Roadworks 5 FoS - probably the most complicated maze I've done

[DoomyDoom]

I almost gave up after 50-something tries before, but, well, I didn't. Another 30 or so runs and I finally have a setup to beat this map without ground damage-dealing towers.

Loadout
Trust me, I tried a couple dozen most outlandish things.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422246601
Character: Sweet
Weapons: Gatling Laser + Ballista - one of, if not the the most reliable all-rounder setup. Good vs crowds, good vs Soakers, Hoverers, Bobbleheads, Runners...
Perks:
Corpse explosion - the only way to deal enough AoE quickly enough. Roadworks is quite short on space and timeframe, no matter how you try to stretch it.
Reinforcements - provide a way to cluster things together and keep them occupied while they die.
Fast Hands - can be Hollowpoint Rounds, but I find Fast Hands to be the best fit. It's pretty much The Name of this strat. ALright, it's the second name. First one will come up a bit later.
Towers:
Slow Field, Kairos, Anti-Air, Mind Control
Well, that is the whole point. Might be doable without AA, but seriously inconvinient.

Well, onto the layout we go, and here comes the promised first name - Maze Adaptation
Pre wave 6:
Fairly straightforward, right?
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422246645
Wave 6:
The point where things get complicated is wave 6. If the maze is left as-is, at least 1 Hoverer on bottom left will spawn when the main wave is there as well. Meaning you have to risk a lot and probably die.
To avoid that, we reroute the maze counterclockwise with entry at top.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422231457
Now we can wipe the floor with everything, killing Hoverers from absolute safety for dessert. They are reaaally slow, and that's the only positive thing about them.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422246673
Wave 7:
Remember that we have a perk that spawns shield explorers? Well. Super Heavy, you know, aggroes onto them.
So going back to wave 6, Hoverers hopefully wiped out all of them... except when they didn't die. See second sshot for an example. Whatever wasn't killed by Hoverers will get stuck somewhere. If you can drop a base on them - do it.
Next piece of prep work - reroute the maze back the way it was. You will need it for wave 8.
More prep work - note the level 2 AA. Yes, flying units are on the next wave. You have to rebuild bottom side maze and run to bottom right corner to upgrade AA to level 3 in 60 second timeframe. Better get ready.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422231502
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422246713
Wave 8:
So, yes. Repair your maze, length doesn't matter too much. Getting level 3 AA matter a whole lot more, because level 2 will let half flyers through, and you don't really have time to run to your Core.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422231528
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422246746
Wave 9:
Time to reroute our maze yet again. Because Hoverers and Soakers need to be delayed as long as possible.
This is a nasty wave, and the point where limiting damage to the Core as much as possible is necessary. It's possible to win from 2.5k, but pretty much not from less.
Positioning Slow Fields is important, so I include an overview.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422246891
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422246847
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422246815

Wave 10:
Time to rebuild our maze... you didn't think we were done, did you? 4 Armored Heavies and Runners need as long a path as humanly possible. Especially since the path for Heavies will pretty much 100% get cut. Killing Patriarch in time is largely impossible with this loadout.
I kinda forgot to take good sshots, so forgive me. I've taken and deleted so many, it's not even funny.
Slow fields are to be spread around core from 2 sides (center and left), and alongside the left ramp down.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422231569

Win stats:
Core hp - ~600-800

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422231608
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422231632
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422231666
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422231691

[Neit]

OMG so you really did it...

Congratulations. I believe this deserves an applause!

[Bandage Bill]

Hey DoomyDoom! I made my first post just to thank you for your guides and feedback!

I am crossing my fingers that you create a comprehensive guide for weapons, perks and character selection. I think you'd be the man to do it! Or just add to the Wiki and don't get the credit you deserve muahaha

[DoomyDoom]

Originally posted by Neit:

OMG so you really did it...

Congratulations. I believe this deserves an applause! :skyecute:

That's one long applause alright.
Slow Fields saved the day after all, since they can be put near the Core and on ramps. Well, that, and limiting myself to 1 MC.

Originally posted by Bandage Bill:

Hey DoomyDoom! I made my first post just to thank you for your guides and feedback!

I am crossing my fingers that you create a comprehensive guide for weapons, perks and character selection. I think you'd be the man to do it! Or just add to the Wiki and don't get the credit you deserve muahaha

You're welcome, and welcome to Steam Community, I guess... That was too many welcomes for 1 sentence, wasn't it?
Not sure how comprehensive I can get, since I have a tendency to test stuff out before suggesting to use (or not use) it. But rest assured, I still have a few secret shticks I haven't used for walkthroughs yet :P
I'm not sure there's worth in weapon/perk guide, since for me there is no such thing as a good or bad weapon, or even "good on this character" weapon. The thought process behind my selections, loadouts and builds is always taking into account everything from wave composition to my desire to play around a certain element (tower/gun/perk/char). "How to think in S2" is probably what 'd write, but that will be one too many words, I'm afraid... I might consider making something simpler, like a collection of various funny strats I use with some commentary... well, what I usually do here, I guess.

[Bandage Bill]

Great! Well whatever you write I'll keep up to date! I used, for example, your strategy of Friend Forever + Tactical + little robot buddy and it was really cool! I also learned how to use a few weapons by watching your videos.

Oh, is there ever a time when I would want to use my right-click on my drones?

[DoomyDoom]

Originally posted by Bandage Bill:

Great! Well whatever you write I'll keep up to date! I used, for example, your strategy of Friend Forever + Tactical + little robot buddy and it was really cool! I also learned how to use a few weapons by watching your videos.

Uh. Seems you got the wrong person, lol. I haven't made any vids ever. Because recording framerate on my old pile of hardware is too low. I'm also pretty sure that I've never used BFF("spawn 8 explorers around Core", right?) + G2 anywhere in my 300 hours of this game. BFF is a Core defense perk, in line with Core stun, heal and damage... Those are perks I never use in my solo playthroughs.

Originally posted by Bandage Bill:

Oh, is there ever a time when I would want to use my right-click on my drones?

Not really. It's a gun I hate with a passion, because it has zero meaningful gameplay. Just hold attack until you're out of ammo, not even aiming a whole lot. It's pretty much the definition of boring, and so the opposite of why I'm playing the game. Coming up with this setup above was good 6-8 hours of fun. 6 hours of holding down 1 button? No effin thanks, I've already done survival to wave 60+... Nobody even bothers to swap anymore at that point, and it's just 4 DL's being spammed over and over. I literally put a book on my fire key to avoid strain injury. Bleh. Not to mention the days of Armor Shredder exploit...