Part 65: Bonus 2: The Tree

True. I doubt any will take the several hours that was required for the All Things update. Which should help me keep things moving reasonably quickly.

Bonus 2: The Tree

https://youtu.be/uHRWR9FU0NM





Despite the Admiral's ominous words there is no great moral decision to be made here.




A secure surface area with goodies in the terrain between us and a lower chamber. There's also ore deposits in addition, one on each wing.




Here's the actual 'tree'. The Creeper presumably only forms this shape to facilitate the metaphor in the naming of this mission. Only way to attack is from the top. One emitter, two gateways. And drones of course.




Here's how NOT to start the mission; overbuilding reactors with unjustified enthusiasm, I totally miss the fact that we start with a short countdown to Phantoms incoming.

"Awesome sauce with extra ketchup", as I lament my lack of effective observational skills. All this will do is cause a modest delay, but still. I really am better than this ... I think.




I had just enough coverage for the next couple of attack waves ... and then I didn't. That excavated area on the right is for another set of reactors ... the extra row is so I can have phantom coils nearby.




Then I go on an artifact-grabbing spree. Ore miners, a couple makers, and Tech Domes follow.




I'm sure I didn't need quite this many blasters, but I wanted to be sure I could handle the multiplying(weak) drones. Also, let's all applaud the complete lack of any shields to contain that anti-creeper together!




Interesting aesthetic affect on the branches, not unlike the Nexus chamber. Here the concentration is a few hundred K, so I put up a few blasters. Without sufficient reactors to avoid a deficit.




Reactor and packet speed upgrades. I took a break between the end of the Story and playing the Bonus missions, and I was pretty rusty the first few here. That's my only remote half-excuse for some of the things that are happening.

** If you think this is bad, wait until we get to CW2 custom levels. I'll be armed with new information, but also pretty badly out of practice. **

For the life of me though, I don't why I just kept pressing the attack with a regular deficit of about 9 energy. Maybe I just didn't care enough to bother making room for more reactors? Regardless, I had enough to make it work.




The tree is now merely a stump. Then one of my favorite comments of mine in this LP:

"Boost the firing rate, even though I don't have the energy for it" ... at about 17:20 or so. I admit, I chuckled at myself for that. It's not like this isn't working ...




Nothing bad could happen as a result of building a bunch of reactors and a nullifier right next to an emitter while already being short on energy, could it? Like night following day, the creeper takes out the nullifier pretty quickly here.




After the emitter was eventually removed, the rest was mopped up quickly.




Have to admit this really looks like it was one of those where I was too tired to be thinking well but just wanted to do 'one more level' anyway. Which means it's probably a good thing it was a forgiving one, with only a decent drone release rate and a strongish 'tree' emitter as real opposition.