2298 replies to this topic

[Solais]

So skipped Stone Cold Crazy after a few tries, I think there's not enough time to take the outpost before the second truck arrives.

 

Then I did Ghost Hunt. It took me THREE HOURS. THREEEEE HOURS!? Or maybe even more! And whoever did that Psychic Beacon trap is a right asshole. Ohey, you free the US troops if you destroy that, and I'm like, nothing my Stormchildren can't handle from far, and they are like "FOOLED YOU! HAVE ALL THE ABRAMS ATTACK YOUR BASE!" and I was like "If I lose the ConYard I'll quit MO forever." I didn't lose it, but it was tough. In the end, the mission was incredibly long, and it was all about massing Warhawks, as they were fast enough to rush from one corner of the map to the other. And then taking the Scorpion Cell base, holy shit that was something else. As always, mass Stormchildren, take out the important targets. First ConYard, the War Factories then Barracks. Surprise! The enemy rebuilt the War Factory and two Barracks WITHOUT THE CONYARD! All while trying to babysit my harvesters and have at least one Oil Derrick base survive. When I took out the last important buildings with my Stormchildren and the enemy sold everything I was sighing, all tired, it's all over... then came the TWIST. And I was like, "I'm gonna chuck something out the window if I lose the mission due to this." Fortunately I didn't.

 

Anyways, I dunno what else to say about this mission to make it easier. Maybe not make the enemy rebuild without a ConYard? More oil derricks? Less mass Brutes? I don't know, I'm too tired.

 

Edit: Actually, I do remember starting the mission around 8pm, and it's midnight... so maybe 4 hours??? I was so exhausted I forgot to read my time, only the story bit on the victory screen.

 

Still.

 

 

 

 

Edit2: I think I figured out a solution all over: Disable the Easy AI rebuilding any buildings whatsoever. Even if they have a ConYard. It just artificially elongates the game, and going for 4 hours in one sitting is just unacceptable I believe. Just have that in on Easy difficulty, no enemy rebuilding, and I'm sure many missions would be cut in length and difficulty.

Edited by Solais, 28 December 2016 - 11:53 PM.

[CLAlstar]

Thing is, AI shouldnt rebuild unnecessary buildings. I never encountered the AI rebulding stuff without Conyard tho - at least in older betas. Something to be investigated i guess. Still, im surprised it took you over 3 hours - usually i got the time around 30-40 minutes. But yeah, that beacon is a dick move :V

 

And about Stone Cold Crazy, 2nd Kamaz is simple: Use Thors.

Spoiler

You may want to use those vids as reference. Both me and Martinoz left some hints.

[Solais]

What are unnecessary buildings, though? It sure likes rebuilding base defenses, even if there are no other buildings near.

[CLAlstar]

 

The enemy rebuilt the War Factory and two Barracks WITHOUT THE CONYARD!

Or you could also check recording of Low Rider coop from my perspective, where AI kept building random buildings near me. Thats what i meant.

 

Mass warhwaks is not really viable strat in Ghost hunt - bunch of Abrams/Bulldog/Repair IFV with addition of Athenas usually do the work. However you need to survive to that stage - 6-8 warhawks are enough to protect you from most of threats and clear out the areas around your base.

[GDIZOCOM]

I've only encountered that AI builds things near you in Needlehead (naval side). They kept building Prism Towers in front of the depository even if I already got all the power plants by the coastline. 

[Solais]

6-8 Warhawks were definitely not enough to survive and clear out the place. I had Abrams and such for the attack force, but the mass Warhawks became a necessity of survival.

[CLAlstar]

I usually go with 8 warhawks to clear out area from GGI and Abrams around the base. Then i switch into captured Abrams + 5 Bulldogs + couple of repair IFV's for base defense. With warhwaks i clear the area around tech arty bunker and i capture it - that makes at least half of SC attack forces to engage it first. I leave them next to it for defense and i dont need to bother with any bigger base security  until very late of mission, when sellout event happens.

[Fatalis]

The enemy rebuilt the War Factory and two Barracks WITHOUT THE CONYARD!

 

This happened to me as well in this exact same mission BUT I noticed after some time that they have captured my Conyard and that's how they rebuilt.Also I have no idea how was this possible as I had huge defenses on my base and the enemy was close to his death.So I don't know what trick they used but it might as well be the case for you too.

[CLAlstar]

Driller with Engineers. Always wall your conyards.

[Solais]

Yeah they did capture my Conyard and a barracks too at one point. Huh, I don't remember when that happened, maybe then when they rebuilt everything. Fortunate that I always build multiple barracks and such so I can capture them back. Man, I thought I only need to wall stuff in Skirmish. And in a way, it gives hints to what you could do in Epsilon missions.

Edited by Solais, 29 December 2016 - 11:06 AM.

[Solais]

Tried Stone Cold Crazy again. No. Just no. Give me an MCV. Skipping this.

 

Also, would be best if the trucks' path would be shown on the map, like in Starcraft 2.

 

 

Edit: I did Bottleneck on my second try. I really like this mission! Very unique! I can't really say anything else about it, I think it's pretty much perfect! Probably my favorite mission in MO so far!

 

Also:

Spoiler

Yep, the Paradox Engine can freeze time for the enemy, it even got its own music.

Edited by Solais, 29 December 2016 - 12:27 PM.

[CLAlstar]

That moment when actually hardest mission in allied campaign gives ppl less problems what Stone Cold Crazy.

[Solais]

Maybe it's too easy on Easy? :V

 

Will check a video on Mental, but after hopping through the islands with the chrono legion, there were barely any enemy units remaining to hurt the Paradox Engine. I still couldn't find the last Gehenna in time, but got it just after the Engine arrived. And then I got a load of ships and I eradicated everything else with them. I didn't even notice that I even got a third fleet, because even the first was enough to mop up the rest in the way of the convoy.ú

 

Allied Act 2 Campaign, on Easy, so far:

 

The Mermaid: Complete. No problems, though Siegfried can be eaten by the Drakuv and not have us fail the mission. Which I don't think it's that bad, considering it happens at the end of the mission, and would be frustrating to lose there.

 

Puppet Master: Complete. No problems.

 

Stone Cold Crazy: Skipped. Feels too "fast", I think there should be at least double time between the trucks. Feels really complicated.

 

Ghost Hunt: Complete. Too long, I feel. The troll beacon is evil, but I kinda like it, even if it punishes the player a little too much. Disabling the enemy to rebuild buildings on Easy would make this mission much shorter.

 

Bottleneck: Complete. Best mission so far.

Edited by Solais, 29 December 2016 - 12:48 PM.

[Solais]

Did Memory Dealer. Now that I know that I should enter the airbase to get repair stingers (I originally avoided the airbase), it was easy to get to the base. And then I just set up defenses, set up a wall of masterminds in front of the soviet base, and they couldn't get to me. After that, used drillers with engis to take out the conyard and war factory, though couldn't get the barracks. After a few failed attempts, I loaded up a few drillers with archers to take out the nuclear reactor. After this, only just some cleanup with invaders and tanks and it was done. Overall, not a lot of problems, but I feel that the airbase should be hinted a little more.

[Damfoos]

I've completed the Stone Cold Crazy on Easy, not sure what was causing you problems, because once you have captured the civilian airport and built 4 harriers you can intercept the trucks just fine. Thankfully there's not much AA in the area on Easy (I suppose all the SAM bunkers are under Yuri's command on Normal and Mental), so if you choose the path carefully, you can even return the Harriers safe. But I'm agree about delay between trucks, the mission is too damn fast, you don't have time to reclaim the small bases because you are busy making Rocketeers and you don't know what to expect, so no time to clear the area. I've completed the mission with about 30% of the map left unexplored, I feel like an additional "now clear/reclaim the area" objective would be nice to have, just to be able to explore the map step by step, when you don't have to hurry. Also, make sure to infiltrate the barracks and the war factory before capturing the first outpost.

Edited by Damfoos, 29 December 2016 - 02:39 PM.

[CLAlstar]

Capturing outposts is clearly optional. As for me, starting outpost + it extension with refinery and tech airfield was always more than enough.

[Thesilver]

With stone cold crazy it really is just weither or not you decide to capture the base near the beginning, if you do, the mission becomes indeed alot easier as i found out, without that it is rough indeed. Getting the second truck in time means you have to clear out a very large portion of the map before you can intercept it if you don't capture the base like i did. Anyway, i made it to the 6th and 7th trucks (2 at once) before my limited numbers got overwhelmed. I did capture the airfield though for reinforcements.

 

Also, why is the spy sat in by far the most fortified spot? There is no way you have the means to crack those defences in time while still working on the trucks.

[CLAlstar]

Try to have small groups (jets, paradrops, rocketeers) working on kamaz trucks. Spies are given for a reason - base without power is way easier to capture. Also, utilize your forces to the finest: as example, paradrop used to kill first truck in village can be also used to take out second one.

[Fatalis]

Stone cold crazy is just spam rocketeers to chase trucks.However the last truck passed through their base and I panicked because I thought that's where it would end and sent all my rocketeers to death.I could just wait it after it leaves the base.However I didn't feel like replaying the mission.It felt like a chore just sending rocketeers every 5 minutes.

Edited by Fatalis, 29 December 2016 - 04:34 PM.

[Solais]

I did all that, with the exception of the tech airfield, and got overwhelmed in the end.

 

Anyways did Divergence... Using the tactics mentioned, which was also the tactics used for Memory Dealer did the trick. It was still 2 hours long though.

 

And now I'm coming from Godsend and my hands are shaking. Made it through the very end, the shield command was half health... then I lost... at the very end. Goddammit, if only I had a save! Aarrh!

 

Anyways, I don't think that mission got any problems, it's actually really cool, I just don't know how to properly penetrate the final fortress.

 

I think I can evaluate the Epsilon Act 2 missions so far:

 

Epsilon Act 2 Campaign, on Easy, so far:

 

The Conqueror: Complete. No problems, though a little tricky. For some reason, the 8th Topol disappeared and I only needed 7?

 

Huehuecoyotl: Complete. Fun short mission, really enjoyed this one.

 

Memory Dealer: Complete. The first part seems harder than what it is, because not a lot of hint about the airport, so I missed the repair stingers there on my first few tries. Second part got no problems.

 

Divergence: Complete. Took me 2 hours, and the best time is 1.5 hours, which is somewhat long. The start can be problematic, especially the sudden SEAL drop in the back. Second part can be problematic when defending, though you got everything (two cloning vats even) to build up a lot of archers for defense. Not to mention, HUGE ore fields. At the end I got like 100k+ money, and could wipe the map with giant hordes of units.

 

Godsend: Not yet complete. Fun mission that makes me feel indestructible, until the very end, where you are very much destructible. Still have to find a way to get the finale (which I already watched), but I don't think it will be a problem.

 

Now to somehow do Soviet Mission 2...

Edited by Solais, 29 December 2016 - 05:49 PM.