Down to the base of the tunnel, for hectic battling with needler & AR!

(6:51) Level 5 ('Assault on the Control Room') on Normal. Continuing my coverage of the tunnel megabattle, this briefly demonstrates how to set things up for doing lots of fighting at the base of the tunnel, and then there are three plays of the resulting set-up, using a needler and assault rifle. More plays coming in a sequel too!

Released September 1st 2023, gameplay recorded August 29th-30th 2023.

00:02 (Setting up) Here's the last minute or so of my set-up work. At the start, I've drawn the mob to the tunnel exit while keeping a checkpoint delayed as usual; see BCM447. I draw them down, seeking to get plenty of them close to the tunnel base to hopefully get intense attacks. I also briefly fly back past them to check for stragglers (and also to stop the front guys' advance for a while, maybe giving the slower covies chance to make up ground), but it's a bit risky in view of the confined space. I had a healthy Banshee though, and wasn't planning to use it in battle, so I did it anyway. A spontaneous decision.

After a last brief pause, at which I see the Hunters advancing fast, I decide to get clear and get the checkpoint, even though a lot of the covies are still quite a way back. That maybe wasn't ideal, but I knew they'd be quite a lot closer by the time I checkpointed.

01:12 (Play 1 - Needler & AR) In this play the covies are initially a bit slow to advance to the base of the tunnel, but things soon heat up and I back off, throwing a frag to overturn the flipped Ghost and crush a Jackal. Just after that I spot an Elite who's been blown up the angled siding, and I get him with a stream of needles. Really I should've left him for later as he'd be stuck up there, but I couldn't resist.

Around 2:44, after the hectic stuff is over, we have what for me is a nice highlight, namely when I do a long-range Grunt tag and also give him a good needling. He flies up in a lovely high arc, leaving a pink trace. That's really why I selected this play from among several contenders.

03:13 (Play 2 - AR) I decided to include an AR-only play for variety, and this was quite a nice one. One of my favourite bits is around 3:31 when I jump over an Elite after I tag him.

Around 4:24 the red Elite is suddenly on the scene (there's only one in this set-up). I hadn't seen him coming. But almost as soon as I spot him, he gets stunned from behind by a Jackal's plasma ball. I quickly add a plasma grenade, and that's the end of his fight. After that, I enjoy tagging a few panicking blue-shielded Jackals.

04:57 (Play 3 - Needler & AR) In this last play the special feature is the tagging of two Ghost pilots. First the sole red Elite, then a blue who takes over. Of course, I deliberately righted the Ghost for that blue; and sure enough, he took the bait.

At the end there's a Grunt to take care of. I'm pretty sure it's the same one as in the other two plays as well. An orange Grunt with a plasma pistol, who likes to hang back. Actually he's in an area which does tend to impede Grunts and Jackals, namely where the paved section ends, on the left as you look up the tunnel.

Closing remarks In the closing seconds of the set-up work, I wasn't sure if I'd got the mob close enough to the base, and wondered if I should've dawdled in the Banshee for a few seconds longer before getting clear. However, whether optimal or not, the set-up turned out to be satisfactory and highly enjoyable. There are more aspects to show though, so I soon decided I'd need a second movie. Coming next!

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