EDF 2025: Mission 72 for Air Raider

In Earth Defense Force 2025, Mission 72: Machine Squad is a suitable Mission to farm Weapons for the Air Raider.

Pro: Possible to loot high-level Weapons with low Armor (I've completed it before on Inferno Difficulty without the Air Raider taking any damage). Lots of loot. Can be completed fast.
Con: Limited time to actually collect the 'lots of loot'. Good Vegalta piloting skills required, especially on Inferno.

Preparation:
Suggested equipment for this Mission:
Guide Beacon Gun M2 Lv51
Power Beacon Gun Lv64 (or any good Beacon Gun)
Power Assist Gun MG Lv66 (required for Inferno)
Power Assist Gun M2 Lv35 (good enough for Hardest)
Guard Assist Gun G Lv42
ZERA-GUN Lv46 (or any good stationary turret)
BM03 Vegalta Revolver Custom Lv63 (good enough for Inferno)

This Mission is a machine fight, Vegalta versus Deroys. Weapons should be chosen to complement the selected Vegalta.

The easiest strategy for Inferno that I have found is with the Vegalta Revolver Custom, the Power Assist Gun MG and the Power Beacon Gun.

The BM03 Vegalta Revolver Custom Lv63 has good Durability and speed. Armed with two each of New Revolver Cannons and Missile Pods, it is deadly at medium range.

The Power Assist Gun MG deploys small power posts that give 1.5x damage for 60 seconds, seriously improving a Vegalta's damage potential.

The trouble with the Deroys is that it is made up of many parts, making it hard for missiles to target the main body. To counter this, a Beacon Gun may be used to plant a beacon on the main body of the Deroys. The beacon is a priority target, which missiles will lock onto instead of other targets. In addition, multiple missiles from the same Missile Pod may lock onto the same beacon. And the beacon even reports the state of each missile it is directing.

It is possible to complete Inferno with just the Vegalta Revolver Custom and the Power Assist Gun MG. However, it will be a tough challenge.

The BM03 Vegalta Busterlord Lv75 can be looted in this Mission on Inferno. However, this Vegalta is not recommended for this Mission.

The Vegalta Busterlord has superior firepower, greater range and more Durability than the Revolver Custom. Its two Dispersal Howitzers can shower Deroys with explosives at medium range. On the minus side, it is difficult to aim at long range since rockets from its twin Revolver Rocket Cannons take time to travel. Also, if something (like say, the tip of a spear-leg) is on or very close to the Vegalta while it is firing, the explosive ammunition will detonate on that obstruction and deal potentially lethal damage to the Vegalta. And this Vegalta is slow.

The Vegalta Busterlord requires greater skill to use. I have not completed Inferno with this Vegalta yet - I'd rather do it the easy way with the Vegalta Revolver Custom.

If any of the above requirements are not available or if the pilot's skill is insufficient, this Mission should be practiced on Hardest Difficulty. Farm a good Vegalta and the Power Assist Gun MG while training skills.

If there is a spare Weapon slot, stationary turrets may be brought along. Stationary turrets will provide additional firepower on their own while the Air Raider is in the Vegalta.

Execution:
There are two phases to this Mission. The first one is pretty easy as a BM03 Vegalta Revolver Custom buffed with the Power Assist Gun MG eats Deroys for breakfast, even on Inferno. The real challenge is in the second phase.

In the first phase, allied Rangers and Fencers will charge ahead. Do not recruit them - they are quite durable and can draw the attention of Deroys.

In front, on the right side of the road, there will be a small clear space next to a building. This place will be designated 'Staging Area' for the purpose of this guide. Further along the road after the Staging Area is a crossroad. That place will be designated 'Crossroad' for this guide.

Move forward and summon a Vegalta onto a part of Staging Area close to the road. While waiting, consider setting up any stationary turrets on the main road.

Large Transport Ships will drop a total of five regular Deroys. When the first is close enough, activate the stationary turrets (if there are any).

Buff the Vegalta with a Power Assist Gun - aim for the Vegalta's main body. Small power posts that hit too far from the main body (like the arm or the lower leg) may not effect the Vegalta.

Climb into the Vegalta and start destroying Deroys. Regular Deroys are quite easy to destroy with a good Vegalta. Aim for their main body to take them down fast. Try to destroy Deroys on map locations where they are easy to loot later. However, because of the Deroys's height, it is still likely that fallen crates will bounce a distance from where they were spawned.

Pay attention to the duration of the battle. It may be necessary to quickly exit the Vegalta and reapply the small power post if the buff wears off. However, do not exit the Vegalta if any Deroys is close enough to attack.

Towards the end of the phase, someone will broadcast a message that Earth Eaters are coming. That is the cue to quickly finish off any remaining Deroys or it will eat into looting and preparation time.

A new Vegalta should be available by the time all the Deroys are defeated. Summon the Vegalta on the road further down from Staging Area, to the right of Crossroad. This will place the Vegalta behind allies in the coming fight.

An alternative strategy is to summon the Vegalta onto Staging Area. This will place the Vegalta close to a regular Deroys in the second phase in order to quickly engage it in combat.

A third possible site to summon the Vegalta is at the far right end. This will place the Vegalta a long distance from combat and allow time to loot crates in that area. However, the allied Rangers and Fencers will be far and should any Deroys go in that direction, the Air Raider is on his own.

While waiting (or moving to the site to summon a Vegalta), reload and deploy any stationary turrets. Reload any and all Assist Guns. Also, loot any nearby crates, especially green Weapon crates (the object of this farming exercise).

Time left can be tracked by the progress of the Earth Eaters covering the sky. After that, the closed red panels of the Earth Eaters will slowly open. A radio broadcast will report that battle machines are being dropped. That is the cue that time is almost up. Be ready near the new Vegalta.

Phase two is a fight against three Deroys: one regular and two long-legged.

The two long-legged Deroys are the real challenge of this Mission. Each has more weapons than the regular Deroys. Because they are tall, they can back their main body out of reach of medium-range weapons. The lasers on their legs can whittle down a Vegalta's Armor, but the real annoyance is that they blind the screen with brightness, making it hard to see where shots are going. Therefore, it is advisable to have the Deroys to target the allied Rangers and Fencers instead (wait behind the allies).

The Deroys has a plasma cannon on its main body. This is not very powerful compared to its other weapons. It is most dangerous to Air Raiders on foot since it can blow him away, making him vulnerable for a short time while he picks himself up.

The Deroys's leg spear is very dangerous to an Air Raider on foot, dealing damage and knocking him over. It will pause for a moment to aim with its foot before attacking. While in a Vegalta, that is the time to target the spear at the tip of the leg and destroy it to permanently disable the weapon.

The quickest way to defeat a Deroys is by destroying its main body. As stated earlier, the Deroys may pull its main body out of reach of the Vegalta's weapons. During that time, consider destroying the weapons on the Deroys's legs to reduce its offensive capabilities. Do take note of remaining ammunition when considering this on Inferno.

The battle is likely to take a long time on Inferno. Because of that, the Assist Gun buff may run out before either of the long-legged Deroys is destroyed. If that should happen, make plans to retreat and rebuff. Needless to say, do not get out of the Vegalta within range of the Deroys.

While fighting, keep an ear out for Porter's report when a new Vegalta is available. On Inferno, limited ammunition is a problem. Also, because of the amount of damage dished about, the Vegalta may be destroyed. When possible, back out of combat and summon a backup Vegalta, one to run to if the current one is destroyed or runs out of ammunition. Remember to rebuff the Vegalta if necessary.

One of the two long-legged Deroys must be defeated as soon as possible to reduce the number of threats to the Air Raider.

For the easy strategy with the Vegalta Revolver Custom and Beacon Gun combo, take out one of the two long-legged Deroys as soon as possible. Aim carefully and fire a beacon at the main body of the long-legged Deroys.

A good time to fire the beacon is while the Deroys is dropping from the red panel. Aim for the panel as it opens and fire when the Deroys's main body pops up. Make sure that the main body is hit. Otherwise, reload immediately for a second shot.

Buff the Vegalta with the Assist Gun and jump in. Keep launching missiles at the main body of the Deroys until it is destroyed.

As the fight against the long-legged Deroys will be at range, save the ammunition of the New Revolver Cannons to use on the regular Deroys later. Try to hunt down that Deroys and leave the remaining long-legged Deroys for last. However, if a very good opportunity to defeat the long-legged Deroys does present itself, go for it instead of the regular Deroys.

If, for some reason, stationary turrets are available, do not forget to activate them.

An alternative strategy is to destroy the regular Deroys, which deploys behind the building next to Staging Area, first. If the Vegalta is deployed at Staging Area, it will be in range to destroy the Deroys in a short time. While this short time allows one of the long-legged Deroys to advance dangerously close, it also allows the allied Rangers and Fencers time to draw its attention.

When there is only one Deroys left, consider the situation. If the remaining Deroys does not have many weapons left and the allied Rangers and Fencers look like they can hold their own, it may be possible to temporarily retreat to rearm and resummon and maybe look for crates - for healing and, of course, for greens. Do the looting while piloting the Vegalta - it is very risky to loot on foot as the Deroys can move fast.

If the Vegalta Revolver Custom and Beacon Gun combo is equipped, pull back out of the battle to plant a new beacon on the last Deroys.

The primary goal is still to destroy the last Deroys. All Weapon crates collected will be lost if the Mission is not cleared. When the last Deroys is destroyed, there will be a radio conversation, giving some time to loot. There will not be time to loot everything so prioritize Weapon crates.

EDF 2025: Contents