Space Mission Guide

[Necodreus]

I also believe I opened up..

 

Operation Glory Cyclone

Kovor Ice Field

PakuuDefense

 

at lvl 34 as im only barely into

35 and got my lvl off it.

 

trying to have a friend at 33 verify it

[Davorn]

Good guide. Thanks for the info.

[Atenhara]

Nice guide, thank you. I would never have figured out the missile lock or the interaction between blaster fire and shield regeneration. I have a question about the targeting ring colors though. I now understand that the blue ring is target lock. Can I assume that the red ring is simply any target and yellow means one of the mission objectives? It sort of looks like thats the scheme.

 

On a side note, I noticed that the Kovor Ice field mission is doable by my 2 Imp toons, but is absolutely impossible on my Reb toon. All about same lvl, all exact same ship gear.

[smore]

I recommend letting people know you're about to do them if you're engaging in conversation because you lose the chat window while in space (nobody can hear you scream) and it's easy for messages to get buried in exp spam if you use the general settings for your chat tab.

 

It is possible to have the chat window while on the space missions, just hover your mouse over the area the chat normally is and you'll see it's frame. In the upper left corner there is a triangle which toggles the chat. You may need to click it a few times but it will work.

 

Fair warning: if you have chat toggled on, you cannot target enemies through it (it "steals" focus if you go over it with your cursor).

[Laenaria]

Nice guide, thank you. I would never have figured out the missile lock or the interaction between blaster fire and shield regeneration. I have a question about the targeting ring colors though. I now understand that the blue ring is target lock. Can I assume that the red ring is simply any target and yellow means one of the mission objectives? It sort of looks like thats the scheme.

 

On a side note, I noticed that the Kovor Ice field mission is doable by my 2 Imp toons, but is absolutely impossible on my Reb toon. All about same lvl, all exact same ship gear.

 

That is the scheme. I haven't played an Imp past level 5, and that was in beta when I played one at all, so I don't know what's going on with the mission. difficulties there.

 

It is possible to have the chat window while on the space missions, just hover your mouse over the area the chat normally is and you'll see it's frame. In the upper left corner there is a triangle which toggles the chat. You may need to click it a few times but it will work.

 

Fair warning: if you have chat toggled on, you cannot target enemies through it (it "steals" focus if you go over it with your cursor).

 

I've tried doing that since I started doing space missions in September and the chat window just doesn't want to open for me. It's fine though, some of these missions really require you to pay attention and glancing at a chat log wouldn't help with that.

[Akiwoodoh]

 

• You can shoot through solid objects. If your targeting reticle is red, your missiles / blaster fire will hit whatever is on the other side of the object. I don't consider this a "cheat" because the AI enemy uses it too. For example capital ship turrets will target and shoot you even if they are obstructed from view.
  
• Bonus quests with level restrictions unlock when you gain access to new missions. For example, the locked bonus for a level 40 mission will be available at level 44 when you gain access to two new missions. (found evidence proving otherwise)
  

 

Edited January 27, 2012 by Akiwoodoh
new info

[TheCosmicMuffet]

I love these missions and played them dozens of times. I was usually able to beat the missions 'requiring' some level of upgrades well before those upgrades were affordable for me, and, going back, I've enjoyed using more firepower to try to completely clear the levels. Considering what some people have said here about what bothered them on one mission or another, and that some people are saying 'you must have xyz upgrade to progress', I want to offer up some thoughts.

 

Things to keep in mind at all times

 

1 - You have a much longer range than you might think, and there are very few cases of something 'appearing' in a mission. Almost everything spawns well before you have an opportunity to shoot it, and if you see a space ship far away in your view, and you don't have anything else bothering you, definitely put your mouse over its vulnerable spots--because half of survival is shooting at something well before it decides to start shooting at you. In many cases, reducing the damage you'll receive in a mission is a matter of shooting things at max range.

 

2 - Missiles are fire and forget. Don't mix missile fire with blaster fire on the same targets if you can avoid it--unless you're trying to blow up something that takes a lot of shots, like a heavy fighter or some of the pieces of space stations and ships.

 

3 - You go from just barely having the missiles you need to accomplish your tasks to having more than you could possibly ever want. Get used to using them all the time. Use them on trivial things.

 

4 - Your weapons take time to travel to your target, and while you're waiting for them to explode, you *really* should be targeting something else. Test out how much time it takes you to shoot down enemy fighters or blow up enemy turrets--get a feel for it and the rhythm of moving on before they explode. If you wait until something is blown up before retargeting, you'll end up wasting half your firepower as shots arrive after a target is already set to spin out and explode, or emit a gout of flame and explode. Or spark and explode. There's a lot of exploding.

 

5 -Commendations Are great. Find the missions you enjoy the most and do their dailies to get their bonus commendations. Even if you're not grinding xp anymore out of them. For one thing, you still get some xp and cash, which doesn't hurt, and for another, you will accrue commendations and be ready to buy the 4 ability pieces right on time.

 

Upgrading

 

The most important part of your upgrades are your blasters. You can dodge fire. You can be spare with your missiles. But what you *can't* do is make things explode faster without better equipment. Always get blasters first and fastest, and when you hit the level to get the power conversion module, buy it immediately, and always set yourself in weapons mode at the beginning of every flight.

 

Completing the first round of 'new' missions when they're unlocked usually yields a special upgrade, as well. These upgrades are generally some ship piece with an oddball improvement thrown in. for instance, blasters that include extra toughness for your ship, or shields that add to your blaster damage. Always keep the ones that add extra damage as long as you can get away with it, and replace the ones that add extra toughness whenever you can get one that does more damage or gives you more missiles. It's a very one-dimensional upgrade process. There is no 'tanking gear set' for the space missions. You will *always* be limited foremostly by the damage you can dish out, and will have many options to improve your survival.

 

Weapons and prioritizing targets

 

You will begin these missions without the missiles to really make wholesale slaughter possible. You should *always* have a dry magazine at the end of a mission, because that's more things that will explode while you're dealing with other crap. When the game suggests you use your missiles for certain targets, sometimes that's a good idea. Sometimes it is ridiculous. The best examples are missions where your primary mission is fighter kills and the game is telling you to missile the fighters. In general, there are 3 situations that call for missiles.

 

Targets which cannot be hurt without missiles

A field of targets which are all relevant to the mission or the bonus objective which are impossible to destroy, completely, with blaster fire alone (the first pass on the stations is typically like this--especially later when you want to shoot at the frigate on the side that you only get one further shot at)

Hard targets, especially when they only show up briefly, or share screen time with objectives.

 

As you fly around, your weapons will auto target very generously. Any time you see the red attack reticle, hold down your left mouse button. Don't let up unless there is nothing in view worth shooting at, or you are dangerously low on shields.

 

While you are firing your missiles, move your mouse back and forth over all visible targets, like you're scrubbing something off your mousepad. The game's generous autotargeting can cause a fair number of blasts to be wasted on exploding enemies--by scrubbing back and forth, you'll avoid wasting shots, and instead of having 1 or 2 ships explode as the 3rd gets away, all 3 will explode at roughly the same time. This is particularly important when you see two tiny bright engine flares in the distance--as fighters approach from very far away. Scrub your mouse back and for for a second or two while firing (after the reticle is able to target them) and then wait and watch as, a couple seconds later, they spin or flare and go boom.

 

Frigates have turrets arranged in convenient patterns. Hold left click as you start at the back of the ship, and then click and right drag across the ship. Release the right click as you get to the front to unleash your missile volley, and then look at which turrets were not outlined in blue, and target them specifically with your blasters. When a couple turrets are close to each other in the view, remember to scrub, to make the most use of your blaster fire.

 

Cruisers, in particular, with their long rows of turrets need efficient fire. Scrub vigorously along their gun batteries, and make sure you blast a different battery than you target with missiles. You generally have time for 1.5 volleys of missiles on a cruiser as you go past--make sure you get those other 2 missiles in.

 

Learn about what are threats and which things matter in the field of view. Fighters which come from behind, generally, take several seconds to turn around--if they turn around at all, and generally do not take many shots at you. By ignoring them for as long as you can, you are able to shoot at oncoming fighters (who generally do fire at you, and generally fire more times) and turrets, or, simply stop firing and allow your shields to recharge. Once your missile magazine gets bigger, do not hesitate to shoot them in the rear with a missile as soon as you see them, and allow your shields to recharge while you wait. If shields are full up, don't waste the missiles.

 

You can shoot through most objects in space. Mouseover asteroids and ships to try to fight 'targetable' spots. This will often be gunbatteries on a frigate or cruiser that is in your view, but hidden at the moment.

 

Once you have the power conversion module, you need to use it to the hilt. Always be in blaster mode. When you pass a difficult section of the level or an area with a mission objective, immediately go back to shield mode. Missile damage is unaffected by shield mode--and you can take advantage of this. In the latest levels with best upgrades, your shields are FAR more important than your armor (though your armor is somewhat important). They can recharge in about 5 seconds, completely, if you can give them a rest. There is a small rhythm to switching energy modes, as well. Learn to work with it. Hit shields, then wait a count of one-one thousand, and switch back to blasters. You can often get away with this during periods where the only targets are fighters.

 

When the level has asteroids to dodge, don't be a hero. Make sure you direct your fighter out of the way *first*. If it is hard to get in position to shoot something, just revert to shield recharge and focus on dodging within the space that's safe. Asteroids are a huge pain to run into and do a lot of damage. They're your biggest concern in some areas.

 

The later missions are not comfortably able to be won without use of the EMP and Electronic countermeasures. Always time the emp as early as you can to avoid a spot of early damage by destroying packs of enemies (for instance in the station protection levels by firing it as you fly by the first big bomber swarm where, in later difficulty versions, you will see a heavy fighter appear--this softens everything and means faster killing and less shots coming at you). Save the EMP for times when you have to be in danger while shooting things down. So, for example, if it's a brief pass over a Cruiser that will hurt you, but isn't an objective or bonus objective, just dodge around and avoid the shots. If it's a heavy fighter, bomber swarm, or turret battery that you have to dive on and destroy to complete the level, use your emp to ensure some time to focus on getting it done.

 

Try to avoid wasting ammo on meaningless targets. There are some elements on frigates in particular, like engines and their sensors that seemingly give no benefit or xp, but are targetable. Generally you have better things to shoot at. Don't get caught up trying to destroy them. The mines in the blockade missions also fall under this heading after you've hit your quota.

 

Learn to look at the reticle, not what's in front of you. Often, when you're doing well, frigates that are pouring gouts of smoke will fly around in front of you. Move your reticle back and forth to find fighters in the distance that you can't see and destroy them before they come rushing past you and land some hits. Try to observe moments in the rail when you can target something far away that you might not think to hit, otherwise. The defensive satellites in the station attack missions are a great example--you can target a couple of them very early in the level for a few shots and a missile. In fact, if you're quick, on your very first station pass, you can lay a few hits on one (and even destroy it if you have a full missile magazine--though that's generally not worth it).

 

Always keep an eye out for times that you can shoot at a vital or bonus objective when there's nothing but enemy fighters on screen or there's a frigate in the way that isn't a threat.

 

Barrel rolling is overrated and occasionally self-defeating. The movement isn't exactly the same every time, and depending on your class, your ship can be easier to hit (the trooper, in particular, has these wings that flop around and seem to grab laser hits like a moronic farmer reaping a harvest of trauma). The best time is to try to wait for the enemy to actually shoot at you--when the blasters will be flying through space, and *then* barrel roll, thereby getting out of the place that they were aiming at. I see a lot of people just kind of hyperactively pressing the space bar when they play (either in youtube vids or when I'm by a friend) and, while it's fun to see the ship spin around, it's not the best approach. This is especially hilarious when someone barrel rolls near an asteroid and clunks into it. Like a farmer who's dumb and hits asteroids.

 

You do more damage if you say 'pew pew pew' when you left click and 'boop boop boop khssssswaaaaa' when you right click and drag.

 

Above all, do not go outside your ship. You will have to play an MMO. And nobody wants that.

Edited January 27, 2012 by TheCosmicMuffet

[Leopagne]

I was looking all over the net for something to help with knowing where everything is located on frigates. I don't know if this is available anywhere but so far haven't found anything in searches, so I created a quick one myself.

 

I might be wrong on the layout of the various points. If it's wrong and someone can correct me, please do and I will fix the references. Otherwise, I thought I would share in case any new players were having trouble knowing where to fire for the special objectives.

 

I haven't figured out what the hard-point on top of the ship is. I was thinking a communications array? I left it unmarked on the reference but can update that as well if someone can identify it for me.

 

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv295/porcelainpuppy/Frigate_Hardpoints.jpg

 

I'm assuming this is only helpful to Imperial players, but don't mind doing this for Republic if anyone finds it helpful.

Edited January 28, 2012 by Leopagne

[Kirtastropohe]

can someone tell me how you use the electronic warfare pod? I'm sure I'm missing something obvious.

 

thanks in advance!

 

that hydian way blockade is really frustrating me. I just can't get the cargo bay on that final ship... and in the drexel sweep, I get annihilated at that part where a bunch come at you, so I'm hoping the warfare pod will help..if I can figure out how to use it.

 

thx.

[Laenaria]

can someone tell me how you use the electronic warfare pod? I'm sure I'm missing something obvious.

 

thanks in advance!

 

that hydian way blockade is really frustrating me. I just can't get the cargo bay on that final ship... and in the drexel sweep, I get annihilated at that part where a bunch come at you, so I'm hoping the warfare pod will help..if I can figure out how to use it.

 

thx.

 

Once you equip it you'll see the addition of a new button in the lower left while you're in space. I use the numberpad buttons (1-4) to activate those.

[Raani]

For Hydian Way, make you sure you arrive at the final stage with as much HP as possible and full shields. Using your EMP Generator in the mine fields will blow up as many as 80-90 at a time, so you won't have to fly around with your blasters on the whole time. Whenever you're not doing a quest objective, just put your shields up for some quick regen.

 

If you do so, you will be able to turn your blasters to high for the last minute or so. Start with the missile bay and unload 4 missiles into it, then fire your blasters at it. You'll see it dies much faster with your blasters on high. Then do the same for the missiles.

 

The pod trinket is useful in this mission to avoid some damage, but not as much as the EMP Generator.

 

******************************************************************

 

 

For Drexel Sweep, using the pod does make your life easier. When all those ships come, there is also a special ship which you should be focusing on. If you make yourself untargetable with the pod, you get to kill it and drop some missiles on the other ships before the effect wears off. That should allow you to finish the whole cluster without dying. Once you're past that chokepoint, there's not much more damage, but you have to be careful navigating the last big meteorite before the enemy capital ship.

 

Also, since there's a fair bit of damage in that mission, you should try to put your shields on high every now and then. There are plenty of ships to kill, so it's okay to let some of them pass and just focus on regening your shields for a bit. If you go into the cluster with your shields maxed and the pod popped, you shouldn't be below 50% when it's over, which is plenty for the rest of the mission.

[Ducilia]

Right, so must be doing something wrong.

 

I am LvL 50 and have the 5 purple mods. I have Tier 5 beam charger, Power Converter and Protons. Good to go, yes?

 

Well, no.

 

No matter how hard I try, i simply cannot beat the following mission;

 

Drexel Sweep and Kalee Fortification. Cannot shoot down enough fighters OR die before the end. Tried doing these with only missles to save shield, but I cannot fire them fast enough to get enough kills.

 

Hydian Way Blockade and Impossible Sector. Blasting through the fields, easy. Blasting the engines, easy. Destroying the bay, impossible. I ieven tried to fly the mission and ignore everyting else jsut to try and blast the bay, but no matter how many bolts (in DMG mode) and missles I throw at it, it won't blow up

 

Oddly enough, I can get the Zosha Advance Misson done. with about 5% hull to spare, but still.

 

Now, I've read somewhere in here that a video card upgrade would be very usefull (I have to run on the lowest possible specs. rest of my machine is on par or well above recomended specs, vid card is a factory default). Might that be the problem?

[Akiwoodoh]

No matter how hard I try, i simply cannot beat ... Drexel Sweep and Kalee Fortification ... Hydian Way Blockade and Impossible Sector.

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2012 by Akiwoodoh

[Ducilia]

I appriciate the help, but I beleave my knowledge of the missions is not the problem, I beleave this is.

 

I updated my video card the other day and discovered that one of the huge perks of having even a medium-range, fairly current video card is that you can cheese space missions. I'd thought I just sucked at targeting things fast enough or avoiding damage, but it was the lag. Now, my cat could probably sweep the mouse across the screen and blow up everything.

 

 

Was planning ot get a new vid card at the end of the month anyway, so let's hope that'll help.

[Akiwoodoh]

I appriciate the help, but I beleave my knowledge of the missions is not the problem

 

Gotcha. My bad.

 

Random Tangent : The game does some weird stuff when you lag while loading...

[Livra]

Where can you spend daily commendations awarded for quest fo Impossible Sector missions?

[Akiwoodoh]

Where can you spend daily commendations awarded for quest fo Impossible Sector missions?

 

Ilum base.

[Laenaria]

Where can you spend daily commendations awarded for quest fo Impossible Sector missions?

 

The two 'Mission Supply Vendors' on Ilum will sell you Armoring, Barrels, Hilts, some Rakata implants, and mounts in exchange for your dialy commendations.

[Farmbuyer]

(the trooper, in particular, has these wings that flop around and seem to grab laser hits like a moronic farmer reaping a harvest of trauma)

 

Thank you so much for putting this image in my head. I cannot stop laughing now.

[Kadera]

No matter how hard I try, i simply cannot beat the following mission;

 

Drexel Sweep and Kalee Fortification. Cannot shoot down enough fighters OR die before the end. Tried doing these with only missles to save shield, but I cannot fire them fast enough to get enough kills.

 

Hydian Way Blockade and Impossible Sector. Blasting through the fields, easy. Blasting the engines, easy. Destroying the bay, impossible. I ieven tried to fly the mission and ignore everyting else jsut to try and blast the bay, but no matter how many bolts (in DMG mode) and missles I throw at it, it won't blow up

 

Oddly enough, I can get the Zosha Advance Misson done. with about 5% hull to spare, but still.

 

Now, I've read somewhere in here that a video card upgrade would be very usefull (I have to run on the lowest possible specs. rest of my machine is on par or well above recomended specs, vid card is a factory default). Might that be the problem?

 

There's probably a good chance a vid card upgrade will help. The other thing is latency; if you're playing over a WiFi connection, it's more likely to have lag issues. That all said...

 

Drexel Sweep is in dire need of rebalancing. It is difficult in Lev5/purple ship gear, and I would suggest it is virtually impossible in Lev3 -- although that's when it first shows up as available. The attacking ships are too resilient, and that swarm after the first capital ship pass is ridiculously lethal. It seems to me that the key to surviving that gauntlet is to give up any hope of killing off all the attacking ships. Use the 10 second invul pod and the EMP burst here, but not until you're actually beginning to take heavy damage. Concentrate on killing the single tough ship as it's the only one that really sticks around. Both before and after the gauntlet, take every opportunity to recharge your shields, even if it means not firing at some of the ships -- after all, you only need 60, not all of them. Another thing to do is know where the oncoming ships are coming from and launch missiles at them even before they get close enough to fire at you.

 

Both Kalee and Zosha are missions where you need to use all of the tools at your disposal -- the invul pod, the EMP burst, missiles, and most of all the power redirect. In the thicker swarms of attacking small ships, you will often need to hit them with both a missile and beam fire to kill them as fast as possible. And also learn how to really move your ship around on the screen -- use the ASDF keys and barrel rolls to constantly shift your position. The benefit of doing this rather than just letting your ship follow your mouse targeting cursor is the target stays relatively stable, but meanwhile you're jinking around like a lunatic pilot. Helps to avoid many of the incoming blasts, especially from the capital ships. Again, the thing isn't to hit every available target, but to hit enough to satisfy the mission and the bonuses, and to avoid incoming fire as much as possible. Moving your ship around will help with that, a lot. (Oh, and I will already assume you know not to hold down the beam firing key continuously...because otherwise your shields will never recharge.)

 

As for the minefield missions, I'm not sure what to say. You do know the minelayer only shows up at the very end of the mission, during the last 90+ seconds, right -- that the other ships are just mine layer tender ships (with a bonus for shooting off their engines)? It shouldn't be necessary to hit the mine-layer's bays with beam fire -- I'd say maybe 4-6 missiles should do the job, but it's easy not to hit the bays because there are other targets very close to them. You get three passes to make the kill, and normal missiles should do the job. You just gotta spam them as fast as they become available.

[BrJLa]

I find the space missions all pretty easy.

 

1. Need power converter. Need it on 1 (power to blasters) whenever firing, and on 2 (power to shield regen) whenever there’s a lull.

 

2. I have the crafted purple level 4 torpedoes. I think they’re better than the level 5 that you can buy off the space vendor. Raises blaster rate to 10/second, and adds some torpedoes I think.

 

3. On Drexel Sweep, the way to get through the cluster of incoming ships is to focus on them first - keep the missiles going at them as fast as you can as soon as they show up in the distance, and don’t let up on the blasters. Don’t focus first on the big ship and allow yourself to take the incoming fire.

 

4. If shields get low, put the power converter on 2 and fly circles around the perimeter of your screen. If you stand still, incoming fire will hit you. But if you keep moving the incoming fire misses.

 

5. I think once you hit level 50, the only way to blow up the bays on Hydian Way Blockade is with proton torpedoes. You get 4 torpedoes, there are 4 bays to blow up. I think blowing them up is otherwise hopeless.

[Akiwoodoh]

4. If shields get low, put the power converter on 2 and fly circles around the perimeter of your screen. If you stand still, incoming fire will hit you. But if you keep moving the incoming fire misses.

 

5. I think once you hit level 50, the only way to blow up the bays on Hydian Way Blockade is with proton torpedoes. You get 4 torpedoes, there are 4 bays to blow up. I think blowing them up is otherwise hopeless.

 

4) This definitely works - it was how I would complete the mission before getting the immunity item.

 

5) Wah huh? If I remember right proton's won't even lock on to the bays. What am I missing?

[BrJLa]

4) This definitely works - it was how I would complete the mission before getting the immunity item.

 

5) Wah huh? If I remember right proton's won't even lock on to the bays. What am I missing?

 

Oh, no, my bad on #5. I saw someone saying they couldn't blow something up and I got it confused with the shield generators on Zosha Advance.

[Akiwoodoh]

Oh, no, my bad on #5. I saw someone saying they couldn't blow something up and I got it confused with the shield generators on Zosha Advance.

 

Ah k, was wondering.

[JediJudoChopx]

Thx for the guide. I was wondering what buttons were used to change the function of the POWER CONVERSION MODULE.

 

The only problem I had was that for me at least. (Totally remapped all of my keys). The only thing that responded for me was [scroll up] and [scroll down] on my mouse. [up] for power to cannons, [down] for shields. Which to me is perfect, and intuitive.

 

"Revert all power to the rear deflector shields!"

Edited February 28, 2012 by JediJudoChopx