As I mentioned a couple days ago, Super Earth has been invaded! I have since done my best to help punish these enemies of democracy and resist the Illuminate incursions, but one of our Super Cities has been overrun. We must defend the rest, and re-take this lost center of humanity!
Loadouts
I can't recommend any specific loadout, especially since each player and team should develop their own strategies. However, I have some basic suggestions.
Generalist
Bring a weapon which can clear hordes of voteless, whether this is a primary weapon or a stratagem. Flamethrowers, machine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, whatever suits your playstyle.
Bring a heavy weapon capable of damaging Harvesters, Fleshmobs, and Stingrays. These must be at least medium-armor penetrating, and ideally heavy. The Eruptor and Anti-Materiel Rifle are great at longer range, but these new urban battlefields may not favor that. Marksman rifles offer more versatility at the cost of sheer power. The Autocannon can switch between flak for Fleshmobs or APHET for harvesters and airborne threats.
The advantage here is that each player has an answer to most enemies, even if on their own.
Specialist
Experienced players at higher difficulties may be better served as pairs or a full squad of specialists, one dedicated to horde management, and the other focused on anti-armor. Communication is essential, whether using in-game pings and map markers or Discord voice chat. Working together means making quick work of all but the most overwhelming encounters.
Specialists can focus on the best anti-tank and heavy armor penetrating weapons for warp ships and leviathans, or go all-out on sweeping hordes from the streets with unending bullets.
Specialization encourages teamwork and communication while ensuring each problem has the best answer at hand as needed.
Stratagems
Choose a weapon to enhance your specialty or offset your primary/secondary weapon weaknesses. Carry a backpack if possible. Bring sentry turrets to protect your back or help control chokepoints, and I find rocket sentries shine against some of the new threats. Not all maps favor orbital bombardments or eagles, but your mileage may vary.
New Missions
New maps mean even the old missions vary from what we've known thus far, but this invasion brings completely different objectives, too.
Take Down Overship
Secret planetary defense cannons are staged inside Super Earth cities. These must be activated via a sub-objective, and then targeted using standard control wheels we've seen at oil pumps and LIDAR antennas to rotate and elevate the cannon while firing shots from a separate control terminal. Several shots are required to destroy one of these mushroom-shaped monstrosities. You can see them from orbit in the image above. This ideally has all players on site, one aiming, another firing, and the rest keeping the squids at bay.
Repel Invasion Fleet
Dozens of Illuminate warp ships are trying to land in our city and establish new spawn points for their murderous troops. These can be shot down before they land by stripping their shields with machine guns, and then hitting them with anti-tank weapons.
Many (probably most) will land. In that case, they must be destroyed like any other Illuminate encampment we've come to know. Strip the shields with your preferred weapons, and then either chuck a 'nade through the door, shoot it with an explosive weapon, or hit the hull with something powerful. Orbital stratagems might work best here, but targeting can be dodgy for lasers and other bombardments.
Super Earth Complications
Since we are fighting in our Super Cities, there are new challenges in our missions beyond the tall buildings and winding streets or alleys.
Citizens
Frightened voters often run through the streets, requiring us to check our fire. Crowds of people can look a lot like a swarm of voteless at first glance. Making things more difficult, these people tend to panic and run into our lines of fire or walk right in front of our sentry turrets. Every death costs us requisition points, to say nothing of losing precious voters for our beloved managed democracy.
SEAF Soldiers
The SUper Earth Armed Forces also patrol the cities, and they can respond to orders! They can be asked to follow, and they provide surprisingly effective support against the hordes at lower difficulties.
They can also accidentally kill you just like your human players.
That said, they also watch your back, and sometimes whittle down the voteless with surprising effectiveness.
A Call to Arms
Super Earth is our home, and we must all do our part to repulse these degenerate alien invaders! When Super Earth calls for aid, the Hellivers answer! While we live and breathe, it will not fall.
