Difference between revisions of "Urgent Orders A S-Rank Guide"

Revision as of 07:06, 11 June 2007

This article is a guide and may contain opinions or other subjective information. The PSUPedia is not responsible for any inaccuracies or mistakes.

Introduction and General Information

Hello, and welcome to a guide concerning the Operation Firebreak mission Urgent Orders. This mission has an excellent reward for S-Rank, and is, in my opinion, one of the most entertaining missions in all of PSU, mostly due to its difficulty and fast pace. However, the mission requires a lot of teamwork, and I have unfortunately seen a lot of people who simply do not know how to efficiently run the mission, and consequently end up with poor completion times. My goal herein is to provide a basic strategy that has been proven to work in parties I have organized.

Party Structure

Since killing enemies quickly is important at several stages in the mission, it would be ideal to have a team of level 80 characters, though this is by no means necessary, and other factors such as equipment and player skill surely must also be considered.

Obtaining S-Rank will obviously be easiest with a group of 6 players. Although possible with only 5, everything goes much more smoothly if the party is full.

As pertains to the combination of Types, most combinations will work fine, as long as players are playing their respective types to their full potential. I have had the most success in a party consisting of one Wartecher, two Guntechers, one Fortecher, and two either Fortefighters or Figunners. I have also found that the mission goes noticeably smoother with a Fortecher than without, though your mileage may vary.

Basic Strategy

In this mission, S-Rank is won and lost in the purification of SEED Zomas/Gozomas. It is crucial that everyone in the party know which Zomas to hit and in which order. Knowing which enemy spawns are skippable is also very important. As far as purification goes, the team should split into 2 groups of three for blocks 2 and 3. More on this below. Also, do not waste time destroying Zomas (except those on buttons or otherwise in the way).

Block-by-Block Strategy

Block One

At the starting gate, wait until everyone is ready before starting. Make sure people are not AFK at the starting fence, because this confusion can cost you your rank. Once everyone is ready, review which players will do which areas, have the fT/WT buff, and get on your way.

In the first room, kill the Ageetas as quickly as possible, and proceed on.

In the next room, some Lapuchas and Shagreece will spawn. Run past these enemies and they will immediately die. Do not waste any time on them.

Continuing across the pit and up the other side, more Ageetas and Lapuchas will spawn. Kill these as quickly as possible. While you are doing this, one player may want to quickly goggle the fence area, and purify the Zoma if there is one right behind the fence.

After these enemies are killed, the fence will open. This is the point at which careful and precise strategizing becomes necessary. Have only one player enter through the opened fence. This player will then purify and destroy the already-visible Zoma atop the button. Next, he should stand on this button, as only one other player enters through the fence at the southern end of the pit opened by the button. Once this latter player has cleared the fence, he should verbally signal the player on the button ("Thank you" or a simple "kk"). The player on the button should then purify the remaining Zoma and SEED core in this room, while the player in the pit should do the same. After the player in the button room as grabbed his key (key #2), he should stand back on the button. By this time, the player in the pit should have completed purification and picked up key #1. Once he clears the fence, he should again signal the player on the button. Once the pit player has passed the fence, the player on the button should take the door to the south (which is opened by key #1) and purify the SEED core inside this room, grabbing one of the 4 #3 keys.

While these two players are doing their jobs as described above, the other four should proceed to the northern end of the pit, where they will be faced by another fence. This fence is opened by key #2, which the player in the button room will quickly obtain. After opening this fence and proceeding up the ramp to the left, the strongest player should remain and fight the enemies that spawn, while the other three continue west and purify the Gozomas and core in the next room, obtaining another of the 4 #3 keys. After purifying and obtaining the key, they should join the other player fighting the Shagreece and Lapucha on the left-hand ramp. Killing these monsters will reveal the third #3 key.

Meanwhile, the player who purified the core at the southern end of the pit should be fighting the Shagreece that spawn at the northern end of this pit. After purifying the 2 cores mentioned above, the player that was in the button room should join him in clearing these Shagreece, which will reveal the fourth and final #3 key.

Open the #3 key fence, and skip the enemies that spawn here, proceeding directly to Block 2.

In general, if Block 1 is cleared in under 5 minutes (>25:00 remaining on the clock), then you are on track for S-Rank.

Block Two

In the first room of Block 2, two Volfus and two Jishagaras will spawn. Kill these as quickly as possible to open the warp at the end of the room.

After taking the warp, split up into two groups of 3. The first group should focus on purifying the three Gozoma in this room (which are always in the same location). I recommend starting with the Gozoma directly to the left of the warp, then hitting the one on the right wall, and finally purifying the one on the left wall. Meanwhile, the other three players should be attacking the three Tengohgs full force. After purifying, those three players will join them and kill the Tengohgs, which will open up the warp under the SEED core.

The warp takes you back to the first room of Block 2, where either three Jishagaras or three Volfus will spawn. Regardless of the enemy, kill them as quickly as possible to open up the door.

If Jishagaras spawned, take the open door and proceed to the next room. Do not attack the enemies in this room, as only the SEED core must be purified to proceed. Split up into the same groups as earlier in the block. The group which initially fought the Tengohgs should hit the Gozoma in the back-right corner of this room, while the other three hit the one to the left of the doorway through which this room was entered. The third Gozoma will appear on the far wall of the room, to the right of the exit door. This Gozoma should be purified by whoever gets there first. After purification, destroy the core, grab the key, skip the enemies, and proceed to the "pit and switches" variant of Block 3.

If Volfus spawned after the Tengohg room, take the open door and proceed to the next room. Do not attack the enemies in this room, as only the SEED core must be purified to proceed. As above, split up into the same groups as earlier in the block. The group that initially purified in the Tengohg room should hit the Gozoma on the far wall directly to the right of the exit door. The other three (those who initially fought the Tengohgs) should hit the Gozoma to the right of the entrance to this room. Again, the third Gozoma (to the left of the entrance to this room) should be purified by whoever gets there first. After purification, destroy the core, grab the key, skip the enemies, and proceed to the "dark room" variant of Block 3.

Block 2 can be cleared in around 3-3.5 minutes if purification is done precisely correct, though spending 4-5 minutes here is acceptable.

Block Three: Pit and Switches Variant

If you encountered Jishagaras after the Tengohg room of Block 2, you will have this variant.

This block starts with three people in a very small pit, and the other three in the open area above this pit, with a bridge in front. One of the players in the open area (one with a rifle or bow, preferably) should immediately run to the pit to the left of the bridge (your teammates are in the right-hand pit). This player should then shoot the three switches that do not have the red circle on them. This opens the warp in the right-hand pit. The players in the pit should warp out as soon as possible and start fighting the Polavohras and Mizuras that spawn.

Meanwhile, the players in the open area should kill the Zoonas as quickly as possible (after one shoots the switches, obviously). When this is done, the fence on the bridge will open. At this point, rush across the bridge and join the others, killing the Polavohras and Mizuras as quickly as possible.

Once these enemies are dead, the fence will open. From this point on, do not fight any more enemies. Split up into the same purification groups as in Block 2. The group that initially fought the Tengohgs should hit the 2-3 Gozoma nearest the SEED core. Meanwhile, the other three should purify the Gozoma on the far wall, and then the either one or two remaining Gozomas not near the SEED core. Once all Gozomas are purified, destroy the core and proceed to the last core. Only one player need stand on the buttons here (though one player on each works as well, I suppose), while all the others rush into the small corner room and purify the three Gozoma here. Finally, destroy the SEED core to finish the mission.

With a good team and a little practice, a time of 12.5-13 minutes (17:30-17:00 remaining) is easily possible, though anything under 15 minutes nets you an S-Rank.

Block Three Dark Room Variant

If you encountered Volfus after the Tengohg room of Block 2, you will have this variant.

Follow the trail of fire through the dark to avoid the traps. Once you do a few runs, you'll get the hang of it and know where they are. Make sure to hit the light switch behind the wall before the Lapucha spawn.

Do not fight the Lapucha. Run past them and begin purifying the Gozoma here outside the fence. Stepping on the right-hand switch will cause the Lapuchas to die, and either Jarbas or Jaggos to spawn.

At this point, split up into the same purification groups as in Block 2. The group which initially purified in the Tengohg room should enter into the fences, while 1-2 other players hit the switches. It is best to proceed all the way to the further Gozoma before beginning purification. The three purifying should ignore the Gohmons/Olgohmons behind the fences, dodging their Foie whilst purifying. After purifying the further of the two fenced Gozomas, hit the other Gozoma on the way back, destroy the SEED core, grab the key, and exit the fenced area.

At this point, everyone should kill the Jaggos/Jarbas, Lapuchas, and Gohmons/Olgohmons that spawn outside the fenced area. Killing them will reveal the other key. With both keys in hand, open the locked fence.

Behind this fence you will encounter four Gohmons/Olgohmons and either one Jarba (with buffs) or one Jaggo. Kill these enemies as quickly as possible and proceed through the fence to the last SEED core.

Again, split into the purification groups from Block 2. The three that initially fought the Tengohgs should purify the Gozomas nearest the fence through which you just passed. Meanwhile, the three who initially purified in the Tengohg room should procced to the back of this room and purify the three Gozomas around the ramp (one is actually on the ramp). Finally, destroy the SEED core to end the mission.

With a good team and a little practice, a time of 12.5-13 minutes (17:30-17:00 remaining) is easily possible, though anything under 15 minutes nets you an S-Rank.

Plans for Guide Improvement

If I have time, I would like to provide some contextual pistures to aid in the clarity of this guide. I would also like to have some feedback on this guide. Please leave messages on this article's talk page, and I will try to revise this for clarity and/or address certain other issues upon request.

Credits

I, Qwerty, the author of this guide, would like to thank my good friend and fellow PSUPedia contributor Fence, who designed the basics of this strategy during our Urgent Orders runs.