Rogue Leader: Gold Medal FAQ
By Factor 5 Games for the Nintendo GameCube
By James Dziezynski (bruplex@aol.com, bruplex@yahoo.com)
Dzzy Strategies #12
All work is original copyright 2002 James Dziezynski. This work may not be
duplicated without express written consent of the author. As of Sept. 21, 2002 this
guide may only appear at www.gamefaqs.com and affiliated sites. Any site found
hosting this guide without permission will be immediately required to remove it.
That being said, any site that kindly asks to host this FAQ will most likely be
allowed to do so provided they contact myself first.
Version 1.0-Sept 21, 2002 All the mission walk throughs complete except Endurance
which frankly isn't going to be much of a walkthrough but I need to post my stats.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
*Introduction
-How To Read This Guide
-General Level Locations of Upgrades
*Mission-by-Mission Walkthrough
-Mission One: Death Star Attack
-Mission Two: Ison Corridor Ambush
-Mission Three: Battle of Hoth
-Mission Four: Prisons of the Maw
-Mission Five: Razor Rendezvous
-Mission Six: Vengeance On Kothlis
-Mission Seven: Imperial Academy Heist
-Mission Eight: Raid on Bespin
-Mission Nine: Battle of Endor
-Mission Ten: Strike at the Core
-Bonus Mission: Death Star Escape
-Bonus Mission: The Asteroid Field
-Bonus Mission: Triumph of the Empire
-Bonus Mission: Revenge on Yavin
-Bonus Mission: Endurance (coming soon)
*Final Thoughts/Contact Info
*Credits
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INTRODUCTION
Hello and welcome to this fine strategy guide! I won't be too wordy here but I just
want to mention a few things. First off, this is a fantastic game and a must have
for any Gamecube owner. The gold medal strategies presented here offer my singular
point of view and there are other great guides to check out such as WEGGY and
CYRICZ's efforts, available at www.gamefaqs.com. Getting all 15 golds is a mighty
impressive task but one attainable by most gamers with a little dedication and
patience. I hope my guide helps you reach those seemingly unattainable goals. Any
comments or suggestions are welcome, just email me (James) at: bruplex@aol.com.
How to Read This Guide
Everything here should be pretty cut and dry for the Rogue Leader fan. The only
thing I have added is a difficulty rating. "A" is the most difficult while "D" is
the easiest. We don't give F's because it can ruin a level's self esteem :). This
guide also assumes you already have all the needed upgrades to secondary weapons
and accessories. If you are unsure where to find them, check out one of the many
game FAQs available at www.gamefaqs.com. This is just a gold medal related
walkthrough. I will provide the general levels of all the power ups here however,
in case you want to find them on your own.
Advanced Proton Torpedoes=Mission 2
Advanced Homing Proton Torpedoes=Mission 6
Advanced Concussion Missiles=Mission 7 Day
Advanced Homing Concussion Missiles=Mission 8
Advanced Proton Bombs=Mission 5
Advanced Spread Proton Bombs=Mission 7 Night
Advanced Cluster Missiles=Mission 4
Advanced Homing Cluster Missiles=Mission 9
Advanced Shields=Mission 1
Advanced Lasers=Mission 3
Advanced Targeting Computer=Mission 10
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Mission One
Death Star Attack
Gold Strategy
Craft: X-Wing
Difficulty=A
Gold Requirements
Time=6:05
Enemies Destroyed=91
Accuracy=39%
Friendlies Lost=0
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=100%
My Stats:
Time=5:48
Enemies Destroyed=97
Accuracy=40%
Friendlies lost=0
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=100%
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Wooo boy! The first mission in Rogue Leader is a dilly of gold! It is safe to say
no one will accidentally get gold on their first time through. I would not suggest
having this mission be your first gold as it can be very demoralizing due to the
high degree of difficulty.
This is one of the harder golds because the time and enemy destroyed requirements
are strict. It's easy enough to get one or the other but getting them together in
one run is difficult. In fact, if you have only played this level one or two times
you might not think there ARE 91 enemies! As with other missions, you need to break
down each segment and figure out the best way to clear each area.
SECTION 1: TOWERS AND GUNS
Immediate Goal: 30 guns and 10 towers destroyed before the guy says, "We're running
out of time."
There are probably hundreds of ways to clear this level efficiently. I'll offer the
one that worked for me. My goal was to reach 40 total enemies destroyed. There are
10 towers you have to take out so that leaves 30 ground guns to eliminate. The
logical way to do this is to scout the level a few times to find where the guns are
around the towers. I "think NASCAR" and use a sweeping series of left turns to set
my line. Starting with the tower you are facing at the onset, turn left and
establish a line on the next five towers. There are plenty of guns to take out
along the way. Make sure to fire at the guns whose backs are turned to you (they
look like concrete squares sitting on the pillars.) When you reach the last tower
turn about 50 degrees left and make a small "w" pattern to take out the next three
towers. There are two guns in a darkish part of the Death Star that can help orient
you. When you are in the opposite corner where the third tower is, turn 45 degrees
left. You should hear a voice say "two left."
These remaining two towers have a gaggle of guns surrounding them!! Slow down where
you have to and knock out as many as you can. The last tower you have to take down
has 8-10 guns in the vicinity so knock most of them out before popping the tower.
When you are being told to set up your attack run keep hunting guns before the
scene cuts. If you hope to make the time requirement you should be able to finish
this section before the guy says, "We're running out of time!" If you are a good
TIE hunter you can still get gold if you destroy the tower right as it is being
said.
SECTION 2: HUNTING FOR TIES
Immediate Goal: Destroy 5-7 surface guns and as many TIES as quickly as possible.
Any strategy you read for gold on this level will stress that this is the critical
phase of the battle. By now you should be getting better as tracking down TIE
Fighters. I believe there are 28-30 possible TIEs that are up for grabs and you
will want to get as many as you can. After the cut you will have a clear shot on a
surface gun. Blow it up and the one behind it then pull up to get behind the 5-pack
of TIES headed to your right. If you haven't noticed, the TIES will stay in
formation as long as the leader remains intact. The leader will often be slightly
ahead of his wingmen so leave him for last. The groups of TIES are not too wiggly
so get right on their bumpers and cleanly take them out. After this group, swing
right 180 degrees and down a bit and you should see another squad of 4 TIEs. You
may want to pop a few surface guns on your way to lining up the TIEs.
From this point you have to be a bit of a freelance TIE fighter. If a single TIE
escapes from formation don't be afraid to use your homing torpedoes on the loner.
You can also target some surface guns with your homing torps to get in a few extra
kills. Just make sure you have at least one left to use on the Death Star. As a
side note, I tell my wingmen to go after the TIEs as well. They may take a few
kills from you but the surface guns you take out will make up for that.
Additionally, the time they save you will be a big help when you hit the trench.
If all goes well you should have about 30 kills in this section, giving you around
70 total headed into the final section.
SECTION 3: TRENCH RUN
With some practice you can have 70 kills heading into this area, meaning you only
have to take out 21 enemies. There are 6 TIE Fighters that will be a piece of cake
to crush so that means you have 15 or so guns to take out. Why do I mention this?
You do NOT HAVE TO TAKE OUT EVERY GUN IN THE TRENCH!!! In fact I usually ignore a
majority of the guns until I reach the area where the crossbars let up and you have
an open ceiling. A modest goal is to take out 4-5 of the easier guns in the tricky
section (before Biggs tells Luke to hurry up and gets blown to pieces.) It is just
too risky to try to get the guns tucked into the maze of metal.
You need to blaze through the trench so keep your S-foils closed whenever you are
not aiming at guns. Open your wings to get off the required lasers to take out the
guns and close 'em up again.
When you clear out of the dense part of the trench it is a different story. Almost
every gun will be an easy target and you will be able to close your foils between
guns. You will still have to slow down and let the TIEs pass you but if you time it
right you can slow down and take out a gun while the TIEs fly overhead. Make sure
you get them all when they are sitting pretty in front of you. When Darth Vadar's
TIE Advanced gets in front of you unleash your laser cannons on him. He cannot be
destroyed (obviously) but you can get your accuracy boosted, just make sure you are
hitting him with all your shots. After he has gotten in front of you two times
ignore him. Focus on getting the remaining guns. There is a distinctive series of
four guns that will signal the end of the targets. They will come up right as Han
Solo scrambles Darth Vadar's eggs. Once you pass these get close to the floor and
close up those S-foils.
Your bull's eye to take out the Death Star is not a curved tube like in the movie
but the middle-to-lower half of the wall at the end of the trench. It is a straight
on hit. You can launch your Proton Torp (it only takes one) from any distance after
you can see the wall though be sure of your aim. Chances are you will have a few
torps left so it won't hurt to launch one from a distance and save one for when you
are dead on. Remember, this mission is a matter of seconds between glorious gold
and so-so silver. Any time you can make up will be worth it and since torpedoes go
faster than X-Wings...you get the point!
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Keys to Victory
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*TOWER SECTION: Knowing where the guns are in relation to the towers and setting up
an efficient run to kill 30 guns in addition to the 10 towers.
*TIE FIGHTER SECTION: Order your wingmen to attack the TIEs but kill as many as you
can. In between attack runs be sure to get 5-7 of the surface guns.
*TRENCH RUN: Only take out a few of the initial trench guns. Unload on them once
you have a less dense area (where Biggs bites it.) Get all 6 TIES, most of the guns
after this point, and use Darth's TIE Advanced to boost your accuracy. Finally, get
used to flying just above the floor to get your Proton Torpedo off a few seconds
sooner!
*Prayer, voodoo spells, and rubbing a magic shrunken head on your Gamecube
controller can't hurt! :)
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Mission Two
Ison Corridor Ambush
Gold Strategy
Craft: Slave-1
Difficulty=D
Gold Requirements
Time=4:12
Enemies Destroyed=40
Accuracy=19%
Friendlies Lost=2
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=72%
My Stats:
Time=2:22
Enemies Destroyed=41
Accuracy=27%
Friendlies Lost=1
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=93%
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This gold medal is mighty simple once you have opened up the Slave-1 and have
gotten homing cluster missiles! You unlock the Slave-1 after getting silver medals
on all 10 of the regular missions so if you wait to do that before trying to go for
gold you will have a very easy task. Advanced cluster missiles are found in mission
four Prisons of the Maw and the homing cluster upgrade is found at the Battle of
Endor.
With that, all you need to do is find the incoming TIEs and fire a salvo of
missiles at them. One round can knock out up to five TIEs in one fell swoop. There
are two rounds of TIEs before you enter the fog. You should have no problem finding
them on radar but you can use your targeting computer if you need to. The gold
requirement has a liberal targeting computer percentage of 72%. Click it on in the
fog section to get a bearing on the TIEs. As long as they are relatively close,
your homing missiles will find them. If you feel like being a big fat cheater you
can also unlock the Buick and use it in the same manner as the Slave-1.
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Keys to Victory
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* Get the Slave-1 unlocked with advanced homing cluster missiles. 'Nuff said!
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Mission Three
Battle of Hoth
Gold Strategy
Craft: Speeder/X-Wing
Difficulty=B
Gold Requirements
Time=5:00
Enemies Destroyed=43
Accuracy=53%
Friendlies Lost=22
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=100%
My Stats:
Time=4:48
Enemies Destroyed=46
Accuracy=54%
Friendlies Lost=18
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=100%
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The battlegrounds of Hoth offer little margin for error. To get gold you have to be
fast, accurate, and lucky! Thankfully this is an enjoyable level to play because
chances are you will have to invest some time to reach time, enemies destroyed, and
accuracy goals.
When the level starts off, boost your speed and tell your wingmen to go after
"guns". One of the primary skills you will need to master is the ability to
accurately knock out the swarms of probe druids drifting in the canyons. The first
group will be straight in front of you. Do your best to get as many as you can.
Gold can still be achieved if you miss one or two but missing more than that could
leave you in an "enemies destroyed" deficit you may not be able to overcome. After
you pass the probes, skate left over the small mountain and dip down into the
valley where you will see all sorts of mayhem.
When the ground troops ask for your command (you will see a small man icon in the
middle to differentiate between your Rogues in the air and the rebels on the
ground) tell them to retreat. Friendlies Lost can be a problem so you want to save
as many rebels as possible. If you veer slightly right you will see a group of four
AT-STs attacking the outpost. There will be three in a diagonal stack and a fourth
slightly behind the other. Your first goal is to knock out the three in the stack,
ignoring the fourth for now. Slowing down a little bit will be necessary but try to
approach the AT-STs as quickly as you can.
Once the first three are knocked out continue straight ahead where the rebels will
be fighting up close and personal with three AT-STs. Thanks to the distance the
Speeder's air cushion keeps you off the ground, you should be able to line up a
good approach to knock out all three with very little slowing down. PLEASE NOTE
that those little hooded ground troops surrounding the AT-STs are in fact imperials
but they will not count towards your kill count. Leave them alone when going for
gold.
After the last AT-ST in the row is knocked out, jam hard on the R and L buttons and
turn around 180 degrees to face the walker you left standing in the first group.
Blast towards him with the R button and as soon as you are in range let him have
it! Again, you should get a pretty good line on your lasers from a safe distance.
Once he is gone, turn right to face the last trio of approaching walkers. You do
not want to blast them all in one pass so gun for the one on the left. If you are
able to dispose of him from far away, start to work on the middle AT-ST. Get in as
many shots as you can but do not worry about blowing him up. Instead, carry past
the walkers and take out the Imperial cargo crate in front of you and the freshly
hatched AT-ST emerging from its confines.
Turn hard and zero in on the remaining walkers. Since you are approaching from
behind you will not have to worry about being caught in the crossfire. When you
have eliminated them you will hear from dialogue from the rebels on the ground.
Turn left and speed towards the large AT-AT at the rear of the advancing pack. To
help your accuracy, any time you are approaching the AT-ATs unload your lasers on
them. Each hit that connects will add to your percentage.
Your immediate goal is to take out two of the three AT-STs escorting the AT-AT
before the screen switches to the cut scene where Luke explains how to lasso the
AT-ATs. They will be set up like so:
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
* ^ Direction of advancing AT-ATs
* /___\
* | |
* | |
* 3
* 2 1
* A
* T
* A
* T
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Take the AT-STs out in the order indicated. You have to destroy number one and at
least wound number two before the cut scene. After the cut finish off number two if
you had not previously and slow down to eliminate number three. These AT-ST kills
are essential to your enemy destroyed count so don't miss them!
There is one more platoon of three AT-STs to send to the afterlife before roping
the AT-ATs. The order to take these three out is as follows:
3
1 2
You will be able to set up a good line so that on your pass you can blow up numbers
1 and 2 without slowing down. You will have to bank hard and crunch the brakes to
give 3 the smack down he so richly deserves. After he is nothing more than leg
stalks make a beeline for the leading AT-ATs.
By now you should be an expert with roping the three AT-ATs. Make sure you pin down
your lasers and blast their hulking bodies as you draw near them as well as when
you are lining up your harpoon approach runs. If you mess up at any point in the
wrangling process it may be hard to meet the time requirements but you can probably
get away with one screw up if you can recover and replant your harpoon within a
three or four second time frame. Though I am not 100% sure, it seems eliminating
the lead walker helps reduce your friendly casualties so I knock him out first.
Assuming the head of the walker is forward, take out the one to his rear left next
and close the deal by tripping up the AT-AT to the rear right. Again make sure you
are popping the AT-ATs with your lasers as you fly in to tangle them up.
SIDE NOTE: If you are not going for medals you CAN blow up the downed AT-ATs though
it takes a tremendous volley of laser power.
A cut scene depicting the AT-AT exploding the rebel generator starts as the third
AT-AT hits the deck. As always skip it. The next instant can be the make or break
past of your mission! Pay attention! When the action resumes you will be flying up
the canyon toward Echo Base. Brake hard and look down to the right. On the ground
will be a "hidden" group of probe droids! (You should see their orange light
reflecting off the snow). There are nine of them floating around. This is the only
point in the mission where you should really hold down the L button and diligently
eliminate a good 5 or 6 of them. Don't waste too much time. By eliminating some of
the droids in this group you are spared the trouble of engaging the TIE Fighters
later in the level to boost your enemy destroyed stat.
Continue up the canyon where a second pod of probe droids will be easy pickings.
After disposing of them, aim your Speeder slightly right up the canyon walls. The
third and final group of droids will be just left in the last valley so you will
want to turn into it wide to get a solid approach. This group tends to scuttle up
the banks to the right so keep that in mind when lining up your shots. It is almost
imperative that you destroy the whole squad. There seems to also be a few random
probes hovering over the surface just before you reach the blue rebel icon to
switch ships. They will not always be there but if they are make sure to blast
them!
Fly into the icon and make the 50-yard dash for your X-Wing. If you have hit all
the aforementioned targets there will be no need to dogfight the TIE fighters.
Going after them will only hurt your time and accuracy. Your mission here is to
take out eight TIE Bombers that threaten the fleeing rebel transports. There is a
slight learning curve to hunting them down efficiently. Keep in mind they will
always fly the same approach patterns so with a little practice you will be able to
quickly dispose of them. Speed is crucial at this point in the mission. Proton
missile management is also a key to victory. You have six missiles to launch and
eight bombers to destroy. Make sure you have the homing torpedo upgrade before even
trying for gold.
Aim your X-Wing to the left and skyward and you will see and oncoming TIEs. On the
right side of the specks is a duo of fighters you should let pass. The next group
left of the two fighters is a trio of bombers. Lock your first missile onto the
nearside wingman of the bombers. DO NOT LOCK ONTO THE LEADER! Destroy him and the
other two bombers will continue on to your right. Get directly behind them and rip
them to shreds with your quad cannon and lasers. This should be fairly easy, as the
bombers will not try to juke you until they have finished their attack run. After
finishing them off hold down your L and R buttons and make a full 360° turn while
remaining parallel to the ground. Lo and behold a new group of three bombers will
be right in front of you and ripe for the picking! Lock onto each and take them out
with three torps.
When they are gone turn right 90° and face the other "lane" of rebel transports on
the far side of the snowfield. You will see the remaining two bombers making a run
on the docked transports. Lock your remaining two missiles on the bombers and knock
them out of the sky. With practice you will know exactly where to turn and aim.
This is imperative to shave off a few seconds from a mission with a tough time
requirement.
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Keys to Victory
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*Destroying as many probe droids as you can, including the "hidden" group after the
cut scene.
*Getting in laser hits on the AT-ATs at any available chance to boost your
accuracy.
*Flawless takedowns of the three lead AT-ATs.
*Commanding rebel ground troops to retreat to minimize Friendlies Lost.
*Once in the X-Wing, ignoring the TIE fighters and smoothly taking out the eight
bombers.
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Mission Four
Prisons of the Maw
Gold Strategy
Craft: Y-Wing
Difficulty=C
Gold Requirements
Time=9:20
Enemies Destroyed=63
Accuracy=75%
Friendlies Lost=2
Lives Lost=1
Targeting Computer Efficiency=75%
My Stats:
Time=8:52
Enemies Destroyed=84
Accuracy=81%
Friendlies Lost=1
Lives Lost=1
Targeting Computer Efficiency=100%
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Can you imagine the poor storm trooper that got stuck guarding the bossy, nagging,
whiny rebel lady who constantly berates you on this level? She's a total ingrate to
YOU and you are saving her life! As they say, being a rebel pilot is sometimes a
tough job but some one has to do it.
"Prisons of the Maw" is an average-challenge gold to get despite the fact the
enemies and accuracy counts seem way high. Though it is already mentioned at the
start of the FAQ, you stand the best chance with advanced spread proton bombs so
make sure you have them when you start the level.
The level opens as Wedge and two wingmen scan an asteroid field for imperial
activity. Shooting the asteroids will NOT increase your accuracy so just avoid
them. Be aware that you can steer your wingmen into errant asteroids so until you
can issue them commands to attack the TIEs treat the three Y-Wings as one big ship
under your control. If you lose one of your wingmen it may be hard to get the
"Friendlies Lost" stat 2 or lower.
As soon as it is possible command your wingmen to fight the TIEs and head for the
cigar shaped transports. There are seven and you will want to take them out with
lasers. Work your way up to the one on the far left and attack it from the left
hand side and continue on so that all the ships will be in a nice neat row in front
of you. After you pop the last one, turn left and knock out the shuttle putting
around in space. While it may like a gratuitous kill, the shuttles actually pose
threat when you are trying to disable the force field generators. There is one more
shuttle in the vicinity you can opt to take out but it is not necessary.
Fading into view, the bow tie shaped forced field can be troublesome if you wander
too close to the mines protecting it. The field is set up something like this:
* *
* * *
* * *
* *
I like to take the generators out in this order:
* *
* * *
* 1 3
* 2
You only need to disable three. I prefer this order because it only requires two
small right turns and you stay relatively far away from the minefields. Once
disabled, head back towards the asteroid field. Drifting into the minefield while
Wedge explains he has cleared a way through can get you killed. You are granted one
death but you do not want to use it here.
Cutting to the surface, the crabby lady (who I picture looking like "Lucy" from
Charlie Brown) begins her rather loud-mouthed demands. The trios of AT-PT's that
lumber on the surface are essential targets, as you can kill three with one bomb.
You still have to take out the required gun towers but make sure to plop bombs on
any ground troops you may see. As you clear each section of towers try to get
slightly ahead of the train and take out the towers and AT-PT's along the way. Plot
a course that follows the train track, no shortcuts allowed! Clearing the way of
Imperial defenses will help prevent a high Friendlies Lost count.
When it comes time to hit the big satellite dishes of the communication relay, aim
low. If you can hit their bases with bombs you can eliminate them in one shot.
Proton bombs will be in short supply but use them all up and crash your ship into
the array. You are granted one life to lose so take advantage of it here to re-
supply your bombs. Waiting for them to recharge will only screw you in the time
department.
With the communications array in shambles, continue along the track trying to stay
ahead or at least even with the train. Keep popping those AT-PT's and any extra
guard towers along the way. You should almost never have to use your lasers unless
you feel inclined to fight a stray TIE but that will probably just hurt your
accuracy. I never had tribulations with running out of bombs so as long as you hit
something with every one you drop you should have no problems. When you reach the
shuttle, take out the towers. The shuttle will fly up and hang in space for a
minute while a squirrelly troop of TIE Interceptors will come out to attack it.
Experimenting with letting the TIEs pummel the shuttle has shown me that they will
never blow it up. It may be possible but I have never seen it, though it may count
against your friendlies lost stat if it takes too much fire. Don't engage these
strange TIEs unless they are about to hit you. The fly very erratically and
sometimes will even stall in space. You will most likely already have enough kills
and messing around with the TIES only serves to hurt your accuracy.
The shuttle eventually zooms off and the mission concludes.
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Keys to Victory
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* Staying alive through the asteroids and avoiding the minefields near the shield
generator.
* Killing as many threesomes of AT-PT's on the ground as well as any extra
fortifications along the railway.
* Crashing into the communications array once you are out of bombs to quickly
replenish your supply.
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Mission Five
Razor Rendezvous
Gold Strategy
Craft: B-Wing
Difficulty=C
Gold Requirements
Time=1:19
Enemies Destroyed=10
Accuracy=60%
Friendlies Lost=0
Lives Lost=1
Targeting Computer Efficiency=85%
My Stats:
Time=1:16
Enemies Destroyed=10
Accuracy=108%
Friendlies Lost=0
Lives Lost=1
Targeting Computer Efficiency=100%
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This was my first gold in the game and it is not too hard once you get used to the
homing proton torpedoes. Make sure you have them as well as advanced lasers and
advanced shields. As soon as the mission starts, close your S-foils and tell your
wing mates to go after the TIE fighters. Aim your ship toward the bow (to your
right) of the star destroyer. As soon as you see the green flashes of the turbo
lasers under your ship, open your foils. Immediately tap B to bring up your proton
torpedo reticule. Get a lock on the right most turret in the lower middle part of
the ship and fire. Destroy it then lock onto three more guns in this manner, making
sure you don't lock onto the same gun twice. If you miss one, target a gun on the
deck of the destroyer. Knock out at least four guns with homing torpedoes. Veer
towards the bridge where the deflector "golf balls" are. The top of the hull should
be directly under you.
Charge up your Ion cannon and pop the generator on the left. Unload three torps
from a safe distance and use lasers to finish it off. Pass over it a little ways
(so that you are behind the Destroyer) and brake hard, turning right to attack the
other generator. While you are turning hold down the B button and charge your ion
cannon. Pound the generator with the ion cannon then unload your final 5 missiles
into the deflector. Now, proceed to crash into the star destroyer and die!
You'll restart with a great angle on the destroyer. Use Z to rotate so that the
bottom generator is on top. You will want to approach it from the back, the reason
being that after you have destroyed it you will be heading towards the bow of the
ship making for an easy swing around to face the bridge. It is imperative you
target two of the underside guns to get your kills in, so use your homing torps to
knock a couple out. Slow down a little and hit the bottom generator with all you've
got. Your remaining ten proton torpedoes should work just fine! Cruise to the bow
of the ship and turn hard so you are back on the top. Close up your foils and ram
full speed into the bridge! Voila! Good as gold!
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Keys to Victory
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
*Knocking out at least 6 guns on the deck of the Destroyer.
*Crashing your ship at appropriate times.
*Getting a good line on the bottom generator so you can quickly swerve around the
bow and crash into the bridge.
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Mission Six
Vengeance On Kothlis
Gold Strategy
Craft: Slave-1 Firespray, Speeder, Y-Wing
Difficulty=B
Gold Requirements
Time=9:55
Enemies Destroyed=100
Accuracy=27%
Friendlies Lost=2
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=85%
My Stats:
Time=9:25
Enemies Destroyed=101
Accuracy=46%
Friendlies Lost=2
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=100%
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Despite the fact that the Slave-1 is the starship equivalent to a 1978 Gran Torino
station wagon, once equipped with homing cluster missiles Boba Fett's Firespray
class vessel becomes a force to reckon with. "The Flying Moonboot" (as the Slave-1
is referred to by my roommate Jody) may be slow and cumbersome but at least it has
paper thin shields. But I kid the lumbering hulk of a ship! The art of using the
Slave-1 is a keen awareness of your surroundings because the minute any Imperial
craft gets behind you it's lights out for the flying moonboot! Keep the action in
front of you at all costs!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Want to make your mission a little easier? Of course you do! The
amount of guns still operational on the Destroyer will depend on the damage you
inflicted in the previous mission, Razor Rendezvous. If you are planning to go for
gold on Vengeance at Kothlis, replay Razor Rendezvous and focus on knocking out as
many guns as possible before completing the mission. Using the B-Wing, crack the
four big Ion Cannons on the far left of the ship then use your homing missiles to
pop some of the random guns on the top of the hull. After the Destroyer crashes
into the ocean, any gun you destroyed in the preceding mission will be gone for
good!
There is another school of thought I'll add just for argument's sake. Getting 100
kills for this mission can be hard. If you want to ignore the guns and have them
count towards your enemy total it may be worth it to leave them intact. Keep in
mind the Slave-1 is very vulnerable to laser fire. You will have to weigh the fact
of added targets for your homing missiles against the fact you are flying a ship
that could be knocked down by a homing pigeon.
Now with that in mind onto the mission!
As always, skip the cinemas and get to work. The key to success is to learn the
incoming patterns of the TIEs and confront them before they can sneak around you.
Your main threat comes from the Interceptors, who will get behind you and blast you
out of the sky if they get a chance. They tend to travel in twos so keep a look out
for them in the distance. Regular TIES aim at the transport first and will fire at
you only if you are too close.
Tell your wingmen to attack the TIEs and focus on the swarming fighters to the left
of the transport. A duo of Interceptors will be the first to come after you. Fire
your homing missiles as soon as you see the green of their lasers. After they are
knocked out, turn right towards the transport where a legion of TIE Fighters will
be plaguing the rebel ship. One cluster missile should blow them all up! Another
squad of Interceptors will be heading towards you on the right so look for their
two-ship formation and let 'em have it.
If you make it by the initial wave of fighters without too much damage, you should
be fine the rest of the time you are in the Slave-1. Continue to use your missiles
efficiently and use your radar display to check if any red dots have circled behind
you. If they have, immediately turn around and confront them before they can get
off a flurry of shots. The beauty of the Slave-1 is that not only will you knock
out everything in the sky before the transport lands, you will also have a great
accuracy rating in the process. After clearing the skies of TIEs face the wounded
Star Destroyer and let any remaining missiles you have fly! Keep a healthy
distance, preferably about the range that the transport is from the Destroyer. When
Crix Madine announces he is putting the transport down, get on the right side of it
so you will be ready to instantly get into your Speeder.
Skip the next cut scene and quickly fly to the wire frame rebel insignia. It is
VERY important you don't waste time with the Speeder. Don't bother trying to fight
off any Imperial forces on the beach or in the sky, simply trip up the AT-ATs as
quickly as you can. There are three that have survived in operating order and by
now you know how to take them out. Go for the one in the shallowest water first.
Get used to letting out your tow cable and having the R button pinned so you will
hastily wrap up the quadrupeds. Try your best to anchor your line on one pass. Tiny
as it is, the Speeder has adequate shields so don't worry about any fire you might
take in the process of snaring the AT-ATs.
After you have flummoxed the third and final AT-AT, bust a move over to the right
hand rebel insignia and trade your speeder in for a Y-Wing. Give Wedgie some
credit; he's got the speed of Carl Lewis when it comes to running from one ship to
another! Get comfy in your Y-Wing and prepare to defend the little men running
around on the beach.
First order of duty is to secure the beach. Drop a few Proton Bombs on the guns set
up on the beach and the Imperials on the deck of the grounded Destroyer. If you
have Advanced Proton Bombs and Proton Cluster upgrades you will pack twice the
punch. At any point while in the Y-Wing you can bust open the hull with seven
Advanced Proton Bombs. This is important for meeting the strict time requirements.
In other words don't wait for Crix to tell you about the weakness in the hull to
bomb it.
Secondly, pick off the packs of AT-PT's coming into the beach. A well-placed Proton
Bomb can take out 3-4 walkers in one shot. If you see the walkers underwater, you
can knock them out with bombs (but not lasers). Keep making passes until the AT-
PT's are all gone (you'll know they are finished because a voice will say "That is
the last of them.")
Now for the finer points of the mission. If you have cleared the beach of Imperials
the stage will end very shortly after you have blown up the last walker. You will
have about 30 seconds in which you need to knock out a few TIE fighters to get your
enemy count over 100. Three or four usually do the trick. Because your Proton Bombs
were probably highly accurate you can be liberal with your lasers when gunning down
the TIEs. You are more likely to have trouble with your enemy destroyed stat than
your accuracy percentage.
One last word of warning: when you are dog-fighting the final TIEs, make sure not
to take a sharp turn into one. Nothing is more frustrating than to survive for nine
minutes and ten seconds only to lose the gold from turning into an errant TIE.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Keys to Victory
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
*Knowing the attack patterns of the TIEs when piloting the Slave-1, being extra
mindful of Interceptors.
*Fast, efficient disposal of the AT-ATs.
*Clearing the beach and breaching the hull as soon as you get behind the wheel of
the Y-Wing.
*Picking off a few of the pesky TIEs at the end of the mission to boost your enemy
defeated stat.
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Mission Seven
Imperial Academy Heist
Gold Strategy
Craft: Y-Wing
Difficulty=B
Gold Requirements
Time=4:12
Enemies Destroyed=51
Accuracy=49%
Friendlies Lost=0
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Accuracy=100%
My Stats:
Time=4:04
Enemies Destroyed=61
Accuracy=73%
Friendlies Lost=0
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=100%
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
This mission is easiest to complete during the day with the Y-Wing. The hardest
stat to reach is the enemies destroyed. Despite the fact there is a Home Depot
parking lot filled with them you need a system to get the required amount within
the time limits.
You have to fly unnoticed by the sensors to reach the meat n' potatoes part of the
stage. The Imperials clearly must have bought some of their sensors at Radio Shack
because the first ones really suck. That is good news for you however, so speed
through as fast and low as you can, setting up good lines to pop the non-Radio
Shack models with your Ion cannons. I generally disable all of them to boost my
accuracy. I often will kill the first one after it is disabled. I'm not 100% sure
it adds to your enemy count but logically it should. The last few tend to be more
sensitive (they must read a lot of poetry-BA DA BOOM!) so if you try to attack
them, you will be detected and the mission will end.
As you round the bend to the right following the last sensor, fly high so you can
plop some proton bombs on the platforms where the hapless Imperials are rushing to
their TIE craft. You can potentially knock out four per platform if you fire from
far enough away but in most cases you will get three. There are two double-
platforms in the first valley. Bomb them and continue along the "valley trail" to
another outpost of platforms and take out as many of the TIEs before they can take
off. You will get credit for killing the ships but not the pilots.
If you followed the valleys right you will come upon the installation just over the
top of a mountain. There are tons of TIEs still grounded so get in there and knock
them out!! There should be a straight line of TIEs if you came out of the valley
straight that you can get low and take out with lasers. From there, cruise to your
left and start plopping proton bombs on the TIEs. I have found that they are spaced
in such a way that even cluster bombs have a hard time knocking out more than one
at a time so aim for individual TIEs along the way.
If you were viewing the installation as a clock from overhead and 6 o'clock is
where you came out of the valley, I like to fly to about 10 o'clock in my bombing
run then turn around. From there I retrace my course from 10 o'clock
counterclockwise to high noon at 12. When I return to 6 I like to take a few TIEs
with lasers to give the bombs time to regenerate. There is no secret strategy; you
need to knock out as many TIEs as possible primarily using your proton bombs and
lasers when you have clean shots. When you reach the shuttle use your lasers on the
gun turrets surrounding it. Again, this gives your bombs time to regenerate and
helps your accuracy. I tend to approach from the 1 o'clock side so I make a series
of left turns to kill the turrets. Before I get the shuttle I fly straight to the
11 o'clock TIE parking lot and whomp the grounded TIEs with my remaining bombs. I
typically have 4 or 5 left to drop. Turnaround at the gun turret (after blowing it
up) at the end of an "arm" and return to the shuttle!
The previous paragraph may sound a little confusing but is the best way I can
describe a run that will kill a bunch of bad guys within the time limit. When you
get into the shuttle your work is not yet done! Head toward the objective cone and
try your best to knock out 3 or 4 more TIEs before clearing the mountain pass. It's
not easy but it can be the difference between gold and silver! Once you are on the
move, avoid using your rear laser unless you are in absolute peril of getting blown
up. Again, its lucky for you the TIE Fighter pilots aren't too sharp in this area.
That's what you get for cloning Radio Shack managers instead of Tom Cruise from Top
Gun. I mean come on! You could take down a slow moving shuttle with a laser gun
attached to a kite!! But I digress. A little bob n' weave and you should reach your
objective area where the Y-Wings will escort you to safety and the Imperials will
be left shaking their fists and calling Lo-Jack.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Keys to Victory
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
*Go fast through the sensors slowing down only to disable the ones you don't have a
good line on.
*Setting up a bombing run that takes out as many grounded TIEs as possible while
still being speedy and accurate.
*Lay off the laser trigger in the shuttle unless you absolutely need to.
*Oh yeah, play at day not night :)
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Mission Eight
Raid on Bespin
Gold Strategy
Craft: X-Wing
Difficulty=B
Gold Requirements
Time=6:40
Enemies Destroyed=110
Accuracy=65%
Friendlies Lost=29
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=72%
My Stats:
Time=5:39
Enemies Destroyed=116
Accuracy=71%
Friendlies Lost=11
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=90%
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Knowledge is power, son. Knowledge, or lack of it, can be the difference between
Bespin gold or a maddening lesson in silver frustration. Before I even get started
I'd like to point out a few VERY helpful tips for each stat because virtually all
of them are troublesome.
Time: Make sure you knock out two Interceptors at the beginning of the level. This
seems to speed up the cut scene between the outskirts and city proper after
defeating the last balloon. Having a handle on using the orange goal-wedge in the
upper right radar display will keep you from flying aimlessly about when hunting
the generators in Cloud City (more below).
Enemies Destroyed: Break every balloon gun platform you see hovering above Cloud
City. The only TIEs you need to fight are the bombers at the end of the level and
two Interceptors in the beginning that you should eliminate with homing torps.
Accuracy: Be certain to hit the flame generators on the balloon gun platforms. If
there are any ropes in the way, inch over a bit to get in a clear shot. Do not
dogfight the fighters and only use your lasers on one of the bombers at the end.
Friendlies lost: This can be a pain in the butt if you are not paying attention to
the effects of your actions. There is a big cylindrical gas transport near the
second Tibana gas platform that looks like an easy kill and accuracy booster. In
the fog you may not notice that when you blow it up (unless it is REALLY far away
from the platform) if takes out half of the gas containers on the platform. Even
from what seems like a safe distance the explosion can still reach the platform
tanks.
Lives lost: Not a major issue.
Targeting Computer Accuracy: Learn to master your radar display in the upper right
on the screen to pinpoint the generators in the city. There is more on this further
on in the strategy.
Let's take a more detailed look at the level.
As the mission starts send your wingmen to engage the TIE Interceptors patrolling
the area. Swing down to get a good line on the nearby balloon and fly up to knock
out the flame generator. Make sure that your shots are not hitting the ropes even
if it means getting really close. Once the "bubble is burst" the resulting carnage
cannot damage your ship so don't be afraid to get right in under the canopy of the
balloon. After taking out the first balloon swing right about 90 degrees. Your goal
is to take out a group of two Interceptors with your homing torpedoes. There is a
loner-interceptor flying around this area as well; ignore him and destroy the more
aggressive duo. The reasoning behind this is you seem to need to have a certain
amount of interceptors killed before the game allows the cut scene to take place. I
am not 100% sure this is the case but I know there have been instances where I have
waited over 2 minutes after destroying the last balloon for the cut scene to take
place. The logical thought is that I was waiting for my wingmen to take out the
interceptors so the rebel transports could reach the platforms. Since I began
taking out these two fighters (as suggested in an FAQ by Weggy-thanks!) the cuts
take place a few seconds after I knock out the last platform.
Fly towards the next two balloon platforms through the hazy clouds. Notice there is
a big cylindrical gas transport. My initial thinking was this was an easy kill to
boost my enemy counts and accuracy. This was a big mistake! I have no idea if this
is an Imperial or Rebel vessel. It turns out it does not really matter. If you blow
it up it will take out half of the gas platforms and most likely screw your
friendlies lost stat. Leave it alone. Concentrate on the two balloons, taking out
the left one first then the right. Continue down and right to the last four
balloons. If your command cross comes up repeat orders for your wingmen to engage
the TIEs.
I do not usually play with auto-level on and the approach to these first of these
balloons is the reason why. You may find yourself fighting with your X-Wing to drop
low enough to get a good angle to hit the flame generators. It is not hard to
compensate with auto-level on but if it is bugging you, turn it off for this
section.
Despite the varying altitude, these four balloons should be easy to take out if you
destroy them right to left. You may be tempted to engage the interceptors in the
few seconds between the last balloon going down and the cut scene. Unless you have
a sure shot leave them alone. They will probably hurt your accuracy and if you are
not careful they can do a job on your shields. Please note that flying towards
Cloud City will not prompt the cut; the safe arrival of the transports to the
platforms will trigger the transition.
After the cut you will be on the edge of Cloud City. Order your wingmen to engage
the TIEs. Your first mission is to knock out the balloons that plague the skies.
Hitting the flame generators through the ropes is essential to keeping your
accuracy high. Starting from the balloon directly in front of you and somewhat high
in the sky, work your way clockwise (left) to each balloon. It may feel like you
are wasting time but there is a rather generous time limit for the gold. Dip down
low when you have to and line up your shots with precision. Make certain you clear
out every balloon over the city. There are two balloons in the distance that guard
the Tibanna gas platforms. Ignore them for now. In fact, you will only need to
knock out one of those two to reach your enemy requirement when the time comes.
As is often the case, avoid dog fighting the TIEs. You will not need to fight them,
though if they are really lighting you up shake them off your tail. Try not to slow
down too much on your approaches to the balloons. You can forget about switching to
the Cloud Car if you are seriously going for gold.
When it is relatively safe to fly the friendly skies, prepare to knock out the
three generators. Because they are deep in the canals of the city it can be a
frustrating experience locating the destroying them. I spent a lot of time wasting
my targeting computer accuracy looking for them until I realized that your radar in
the upper right is AMAZINGLY helpful in locating the generators. Fly above the city
towards the objective cone (it will point to the closest generator). When it opens
up, flick on your targeting computer and look down. You should be very close to the
generator! Take note of the canals leading to the target and swoop down towards it.
Since it can be a struggle to hit the generator from directly above, your best bet
is to sweep low and away to line up an attack run through a canal. It is MUCH
easier to hit a horizontal approach than a vertical one. This is not to say a
vertical approach is impossible. If you are able to stick the crosshairs right on
the target from high above go for it, but in most cases a horizontal approach is
the better option.
Repeat this for all three generators then haul tail over to the platforms on the
outskirts. Of the two balloons you only need to destroy one though it will not be a
big hit to your time to eliminate them both. To close out the mission you need to
destroy the five bombers trying to sabotage the platforms. You should have four
homing proton torpedoes ready to go so put them to good use! Make sure you are
locking onto a bomber and not a fighter or interceptor. There will be ample
opportunity to get behind a single bomber and eradicate him with your lasers. Once
the last bomber is grounded the Tibanna gas is yours!
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Keys to Victory
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
*Ignore the cylindrical gas transport in the first section of the mission to keep
your friendlies lost stats low.
*Eliminate all of the balloon gun platforms over the city proper and at least one
of the two on the outskirts.
*Master using your radar instead of your targeting computer to find the generators
below the city.
*Save at least four torpedoes for the bombers at the end of the level.
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Mission Nine
Battle of Endor
Gold Strategy
Craft: X-Wing
Difficulty=A+
Gold Requirements
Time=10:00
Enemies Destroyed=60
Accuracy=31%
Friendlies Lost=6
Lives Lost=1
Targeting Computer Accuracy=80%
My Stats:
Time=8:58
Enemies Destroyed=67
Accuracy=32%
Friendlies Lost=5
Lives Lost=1
Targeting Computer Efficiency=94%
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
As far as I am concerned, this is the hardest gold in the game. The Battle of Endor
is a teeth-gnashing, controller-throwin', Ewok-cursin', lesson in frustration.
Chances are you will finish this mission many times only to discover you have
missed your enemy destroyed or accuracy requirements by a whisker. Getting gold
demands tight playing and a little bit of luck! Luck comes in the form of avoiding
collisions with the most hated of all imperial pilots:
Darth Bob.
The absolutely most infuriating occurrence is the "Darth Bob" phenomenon. I am of
course referring to the TIE craft flown by Imperials with paper "trainee" hats that
crash into you on numerous occasions. While most collisions occur when you are in
the midst of a sharp turn, there are instances when Darth Bobs seemingly aim for
you. Sometimes they fly right into the rebel cruisers. Sometimes they fly into each
other. Again, I suspect they bought their TIE Fighters at Radio Shack. I also
wouldn't be surprised to see Massachusetts license plates on the bumper of their
Imperial craft. Whatever the reason for their horrible driving skills (maybe they
are women? HAHA just a joke ladies!) they are a threat of the most random nature.
Add to this the fact you have to destroy not one but two Star Destroyers and you'll
begin to think that maybe the Empire can just have the stupid Ewoks.
As the level starts you are in formation with Lando and other rebel pilots heading
towards the Death Star II. Ignore his orders and turn around 180 degrees to face
the incoming flux of TIE squadrons. There is some debate as to what to command your
wingmen to do but I suggest telling them to fight the TIEs. Doing so will help
clear the sky of a few more potential crashes and besides there are plenty of
targets for you to get after to boost your kill count. There are three main lanes
the TIEs come in on. Move over to the right-most formations and go for them head
on. Pass through the first wave and try to target one or two of the TIEs in the
middle of the second wave. After the second wave has passed, turn hard to your
right and pursue them. You should have a lot of shots on slower moving TIEs so take
your time and line up some easy kills.
After this initial approach the battle breaks down into a melee. Be very, very,
careful when making sharp turns as the Darth Bobs thrive on ramming into you. Red
dots behind your ship on your radar display will help determine if you can safely
swing around or not. If you see them, try to shake the pursuers before doing an
about-face. Accuracy is also important and while you do not need to be ultra
conservative you must pick your shots carefully. When a TIE is bending out of your
arc of fire don't pin the button down and waste shots. Wait until you can get in a
clear hit. Also note there are a few different types of pilots. The easier kills
will fly straight and not duck and weave much while the advanced pilots are masters
of evasion. Eliminate the weak first if you can, though realistically there is so
much action you are likely to engage any ship that comes in range. If you do die
before clearing out the dog-fighting part of the level you might as well give it up
and try again.
Eventually a squad of TIE bombers will come to attack the medical frigate. As soon
as the report is made over the radio, head for them (use your targeting computer if
you need to.) Make sure you aren't going head on towards them, as they will launch
a salvo of missiles that will waste your X-Wing in a flash. Instead, approach from
a side and sneak behind them when they pass. You will have a good dozen or more
easy targets so knock out as many as you can before they break formation. After
they break, eliminate a majority of the bombers but make sure to keep knocking out
fighters and interceptors. Don't worry about the griping of the annoying frigate
lady; her ship is a lot stronger than she thinks. Ignore her the best you can even
though her piercing whining will make you want to blow up the frigate just to get
her to shut up.
When the majority of enemies have been destroyed, finish off the last few bombers
to get to the cut scene. Again it is acceptable to use your targeting computer if
you need to but keep in mind if you get a rating lower than 80% you'll have blown
your chance at gold. After the cut, which you should skip for time purposes, you
will be heading towards the two destroyers you need to take down to complete the
mission.
Herein lies the critical part of your mission. As you approach the destroyers, aim
for the one on the left first. (NOTE: I like to use the Z-Button and rotate so I
can have a good run on the bottom shield generator thus making in the destroyer on
the right when it is upside down. For clarity purposes though, I will refer to this
Star Destroyer as the "left" one.) Most guides I've read on getting gold leave out
a very important aspect of the mission which occurs right here.
THE INCOMING TIE SQUADRONS ARE VITAL TO YOUR KILL COUNT!!
Fly towards them, knocking out one or two in each of the two waves. On the approach
I like to turn on my homing proton torpedo reticule to line up my shots with my
lasers better. After the second wave has passed, swing around and chase them. For
some reason they tend to slow down for a second giving you a great chance to boost
your kill count. I often scrape against something when I turn but it never seems to
cause much if any damage. Try to get about 6 or 7 with your lasers and use your
homing torps to take out 5 or 6 more. Don't waste too much time here. If you have
missed your enemy killed count in previous tries, try to get as many TIES as you
need now so you won't have to dogfight after you have messed up the two destroyers.
Mix it up for a while then get to the task at hand. Starting with the left
destroyer, swing under the ship and take out the bottom generator first. The
generators are important to your accuracy so if you need to, take a long approach
and come directly up under the ship. When it is blown fly behind the destroyer a
safe distance and make a run on the two golf-ball like generators on the top. Again
make sure you are hitting them with all your shots to boost accuracy. There may be
some interceptors and fighters behind the destroyer but you can ignore them unless
you have a homing torp or two you need to use. Make sure you HAVE you used all 6 of
your torps on enemy ships because you won't use them against the destroyers in your
first life.
After you have blown out all three generators, bypass the destroyer and suicide
your X-Wing into the bridge of the RIGHT star destroyer! That's right, you have one
life to blow so use it plow into the bridge of the right ship. You will NOT need to
eliminate the shield generators to destroy it and in fact you want them still
intact for your next life. It can be tricky getting your ship right into the
bridge, but do not slow down as you cruise over the hull of the aggressive
destroyer. You CAN open up your S-foils if you need to, but don't use the L brake.
When you start again your main task is to take out the bridge on the left
destroyer, whose shields will be completely out. I like to use lasers and one torp
though you can use two torps for a faster kill. Note that your homing torps will
not lock onto the bridge so you need to fast-fire to get in hits. Fly away from the
crippled destroyer and look for targets to lock on your remaining 4 or 5 homing
torps. Guns on the destroyers are good choices and so are any remaining TIEs flying
around. I wouldn't suggest dog fighting at this point as a Darth Bob induced
fatality this late into the mission is utterly heartbreaking.
There will be a little time after you have gotten the second destroyer before the
mission ends. There is one last critical task to complete before the mission ends.
See how the right star destroyer (the one you flew into the bridge) is listing
downward at an angle? This awkward position leaves his "family jewels" quite
vulnerable, metaphorically speaking. By family jewels I mean shield generators! The
big dome generator on the bottom is an easy kill so fly over there and boost your
accuracy by pounding it. If there is not too much return fire you can go for the
golf ball generators too, but be careful not to get blown up in the process. If the
TIEs are bugging you or your shields are low just close up your foils and head for
safety behind Admiral Ackbar's rebel flagship. Hitting these generators on the
wounded ship were VITAL for my accuracy and if you are missing accuracy percentage
by a few points this is a great way to boost it up to the required 31 %.
That's the best I can offer for this level. You have to be a good TIE hunter, lucky
enough not to get Darth Bobbed, and pull off the destruction of the two star
destroyers flawlessly. Remember you only get one death so if you get killed early
on you might as well just try again. Oh, and when you have beaten the level treat
yourself to a pint of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. You deserve it!
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Keys to Victory
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
* Pay attention to your radar so you don't turn and crash into TIEs in the melee
phase of the battle.
* Shoot conservatively and get good lines on your shots especially against the slow
moving bombers.
* After the cut scene, make sure to engage some of the TIE squads that confront you
as you race towards the Star Destroyers.
* Break all the shields on the left star destroyer then crash your X-Wing into the
right destroyer to bring it down without much effort.
* Use your homing torps on random targets in the second phase of the battle such as
TIE fighters and guns on the destroyers.
* After both destroyers are incapacitated, attack the shield generators on the
flailing right destroyer for increased accuracy.
* May the force be with you! :)
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Mission Ten
Strike at the Core
Gold Strategy
Craft: X-Wing
Difficulty=C
Gold Requirements
Time=5:05
Enemies Destroyed=41
Accuracy=32%
Friendlies Lost=0
Lives Lost=1
Targeting Computer Efficiency=95%
My Stats:
Time=4:47
Enemies Destroyed=42
Accuracy=33%
Friendlies Lost=0
Lives Lost=1
Targeting Computer Efficiency=100%
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
I like to say "Strike at the Core" in a loud Scottish accent like Groundskeeper
Willie from the Simpsons. Just thought you might want to use my verbal technique to
make this level even more exciting. "Good God woman, cancha see I'm playin' Strike
At the Co-er?!"
Surprisingly, this is one of the easier golds to get in the game. The tight pipes
have nothing on the epic 15-20 minute run you have to sit through in X-Wing
Alliance so thank your lucky stars this is a rather compact run to the power core.
Add to this a very generous 1 life lost stat and you have a gold you will have to
earn but thankfully not as brutally tough as some others.
SECTION 1: SURFACE COMBAT
Since you already have gotten some medal on this level you know that you have to
keep the Millennium Falcon in your sights or Lando will make a hasty exit from the
world of the living. Stay in your "sweep" position and keep the TIEs off his tail.
Along the way you will want to stay above the surface guns, whose ability to target
to you has improved vastly since the first Death Star Attack. In between the pesky
TIEs that swoop down at the Falcon use your homing proton torpedoes on assorted
surface guns. Make sure to use all 6 before you get to the entrance to the tunnel!
If you need to use one to take on a TIE that is beating up on the Falcon go for it.
Just make sure you take out 4-5 towers in addition to the TIEs to meet your enemy
requirement.
SECTION 2: RACE TO THE CORE
As you enter the tunnel skip the cut and trash the three TIES on Lando's tail. Then
smash your ship into the pipes! That's right! You have one to spare so use it now.
The reasoning behind this is multifaceted. First off, your X-Wing probably got
hammered on the way in so you can't take much in the way of damage so it will reset
your shields (and torpedoes!) Secondly, you will reappear in almost the same spot
and have the chance to take out the same three TIEs. Voila! That should take care
of the enemy destroyed stat! Now onto the work of getting TO the core!
Keep in mind the TIEs aren't aiming for you, they are trying to take out the
Falcon. You are simply in their way. Stay close to the Falcon by closing up your
foils in the straight sections but leave room for the TIEs to pass you. Don't fire
aimlessly either. There is no need to get uptight about the TIEs hitting the
Falcon. Wait until you have a clear shot and take it. The Falcon won't blow up
unless it gets too far away from you or enters the core with a "pantload" of TIEs
on its tail (thanks to someone from Weggy's FAQ for that phrase!) Cruise through
the pipes staying cool, staying close to the Falcon taking out the TIEs with clean
shots.
When you get to the famous cross-shaped portal into the enormous core close up your
foils and head for the power regulator on the north tower (to the right). If there
are still some TIEs dogging the Falcon make sure to get them before going for your
shot. I like to wait until I get where the circular floor smoothes out and launch a
torpedo at the regulator from there. Hit the regulator and get ready to beat feet
out of there. (Where is the odd but familiar sound of glass breaking when Lando hit
the core from Return of the Jedi? It sounds like Luke just hit a baseball through
his Dad's living room window!)
Ahem, yes I know, stay on target. Well all you have to do now is GET OUT!!
SECTION 3: RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!
On the way out, close up those s-foils and pass out Lando. By gently pressing on
the L button you will be able to slow down enough to take those tough turns without
opening your wings. If you need to, jam on the brake to make the turns. Just close
your foils again when you hit a straightaway. For gold's sake you want to stay in
front of Lando, who will have no qualms about pushing you into the metal lattice
work if it means him getting out earlier. After you make a right turn with a blue
pipe on the left-hand side, close up those foils for good! You will have a straight
run with a little bobbing up and down until the exit but it is easy to reach at
full speed. Flee the explosion in the wrong order (everyone knows Wedge is WELL out
of the Death Star when it blows and well in front of Lando) and a winner is you!!
What's that you say? 40 Star Destroyers blocking your escape-ahhh, don't worry
about them :)
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Keys to Victory
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
*Using your homing torps on the surface guns before entering the tunnel.
*Destroying your ship in the beginning of the tunnel section to add to your kills
and reset your shields.
*Getting out FAST of the Death Star before she blows!
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
BONUS MISSION
DEATH STAR ESCAPE
Gold Strategy
Craft: Millennium Falcon
Difficulty=B
Gold Requirements
Time=1:20
Enemies Destroyed=35
Accuracy=16%
Friendlies Lost=0
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=100%
My Stats:
Time=1:05
Enemies Destroyed=35
Accuracy=16%
Friendlies Lost=0
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=100%
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Death Star escape gives you a unique perspective of TIE hunting. This is another
mission that can either be a piece of cake or an exercise in how red your face can
become when flushed with aggravation. With a few runs you should be able to get the
time requirement down, the problem usually lies in the percentage. While you can go
out of your way to memorize the patterns of all the incoming fighters, I think it's
reasonable to say you will get the gist after a few runs. If you really want to get
detailed accounts of the level, check out CyricZ's FAQ for Rogue Leader at
www.gamefaqs.com.
It took me quite a few tries to get the gold, but I was getting better every time
until only my accuracy was a problem. You will get it eventually just practice for
a while!
A few tips:
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Keys to Victory
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
* Even though you can use the yellow C-STICK to gain more maneuverability in the
cockpit, I have gotten gold medal stats multiple times without touching it.
* Don't pin down the fire button; tap it to get off a few limited shots when the
TIEs are in good range.
* The TIEs always come from the same directions and will follow the same fly by
patterns if you miss them so pay attention!
One final note: people have emailed me mentioned the fact that there are times when
they only get 34 kills. I have never had 34 when my time was in the gold medal
requirement. I've only had 35. It would seem a moot point and it is safe to say if
you make the time requirement you will have enough kills.
THIS JUST IN! Jochen Schiffer reports (11/07/02):
"At my game it has happened one time that I made the time requirement and the
accuracy, but somehow I have had only 34 kills! I nearly wanted to throw my joypad
at the wall, but instead I just tried again and after a few tries I finally got
gold in this level...
I just wanted to tell you this fact, so it is possible that you make the
requirements except the 35 kills..."
So there you have it. It is possible to fall short on the kill number, which must
be heartbreaking. As to what fighter does not appear or make a second run at you is
unknown.
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BONUS MISSION
THE ASTEROID FIELD
Gold Strategy
Craft: Millennium Falcon
Difficulty=D
Gold Requirements
Time=4:35
Enemies Destroyed=50
Accuracy=10%
Friendlies Lost=0
Lives Lost=1
Targeting Computer Efficiency=75%
My Stats:
Time=4:04
Enemies Destroyed=61
Accuracy=73%
Friendlies Lost=0
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=100%
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Easy gold baby! I get the sense that the programmers wanted to re-use the Asteroid
Field from Prisons of the Maw. This mission is kind of choppy as the cut scene
occurs sort of out of the blue and there really isn't much to do. The only key
point is to pull back your enemy camera (make sure you have it on in options) using
the C-Stick and pop the TIEs whenever they get right behind you.
Basically, you fly straight for a while as you clock the TIEs with the auto-aiming
cannon on the back of the falcon. It IS possible to get disoriented so just keep
going on as straight a line as you can towards the horizon. After a while, the
scene will cut to the big worm/ cave. When you cut back you do the same exact thing
just in the other direction, i.e. fly straight!! There is a pretty dense group of
TIEs on your tail after the cut but keep firing and the cannon will aim for them
with no effort (makes you wonder why they don't put auto aiming cannons on the
FRONT of the ships!).
The only tricky part is finding the star destroyer to land on. As the asteroid
field thins out the destroyer tends to be right in front of you or often slightly
above and to the left. Use your objective cone to line it up. When you find it,
speed to the back of the golf-ball shield generators and into the blue rebel icon.
Too easy!
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Keys to Victory
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
* Make sure you don't get distracted talking on the phone or yelling at your cat
for puking hairballs on the carpet. Seriously, this is a really easy level. Have
the enemy camera pulled back all the way and fly straight using your objective cone
to guide you.
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BONUS MISSION
TRIUMPH OF THE EMPIRE
Gold Strategy
Craft: TIE Advanced
Difficulty=B
Gold Requirements
Time=4:00
Enemies Destroyed=32
Accuracy=35%
Friendlies Lost=3
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Accuracy=100%
My Stats:
Time=2:36
Enemies Destroyed=32
Accuracy=36%
Friendlies Lost=3
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=100%
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Triumph of the Empire is the harder of the two golds in missions where you play as
Darth Vadar in an alternate reality. You have no prayer at this gold unless you
have advanced homing cluster missiles. If you got gold at Ison Corridor then my
guess is you are already equipped.
The hardest stat in this mission is the enemy killed total. Otherwise, this is an
average difficulty gold.
Flying over the death star, the first section of the battle entails the destruction
of rebel airships trying to penetrate the giant battle station's defenses. As a
rule of thumb, don't fire a single laser here. Let your homing clusters do all the
work. Make sure that you have clear shots at the speedy rebels, especially the X-
Wings. The faster you dispose of them the less the chance of them leading you into
the "out of bounds" area, a time wasting distraction from the main battle.
Commanding your wingmen to attack will help soften up the rebels so you can take
them out with a single salvo of cluster missiles. Retaining 10-12 homing clusters
when you head into the next section is of vital importance.
When Vadar announces that several fighters have broken off from the main group, you
will cut to the trench area. To get an idea of where you are, note that you begin
180 degrees in front of the beginning of the trench. Pursue the trio of Y-Wings and
knock them out with your homing missiles. Y-wings are too flat to try and hit with
lasers so rely on your "homers" to take them out. Two salvos will do the job. At
this point you should have at least 8 missiles left. A second group of fighters,
this time X-Wings, will enter the trench. Pursue them through the trench and knock
them out with lasers. Be wary of the obstacles in the trench. If you need to pull
out to get a better line, do so.
When you have knocked out the second group, get ready for some surface combat. The
rebels tend to be right on your tail so turn very carefully as not to collide with
them. Your goal is to take out 5-7 ships with 5-6 of your homing clusters. Rebel
ships are a bit shifty, but stay on them and fire only when you have two or more
targets for your missiles to hit. Meanwhile, the third and final squad of rebel X-
Wings will begin their trench run. After you have beaten at least 5 of the surface
rebels, swoop down into the trench and use your remaining two homing missile
clusters to annihilate Luke and company.
Congratulations! You've put down the insignificant rebellion!
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Keys to Victory
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
* Save at least 10 homing clusters for the trench area of the fight.
* Only use your lasers on the second group of rebels in the trench. Eliminate at
least 5 (more if you have extra missiles) of the rebels patrolling over the trench.
Use homers for the first and third group of rebels.
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
BONUS MISSION
REVENGE AT YAVIN
Gold Strategy
Craft: TIE Advanced
Difficulty=C
Gold Requirements
Time=4:33
Enemies Destroyed=36
Accuracy=65%
Friendlies Lost=15
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=100%
My Stats:
Time=3:41
Enemies Destroyed=43
Accuracy=75%
Friendlies Lost=12
Lives Lost=0
Targeting Computer Efficiency=100%
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Woo-hoo and yee-haw! Yavin is a fun mission and a relatively easy gold. You play as
Vadar putting a huge whoopin' on the remaining rebel forces on Yavin. There are no
real trouble stats though you should be careful not to take too much damage while
you are entertaining yourself crushing pathetic rebels.
As the mission starts, command your wingmen to attack and line yourself up with the
rebel transport on the left. You may have to gain a little altitude to get a good
line but once you do jam the break and unleash a laser barrage on the hapless
vessel. Blow it up and curve out a little to get a good line on the transport to
the right. Make sure you can get both in one pass. Facing the second transport so
you are facing it head on works to line up your run to the next group of
transports.
Along the way there are two clearings with rebel ships preparing for take off. Use
your homing clusters to smash all the X and Y wings before they have a chance to
get off the ground. If you are being hounded by X-Wings, turn around and blast them
with a few homers. Continue forward to the four transports and take them out in any
order you wish. Lasers will do the job just fine.
You will probably pursue the last couple of transports in the air. The advantage of
this is that when they are gone a slight 90-degree turn to your right will line you
up with the last three vessels you need to demolish. There is one more small
clearing on the way so use your homers to bash the grounded fighters. The three
remaining transports will try and flee but you should have more than enough time
and laser power to get all of them before they get very far.
Defeat the last transport and the scene will cut. Upon returning you will be facing
the great temple A desperation squad of X-Wings will fly out of the pyramid. Take
at least three of them out with homers so they don't harass you. It takes a few
seconds, but the "garage door" of the temple will open and you will have free
passage inside to wreck the remaining transports. Make sure you have the brakes on
as you fire lasers and any remaining clusters at the crowded vessels. Make a run
then turn to the left and go as deep into the temple as you can to set up a
crossing run. Take your time and blast the transports to dust!
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Keys to Victory
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
* Keep an eye on your damage. Beating the level with one ship is the hardest
challenge of this stage.
* Get a good line on the rebel outposts to efficiently beat the grounded fighters
and the fleeing transports.
* Once inside the pyramid, stay calm and keep your brakes on to get in as many
shots as you can on the transports.
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
^~^~^~^~^~^~^
FINAL THOUGHTS
Great game! If you want to get in touch with me for additional help, comments,
suggestions, corrections, or to add content to the FAQ just email me (James) at:
bruplex@aol.com. I'd be glad to post any useful info and give full credit to the
contributor.
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
^~^~^~^~^~^~^
CREDITS
Author: James Dziezynski
First Draft Completed: Sept 21, 2002
Thanks to:
Jeff "CJAYC" Veasy for hosting this guide at his fantastic site www.gamefaqs.com.
Scotty "CyricZ" Z(I can't spell your last name!) for writing a great walkthrough.
Jody Pratt for her continued support.
Rush for coming out with another great album, Vapor Trails!
Copyright 2002 James Dziezynski.
