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Players Guide Azure Nebula Rescue Advanced
askatus
Member Posts: 157 Arc User
Players Guide – Azure Nebula Rescue Advanced
This guide is intended for players who are considering playing the mission Azure Nebula Rescue Advanced (ANRA) for the first time, or have played it and are struggling to finish the mission. There are attractive rewards for completing it successfully but many attempts fail because players struggle with the timed objective at the beginning: free three ships in three minutes. There is a timer for this objective, but it is hidden at the bottom of a resizing window on the right, below the list of points values for each ship.
The short version of this strategy is:
Split into two teams
Go for the lowest value targets first
One player draws fire from the Tholians while the other rescues the Romulan
ANRA is a PVE mission for five players. The main objective is to release Romulan ships which are being held captive near four large asteroids around the map, within a time limit. The ships are worth 1-5 points each depending on type, and the size of the reward at the end of the mission is determined by the point value of all ships released. Each ship is held in place by four tractor beams and guarded by a group of Tholian ships, with more valuable ships having more defenders. To release a ship, the tractors must be disabled by scanning them from less than 5km away, which takes about ten seconds and will be interrupted if the ship is hit by enemy weapons or takes any actions such as balancing shields or using bridge officer abilities. Multiple ships can work on this at the same time to speed up the rescue.
Success or failure in this mission depends on completion of the timed objective. Fail it and the mission ends, but succeed and the mission will continue until the end. It can be difficult, but not impossible if the right teamwork and tactics are used. Low value targets should be freed in this phase, as the defenders are fewer.
The team should split into two groups of 2-3 ships and approach different targets. Each group will need at least one tank, and at least one scanner. Try not to leave one ship on its own, as very few ships can solo an area quickly enough.
The role of the tank is simple: draw all of the Tholian fire from the whole group away from the scanner, and survive the resulting beating. Area attacks such as Fire at Will are perfect for this. Cruisers and science ships are better suited to this role than squishy escorts, as if the tank is destroyed the Tholians will start firing on the scanner and interrupting them. If your ship is not able to do this, go for the scanner role, or have a second tank. It is not necessary to destroy even one Tholian ship, but it is important that you can make all of the ships in the enemy group focus on you, to keep them from hitting your scanner. If you can’t do it, tell your teammate and switch roles.
If possible, the tank should try to draw the Tholians away from the Romulan ship, as they may use BFAW themselves and hit your scanner despite your best efforts. Crowd control abilities such as gravity well and tractor beam repulsors can help with this, but be careful not to make the situation worse.
The scanner’s role is even simpler: do not fire at the Tholians at all, but stay close to the Romulan ship (either stop or turn tight circles) and release the tractor beams. The enemy vessels are too tough to take down quickly enough for most players to fight through them, so this is the only way to release the ships in time. Nearly any ship can do this role, so if you are approaching a rescue and a teammate is already engaging the Tholians, do not join in the fight, start rescuing the Romulan. Technically it is possible to go through the whole mission without firing a shot in this role, but there have been reports of people getting AFK penalties for doing this so it is worth doing just a bit of damage later in the mission.
As soon as the Romulan is free, start moving towards the next ship. The Tholians will leave after a few seconds.
Do not do these things:
Everyone go after the same ship.
Everyone go to a different ship.
Chase the high value ships during the timed phase.
Start attacking Tholians once someone has engaged them, instead of flying around them and scanning.
Try to blast through the Tholians and then do the rescue. There isn’t time.
Once three ships have been freed, the rest of the mission is a cakewalk and you cannot fail it, just work to maximise the marks reward. Now is the time to go after the 5-point scimitar. The tank and scan approach is still the most efficient here but if you prefer you can use other methods.
This guide is intended for players who are considering playing the mission Azure Nebula Rescue Advanced (ANRA) for the first time, or have played it and are struggling to finish the mission. There are attractive rewards for completing it successfully but many attempts fail because players struggle with the timed objective at the beginning: free three ships in three minutes. There is a timer for this objective, but it is hidden at the bottom of a resizing window on the right, below the list of points values for each ship.
The short version of this strategy is:
Split into two teams
Go for the lowest value targets first
One player draws fire from the Tholians while the other rescues the Romulan
ANRA is a PVE mission for five players. The main objective is to release Romulan ships which are being held captive near four large asteroids around the map, within a time limit. The ships are worth 1-5 points each depending on type, and the size of the reward at the end of the mission is determined by the point value of all ships released. Each ship is held in place by four tractor beams and guarded by a group of Tholian ships, with more valuable ships having more defenders. To release a ship, the tractors must be disabled by scanning them from less than 5km away, which takes about ten seconds and will be interrupted if the ship is hit by enemy weapons or takes any actions such as balancing shields or using bridge officer abilities. Multiple ships can work on this at the same time to speed up the rescue.
Success or failure in this mission depends on completion of the timed objective. Fail it and the mission ends, but succeed and the mission will continue until the end. It can be difficult, but not impossible if the right teamwork and tactics are used. Low value targets should be freed in this phase, as the defenders are fewer.
The team should split into two groups of 2-3 ships and approach different targets. Each group will need at least one tank, and at least one scanner. Try not to leave one ship on its own, as very few ships can solo an area quickly enough.
The role of the tank is simple: draw all of the Tholian fire from the whole group away from the scanner, and survive the resulting beating. Area attacks such as Fire at Will are perfect for this. Cruisers and science ships are better suited to this role than squishy escorts, as if the tank is destroyed the Tholians will start firing on the scanner and interrupting them. If your ship is not able to do this, go for the scanner role, or have a second tank. It is not necessary to destroy even one Tholian ship, but it is important that you can make all of the ships in the enemy group focus on you, to keep them from hitting your scanner. If you can’t do it, tell your teammate and switch roles.
If possible, the tank should try to draw the Tholians away from the Romulan ship, as they may use BFAW themselves and hit your scanner despite your best efforts. Crowd control abilities such as gravity well and tractor beam repulsors can help with this, but be careful not to make the situation worse.
The scanner’s role is even simpler: do not fire at the Tholians at all, but stay close to the Romulan ship (either stop or turn tight circles) and release the tractor beams. The enemy vessels are too tough to take down quickly enough for most players to fight through them, so this is the only way to release the ships in time. Nearly any ship can do this role, so if you are approaching a rescue and a teammate is already engaging the Tholians, do not join in the fight, start rescuing the Romulan. Technically it is possible to go through the whole mission without firing a shot in this role, but there have been reports of people getting AFK penalties for doing this so it is worth doing just a bit of damage later in the mission.
As soon as the Romulan is free, start moving towards the next ship. The Tholians will leave after a few seconds.
Do not do these things:
Everyone go after the same ship.
Everyone go to a different ship.
Chase the high value ships during the timed phase.
Start attacking Tholians once someone has engaged them, instead of flying around them and scanning.
Try to blast through the Tholians and then do the rescue. There isn’t time.
Once three ships have been freed, the rest of the mission is a cakewalk and you cannot fail it, just work to maximise the marks reward. Now is the time to go after the 5-point scimitar. The tank and scan approach is still the most efficient here but if you prefer you can use other methods.
You shoot me down
But I respawn
I am duranium!
But I respawn
I am duranium!
Post edited by askatus on
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Comments
Thanks for this. I haven't tried this on Advanced so I had no idea about this 3 ships in 3 minutes requirement.
First run went great - everyone knew what to do and we got our full Marks + Argonite.
Second run was the opposite - 3 went immediately to the Falchion while one guy and I went for the low values. He took aggro while I disabled tractors, but time ran out on the 3rd one. All we got was 8 marks.
I'm going to paste this thread next time!
Once the mission begins (after the Rommie preaches her difficulties) -- on the right , click on the mission objectives and scroll down .
There you should see a 3 minute countdown , and should act according to that .
... this info should be in the OP , and the fact that Cryptic managed to hide a countdown timer should speak of their abilities as a game maker ...
I combined the MACO set graviton beam (the ship set 3-piece bonus) with Tractor repulsors (lvl II, IIRC). I would "fly from the inside" (with the ship to rescue at my tail), hit the graviton beam to push the most threatening target, and then use the tractor repulsors to push the smaller ships.
Prior to DR, this tactic allowed me to push Tarantula dreadnoughts with their escorts to more then 12 KM from the ship I needed to rescue, allowing a team mate to free the Scimitar/Falchion practically unopposed (or even completely by myself - if I got lucky and the conditions were right).
I don't know if this tactic would work on a Tarantula squadron in the post DR era, but if you are going for the T'liss or D'helan for the quick rescue, it should be fairly easy to push the 1-2 Recluse and most of their 4-6 light escort ships (and drawing the attention of the ones you didn't manage to push), freeing the way for a team mate to scan away.
Yes, Tractor Repulsors only push 3 targets, but they always switch immediately to the closest target. Adjusting your power levels to high Aux power (i.e. Aux battery) and with percise maneuvering you'll be able to position yourself so that the Repulsors target the closes 3 ships and push them, moving them past the ships which were further from you - and then automatically switching to the ships which are "now" closer to you - this trick allows you to push a squadron of up to 6 ship easily - its all depending on how tight their formation is.
Good point, updated. It was late at night when I posted and missed that. There may well be a few updates before the final version.
But I respawn
I am duranium!
That way people reading it for the first time get what they need to know first, and if they have time to continue reading to get the whys and wherefores of those recommendations.
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
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SCE ADVISORY NOTICE: Improper Impulse Engine maintenance can result in REAR THRUSTER LEAKAGE. ALWAYS have your work inspected by another qualified officer.
Fair enough. How does that look?
And thanks for all the positive feedback, it's nice to know I haven't completely wasted my time.
But I respawn
I am duranium!