I struggled with the helicopter ending in the U.N. mission with 0 tier, I went back with a higher gear score after getting to Tier 5, I played the mission on Tier 01, I flew through the mission. Did exactly the same with the rooftop relay mission, struggled, then went back and flew through it.
My question is, am I defeating the object of the game doing this. Should I now replay the U.N. mission on hard, then challenging. Everything I've done has been playing solo.
Generally if you have to go down that far in WT levels to complete it, then it very well could be a strategy issue. This game is a cover looter/shooter, keyword being cover. Most people use some of it, but many are out in the open way too long. Of course once you hit end game your gear is at level, but generally junk. But, with using cover and prioritizing your targets you shouldn't be struggling that much. I mean absolutely no offense. I'm not one of those "git gud" people. But, along with poor gear, I feel there has to be something else to it.
Do you have the ability to record some of you game play? If so, record some. Maybe 5 - 10 minutes or so and throw it on YT. Make sure to open your inventory screen and select your weapons as well and scroll down so we can see the talents This way we can see what gear you are running and base stat ratio. If you are going for a firearms build, I'd recommend roughly a 50/50 split between Firearms and Stamina and only the minimum for electronics. As you get better gear and better at the game in general, I suggest raising the FA SOME (as in a ~267 mod). Don't go in with an 80/20 FA/Stam ratio initially unless you like the high risk high reward play style. Once you start getting gear sets and are able to proc those benefits, then start adjusting it to your play style and preferences.
On the topic of proc's. One thing you may also be facing is your weapon talents either aren't right for what you need, or have too high of requirements. For instance, I love using Ferocious. But, because it requires the same level across all 3 base stats (FA/Stam/Ele) it won't proc on most of my FA builds. So, I always keep an eye out for the weapons I like that have it in the free talent slot at the bottom. For gun builds my preferences are Destructive, Predatory, and Ferocious in the free slot. I also will roll Deadly on SMG focused builds since it has a high Crit Chance built in.
For electronics/skill builds they are different. I usually put Determined on it. Remember that if/when you go a full electronics build, you will have to buy at 204 class weapon with the desired weapons. They will optimize up to 228 or 229. The reason for this may not be obvious. On skill builds, your FA and ST stats will be minimal so you can't proc those weapon talents. Yes, certain weapon talents proc even if you aren't firing your weapon. So, what I do is equip a 256 class AR in one slot, and the 228/229 (optimized 204) level in the other. When I use my skills I have the lower level weapon in my hand. If a rusher charges me, then I'll swap weapons and take care of them. Though I generally don't like them in the regular game play, I usually use the RPK for this lower weapon for two reasons. One, because it has a higher magazine, you'll have more firing time if you don't have time to swap your weapons. Two, is also due to the magazine. Once an extended mag of ~121% you will get a capacity of 99 or so rounds. With that, I can tell at a glance whether I am on the weapon that will proc my skills. These also don't take as long to reload as a full LMG with the 100 round magazine.
Note that some weapon talents will not be proc'd by skills. There are no crit hit, headshot damage, or weakpoint hit bonuses with skills.
I have also found that different people find different missions, or even places within the missions, more difficult than others. I usually play General Assembly during the level up phase around level 27-28. So, the enemies are still fairly tough. That mission does not have challenging, only normal, hard, and then they later added legendary. On GA, I have found a couple of things that seem to help most people. First, people rarely ever get killed by the chopper. They almost always die from the adds that join the fight over a couple of waves and it is usually the shotgun rushers and/or sniper. I always suggest playing it one of two ways, neither of which actually uses what mechanics the game is telling you to. Instead of trying to get the turrets back on line with the chopper will destroy shortly. One way is just find a large covered area and fight the fight from there. The one right by where you come into the courtyard from the building. Then, just dodge the bombs. But, in this method, shoot only at him when you get a chance and ALWAYS keep an eye on your mini map to see when adds are spawning. Prioritize them and potshot the chopper when you can. This generally takes a while, but is quite safe.
The other, which was a more recent discovery for me, is to go up above the entrance above where you first go into the building earlier in the mission after hacking the turrets the first time. Above there, there are sandbags and such for protection. You are exposed to the chopper up there, but he can't fly directly overhead so if you hide behind the sand bags when low on health, it is fairly safe. It seems like one can deliver more firepower from here. Also, the only NPC's that seem to ever come up there with you are the shotgun rushers. So, you'll still need to keep an eye out, but the rest have always stayed down below so you only have ~3-4 NPC's to kill.
I spoke above about prioritizing your targets. I've heard a little variation but this is mine:
1. Shotgun rushers - These guys charge full speed and are rough up close. When the game was released, they had an insane range. They were lethal 1/3 of a block away. At least they toned it down fairly early.
2. Medics - this one might even be my first choice at times, particularly if there are heavies in the mix. It sucks when you have a shielded heavy and you pop his ammo pouch on his back, only to have him not die and go back and get healed. Now it is a longer fight.
3. Grenadiers. They can damage you, but I mostly just get annoyed by them. In large groups they can keep you doing nothing but rolling while meanwhile everyone else is shooting at you.
4. Engineers - I dislike turrets nearly as much as grenades. One or two really doesn't cause that much damage but they make you miss more on your shots. When you start getting 4+, I often go kamikaze and bull rush the engineers. It seems like at launch, when you killed one engineer, his turrets went with him. It sure doesn't seem like that is the case anymore.
5. Melee rushers - Other than the melee mobs in Hudson Refugee Camp when played on challenging where gangs of them can stun lock you and you can't get out, these guys aren't really much more than a bother. I suggest early on, leaving one alive and practice their distance. What I mean is when they are rushing you, they have a distance where they kind of pause for a split second before they swing. You can easily roll away from them at that point. Doing that will give you additional distance versus just running. I use this often when playing as a Tactician while waiting for my skills to reset. I'll do that once or twice depending on the timing. Then, I'll fire my sticky into the ground and trigger it when they run over it. This is great when you have a couple of them. If you have room, you can zig zag to get them all get closer together making this more effective. If you want to practice the distance, fast travel to Napalm. Facing the entrance, go right and go to the boss at the end of the street (can't think of his name at the moment). With him there is a single one, and before you get to him there is generally two of them together but they don't always spawn.
6. everyone else
For rooftop relay, go up on the platform in the middle and spend the entire time up there. Equip an AR and another longer range gun of your preference. SMG's aren't quite as effective here due to the range across the bridge. The enemies spawn in the same spots, so pay attention and if you wipe, just remember where they came from. Towards the end when the boss spawns across the catwalk, focus on him and there's generally a veteran or two. The other guys that had spawned on your side, will come up on the platform with you, but it seems like they generally take ~15 seconds or so before they get brave enough. By then you should have taken care of the either the boss or a veteran or two. Don't forget things like fire grenades too. They buy you some time allowing you to focus on one side at a time.
As usual with my posts it seems, this has turned into a novel.
![]()