Maddocks chase sequence imbalanced

[Krave]

Normal progression with a few sidequests has you at level 9 vs level 11-12 enemies; you cannot stop to fight as the mission terminates if you get too far away from the target.

Lack of checkpoints so every restart is back at the beginning. Quit out of frustration after 30 minutes on this one mission.

[Suzaku]

Lower the difficulty. Notice that missions have recommended level listed with them. Use an older autosave.

[Wartoyz]

used reduce dmg, repair items, also device that returns armor within last what ever secs, emp to stop guys chasing, etc also moved my mainframe points to more hull

[MrDammit]

I made it to the end of that chase then lost him in a way where it finished but didn't. I had to fly all over the map trying to get the end to activate. Took an hour of flying around... Killed everything. Elek finely showed and I moved on. Was a frustrating quest.

[Lulzwhat]

1. Use fast&agile ship.
2. Use from shield generator.
3. Just ignore eneimes and fly forward.

[Veritas]

got through it just fine 2 levels under in a bomber on Very Hard i really don't think it was so bad.

[Krave]

Originally posted by Wartoyz:

used reduce dmg, repair items, also device that returns armor within last what ever secs, emp to stop guys chasing, etc also moved my mainframe points to more hull

Devices are disabled for this mission

[Pappy]

If you are having an issue finishing this mission I have a sort of "cheat" for you to get you past the mission. Kill Maddock's henchman, but don't get close to Maddock so that he starts the "chase". Instead simply fly the route that Maddock takes through the rocks instead, you can take as much time as you want and it will still update the mission when you meet up with the ambushers. Kill the ambushers and then you can complete the mission without ever having to chase Maddock. As a side bonus it won't activate unlimited boost so you can still use all your devices. The hardest part is trying to find the entrance to the rock but if you kinda know where to look it's not too bad.

[Fherrit]

Originally posted by Pappy:

If you are having an issue finishing this mission I have a sort of "cheat" for you to get you past the mission. Kill Maddock's henchman, but don't get close to Maddock so that he starts the "chase". Instead simply fly the route that Maddock takes through the rocks instead, you can take as much time as you want and it will still update the mission when you meet up with the ambushers. Kill the ambushers and then you can complete the mission without ever having to chase Maddock. As a side bonus it won't activate unlimited boost so you can still use all your devices. The hardest part is trying to find the entrance to the rock but if you kinda know where to look it's not too bad.

ANd when exactly are you supposed to take out his henchmen? I get out of the garage, chase him around the starport, next thing I got a cut scene and he's in 'garage' of some sort and starts hightailing it to the tunnels. If I don't stay on top of him, I lose him and he gets away. I can't go ahead of him to clear the tunnels either, same reason. This is the most aggravating, ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up quest I've ever run into a game with. And that's saying something!

[Three 60 Mafia]

There's a recommended level for the mission for a reason. Do some side missions and level up.

[Fherrit]

Originally posted by Three 60 Mafia:

There's a recommended level for the mission for a reason. Do some side missions and level up.

Understood, which is why I take the time to read the mission summary and note the level for it. It states level 11, I'm level 13 flying a Striker II, solidly decked out, on Normal difficulty.

If I run the booster, and not engage enemies, I get torn to shreds by the time I hit the 2nd tunnel. If I don't run the booster, I lose him. If I pump the booster, I can keep up, but I have to be alert to the mines that he craps out if I get too close, which I can snipe if I keep a certain distance, but then I risk him escaping.

then there are the tunnels, if I race through them, I collide with walls due to suddenly the screen filling with fireballs and I can't see anything. If I slow down to let the screen clear, I often lose him and the mission fails, If I try to fly through all the fireballs, I get a death message of running into wall because there's a sharp turn within all the fireworks I'm missing.

I'm no stranger to FPS games or arcades, I may not have "pro" reflexes, but I do just fine in most games on even higher difficulties. So far I've managed to run challenges where ships keep leveling up each time you score a kill and still surviving after they got to +6. Granted that took me multiple attempts as I experimented with different weapons/devices, but it's enough of a indication that I know how to fly my fighters and use my assets.

This gauntlet throws an awful lot at you all at once. Obviously there are people getting through it, so its not impossible, nor am I suggesting that it is. But what I am saying is, its overdone and took me from having a blast playing right up to this mission where I was seized with the rare urge to hurl my mouse across the room.

I'm going to give it a try with a gunship and see if I fare better. I dislike the heavy fighters because they're so sluggish, but fast and nimble isn't doing it for me. I may even have to resort to lowering the difficulty just to get past this one, something I am normally very reluctant to do.

[Notoshy]

mayyyybe a flak cannon would be helpful for you. Not a big Flak-Fan myself, but i got a strong one at some point and noticed, that it has some nice perks. You dont have to aim at targets, the general direction is enough to damage them. Its enough to destroy Mines and Drones.
Follow Maddocks and destroy any mine, that he throws at you with the flak, without losing speed.
Also... since you know to which map he flies too, you could load an earlier savefile, fly to that area and clear out as much turrets, mines and fighters as you can find.
Fighters respawn but not the same types and amount, mines respawn too, but you can "train" how to deal with them. Turrets often dont respawn. So clearing the map before the Mission can actually help you.
Also, if you like these, you can use the emp and the annihilator virus device. You said that these are disabled for the mission... but i cant remember if there is any mission, where this actually happens. Played this mission on normal and didnt hat much trouble with it.
Would have to watch your mission to identify potencial problems :/

[Gavodir]

One of the only parts of the game that had decent difficulty. It's all easy from there on out.

[Pappy]

Originally posted by Fherrit:

ANd when exactly are you supposed to take out his henchmen? I get out of the garage, chase him around the starport,

I'm assuming you are talking about Prescott Starbase. There's nothing you can do here but just follow him and wait for him to leave the area.

Originally posted by Fherrit:

next thing I got a cut scene and he's in 'garage' of some sort

This is where you kill the henchman. Before you get to the 'garage' he'll send some guys after you. Kill them, but don't approach Maddocks. If you get too close to his 'garage' he runs and you have to chase him through the tunnels, but you don't have to do that. You can simply head to the tunnels and leave Maddocks in the 'garage'. Go through the tunnels as if you were chasing Maddocks but you're not so you can take your time and kill everything instead. Once you get to the point where you are supposed to lose Maddocks after chasing him and have to fight a 2nd group of his henchmen, that part of the mission will activate and voila you have skipped having to chase Maddocks through the tunnels at all.

[Fherrit]

Originally posted by Pappy:

Originally posted by Fherrit:

ANd when exactly are you supposed to take out his henchmen? I get out of the garage, chase him around the starport,

I'm assuming you are talking about Prescott Starbase. There's nothing you can do here but just follow him and wait for him to leave the area.

Originally posted by Fherrit:

next thing I got a cut scene and he's in 'garage' of some sort

This is where you kill the henchman. Before you get to the 'garage' he'll send some guys after you. Kill them, but don't approach Maddocks. If you get too close to his 'garage' he runs and you have to chase him through the tunnels, but you don't have to do that. You can simply head to the tunnels and leave Maddocks in the 'garage'. Go through the tunnels as if you were chasing Maddocks but you're not so you can take your time me and kill everything instead. Once you get the point where you are supposed to lose Maddocks after chasing him and have to fight a 2nd group of his henchmen, that part of the mission will activate and viola you have skipped having to chase Maddocks through the tunnels at all.

Hrm...I hope i can backtrack on that, I took to side missions for a bit. IIRC the cutscene happens with him coming out of the asteroid, uncertain atm and its time to head to work, but if i can do it, I'll do as you suggested and clear the tunnels first.

[Fherrit]

Originally posted by Notoshy:

mayyyybe a flak cannon would be helpful for you. Not a big Flak-Fan myself, but i got a strong one at some point and noticed, that it has some nice perks. You dont have to aim at targets, the general direction is enough to damage them. Its enough to destroy Mines and Drones.
Follow Maddocks and destroy any mine, that he throws at you with the flak, without losing speed.
Also... since you know to which map he flies too, you could load an earlier savefile, fly to that area and clear out as much turrets, mines and fighters as you can find.
Fighters respawn but not the same types and amount, mines respawn too, but you can "train" how to deal with them. Turrets often dont respawn. So clearing the map before the Mission can actually help you.
Also, if you like these, you can use the emp and the annihilator virus device. You said that these are disabled for the mission... but i cant remember if there is any mission, where this actually happens. Played this mission on normal and didnt hat much trouble with it.
Would have to watch your mission to identify potencial problems :/

Flaks are great for mining, one hit and everything gets sucked up. But I'll give it a shot as well as Pappy's recommendation. Thanks for the tips.