Pimping the 107 in Utopia

Hooking in a 107... Wait... What??

By: George Argyropoulos

a/k/a Dragon_Bane   

Look, I'm not sure where these rumors start, but given the amount of abuse my inbox has suffered it seems enough people are frustrated with this target that we should maybe spend some time on it. First, let's get some rumors out of the way:

- No, they were not changed.
- No, Doom did not give you bad advice.
- No, you don't need a crew to do them.
- No, if you lose one regular Cannoneer, you are not completely boned - usually.

There are a few truths that are floating around amid all the rumors about this target:

- Yes, if you lose your HCannoneer you're likely boned. (Edit: Per Dr. Death - you CAN in fact do this target with a crew and 4 Cannoneers. TY for the info!!)
- Yes, a full fleet of HCan/Can is what is meant to do these.
- Yes, the targets are very precise and time sensitive.

So, now that the majority of those are out of the way, let's break down this target and see what we can do wit it, ok? This is how I do these and I have run a TON of them. For me, they are easier than the 100's are. All you really need to do is understand some fundamentals about the target.
First, let's clarify some nomenclature. The 'North' set is the part of the target that spawns when you leave the north corral. Same for the 'South' reference. I start in the North by preference.

There is a subtle timing change in each set when you are running them. The North is a tad more forgiving so I like coming in from that side to 'get in gear' for the target. The turrets fire based on a timer that starts from when you leave the corral, NOT from when they surface. This is one of the reasons that time management is so important in these targets. This is a walk-though of a sloppy run that I recorded. The video will be at the end of the article. Let's see what we got...

North Set:

I do prefer to start at 12:00. It is the way that Doom had stated that he found easier as well. This was not disingenuous on his part, merely his preference. It is my preference as well. He wasn't lying to make this a 'coin grab' and I'm not blowing smoke up anyone's ass. That said... In the whole of this target, the little things all add up to make the experience easier. When I start out, I like to go out on the left side. It may seem a little thing, but starting out in the right place will keep you from scrubbing speed turning unnecessarily.

Once out, I will hook around the first ballistic turret and get in range of the second while staying out of range of the launcher below me. Ignore the launcher above for now. Don't get greedy.

Once you kill off the two ballistics, ease into range of the launcher. Timing is an issue and you don't want to take too long, but remember - one shot from this launcher will likely kill one of your ships.

Once dead, proceed down the path to kill the next ballistic turret and hook AROUND it. It makes life simpler in this target. In fact, this idea seems to be a recurring theme in this target.

Continue all the way into the lane until you are in range of the last ballistic turret. Remember to stay out of range of the launcher below you!!

Clean up that launcher nearby, then drive up and kill the launcher you left above, you'll need it out of the way later. At this point you can clean up the buoys on the sides or go straight into the southern corral.

***********

South Set:

The south set of turrets are a little different in that there are more that spawn, but the timing also seems to require a little more precision to get to them all before they fire. As we saw above, your starting point can have a little impact on your path, but there is certainly a very important 'hook' you need to perform to make the whole thing work properly in your favor. For this reason, I typically come out on the left hand side and head to the 'honey' spot. This spot is KEY for the rest of the south set!!

Once you get to this point, you'll have activated turrets and you want to 'hook' around another key point. Following this path will allow you to kill the first ballistic turret while you are still on the move saving you some of that precious timer and then 'hooking' around the outside of the second ballistic turret set you up for the pain free path that you want.

Once you have performed the hook, you want to pay attention to the launcher turrets that pop up as you have to maneuver through them. You can possibly pick off part of them while driving without 'activating' them, but again, don't be greedy, you can get them later. Be careful around these two as they can be fully avoided.

At this point, you'll have killed yet another ballistic turret and one more will pop out along with a launcher turret on the left. This one is a little tricky. Sometimes you can skirt it without 'activating' it, other times you come close enough to fire on it and 'activate' it enough to turn on you. You CAN avoid it or, as I have learned to do, you can dip in and out of firing range enough to kill it. Be VERY cautious around this turret. The ballistic turret you see coming up will take priority in your targeting because of its proximity so if you stay in range of the launcher too long, you will fire on the ballistic one once it surfaces and the launcher will still be 'activated'.

I HAVE mentioned that this is the dangerous part, yes? You need to 'hook' around this turret as fast as possible and get out of the damn range of the launcher. This is pretty tricky for some people and another reason I like doing the south set second. If you screw up, you can still finish the target from here with one less ship.

Kill the ballistic turret and hook back out to get the next ballistic while avoiding that damn launcher turret!

Loop up and kill off the last two ballistic turrets and then you can take your time and clean up what's left. Good luck!!

Video:

This is the actual video the stills above were taken from. Not my best driving and still done for no damage. This target was run at about Noon on 3/17/17. Seriously, no change.