Let's Play Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - B6M6 - All Together Now

We're wrapping up the prelude to Endor now, gathering the entire Rebel fleet together to make the attack. The final step is to escort some of the remaining battle groups back to the fleet.


You'd think that the Rebels could have spared more than a pair of A-Wings for this job, but maybe there were a lot more strike groups needing escort than were mentioned in the briefing. Yeah, we'll go with that. Regardless, the first part of this mission is pretty easy. Use the A-Wing's speed to ensure that the Assault Gunboats can't chew up the Defiance too badly, and you'll be fine.

The second part is a bit tougher. The Independence is already in a bad way when you arrive, so you need to focus on knocking out enemy TIE Bombers while still keeping yourself out of the clutches of the TIE Fighters and Interceptors. Fortunately, your A-Wing does have a full load of Concussion missiles and can grab a reload or two from the hanger of the Independence. I'm not a big fan of Concussion missiles, but they're pretty handy against unshielded Dupes. No reason to come home with full missile magazines at the end of this mission.

Let's Play Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance B6M5 - Shuttle Tyderium

Now this is a serious story mission. Granted, there's two other versions of how the Rebels acquired this shuttle before Return of the Jedi, but as far as I'm concerned, this is the one true canonical version.



The toughest part of this is the waiting. I found out the hard way that aborting the docking procedure breaks all of the scripting, so even after the commandos (led by General Crix Madine) tell you that you're clear, you need to wait until the docking script actually completes to exit the station.

Other than that, the main tricks are to keep more than a half kilometer away from any Imperial fighters that could identify the Sabra, and keep the TIE Bombers away from the Tyderium once it launches from the station.

Let's Play Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - B6M4 - Fewer Bothans Died

I mean, less than would have if Rogue Squadron hadn't sortied to ensure that at least some of them got away, right?

Let's Play Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - B6M3 - This is Our House!

It's time to get our home back! Alliance High Command has decided to recapture the Azzameen home station, rather than simply launching a bomber strike to blow it up. Hooray!



This mission is really pretty straight forward. Just kill whatever enemy fighters are threatening you, and make sure the enemy Marauder Corvette gets neutralized. Fortunately, the B-Wing is the right tool for the job here.

Let's Play Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - B6M2 - Slight Navigational Error

It's time to figure out where those party-crashing mercenary scum from the last mission came from. To do that, it's time to take the Otana, do some sneaky slicer stuff, then follow the trail right to the mercenaries' base!


Things don't exactly go according to the plan. First off, the first set of coordinates turn out to be fakes, leading us right into a trap. Just getting away turns into an adventure. Then there's more time in a turret, playing the sitting duck role. Not my favorite way to play.

Well, at the end, at least we found the merc base. About that...

Let's Play Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - B6M1 - Fey'la Troubles

I still don't like Borsk Fey'lya, for a whole myriad of Legends Extended Universe reasons. That said, we have to keep him save for ... um ... look, we just DO, okay? He's got a bunch of Bothans he still has to order to their deaths so that he can ride their corpses to political power for the next fifty years.



On second thought, maybe we could just let the Imperials have him, admit that blowing up the 2nd Death Star was a huge mistake, and let the Empire win this round?

Let's Play: Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - B5M2 - Not The Help We Want!

This wasn't the help we were looking for. The mission today is to attack a civilian convoy that's carrying supplies destined for Imperial garrisons. Being that we're ostensibly the good guys, the plan is to disable the ships, grab the cargo, and leave no civilian casualties.

Unfortunately, our new "allies" have some different ideas.



The capture op abruptly turns into a rescue operation, as the friendly escorts abruptly turn unfriendly. Only once they are out of the picture can the rest of the capture operation begin. After that, there's Imperial reinforcements to deal with.

I ended the mission early as soon as I got a success notification, after a couple of attempts went from success to failure when a cargo transport was destroyed by Imperial fighters. This isn't an extremely difficult mission, but it can definitely be frustrating to the unwary.

Let's Play Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - B5M1 - Smuggler's Rendezvous

Welcome to Battle #5! Getting ever closer to that grand finale, and the Rebel Alliance is running out of supplies (again). You know, you'd think maybe they'd learn a thing or two about logistical supply chains from the Imperials, but based on The Last Jedi, nope, never happened. Sigh. So once again, it's up to a motley group of smugglers to come help save the day.



Of course, this meeting needs an escort, and that's where we come in. Someone dug a few Z-95 Headhunters out of storage, so that's what we're going to fly, to make this look like just a random meeting of smuggler groups. Surely that will fool the Empire, right?

The only major problem in this mission is the fragility of your Z-95s. Other than that, it's a fairly straightforward escort mission. Make sure everyone gets away, then get yourself safely home.

Let's Play: Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance Battle Four, Mission Six - Save The Computer!

What is it with Rebel corvettes carrying secret plans that gets them shredded by Star Destroyers? I don't know, but here we go again.



Remember the computer information that we fought so hard to protect and get away from the Executor with in the previous mission. Well, I hope you kept the champagne on ice, because we're not out of the woods yet! The corvette has been tracked, and here comes trouble once again.

It'll all be worth it, though, provided we can get the computer core safely to Admiral Ackbar. He'll know what to do next.

Let's Play Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - Battle Four, Mission Five - Borsk Fey'lya is an Idiot

Another mission, another cameo appearance by a fictional member of the (Legends) Extended Universe. I never liked Borsk Fey'lya although an argument could be made that the character wasn't always terrible, he just got written that way. Take your choice. At any rate, he shows up in this mission, arrogant as always, and you and your squadron mates have to cover for his time wasting to ensure that everyone gets away safely from Darth Vader and his Super Star Destroyer. Oh joy.



The main trick here is to take out the Assault Transports as quickly as possible. Choosing a B-Wing over the default X-Wing option helps a lot, since the ATRs can be more easily destroyed at close range with torpedoes, and the B-Wing carries more of them.

After the ATRs are destroyed and the Razor makes the jump to the rendesvous point, it's time to make your way there as well. The Liberty will be fine to make the transit without help, and you don't want to be the last rebel ship in the area when all those Imperial TIEs run out of other targets.

Let's Play Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance, Battle Four, MIssion Four - Luke Skywalker is my Wingman

One of the best parts of X-Wing Alliance was story missions featuring cameos of major characters.

Don't ask me when Luke found the time to do this between making a new lightsaber and heading off to Tatooine to rescue Han Solo, but that's the way the plot goes.



Many Bothans died to get this mission done.

Let's Play: Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - Battle Four, Mission Three

Remember two weeks ago? When the mission ended with dropping Aeron off on that pirate asteroid base? Well, here we go again, because now she needs to be rescued. It's going to be a lot more difficult to get her off that rock, than it was to drop her off in the first place.



Sometimes, the way to get a mission done is to ask yourself "What would Poe Dameron do?" Then do whatever the opposite of that would be. This is one of those cases. Trying to dogfight several Star Destroyers worth of TIE squadrons tends to work out... poorly.

Let's Play: Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - Battle Four, Mission Two

Oh, look! Another recon mission. In an A-Wing. Sigh. Well, we just play this one by the numbers, just like the previous ones. Roll in, inspect everything, run like hell.



Nothing complicated. Got this one done on the first try. The most interesting thing about it is what it's starting to set up. We're getting closer and closer to the Battle of Endor!

Let's Play: Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - Battle Four, Mission One

Oh man! The same day that the new Han Solo movie comes out, we're on to the next chapter of X-Wing Alliance, and on a transport mission. The Otana may not be the Millennium Falcon, but she's a great mount for smuggling supplies, or stealing them from some Imperial suppliers.



This turns out to be a fairly easy mission. Defending the transports against the enemy fighters isn't especially difficult, and there's not too much opposition. Just get what you need, and get out before big trouble arrives.

Let's Play: Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance: Battle Three, Mission Seven

Remember Commander Kupalo? You rescued him along with a bunch of other Alliance prisoners captured on Hoth way back in Battle One, Mission Four. Well... It turns out that may have been a bit of a trap. Shocking news, right? So now we have to stop his shuttle, before he takes all the information we worked so very hard for on the last mission back to the Empire, along with the location of our fleet.



After the massive pain that was the last mission, this one is relatively straight forward. Kupalo will surrender his shuttle once you do enough damage to it, so be careful! Then it's just a matter of defending Storm Unit and AA-23 until they can jump back to the fleet.

Good luck!

Let's Play Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance Battle Three, Mission Six

Absolutely, unquestionably, the most difficult mission I've run up against in this game.




Here's the thing. (MISSION SPOILERS AHEAD) As the Liberty makes a beeline towards the enemy Interdictor, it comes directly into the line of fire of the Imperial Star Destroyer. That's a problem, and it's a problem that can only be solved by killing the Star Destroyer before the ISD kills your home carrier.

I really can't tell if this is a mission bug or poor design, or if it was intended to work like this. It's a solution that goes completely against all of the in-game guidance, which suggests, at least, that the mission wasn't intended to be like this. Because the solution was totally counterintuitive, it took me a lot longer to figure it out.

Let's Play Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - Battle 3, Mission 5 - Commsat Chaos!

Hey look! It's a new Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance video! I haven't forgotten about this series, it's just been on the back burner for a bit. More about that on Monday's vlog. For now though, here's the next mission.




This is a Family Business mission that's deceptively simple. Just pull up close to the damaged commsat that was identified in a previous mission, drop Aeron off, let her do her thing to the satellite, then pick her up and head for home. Of course it's not going to be quite that easy. The Imperials arrive and bring enough firepower to make things difficult, especially against Aeron's YT-1300.

The main threat is the space-suited stormtroopers. They're extremely vulnerable, but they can do a lot of damage to your ship. In addition, having them get too close to Aeron is an automatic mission failure. Just let your turret do most of the work, remember to keep your shields up, and you'll do fine.

May the Force be with you!

Let's Play Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - Battle 3, Mission 4

After a rather long intermission, it's time for another X-Wing Alliance mission. This time you're in an A-Wing, tasked with a "simple" recon and capture mission

Of course, it's never that simple. If it were, this would just be training. Recon should go smoothly enough, but once the Python arrives to board the Comm Station, you're going to find yourself very busy.

Fortunately, the Escort Carrier doesn't carry anywhere near the numbers as an Imperial Star Destroyer, so successfully destroying all the fighters can leave the carrier open for attack. With a bit of time and patience, it's not too difficult to whittle away the shields and hit the squishy center.

Let's Play Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance - Battle 3, Mission 3 - Blow The Doors Off

It's a small taste of how things are going to be later. A recon mission that turns into the destruction of a small space station. All you have to do is destroy the exit hatch, fly inside, destroy the reactor core, and then get out before the whole station blows up.

That plan might sound vaguely familiar for some strange reason...

Let's Play - Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance Battle 3, Mission 2 - Balmer Peak!

It's back! Finally! After an almost two month hiatus for moving, I finally got back to playing X-Wing Alliance. It only took me a total of four game nights to finally beat the mission I left off with...




The big trick with this mission is to not get greedy. Save the bonus score heroics for running later in the sim with a better ship than Aeron's beat up YT-1300 the Sabra.

 Get the containers inspected before you take out all of the defenses, because once the Razor fighters and gun platforms are gone, Black Sun shows up with a bunch of Supa fighters. These things aren't particularly maneuverable, but they pack a wallop!

Fortunately, the Sabra can easily outrun the Supas, so as the Container Transports head out to the rendezvous point, make your own escape. If all goes well, you'll have another mission successfully completed.