Showdown Owwwww

[atomjack]

OK, so on my first foray into the Showdown Device plot I shouldn't really have played against 8/8, but that's normally the level that I'm perfectly comfortable at. The first half of the showdown was doable, and the whipping boy held up nicely against the onslaught of waves. However, the AI then threw a 22K CPA against me, starting with 5K Neinzul cockroaches against an outer Showdown Device world, and following up with multiple carriers full of Core and MKIV ships. My mostly mobile defences melted away under the blowtorch, the Shark B plot kicked in, and it all went horribly wrong very quickly.

Is the Showdown plot doable on any of the more open map types? I had a honeycomb-type layout and there's really no way to defend a front that long against a CPA that big. Golems and Spirecraft were turned off, so I couldn't Martyr my way out of things, although I suppose I could have stacked up several dozen lightning warheads and damned the AIP!

[keith.lamothe]

Showdown+Shark = Shark jumps you

I mean, on 7/7 it might be doable, but yowzas.

And it is somewhat harder on the more connected map types, yes, though on honeycomb sometimes you have a working subset that isn't so bad.

Warheads seem indicated.  In general the Showdown is your opportunity to pile on as much cheese as possible, and still feel challenged.  Riots, warheads, crazy bonus ship (and bonus combo) tricks, massive defense-in-depth (especially with core turret controllers), shameless abuse of reclamation, etc.  Anything goes.  No superweapons needed, though those certainly extend the menu of cheese (and intensify what the AI throws at you).

For your first showdown win you may want to try a somewhat less connected map, and probably 7/7, just because it may require playing in ways you're not used to.  And for goodness sake don't turn shark on at the same time

[atomjack]

Yeah, I guessed that the Shark may have been a bad idea. OTOH, it's a new expansion, so I want to try all the goodies at once! I shall be less greedy next time...

[keith.lamothe]

Yeah, I guessed that the Shark may have been a bad idea. OTOH, it's a new expansion, so I want to try all the goodies at once! I shall be less greedy next time...

It's not that a shark showdown is not a valid choice.  In fact it's quite a legitimate use of the expansion.  But don't expect it to let you win

[RockyBst]

I just had the same experience. First time going for the showdown devices, the random AI had picked a special forces captain ... 10 minutes in, suddenly I have 55,000 threat on its way to my worlds.

I have never used so many matrys in my life. Always nice to have something throw you for a loop like that even after sinking a couple of hundred hours into a game.