Hackers:Tactics - Part 5 - The Siege Combo

[Luminaar]

Knock Knock!!

You've made short work of a few Turrets, sidestepped a few defences, and have laid down the groundwork for some solid protection ...

The Art of War: Chapter VIII - There are towns which must be besieged

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... only to find they've fortified the Core and barricaded the gates. Time to knock on a few doors!

The rule is not to besiege walled cities - if it can possibly be avoided - Sun Tzu

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The Siege Combo combines the strongest defence program - the Protector - with one of the strongest offensive programs - the Battering Ram - to create a force even the strongest of gates won't be able to withstand!

One of the great things about this combo is that it only takes up two program slots, leaving you at least one more slot to open the doorway you'll be making! Beam Cannons and Blasters are perfect choices to barge in with, but Shurikens can work too if you're in a hurry and need to quickly get what's behind doors 2 and 3.



Another lesser known use of the Battering Ram is to take down Guardian shields! Battering Rams have the highest damage per second in the game - (Apart from spamming Maniacs, but only a Maniac would try that!) - but they can only attack Code Gate Filters and Guardian shields. A single level 21 Battering Ram can take down 3 Level 20 Guardian shields in a single shot!

With a strong enough Protector, this combo will ensure you're able to outlast your opponent. Use that opportunity to smash your way in![/size]

Disclaimer: No warranty is implied or guaranteed by these statements.

[Alfatrion]

The battering ram could be replaced by the blaster program and this combination could be used for high defense nodes. This combination work for code gates, if the blaster is of a high enough level.

This combination can also be used for defense nodes. Two blasters can disable one defense node and provide relieve for the protector.

Nice to see the series continue!

[Luminaar]

Nice to see the series continue!

Thanks! The combo posts themselves were put together quite a while ago, but things such as anniversaries, time commitments and - recently - technological issues put a few delays on posts. Fingers crossed, the next one will surface in a week or two (even though you've already alluded to it in your comment :O)

[TheLurkingRage]

Nice to see you've got gifs for them now too! One tactic most don't know about is using the Battering Ram + Blaster Combo to take down 3x shielded nodes super fast. With my Battering Ram 21 and my Blaster 19 I can take down a 3x Guardian 21 + Core 12 in 3 hits. I haven't done the math to account for firewall regen, but I believe when my Blaster is done upgrading to level 20, it could take only two hits. If not, then i'll have to wait another week for Blaster 21 and then for sure the core will go down in 2 hits. This tactic I only ever use when there's gates already nearby, but alternatively it can be used when you can't 2x down on Blasters for whatever reason and you still need to get through quick. If you've an under-leveled Blaster, but a decent Battering Ram, using this combo will help you take on such tough nodes as well. Of course, you can accompany the programs with a Protector, but it can be done using a Shocker or ICE Wall as well, depending on what the situation calls for.