Sudden Strike

Sudden Strike is the second mission of the first mission pack of the Nova Covert Ops campaign.

History[]

Loyalty and Service[]

After escaping Sharpsburg, Nova Terra hailed for Terran Dominion support from her ship. A battlecruiser appeared, and escorted her to Borea, where Admiral Matt Horner and his forces had established a base. He informed her that she had been missing for months, and that she had been reported as working with the Defenders of Man. However, the zerg attacked the base as they discussed this, and Horner said he believed she was innocent, and asked for her help in defeating the zerg.^[1]

Mission[]

The zerg began assaulting Horner's base, but to do so had to cross through narrow passages. Nova was given a special operations team, which held a base between these passages, which included reapers wielding spider mines. Nova was given a jump jet to aid her in traversing the cliffs. Nova and her crew weakened the zerg as they moved through the passages in increased number. During the battle, Chief Engineer Rory Swann's Military Research Center and Experimental Weapons Lab came under attack by the swarm, and Swann requested aid from Nova's forces. As time went on, the zerg attacks became more intense, eventually even sending ultralisks and a brutalisk against the Dominion position.

The zerg were repelled for a time, and battlecruisers arrived and engaged the zerg. However, they were not Dominion, but rather Defenders of Man ships. They demanded the surrender of Nova and the evacuation of all Dominion forces. Horner's forces slipped out in the chaos, while the Defenders of Man engaged the zerg.^[2]

Walkthrough[]

This mission involves four lanes that zerg will come from. The objective is to soften the zerg up enough to where they will not be a threat to the Dominion base at the end of the canyon. Reapers with spider mines are a useful defense, but take care not to overdo them, as they are fragile and will quickly be taken out by ravagers. Early saturation is necessary, as the starting mineral patches are low. Use Nova to clear the first two waves while the majority of the resources are spent building up an economy and initial defenses. Due to the limited resources on the map, building a command center next to Horner's command center and mining from his mineral patches will greatly boost the player's economy in the late game, especially if aiming for the "no buildings lost" achievement.

In regards Nova's loadout, the hellfire shotgun is useful for taking out large numbers of units, but has a slow rate of fire and is not very effective against the larger armored units that come later in the mission. Nova's sniper rifle on the other hand allows for a large amount of damage against some of the priority targets such as the defilers and ultralisks, but leaves a potential weakness to banelings. Both options are viable. Flash grenades can be helpful if timed correctly, as they will stun units in range of bunkers, but pulse grenades can serve as a powerful wave clear, especially if the sniper rifle is being used.

On the map are metal plates, that signify optimal places to build bunkers. Some of these are on harder to spot cliffs, so be sure to scout the entire perimeter for these plates, as all should have a fully manned bunker on them. All bunkers should have at least one marauder, as their concussive shells have an area-of-effect slow. More marauders should be added to bunkers closer toward the base, as the units that will survive spider mines and the initial bunker waves should be the heavier, armored units. Place reapers on the cliffs, but be aware that ravagers will kill them in two corrosive bile shots.

Defilers are a priority target, as dark swarm will prevent your units from being able to hit any zerg under them. Grenade or snipe them before they hit the bulk of the terran forces. Nova should alternate to where she is most needed, as she alone can almost take on entire waves if used correctly.

Halfway through the mission, bonus objectives to defend research facilities will appear on the map. Only reapers can reach them, but only a few should be needed. Next to the nydus worms are easy-to-miss cliffs that put reapers above the nydus worms, allowing them to attack free of retaliation. On higher difficulties, the second facility will be destroyed quickly, so a fast response is needed to secure it.

The last wave will be a heavy one, but the mission will end shortly after. Even if this wave breaks through all defenses, do not quit until the mission has fully failed, as often on this wave the mission will be successful even if the majority of his base has fallen.

For Curiosity Killed the Zergling achievement, it is advisable that player play this mission on Hard or higher difficulties for more zergs to kill. Refineries at Horner's base can be destroyed and taken to significantly increase reaper's production rate (beware that Horner's AI may try to rebuild them). The lower ground's defenses should be abandoned so all attack waves converge at the two ramps leading up. Nova and her forces in general should not actively fighting here except when taking bonus objectives. Last attack waves are endless and kill count only stop when the mission is finished, so player should keep placing mine until the final cutscene start to play.

Achievements[]

Sudden Strike
Points	10
Criteria	Complete the “Sudden Strike” mission in Nova: Covert Ops.
Edit

Arachnophile
Points	10
Criteria	Destroy 30 enemy forces with Spider Mines in the “Sudden Strike” mission.
Edit

Built to Last
Points	10
Criteria	Prevent Admiral Horner’s base from losing more than 5 structures in the “Sudden Strike” mission on Normal difficulty or higher.
Edit

Indestructureable
Points	10
Criteria	Prevent Admiral Horner’s base from losing any structures in the “Sudden Strike” mission on Hard difficulty or higher.
Edit

Curiosity Killed the Zergling
Points	10
Criteria	Destroy 200 enemy forces with Spider Mines in the "Sudden Strike" mission on Normal difficulty.
Edit

Trivia[]

If the player scans the top-right corner of the map, they will find a hidden Defender of Man ghost and psi-emitter, foreshadowing a similar instance in the next mission.

References[]