a great time with Camila. It's so good just not worrying whether my Prime mech will get locked down by some trash Vek each turn.
Blitzkrieg is one of the mech teams, not a pilot. And yes, her power to ignore webs and smoke is pretty good.
Ohhhh, they are too.
Weird. I always just thought of Blitzkrieg as "The Zappy Ones".
Okay, finished a 4-island victory with Blitzkrieg. My last attempt failed on the last round of the last stand because I got a little too crafty with wind turbines (which are totally awesome if you give them the unlimited use upgrade, by the way) in order to save my +1 Reactor, +2 HP Camila from an instadeath tile, but I didn't notice that an exploding gobbet was next to a pylon afterward.
That's okay, because Camila went back and saved the next timeline. She ended up with a flamethrower in Blitzkrieg Prime, Archemedes was in the artillery with a fully upgraded ice generator, and Henry Kwan was in the Brute with a fully upgraded smoke jump.
Now I have Random, Custom, and all the 2 & 3 island victories to do. And all those achievements.
Guys, much like with FTL I'm still playing this game. Whoever designed both games has a direct line to my addiction gland.
And I have to say, Camila Vera is the best pilot by such a wide margin that if you disagree then we simply can't be friends. It's not even a contest. Only in niche situations (like the Hazardous Mechs, where it's obviously Harold Schmidt) is Camila not the go-to pick, and even then Camila would still be great.
"Ignore all that bullshit" is pretty much the best power. I've found uses for others when I'm going for specific achievements, but otherwise it's Camila all the time.
+1
The Escape Goatincorrigible ruminantthey/themRegistered Userregular
Global drop + damage robot is still my go to. You get to kill those stupid mantis things before the fight even starts!
So obviously I was late to this party, but I picked this up last weekend on the Switch and have either been playing about it or thinking about playing it ever since.
Did my first few runs on easy with the default team (Rift Walkers?), stuffed up the first one because for some reason I thought pylons were non-essential the first time I got to the final mission.
Have attempted one normal run with the Rusting Hulks and definitely need to work out how to more effectively use the science mech.
This game is a lot of fun guys.
Switch Friend Code: SW-3944-9431-0318
PSN / Xbox / NNID: Fodder185
Posts
Is there any tactical decision on whether to do a 2,3 or 4 island run or is it just a case of personal preference/medal list filling out?
So far I feel like I decide to go to the final mission early if I think my build isn't likely to get too much stronger, or not stronger enough to get ahead of what I know is coming.
My concept is that I go on a 2 island run if I'm doing poorly or got a weak start, because the final battle is easier to do on limited resources than a full 3rd or 4th Island.
Really depends on the squad and whether I need additional reactors to fill out my mechs. Some squads run leaner than others - for example, there are some science mechs that really don't need juice to be effective.
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
https://www.subsetgames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=32860
Playing them is just painful.
Selecting your island is really important for that. Take whichever island has the most low health enemies like hornets, mantis, and crabs until you get the power to up it to three damage where it takes care of most everything else.
Unless you're playing hard, in which case all is lost.
You need to use the ice artillery so that you can freeze an enemy while leaving yourself in the path of another enemy attack or vek spawn so that you get unfrozen during the vek turn. In that way it can prevent two attacks a turn by itself.
You can also leave yourself opposite an enemy the mirror mech is going to shoot so you unfreeze yourself with the janus cannon.
Don't forget you can freeze buildings to prevent 1 attack as well, so if you can't get in a position to freeze an enemy and unfreeze yourself, you may be able to position to freeze the building being attacked instead.
It can actually be harder at the start of the game to do this because there will be less enemies at once during the first island, but it's a very powerful mech.
Unlike other artillery you want to be quite forward with the freeze mech, the sooner you can move onto a vek spawn every turn the better off you're likely to be.
The fact is that you're mostly resetting your learning curve for each team. What worked for you last time will NOT work for you now, so you have to find what will.
whoops
This is what happens when you don't have Mafan or Bethany in there.
Now that I'm bashing my head in trying to play Steel Judoka through four islands, my folly is really becoming apparent.
Update, I'm now on the third island and I've abandoned the Judo Mech's throw for the self-damaging ram and the self-damaging jump-stomp to take advantage of its armor. It's like some sort of parkour mech now.
Favourite squads have been the Rusting Hulks and Flame Behemoths, in both cases for their absolutely top notch crowd control. Rusting hulks obviously have the smoke going for them, but the push mech with upgraded shielding really carries you out of a ton of impossible situations. Flame Behemoths have everyone able to push and the fully upgraded swap positions mech is a lifesaver. Most other squads just seem to fall short for me, either through lack of killing power or lack of CC. Certainly nothing else seems to be able to do both at the same time in the same way as the above.
Pilot wise I'm only just forcing myself to use something other than "can't be webbed". It's just too damned useful.
I can't prove it myself but I suspect that there's no such thing as a no win turn 1 if you deploy correctly. I've noticed that I tend to see no win turn 1s when I've deployed pretty lackadaisically with my mechs.
In case this is happening to you, some things I tend to do:
Place mechs along long sight lines with no buildings behind them: that way ranged Vek must choose to fire at my mech OR a building, but not both. That way none of your mechs is forced to tank a ranged Vek shot to save a building. Gives you greater flex in your first turn movement and target prioritisation. If this isn't possible, place your most mobile mechs behind buildings and your tough mechs out front with clear firing angles. Speaking of...
Give open firing lines to any mechthat can cause collateral damage, and along both axes if possible. Preferably along the first open line in front of your buildings. If not possible, at least ensure easy access to the front axis regardless of the Vek's first turn movement.
Throw a baiting mech out front if they have leapers or scorpions. Usually with the aforementioned clear firing lines. I'd rather have a melee Vek jump right into the teeth of my bruiser's guns and die than find one of those no-win firing angles where you can kill the Vek AND the building or neither.
hAmmONd IsnT A mAin TAnk
I get that deployment can help, and I know I've made a few screw-ups on that front, but equally I'm pretty certain no win turn 1s are possible.
"Command, I don't think we have the rocket power to launch an additional twenty tonnes of water... can someone explain rocket science to these idiot 'time travelers'?"
Anyway, my last two wins have been carried by the ice generator. Fully upgraded, that thing freezes like half the map. Only drawback is the showdown missions where you have to kill a leader... hard to get at them and do enough damage if they're in a solid block of ice.
Working on Blitzkrieg now... it's the last that I need a 4 island victory with. Definitely takes a different approach than the others, which is why this game is so awesome: EVERY squad requires a different approach.
I made a game, it has penguins in it. It's pay what you like on Gumroad.
Currently Ebaying Nothing at all but I might do in the future.
The boulder can also be a handy way to block Vek from surfacing at a critical juncture.
A team living on the edge at all times?
I made a game, it has penguins in it. It's pay what you like on Gumroad.
Currently Ebaying Nothing at all but I might do in the future.
Until then, I'm having a great time with Camila. It's so good just not worrying whether my Prime mech will get locked down by some trash Vek each turn.
hAmmONd IsnT A mAin TAnk
Blitzkrieg is one of the mech teams, not a pilot. And yes, her power to ignore webs and smoke is pretty good.
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
Ohhhh, they are too.
Weird. I always just thought of Blitzkrieg as "The Zappy Ones".
hAmmONd IsnT A mAin TAnk
That's okay, because Camila went back and saved the next timeline. She ended up with a flamethrower in Blitzkrieg Prime, Archemedes was in the artillery with a fully upgraded ice generator, and Henry Kwan was in the Brute with a fully upgraded smoke jump.
Now I have Random, Custom, and all the 2 & 3 island victories to do. And all those achievements.
And I have to say, Camila Vera is the best pilot by such a wide margin that if you disagree then we simply can't be friends. It's not even a contest. Only in niche situations (like the Hazardous Mechs, where it's obviously Harold Schmidt) is Camila not the go-to pick, and even then Camila would still be great.
hAmmONd IsnT A mAin TAnk
Global drop bot is my also-ran, but unfortunately there are so many common reasons why the hot-drop is no good and then your pilot isn't Camila.
hAmmONd IsnT A mAin TAnk
Did my first few runs on easy with the default team (Rift Walkers?), stuffed up the first one because for some reason I thought pylons were non-essential the first time I got to the final mission.
Have attempted one normal run with the Rusting Hulks and definitely need to work out how to more effectively use the science mech.
This game is a lot of fun guys.
PSN / Xbox / NNID: Fodder185