Part 33: Everlasting Life - Part 1

Everlasting Life


Our last mission is pretty straight forward - just flatten the NOAH HQ! Well okay, it's not actually that simple. First, we have to destroy the radar towers that cover the area, and then clear out the airport so that the COTUC units can land.


Just like during the other ending, my soldiers get stuffed with all kinds of gear. I always think it's better to bring too much crap, instead of taking the risk of running dry.


My vehicles get the same treatment, but I actually don't have as many APFSDS as during the other ending.


I also have only three bugs, so there's no reason to equip more bombs.


So many rockets


I again bring all my vehicles, but this time I actually need the spares!




As always, our units start in one big clump. But there is something different about them...


They have a different color pattern! I'm not sure if this camo actually got used in another mission, but I like the woodland look very much.

Let's take a look at what the COTUC gave us this time.

We get two Knights, but they don't have any skills. So they won't be dodging rockets like the last one did. Bummer, but there is also that T-80..


And it's neat! It can take as much damage as an Abrams, but is a bit more agile and faster. It also has a snazzy tiger stripe look, and the COTUC logo on the front. It's kinda hard to see, but it looks like the skull of a rat. And on top of all that, it also has a flamethrower strapped to its cannon.

However, the flamethrower is kind of a gimmick weapon.

You have to use it from the context menu, and can target the ground or a unit. But it'll only kill soldiers or Humvees, anything tougher doesn't seem to care. Believe me, I fired all it's fuel at a Vulcan APC, and it didn't seem affected at all. Using it in the heat of battle is also kinda awkward, and will most likely make the T-80 take unnecessary damage because it can't fire other guns while flaming. So yeah, it's a cool idea, but doesn't work too well. Of course, I'm going to demonstrate it real quick.


It's hard to say if it actually has any AOE

Okay, let's get to business.

The radar station is pretty close to where we started. You can just flatten it with artillery, but the guards will then beeline to where your units fired from. So let's just do it the old fashioned way.

Akim pops a few guards on the hill, and then scouts the location.

A BMP, a Vulcan, and a few soldiers. That shouldn't be a problem.


I tell my Howitzer to smash one of the towers, which gets the guards all riled up.


Akim catches a shell, but that's why I brought spare vests.

When the fight is over, I move my units behind the hill and hide for a moment.

Because the battle will attract an Abrams that's in the area. You may think that a single Abrams isn't that big of a deal, but remember that hostile vehicles are much tougher than your own. It also keeps moving, so I can't nail it with my Katyusha.


I found that the best way to deal with it, is to get your Hind to nail it from behind. _{no pun intended}


Attacking from behind, also reduces the risk of the Abrams firing back at all, as it needs a moment to turn the gun towards you.

After that, my Howitzer destroys the other radar tower.

Ah yes, NOAH is still supported by gangsters. I honestly don't know if the choice during the first half of the campaign has any influence on this, so tell me if you happen to know. The CLAWS guard the airport, and now they pull more units towards it. If you want to be really cheesy, you can sneak your explosives guy through the map, and mine the road to the airport. But that felt too cheap for me, and I wanted to show an actually tough encounter.


The airport isn't too far away, and it's pretty large. Btw, I think that this map might the largest in the whole game. It's best to lead your units through the country, and approach from here. There are a lot of hostiles around, and this angle gives you at least a small chance to divide them a bit.

There is also a MIG here.

Of course, it has no use at all, but still looks cool with the new camo pattern.

Okay, time for some raw combat.

I blew a hole in the fence, and let my tanks storm the airport. My Howitzer also provides support fire.


I fire it pretty much blind, but destroying the buildings in the middle also gives me a better field of fire.


Then a bunch of Shilkas and Vulcans start to swarm me.


The leader of the CLAWS also joins in. He's on foot though, which is a bad idea. Also, more texture bugs


HE shell to the face, and the leader is no more,

Eventually, the battle is over...

...and the area is littered with wrecks and craters. My Abrams' also took a good amount of damage, since the AI is smart enough to engage them instead of weaker tanks. To be honest, this battle is one of the few instances that you can't solve with a clever plan. There are just too many vehicles that come from too many directions. You pretty much have to suck it up.


My Howitzer also used all of its shells while giving fire support. It did a fine job, but now I have to ditch it.

The entrance to the airport is still guarded...

...but the Knight bros cut them down like wheat.



And sure enough, here comes the patriarch.

Two transport choppers, guarded by a Hind. The Hind will fly away again though.


Dunno if I ever said it, but I think that it's really cool that you can actually see the interior and crew of some vehicles.


The patriarch even comes with his own guard.

You can nick the choppers if you really want to, but they have no weapons so there's really no point to it.




Okay, so the COTUC has some kind of plan. I guess it involves attacking from multiple angles, which is good, but I we still have to do the dirty work. The COTUC will eventually help out, but not right now.

The NOAH base is pretty far away from the airport.

And it's really, really huge. I know I said that each base is huge so far, which is true, but this place is ridiculously big. I'm not kidding, it's the biggest base in the game. Even at max zoom, I can only capture like a quarter of it with a single screen. On the other hand, this screen also shows that the game can be surprisingly pretty.


I guide my units through the country...


...and find some scientists and Knights at the nav-point.




Welp, we got our work cut out for us