Mission 12 WC1 (save captured Ralari in Kurasawa)

[Jochen]

Hi... is it just me, or is it really quite difficult to win this mission???

Whatever I try, the attackers just can't be distracted from firing at the Ralari, and I just can't kill them fast enough to prevent them from destroying it.

So I would be thankful for any hints you can provide, if you remember how to win this mission.

 

[Kyle Maverick]

The one time I beat it, it was by not concentrating on just one fighter, I'd blast away till it broke off, then would do the same to the next, in the mean time, I'd order my wing mate to attack one fighter. Okay it meant I had fewer kills that mission, but the ship survived

 

[cff]

Thats generally the tactic, yes. Do everything that makes them break away. Missiles, ramming, ... Then do not finish enemies (they will run away in many cases anyhow), but proceed with the next cat.

 

[Oggy]

I could never do this mission using the keyboard, it was only when I used a joystick I could complete it.
My tactic was to select one gratha and order my wingman to attack my target, hopefully your wingman will keep one gratha tied up, fire all missiles at another gratha and hopefully you will manage to badly damage or destroy another, then you've just got to blast any gratha making a run in on the destroyer until it breaks off, if one starts to run, let it and focus on the other.

easier said then done though.

 

[Jochen]

Thanks guys, I'll try that... fortunately I still have my "wingman extreme digital 3D" from about 10 years ago available and working

 

[Quarto]

The funny thing is, I was able to complete this mission relatively easily the first time I played it. But that was before I found out through the WC community on the internet that this is a hugely difficult mission. Clearly, psychology matters, because completing it been a nightmare ever since.

...Thanks .

 

[Toast]

Ah... what a classic mission

Part of the problem is that you start so far away and the Gratha are already on an attack run, leaving the destroyer in pretty dire straits even if you have your afterburners lit the whole way there. Cycle through all the Gratha and taunt them all constantly - whenever a Gratha responds to a taunt, it switches targets and engages you instead of the Ralari (at least for a little while. They may reprioritize quickly). This pulls some of their attention off the destroyer and onto you, which of course helps keep the destroyer alive quite a bit longer. Once you're close enough to fight, keep taunting and fighting as aggressively as you can.

I believe there are no more enemies after the Gratha, so feel free to use all your missiles, or even ram them a few times if things are still too hot.

Kurasawa 2 is famous for its difficulty, but it's really not that hard compared to a lot of the losing path missions in WC1, many of which most of us have never played. Hubble's Star and Hell's Kitchen have you trying to save Draymans from 3-4 Gratha and Jalthi while flying a Scimitar.