Missions

Missions are the bread and butter of the game, wherein the player commands a force of Marines (and other motley recruits as the game progresses) against pirates, alien fauna, other Factions, and eventually the MENACE itself on a tactical grid. A series of 3 to 5 tactical battles comprises an Operation. Failing any one of these missions results in the entire operation failing! Mission progression is as follows:

Mission Selection

The player is treated to a view of the planet the operation as a whole takes place on, and is given a branching selection of missions which have different objectives, but also provide different rewards for completion. These missions are also labeled with different numbers of skulls representing difficulty, with 1 being the easiest and 3 being the hardest.

Briefing and Preparation

After selecting a mission, the player is provided a map displaying the tactical objectives of the mission as well as the disposition of enemy forces. The amount of intelligence received is based on OCIs and other factors, so the player can go in knowing exactly where every enemy unit is located or can enter battle completely blind. Then the player chooses which Squad Leaders and/or Pilots to bring to the mission and what their equipment loadouts will be. Weapons, armor, vehicles, and accessories all cost supply points which are taken from the mission's total limit. The more squaddies attached to a squad, the more expensive it is to deploy as well.

Success in Battle

Once you have chose your troops and their loadouts, the TCRN Impetus will deploy a dropshop and send them to battle. It is very important to remember that victory alone is not enough, you must win decisively to gain long-term advantage. On every mission you have a chance to earn a maximum of 5 stars, and you need at least a 4 star rating to gain benefits to the ship's Discipline. This is very important in keeping your Morale high in tactical battles and reducing the number of negative Events in the strategic layer. Not only that, but the higher your rating, the more promotion points are gained at the end of a mission to improve your Squad Leaders, promote them to higher ranks, and gain new Skills. The mission rating is calculated as follows:

Logistics: You earn more stars for staying under the supply limit, and receive a penalty to your rank for going over it.

Casualties: The damage your forces sustained on the mission. The less, the better.

Effectiveness: The number of objectives the player successfully completed, to be described in the next section, and which also include bonus ones like minimizing civilian causalities. Also, many missions rank performance based on turns taken; there is a rank bonus if you completely the mission under a certain number of turns but a penalty for being too slow. You earn 5 stars if you complete all these objectives, but failing a main objective means failing a mission entirely!

Difficulty Multiplier: Missions with at least a 3 skull difficulty rating provide a 20% bonus to your rating.

Mission Types and Objectives

Secure Perimeter

VICTORY CONDITION: Sweep the battle map and eliminate at least 60% of all enemy units.

DEFEAT CONDITION: All friendly units are eliminated.

Stop Extortion

VICTORY CONDITION: Eliminate at least 80% of attacking enemies while saving as many civilians as possible.

DEFEAT CONDITION: All player-controlled units are eliminated.

Rescue Authorities

VICTORY CONDITION: Contact friendly VIPs and escort them to an extraction point.

DEFEAT CONDITION: All player-controlled units eliminated and/or friendly VIPs are eliminated.

Take Out Bombmaker

VICTORY CONDITION: An assassination mission: Eliminate marked enemy VIPs and get all friendly units to a marked extraction point on the map.

DEFEAT CONDITION: All friendly units eliminated.

Clear IEDs

VICTORY CONDITION: Destroy targeted numbers of IEDs, which are units on the battle map.

DEFEAT CONDITION: All friendly units eliminated.

Search Weapon Caches

VICTORY CONDITION: Destroy targeted numbers of weapon caches, which are units on the battle map, AND bring all friendly units to an extraction point.

DEFEAT CONDITION: All friendly units eliminated.

Establish Combat Outpost

VICTORY CONDITION: Secure targeted zone on the battle map, by moving as many units as you can into it and keeping them there for a certain amount of time; the more units you can place, the better. For instance, if one friendly unit is in the zone, you have to wait 12 turns to capture it, but if 6 are inside, only two turns will earn you victory.

DEFEAT CONDITION: All friendly units eliminated and/or target zone is left in control of, or regained by, enemy forces.

Lion's Den

VICTORY CONDITION: Eliminate majority of (that is to say, all) enemy units. Note that unlike Secure Perimeter missions, the enemy forces will be clustered in a highly defensible position at the center of the map, and will also have at least two powerful heavy weapons as turrets.

DEFEAT CONDITION: All friendly units are eliminated.

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Repel Counterattack

VICTORY CONDITION: No enemy units are permitted within the target zone for a certain number of rounds.

DEFEAT CONDITION: All friendly forces are eliminated and/or enemy units occupy the target zone for a certain number of rounds. The enemy will attempt to move as many units as possible into the zone and keep them there for a certain amount of time; the more units infiltrate, the closer you are to defeat. For instance, if one enemy unit is in the zone, you have 12 turns to dislodge it, but if 6 are inside, you will lose the mission in only 2 turns.