Let's Play Homeworld - Mission 14 (Phase One)

Welcome back to Homeworld! Sorry that it's taken so long to do anything here, but this level is honestly the biggest and longest mission in the entire game, and it's rightly named 'Bridge of Sighs' because I've done more than that in this one level than I have in any other level so far. I'll present this in two posts, mostly cause it's gonna be huge.

According to Elson, there is a large hyperspace inhibitor network surrounding Hiigara. There is no way through without destroying at least one. He gives us the coordinates for a relatively un-protected inhibitor which we can blast our way through and get to Hiigara.

See all those red dots? Those are Ion Frigates... at least 100 of them... surrounding the central inhibitor. If we attack the sphere anywhere, the next frigates around the one we attack come, and so does the next group beyond - we can have a ton of these things attacking us, and since they focus on a single ship, it's a loss for that ship.

First things first, though. These hyperspace gates have to be destroyed, cause as soon as we breach the sphere, they send reinforcements, and in a big way - 2 Destroyers and 1 Heavy Cruiser per group.

Also we get Sensors Array research and I build a Sensors Array. It's useful for seeing all the ships on the screen instead of just the big ones. You might notice a few differences in my fleet - well, I had to go back. There is just no way to brute force your way through this level, and since I had so few RUs, I had no choice but to go back to when I had...

... my favorite ship! I also have a captured Heavy Cruiser, only 16 Multi-Gun Corvettes, 9 Salvage Corvettes, an extra Missile Destroyer, and probably a few more Multi-Beam Frigates and Ion-Array Frigates. So, for the Salvagers, I set them up behind a dust cloud...

... and STEAL the enemy's Resource Collectors. It takes a long while to do, but I capture all three and convert them into RUs. (I also retired my other Resource Collector and my 3 Assault Frigates.)

Next I start to blow up the three gates, it takes a LONG time to do, because two of them are on complete opposite sides of the map from each other, and I have to go around the sphere - too close and you call the Ion Frigates after you.

So now I send my Cloak Generator out with a sphere of Salvagers (I built 5 more for a grand total of 14) - I throw them forward and start snatching the enemy Ion Frigates. My third run gets a bit dangerous and I'm followed, but as I run away I snatch up seven of the thirteen or so frigates that chase me.

Leaving a BIG hole in the sphere!! But... I'm not convinced I'll be able to get through, so I'm going to continue the stealthy snatching and get as many Ion Frigates as I can. There's a clump of frigates near the inhibitor, and I want to be safe.

So this is my current fleet. Nine enemy Ion Frigates are sitting beside my Mothership, just waiting to be thrown suicidally at the enemy. I don't care if I lose a few, they're not mine, after all. See you guys when I'm done this awful, awful level.