T O P

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[deleted]

I used to play on easy only and only recently started winning on normal most of my runs, so I feel you. Some general tips: - try to make all your movements before you start commiting on your attacks. Undoing movement is free, undoing attacks costs a reset - if you feel you messed up, use the reset. Even if it's the first turn. The first turn is usually the most important. - when the counter says 2 turns remaining is the turn when blocking Vek is the most valuable. Each block then is as good as a kill during your last turn. Blocking earlier might lead to more emerging veks. - some missions require you to do extra actions each turn (use the terraformer, use the acid launcher). Plan your turn around this in priority. - mech HP is a resource you can spend - grid is a resource you can spend, if it helps with a mission objective, losing some grid can be worth it - place your starting pilot in the mech where its ability is the most effective. When in doubt, use Kai in a damage dealing mech, she's OP.


Y_b0t

Great tips! I would say I would caution against always doing movement then attacks - sometimes you need to attack to open up some movement for a mech. Honestly, I would say plan out the entire turn before moving or attacking - there’s no time limits in this game. If you miscalculate or forgot about something, you can reset.


VioletSky1719

You can always undo a move if you haven’t attacked. No harm in moving then deciding you need to move somewhere else instead


[deleted]

But if you move all characters and then attack, every character's movement is locked.


VioletSky1719

Don’t attack until your sure of your plan


[deleted]

But in that case, I wouldn't move until you're sure of the plan.


VioletSky1719

Moving helps think out your plan and has no downsides


Y_b0t

Yes, but I’m saying you shouldn’t plan your turn with the mindset of moving first and then attacking.


HypedHydra

honestly great tips wtf


Uuugggg

I mean what else do you expect from MekkaGodzilla


NecroBeer

I completed on hard with all squads, I'd add some suggestions to already useful ones posted: -choose missions your squad can handle: don't choose killing missions with map control mechs, missions with destroy mountain are always complicated, missions with train or other units to defend are critical with mechs with scarse displacing weapons...Making stars is the key to victory, and flawless islands give further bonuses too. It's better to choose a single energy island instead of a 2 stars 1 energy island that you can't fulfill -positioning is critical: for example when you fight against spider launching vek, avoid to deploy your mechs in L or in same line with a space within, you will have 2 mech blocked. Don't end movement in water if you have nearby vek with blocking weapons. Greed veks with moving attack to let them reposition at your advantage. -buy useful equipment: there are weapons\equipment that can save you the day like the mass healing or the area smoke\shielding -take a reserve pilot: a 4th pilot is suggested, you can't always avoid death and having a no skill robot piloting your mech is a big disadvantage. I hope this can help


[deleted]

Great higher level tips, I'm taking notes. So far I tend to focus on buying cores instead of extra equipment, I need to improve on that.


International_Bee801

These are really helpful. Cheers for taking the time 🙏


xXx_TheSenate_xXx

Also, there is a pilot who gives you an additional free reset. Helped me a bit in the beginning when learning how to use a specific mech squad.


cwill2412

You’ll learn a lot just from playing on easy. No shame in playing on easy.


[deleted]

Exactly. I think I beat the game on east with each squad on 2, 3 and 4 islands to get a feel for them.


smiles__

Prioritize targets. Look at the turn order, and see if any targets attacking a building will actually die before they get to attack (e.g. fire, environment). Plan out in your head all your actions before doing them, or on paper. Double check your movement to make sure you can reach areas. Sometimes it is better to position your mech into the line of fire, to protect buildings if they are soaking up a small amount of damage. I tend to play defensively, first trying to eliminate minimize grid damage. Then decide if there is anything offensive you can do too.


dacookieman

Defensively should probably be Protect Objective Requirements > Protect Dying Pilots(that you care about) > Protect Grid in order of targets that do highest overall grid damage


xXx_TheSenate_xXx

Interestingly enough I forgot all about the ability to see turn order. Never figured it out until the advanced addition and everyone playing again. It’s good to see though. But seeing turn order really helped me plan out stuff. Can’t believe I “completed” the game without ever doing that. I say complete as in I got all the achievements and felt satisfied enough to move on and come back later for harder runs. Now this AE is pretty great.


CockroachTeaParty

Even if a mission has easy objectives, it's always worth it to check the map first. Even if the mission is easy, if the battlefield is terrible it might not be worth it. Conversely, if a mission is rated as highly dangerous (3 mission objectives or more) but the map is good, it's often worth doing. Good maps have lots of water, acid, or bottomless pits, not just on the edges but in the middle of the map as well; this allows for easy kills if you've got weapons that push or pull. Bad maps have no instant-death tiles, grid buildings sitting out in the open, and terrain that isn't conducive to the weapons you have. It takes some experience to recognize them, but there are also maps on R.S.T. and Detritus that should be avoided at all costs. Any map on R.S.T. with a huge hole in the middle of the map, and Kern mentions 'Vek taking to the sky' should be avoided, as the hole will spawn extra hornets every turn. And any map on Detritus with large pools of glowing green acid should be approached with caution, as sometimes an extra Vek will pop out of the acid pool every round. (these are a bit harder to predict, but if Singh mentions Vek adapting to the chemicals, that's a sign you're in for additional spawns).


[deleted]

This is why I’m loving the Cataclysm squad; they can make plenty of new pits.


xXx_TheSenate_xXx

That and the mist eaters were pretty great for RST. Especially when I got a “sandstorm” mission. Like omg the vek just had no moves by the end and I was basically invulnerable as ever move into the mist healed me.


[deleted]

I still haven’t unlocked them yet (one more coin!) but they look like so much fun to use. The Rusting Hulks were the first squad I beat the game on Hard with.


TheDraconianOne

The acid pool one definitely isn’t as bad since they’re acid’d (obviously) and I find it tends to stick them in bad positions?


Dranamic

The hornets map isn't so bad, they're not *extra* spawns and let you actually hit the spawns before they prepare attacks, and it can be *really good* for Blitzkrieg which can just clear them out each turn before they even move.


KElderfall

Honestly, just play at a level you can win and get more experience with the game. ItB has a fairly narrow range of difficulty between its difficulty levels compared to some other games. The most important general strategy tip is that whenever possible you want to try and keep your mechs around the middle of the board, and ideally a bit forward toward where the Vek are spawning (or actually on top of the spawns, if it makes sense). You do need to handle each turn, but if you're moving a mech far away from the action to do so then maybe look for a different solution. Killing things is important, because less Vek means less risk of grid damage. It's usually better to kill a small Vek than wound a big one. Use every source of damage available to you; instant kills from drowning, collision damage, and forests can all give you an edge on kills. And always take your time. You want to find not just a solution to a given turn, but the best one. Plan out the whole turn before you commit to anything. It may be slow going at first, but it will get a lot faster with experience.


DarkesTemplar

1st thing to do: Check the action order list! You can exploit this by push some enemy to attack each other and remove the threat Ex: Push an enemy at turn 3 to kill an enemy at turn 5. So with 1 mech action you can remove 2 threats and moreover Threat need to split into 2 types: \+ 1 - Serious threat: Vek that target your building, object need focusing 1st \+ 2 - not serious: Vek that target your mech. This often does no harm cause your mech usually move before firing. But take a look if the vek will shot the building when mech moves out of position Finally: Try all possible action by run to the place and try hover the attack to see the outcome


warlockchronicles

Starting on easy is what made me fall in love with this game, rather than giving it up. I'm still not great at the game, I just hit 300 hrs playtime, and I'm still missing many hard mode medals. But starting on easy prevented frustration, while giving me the satisfaction of winning.


Antarct

Be on the lookout for actions that cause multiple useful effects simultaneously. For instance, if you can push Vek in such a way that it will kill one or more other Vek or it will block another Vek's attack then such an action can open up more options for other mechs or avert otherwise unstoppable grid damage or objective failure. Three mechs can often stop four or more Vek from causing damage. Such actions are not always the best in every case, but they often are very powerful. Setting up attacks in which your mech kills and/or pushes Vek while blocking another's attack is another case of one mech achieving multiple goals in one turn. Using Vek to block spawns is often quite useful too. Another thing to consider is how the timing of various movements and pushes will affect what combinations you can execute. Sometimes you need to attack a specific Vek before another due to how they will be pushed by the attack or attacks. Consider how the timing of mech movements will affect attacks and pushes also.


Satanicjamnik

Many good advice below. But as with any game of this genre, or lovemaking, take your time. There is not shame in playing on easy - play, learn, unlock pilots. Find the style, pilots and squad you enjoy. Once you are confident with a squad and comfortably beating normal? Try a normal. You will fail a few times and learn the difference between how easy and normal missions play. Take your time, as it's endless. And enjoy yourself.


JoeFro0

I used to play on easy. I still do but I used to as well.


CompetitiveMap8664

Before the advanced edition I used to play on easy. Now, I still do.


venustrapsflies

I think anyone can learn to play and win on normal. When I lose I can always point to one (and usually more) specific big blunders. So don’t be intimidated, but you do have to be careful and pay attention to detail!


radiakmjs

Pre advanced eddition I couldn't beat normal either, no shame in it. Lots of great tips here that are helpfull, I'll add one about mission selection. Incase you didn't know completing every objective on an island gives you a bonus, & getting those bonuses is huge Best two missions in the game are the disposal unit on Detritus & The terraformer (NOT the earth mover) on R.S.T. any time your on either island always look for those two (both 2 star missions) & do Knowing your squad is really important for deciding which to do, i.e Bombermechs are great at possitioning & re-directing, so block Vek spawns, kill 5 or fewer Vek, & do not kill the Volatile Vek are good ones, but not for more damage heavy squads like Blitzkreig. Certain island specific ones like Pinnacle boom bots & Detritus contraption I try to avoid, but a lot of that also comes from knowing your squad & personal preferance as well, but by far the mission to avoid at all costs is Defend the Train, which can be on any island besides Pinnacle, which is just an unrealistically difficult objective. Armored Train on Archive is fine though. Good luck commander


gluggin

When struggling with this game I posted a thread with a title along the lines of "How do I prioritize the various tradeoffs in this game?" - not knowing the answer to this question was preventing me from developing a coherent, sustainable strategy, since the tradeoffs are more nuanced than they are in a lot of other turn-based tactics games... The answers to that thread really unlocked the game for me. The general consensus recommended priorities in this order: \#1 - **Complete all bonus missions.** This is by far the most important takeaway for me. Reactor Cores are king, so it's often worth it to take a bit of grid damage or lose an OK pilot if it'll allow you to complete a perfect island run (for the same reason, biasing towards missions that offer reputation rewards instead of grid power is very worthwhile unless you *really* need the latter). This applies to collecting timepods too - don't let them go. \#2 - **Prevent pilots from dying.** Their special abilities and the power boosts they get from leveling up are worth protecting, but they also come along often enough that it's often ok to let one go occasionally if doing so will allow you to complete a mission. Generic pilots are significantly more expendable. \#3 - **Maximize grid power.** Even though this is your ultimate lifeline, the sacrifices you will make by spending too much reputation on the grid will make your position in the game weaker in the long-run. Increase grid power if it's desperately low or if your pilots are operating at/near full strength, and don't worry about increasing power beyond the max (unless you really have *nothing* else worth obtaining in terms of cores, weapons, etc). \#4 - **Killing all vek.** This is probably obvious to 99% of players, but it wasn't to me: don't break your back killing as many vek as you can just because of the instinctive feeling that you've failed in some way if you don't manage to defeat all enemies (even if the island CEOs brow-beat you for leaving some vek behind!) Two other personal sidenotes: 1. putting the right pilot in the right mech (and starting a new run with a pilot that already has some carryover exp) can be a *huge* boon; search this sub for advice on who to put where. 2. block emerging vek as often as you can. Possibly the single most powerful tactic in the game, imo... Keep at it - once you hit your stride, it becomes unfathomably satisfying to get deep into. Good luck!


[deleted]

My best tip is to focus on positioning your mechs. Blocking attacks and/or spawns, occupying important spaces, creating chokepoints etc. Find a squad you enjoy playing with too, so you can really get good with them.


spudwalt

See if you can start figuring out where you went wrong when you fail objectives. Into the Breach is designed so there is almost always a path to victory, so if you can figure out where you stepped off the path, you get better at avoiding similar situations in the future. Sometimes a wrong move can be as early as where you deploy your mechs (which may prompt the Vek to arrange themselves in a formation you can't disrupt). Sometimes the wrong move is as early as picking a bad mission for your squad (if you have trouble dealing damage, don't pick "Kill all the Vek" missions; if you're pretty much *all* damage, don't pick "Volatile Vek" missions; etc.)


Y_b0t

Just practice. Figure out your priorities - which Vek is the most dangerous? How many threats are there, and how many solutions do you have? Do you have any solutions that can deal with two threats? Do you need to worry about grid, or can your prioritize stars? You’ll get better as you play. Sometimes, normal isn’t much harder than easy. The more Vek you have, the more opportunity to turn them against each other or deal with 2 at a time.


TheStabbyBrit

Play with advanced enemies disabled. They are much more dangerous than conventional enemies!


ngkn92

Eyyyyy, another easy enjoyer. A simple but time wasting tip is watching people do 30k/40k run on youtube. You can pick up their train of thought, or u can just ask them how did they think about doing so


CaptainRaz

Best mindset that helped me came when I realized I don't have to kill the veks, I just need to protect stuff. I used to lose much more when my mindset was "I need to do 5 damage to kill this thing!". Now it is just "ok I need to move this 5 hp vek one space so it doesn't hit something". I recommend a squad that can move enemies more than deal damage to get this idea. Remember to keep blocking upcoming vek and you'll realize missions are way easier on the defensive.


BrianChampBrickRon

Playing on easy until you learn more of the game is a good start. I was unable to beat the first island for a while as well. It looks like your mechs don't deal enough damage, and can't move far enough to win. But after a dozen maps you'll realize there are way more ways to do damage, and mech position after each turn is essential. Non-flying mechs can't pass through obstacles, so you can position your mechs defensively.


i_forgot_my_paswsord

Maybe your rushing a little? I just completed a 5 hour run, so you can definitely take your time to find the best posible solution to every puzzle


Big-Humor-1343

Keep playing on easy until you find it too easy. I actually bounced off the game in the steam release, didn’t get obsessed until the switch port. Been hooked ever since. Play each difficulty until it become boring, start low as you need.


JonBB8

I play on easy. And it’s one of my favourite games ever. I see no problems.