Quick Links
- Preparation
- Battle Overview
- Phase 1
- Phase 2
- Phase 3
- Plan B – The Shield Broke!
- Tips
This is, bar none, the most difficult encounter found in ANNO: Mutationem. Here you need to defend G while waves of enemies strike. Unfortunately, these enemies are some of the most difficult non-boss enemies found in the game. So, fighting multiple of them, while also defending G's shield, can be quite the handful.
This battle plays out similarly to your first fight with Mother Grub, where you were required to defend a target. Unfortunately, your enemies are far more varied, are much more difficult to deal with, and come in larger waves. Thankfully, there are a number of ways of mitigating the difficulty of this battle. With our guidance, you will be blowing through this encounter in no time!
Preparation
No other battle in ANNO: Mutationem really requires prep. However, we would argue that this one does. First and foremost, you are going to want to enter this battle with your transformation gauge filled. If it isn't currently filled, go fight enemies until it is at least three-quarters full (we aren't going to pop it at the beginning of the battle, so you can fill the remaining twenty percent during the encounter itself).
If you have cleared out every last enemy in the research base, the area just before your boss fight with Absalom will respawn enemies you can kill until your meter is filled.
Next, there are a number of items you will want to have on hand. You will want to have some burgers, multiple bottles of Erythropoietin, and FM HE Grenades. A few bottles of 654-2 wouldn't hurt either.
Lastly, and this is the one that is going to hurt if you already don't have it, you really want to have upgraded your transformation skill twice. It isn't absolutely necessary, of course, but this will be the difference between having a relatively smooth ride and a desperate, bumpy one.
Battle Overview
This combat encounter has three phases. Each phase will feature a number of waves of enemies. After defeating each wave, you will have to contend with a number of flying knives. The primary goal is to protect Sigrid's shield. Most enemies will focus specifically on the shield, though the ninja are an exception to this rule. Sigrid's shield will NOT regenerate between each phase. So, even in the easier phases, it is important to try to minimize the number of attacks her shield absorbs.
Each phase will end with Ann dodging a number of knives raining down on her from different directions. These sections aren't particularly difficult, but just make sure you are healing appropriately. It would be demoralizing to finish all three phases only to be killed by one of the knife attacks.
You will want to use your pistol for shooting the flying enemies, and the fastest way to get rid of the melee units will be to parry them. Not wanting to use the parry will not make the battle impossible, but it will make it harder. You will be using a bottle of Erythropoietin at the beginning of each of the three waves. They will boost your attack power for sixty seconds, which should be just enough time for each phase. You should also heal as the need presents itself.
Phase 1
You don't have time to fiddle around with items during active combat! When you are using items, pause the screen and select them from your backpack!
This phase will feature the standard knife-wielding enemy type and the flying drone enemy type. You will face waves of enemies, teleporting in on alternating sides of the barrier. Before you start fighting a single soldier, use an Erythropoietin. The faster you kill them, the fewer hits the shield will take. First, there will be four soldiers on the right, followed by two soldiers on the left. Around this point in the fight, six slowly-moving drones will appear. They will float toward the protective dome. If they make contact, they will self-destruct.
After killing the first batch of soldiers on your left, you should have a brief window to pop a burger (this will increase your pistol's firepower) and shoot the drones. If you don't get them all before the next batch of soldiers arrive, that is okay. Just be mindful of how close they are to the shield. Sometime after the six drones appear, three more soldiers will attack on the right, after dispatching them, two more will attack from the left.
Once you have defeated all the enemies in the first wave you will be attacked by rows of falling knives. There will be gaps to stand in between, allowing you to avoid them. After you dodge a few rows, a wave of them will start falling rapidly. Dash through them as they do, and you should be fine. If you do get tagged, it isn't a big deal, as they don't do much damage.
Phase 2
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For items, you do the same as before and pop an Erythropoietin so that you can clear out enemies as quickly as possible.
Here come the ninja. You are going to start with a single ninja attacking on the right. The ninja you will fight in this phase have one huge weakness which will be vital to taking them down: you can draw their aggro! The best way to kill the ninja quickly is to attack them, then parry their attacks to remove their shield, and you should be able to kill them once you break their shield, and they are stunned. After you dispatch the first ninja, two more will appear: one on the left, and one on the right. Around this time five hovering ships will start appearing above the dome.
The strategy here is to attack the ninja on the right, drawing his aggression, then quickly move to the left side, attack that ninja as well, attracting his attention (the one on the right will still occasionally hit the dome as they try to get to you, but far less frequently). Finally, eat a burger (remember to do this from your backpack), and just jump up and shoot the hovering ships with your pistol. They should go down quickly. Once they are dealt with, drop back down, and deal with the ninja one-by-one.
Now, a wall of knives will appear to the left and the right of you, they will hold for a second and then fire at you. Just roll through them, and you will be in the clear.
The knives will keep appearing in the same place relative to where you were standing when they first started attacking you. It is possible to stand directly where the knives will appear, which will cause you to be hit by multiple knives simultaneously when they appear, and will probably kill you.
Phase 3
You are now in the final phase. Hopefully, the shield will have, at least, half of its durability left. To begin the battle, you will want to, once again, pop an Erythropoietin.
You will be fighting the heavy-hitting, heavily armored soldiers this time around. Two baton-wielding heavies will appear on either side of the shield. On the right, there will be another heavy with a gun. Focus on fighting the heavily armored soldier on the right. Parry his attacks to quickly remove his shield and hammer away at him. Part-way through fighting him, a number of tiny sentry robots will appear and start rushing towards the dome.
Now is the time to engage your transformation, kill all the sentry robots and then take out the heavily armed soldiers on the right (the baton-wielding one should already be heavily damaged). If you have your transformation abilities fully leveled, you should be able to take out everyone on the right. Finally, start giving the heavy on the left your attention. Sentry bots will eventually rush from the left as well. Once they appear, focus on them and take them out before they reach the barrier.
Around this time, eight slow-moving drones will appear and start heading toward the barrier (the same type that you fought in the first phase). Keep fighting the soldier, but keep your eye on those drones. If they start getting close to the barrier, eat a burger, jump up and shoot them. Alternatively, you can jump up and swipe them away with your great sword. Finish off the heavy on the left and then clear out the remaining drones.
Finally, you will be attacked by one more barrage of knives. Just stay mobile and dodge when a knife is about to hit you, and you will be fine. Congratulations, you have completed the most difficult encounter in all of ANNO: Mutationem!
Plan B – The Shield Broke!
Ideally, the shield will never be in danger. However, if you notice that the shield is getting extremely low on energy there is a way you can salvage the situation. Try to freeze melee enemies with FM HE Grenades! If you see the barrier is about to shatter, make sure the grenades are equipped, and wait for the barrier's meter to hit zero. Then, just as it is about to break, start throwing the grenades at the melee enemies, freezing them in place while the barrier recovers. Don't be afraid to use every last FM HE Grenade.
You only need to hold out for six seconds or so. If there are too many enemies on the screen, you may not be able to salvage the situation. However, it is worth a try. If you do successfully manage to hold them off for the six seconds, the barrier will be completely replenished, making this battle a cakewalk from here on out.
Tips
- Burgers are not necessary, but they really do help you clear the flying enemies MUCH quicker.
- It is important to draw the aggression of the ninja in phase 2, this will really help keep Sigrid's shield healthy for the third phase.
- As stated in the Plan B section, the shield breaking does not necessarily equal defeat if you are able to hold the enemies off. Use your body to absorb bullets if you have to. You can be healed, Sigrid (and her shield) cannot.
- Feel free to drink up a 654-2 during the fight if you are taking a lot of damage; this will help boost your defense considerably.
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