User:Jzyehoshua/Final Mission

For the Final Mission, 6 Ur-Quan ships will stand between you and the Sa-Matra, 3 Ur-Quan Kzer-Za Dreadnought ships, and 3 Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah Marauder ships. After defeating them, you will be supplied with as many Pkunk Fury and Yehat Terminator ships as you can carry (up to 4 of each).

Preparation

• You ought to have at least 2 or 3 Spathi Eluder ships with you. Aside from Fwiffo, who you find early in the game, you can also purchase Eluders once allying with the Spathi.

• If you don't have Eluders available, make sure you bring enough ships to defeat the Ur-Quan fleet you will face. You should bring at least 6 ships to make sure you can get through the Ur-Quan fleet without needing to use your Flagship.

• Make sure your Flagship is equipped with all possible crew, Fuel (or at least enough to reach Delta Crateris), Antimatter Thrusters, and Turning Jets.

• Because the final challenge will involve simply keeping your Flagship alive, you should use most of your 6 Flagship Module slots on Crew Pods and Point-Defense Laser systems. There really is no excuse for using slots on anything else, except maybe a High-Efficiency Fuel Tank (or Fuel Tank if you don't have one) or a weapon (Ion-Bolt Gun, Fusion Blaster, or Hellbore Cannon so as to shoot at the small green fighters which will often annoyingly block your path to the asteroid entrance in the last scenario.

• Technically, you don't even need to waste a slot on a Fuel Tank. Although a bit risky, it is possible to make it from the Earth Starbase to Delta Crateris without using a Fuel Tank on the minimum 10 Fuel storage, and without battling Ur-Quan along the way. To do this, simply exit Sol, use your Portal Spawner to enter QuasiSpace, and choose the exit leading near Delta Crateris (on this map it is the 13th exit). Though you will then be out of Fuel, you can then use a HyperWave Broadcaster to quickly summon a Melnorme trader, and if you have any credit remaining (which you should at this point in the game) or items to sell, you should be able to buy the 6/7 Fuel units needed to reach Delta Crateris. Although there is a risk of being attacked by Ur-Quan before the Melnorme can reach you, the Melnorme moves much quicker than the Ur-Quan, so the odds are in your favor, making this a perfectly feasible alternative which will save you a Flagship Module slot for the Final Mission.

Ur-Quan Battle Strategy

Against the Ur-Quan ships, your best bet is to use a Spathi Eluder if you still have one. It is recommended that you have saved at least 2 for this battle (note that you will not be able to build them after a certain point in the game). Fwiffo and his Eluder are capable of taking down all 6 ships single-handedly. While theoretically one could use their Flagship for the battles, it is not advisable, as you will need it in top shape at the end.

When fighting the Dreadnoughts with the Eluder, simply keep ahead of their intended course, firing backwards with your B.U.T.T. missiles while staying just out of range of their cannon fire. If the small, green fighter ships get to close to you, just take a different direction off the screen and come at the Dreadnought from a different angle.

The real trick will be fighting the Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah Marauders and their numerous spinning blades. While the Eluder can still defeat them, you will be hard pressed to avoid the numerous blades. Again, it is key to stay ahead of the Marauders so that your B.U.T.T. missiles, when fired backwards, will travel quicker to their target, thus allowing you to stay further out of danger.

Furthermore, the Eluder can swerve quickly enough side-to-side (a zig-zagging motion while staying in front) that the Marauder will often stop its blades short as you mis-align/dodge out of the way of each one. While it is quite possible to take down all 6 ships using a single Eluder, it will require good awareness to consistently dodge/avoid the Marauder blades lying around, not to mention those sneaky little objects which hide just where you're not looking... oh yeah, I think they're called 'planets'.

Other ships that may do well against the 6 Ur-Quan-ship fleet:

• Thraddash Torch: While its low crew numbers make it easily eliminated, its powerful Reeunk afterburner attack allows you to leave a line of fiery ionized plasma directly in front of a hapless Dreadnought or Marauder. Should either one be chasing you, they will likely run straight into the trap (although if you were too far away, the plasma will dissipate before they reach it). Another tactic against the Marauder is to stay somewhat ahead of, and just out of the line of fire of a Marauder, and, with a slight swerving action, use the afterburner to drop a string of plasma which it will inevitably blunder through while chasing you.

• Chmmr Avatar: The Avatar is a deadly close-range adversary, and its tractor beam allows it the option of pulling the slow-moving Dreadnoughts and Marauders not only towards it, but also towards planets as well. It stands a fair chance of taking down a Marauder if it is at full strength, but may have more trouble against the Dreadnoughts.

• Orz Nemesis: The quick-moving Nemesis has the option of using its Orz Marines to destroy the Dreadnoughts and Marauders from the inside. Since both ships are relatively slow-moving, well-aimed Marines shot in front of an enemy's path can stand a chance of quickly destroying the powerful Ur-Quan ships. The long shooting range of a Nemesis, though a bit tough to aim, can give it at least some kind of chance if it comes down to a shooting match.

• Yehat Terminator: The Terminator, of course, has the advantage of being able to shield through the Marauder's blades, before unleashing its devastating, up-close ion pulse cannon fire. Its bullets can also destroy the Marauder's blades relatively well, leaving one the option of staying just ahead and out of range of a Marauder, firing backward at both the on-coming blades and Marauder. Against a Dreadnought, the Terminator will be more disadvantaged, and may want to trick the somewhat slow-turning Dreadnought into turning around, before using the Terminator's quick turning radius and speed to try a strafing attack. The Terminator's speed is almost exactly that of a Dreadnought's fighter ships, so it needs to be careful to keep them at a distance.

Sa-Matra Battle Strategy

Once defeating the Ur-Quan, you will have to perform 2 daunting tasks - the first, eliminating 8 shields that power a force field protecting the only entrance to the Sa-Matra, which sits guarded inside a cocoon of asteroids. While trying to eliminate these shields, you will be chased and harried by flaming, homing fireballs/comets of some kind, and small green fighter ships that, rather than shoot at you, simply bump into you causing a small amount of damage before disintegrating. Your second task will be to rush your bomb-laden Flagship into the Asteroid(s) for the final blow against the Ur-Quan empire.

For the first, all you really need is a single Pkunk Fury to eliminate all 8 shields. The Fury is well capable of flying around and eluding its slower adversaries, and while it may take a while, you should easily be able to eliminate all the shields without too much issue. You may want to fly around first so all the fireballs and green fighters come out of the asteroid first, so you don't have to worry about them coming out right next to you.

However, while trying to escape, the Fury will inevitably and regretfully be destroyed by the fireballs. Since you were supplied with as many Fury and Terminator ships as you needed before this battle, there is no excuse for not having a Fury available. If you didn't have one coming in, and had a full fleet, simply make sure two of your ships are destroyed while fighting the 6 Ur-Quan to get a Pkunk Fury.

The real challenge will be getting your Flagship into the asteroid entrance without getting destroyed by the fireballs. Unfortunately, this is largely a matter of luck, and unless placed very near the entrance, there's a good chance you won't make it. For this reason, it is best to have equipped your Flagship with not only (obviously) the maximum amount of Antimatter Thrusters and Turning Jets but also Point-Defense Laser systems, as all your Flagship really needs to do for this final mission is survive as long as possible.