Which level is your favorite?

[contributor]

Have to say that I really loved my last run through of Kaldun Hive where we destroyed all the spawning towers. Maybe it was just so different than the way I have played in the past but it was a lot of fun.

[capthawk]

I babbled on in my first response to this post. I'll keep this one short.
After playing through a "few" more times now, I'm finding I really enjoy the mixed enemy levels, such as Starport with Narvs and Xeno, or Kaldun entrance with humans, turrets and Xeno.

[redartrats]

I also quite like Narvidian Core, because of the sheer number of TPs to take over; there is much sense of accomplishment as you move from TP to TP purging it of xeno and narv infestation and aligning it to templar frequencies. It captures the philosophy of BF: a focused strike team moving from one objective to another towards the goal. There is also the sense of satisfaction that we're gradually making headway against the narvs.

[redartrats]

Today I decided to play Mok Prime: Drop Zone the slow way, instead of my usual blitzing through the top 2 TPs which can be done pretty quickly with the right strike team. To keep the xeno numbers down, I swept through all TPs, but left the top two only neutralized, not captured, so that the mission doesn't end "prematurely".

And now I'm left wondering if this could actually become one of my favorite levels too! In typical TB style, this level is chockful of unexpected little surprises... but only if you care to look. If you just go through hitting all objectives, you'd complete the mission, yes, but you'd miss a lot of the extra fun. This is kinda spoiler-ish, so don't read on if you want to discover things on your own...

SPOILER: Click to show

1) I've always noticed the xeno spore sitting next to the building housing the first TP, and in the last few plays have taken care to swap in my Hydra so that I can purge it with fire on my way to capturing the TP. However, I didn't realize that there's actually another spore on the other end of the valley! In fact, I completely missed it and only discovered it "by mistake" when a scout, eager to help the soldier properly position Overwatch in case of unexpected incoming xeno, "accidentally" scanned the area that showed the tip of the spore.

SPOILER: Click to show

2) Near this 2nd spore is the remains of human fortifications containing some meditech ordnances. Another secondary objective!

SPOILER: Click to show

3) This one is my most favorite of all. The building at the SE corner of the map, near the TP on the SE, contains human survivors! I also only found this after taking my time and carefully searching the map.

Even more interestingly, I noticed more buildings and fortifications past the 3rd valley, and had my scout scan them. They don't seem to contain anything interesting, though, and I didn't find any path to reach them. There are a couple of buildings that are just past my scout's scanning range (though I only had him spec'd at Sensorkit Scan 1; I suppose I could have looked into the building if I raised the scan level, but I didn't want to replay the entire level just for that, since it doesn't look like there's actually anything there). I love how TB puts the effort into decorating the map with buildings and fortifications to give a sense of realism, even if they are actually unreachable.

[En1gma]

Number one most difficult level for me, it's up there with Extermination Protocol.

[redartrats]

Yeah, the first time I played this level I was completely overwhelmed by xeno coming at me from all directions. Eventually, I discovered that trying to hold the first TP is not as effective as just abandoning it once you've resupplied and deployed any additional templars you need, and moving your squad in full force towards the next TPs. Defending the TP eats up a lot of resources and thins out the number of templars you have for taking over other TPs.

I found that the easiest way to tackle this level is to go north first and take the bridge route. Don't go into the valley, as your squad gets constrained in a narrow path with xeno shooting at you from the sides. Then take over the first TP, resupply, and quickly regroup and move straight north. The TP on that hill, once you take it, is a far more defensible position than the first TP, if you really want to sit and camp for whatever reason. Then head east and take the TP on the next hill. This is already enough to complete the mission. The TP on the SE corner is the hardest to attack because you have to cross a lot of open territory and there are a lot of spawn points on the way.

As for Extermination Protocol, I also find that trying to hold the TP is extremely difficult, and reduces the number of templars you have for destroying the power nodes. I just move my entire squad to each power node, and retake the TP with my engineer later if necessary. The key is to use Overwatch to keep the litch (and other xeno!) at a safe distance and weaken him with your scout's Crippling Fire / Penetrating Fire, then move in for the kill. I find that by moving my entire squad together, I can just mow him down every time he shows up; I don't really have to worry about where he respawns until the last node.

[fallen]

redartrats - glad that you found so many more fun things when playing through Drop Zone! It's a great level for sure, with a lot of different areas of interest

[melisgl]

Extermination Protocol is my favourite right now. I'm on my third ironman attempt after failing twice on it. Failed once trying to hold the TP, failed once by not being able to safely take it and recruit a hydra.

[fallen]

Dec 18, 2018 10:02:32 GMT -5 melisgl said:

Extermination Protocol is my favourite right now. I'm on my third ironman attempt after failing twice on it. Failed once trying to hold the TP, failed once by not being able to safely take it and recruit a hydra.

That level is a ton of fun One of the very best in the game, well picked.