Into the Chimera's Lair is the seventh mission of the Operation Eclipse campaign in Act of Aggression.[1]
Background[]
Cartel's Olympus Cell discusses their situation in the aftermath of Damocles' destruction. "Athena" initially believes their mission is done for, though "Hermes" thinks they still could proceed, as to Chimera, Damocles has no links to the Cartel. When "Athena" further objects due to how Damocles' plan were integral to theirs, "Hermes" points out as much as it is useful, it is disposable. "Poseidon" agrees with "Hermes", adding that their THOR Control Center is still avaliable discreetly. "Athena" believes Chimera remains a big threat with their relentless attacks. "Poseidon" ends their discussion with plans to strike at Chimera while testing the THOR on them.
Shock and Awe[]
Meanwhile, Harding informs Schaeffer they lost contact with everyone else and believes it to be an ominous sign. With very little forces in the area and an impending Cartel onslaught within 5 minutes, Chimera is forced to begin exploiting resource fields and occupy Banks while expanding their defense.
The Cartel soon begin their assault, sending relentless waves of Contractors, Spectres, Scorpios, Otomatics and Vextras. Through the abundant aluminum fields, Chimera was able to gather enough resources to repel many of them, but things take a sudden turn for the worst when Harding notices the THOR Control Center calling an orbital strikes via abnormal EWS readings. Several strikes then devastate the Chimera base, though many of their remaining forces survive.
Withdrawal[]
Immediately after the close call, Harding establishes contact with Lofquist, who agrees to send reinforcements. Harding however points out its infeasibility, as they cannot hope to survive given the frequency of such orbital strikes. In response, Lofquist provides a backup plan - They will produce some Antey-2500s from their Anti-Ballistic Center and secure them as well as other resources for later use by mining some Rare Earth elements. Once the Chimera forces are in the clear, they will destroy their structures and then make their escape, hopefully decieving the Cartel.
Now running out of time, Chimera forces continue to withstand the onslaught of orbital strikes and Cartel forces to gather the necessary rare earth. They manage to hold off the enemy until three Antey-2500s are produced. Upon successfully getting them out of the area, their structures detonate as planned.
Covert Sabotage[]
Chimera's cover-up was successful in distracting the Olympus Cell, whose members believed the organization has been obliterated. "Hermes" was amused at their results, and "Athena" is also pleased with the outcome. "Poseidon" knows it has to be resupplied, but "Athena" is confident, claiming their forces Baikonur Cosmodrome is already loading the necessary uranium rods for a launch with their Buran Space Shuttle. "Hermes" worries there might be delays, but "Athena" tells them it is already in position above Washington unnoticed. "Poseidon" announces they shall continue their plot as expected and throw the USA into chaos in a few days, after which the Cartel gets to enjoy all the spoils.
Little did they knew however that Chimera is still out there and have caught wind of intel for their own machinations......
Walkthrough[]
There isn't much time before the Cartel onslaught, so make the best out of your resources.
Garrison the nearest Bank with 2 FELINs and 4 SAS. The other Bank already has troops around it, so send another group of infantry to assist in defense. Build two Refineries on the two Aluminum Fields, and extra Crusher for each. An Outpost should be built near the western Refinery, and another some distance away from the Eastern one, beyond the road. Produce additional Pumas in advance.
Enemy onslaughts will typically consist of Contractors, Vipers, LOSATs, Scorpios, Vextras, Otomatics, Spectres, Superhinds, and AMOS. The Koalitsija only defends specific entrances and doesn't participate in the offense. Scorpios, Spectres and LOSATs are incredibly annoying with their high damage at long range. Research the SWORD Protocol as soon as possible, as well as Puma and Rhino's upgrades. As the SHIELD Protocol is not available, try to pull away damaged Pumas and ensure the Outposts do not come under fire. Sentinel Turrets can be helpful in this regard, but they will only do so much against infantry. Concentrated fire from Pumas should take down the other shorter-ranged vehicles that prove too much for missiles to whittle down.
Try to get a third Outpost constructed to the East of the HQ, and complete the SAS' DU rounds upgrade. Use Pumas to reinforce infantry defending the Banks, and construct additional Barracks near the Outposts so they don't require vehicular transport.
The SHIELD Protocol will become available for free once Thor Control Center enters play. Upgrade all Outposts to Repair Outposts, and purchase the Advanced Repair Systems upgrade for them. This will help to minimize Puma losses. Upgrade all Sentinel Turrets with Anti-Tank Guns and they should have an easier time taking out enemy forces. Repeated Thor strikes will have at least one targeting the HQ and more on clustered units, so remember to move them around often. The HQ can survive one direct Thor hit, but a Repair Outpost is needed to take the heat so it could survive future ones.
With an escort of Pumas, it shouldn't be difficult to mine enough Rare Earth for at least three Antey-2500s and to intercept two strikes from Thor. The objective of evacuating 10 units beforehand can be easily done with a Namer and 9 additional FELINs. There will be two Spectres guarding the exit, use a Ninja to reveal them before sending in Pumas and letting them fire away with missiles. Once the Antey-2500s are evacuated, the mission ends.
To truly deprive the enemy of their reinforcements, their bases must be destroyed. Doing so isn't necessary to any objective, but it does help to kill off time while trying to keep the HQ intact for 30 minutes. It is feasible if another Repair Outpost is established further away from the base with one more Sentinel Turret. This will help warding off the Vextras, Otomatics, Scorpios and LOSATs. Some Ninjas can be built to spy on enemy Koalitsijas and to provide targets for Rhinos. Manage the Rhinos well so they can destroy most enemy production structures barring the HQ, as well as Railgun Turrets and Thor Control Centers. Once most of them are down, send a FELIN and capture it (conservative play ensures there will be enough aluminum to purchase the Breaching Training upgrade). This will give access to Cartel's Private Military assets. If at least another 4750 aluminum is available (Barracks' Prison Module and Vehicles Bay), Black Ops can be researched, subsequently allowing the Barracks to slowly generate Aluminum if full. Those that are not converted can produce credits for the Underground Stock Market, effectively giving an infinite stream of Rare Earth as well.
Related achievements[]
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Neutral Ground Complete Into the Chimera's Lair
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Where is my umbrella? After the Anti-Ballistic Center is avaliable, protect both its base and the original HQ for an additional 30 minutes before evacuating the Antey-2500s
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Iron dome Intercept two THOR Orbital Strikes
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Salvation Evacuate at least 10 units before the Antey-2500s
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Antitrust Complete all Chimera missions
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Janus Complete all Chimera & Cartel missions
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Trivia[]
- Despite Lofquist reserving the Antey-2500s for later use, they are never seen or heard from again.
- The evacuation point can also cause structures to despawn if they are built too close to it, just like any other ground unit and helicopter. Only Fixed-Wing Aircraft are exempt from this.
- Although the PsyOps upgrade is available during the mission, the LAPV Gurkhas controlled by the AI could not be stolen with Contractors or Vanguards.
References[]
- ↑ Eugen Systems, Act of Aggression. Operation Eclipse mission 7: "Into the Chimera's Lair".