Surrounded! Does Max have what it takes to outlast his sharpshooting foe?
Mission Strategy
This mission is only playable if you picked Andy in the previous mission. This is therefore your first mission with Max, the direct-fire specialist. All of Max’s direct-fire, non-soldier, units have increased damage. This includes not only Tanks, but also Recons, Anti-Air, Submarines, Cruisers, Bombers, Battle Copter, and Fighters.
During Max’s CO Power, all of these units gain additional damage. Max also gives +1 movement range to all of these units and even transport units (APC, Transport Copter, Lander).
As a downside, Max’s indirect-fire units do not deal as much damage. Even more so, his indirect-fire units have -1 range, making them very difficult to use.
This mission has an additional victory condition. You only need to stay alive for 5 Days and you win. Grit’s Infantry will make a beeline for your HQ, and will capture it before then if you don’t disrupt him.
To reach your HQ, you’ll need to move through Grit’s indirect-fire units in a map that they excel in. Remember that Grit’s indirect-fire units innately have +1 range and gain an additional +2 range during his CO Power.
- Technique Goal: 2 or fewer
Survive 5 Days: This is really the only way to win this mission. It is likely possible to clear every enemy, but the earliest you’ll be able to is Day 5 anyway. Your Mechs will never reach Grit’s HQ in time to capture it.
In true Max fashion, you can mostly just send your Tanks at whatever they can hit. You start with a lot of units and really only need one to make it to your HQ. Grit’s indirect-fire units will deal heavy damage, but as long as you keep moving forward, you should be able to reach the enemy Infantry before it captures your HQ.
Where the difficulty in this mission lies is in the Technique Rating. You can only lose up to two units for a perfect score. Keep track of what units are in range of the enemy. Don’t let your low health units get finished off. Also don’t let two of Grit’s units hit one of your units in the same turn, as that will likely destroy the unit.
You’ll have to survive one of Grit’s CO Powers. You can monitor how close he is to activating it from the CO menu. When taking your turn prior to his CO Power, remember that all his indirect-fire units will gain an additional +2 range, so keep this in mind when positioning your injured units.
You will not reach the Infantry before it starts the capture. After that it will have two more turns to try to finish the capture. This means that if you reduce the Infantry to 4 or less health on your first hit, it won’t have time to finish the capture.
Turn by Turn Walkthrough
Day 1
- Destroy the north west enemy Artillery with your east Tank
- Attack the west enemy Artillery with your north Rockets
- Advance your east Artillery south
- Advance your east Tank (stay out of range of the north enemy Rockets), east Mech, and other Rockets
Day 2
- Destroy the enemy Tank with your uninjured south Rockets
- Destroy the injured enemy Artillery with your injured north Rockets
- Attack the south enemy Rockets with your south Artillery
- Retreat your Mech
- Advance your north Tank
- Destroy the west enemy Rocket with your other north Tank
Day 3
- Activate Max’s CO Power
- Destroy the south enemy Artillery with your north Tank
- Destroy the other enemy Artillery near your HQ with your other Tank
- Destroy the south enemy Rockets with your south Artillery
Day 4
- Attack the enemy Infantry capturing your HQ with your east Tank from the west
Day 5
- For Technique Rating:
- Retreat your east Tank
Leave a Reply