Hard mode tips?

[george constanza kinnie]

I'm planning on doing hard mode and was wondering if you guys had any tips for what teams to go for and such

[Fringehunter7719]

I think my single tip would be "take your time". I've actually uninstalled the game, because I was consistently winning every hard game, with 4 islands and there didn't seem any point going on.

All the default squads work fine, some are slightly less effective, or harder to get going (Frozen, Hazardous in my opinion, but other people seem to prefer those squads).

Aside from that single tip, or as a corollary, I'd say pay attention to what you're doing. Before you pick an island to start on, look at the Vek you'll meet. The armor giving psion is probably bad, unless it's the acid island. The regeneration psion is probably good. Pick missions that have objectives you can do - e.g. avoid 7 kill missions early on if you can, pick missions with friendly supporting units (terraformer, acid mountain leveller, artillery etc.) when you can. Look at starting unit and building positions before you accept a mission and make sure they are going to work. Don't place units within leaper range if you don't want them webbed. And so on.

If you think through every decision before you commit to it, you should consistently win without too much trouble, in my experience.

[jay jay the dank planezinho]

My victory on hard was using the Hazardous Mechs with Abe piloting the Leaper Mech.
It's important that you pick the right pilot for the right squad.

Abe's amor skill gives him free attack with self damaging mechs.

You could also try Bethany on the Frozen Titans. Her shield is quite useful when she's piloting the Ice Mech.

It's not a bad idea to have your pilot at the max level before going for a hard run. You can max him/her on a easy or normal run if you want to.

It's not easy and any mistakes are quite costly (well, duh. hard mode lels). I felt quite drained when I finally beat hard, so take your time and don't feel so bad if you lose. RNG can be quite painful sometimes as well.

[Will pick sniper]

Just as others said, get a right pilot for the squad. It's quite crucial.

example:

Beth and Mafan for Ice Mech on Frozen Titan.
Abe on Zenith Charge Mech and Hazard Leap Mech, etc.
Camila on Rusty.
That mantis on Steel Judoka.

[JokingJames2]

I just got my first hard mode victory with Flame Behemoths. It really felt the same as playing on normal, except there were just a couple more situations where I had to take grid damage. The only difference it made in the long run, though, was going into the final battle with 20% grid defense rather than 24-26% grid defense, since you can make up for grid damage in the midgame pretty easily.

So I guess my tip is: don't be afraid to take some grid damage if you have to as long as you know you can make it up and be full on grid power by the final battle. It's going to take hits on the final battle, so you want every point of HP you can by then.