Illuminates RS solo, loadout recommendations

[TraAurel]

specifically dif 12, tried mines, barrage, stomping with bastion but after 150+ kills I lose (obelisks destroy bastion, barrage long cooldown, mines explode really fast)

[thebadman]

Trident, blitty, red stratagems of choice. Stafing runs and firewalls are pretty powerful... could also go repair gun and triple tesla.

[TraAurel]

Originally posted by thebadman:

Trident, blitty, red stratagems of choice. Stafing runs and firewalls are pretty powerful... could also go repair gun and triple tesla. :slbunker:

Wich is the strategy in triple tesla? where should I throw them and all three at the same time?

[thebadman]

Just not so close that they zap eachother I guess?

[cB557]

Honestly my tip for high level solo retaliations is "don't", but that's not what you're here for and I'm sure it's technically doable.

LIFT is good for having a "don't die" button, and keeps you from getting trapped by walls. I've also heard mention of using them to survive your own nukes, though I haven't tried that myself.

I'm pretty partial to the obliterator grenade launcher against illuminates. Makes quick work of tripod swarms, fairly quick work of councilors, and is more agile than a rumbler. While normally the rumbler's AT capabilities makes it a pick over the obliterator, that's not a problem against illuminates. Also sometimes I'll kill a wall in its closed state with the obliterator? Not sure what the deal with that is, but it's nice. Maybe to do with the fire DOT.

I'll second that recommendation of strafing runs and heavy strafing runs. Great crowd clearing, fast cooldowns.

If you pack firewalls or other crowd control, be careful. The first instinct of a lot of people with those is to try to set up some impenetrable defensive position, but in a retaliation that'll work until a group of enemies spawns directly on top of you and your own defenses mean you can't get out.

Also, the shield system is another good choice for a backpack item. I'm usually partial to a lift over it, but maybe in a solo retaliation a shield's ability to let you just tank and keep killing will be more what you need, if you find yourself losing control of the crowds with a lift.

For primaries, I'd probably go with a justice. I expect you'd need a weapon that covers all your bases like it does. Though, maybe a breaker would be good? I don't use it much, so maybe it's not the tool for the job here, but its crowd clearing and ease of shooting councilor blasts do seem like it'd make for less situations that just kill you.

If you've tried everything else, maybe take a walker or obsidian, stratagem priority, and either three artillery stratagems or two and a REP? Treat the mech's weapons as secondary tools to your artillery strikes, to gain the survivablility of a mech without its ammo shortcomings. Now I have no idea if this'll actually be effective, but I figure if you get desperate enough then I don't have to be the one to test this.

[Parboleum Loyce]

Originally posted by cB557:

snip

LIFT does indeed let you survive your own nukes because you can't be damaged while in the air. it's pretty goofy

Obliterator does kill obelisks without the fire, it's weird, but maybe it's something to do with explosives behaving weirdly with mid-closing/opening obelisks? I'm unsure, but it isn't the fire

The "don't just sit in a corner" is great advice! Though it DOES sometimes work out anyway, if enemies permit

The shield is a good shout considering it'll block beams, but i do wonder if the lift is the better choice since diff 12 is usually obelisk spam

In terms of primaries, I find myself a bit of a contrarian because I haven't found the Justice to be terribly effective compared to some others - though i don't think i've fully upgraded it yet so that will be part of it - but I'd probably look towards the Punisher(? the other shotgun than breaker) as it's pretty effective at nuking any enemy you look at, and doesn't chew through ammo as fast as the breaker (more personal preference i'd say), the knight smg -though it does have a non-insignificant level requirement to obtain - tends to chew through all factions pretty well in my experience, and its main drawback of its limited range isn't much of a concern in retaliatory, and finally the primary MG just sort of works for me in retaliatory? I mean, it tends to just work overall but it's definitely a preference heavy gun. At the end of the day all primaries are good in my opinion, so maybe i'm biased more to preference than overall effectiveness lol

I do agree with all of your suggestions, just wanted to add to it

[cB557]

The Justice has some really solid upgrades, so I'd definitely recommend giving it another try after you've gotten it maxed out.

[Krevetka]

My loadout for that:

Autoinjector
Tanto
SH-32, Bastion, Bastion, REP-80

Autoinjector+SH-32 = tripods can't do any damage to you from the front and you heal up any damage taken from other melee units in a second. Don't show them your back though.

Bastion+REP-80 = if the vehicle is stationary laser walls wont damage it so you never get in those tanks. Instead use them as a fat healable distraction and cover.

Tanto/Trident are both great in this situation. However, unlike trident, tanto kills council members in just a few seconds.

Another recommendation for anti-illuminate loadout is Dum-Dum. It kills council members in 3-4 shots. I'd suggest not using it for tripods to save up ammo and not get stuck in reloading. It's a very powerful weapon almost nobody uses but after rebalance it's quite powerful.

Also, LAS-98 makes more-less quick work of council members as well and its downside of reduced turning speed is mostly negated by SH-32+autoinjector combo so you just shoot it point blank if needed.

Edit: SH-32 should be fully upgraded for this strat. And make sure to use tanto like "ZZZzzoooooommmPSHHH.... ZZZooooommm" instead of "zo-zm-zap-zaw-zoop-zap" you guys are missing so much damage output by keeping it at 0 overheat. (no, heat does not affect damage but 0 heat means you're not firing and wasting that moment. I hope it makes sense)

[TraAurel]

Originally posted by Krevetka:

My loadout for that:

Autoinjector
Tanto
SH-32, Bastion, Bastion, REP-80

Autoinjector+SH-32 = tripods can't do any damage to you from the front and you heal up any damage taken from other melee units in a second. Don't show them your back though.

Bastion+REP-80 = if the vehicle is stationary laser walls wont damage it so you never get in those tanks. Instead use them as a fat healable distraction and cover.

Tanto/Trident are both great in this situation. However, unlike trident, tanto kills council members in just a few seconds.

Another recommendation for anti-illuminate loadout is Dum-Dum. It kills council members in 3-4 shots. I'd suggest not using it for tripods to save up ammo and not get stuck in reloading. It's a very powerful weapon almost nobody uses but after rebalance it's quite powerful.

Also, LAS-98 makes more-less quick work of council members as well and its downside of reduced turning speed is mostly negated by SH-32+autoinjector combo so you just shoot it point blank if needed.

Edit: SH-32 should be fully upgraded for this strat. And make sure to use tanto like "ZZZzzoooooommmPSHHH.... ZZZooooommm" instead of "zo-zm-zap-zaw-zoop-zap" you guys are missing so much damage output by keeping it at 0 overheat. (no, heat does not affect damage but 0 heat means you're not firing and wasting that moment. I hope it makes sense)

Yeah it makes, I have seen people only tap and take like 5 seconds to kill a tripod when you just can continuesly beam and kill it in 2 but how do u kill council members with tanto, do it really have that much damage?

[cB557]

I can't vouch for or against the tanto killing councilors that fast, but I will say I've been surprised by its damage output being higher than I expected the few times I've used it. And keep in mind, "a few seconds" is much longer than you might think it is in this game.

[Krevetka]

Originally posted by TraAurel:

How do u kill council members with tanto, do it really have that much damage?

Just checked on RS. Kills in 2 full-length bursts. Nice damage. But try to not stay too close since you'll probably destroy an orb while shooting him.

[Dynamiez]

For RS12 against squids i take LAS98 (a tanto on steroids), a bubble shield and 2 heavy strafing runs with stratagem priority. cooldown is so fast that you can spam it all the time and Laser does the rest (without the short range of the tanto)... for primary weapon... cause of the big laser i dont use primary at all 😂 but what is absolutly fantastic against squids is the scorcher in RS missions. but with this loadout there is no ammo so... yeah tanto, why not.

you block your own retreat with mines. So the enemy benefits more of the mines than you do in my opinion.
same with MG turret. does more teamkills then actual kills. and the next best sniper squid takes it down

the trident is fantastic of course. but i avoid it at all costs because it is too fantastic. if you equip it you dont need any orher gear at all... just spam the shots in the middle of enemys and wait till mission is done. if you have a drinking bird at home (you know, this old toy), just place it above your mouse and the trident does the mission for you while you can AFK drink a coffee or something