Solo battling against the mob - featuring a Grunt bomb and an Elite trap!

(6:33) Level 5 ('Assault on the Control Room') on Heroic. Continuing with the same mob battle set-up as last time, I tackle the covies solo in various places with plasma rifle and AR. These battles also give some good demonstrations of setting up particular battle dynamics by manipulating the mob.

Released May 3rd 2019, gameplay recorded May 1st 2019.

00:02 (Play 1 - Central cover) For the opening battle I first draw the mob away from the central area, so I can then land there and start defending as they return. The tree and rocks provide excellent cover, not just against their approach but also for the subsequent running around once they move in. I like the bit at 0:46 when two Grunts dive to avoid the Ghost.

01:31 (Play 2 - Back corner) This battle dynamic is an old favourite which has given me a lot of great combat. The idea is to have the covies in the corner depression and attack from the bottleneck between the cliff and the end of the ramp-like slope. In this example I limit myself to AR and grenades. Watch out for the Grunt bomb which takes out two Elites!

02:47 (Play 3 - Gradual retreat) Here's an example of doing a gradual retreat (or 'fall-back defence'), which is a nice battle dynamic to try. I retreat to the lone Elite at the back, so he's not left out of the proceedings. Wouldn't want to hurt his feelings.

04:05 (Play 4 - Elite trap) An upright Ghost can make a fine trap for the Elites. I get two blues with tags, but almost get splattered when the Ghost goes boom. The other Ghost eventually goes boom as well, taking the red Elite with it. Amusing Grunt launch at the end. That Grunt actually got into a bit of conflict with the Marines, so technically this battle wasn't totally solo, but never mind.

05:10 (Play 5 - Ice patch) This tree and rock provide some nice cover against a mob approaching across the ice. You tend to get a lot plasma balls flying your way, which aren't always easy to see coming! Good long Elite death cry at the end.

Closing remarks Couldn't quite squeeze in six plays this time. That's partly because of including a fair bit of footage showing initial manipulation of the mob, which I thought was needed so you could see how battle dynamics were being engineered. Didn't want to skimp on that too much.

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