Expert Help

[Jay the Juggernaut]

Hey, I just thought it would be nice if the experts could post some tips for getting good scores, or on how to survive a level  ;), like so:

top walk door, large/high, 12 phantoms 1 surface emitter

I can dig in and survive (limited time only!), it's just that the creeper overpowers my repulsars before +12, or a phantom kills my nework. I can beat most maps once I figure out how to start, it's just that sometimes I look at a level and think,"How did I get myself into this?!" :o

--EDIT--

Posting a map to help give experience is nice, too.

[Kithros]

This is how I would recommend starting that level:

Spoiler

[close]

No need to build any repulsors, just keep building shields and massing reactors and head straight for dark beam. The beacon being placed there is so I can move my LS over to the right after building the beacon - this tends to  be more efficient since I can then cover the entire top of the map with only 1 beacon instead of needing to build 2.

[Jay the Juggernaut]

Thanks. there are a ton of strategies I've read about, although this one hasn't occurred to me before... I wondered how I was supposed to win by using repulsars to block that amount of creeper, or how much space was needed to dig in.

[Fisherck]

You could still beat this map by digging in, even if it is slower. :) there are 3 different locations that you could dig in on this map. As a general rule of thumb, you want about 1-2 tiles between your repulsers and the surface. 1 is often all you need if your fast enough, but 2 never hurts if you can dig deep enough. So the second dig option for this map would be best because you can dig your ship the deepest.

1st picture: Not a good place. Only if your desperate becuase you won't last long...
2nd picture: Best, because of how much you can dig in.
3rd Picture: Still a good spot, and would probably work just fine for this map.

[Jay the Juggernaut]

I had tried the second spot first, the terrain looked good, but how do you survive long enough for the dark beam to work?

[Fisherck]

I had tried the second spot first, the terrain looked good, but how do you survive long enough for the dark beam to work?

It's pretty simple. You actually don't even need to build repulsers. Just 2 layers of shields if your fast enough. You have plenty of room underground to build. The only hard part is the 12 phantoms. Remember, on experimental maps, once you get 12 energy, your invinsible. Because that is when you can run a dark beam... ;)

[Jay the Juggernaut]

Wow...Just wow! I never even thought it was possible to do all that in one minute!

PS: I love how everyone is so willing to help ;D

[Kithros]

Wow...Just wow! I never even thought it was possible to do all that in one minute!

PS: I love how everyone is so willing to help ;D

Something worth noting is that he took the 2 red gems on the left before moving over to the right - you should almost always take as many gems as you can early game, even if they aren't where you plan on building up. In some cases building shields to buy time to pick up more gems can be worth it.

[Jay the Juggernaut]

yeah, I only took one.. didn't know how long it would take.

Phantom Coils can be built at the last second, right? I tried it and it seemed to work.

[Fisherck]

yeah, I only took one.. didn't know how long it would take.

Phantom Coils can be built at the last second, right? I tried it and it seemed to work.

Yeah build them as late as possible, or neccesary. The gateway that releases the phantoms are at the very bottom of this map, so you have plenty of time.