Thursday, May 22, 2014

EDF 2025: Mission 52 for Wing Diver

In Earth Defense Force 2025, I suggest Mission 52: Bug Invasion on Hardest Difficulty to farm Weapons for the Wing Diver.

Pro: It is possible to farm mid-level Weapons with low Armor.
Con: Playing cautiously will take a long time, much of it spent running. Patience is necessary.

The aim of attempting this Mission is to farm Weapons to use in Mission 70.

Preparation:
The following Weapons are recommended:
Idunn-E Custom Lv47
MX Rapier Lv35
Rapier G Thrust Lv45
Geist 3 Lv37
Ixion 6-Way Lv36
Ixion 6-Way S Lv46

There are more powerful Weapons than these. However, if they are available, Mission 70 on Hardest should be farmed instead. Farming Mission 52 on Inferno is not recommended - it is too difficult. Again, Mission 70 should be farmed instead.

Execution:
The general strategy for this Mission is a running battle. Gather the Spider Type-Bugs together and keep running while slowly whittling down their number.

There are two tactics to use. The first is attacking with a homing Weapon at long range with a guided energy Weapon such as the Geist 3. This tactic allows the Wing Diver to stay far from the mob of Spiders. It is the safer option and definitely recommended if the Wing Diver has low Armor. However, this is also the slow tactic.

The second tactic is direct-fire at medium range. The Ixion 6-Way and the Ixion 6-Way S does good damage and has medium range. Either can be used to directly harm a group of Spiders. However, these Weapons drain energy fast and some should be saved for flying.

At the start of the Mission, recruit all five Wing Diver allies and run away from the Spiders. Run a safe distance, turn and attack.

If the direct-fire tactic is used, consider running along highways. That way, the Spiders that follow the highway will be out in the open and will be easy to shoot at. Be careful not to hit the Wing Diver allies. A good time to shoot is when the Wing Diver allies jump up, out of the line of fire.

Run again once energy is below safe levels (around 30 to 50% depending on the situation) or the Spiders get too close. Avoid getting hit by the Spiders' threads - not only do they do damage, they also slow the Wing Diver (remember, this is a running battle!). Try changing directions and altitude in the air. This will make it harder for the Spiders to hit with their threads.

Have a reliable Weapon, one that is reasonably accurate while flying (Ixion-series Weapon are notoriously inaccurate while flying), to use in case one or two Spiders get too close. This is very likely to happen with the homing-Weapon tactic. The Geist 3 is not powerful enough to OHKO (one-hit knock out) a Spider. Chances are that it will blow its target(s) away from the main group. A reliable Weapon is needed to handle one or two stray Spiders.

The Idunn-E Custom is good. It does good damage and has good range. However, recharging it takes a lot of energy.

The MX Rapier has short range but it does good damage and can be recharged without using the Wing Diver's precious energy. However, it takes a long time to recharge.

The Rapier G Thrust does good damage and has low energy requirements. Its only drawback is its short range.

After a number of the Spiders are defeated, more Spiders will appear as reinforcements at the edge of the map. Pay attention to the location where the reinforcements appear. If possible, before triggering the reinforcements, get the mob of Spiders close to where they will appear. This way, the Spiders and the reinforcements will be together and there will be only one mob of Spiders to keep ahead of instead of two.

After enough Spiders are defeated, the second and last group of reinforcements will appear from a different edge of the map (it is always the same position from game to game). Earth Eaters will also appear. Occasionally, the pointy Earth Eaters with the blue light around it will fire a green beam at the ground. I have never been hit by the beam but I have lost a Wing Diver ally to it once. Just to be safe, take note of where those Earth Eaters are and avoid.

The pointy Earth Eaters with the blue light around it opens to reveal a green inside before they fire. The green inside part can be attacked and destroyed and may drop crates. However, it will likely consume lots of energy to do so. Decide if it is worth destroying them. It is not necessary to destroy them to complete the Mission.

Needless to say, while running, pick up crates when possible, especially if healing is needed.

Buildings may be used for cover. The mob of Spiders take time to get past buildings. It is possible to hide behind a group of them and trigger emergency recharge to replenish energy. Emergency recharge happens when the Wing Diver's energy is completely depleted. Emptying the energy supply is done by flying or recharging the Idunn-E Custom (this is risky, though).

Try to keep the Wing Diver allies alive. They can handle the occasional Spider that gets too close. In addition, they can delay the mob of Spiders, giving the player time to run.

For added challenge, try keeping all five Wing Diver allies alive for the entire Mission. This is easier to do with the homing-Weapon tactic.

Once the Spiders are down to one or two, consider collecting crates (the purpose of farming this Mission). This will likely consume some time since the crates will likely be scattered around the map. Do not take unnecessary risks. A single Spider can still defeat the player (especially if the player has low Armor). Do not allow one to get close. Also, watch for the pointy Earth Eaters.

EDF 2025: Contents

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