[SPOILER] Defense: Panzyr campaign mission feedback

[DaNuker]

Firstly, this isn't the Liberation: Panzyr mission. So don't read on if you don't want spoilers, but feel free to discuss if you cleared it.

Spoiler

This mission while straight forward brings up the Ambush Convoy mission type at its worst.

You basically only get 2 to 3 rounds before the mission immediately fails if you fail to intercept any of the vehicles inbound to your command center. They move too quickly along the roads and will instant fail you if you fail to intercept.

The 4 relatively armored and fast APCs from 2 different directions that you need to intercept. Thankfully they don't shoot at you while the light/medium 'Mechs that do which can sensor lock your evasion away.

If you brought Heavy/Assault 'Mechs and miss a critical shot or out of line of sight you are pretty much done for in this mission. And you know the RNG to-hit chances. Sometimes, even with a 9/10 Gunnery pilot, that crucial shot to remove that 1 point of exposed structure will somehow miss and mission game over.

I think the mission should at least give us better warning about this before unleashing this information on us after we have deployed. The ammo dump mission was similar but at least for that mission you can pretty much instantgib the Mobile HQ by striking the ammunition dump and more importantly, it was optional.

Speaking of the optional objectives, there is only one way to succeed in the secondary objective and again it isn't hinted at until you encountered it. If you decided to cautiously approach the barracks due to the enemies in the way, it can quickly too late because the APC travels to it too quickly when it spawns. Having to force yourself to deploy a unit in a specific way by charging through a screening force of enemy lights then pray to RNGesus you have enough firepower/range to destroy the thankfully lightly armored wheeled APC isn't fun or challenging.

And then, thanks to all multiple enemy units and the slow movement animation of the APC, this mission grinds to a tedious crawl. All of this gave it a very bad impression.

I don't mind tough fights of 4 vs 8 where you have to use your wits and strategy to outplay your enemy but this mission feels more "gamey" than anything. Sure, I can speed through it on the second playthrough but this should not be a player's first experience with this misison.

What are your experiences/thoughts on this mission?

 

[Pineapple Salad]

Does the whole mission actually fail if one of the APCs make it? I thought it was just a bonus objective. I failed one of them when an APC spawns near the upper base. My battlemaster was sprinting for it but still couldn't make it.

Spoiler: There is actually another mission later on where you almost certainly fail a secondary objective

You have to protect 2 APCs that are going for turret controls, but if you bought assaults, the APCs move way faster than you and rush straight into an enemy heavy lance who will focus one of them down in a single turn.

 

[DaNuker]

Does the whole mission actually fail if one of the APCs make it? I thought it was just a bonus objective. I failed one of them when an APC spawns near the upper base. My battlemaster was sprinting for it but still couldn't make it.

Yes it does. The mission immediately fails if you let a single APC through your main base. Just my luck that an AC/20 missed twice in a row.

The hilltop barrack is optional though.

 

[Pineapple Salad]

Yes it does. The mission immediately fails if you let a single APC through your main base. Just my luck that an AC/20 missed twice in a row.

The hilltop barrack is optional though.

Well that sucks. Just out of curiosity, what happens if you fail a story mission? Can you still continue playing, does the story branch or is it instant game over?

 

[Delta Assault]

I thought killing the APCs was easy. The part that seems hard as hell is defending that barracks.

 

[DaNuker]

Well that sucks. Just out of curiosity, what happens if you fail a story mission? Can you still continue playing, does the story branch or is it instant game over?

It's an instant game over. You get a Exit to Menu or Load Save Game.

There is actually another mission later on where you almost certainly fail a secondary objective.

Oh well, just have to deal with it when it comes. I don't mind missions that intentionally have you fail because of plot constraints as long as the story progresses.

 

[DaNuker]

I thought killing the APCs was easy. The part that seems hard as hell is defending that barracks.

It's just when the RNG decides to spread out the damage on the APCs instead of punching through that one section. You immediately fail in Round 2 if you don't stop the right most APC in time. Kamea's warning that "The APC is approaching" comes on the same round as the APC drives into the zone.

Defending the barracks? Grab a fast medium, Jump all the way up there and brace yourself every turn to ignore damage. You should be able to just reach the Wheeled APC and shoot it down and hope you don't miss.

 

[Maxzero]

After one ninja APC gave me a defeat I figured it out okay enough. You need to memorise where they spawn and be ready for them.

At least you don't need to switch up your lance (unless you are going for the barracks sidequest). Wait till you do the liberation mission in a little while that has you taking out 3 generators while dodging artillery in hilly terrain.

With a 18 turn limit. Oh how I love timed missions.

You basically need to ignore the pre mission advice of taking a super heavy lance (because you are just too slow) and take all jump capable mechs. The annoying thing is you have no idea of this until you do the mission. So now I have retool my entire lance just for this one mission.

 

[Mojo Amok]

Can the APC's move past your Mechs if you stand in the entry points to the base? It looked like there was only one hex there and I was going to try it, but they got blown up before I could test it.

Overall though, it seems like a lot has to do with lance composition more than tactics. If three or four of your Mechs can one-shot the APCs, it's not particularly difficult.

 

[Bismarck1899]

yeah that mission is pretty annoying. Especially because the idea of a heavily armored apc is ludicrous. There is a reason why no military in the world uses something like that.
Failed three times in a row. Once had an apc with three ppc hits and 40 rockets roll through. Mission design is all over the place in this game.

 

[Ry0K3N]

I just parked my mech in the base entrance. The APC-s cant get past your mech.

 

[ED-209]

It's an instant game over. You get a Exit to Menu or Load Save Game.

Yep, just got this on the second turn. Damn APC travelled a ridiculous distance and was able to reach the command center. To whoever designed it, that's some serious Grade A BS.

The balancing and pacing of these story missions is all over the map. And the lack of actual proper information about mission objectives before selecting a loadout is ridiculous. Given how disconnected this and the prior mission are from the actual narrative, it seems to me like a lot of this was just tossed together and pushed out the door with minimal polish/QA.

 

[Fox the Apprentice]

[...]
Mission design is all over the place in this game.

And I love it! It makes me approach each mission with caution. Instead of falling into the thought process of: "2 elite pilots, 1 experienced pilot, 1 rookie for this mission difficulty level, but for that difficulty level I can..." it instead makes me wonder "Do I risk using this mission to level up that rookie? What if the intel is off?".

There are milk runs, but you never know if you're in one until you see the mission over screen. It's a truly good implementation of the fog of war.

 

[Mojo Amok]

I just parked my mech in the base entrance. The APC-s cant get past your mech.

Well, there you have it. I thought that was the case and was blocking the doors, but I didn't get to test it properly due to 'Splosions.

Just put a Bulwarker in the door and you're set. Easy peasy.

 

[Wanderer2142]

Note: Even a centurion can oneshot stomp one of the APCs. Because of double melee damage.

The hilltop barracks requires the use of a light mech. It's not particularly hard to kill the apc going for that one though, because a Jenner can stomp it.

The two APCs on the right I killed with the Gauss Rifle Highlander. The other two on the left at the start I stomped.

 

[TheUnderking]

About to attempt my third try on this, really appreciate the tips on here!

We can all agree that a two turn mission fail is a little silly though right? No? Ok ok! It's fine.. *hand trembles while taking a drink of coffee*

 

[AncientRaig]

Yeah, I ran this mission with an assault lance (3 Highlanders and a King Crab. Managed to beat it, but I failed the secondary because even with moving one of my Highlanders at full sprint to it the APC got there first. It's a bit of an RNG fest, but it's not as bad as some of the others. This mission is yet another reason why having Called Shot Mastery from a high Tactics skill is almost crucial to win the game.

Does the whole mission actually fail if one of the APCs make it? I thought it was just a bonus objective. I failed one of them when an APC spawns near the upper base. My battlemaster was sprinting for it but still couldn't make it.

Spoiler: There is actually another mission later on where you almost certainly fail a secondary objective

You have to protect 2 APCs that are going for turret controls, but if you bought assaults, the APCs move way faster than you and rush straight into an enemy heavy lance who will focus one of them down in a single turn.

I found that if you bring jump capable assaults and move them up fast enough, you can draw enough fire to get the APCs through. It helps to have the full 50 morale at the start and your pilots with called shot mastery. Just CT snipe the heavy lance as quickly as possible, you get better salvage opportunities later in the mission.

 

[Pedroig]

I was able to take out three of them in turn one... Just ignore Mechs the first turn, and any of your Mechs can stomp them in one go.

For the runner, I got unlucky, ended up rushing my SLOCK up the hill, was able to SLOCk the APC, and then the only LRM20 left 4 points of structure left, 4 missiles missed...

 

[Agreenz]

This was the first mission I failed, because I got one turn before the APC entered the base. In general, I like the difficulty of this game but I find it a little ridiculous you can fail after having only had a single turn to act.

Edit: Got it the 2nd try, knowing exactly where they spawn. Helped that I didn't miss a 90% chance attack this time. Still don't like the mission- it's more a test of knowing where the enemy is- the actual fight is way too easy to be interesting.

 

[ED-209]

I just parked my mech in the base entrance. The APC-s cant get past your mech.

They can't get past an Assault. They drive right by a Heavy. At least at the left-hand entrance anyway.