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[leiavoia]

I made it into Command on a recent run, but only after getting shot to bits running up the stairway. I tried a half dozen times to win by any means but could not make it work.

On this run, the only goody i had was heavy regenerative armor. I was on treads with additional armor and basic weapons picked up off the ground.

Generally speaking, is there any way to make it out alive if i don't arrive in decent condition?

I feel like having some launchers would have made a difference, but i had none and could find none.

Thanks for the tips!

[Joshua]

First, Command is optional. You don't need to enter it to win; there is another exit. That said you do generally want to be prepared when entering Command, especially if you want to do more than reach the exit. (If only trying to reach the exit, there are a number of helpful items: hacking, Terrain Scanning, high-powered cannons to dig, Stasis Cancelling, prop slots to fill with tread armor.)

Goodies from R branches do help considerably in Command, as do alliances you can make earlier in caves branches. I'd suggest exploring those parts of the game some more if you haven't yet.

[leiavoia]

On previous runs i was able to trigger the alliance "win". Of course being prepared is the way to go. I'm just wondering if its doable when you already ran screaming for an exit, any exit, from -1 and arrive panting and shot to bits ;-)

[Kyzrati]

I've made an emergency detour into Command and won that way before, but it's definitely not easy and would require some luck, and also having some kind of tool(s) to help you make a back door for your escape

The easiest way would be to have a powerful digging solution, find the heavily guarded main door and create an... alternative path through the back. Good melee, a good cannon, or a number of different artifacts could do it. You're almost certainly not fighting your way out, though!

On my win I left with a mere few turns left before I was going to die...

[GJ]

In terms of what is merely possible rather than likely, you can do a whole lot more than just survive to the Surface if you reach Command naked, with no inventory, excellent core integrity, low alert and get a bit lucky with initial patrols and floor items. If there's a 2-slot tread and weapons on the floor you can use those to fight Exterminations, get more powerful fighting a couple Exterms/Patrols, take on the exit guards and get even stronger with their items, and this is roughly the point where you'll start getting assaults if you entered at low alert.  You'll have lost around 400 core integrity fighting these enemies with a suboptimal build, but in theory you can proceed to do Ascended++ from this point.

This is something I've experimented with long ago and on the seed I was playing, getting Ascended+ with those conditions ended up being relatively easy. If you're immediately ambushed by Hunters/Swarmers and there aren't any good items around you'll have a rough time, though.

[leiavoia]

I recently won a come-from-behind Command run. I will leave the tale here for posterity. Consider all of this to be spoilery.

This was a pretty standard FarCom run with no branching between -6/Factory and -1/Access. So no goodies from Research or caves.

I entered Access with high alert but well equipped on treads and 6 weapon slots. I brazenly went down the wide corridors hoping to find the main exit ASAP. I blew away all of the patrols and programmers that tried to interfere. Eventually i was starting to get bogged down by alert spiral ARCs and reinforcements when i stumbled on what i recognized to be the back entrance to Command; the side with the barrier and the two Behemoths. Not what i wanted, but i couldnt keep going much longer. Fortunately i brought my field lobotomy kit all the way from Exiles! But i only had one shot left :-(
   
Behemoth #1 becomes my best friend and i hide behind his hulking frame. He obliterates the incoming reinforcements and takes a beating from Behemoth #2 until finally he explodes. Then i whip out my hellfire launcher and send salvo after salvo after salvo after salvo after ... yawn ... probably 12 rounds and the big beast was only lightly yellow. I was out of matter and losing parts. Hellfire missiles won't open the blast barrier but they did take a chink out of the corner of the wall. So i said goodbye to Behemoth #2 and proceeded towards the stairs. Then i committed the worst of all cogmind mistakes: I double-confirmed a "moving very slow" warning, not realizing my propulsion had all been blown off. I was moving at like 1600 speed. This mistake has ended many games. I waited forever while the behemoth wailed on me. I lost all propulsion, weapons, and half of my utilities. But i still wasn't dead. I bolted on some damaged treads and limped up the stairs to Command.

I entered Command in terrible condition: no weapons except for a Lance; some Large Treads; some spare engines; zero matter. I could not even equip my spares! And wouldn't you know it: the first thing that happens is a Programmer patrol comes to get me. I did the only thing i could and lured them through a doorway. Batter up! My one-bar-left lance eventually cut one down. I grabbed the matter and Gamma Rifles and took out the other two. Then i was immediately spotted by Terminators. Ugh... Fortunately they seem to be weak to EM stuff and i eventually put them down too, except alert is spiking again, i'm getting corrupted, and i can't get a break. Now i at least have guns.

I travel North and spot the main exit corridor doorway. I am not at all ready to handle whats in there. I decide to look around to see if i can find a launcher to at least clear the traps out before i attempt a suicide run.

Then something game-endingly terrible happens: a watcher spots me and pings an alert. This alert picks up two hunters (annoying but i can handle them) and an Alpha-7 (uh oh) from inside the Exit Corridor. I did not know this could happen. The A7 and the hunters chase me back to a nook where i funnel them through a hallway and shoot frantically while getting shot to bits. But i manage to get through all of them including the scary A7. Then i start picking up the droppings: 2 shiny new Helical Railguns and other Alpha swag!

It dawned on me that i just lured a corridor guard out of the corridor by itself. Hmmm... i wondered if i could maybe lure the others out one by one? Heh heh heh...

I went back to the Exit Corridor door and stuck my tongue out at the other guards and got three of them and a behemoth to pursue. More than i bargained for. I rounded the corner which got them to line up single file. Then, railgun time! Combined with my other KE Pens and railguns, i splattered all three of the little guys in just 3 or 4 gunslinging, penetrating volleys. I scored two more helical railguns! Mr Behemoth was now blasting at me and chasing around the corner, so it was time to run. I already learned my behemoth lesson today, i thought.

Then i ran directly into another behemoth. I had to choose between getting chased into a corner and pummeled to death by both of them, or having a stand-off fight with just one - probably the end of the game either way. I sighted the chasing behemoth down a long narrow hallway and let him have it. Surprisingly, he had a hard time hitting me at range and i put him down in about 6-7 volleys of precision rail hail.

One more to go!

The room i backed into just happened to have the one thing you really want for behemoths: armor analyzer! I equipped this and whatever armor i could scavenge from the many ARCs i had also put down while all this was happening. I also picked up a Multirail from the behemoth corpse. You behemoth dudes have been holding out on me! I am now armed with a railgun, 4x helical railguns, and a multirail, armor analyzer, targeting stuff, centrium armor, heavy treads, and a force field :-) and 200 core :-( Time for the final showdown.

With alert skyrocketing and more reinforcements coming, i waltzed into the Exit Corridor, now emptied of all guards except for the last behemoth. I hop-scotched around the traps, walked up to Mr B and sprayed him with 4 volleys of high precision railgun revenge. Thats all it took before he bit the dust. Normally, if i can eek out a win, it usually ends with me running naked through a hail of bullets. This time, I took the stairs to a confident, well earned victory.

Lessons learned:

You CAN win in Command from a bad starting position. You need to be a little lucky to find the exit sooner rather than later.

You don't need to fight the entire mass of exit guards all at once. You can lure them out to their doom individually!

Treads + 6x Railguns = Splatterfest. I love this combo. You can put down almost anything at range, through walls, in groups, and very fast. The downside is you need to be good about getting matter. Its even better when you add visual processing unit, targeting, armor piecing, and core analyzer. You can snipe many enemies before they even know you are there.

Launchers + Behemoths = No Go.

Railguns + Behemoths = Go very fast!