Tactical Operations Briefing: Rebel

XvT, Combat Engagement: Attack on Victory-Class Star Destroyer Formidable

Skill Level: Hard
Duty Roster: Slot 1, A-wing Rogue
Ship: A-wing
# of Craft: 3 waves of 2
Armament: Mag Pulse (12)
Countermeasures: Flare 

Note: The trick to this version of the mission is to let the Imperials do most of the work for you. This version will take you about 25-30 minutes, so make sure you have time and the patience to complete it.

When you begin the mission, your ELS should be 50/50. Target the closest group of TIE Interceptors by pressing 'R'. Log the first one in F5. Next, send the X-wings from Red and Rogue Squadrons home (Shift-H). You must also do this for all subsequent waves as they enter. Leave A-wing Blue as it is; it will eventually be destroyed.

Once the first flights of Red and Rogue are sent home, destroy the first three TIE Interceptors. After you have done this, you can begin engaging with any other TIEs near you. By this point, two Assault Gunboats will have joined the fray - be mindful of their missiles and use flares as necessary. You will notice that you are probably the only A-wing and Rebel ship left on the map. This means that every fighter is targeting you, and it is time to bug out.

Lead the fighters away from the Formidable. Your ELS should be at 0/75, which will allow your shields to recharge slightly if you've been hit or take the odd hit. The key here is to keep your craft in a perpetual corkscrew. Doing so will cause the TIE Interceptors regardless of the flight to accidentally kill each other off over time. If you find that this has stopped (or your fingers/wrist hurt) just change the direction of your corkscrew (left or right) and the process will resume. This will take some time and put you out between 15-25km from the Formidable. Each subsequent wave of T/Is that launches will take longer to get to you, giving you a chance to set your ELS back to 50/50 when you feel the time is right. Dump some shield energy into lasers and pick off the already weakened T/Is and two Gunboats after you (I suggest four fighters max). For an entertaining view while this happens, toggle your craft camera so you are looking at the underside of your A-wing.

Once this is done, it will leave you with the final flight of T/Is. You should be far enough away to recharge at 100/100. Get your lasers and shields up as much as you can, and then switch back to 50/50 to engage the last T/Is when close enough.

Once this is done, heal yourself. When shields are at 200 and lasers at full strength, head for the Formidable. The key here is to stay underneath it as there are only three laser batteries. Fire your mag pulses at it every 10-15 seconds so that it won't fire at you. You have 12, which is plenty. Keep dumping shield energy to lasers. Eventually, you will knock out its shields. Once this is done, take out the three bottom laser turrets, and continue to fire. I recommend reducing the hull to 5% -- you should have 1-1 mag pulses left. Hyper out and get a new craft. At this point, the Formidable will be 4-5 minutes from hyperspace, so watch your time. Destroy it from the underside. This will push your score to around 37000+ points.

Once the Formidable is destroyed, the Frigate Fury will enter the system. Again, making sure you are at full health, use the same tactic with the Fury. I recommend targeting it from the engines - though be sure to avoid the engine wash. Again, count your time. If you do not, the Fury will blow you into space dust and the mission will be for naught. Once the Fury is destroyed, make the jump to hyperspace. This will give you a score of around 54000+ if you have destroyed between 7-10 fighters yourself, plus the two capital ships.

Congratulations! You've just earned a Top Performance.

Author:  Andrew Dobson (Dobber - Buccaneer 3)
Strategy:  Andrew Dobson