I've split the discussion on this level in two, as the first part - clearing a path to the first pattern buffer and shield recharger, is a major task in and of itself. We'll save the real meat of the level, which is equally substantial, for the next post.
As you'll recall, we've just eliminated the primary contingent and incubator of enforcers on the New Arizona moon and Ossinder wants us to strike while the aliens are in chaos. The player starts this level at one end of a cross, with fighters and invisible major compilers coming at them from all directions, fighters shooting at you from overhead and lots of shrubbery to impede movement. This is one of the most difficult opening segments in the scenario, if not the most difficult, and this level is definitely one of the most difficult overall. On TC, the chances of reaching the first pattern buffer alive are miniscule - I did it once and would not want to try to do it again. This is definitely something Matt and Andrew will want to address. The interesting thing is that the opening sequence is beatable - not consistently but, with practice, players can get through it virtually unscathed perhaps a quarter to half the time. The problem is what comes next and the effect of joint probability functions - 1/4 of 1/4 of 1/4 - well you get the idea.
My strategy for surviving the opening sequence is simple - circle the enemies and shoot to take them out, taking care to avoid getting stuck in the shrubbery. Fists aren't adequate here, at least not for me, as fighters invariably get in the way, leaving the player surrounded if they fail to kill the offending fighters quickly. I'll be curious to hear how John does it. Once the fighters and compilers have been cleared, there is still the issue of the hunters above you. It's possible to ignore them for now and deal with them later, but this can be dangerous. One strategy is to hide directly in front of their perch, where they can't reach you, and to then back up, fire at them and duck back in. The choice of weapon determines how long it takes to take them out - you can do it with magnums over a very l-o-n-g stretch of time, or you can fire off a couple of rockets and get the job done right away.
The main entrance is opened via a switch directly above a loft to the left of the door. This can easily be shot with the weapon of the player's choice - I like the faser for this. Blocking the way will be a hulk, but he'll stay put unless you enter. The faser is effective at taking him out at a distance without activating other monsters. As soon as you enter, however, you will be hit by two successive ambushes. My strategy here is to lay down a bunch of mines in front of the entrance and to quickly run in and out, activating the ambushes. One word about these proximity mines - they can trigger each other so that a single monster can set off all of your mines at once, wasting most of them (2 are sufficient to kill most monsters on TC). The key is to lay them down in pairs separated by a distance, in a pattern such that monsters will have to pass across at least one pair. The problem is that monsters have a way of following each other, so that the first monster will clear out a path for the rest. You can lay down a very large mine field to deal with this, but you might want to save your mines for use in the narrow passages we will encounter soon, where they will be much more effective. In any case, be prepared to deal with at least a couple fighters or troopers that you'll have to take out manually. Once the entrance is cleared, grab the available ammo and shoot the available switch to open the next door. You may want to lock it open.
Around the corner is a long corridor with an intersection, with troopers and hunters filling the corridors on both sides of the intersection. Activate these monsters and then retreat back to the entrance - they won't follow you, and it's surprisingly easy to take them out from there with your magnum without taking damage. To the right is a path leading to the overlook where the hunters are/were. Matt, you should add a small cache of ammo up there to give the player a reason to go there. To the left is a comm terminal with your instructions for the level. Straight ahead is a path to a pattern buffer and a shield recharger that doubles back around to the comm terminal, forming a loop (a rectangle, actually). When you feel up to it, take a look at the visuals - the breaks in the corridors with views down into the lava., the dark, stormy lighting outside with lightening flashes - something Bungie didn't do until Infinity. The pattern buffer and shield recharger are in rooms across from each other, but these rooms are filled with troopers, invisible compilers and wasps. This is largely a suicide trap and my main gripe with the level. There are so many monsters here that pretty much no matter what, just when you think you've eliminated them all, there will be one more trooper back in the corner that will take you out before you can recharge or save your game. This really sucks. My very strong suggestion is to greatly reduce the monster count here and get rid of the invisible compilers altogether, and to make sure that there are no monsters left hidden in corners.
There is a strategy for beating this area, however. The monsters will never stray from the corridor their rooms are off of, so carefully approach the entrances to their rooms and lay down a trail of mines leading away from the entrances in both directions. Next, get their attention and run like hell! Repeat this process as needed, but be aware of invisible compilers that may be standing in wait when you return and of wasps that won't trigger the mines by themselves. At some point you will need to enter the PB room, but duck out very quickly to avoid damage from what will likely be a plethora of remaining enemies. You can then finally save your game. The 2X recharger room is trickier as you can't exit the way you came in. Instead there is a switch you must shoot to open an exit door - shoot it a second time to keep it open for the future. Like it or not, you need to enter the room and dodge enemy fire until you've cleared the room, but this is a lot less risky once you have a saved game.
Next time we'll talk about the mission goals and the rest of the level.
