Monday, March 11, 2013

Dawn of War II - Walkthrough - Day 12 extra deployment 1 - To Decapitate The Hive

(Click here for a list of all our posts on Dawn of War II.)

The missions available are:
  • Calderis (3 Foundries) - To Decapitate the Hive
  • Typhon (1 Foundry) - Brood Swarm
  • Meridian (2 Foundries) - No Missions
We are still on Day 12, and using the extra deployment we earned on the first mission of Day 12 (The Secrets of Angel Forge). Our objective is therefore to secure a second extra deployment and maximize our daily deployments.

To secure a second deployment, (and because we hold all six Automated Foundries) we need 14/15 points from Fury stars, Resilience stars, Speed stars, and Foundries on a planet. We have 3 Foundries on Calderis, so if we take our time to get Fury 5 and Resilience 5, we are guaranteed a score of 14 even if we complete the mission with Speed 1. On Typhon, we would need Speed 3. The only choice for our objectives is "To Decapitate the Hive" on Calderis.

Mission 25 To Decapitate the Hive
  • Day 12 extra deployment 1, Fury 5, Resilience 5, Speed 1 (47 minutes), 1 extra deployment awarded.
  • Infestation: Calderis 2, Typhon 0, Meridian 3.
  • We recycled a lot of unique low-level and unassigned gear. Level changes:
  • Before: Force Commander 16, Tarkus 15, Avitus 16, Cyrus 16, Thaddeus 12, Thule 14
  • After: Force Commander 19, Tarkus 19, Avitus 19, Cyrus 19, Thaddeus 15, Thule 17
  • Since Tarkus and Avitus are both level 19 and the level cap is 20, we dropped them from the roster and took Thaddeus and Thule on missions instead. Cyrus continues to be critical, especially with Thule being clumsy and slow, and too vulnerable to Carnifexes. Cyrus was basically needed to kill Carnifexes with Demolition Charge Packs and Remote Detonators.
  • Whirlwind missiles can finally be deployed now that we have Terminator Armour, but it seemed useless. It had a low trajectory (like grenades) and might hit walls or mountain face if fired uphill. The missile volley is too diffuse to really do anything useful except very long range attrition bombardment with a spotter. It can knock everything down except a vehicle or very large creature, but it can't even kill light infantry like Hormagaunts or Termagants unless you get lucky on the missile spread. Enemies are typically alerted and come at you unless you are very far off. Because of this we declined to use it, and in any case the Force Commander would lose the use of his Commander Accessory and Thaddeus would lose his Assault Jump
  • Venom Cannons
    • Duos of Tyranid Warriors with Venom Cannons appeared quite frequently on the map. These are extremely dangerous.
      • Previously, Tyranid Warriors with Barbed Stranglers caused a lot of trouble, but the damage they inflict now is no longer guaranteed to kill any squad members.
      • Venom Cannons are basically one-shot-one-kill weapons and each shot can be expected to kill a squadmember or seriously injure the Force Commander or Davian Thule.
    • Cyrus's High Powered Shot is one way to deal with them, but they appeared in pairs, so it costs a lot of supplies to do it that way. Remote Detonators were better as you could also kill nearby enemies as well.
    • Tarkus's Tactical Advance didn't help a lot in keeping squadmates alive.
  • Hive Tyrant
    • Set a Remote Detonator at the cave entrance against reinforcements. There is at least one early wave, and possibly a second wave later.
    • High-Powered Shots out of the Hive Tyrant's sight range (and possibly regular sniping rifle shots, especially if he has a longer-range sniping rifle) will allow you to safely defeat this boss.
    • Unlike other bosses, this one has a tendency to basically NOT move around unless enemies are out of range of its attacks, or if you throw a Demolition Charge Pack at it. Very easy to avoid its special attacks and throw grenades at it, or even hit it with a Remote Detonator.
  • Some Tyranids are scripted to approach squads even if they are Infiltrated, so you must constantly keep reinforcements for Cyrus nearby because he cannot run fast enough from Hormagaunts, and if they chase him all the way back to a rally point, he's still in big trouble (on Primarch difficulty).

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