Second Front Strategy Guide

Note:  This guide does contain spoilers.  You are advised to try each mission at least once before refering to this guide, so that you know about how far you should read in order to get past any sticking points.




Mission 1:  Government

Loadout:  Loadout is a matter of preference in this mission, more than anything else, but make sure to take an Akheton.  You will need it.

When you enter the mission area, pull up next to the Omaha.  There won't be a whole lot happening requiring your attention, so just watch the dialogue.

Tensions will flare up, and the GTSC Spectre will attempt to charge at the node.  This is the least of your troubles though, as the Omaha is more than well equipped for handling that threat.  To your left, the GTG Falcon will jump in with four Hercules MK1 fighters escorting.  Order Alpha 2 to cover you and charge at the Falcon.  Switch to your Akheton SDG and cut into the Falcon's engines.  It may not turn friendly immediately, depending on the status of the Spectre, but dash back to the Omaha anyway.

Once the situation with the Falcon and Spectre is resolved, a Shivan corvette jumps in and begins ripping into the science group.  Ignore the corvette, because a wing of fighters will arrive shortly to attack the Omaha and yourself.  The Omaha will make a quick retreat, and then you'll be ordered back to base.






Mission 2:  Flesh Wound

Loadout:  Again, it's mostly a matter of preference, but this is a bombing run, so a bank or two of Cyclops torpedos is essential.

You'll enter the mission through the same familiar node, but the system has taken a much different atmosphere.  The Eris class corvette, designation SCv Thesius looms before you.  Switch to your Cyclops torpedos and make a run at it.  It should only take a few salvos to take the Thesius down.  Be sure to stand back from the blast, because it does deck out a lot of damage.

Once the Thesius is down, rearm quickly.  A Moloch will enter the area in just a moment.  If you're still rearming when it does, don't fret, as reinforcements will be arriving, so it's better to approach with them as you make your run.  Try to take the Moloch down quickly, before your wingmen get vaporized.

If you lose your wingmen before taking down the Moloch, you'll have to reevaluate your situation.  First, get away from the Moloch ASAP.  Chances are you'll get chased by a number of Mara class fighters.  Deal with them using your primary weapon and Hornet missiles.  The Maras come in four waves, each wave containing four fighters.  Without your wingmen to cover you on your bombing runs, you should draw the fighters away from the corvette and deal with them before resuming your bombing runs.

After the Moloch goes down, a Shivan destroyer will jump in, and you'll be ordered to abort the mission and return to base.






Mission 3:  Open Season

Loadout:  Keeping the Perseus Interceptor is a must due to the sheer number of bombers you'll be tasked with intercepting.  You might want to switch primary weapons, if the Subach/Kayser combination doesn't appeal to you, but it doesn't use much energy and can allow you to boost your engine and shield power in the mission.  The Trebuchets are also essential given the range that some of the bombers jump in from.  You may want to replace the Tornados with something else, such as Harpoons or more Trebuchets, but that's a little more open to personal preference.

You enter the mission area facing the returning convoy, as it is between waves of attack.  Hit your burners to get out to them quickly because it won't be long before Shivan fighters and bombers begin jumping in.  After a small number of Ashemas gets fended off, Nahema bombers start jumping in from about four kilometers away.  Move fast and try to deal with them before they launch their warheads.  They'll be going for the GTC Firestorm, which will be a mission-critical ship later on, so don't let it get destroyed.

As you make your final approach to the node, a Cain class cruiser jumps in and opens fire on the convoy.  Ignore the fighter escort, target the main beam, and nail it with a Trebuchet.  Then hit the AAA beam at the back just for good measure.  Your wingmen and the Firestorm will finish off the Cain, if you don't.  With that cruiser out of the way, the convoy is clear to jump back to Altair.

Rearm as the first convoy jumps.  You'll have several seconds of peace to do so before the next convoy jumps in, and you'll most certainly need the missiles.

Once the Lonestar, Titan, and Athena arrive, the first thing to oppose you will be a wing of Nephilim bombers with Basilisks escorting.  Prioritize the bombers, and shoot down any warheads they launch.  Those torpedos are more than capable of obliterating the subsystems and turrets on the Lonestar, so be sure to take them down fast, or the Lonestar won't be good for much as the mission progresses.

The next group to jump in is far larger, consisting of a mixed wing of Astaroths and Maras and a mixed wing of bombers (Taurvis and Seraphim).  The bombers carry Helios torpedos this time.  If the entire Shivan fleet were to jump in, these bombers would be the first thing you should target, as the Helios is easily capable of annihilating a destroyer (and pollocks, the Lonestar is only a corvette).

Shortly after they're destroyed, the SC Razor with escort jumps in.  If you've been on the ball, you've got quite a bit of range between you and the Razor.  If you absolutely need to rearm, this is as good a time as any to do it.  (Order the current support ship to depart, then call a new one, since there's several kilometers between you and the node now.)  After that's done, switch to your Trebuchets and hit the two forward beam cannons on the Razor.  Once they're gone, target the two Taurvis in the escort wing and take them out.  They may be more passive than other bomber wings, but once they decide to attack the Lonestar, they are appropriately armed for the task.

When the Razor is destroyed, a corvette, the SCv Mortu, will jump in.  Deal with it in the same way you did with the Razor.  Remove the three beam cannons, then deal with the bombers in the escort wing.

As the convoy closes within eight kilometers of the jump node, another Ravana, the SD Relinquish, jumps in.  Don't worry about it.  It makes its way toward a depot off in the distance, and of greater priority are the Seraphim bombers jumping in a few kilometers from the Lonestar.  Same deal as all the previous times.  Hit the bombers, knock torpedos out of the sky before they hit, and so on.

Before long, you'll reach the node.  Just keep dealing with the incoming hostiles as you have been once the GTFr Titan jumps away.  Two minutes later, the Titan returns, reporting that the timer has been set to half the time it should be set for.  (Don't worry about that too much.  You could sit in the center of the node and the effect would be insignificant.)  The convoy begins to dash away while their engine crews push their subspace drives to the point of overload to get away.  Just watch the explosion, see the convoy off, and leave before the Shivans get REALLY miffed.





SOC Loop Mission:  Closure

Loadout:  You can't change your loadout this time, but if you're curious, you're in a Herc II, packing an Akheton, a Kayser, a bank of Harpoons, and a bank of Tornados.

When you jump in, you'll see three Seraphim bombers closing on the jump node.  Haul ass and switch to your Akheton so that you can disable one of them before it jumps.  (Don't use your Kayser or missiles, as they're pretty apt to destroy the target before disabling it.)  Once disabled, the GTS Expedience will jump in and snatch the bomber, but don't stick around to watch, as a wing of Ashemas will jump in and start attacking your wing.

A full minute after the Expedience departs with the Shivan bomber, the GTFr Capital will jump in with its deadly cargo.  Along with it will come two wings of Basilisks, but they jump from quite a distance away, so stay near the Capital and prioritize asteroids on a collision course.  You can't stop all of them, but you can deal with enough to get it to the node.

Once the Capital jumps, those Basilisks will be awfully close, and a couple of them are packing EMP missiles.  Do what you need to to defend yourself, but stick close to the node.

When the Capital jumps back in, their party is cut short by a Lilith jumping in from behind.  It starts off facing the wrong way though, so you have some time to get in and hit its forward beam before it opens fire.  Make sure Alpha 2 covers you though, or you could have trouble with the Mara escort.

Shortly after the node collapses, the Capital will jump, and you'll be ordered to return to base.  Given the Shivan activity around you, it's probably a good idea.





Mission 4:  Rewarding the Poor

Loadout:  You can probably make due with the default loadout, but you do have a Perseus available still, and at least one bank's worth of Harpoons, which are probably more appropriate for dealing with Shivan fighters.

The mission opens with several damaged wings of Shivan fighters escorting the battle group.  Deal with them in any manner you choose, but you'd be well advised to stay ABOVE the Shivan capital ships so that the beams on those Cains don't target you.  Make sure to deal with the fighters quickly, or you'll lose your window of opportunity to launch the GTA Wind to any great effect.

When the Wind arrives, a wing of Basilisks will jump in.  They won't attack the Wind, so try to ignore them as long as possible and put some distance between you and the Shivan battle group.  Once you've done that, do what you need to to defend yourself until the Wind detonates, at which point you'll be ordered home.

Note:  While you can proceed to the next mission if the Troy is used instead of the Wind, you are STRONGLY advised to replay the mission, as the next one will be FAR more difficult with four more Shivan warships to deal with.






Mission 5:  Wounded Beast

Loadout:  Your loadout for this mission is locked.  You will fly an Artemis equiped with a Prometheus S, a bank of Tornados, a bank of Trebuchets, and a bank of Cyclops torpedos.

Ahead of you are three Shivan destroyers (and four smaller warships if you ignored that note at the end of the last mission).  Behind you is the Altair fleet and GTI Chimera.  Behind them is the rest of the GTVA, with the back door wide open.

Target the SD Detonation, switch your Trebuchets to double-fire mode, and move in.  Don't go too quickly, or you'll leave your escort behind and at the mercy of an attacking wing of Astaroths.  Once you're within five kilometers, lock on, let loose a pair of Trebuchets, and switch to the other beam turret.  Once locked, fire again.  Switch your Trebs back to single-fire mode, and lock onto one of the Ravanas and pick a beam cannon.  Feed it a Trebuchet.  Repeat until the main beams are gone.  (Be careful with the Ravanas' beams.  Sometimes a Trebuchet will go a little wild as it nears the target and will end up hitting the base, rather than the tip of the beam.  In that case, close in and finish that beam with your Prometheus and Tornados.)

You should still have your Cyclops torpedos handy.  Select them and switch to double-fire mode, and then target the main engine of the Detonation.  Once you're out of both Trebuchets and torpedos, pull all power off your guns, and retreat to the fleet's battle line.  (I'd recommend putting yourself between the GTC Omaha and GTCv Lonestar to maximize AAA cover and minimize flight time.)  Call for rearm either once you're there, or be a soulless bastard and call support ships as you run to use as decoys.

Once you're rearmed, angle your return approach on the Detonation so that you have a clear line of fire on the engine system again.  Let your Trebuchets fly, then close in to use torpedos again.  Between this and the efforts of your wingmen, you'll probably have finished off the destroyer's engines.  Pull back and rearm again.

Now target one of the Ravanas and move in on its engines.  You'll have to close in (or take an obscenely long trip around) and get up to the top side in order to hit the engine, but if you're quick, you shouldn't take much/any damage in the process.  Stay close to the destroyer's hull as you use either your torpedos or Trebuchets (you shouldn't need both this time) to disable the ship.  Fly directly to the next Ravana and use whatever you have left in a similar fashion to disable its engines.  You want to stay close to the hull of the ship while you do this to prevent the flak at the center of the ship or the AAA beam at the rear from targeting you.

If you destroyed the entire battle group in the previous mission, Nahema bombers will start arriving from the Detonation's fighter bay.  They will target the Chimera, and protecting it is a primary objective in this mission.  Balance your time between dealing with these bombers and attacking the secondary beams on the disabled Shivan fleet.  If you ignore the secondary beams, they will deal a great deal of damage to your own warships.  If you did not destroy the entire battle group in the forth mission, you will need to disable the smaller warships and destroy their beams, while juggling with the secondary beams on the destroyers.  Either way, you will need to be careful about how you allocate your missiles, as they can run out quite quickly during this segment.

Depending on where you disabled everything, the opposing fleet may be beyond the field of fire of most of your ships.  If this happens, you can order the Firestorm, Ohio, and Omaha to attack the Shivan destroyers to aid your bombing runs.  If you were quick enough though, you can just sit back and watch the lightshow finish the job for you.







Mission 6:  Checkup

Loadout:  Your options are limited again, as they were at the beginning of the campaign.  You'll want a fighter with some serious pickup in the engine and afterburner departments.  Consider a bank of Tempests to compliment whatever primary weapons you may be taking.

You enter the field on the runway of the GTD Galen.  Fly off and take a left under the nose of the destroyer to spot your cargo depot.  Use the 'target next unscanned cargo' key (default is 'U') and scan each cargo container.  There are seven in all, so it shouldn't take much time.

After you've scanned the cargo, Neptune wing will jump in and attack your wing.  Pull back to the Galen to get some extra anti-fighter cover, but don't dally, as bombers will begin jumping in shortly afterward.  Pluto wing is actually fairly harmless to the Galen, carrying mostly small missiles, but each of the Nephilim in Io wing carries a pair of Cyclops torpedos and a single Helios, making them extremely deadly to the Galen if you don't deal with them quickly.

While you are dealing with Io wing, a Shivan freighter and an escorting wing will jump in.  Switch to Hornets or Tempests and rush the freighter, destroying it as quickly as possible, then turn your attention back to the bombers.  Don't worry much about the SFr Sly's escort wing, as even the Taurvi in that wing doesn't carry any torpedos.

In a few moments, the GVC Mirage will contact you, indicating that its engines are damaged.  If you are finished with Io wing, race to its aid.  If not, deal with Io wing, then transfer power to engines and get out to the Mirage.  There will be a few minutes where all that attacks it are Maras, but as you close in, or if you wait too long, bombers will begin their attack runs, something which the Mirage will not be able to defend itself from for long.  Prioritize the Nahemas, as they will most actively target the Mirage, while the Nephilim are somewhat more easily distracted by your wingmen. 

After several minutes and the help of a transport full of engineers and equipment, the Mirage will come back online and jump, but not before detecting something in the asteroids.  Move in and investigate.  As you close, your sensors will lock onto the object, and SOC will order you to scan it.  Despite the Galen's offer to remove it from the sky, SOC wants to recover it, and you're under their orders, so fend off incoming bombers as the recovery crew moves in.  The crew will have its own escort that will deal with any asteroids that look threatening, so you can focus on the bombers (unless you unwisely give the escort different orders).  The Seraphim are the largest threat to the Retorphim, while the Taurvis are the greatest threat to you.  It is a balanacing act choosing what you want to deal with, as it will depend greatly on how much damage you and the cruiser have taken.  No matter what the case is though, do not allow the Cyclops warheads to hit the cruiser, as the Cain class cruiser has a very weak hull.

Before long, the object of your defense will be back on line and will jump out and the battle for Altair will be over.