I feel a sudden need for large explosions, and covies flying through the air. Let's make it happen!

(6:53) Level 5 ('Assault on the Control Room') on Normal. Today I'm using the rear mob to try out an idea for Ghost use. Namely, slaughter covies to build up loose plasmas in some spot or other, then detonate and mop up. Check out how things went!

Released April 24th 2024, gameplay recorded April 16th-17th 2024.

00:02 (Shadow rock by low plateau) In this first example I try to build up plasmas in the vicinity of a cliffside rock next to the low plateau. A decent chain reaction ensues in two phases, and the mopping up doesn't take long. Could've sworn my frag at 1:00 was going to kill the panicking Jackal, but apparently he got clear of the blast - so I gave him another one.

01:12 (Plateau channel) The plateau channel is a great spot for doing this stuff. In this example a Grunt gets in the way of my intended detonation grenade, so I throw another. But it looks like the one he got tagged with sets off the chain reaction anyway.

02:07 (Plateau channel with Grunts helping) If a Grunt fumbles a plasma - something you can specifically try for by shooting him at the right time - or if his throw is bad in some other way, such as tagging a colleague, his grenade can set off a chain reaction, maybe saving you the bother. In this example they do it twice, and I never have to get out of the Ghost.

If this play seems to ring a bell, you're probably thinking of some similar Ghost carnage in part of BCM443. Same location, different mob. And in that play too, a Grunt causes a chain reaction.

02:49 (Shade plateau bottleneck) Another promising spot is the Shade plateau bottleneck, although it may be the case that because of the slopes, loose grenades are more fickle about getting detonated. In this play a Grunt's fumbled plasma sets off a few loose plasmas, but there are still plenty for me to detonate on foot, some seconds later. That gives a pretty nice chain reaction.

03:50 (Further afield) This time I draw the covies further along, to slay them near some rocks and a tree. When I send in a detonating plasma, a blue Elite dives clear but takes the blast as he goes, causing him to comically skim along the ground at high speed for quite a way. I spot him whizzing off (although it was so quick I almost missed it), and zap him with my plasma rifle to finish the job.

When I send further grenades into the mob, now composed only of Grunts and Jackals, there's an almighty explosion which wipes them all away, sending bodies flying. Excellent!

04:39 (Shade plateau corner) When I grabbed this Ghost in the first play, I used the Banshee to cover my back. But by the time of this play (around an hour and a half later) my technique had developed to something more elegant, and faster too, in which I drop into the Ghost as the Banshee goes over.

In the subsequent chain reaction fun at the corner near the Shade plateau, a red Elite nabs my Ghost after I dismount, which takes me completely by surprise. However, I regain my wits quickly enough to tag him, and that results in a nice bonus bang. In light of this event, it crossed my mind that you could deliberately leave the Ghost for an Elite to run to, timing things so the chain reaction goes off just after he boards. Should be amusing. Maybe I'll do some of that later!

05:43 (Base attack) For a finale I took up the challenge of doing the chain reaction business at the mob's base location, something which, as expected, turned out to be near suicidal. I was killed time and time again, only occasionally making it through alive. Further, getting a good chain reaction was problematic. A general issue with this chain reaction fun is that because of all the stuff around, grenades that should go off actually fail to. That seemed especially the case in this spot, the way I was playing it. But anyway, I finally got a decent result as seen here; and I also managed to tag the surviving Ghost pilot, which made for a good ending. It's a pity the Ghost didn't go boom (I always like to see that), but it hadn't quite incurred enough damage beforehand.

In regard to my tactics, it was important to try and kill a good number of Elites rapidly (especially the reds if possible) to cut down on the amount of fire the Ghost was taking. If you watch closely, you'll notice me singling them out. It was also important to keep moving around - again to try and cut down on how much fire got through to either the Ghost or myself. One other thing to mention is that for setting off the chain reaction I was using frags because they go off faster. With all the fire coming my way, I wanted the remaining covies to get blasted as soon as possible! Having to wait an extra few seconds for a plasma fuse to burn down could've meant the difference between life and death.

Closing remarks I think I can say that this chain reaction idea definitely made for some decent movie action. As you may've noticed, I was mostly using plasmas for the detonation. For one thing, that gives a few seconds for the suspense to build, before the detonation. But also it gives you more time to back off when needed.

You could have similar chain reaction fun entirely on foot of course, but the Ghost can work fast while also being able to absorb plenty of fire, keeping you safer.

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