High difficulty specialist help please?

[capthawk]

I've done Airlock with Hydra on high difficulty and have to agree. It's also fun doing it with an Engineer set up with Sentry Turret.

Thanks for the tips on doing it with Neptune. Those, Paladin and Berserk I don't do well on Airlock with, at least not on Nightmare and Ironman.

I am starting to see how I might, though, so thanks again fallen, En1gma, ntsheep, CdrPlatypus

Mostly have to agree with fallen, I just need drop back, probably to Brutal, and work out different strategies using those guys.

But right now I'm running Ironman with a core troops heavy squad and having a blast!

[CdrPlatypus]

Aug 14, 2016 10:12:11 GMT -5 capthawk said:

CdrPlatypus Thanks for the advice. Really good point on Squad synergy!

I'm glad you picked Neptune for your example as it's a good case of where I struggle. Simply, on a level like Airlock or Protocol with a Neptune I run into heat lock. I'm not sure you read all this thread, but to be clear I run my Squad as fast as possible. How do you deal with heat lock?

Maybe the better question overall is how do I better balance deployments? Ideally, I'd like at least one of every class above basic level, to a point I can trust each respective Knight with varying missions. I know that's unrealistic in the early game, this is more an as I move through the campaign question.

Heat management on ironman requires very care full play especially with Neptune's/Hydras combination gear and talents, full vent is a must on a Neptune

[contributor]

I'm a little late to this party, but I've read most of it now. I can't speak exactly to Specialist case except that early on you have to be very focused on one type of specialist or the other. Personally I tend to always do Ferarai first and then the desert missions and I rarely bring specialists in until after both of those. I guess it is possible, but I like to build my core force first and then add in specialists, besides I find that scouts and soldiers built right are incredibly powerful.

As for the heat issue I tend to overcome that with blazing speed. Looking at my last run through the Airlocks on Ironman (which I also think is one the hardest early levels) my team nailed it in 7 turns. There's a lot of strategy to this which includes getting Dalan up to Rallying Cry 4 and giving the cap and scout +1mp gear and then getting the scout as high as possible on his +mp buff. I think the cap also has Warriors Wrath (self MP buff) and his MP buff for others. Even with doing this level right after the tutorial I think I have my scout up to 10 or 11 mp. With that speed I never worry about closing the gates behind me. After the first switch to get out of the holding pen (thrown by a soldier to preserve the scouts mp), the scout goes straight for the first switch and the captain moves straight for the second (the scout will open the first gate on the second turn and captain will get the second by the 3rd or 4th. Then the scout leap frogs the captain and gets the final switch. I keep the soldiers in the middle suppressing everything and Dalan rebuffs the scout and cap as they run by. Basically though, on strategies like this, your knights have to make the most of every move and never fire before they've used all of the mp. It seems crazy and dodgy but is surprisingly reliable. They get to the end well-overheated, but they won't lock in 7 turns. When you think about how many less times they had to fire their weapons you can begin to see why moving fast is actually a great paradoxical way to save on heat. On levels like Airlocks they still end up with relatively high kill bonuses because the bonus is based on kills per turn and when your kills are divided by 7 instead of 16 or 20 you can still get pretty good ratios with a lot less heat overall.

My next group I think will be a -MP tank group, which is something I haven't done yet, because for me speed always beats the heat. Sure movement develops heat, but so does hacking, shooting and buffing. The faster you get done the more of the last 3 you eliminate.

[capthawk]

contributor - No such thing as late to this party! Maybe the bump will get other Templars to sound off.

I've been doing playthroughs on lower difficulty to experiment with my requisitioning. Thanks to the tips here, which you definitely echo, I have a much better plan for my next Ironman attempt. Again and again, ELITE STRIKE TEAM. lol.

I'm very intrigued by your strategy! I've been tinkering with my strategy along a similar vein; not always shooting or engaging other talents to conserve heat. Making careful movements to keep just out of attack range, etc.

I laughed a bit, you and I run Airlocks the same in regards to not closing doors!
I do have a couple of questions, related to your Airlocks strategy.
1. Sending Scout/ Capt. solo - but, spawn points! How do you manage to not get murdered, especially with a green, low hp, Scout? I'm almost guaranteed to encounter a Spitter in room one. I usually send a Soldier to OW.
Capt. I can see might pull it off, but it seems likely Capt takes some to alot of damage.
2. This seems to leave you slim on attack talents the way you RQ. How do you compensate? Or is it...
3. A respec after level? Or do you keep the high speed thing going forward?

Just a side note. Have you ever used an Engineer in lieu of a second Soldier? Making sure to have their turret talents, it's as easy as with two Soldiers. Possibly easier, as the turrets draw so much Xeno attention.

Thanks for the advice, really got me thinking in new directions.

[contributor]

Yeah, like I said it seems highly risky, but surprisingly it has worked well for me the last couple of times. I wish I could go back and see how I did it the last time. I'd even like to video it if I have to the time but that won't be until next week at the earliest.

Let's see:
1) I wish I could remember. I think I might even get that first switch on the first turn if I use all the mp right.* When that happens the scout is actually on his way out by the second turn and normally nobody spawns in there that quickly. Even if he gets the switch on the second turn he still has enough mp to get clear of the room. Sometimes I do pull soldiers into corridor to help OW for the switch pullers. Also I build my captains to take hits, or rather block, dodge and parry them. So normally he is good and sometimes I can even use him as bait to draw people away from the scout.
2) I don't feel like I have to skimp too much on attack talents. I play fast on almost every level and max the bonuses. I almost always get between 15 and 20% bonus on every level so that helps with the RP a lot. Also not going for any specialists early helps a lot too.
3) I do respec my scouts frequently. Them and engineers regularly get rebuilt for the task at hand. On this level I'm sure the scout probably has Overdrive 3 and then everything else is in crippling. I really like Crippling when you're moving fast because it lets you control the board and keep scary guys away from the squishies. Generally my scouts are either crit monsters or stealth operatives. So on levels like this I put a lot into stealth and evasion too. Honestly on this level I'm not sure if my scout ever kills anyone. That's just not his job here. Overall I generally keep things pretty geared towards high speed. I really push it on this level though, so I might dial it down a little after this and take some points from Overdrive and put them into attack talents instead.

I don't think I've ever tried an Engi here. I suppose it's not a bad idea with turrets. It would definitely keep the trailing horde busy with turret chew-toys.

* When I talk about using MP right I mean that every move has to take them closer to the goal. So get everyone else out of their way. They also need to use all of their MP before using their buffs. Otherwise you're wasting MP when you use the AP to buff. The best is when you zero out mp right at the switch. Use AP to throw the switch and then buff with Overdrive and get three more moves away from the switch.

[contributor]

OK, I shouldn't have, but sometimes when I get an idea, it just has to get done ASAP. Here is how I beat Airlock Chambers without worrying about heat. This was pretty quick and dirty and the video could have been better, but it's the best I could swing with the time available.

[fallen]

contributor - killer Let's Play! Shared and posted and +1'd!

Absolutely showing how its done!

[mal]

Sept 8, 2016 16:40:01 GMT -5 contributor said:

OK, I shouldn't have, but sometimes when I get and idea, it just has to get done ASAP. Here is how I beat Airlock Chambers without worrying about heat. This was a pretty quick and dirty and the video could have been better, but it's the best I could swing with the time available.

Absolutely awesome vid Lurkey

[bookworm21]

Talk about inspiration contributor

[capthawk]

contributor - killer video and squad run! My last try at Airlock I used a variation on your strategy. I didn't have quite the speed RQ-ed you do, but I made it out in nine.

I also noted and liked how you saved heat by not using CS (just the once near the finale) or CC buffs.

Very, very nice work!

[contributor]

You can see how important squeezing every last mp out of the Scout is in this level when that first Hunter comes up behind him with one square to spare. If you're unlucky a lone Hunter can take down a scout in one turn and that would have changed everything. But when you stay on the bleeding edge of speed the level actually looks easy because you're staying ahead of most the spawns and all of those trailing xeno. With that said it wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea to cover the scout on the return from that first switch with some OW.

Looking at my team it looks like they could have afforded some more CC and CS on their heat levels, but when I'm putting all of their points into accuracy building skills/attributes they do pretty well even without them. I don't think anybody actually missed a shot in the whole level.

[capthawk]

Well, I made Airlock in seven turns. Only because I messed around too much with RQ and was short points for the Swift kit.

contributor-
Your strategy tips have made a difference going forward for me as well!

[capthawk]

Hey gang, as I said when I started this post, I needed help RQing specialists early, for future playthroughs and Squad diversity.

Thanks to everyone who posted here, I now have a successful Nightmare Squad featuring a Berserker and Paladin I called out early. Thanks to the advice here, I learned so much about Squad synergy and specs; my success wouldn't be possible without having explored the core troops so fully.

Basically, I'm replacing one Soldier with my Berserker on my A-team. I've got a melee Capt as well, and am focusing on Scouts with CF, because I love watching enemy limp up one square short of attack range on their turn. We simply sharpen or blades as we wait, then it's our turn 🔪🐛☠

It's definitely made me revise my strategies in Squad building, and on certain levels; figuring in just the difference in SP by swapping, let alone talents. SP was another big reason I wanted to prioritize Scouts. I'm just so pleased how well they support my melee Knights.

[fallen]

capthawk - really glad that everyone on the thread was able to help and you could tune your strategy to such success!