Escort missions...

D

Dralthi5

Spaceman
Those goddamned escort missions are my weak points in Wing Commander. No matter how much I stick by whatever I am supposed to be guarding, the Cats, or the Bugs, or whoever always get her.

Okay, just blowing off some steam...

Anyway, how do you guys go about successfully completing an escort mission (specifically I'm talking about WC1 here, I'd love to actually win the game)?

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If I'm locked on, there's no such thing as evasive action!

[This message has been edited by Dralthi5 (edited July 04, 2000).]
 
Well, first thing first, practise makes perfect...

Playing WC1 was so much easier for me in the past, but after I've played the more recent games and returened to play the older games, I've lost my touch
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. The escort mission with Paladin and that Kat ace (whatever his name was), it's an easy mission that in my good days I could finish in no time, but now I have to do it several times 'till I get it right. Oh well, what I'm gonna do...

Anyway, back to your question, a good trick that works for me (but not for everyone) is trying to afterburn to the next nav instead of using the auto-pilot. This has it's good side and it's bad side: Good- it takes some time 'till the transport catchs up with you. Bad- the Kats afterburn to the transport and ignore you. Luckly, I can take out most of 'em this way, but I find myself without fuel if they pass me.

Another thing you can do is saving your missiles, and concentrating on the fighters that attack the transport: Attack the first fighter you see attacking it and try to destroy it, but as soon as it's off from attacking, look for the other fighters that are attacking the transport. The last option (my least favorite) is using your wingmen.

Hopw it helps a bit
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I think I know which mission you're talking about, Hero. I have no problem with the Drayman, but I have trouble nailing Bhurak. It gets to a point where he follows us back to the Tiger's Claw. Then his ship disappears! He doesn't die. He just appears on my radar but not in space. And he keeps on taunting me, too. It usually takes me a while to kill him.

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Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

[This message has been edited by WildWeasel (edited October 20, 2000).]
 
Send Paladin to attack the Krants then guard the Drayman. Shoot any Krants going after it, but never leave it. Watch your six, also. Save your missiles for the Salthis.
I hate this mission, too.
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It took a week, before I got it right!
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IMO the essential thing to complete escort missions successfully is not to concentrate on specific fighters. On their first run attack them with guns only until they break off then aim for the next one... . Don't follow them! Stay close to the vessel you're escorting! The fighters seem to go on their next attack run without waiting for their shields to fully recharge so this time around take their shields down with your guns and follow up with a missile.

This tactics usually work for me especially for the Drayman and the Ralari escort mission.

Oh, and Bhurak is the only Killie ace I haven't managed to shoot down yet in all the games. He usually runs before I can finish off all of the other Salthis. Hey, but that's his usual behaviour! I don't bother about him if I'm able to complete the mission successfully.
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No one will hear your cry of death in the void of space
 
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Target Bhurak first and use a missile immediately... the only time I use missiles on a Salthi (unless Im getting swamped).

And as for escort tactics, I think it depends on the ship youre flying. If youre in something that you can rip off an entire capacitor at once (the Raptor is my favorite for this, and if you can hold a bead the Scim isnt bad either) just get a good angle and hold the trigger, and watch a kitty go splat. By the time youve got another target, youve got a full guncharge again. In the Rapier, you have the punch to let two bursts go and nail some shields, then find another target. It takes a while, but they wont work the transports, and youll start to get a couple. When theyre down to one or two, you can spend more time trying to kill a fighter, but dont get too focused. In a Hornet (bah!) you have some major problems. Dont have the punch to rip off a couple shots, and only one seeking missile. Save your missiles for the heavies, and kill as fast as possible. However, make sure theyre dead or fleeing before going on to the next - if you let them go without major armor damage, the energy wasted killing their shields was for nothing.

Also, if youre 'burning from place to place, use taps on the burner, hitting it just as your speed starts to fall from max, and letting go immediately. You'll use a lot less fuel, and stay at or near top speed for a lot longer. This also works well in combat, because the point they need to aim for is jumping around quite a bit, and if timed correctly means that unless they're real close they arent going to hit you. Just watch out for people crossing in front - ive died more times like that than from enemy fire.

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You deal death with your roars and your screams, your threats, your taunts, your overblown ego. I hand it out, one with the steel and the silence, the blackness around me, with a thought.
 
If you really want to kill Bhurak - and with no trouble whatsoever - just screw up your two patrols in Enyo.
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I don't hate that mission, it's rather easy. Only thing is that in the past it was much easier for me, and now I need to run through it a couple of time 'till I get it right (save the 'sport & nail every fighter including Bhurak myself). Playing newer games such as Prophecy and Freespace "damaged" my WC1-2 skills
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Okay, guys, I'll go back and try it again.

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If I'm locked on, there's no such thing as evasive action!
 
Auto-adjust speed can ruin your flying kills for WC1 & WC2. Besides that, 'sports don't get too far away.
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Auto-adjust speed can ruin your flying kills for WC1 & WC2. Besides that, 'sports don't get too far away.
Click to expand...

True, the 'sports don't get too far away, but usually it get's just far enough for me to finish off most of the Kats.

I seldom use auto-adjust speed, and I don't think that auto-adjust speed can be any help in WC1-2.
 
It could when you keep busting into the back of people in your light fighter or Rapier... The shields and really durable ships, and AI that usually refrains from collectively shooting you in the back of WCP and the Freespace series are what spoiled me. Most of the time I die from friendly fire or afterburning into someone im trying to nail with a closerange deflection shot...

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You deal death with your roars and your screams, your threats, your taunts, your overblown ego. I hand it out, one with the steel and the silence, the blackness around me, with a thought.
 
The mission where you have to save the Ralari is harder.

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Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

[This message has been edited by WildWeasel (edited July 07, 2000).]
 
Chernikov said:
It could when you keep busting into the back of people in your light fighter or Rapier... The shields and really durable ships, and AI that usually refrains from collectively shooting you in the back of WCP and the Freespace series are what spoiled me. Most of the time I die from friendly fire or afterburning into someone im trying to nail with a closerange deflection shot...
Click to expand...

You focus too much on your target. You've got friendlies around worse than Maniac - they may not fly like him, but their shots are wild!
 
Watching your six is very important.
You won't do very well with just a static attack; go Dynamic!

-just don't move around too much, or else you'll end up seeing that Drayman end up in little debris fragments...
 
WildWeasel said:
The mission where you have to save the Ralari is harder.
Click to expand...

I don't know, if I use the "seam" in that mission I can usually beat in a 4 hours. Done it twice, one running a tad too fast under MoSlo on my P-100 and once last week with my KS WC1 PC Gamer..

Trick is, stuff both DF's up the cat in front of you's tailpipe, finish him witl full gun vollies. Then go totally CRAZY.. I mean, fly like Maniac.. Engage and kill the other Gratha. My wingmen got one, I got 3. If you take out the first couple QUICK, make sure your wingies engage another, and take on the last one yuorself, you've pretty much got it beat.



[This message has been edited by Jumper (edited July 11, 2000).]
 
Sorry that it may be irrelevant, but I'm just trying to confirm my memory, since I played WC when it was first published.

Were the friendly capships in WC1 not firing anything at all to defend themselves? I remember I was having such bad feeling that the enemy capships fired off everything they had at me, while my friendly capships not firing anything at all in those escort missions.

And the wingman in WC1 rarely hit anything. :|

If my memory was correct, in WC2, the wingmen became much more effective and the friendly capships would defend themselves.
 
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