Let's put some of my spare needlers to good use eh?

(7:34) Level 5 ('Assault on the Control Room') on Normal. Again using my new 53-covie set-up designed for trough battling, I leave the Ghosts aside and get back to some good honest foot soldiering, using various weapon combos. Includes a sniping play.

Released December 15th 2025, gameplay recorded December 12th-14th 2025.

00:02 (Play 1 - Needler & plasma rifle) Having gone to the trouble of adding three spare needlers to the trough, which in addition to the one at the back makes four, I definitely wanted to show a needle-heavy play, so this is it. With so many spares, I feel at liberty to be generous with my needle streams!

I slay at least four Elites in my opening blitz, but containment is quickly lost and I make my escape, fortunately losing only one health bar. You can end up taking a lot of fire in the back if you leave an escape run too late. Before long though, I'm facing a nasty 4-Elite wave augmented by Hunter fire, which pushes me right to the back of the trough. Things look a bit sticky for a while but I manage to kill the Elites, after which I take a rather gung-ho approach to the Hunters. At the same time I attack the minor covies, including some grenade throws.

Just after the second Hunter goes down at 2:16, I'm threatened by a final Elite; another red. But I manage to kill him and retain my two health bars, after which there's just some easy mopping up to do. Used three of my four spare needlers during this battle.

02:54 (Play 2 - Sniper rifle & pistol) Bearing in mind that this set-up includes two spare sniper rifles, I figured I should include a sniping play in the movie, so here we are. There's an amusing highlight to enjoy when I frag the turret around 3:27. It goes tumbling and splatters two Elites. Could hardly ask for better!

05:21 (Play 3 - Launcher & plasma rifle) In the early phase of this battle I get into some rocketing and grenading from one of the tunnels and it goes very nicely.

I'm only there for around 20 seconds though. When I clear out (seemed a good time, with my shield in good standing), I meet up with a blue Elite who'd entered the trough from the back. After enraging him with a rocket and a whack, a Hunter blast amusingly delivers the final touch. Meanwhile I've fired my other rocket towards a red Elite who I'd realised was attacking. Figured I needed to stop him quick or I could be dead in seconds. The rocket puts him into a rage and I finish him with plasma fire.

Soon I'm recovered at the back of the trough, and still with four health bars. After some rocket work which takes care of the Hunters, there's a red Elite who turns up a bit late. Seeing him near some Grunts and a Jackal, I send in a glorious rocket. Doesn't quite kill him, but it makes him mad. Taking cover, I briefly wonder how I might finish him off. But instead of anything fancy, I just step back out and give him a direct rocket hit. Amusing enough, I think.

Closing remarks It took some effort to get the movie duration as low as I have. Even despite cutting the starts of the second and third plays, I needed to have plays that were relatively fast. If I'd used plays of more average duration, the movie might've been a minute longer or suchlike. The plays for slots 1 and 3 were the ones I had to do the most work on, to make them fairly swift.

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