Failing at researching water purification

[Alistair]

I have the mission where I need to take down the cruiser. This works but all the other enemy units focus on my technician and kill everyone before the research finishes. Do I just need to spam more military units?

It feels like I am doing something wrong because it shouldn't be this difficult....

[MutantPotato]

same. even if you somehow survive the first round, another wave of sec forces comes in and i failed there instead. the limitations for weapons and units at this stage make this mission far harder than it should be. why for something so basic as reseaching water? this feels like a mission that should be designed for stealing valuable weapons...not water filtration....

[Alistair]

Originally posted by MutantPotato:

same. even if you somehow survive the first round, another wave of sec forces comes in and i failed there instead. the limitations for weapons and units at this stage make this mission far harder than it should be. why for something so basic as reseaching water? this feels like a mission that should be designed for stealing valuable weapons...not water filtration....

Yeah I get that stealing weapons should be dangerous but this water filtration base seems to be the most dangerous place in the city.

[Greetings, fellow humans!]

Make sure you set your bots to use upgraded equipment that you got from research and contemplations, and set up multiple angles because those sec guys take extra damage when shot in the back.

[MutantPotato]

i managed to complete it by placing three red combat bots south of the road and one sniper bot southeast. then aggressively save scumming each time i had a successful turn. takes like 5 waves.

[null]

You should be able to succeed with 3x CombatUnits equipped with the shotguns and body armor. Make sure all three of them attack on the first turn so that they’re valid targets, and the enemies should prioritize them over the technician.

You can build the armor-piercing ammo *before* triggering the fight as well, which helps the action economy work better.

[=(FGR)=Sentinel]

In case it's useful to know, Combatunits also have a consumable they can use on other units, the microbuilder cloud, which reduces damage taken by the target unit for one turn. If you're struggling with the water purification investigation, the easy fix is to check how much damage the Technician will take when you have one mental energy left and, if the technician would die, use microbuilder cloud on it rather than use the last energy on attacking with a Combatunit.

[HiroProtagonist]

The key to this is taking three combat units, stationing them nearby while putting one combat unit at the highest point, spamming 3x AP consumable on that one, waiting one turn, and then send in the technician. you should be able to easily 2 shot the cruiser which leaves you 7 other actions to kill off whatever spawns, and be ready for the next wave immediately.

[The Grand Mugwump]

If I recall, there's an item called the hackamajig that will somehow draw the ire of enemies in the surrounding area to attack the unit using it rather than something else. You need to have one of your combat drones use the hackamajig around the same time the investigation is started to buy enough time.

I never figured out to do this in the game either. It had to be explained to me by someone else.

[HiroProtagonist]

do whatever works for you, but i never needed the hackamajig, 3 combat units with full AP/ME available exterminated everything without a problem, so much so that bringing three even felt like overkill. consumables are there to be used though, so don't hesitate if something doesn't work

[x-4000 (Chris McElligott-Park)]

Water is one of the most precious resources in the city because of the contamination of the groundwater, so it's a very rare resource that is only for the upper classes, to answer the lore question that's inherent here.

As HiroProtagonist says: In general, the broad approach of having three bots in a triangle, with one of them up high, and then the technician ready to go is the right one. Chug 3x armor piercing and that cruiser just melts, and no more cruisers show up. At that point, your triangle of death is able to take out any enemies that are inside it, regardless of which way they are facing. One of your units is always behind it.

This is definitely the hardest early combat, but it shows both how you can lay the groundwork for a successful combat in advance, but also the use of items. You can have one of your CombatUnits throw a microbuilder cloud on your technician, but frankly it's not needed in terms of this particular situation. But if you're low on mental energy and your technician is under threat, it's a way to save the tech.

[HiroProtagonist]

Singing your praises in a discord Chris, keep up the great work. Really taking notice about how you're answering people on Day 1 here. Cheers. :)

[x-4000 (Chris McElligott-Park)]

Thank you, I really appreciate it!