Registered: Oct 2002
Location: london, england
Posts: 10

well, i've flown through most of the missions no trouble up until now
i can't even scratch this ship
for one, what is the easiest way to target beam cannons? i resorted to using 'T' but it takes ages to scroll through all possible targets
for aggresive missions so far i've used Auto Targetting or 'S' for subsystems on capital ships
for defensive missions i've used 'E' for escort then 'G' for attacker or 'B' for attacking bombs

what am i doing wrong here?
using dual Helios missiles
wait for lock
secondary fire
keep target in sites

but..

my missiles just fu(c)k off somewhere!?
i think i saw one once take a huge arc and come back in @ >90deg to my target - that would indicate that it was coming in from behind and would cause no damage - i don't know where the other went?
once i found one hovering about next to my ship with nowhere to go, ages after i fired it
did i miss the bit about the 'magic button' that i should press or something?

anyway, even calling in all other ships to help inflicts no damage - am i the only one here with Helios missiles?
sometimes the other ships seem reluctant to help - they take ages to come

the Turdbucket missiles are damned crap also

the most damage i've ever seen to the ship before it jumps is 92% remaining, most of the time it's 99%

out of sheer bloody-mindedness i continued to play the mission right to the end even though i'd failed - i found that using dual primary weapons was also incredibly ineffective against mere fighters... how many shots do i have to fire!? - oh, and the Turdbuckets seem pretty useless here aswell

please help me
i feel i must've missed something important
am i supposed to shoot the cannons in the correct order or something - if so that's cr4p

someone at the armoury wants sacking

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Registered: Apr 2001
Location:
Posts: 1901

First, I encourage you to go here: http://freespace.volitionwatch.com/fs2/tactical/bearbaiting.htm

Second, I encourage you to read your primary objectives list before you enter the mission. But for the sake of clarity, this is what it says:

Primary - Destroy Sathana's Beam Cannon 1
Primary - Destroy Sathana's Beam Cannon 2
Primary - Destroy Sathana's Beam Cannon 3
Primary - Destroy Sathana's Beam Cannon 4
Secondary - Destroy Sathana's Foward Flak Guns

Your primary targets are the 4 main beam canons on the front of the Sathanas. You've seen them used before...the mission even shows them off to you again by firing all four of them at the poor Hecate class destroyer that either gets pulverized or departs at low hull percentage (depending on pure random chance - and how fast your computer is).

In terms of your weapons. Trebuchets, when fired correctly hit their target at long range (we're talking 4KM or so here, very useful). The Helios is a big punch packing bomb. You need to be close and you need to aim right at the target.

My preference is inside the four big arms. Get in there, launch the bomb at the turrets. A good hit and you should take down about 80-90% of the turret. Then, hit it with a Trebuchet and fire your Akheton SDG's as much as possible.

I usually call a support ship after the first double Helios salvo goes off.



I suggest you get at least 2 of the turrets and then let the Sathanas escape.

After that, clear the fighters and the Demon class destroyer that arrives (with the Helios, it shouldn't take long - aim for the engines too).

Its a tough mission that tests your tactical skills as opposed to a random shoot it up. Enjoy!

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Registered: Sep 2002
Location: Frankfurt/Germany
Posts: 44

This mission is a bit tricky but the only goal you must complete (to complete the mission) is to destroy two of the four Sathanas beams. Just target the Sathanas with "E" and then target the forward beams with "K". As soon as the Sathanas is gone a Demon class Destroyer jumps in. First you should destroy the beam on the front right of the destroyer that is firing on the Sobek Corvette, then disable its engines (two helios are enough) and give it the rest.

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Registered: Oct 2002
Location: london, england
Posts: 10

IceFire: that is what i'm trying to do, only the Helios missiles won't behave! - i do try to use tactics whenever

Echelon IV: thx, i'll try using 'E'scort targetting, then 'K' to see if it's any better

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Registered: Jul 2002
Location: England
Posts: 176

I dive bomb. Get to about 500m and fire helios. Then (and this is the important part) pull up, hit my afterburner and put all power to shields while holding the weapons -> shields button. I usually take no hull damage and it eats up some of the recycle time.

Then again, I am usually suicidal.

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Registered: Oct 2002
Location: london, england
Posts: 10

i've completed that one now, and the next one almost, except the fighters got me right at the end

the 'K' button helped me get my targets quicker

but...

the Helios missiles are still a hit and miss affair
why bother having a lock if they don't use it?
i see them come out of my ship and disappear off the sides of the screen but that's it, i've never seen one hit - except maybe the one i described before - i'm not sure if it was mine tho'

i've tried boosting before and thus during launch
i've tried boosting just after launch
i ALWAYS wait for lock
and i'm always pretty close - these particular missiles won't lock until you're up close anyway
and i always pull up just at the last second, sometimes glancing the target with my own ship

it still seems an entitrely random affair and i have to restart the mission if i find the damage isn't enough, sometimes none at all

ps. i'm not firing them when the beam cannons are active either

surely something isn't right here!? - i don't want to have to deal with this again in future missions, it's just not fun

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Registered: Apr 2001
Location:
Posts: 1901

I still think you're worried about hurting the Sathanas. If your lucky....you may knock it down to 92% but thats not the point. Neutralize two of the beam cannons and back off. Thats doable. Make sure its double fire.

I don't understand what the problem would be with them. You point at the target, and you fire them. They do lock and they do track. They don't track well but I aim slightly ahead (like with lasers) and they hit home most of the time.

Unless something is drastically wrong, the Helios behaves virtually the same as the Cyclops except slower and with longer lock times (and much larger damage potential).

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Registered: Oct 2002
Location: london, england
Posts: 10

i'm a couple of missions past that now - where we're in retreat and i've got to protect some ships whilst they repair another
i haven't started it yet
in the one before, another Sathanas class jumped in - it was right over the top of me. i didn't know what the hell was going on and everyone else had bailed on me - i nearly didn't get out of there, i was still taking flak when i jumped

anyway, forget it IceFire
i too, have fired them at the lead indicator whilst still being careful to retain a lock, but i still have random liuck with them
i may go back at some point and put the camera outside the ship to see what is going on - i think they're just taking the scenic route
maybe i was just unlucky and they were contantly getting destroyed by flak or something?
what you have stated so far is all perfectly reasonable game tactics but does not shed any light on my experience with this particular weapon
i have started this game many times but have had too slow a system to play it through until now
also, i have already played through the first one previous to this so i am not entirely a noob
no offence taken and none intended
anyway, thx for the responses, it's nice to see a FS forum still fairly active
keep it up
cheers

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Registered: Jul 2002
Location: England
Posts: 176

With the helios/Sathanas interaction the problem is the placement of the turrets. Your best bet for a garuanteed kill is to attack from the inside angle. Helios hit 100% of the time in this position, unless you fire too soon in which case the flak guns bring them down.

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Registered: Jul 2001
Location:
Posts: 1234

While I find E and K very useful for a mission like BearBaiting I also find

Y - Target Ship under reticle

and

V - Target Subsystem under reticle


extremely useful. While it can take ages to cycle through the turrets on the sathanas, it takes meer moments to point yourself at one of the tips of the sath's arms and press v.

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Registered: Apr 2001
Location:
Posts: 1901

Anyone manage to get all 4 plus the turret at the back? I've gotten all 4 but not the bonus turret at the back. Thats a really impossible thing to do I think.

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Registered: Jul 2001
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 882

Heh... last time i played that mission, the Sathanas warped out at the EXACT time my pair of Helios' destroyed turret 4...... i.e. so it was downed, but the game didn't record it. Bleh.

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Registered: Aug 2002
Location: The USA
Posts: 249

I got all four turrets, and the bonus. But I was sick of replaying the mission so I was using the Shivan Superlaser.

Without cheating I have been able to take down three of the four turrets with my Helios. I find that if you order your wingmen to attack, they actually help a LITTLE.

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Registered: Oct 2002
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Posts: 64

I played this mission dozens and dozens of times over until I managed to blow the four turrets with just 8 Helios (one resupply). I just let the bombs go just before I run into the beam cannon and the pull hard up and around it. Since the Helios drops briefly behind you the turret itself gives you a bit of protection from the backwash. Well, I survived four times at aleast

Never ever hit the bonus turret tho. My skill isn't good enough =\ and my wingman usualy get blown to pieces. I need a Mackie to cover me.

Last edited by ChronoReverse on 10-27-2002 at 04:50 AM

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Registered: Nov 2001
Location: Command deck of EAS Janus
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You can take out frontal beams of Sathanas, but that rear turret is almost impossible take out after you have taken out frontal... I haven't never succeed to take out rear turret.

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Registered: Jul 2001
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Posts: 1234

I`ve taken out all 4 turrets a couple of times (although once I did it and then got a sathanas through the cockpit) But I`ve never managed to also take out the flak guns as well (let alone the bonus turret)

Quite funny but no one seems to have mentioned the flak. Do you all go after the rear turret after taking out the main guns or something?

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Registered: Feb 2002
Location: Nowhere, Nowhere
Posts: 423

As soon as I war in, I call in support, because it'll take forever for support to arrive once u run outta ammo. Take 4 Trebs and shoot them at the main turret that you're gonna target with the bombs. I take the rest of Alpha and order them to attack one of the main turrets. Delta goes for the flak guns, yada yada.

They say that call in reinforcements only when necessary; I just call them in right from the start in this. Usually only one wing, because you dont want ALL your forces to be gone.

As for the flak guns, you HAVE to be shooting it at the right angle. Many times I've fired 2 Helios, and the flak only went down 50 maybe 70%. You gotta hit the flak guns either ABOVE it (top one) or BELOW it (bottom one).

And then dont worry about the Demon. Just destroy it, I dont usually worry that much about the beams.

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Registered: Jul 2002
Location: England
Posts: 176

NS33 has the right idea. Using the same tactics, I've got all four main guns and the flaks, but never the bonus beam turret. Until two minutes ago, I didn't even know it existed.

Oh, and the Sathanas usually warps straight through me because I take too long.

Damn.

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Registered: Oct 2002
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Posts: 64

That's pretty much the way I did it except I didn't bother to tell my wingmen to go after a turret since they have never EVER managed to even knock one to 50% (much less out). I tell them to cover me and hope that they get slaughtered in my place (see What do you do with your wingmen thread). I blow the turrets usually now but I have so much damage that I can't eat the flak to go for the bonus (that and I don't have the time to re-load a second time, and the trebuchets have yet to blow it up in time).

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Registered: Aug 2002
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 318

Ne'er succeeded in the aft turret...

But all four of the frontal and flak...yup!

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