Platinum Solo Strategy Guide on Firebase Sandstorm for Non-Stealth Characters
Nov 4, 2017 23:22:20 GMT
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Post by vanelsa on Nov 4, 2017 23:22:20 GMT
Last week’s APEX Go For the Eyes Platinum mission on Sandstorm against Kett was the first that showed me I could solo Platinum. I wanted to do it, however, on regular Platinum without using the super tanky Human Juggernaut or a cloak/stealth grid character. Tweaking the solo strategy used for my Gold Solo Chronicles videos, I have cracked the Platinum solo riddle on Firebase Sandstorm for non-stealth characters with my successful Batarian Scrapper run yesterday.
If you want to do it too, and get that Lone Wolf achievement Bioware left in the Milky Way Galaxy, this post is for you. Bear in mind that the match will still be tough, and the margin for error is very small. Your run can end quite painfully and quickly with a Hack or Upload on Waves 2, 4, or 6. But provided RNG gives you favorable objectives, you too will be able to say that you were able to solo Platinum!
Requirements
You have to be able to solo Gold. You should have at minimum one Siphon weapon. While I’m sure someone out there can solo Platinum with a Level 1 character, that person is probably not you. Make sure your character is Level 20, Rank XX for Rare and below characters, or at least Rank X for UR characters.
Enemies Incoming!
Enemies on Platinum are relentless, so you have to use everything you have available to turn the tables on them. This includes using the maps to your advantage. Firebase Sandstorm is set up well with a three-level environment. The buildings provide exterior and interior cover that block lines of sight across the map (i.e. enemies won’t be able to snipe you with 100% accuracy like they do on Firebase Icebreaker). We’ll position ourselves in such a way that enemies will come at you from more or less one direction. Call it camping or strategic positioning, it’s all about placing yourself in an environment where you can use cover, powers and weapons to their maximum advantage.
Rooftop and the Back Building
On Sandstorm, there are two primary positions from which you will be operating, both well-known to ME:A players: the rooftop and outside the 37 building in the back-right of the map. You’ll be rotating between these two positions during each wave. When the situation gets too hot and you’re about to be overrun, retreat to the other position.
From the rooftop, you fall back down to ground-level, using the big boulder as cover, and go to the left around the building.
You can choose to go through building S4 (bottom) or jump directly to Building 37 (top). Observers and the Blaze Hydra can target you if you go straight and try to jump up to 37, so be careful. Get into cover before the jump if your shields need to recharge. Going through S4 is safer but takes more time.
From outside of Building 37, you’ll stand your ground there before (1) jumping up to the roof, sprinting and jumping back to the original rooftop position or (2) falling down to the ground floor and going through the Building 10 to the staircase near the LZ and back up to the rooftop.
This works because the enemies can’t adapt to your vertical level changes and you’re using the building for cover. During this retreat period, your shields should recover and you can get back into the fight.
This path also gives you access to up to five ammo crates. The only one that you can’t is the one in the open area between the two catwalks. The crate contents do regenerate over time, so you’ll almost always be able to replenish your ammo and grenades multiple times during a long solo.
Cover
Being in cover is vital to surviving on Platinum. Enemies will do less damage and your shields start regenerating more quickly while in cover. When moving or retreating, try to move between cover as much as possible. If you can’t get into actual cover, use soft cover by putting something between you and the enemy, a wall, crate, staircase, etc. If you are out in the open, you will get mowed down by the Anointed’s Soned, burned to death by the Observer’s red laser, energy drained by a Saboteur, blown away by the Blaze Hydra’s missiles, or sniped by an Ascendant.
Enemy Respawns
If you are in the early or middle part of the wave, killing an enemy will cause an identical one to respawn. If you are in a safe position and not in a rush to retreat, this will not pose a problem; that new enemy will spawn far away from you and move to your current location. However, say after dispatching a couple of enemies, you have to immediately vacate your current location. Be careful! Those new enemies may just have spawned along your escape route.
If you have a character with a stunning ability like Flak Cannon or Overload, you can temporarily disable the newly spawned enemy and continue on your way to safety.
If your character does not have such an ability or if it is on cooldown, a better approach would be to weaken the original enemy but not kill it before fleeing from your original position. Save the killing blows for when you are safe in the new position. Against the Kett, this might mean leaving an Observer or Anointed with minimal health before running away. Yes, you’ll have to re-strip their shields the second time around, but they will be much easier to dispatch from your new position.
If you want to do it too, and get that Lone Wolf achievement Bioware left in the Milky Way Galaxy, this post is for you. Bear in mind that the match will still be tough, and the margin for error is very small. Your run can end quite painfully and quickly with a Hack or Upload on Waves 2, 4, or 6. But provided RNG gives you favorable objectives, you too will be able to say that you were able to solo Platinum!
Requirements
You have to be able to solo Gold. You should have at minimum one Siphon weapon. While I’m sure someone out there can solo Platinum with a Level 1 character, that person is probably not you. Make sure your character is Level 20, Rank XX for Rare and below characters, or at least Rank X for UR characters.
Enemies Incoming!
Enemies on Platinum are relentless, so you have to use everything you have available to turn the tables on them. This includes using the maps to your advantage. Firebase Sandstorm is set up well with a three-level environment. The buildings provide exterior and interior cover that block lines of sight across the map (i.e. enemies won’t be able to snipe you with 100% accuracy like they do on Firebase Icebreaker). We’ll position ourselves in such a way that enemies will come at you from more or less one direction. Call it camping or strategic positioning, it’s all about placing yourself in an environment where you can use cover, powers and weapons to their maximum advantage.
Rooftop and the Back Building
On Sandstorm, there are two primary positions from which you will be operating, both well-known to ME:A players: the rooftop and outside the 37 building in the back-right of the map. You’ll be rotating between these two positions during each wave. When the situation gets too hot and you’re about to be overrun, retreat to the other position.
From the rooftop, you fall back down to ground-level, using the big boulder as cover, and go to the left around the building.
You can choose to go through building S4 (bottom) or jump directly to Building 37 (top). Observers and the Blaze Hydra can target you if you go straight and try to jump up to 37, so be careful. Get into cover before the jump if your shields need to recharge. Going through S4 is safer but takes more time.
From outside of Building 37, you’ll stand your ground there before (1) jumping up to the roof, sprinting and jumping back to the original rooftop position or (2) falling down to the ground floor and going through the Building 10 to the staircase near the LZ and back up to the rooftop.
This works because the enemies can’t adapt to your vertical level changes and you’re using the building for cover. During this retreat period, your shields should recover and you can get back into the fight.
This path also gives you access to up to five ammo crates. The only one that you can’t is the one in the open area between the two catwalks. The crate contents do regenerate over time, so you’ll almost always be able to replenish your ammo and grenades multiple times during a long solo.
Cover
Being in cover is vital to surviving on Platinum. Enemies will do less damage and your shields start regenerating more quickly while in cover. When moving or retreating, try to move between cover as much as possible. If you can’t get into actual cover, use soft cover by putting something between you and the enemy, a wall, crate, staircase, etc. If you are out in the open, you will get mowed down by the Anointed’s Soned, burned to death by the Observer’s red laser, energy drained by a Saboteur, blown away by the Blaze Hydra’s missiles, or sniped by an Ascendant.
Enemy Respawns
If you are in the early or middle part of the wave, killing an enemy will cause an identical one to respawn. If you are in a safe position and not in a rush to retreat, this will not pose a problem; that new enemy will spawn far away from you and move to your current location. However, say after dispatching a couple of enemies, you have to immediately vacate your current location. Be careful! Those new enemies may just have spawned along your escape route.
If you have a character with a stunning ability like Flak Cannon or Overload, you can temporarily disable the newly spawned enemy and continue on your way to safety.
If your character does not have such an ability or if it is on cooldown, a better approach would be to weaken the original enemy but not kill it before fleeing from your original position. Save the killing blows for when you are safe in the new position. Against the Kett, this might mean leaving an Observer or Anointed with minimal health before running away. Yes, you’ll have to re-strip their shields the second time around, but they will be much easier to dispatch from your new position.
