Does anybody have any tips on getting this achievement? If you've no clue what I'm on about - it's the one to kill four hatcheries in the third campaign mission (yes, the one where you're supposed to the defend all game long).
On normal, this was literally piss easy. On hard, there are so many Zerglings that even with a force of 15 marines who are all on 10 kills, I STILL get overrun or my ass kicked by Spine Crawlers. And this is when trying to attack just *one* base, fairly early in the game. I've just given it a couple of goes, thinking it'd be fairly doable, but after a restart or four I've already given up. I've no clue what I'm supposed to do. Hole up and do a massive push at 5 minutes to go? Push early and snipe the Nydus worms? Forego Medics altogether for Marines?
Any help is appreciated.
P.S. I'm literally shocked at how much difference there is between normal and hard. Normal was piss easy. Hard actually feels like a pretty damn solid challenge. It's not just an improved AI, but it's more unit spawns, enemy units have upgrades and tougher objectives as well.
I massed up 35 marines and took out the north and west camps.
On a side note, you don't actually need to defend while you're doing this. Just save your game before you push and try to take out all 4 hatcheries before your base goes down. As soon as the 4th hatchery dies, you get credited with the achievement and can safely reload your save.
When I did this, I had 3 barracks. Around 30ish workers on the minerals and dual marine addon on those barracks.
How:
Just spam marines until around the 2nd rescue thing starts (The one were marines show up in the zerg area of the map). Then gather your forces, go from right and work your way from there.
If you keep spamming marines (Use the new ones for defense) you should be able to take out the upper right hatcheries (3 of them there). Then work towards the opposite area while adding more units in groups of 10ish and rush 1 of the hatcheries, because here they just keep coming. Oh, upgraded weapon and armor is given.
For clarification; this means I forego medics and with that a tech lab (and basically gas, safe for the upgrades) altogether, push out around 13 minutes (I think that's when the second rescue thing is), and add no additional defense from what I start with?
I guess I wasn't going in big enough. The thing is that I didn't really think this would be the way to go as you only have 20 minutes to get the mission done anyway (and by the time I have a decent amount of SCVs I've only got 15 left). I'll give it another go then.
I massed up 35 marines and took out the north and west camps.
On a side note, you don't actually need to defend while you're doing this. Just save your game before you push and try to take out all 4 hatcheries before your base goes down. As soon as the 4th hatchery dies, you get credited with the achievement and can safely reload your save.
When I did this, I had 3 barracks. Around 30ish workers on the minerals and dual marine addon on those barracks. How: Just spam marines until around the 2nd rescue thing starts (The one were marines show up in the zerg area of the map). Then gather your forces, go from right and work your way from there.
I combined the advice of both of you, and... are we playing the same game? Eiviyn, you say you took out TWO camps with THIRTY-FIVE marines? I optimized my economy as much as I could afford, to the point where my defense started crumbling just as I set out, and didn't even get close to taking one Hatchery down. I went in around the 11th minute, which is a little bit after the second rescue mission starts (which is at 12 minutes) with as much as FIFTY-ONE marines (and two reactor-raxes mass producing more), and lost all of them as the first Hatchery got down to about 50%.
I don't want to bite the hand that feeds me, but if you've taken down a whole base with thirty-five marines, I want that replay, because you're the absolute king of micro.
This achievement is so sick it's not even fun. The only thing I haven't directly tried yet is the 30-workers 3-barracks set-up by Quelor, but the problem with this is that I don't think I'll have enough time for that? I got around 15 SCVs and my 51-marines this round, couldn't push out until the 11th minute and still didn't down anything. Also, I took my guys off gas completely after I got the upgrades and Reactors. To set up that 3 rax mass production I'm going to need at least 10 minutes, which leaves me with just about 5 to get all the hatcheries down before the Zerg start spawning so much units an attack is no longer possible.
Really, I'm at a complete loss right now as to how this achievement is even supposed to be possible.
Edit: And Quel's the man. I followed his strategy to the letter and eventually, it did work! It did take me a long time to actually move out, but at the end I just had such a wicked income of minerals that I could just produce marines as fast as he was killing them. I took out the top right base with a total of approximately 60-ish marines, and had about 10 left when I was finished. Got back to my base with about 7 minutes to go, waited until I got back at around 50 marines, cleared my bunkers and just rushed the southernmost Hatchery in the base in the upper left corner (the one where there's no ramps guarding the base - you simply can't get up the other base). It was pretty sick, and I don't think it's possible to get that achievement and still win the map, but hey, I did it.
I got that achievement yesterday. It was pretty epic and took me a few tries. What I did was do a fast bunker push on the left side to maintain map control of that side and so I could keep continuously pressing that base on the left. You have to be pretty aggressive and push forward early. I think my first two bunkers were past the bridge on the left side, close to that intersection where the second rescue mission is. By the time the third rescue mission began, my bunker push was already there and I just walked an scv up the ramp.
Try to prevent the creep from spreading because that makes pushing harder and stops you from laying down bunkers. A couple of bunkers with a few scvs repairing them can easily hold off the waves of units. On the right side I just built like 3 bunkers at the entrance to just hold that off. With bunkers and scvs repairing I didn't have to pay attention to that side at all. I kept slowly pushing that left side until I could put bunkers right below the ramp. Then once I got a large force I went up the ramp and took out the three hatcheries left. I believe this was at some point after the third rescue mission, whenever that is.
I also had several barracks, most with reactors and a couple with tech lab to get some medics. I constantly pumped marines while I pushed so eventually I had a big enough army to take the hatcheries.
The end was pretty epic because I had like a minute left and one hatchery to go. I had to take my every available unit, including scvs, and rush the top hatchery. It was a complete all in push and I was able to take out the hatchery before the enemy killed force. Meanwhile my base was getting absolutely destroyed. I had to lift my command center and fly it to the bottom and it literally died one second after the countdown finished to mutalisks.
It probably would have been easier if I also pushed top early so I didn't have to go all in at the last second, but I didn't plan that far ahead.
I also don't think I ever had more than 30 marines in once force at a time. With bunkers at the left base, I would constantly lure whatever enemies were gathering up on the ramp and kill them. Then when it was the right time I'd move my mobile force of maybe 20 marines and a few medics up the ramp and try to take out as much as I could.
Also, I went back to get this achievement on hard after going through the campaign on brutal, so I might have carried over some research upgrades with me, like being able to build two scvs at a time. I'm not sure. EDIT: Well I just checked and I didn't have build two scvs at a time. I don't think I any of the others carried over either.
I also salvaged the two bunkers in the inner part of the base that you start out with since I didn't need them at all, and it gave me a nice mineral boost so I could place bunkers farther out earlier.
So, yeah.
Does anybody have any tips on getting this achievement? If you've no clue what I'm on about - it's the one to kill four hatcheries in the third campaign mission (yes, the one where you're supposed to the defend all game long).
On normal, this was literally piss easy. On hard, there are so many Zerglings that even with a force of 15 marines who are all on 10 kills, I STILL get overrun or my ass kicked by Spine Crawlers. And this is when trying to attack just *one* base, fairly early in the game. I've just given it a couple of goes, thinking it'd be fairly doable, but after a restart or four I've already given up. I've no clue what I'm supposed to do. Hole up and do a massive push at 5 minutes to go? Push early and snipe the Nydus worms? Forego Medics altogether for Marines?
Any help is appreciated.
P.S. I'm literally shocked at how much difference there is between normal and hard. Normal was piss easy. Hard actually feels like a pretty damn solid challenge. It's not just an improved AI, but it's more unit spawns, enemy units have upgrades and tougher objectives as well.
Here's your problem. 15 marines is not a very large force, and units do not improve with the number of kills they get.
You just need to build way, way, way more units. Get 3-4 barracks and have them constantly producing.
I massed up 35 marines and took out the north and west camps.
On a side note, you don't actually need to defend while you're doing this. Just save your game before you push and try to take out all 4 hatcheries before your base goes down. As soon as the 4th hatchery dies, you get credited with the achievement and can safely reload your save.
@Mozared: Go
When I did this, I had 3 barracks. Around 30ish workers on the minerals and dual marine addon on those barracks. How: Just spam marines until around the 2nd rescue thing starts (The one were marines show up in the zerg area of the map). Then gather your forces, go from right and work your way from there.
If you keep spamming marines (Use the new ones for defense) you should be able to take out the upper right hatcheries (3 of them there). Then work towards the opposite area while adding more units in groups of 10ish and rush 1 of the hatcheries, because here they just keep coming. Oh, upgraded weapon and armor is given.
Thanks for the tips.
For clarification; this means I forego medics and with that a tech lab (and basically gas, safe for the upgrades) altogether, push out around 13 minutes (I think that's when the second rescue thing is), and add no additional defense from what I start with?
I guess I wasn't going in big enough. The thing is that I didn't really think this would be the way to go as you only have 20 minutes to get the mission done anyway (and by the time I have a decent amount of SCVs I've only got 15 left). I'll give it another go then.
Yeah, guys, sorry, but no.
I combined the advice of both of you, and... are we playing the same game? Eiviyn, you say you took out TWO camps with THIRTY-FIVE marines? I optimized my economy as much as I could afford, to the point where my defense started crumbling just as I set out, and didn't even get close to taking one Hatchery down. I went in around the 11th minute, which is a little bit after the second rescue mission starts (which is at 12 minutes) with as much as FIFTY-ONE marines (and two reactor-raxes mass producing more), and lost all of them as the first Hatchery got down to about 50%.
I don't want to bite the hand that feeds me, but if you've taken down a whole base with thirty-five marines, I want that replay, because you're the absolute king of micro.
This achievement is so sick it's not even fun. The only thing I haven't directly tried yet is the 30-workers 3-barracks set-up by Quelor, but the problem with this is that I don't think I'll have enough time for that? I got around 15 SCVs and my 51-marines this round, couldn't push out until the 11th minute and still didn't down anything. Also, I took my guys off gas completely after I got the upgrades and Reactors. To set up that 3 rax mass production I'm going to need at least 10 minutes, which leaves me with just about 5 to get all the hatcheries down before the Zerg start spawning so much units an attack is no longer possible.
Really, I'm at a complete loss right now as to how this achievement is even supposed to be possible.
Edit: And Quel's the man. I followed his strategy to the letter and eventually, it did work! It did take me a long time to actually move out, but at the end I just had such a wicked income of minerals that I could just produce marines as fast as he was killing them. I took out the top right base with a total of approximately 60-ish marines, and had about 10 left when I was finished. Got back to my base with about 7 minutes to go, waited until I got back at around 50 marines, cleared my bunkers and just rushed the southernmost Hatchery in the base in the upper left corner (the one where there's no ramps guarding the base - you simply can't get up the other base). It was pretty sick, and I don't think it's possible to get that achievement and still win the map, but hey, I did it.
I got that achievement yesterday. It was pretty epic and took me a few tries. What I did was do a fast bunker push on the left side to maintain map control of that side and so I could keep continuously pressing that base on the left. You have to be pretty aggressive and push forward early. I think my first two bunkers were past the bridge on the left side, close to that intersection where the second rescue mission is. By the time the third rescue mission began, my bunker push was already there and I just walked an scv up the ramp.
Try to prevent the creep from spreading because that makes pushing harder and stops you from laying down bunkers. A couple of bunkers with a few scvs repairing them can easily hold off the waves of units. On the right side I just built like 3 bunkers at the entrance to just hold that off. With bunkers and scvs repairing I didn't have to pay attention to that side at all. I kept slowly pushing that left side until I could put bunkers right below the ramp. Then once I got a large force I went up the ramp and took out the three hatcheries left. I believe this was at some point after the third rescue mission, whenever that is.
I also had several barracks, most with reactors and a couple with tech lab to get some medics. I constantly pumped marines while I pushed so eventually I had a big enough army to take the hatcheries.
The end was pretty epic because I had like a minute left and one hatchery to go. I had to take my every available unit, including scvs, and rush the top hatchery. It was a complete all in push and I was able to take out the hatchery before the enemy killed force. Meanwhile my base was getting absolutely destroyed. I had to lift my command center and fly it to the bottom and it literally died one second after the countdown finished to mutalisks.
It probably would have been easier if I also pushed top early so I didn't have to go all in at the last second, but I didn't plan that far ahead.
I also don't think I ever had more than 30 marines in once force at a time. With bunkers at the left base, I would constantly lure whatever enemies were gathering up on the ramp and kill them. Then when it was the right time I'd move my mobile force of maybe 20 marines and a few medics up the ramp and try to take out as much as I could.
Also, I went back to get this achievement on hard after going through the campaign on brutal, so I might have carried over some research upgrades with me, like being able to build two scvs at a time. I'm not sure. EDIT: Well I just checked and I didn't have build two scvs at a time. I don't think I any of the others carried over either.
I also salvaged the two bunkers in the inner part of the base that you start out with since I didn't need them at all, and it gave me a nice mineral boost so I could place bunkers farther out earlier.