Defense Grid: The Awakening FAQ V 3.1 John P. Wachsmuth Last updated 07/22/12 TABLE OF CONTENTS============================================================== [1.0.0] COPYRIGHT NOTICE [2.0.0] MY THOUGHTS ON EACH TOWER [2.1.0] NEAR THE ENTRANCE [2.1.1] Infernal [2.1.2] Concussion [2.2.0] AROUND THE MIDDLE OF THE BASE [2.2.1] Tesla [2.2.2] Meteor [2.3.0] NEAR THE REACTOR [2.3.1] Cannon [2.4.0] SPRINKLED AROUND [2.4.1] Gun [2.4.2] Laser [2.4.3] Temporal [2.4.4] Missile [2.4.5] Command [3.0.0] BASE BUILDING TACTICS [4.0.0] TRICK TO EARN GOLD MEDALS EASIER (almost a cheat) [5.0.0] GOOD PATHS TO MAKE ENEMIES TAKE (spoilers) [5.1.0] THE AWAKENING [5.1.1.a] Barrier To Entry: Normal Entrance and Exit [5.1.1.b] Barrier To Entry: Campaign Reversed [5.1.2.a] Focal Point: Normal Entrance and Exit [5.1.2.b] Focal Point: Campaign Reversed [5.1.3] Veil of Ice [5.1.4] Center Of Power [5.1.5] Standing Order [5.1.6] Turnabout [5.1.7.a] Waste Disposal: Normal Entrance and Exit [5.1.7.b] Waste Disposal: Campaign Reversed [5.1.8] Lockdown [5.1.9] Last Stand [5.2.0] BRUSHLANDS [5.2.1] Onslaught [5.2.2.a] Forge: Normal Entrance and Exit [5.2.2.b] Forge: Campaign Reversed [5.2.3] Infiltration [5.3.0] RESURGENCE (downloadable content) [5.3.1] Height of Confusion [5.3.2] Risk Exposure [5.3.3.a] Roundabout: Normal Entrance and Exit [5.3.3.b] Roundabout: Campaign Reversed [5.3.4.a] Tactical Diversion: Normal Entrance and Exit [5.3.4.b] Tactical Diversion: Campaign Reversed [5.3.5.a] Overflow: Normal Entrance and Exit [5.3.5.b] Overflow: Campaign Reversed [5.4.0] YOU MONSTER (downloadable content) [5.4.1] Ghost In The Machine [5.4.2] Lack Of Support [5.4.3] Command Decision [5.4.4] Interference Pattern [5.4.5] Portal II [5.4.6] Surprise Party

[1.0.0] COPYRIGHT NOTICE======================================================= No part of this FAQ may be reposted, distributed, or reproduced without prior written permission. At this time http://www.ign.com is the only authorized host. This file is copyrighted by John P. Wachsmuth, 2012. All rights reserved. [2.0.0] MY THOUGHTS ON EACH TOWER============================================== I’ve grouped the towers based on where they should be built in your base for the best effect. Not many people notice, but you can turn on health bars above enemies by going to "Help And Options" then "Settings" then "Interface". I highly recommend it to help you see how much damage the various towers do. [2.1.0] NEAR THE ENTRANCE------------------------------------------------------ Inferno and Concussion towers are commonly built near the entrance to a base. Both of these towers do weak damage within an area and are therefore useful to weaken large groups of enemies. As such, you should wait until later waves before investing in them. If large hoards of enemies are reaching your reactor, then you probably need to invest in more of these towers. [2.1.1] Inferno - These towers suffer from severe line-of-sight issues, worse than any other tower, and should therefore not be placed behind any obstruction. They are 100% useless against shielded aliens. [2.1.2] Concussion - much more powerful than the Inferno tower, with more range and the ability to damage shields. They seem to work fine in back rows too. Once you can build them, don’t waste resources on Inferno towers. [2.2.0] AROUND THE MIDDLE OF THE BASE------------------------------------------ Tesla and Meteor towers are usually best somewhere around the middle of a base. These towers are effective against both small groups of enemies and single enemies. If small clusters of enemies are reaching your reactor, you might need to invest in more of these. [2.2.1] Tesla - Despite the game’s suggestion to place them near the exit of your base, they are actually quite useful near the entrance/middle. This is because they can chain their attack to nearby enemies, multiplying the total damage they do and effectively increasing their range. They are cheap to build and chain to more enemies as they are upgraded, making them ideal for both shaping the enemies’ path and providing light crowd control. Despite being classified as energy weapons, Tesla towers appear to be completely effective against shielded enemies. Don’t worry about the Tesla tower’s charge-up ability - a Tesla tower still does reasonable damage when firing without time to charge. [2.2.2] Meteor - These towers have great range, attack power, and deal a little splash damage. Upgrading them further increases their respectable attack power and also increases the radius of splash damage. They are great against a wide variety of enemies, but can’t attack nearby enemies. Tuck them away into the back row and odd locations. They are best near the middle of your base, so that a large amount of your base is within their range. [2.3.0] NEAR THE REACTOR------------------------------------------------------- Cannon towers make a great last-line of defense. If an occasional enemy reaches your reactor, then you might need more cannons. On many maps, these should be the first towers that you build. [2.3.1] Cannon - These towers have good range, so you might find them useful anywhere that they can cover a large area. They can also attack aerial enemies. They take a while between shots and only damage one enemy at a time

though, making them weak against clumps of enemies. [2.4.0] SPRINKLED AROUND------------------------------------------------------- Gun, Laser, Temporal, Missile, and Command towers tend to be used on an ad hoc basis. [2.4.1] Gun - Very weak but cheap. Once you can build better towers, you probably won’t build many guns except to economically shape the enemies’ path or to act as “gates” that you can sell to create a shortcut for cores that are returning to the reactor. They can shoot at fliers, making them useful for that purpose until you can build Missile towers. [2.4.2] Laser - These towers target one enemy at a time and heat them up, causing burning damage for a period of time. As a result, they are most effective when spread around. Laser towers are very useful against Racers and Rumblers, but are 100% useless against shielded enemies. Don’t place them near the entrance to your base on maps with shielded enemies. That way other towers have a chance to lower the shields so that the Laser tower can be effective. [2.4.3] Temporal - Arguably the most useful tower, Temporal towers slow enemies, giving other towers more time to shoot at them and allowing freely floating cores more time to return to the reactor. For the best effect; place Temporal towers where they will cover as much of the enemies’ path as possible and near a clump of other towers. The Temporal tower’s effect doesn’t appear to stack, so space them out. Also, the Temporal tower’s effect doesn’t appear to become more powerful as it is upgraded. There are therefore many times that it is more economical to build additional Temporal towers rather than upgrading them. [2.4.4] Missile - This tower can only fire at flying enemies but is very effective at doing that... a single Missile tower can go a long ways. Place it as close to where the flying enemies will enter the screen as possible so that the Missile tower can destroy them before your other towers become distracted. The best strategy is to neglect upgrading your Missile tower until a flier reaches your reactor (instead just reserve enough resources to upgrade it). Then push "select" to back up to the previous checkpoint and upgrade the Missile tower. This will keep you from spending resources on too much anti-air defense. [2.4.5] Command - This tower serves two purposes: to reveal stealthed enemies within its range and to increase resources recovered from enemies that are defeated within its range. The first ability usually isn’t very useful as stealthed enemies will automatically be fired upon by nearby towers. Revealing stealthed enemies often doesn’t even come into play except on maps where few towers are near the enemies’ path. The second ability, increasing resources recovered from defeated enemies, can make a map MUCH easier. It is worth noting that the resource recovery ability becomes more effective as the Command tower is upgraded. This ability does not stack though, so you will want to space out your Command towers. You should try to build and upgrade your Command towers as early as possible in order to recover the most resources. Also, it makes sense to place the Command towers at locations where lots of enemies will be defeated - which is usually not at the entrance to your base. [3.0.0] BASE BUILDING TACTICS================================================== +It’s generally more effective to upgrade a tower in a good position than to spend an equal amount of money building additional towers in less-effective locations. Towers that enemies pass more than once are often the best to upgrade. +Remember that towers can’t shoot through each other, so consider line-of sight when deciding where to put them. +The greater the distance that a tower’s range overlaps with the enemies’ paths, the more time they spend within its range, making it more effective.

+It is usually much more effective to increase the enemies’ path than to increase the number of towers firing on them. +You earn interest on unspent resources. The amount of interest is determined by the number of cores in the reactor (the number of green bars). So if enemies aren’t getting anywhere near the reactor, then stop building towers and save your resources for a while. On the other hand, if all of your cores are away from the reactor, then you’re not earning any interest anyway so go ahead and spend like crazy. +Don’t forget that you can push "select" to return to the previous checkpoint. This allows you to go back if you find that you needed to do something differently. +On maps where you can shape the enemies’ path, try to make them go as far as possible before reaching the reactor. +You may want to place a Gun tower where two paths almost meet so that you can sell it later to create a shortcut for cores to return and then build it back again before the next wave of enemies get there. [4.0.0] TRICK TO EARN GOLD MEDALS EASIER======================================= Many maps are hard enough just to complete without losing any cores. If the other sections of this FAQ are not sufficient to help you obtain a gold medal, then there is a trick that might help... Try to build some Command towers early on in locations where lots of enemies will be defeated (provided that you have Command towers unlocked) and to not spend more than is needed to keep all of the cores in the reactor most of the time (this will help increase the amount of resources you recover and how much interest you earn). Pay very close attention to the enemies that appear in the last wave. If it’s your first time completing the map, push "select" after the last enemy appears to back up to the previous checkpoint. If you’re replaying the map, you can wait until it ends and then if you don’t earn a gold medal, select "Play Again" and then "Continue" to replay from the last checkpoint. Now here’s the trick: quickly sell each tower once it is no longer useful (I.E. Missile towers after the last flier has been defeated, Concussion Towers after the last big group, etc.). You will want to weaken your defenses to the point that the last enemy alive can make it all the way to the reactor and almost to the exit before being defeated (this may take a few tries). So long as most of your cores are in the reactor, you should earn significant interest on all the resources you obtained by selling the towers (earning interest does appear to stop after a long amount of time). Usually the interest earned is enough to get a gold medal. Common question: "It was my first time playing the map and I only received a silver medal. How can I go back to the last checkpoint?" Answer: If you quit the game at some point and returned to the main menu, then you might be able to re-start from that point. Otherwise, you can’t; you will have to replay the mission. [5.0.0] GOOD PATHS TO MAKE ENEMIES TAKE======================================== Having a long path before enemies reach the reactor makes it much easier to win. Included are all the maps where the player has a significant choice in the enemies’ paths. I have tested these paths and found them sufficient to easily earn a gold medal. There are likely to be many good paths; feel free to try to find others! Often times it is easiest to start shaping the enemies’ paths close to the reactor and then work back towards the entrance to your base.

[5.1.0] THE AWAKENING---------------------------------------------------------- [5.1.1.a] Barrier To Entry: Normal Entrance and Exit

[5.1.1.b] Barrier To Entry: Campaign Reversed

[5.1.2.a] Focal Point: Normal Entrance and Exit

[5.1.2.a] Focal Point: Campaign Reversed

[5.1.3] Veil of Ice

[5.1.4] Center Of Power (Normal and Campaign Reversed use the same path)

[5.1.5] Standing Order

[5.1.6] Turnabout

[5.1.7.a] Waste Disposal: Normal Entrance and Exit

[5.1.7.b] Waste Disposal: Campaign Reversed

[5.1.8] Lockdown

[5.1.9] Last Stand

[5.2.0] BRUSHLANDS------------------------------------------------------------- [5.2.1] Onslaught

[5.2.2.a] Forge: Normal Entrance and Exit

[5.2.2.b] Forge: Campaign Reversed

[5.2.3] Infiltration

[5.3.0] RESURGENCE------------------------------------------------------------- [5.3.1] Height of Confusion

[5.3.2] Risk Exposure

[5.3.3.a] Roundabout: Normal Entrance and Exit

[5.3.3.b] Roundabout: Campaign Reversed

[5.3.4.a] Tactical Diversion: Normal Entrance and Exit

[5.3.4.b] Tactical Diversion: Campaign Reversed

[5.3.5.a] Overflow: Normal Entrance and Exit

[5.3.5.b] Overflow: Campaign Reversed

[5.4.0] YOU MONSTER------------------------------------------------------------- [5.4.1] Ghost In The Machine

[5.4.2] Lack Of Support

[5.4.3] Command Decision

[5.4.4] Interference Pattern

[5.4.5] Portal II

[5.4.6] Surprise Party

Copyright by John P. Wachsmuth 2012