The (nearly) unstoppable Basilisk
Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 2:51 pm
Thought I'd join up here and start up with a fun tale from a recent session. Boss spoilers if you haven't hit sector 8 yet.
I had just unlocked the basilisk, and went to take it for a spin. Clearly I was blessed by the RNG, as I managed to pick up 4 extra crew and stealth systems before I'd even cleared the first sector. So far, so good. I worry about not having any weapons, then pow, burst laser mk III just floating in space. Meanwhile my mantis buddies are ripping apart crews left, right, and centre in a display that would make Pinhead proud. Marvellous.
By sector 5, I've got a full 4-mantis boarding party (and they party hard), with 2 rock and 2 engi to look after the ship and mop the gore off the teleporter and medibay floors. Weapons wise, I had traded in the burst laser for an ion blast II, so I can happily fire it at the room my mantis are in without spilling their precious blood. Splendid. Shortly after, I found a second one to go with it. With the addition of a small bomb, I was unstoppable: 2 ion shots every ~4 seconds, a 4-mantis party all on gold, maxed shields/engines/teleporter/medbay, and the good ol' defence drone shooting down missiles. Sectors 6 and 7 fly by with barely a problem. What could possibly go wrong?
Finally it's boss time; the ion and missiles are quickly disabled, and most of the crew slaughtered. It was then I realised my mistake...
My weapons are 2x ion blast II, and a small bomb. None of these do hull damage. With all but 1 of the crew dead, there is no one to repair the things I break. Everything but the O2 and the last weapon is busted, and there is still half the hull left. I'm left with no choice but to kill off the last man to activate the dreaded AI.
I leave one mantis in each of the most dangerous weapons, who quickly bash them back into red (AND STAY DOWN) when they start to repair, while the other 2 go around smashing whatever is orange in an orgy of destruction. I carefully arrange things so that there are 3 hull points left, and both the weapons are red. Retrieving the 2 mantis in the main body of the ship, I wait for the weapons to repair, and pull the last mantis off as soon as they break their respective weapons (again). Thankfully, I still have my trusty boarding drone, so I don't need to make a martyr of any of my crew. Off it goes to destroy something and remove the final hull point.
This scenario then plays out again for the second and third forms. It takes a long time, and lots of teleports, but my shields and dodging see me though, and it just about works with barely a 1/3rd of my hull remaining (bloody rebels took all the repair stations). The third form took a little longer than expected, as it seems the super-weapon burst whatsit also kills boarding drones. Grrr. At least my ion weapons quickly obliterated the shield, and could pin down the nasty guns until a crew member could smash them up properly.
All in all, a thoroughly fun playthrough. I'll definitely be playing with the basilisk some more, but next time I'll be sure to keep some real weapons on hand.
I had just unlocked the basilisk, and went to take it for a spin. Clearly I was blessed by the RNG, as I managed to pick up 4 extra crew and stealth systems before I'd even cleared the first sector. So far, so good. I worry about not having any weapons, then pow, burst laser mk III just floating in space. Meanwhile my mantis buddies are ripping apart crews left, right, and centre in a display that would make Pinhead proud. Marvellous.
By sector 5, I've got a full 4-mantis boarding party (and they party hard), with 2 rock and 2 engi to look after the ship and mop the gore off the teleporter and medibay floors. Weapons wise, I had traded in the burst laser for an ion blast II, so I can happily fire it at the room my mantis are in without spilling their precious blood. Splendid. Shortly after, I found a second one to go with it. With the addition of a small bomb, I was unstoppable: 2 ion shots every ~4 seconds, a 4-mantis party all on gold, maxed shields/engines/teleporter/medbay, and the good ol' defence drone shooting down missiles. Sectors 6 and 7 fly by with barely a problem. What could possibly go wrong?
Finally it's boss time; the ion and missiles are quickly disabled, and most of the crew slaughtered. It was then I realised my mistake...
My weapons are 2x ion blast II, and a small bomb. None of these do hull damage. With all but 1 of the crew dead, there is no one to repair the things I break. Everything but the O2 and the last weapon is busted, and there is still half the hull left. I'm left with no choice but to kill off the last man to activate the dreaded AI.
I leave one mantis in each of the most dangerous weapons, who quickly bash them back into red (AND STAY DOWN) when they start to repair, while the other 2 go around smashing whatever is orange in an orgy of destruction. I carefully arrange things so that there are 3 hull points left, and both the weapons are red. Retrieving the 2 mantis in the main body of the ship, I wait for the weapons to repair, and pull the last mantis off as soon as they break their respective weapons (again). Thankfully, I still have my trusty boarding drone, so I don't need to make a martyr of any of my crew. Off it goes to destroy something and remove the final hull point.
This scenario then plays out again for the second and third forms. It takes a long time, and lots of teleports, but my shields and dodging see me though, and it just about works with barely a 1/3rd of my hull remaining (bloody rebels took all the repair stations). The third form took a little longer than expected, as it seems the super-weapon burst whatsit also kills boarding drones. Grrr. At least my ion weapons quickly obliterated the shield, and could pin down the nasty guns until a crew member could smash them up properly.
All in all, a thoroughly fun playthrough. I'll definitely be playing with the basilisk some more, but next time I'll be sure to keep some real weapons on hand.
