Friday, April 22, 2016

The Division - Easy Mode Falcon Lost/Incursion Guide by el2mador

ORIGINAL THREAD
https://www.reddit.com/r/thedivision/comments/4eoy12/easymode_incursion_for_both_hm_and_cm/
  • I posted that a week ago and it seems a lot of players liked it. However, due to the huge amount of cheesing and complaints over the past few days, I decided to repost this for more visibility. Since the cheese seems to be fixed now, regular strats should come into play for most groups.

THE BASICS

Incursion: Falcon Lost is basically a short trek to arrive at a large room where an APC (aka. tank) is parked. There will be 15 waves consisting of a bunch of assorted enemies. Every few or so waves, a mob carrying a bomb will appear - killing the mob, and picking up the bomb he drops, allows you to plant it on the tank. The tank can only be destroyed via this method (a total of 4x bomb detonations are needed).
The tank has three attacks:
  • two turrets which shoot at you and can stagger (roll around to prevent getting a bit 'stunlocked')
  • a cannon which has a large area-of-effect (big red circle); indirect hits can cause deaths; leaves a blind effect; leaves a fire effect
  • artillery barrage after each time a bomb is detonated

THE MAP

Upon arriving at the large room, don't jump down the main fight area yet. Stay up top and clear a few mobs for this wave. Look ahead and you'll see an "S" or "zigzag" structure in the middle of the room.
We'll call this "The Pit". This is where you'll spend most of your time while fighting.

There are two short stairways at the left and right, and two ammo crates on either side as well. You can open these from time to time to restock.

There are overhangs/walkways that protect you from a lot of damage, but also openings wherein you can get shot at by snipers and drones.

THE FIGHT

WAVE 1 (shotgunners with assault Troops):
  • You can take out these mobs from the top/control room, just avoid the blast from the APC (big red circle)
WAVE 2 (similar to the above):
  • tactics are similar
WAVE 3 (drones):
  • drones hover above you; red lasers do damage, blue lasers shock and leave you open for more damage
  • you can make your way down and head to "The Pit", which also makes the drones cluster above you for easy kills
WAVE 4 (first bomb wave; shotgunners and assault troops):
  • the bomber for this round is a shotgunner coming from the left side
  • take out the shotgunners who will rush your spot, as well as some assault troops (leave at a couple of mobs alive); kill the bomber
  • one player picks up the bomb, the team rushes to the LEFT side (facing the APC); use your supers as you make your way; disable the left side turret and have the guy who picked up the bomb plant it behind the APC
  • a short timer will pop up on the upper left side so make your way back down "The Pit"
  • hide for a few seconds until the artillery barrage ends; all dead players are automatically revived after this transition
**If you have stayed up top in the control room the entire time, you should jump down once majority of the mobs have been cleared for this wave, then rush to plant the C4 on the APC.

From this point onwards, you'll see the same assortment of mobs from the previous rounds (ie. shotgunners/assault) with a combination of new types that spawn. While in The Pit, shotgunners and assault types will rush at you from either of the two stairways, or shoot from the walkways above (sometimes they can also jump down), prioritize them.
WAVE 5 (snipers):
  • snipers will appear at the left and right walkways/balconies, they're pretty easy to take out
WAVE 6 (snipers and heavies):
  • similar to the above, snipers are easy to take out but the heavies may take a bit more time
WAVE 7 (all of the above + drones):
  • similar to the above strategy, take out the rushers/enemies closing in on The Pit; then the drones hovering above; then the remaining mobs scattered about
WAVE 8 (second bomb wave; all of the above enemies appear)
  • the bomber for this wave is a sniper who will usually be at the right side of the map on one of the walkways/balconies
  • this mob will usually hide at right side (facing the APC), you can either have your bomb runner make a break for it (heals/super), pick it up, then run back down The Pit, and have the group run to the left side
  • OR you can go as a group and run to the right, disable the right side turret, plant, then hide back down The Pit

From this point onwards, the same types of enemies in previous rounds will appear (though shotgunners/assault-types may be fewer in some waves); a newer enemy type - Agents (healers) also appear
WAVE 9, 10:
  • the general strategy still applies; take out anyone getting near your position, then the hovering drones, then the scattered mobs
WAVE 11 (third bomb wave):
  • the bomber is a heavy/machine gunner who will eventually end up on the right side, very visible from the right side stairs
  • the dash to get the bomb from where he died is farther than before
  • you can either (a) lower the mob's armor, have one guy make a mad dash while shooting at it, "scaring" it to moving to a more favorable position
  • (b) take it out; have one player pick it up and run back down The Pit; then make your way to the left
  • (c) move as a group and head to the right

You'll have more Agents appear. Your turrets are more likely to get hacked this time around if you're using them.
WAVE 12/13/14 (similar to the above mentioned composition):
  • the tactics are similar to the above
WAVE 15 (final bomb wave; infinitely spawning enemies):
  • take note, multiple enemies will continue to spawn this round
  • the bomber here is an Agent who will often hide towards the left side
  • you don't need to clear out the entire room or a lot of mobs, it's simply important to down the bomber, grab the bomb and plant it asap
  • alternatively, if things get too scary, hunker down and play defensively until you've cleared out enough mobs; take out the Agent and go for the bomb plant
  • it's also possible for the Agent to move right atop the left side stairs, making it easy to grab the bomb and immediately rush for the APC
Once the bomb is planted, hide back down The Pit. After a few seconds of the artillery barrage, the APC explodes and all mobs despawn. You've finished Falcon Lost.

TIPS/QUESTIONS

(1) You emphasized running to the left when planting the bomb always when it's possible, why?
  • The left side has more cover. The turret switch is inside a small room and you're quite hidden behind a wall; the right side turret switch is a bit more open and enemies you've left alive can shoot at you.

(2) Does everyone need to run out to go for the detonation?
  • Yes and no. Yes because it gives the remaining enemies more targets to shoot at (other than your bomb carrier). No because, if the team is competent, the carrier can make a run for it (with supers used), while the team stays behind to distract/crowd control. In any case, dead players are automatically revived after each detonation.

(3) Speaking of the bomb carrier, should it be designated?
  • Preferably your teammate who has the highest armor/health so that he can survive the run, planting, and attempting to make his way back. It also helps for the player to be more aware of the layout/someone who does not panic.
  • Do note that in some cases a leftover mob may remain in the turret switch room on the left (usually a machine gunner), just ignore the guy
  • heavy damage/enemy crowd control abilities incurred may stagger you so a super works well for survivability

(4) What's the ideal skill/build for the fight?
  • For an average team on Hard Mode, you generally want to be at or near the armor cap (65%) with around 60-70k health minimum; DPS/Electronics is variable depending on your playstyle. Challenge Mode requires slightly better stats if you can manage.
Select a combination of skills among: - Support Station (ammo cache) - First Aid (overheal or damage boost) - Pulse (tactical scanner obviously) - Sticky Bomb (flashbang) - Seeker Mine (gas or airburst) - Turret (flamethrower)

Multiple Agents running Support Stations makes the fight a breeze. First Aid can also be a lifesaver in dire situations. Pulse being used by one or two agents, one after the other, makes short work of the mobs and also lets you know where they are at all of the time. Flashbang is good for pesky mobs hiding behind cover in the distance. Seeker Mines/Turrets are good deterrents for rushers as they actively stun enemies close by and you wouldn't have to monitor them (remember that these can be hacked in later waves).

If you have high electronics - consider being the "Healer" (Support Station + First Aid or Pulse). Low electronics players should still use at least one healing skill, plus a crowd control skill (Flashbang, Seeker or Turret).

"Triage" and "Combat Medic" are MUST-HAVES for all players. "On the Move" is also pretty good since, when shooting mobs, you'll probably sidestep a few times anyway. "One is None" is pretty good (but somewhat annoying when the glitch - unable to reload/gun-jamming - occurs).

Survivor Link is your best bet when using supers; however, also consider at least one teammate with Recovery Link (for clutch revives when swarmed, or overheals when running but low on health).

(5) What's the best loadout for the fight?
Generally you'll want to have majority of the team with a decent marksman rifle to pick off distant adds; you'll want rifles with slightly higher ROF (not bolt-action) due to the short time frame you have to pop-out of The Pit, shoot mobs, hide before tank kills you. Automatic weapons tend to be the norm as well due to ease of use and against mobs in short/medium range.

I typically run with a Vector (not god-rolls, just very good, defensive ones for PVE); and an M1A (not god-rolls, just very good, defensive ones for PVE -- Toxic FTW).

(6) Any tips to have better crowd control/avoid getting swarmed down there?
These tips come from all around the subreddit so cheer those people.
  • Drop the Turrets/Seeker Mines near the stairway, instant crowd control for rushers (again, remember these can get hacked in later waves)
  • Shoot shotgunners in the knee (apparently works well)
  • Flashbang Sticky to stun distant mobs (pop their heads out)
  • Flashbang Sticky to stun drones when clustered
  • EMP grenades can disable the turrets for a short while
  • With mobs a bit thinned out, a player can rush out, "scare" the Bomber NPC from his hiding spot, and have it run away in a panic to a more favorable spot
  • A minor bug occurs when you throw out a turret near the APC, the vehicle will only target that, allowing your team to rush out with less risk.

(7) Okay, everyone's talking about waves and enemies. Leave one alive? Kill them all? When do they respawn? Timer? What?
Leaving at least two enemies alive per wave will prevent the next wave from spawning. This allows you to prepare for each wave (make sure everyone has supers, ammo, full health, etc).

Remember though that Wave 15 has infinite mobs spawning.

Wave 11 (3rd bomb wave), seems to also have infinite mobs that spawn, so watch out.

(8) How important is communication here, seriously?
If you played Destiny, then it isn't so much of an issue of micromanagement and multiple callouts - just proper awareness. Naturally, you want people to call out if they spot a rusher, or to make decisions on the fly (ie. "I'll grab the bomb on the far right, then run back down; we will still go to the left.")

(9) What's your current progress?
The strat works pretty well without hassle, all it takes is for people to calm down and communicate.

UPDATE: Cleared 4x on Challenge Mode before weekly rewards were disabled. Strat works perfectly fine just remember to use defensive cooldowns when available, and to 'control' wave spawns. Make sure that all teammates have supers available prior to ending wave 14 - once wave 15 starts, bum rush the bomber, and pop supers one after the other. Plant. Leave one player down The Pit (to anchor the team in case others die).

I'd love to have more clears. However, due to not having too many old buddies to play with, coupled with the weekly lockout and general "monotonous nature" of the encounter, there's really no point.

PSN is EL2mador for those wondering. GS is around 210-ish; got a couple of playstyles/equipment choices.
  • Assault = 210k dps, 72k health, 11k electronics, 65% armor
  • Healer = 135k dps, 75k health, 41k electronics, 62% armor

KNOWN BUGS/ISSUES
  • Ability to damage the APC via other means (weapons, grenades, sticky bomb) = FIXED
  • Using the session of another player in order to get multiple weekly rewards = FIXED
  • Getting stuck in an infinite loop/constant loading while attempting to join an encounter in progress = NOT FIXED
  • In relation to the above, having someone leave or disconnect w/o coming back, will mean that you're stuck one person less; the only way to get a full group is to restart the entire thing
Goodluck, Agents! Cheers!

SOURCE

No comments:

Post a Comment