Defend the Ralari, how?

[Fatcat]

I've just gotten to the infamous mission, Kurasawa 2. I'm already ready to give up on it, are there any negetive consequences for failing this mission? Do the later Kurasawa missions get harder?

 

[Penta2]

If you fail it, you go to Rostov. No, the later Kurusawa missions aren't harder.

Rostov is not an especially *difficult* system, but the rocks make it a pain in the ass.

 

[spiritplumber]

I thought that mission was unwinnable for the longest time...

 

[johnhawke]

Idk why people have such a problem with this mission, I think the one where you have to fight the rapiers in SM2 is much harder. But it can be done. Just load 'em full of missles and use full guns, and don't miss.

 

[Maj.Striker]

I dunno, I always thought it was quite hard...winning it required a great deal of luck.

 

[johnhawke]

Well I have to agree a lot of luck is involved, the first time I played the mission, I beat it. However, on my second runthrough I had to do it like 18 times before I beat it, which I really don't understand 'cause I was a much better pilot at that point.

 

[Edfilho]

do a search on the forum, there are dozens of threads full of good advice on Kurasawa 2.

 

[Starkey]

Luck is the key factor here.... sometimes you can play the mission really well and not save the Ralari.

 

[ChrisReid]

With some practice you should be able to do it 50% of the time. There's only 4 Gratha, and you have two other Rapiers flying around. Don't forget to tell your wingman to Break! I think people get caught up in the mystique of Kurasawa 2 and forget some of the basic things. Smash one Gratha up real quick with your full guns and missiles, and then it's 1vs1/1vs1/1vs1 as long as Bossman isn't still sticking on your wing. Bossman's pretty good, and you can certainly keep one Gratha occupied. Just keep an eye out for the other Rapier letting his target attack the Ralari, and be prepared to break off if necessary. If you're lucky, Bossman will take out his target, and you should be good then.

 

[Confed]

With some practice you should be able to do it 50% of the time. There's only 4 Gratha, and you have two other Rapiers flying around. Don't forget to tell your wingman to Break! I think people get caught up in the mystique of Kurasawa 2 and forget some of the basic things. Smash one Gratha up real quick with your full guns and missiles, and then it's 1vs1/1vs1/1vs1 as long as Bossman isn't still sticking on your wing. Bossman's pretty good, and you can certainly keep one Gratha occupied. Just keep an eye out for the other Rapier letting his target attack the Ralari, and be prepared to break off if necessary. If you're lucky, Bossman will take out his target, and you should be good then.

Chris, you make it sound so easy, are you playing KS version or the original ?
I heard several people say that the KS missions are easier.
In the original version, I succeeded only 3 times in 14 years & it's the only mission I have any real problem with, so I dare say I'm pretty good.
If I take the Gratha's out 1 by 1, the Ralari is always destroyed by the time I've destroyed 1 or 2 Gratha.
I agree with the first part, you have to destroy the first one asap, but after that you have to keep the 3 remaining occupied (if you keep firing on the same one for too long, he'll draw you away, while the other kill off the Ralari)
Also you have to taunt whenever you have the time (easier if there someone else to do this for you) to get them to attack you and leave the Ralari alone)
The 3 times I succeeded in this mission, I always destroyed the first Gratha on the first pass and succeeded in my taunts after swithing from one Gratha to another several times.

Oh, I forgot, you have to order break & attack just as you arrive and choose another Gratha then Bossman as your first target

 

[Confed]

... There's only 4 Gratha, and you have two other Rapiers flying around.

What this "2 other Rapiers" you're talking about ? There's only you and your wingman, right?

 

[Dyret]

This is how i did it:

First nav:
-Dont use any missiles against the salthis
-Dont get your guns ripped off, youll need them later

Second nav:
-Order Bossman to attack
-Fire both FF missiles
-fire imrec missile at random target
-attack most damaged gratha with your guns
-Wait for a gratha to attack the ralari, then ass-rape it with both dumbfires
-Mop up survivors
-Dont ram the ralari

 

[ChrisReid]

First nav:
-Dont use any missiles against the salthis

Don't even bother with the Salthi. Just edge off to the right some, and then autopilot past the asteroid field.

What this "2 other Rapiers" you're talking about ? There's only you and your wingman, right?

The Ralari has a Rapier on defense as you and Bossman arrive.

Chris, you make it sound so easy, are you playing KS version or the original ?
I heard several people say that the KS missions are easier.
In the original version, I succeeded only 3 times in 14 years & it's the only mission I have any real problem with, so I dare say I'm pretty good.

I'm playing the original DOS version. This same thread popped up about two months ago, so I went back to Kurasawa to see how it was after all these years. It took me about eight or ten tries to get a good system going, but then I was able to do it about every other time. I was forgetting to tell Bossman to break at first.