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Quick-and-Dirty Rogue Leader Walkthrough

by the NWR Staff - December 21, 2001, 2:54 pm EST

Absolutely stuck on Prisons of the Maw, Razor Rendezvous, Raid on Bespin, or Strike at the Core? Jonny's bare-bones guide should get you through to the next level!

Summary

Prisons of the Maw

Razor Rendezvous

Raid on Bespin

Strike at the Core

Contact Info and Disclaimer

SUMMARY

Basically, this is a simple walkthrough for Rogue Leader. It's not for people who are trying to get medals or secrets or whatever. If you're just plain stuck on a level and want to beat it so you can move on, these strategies are the best quick-and-dirty way I know of to do it. Right now I've just done walkthroughs for Prisons of the Maw, Razor Rendezvous, Raid on Bespin, and Strike at the Core, because those seem to be giving people the most trouble. Keep in mind that beating these levels with my strategies ain't gonna look pretty, and more than likely they're not going to earn you any medals, but they should let you survive so you can see more of the game. You can worry about playing with style and finesse later, eh? Well then, let's get to it.


PRISONS OF THE MAW

You'll start the level in a Y-Wing, with two other Y-Wings for wingmen. The setting is a huge asteroid field, and yes, asteroids are destructible and can also hurt you in a collision. Best to avoid them altogether; they're mostly eye-candy, unless you get into a really nasty dogfighting situation with the TIEs (which you won't, with this strategy).

Right then, start out by slamming on the gas and flying straight ahead. Eventually a set of shield generators will appear, set up in a sideways figure-eight pattern. Those are your goal, and trust me, they're MUCH farther away than they appear. Just keep flying straight, and when your wingman command cross automatically appears in the upper-left corner, tell them to attack the TIEs. Not long after, the TIE Interceptors will start flying in...and your best bet is to totally ignore them and keep flying straight. Interceptors (not Advanced, as many people are calling them...TIE Advanced have shields, missiles, hyperdrive, etc. and look a bit different) are much, much, MUCH faster and more agile than your Y-Wing, and trying to shoot them down is mostly an exercise in futility. Your wingmen will stay behind and keep most of the TIEs occupied; a few will follow you, and you'll just have to deal with them by dodging the laser fire. If you haven't already learned to do that, now is a great time to learn. Just shift your direction a lot, flying up then down then left then right, back and forth constantly, while still flying more or less towards your goal (in this case, the shield generators). The lasers will almost never hit you, and if one or two does, no big deal. At some point you'll come across a group of large tanker ships...you can blow them up pretty easily by shooting at their rear engines, but there's no reason to do so unless you're trying for a medal or just feeling generally violent. ;-) Past them, you may encounter a few Imperial shuttles/gunboats (I've seen them called both). These ships are very lightly armed and pose no threat to your mission, so ignore them too. By this time you should be able to see the blue, shimmering forcefield. At each of its corners is a small device; you need to disable three of them, any three. Do this by hitting them with your Ion cannon, which is enabled simply by holding B until your targeting!

reticle turns blue. Let go of B to fire the ion cannon, but be aware that it has absolutely pitiful range. Not only will you need pretty good aim to hit the forcefield generators, but you have to wait until you're very close to hit them. Just start slowing down once you're close enough, fire a couple ion shots until it's disabled (its share of the forcefield will disappear and the whole generator will start flashing), then move on to another generator. The other two are disabled in the exact same way, and then you're done with the first part of this level...without ever destroying a single thing.

Part two of the level is about the same length (making this one of the longer missions in the game), but it's even less complex if you know what to do. Immediately press B once to switch to your bombing view; then use your radar's orange wedge to fly to the first objective area. It will contain five or six gun towers that you need to bomb...they're easy to spot, since they are firing massive amounts of laser fire at you and your wingmen. As long as you don't fly with full brakes applied, most of that laser fire should miss easily, and you'll be free to bomb the towers at your leisure. Just pick a good line of sight that will take you over three or four of the gun towers, and drop two bombs (one if you have advanced bombs) on each tower just as your purple target reticule passes over them. After each bombing pass, continue flying away from the objective area for a few seconds to give yourself some room. Then do a quick 180-degree turn and make another pass on the remaining towers. If you're having trouble hitting them, try slowing down to give yourself extra aiming time. When all of the towers are gone, the prisoners will radio you to fly to the next objective area. The first two areas are exactly the same...just bomb all the towers. On your way to the third area, look for a comm tower (has a radar dish on top) next to a single small dome structure. You can bomb that dome to get the Advanced Concussion Missiles upgrade...normally I wouldn't include an upgrade in these quick-and-dirty walkthroughs, but this one is just right there in your path anyway, so you might as well get it. The third area consists of gun towers surrounding a network of seven comm towers. DESTROY THE GUN TOWERS FIRST, then start taking out the comm towers one by one. Each comm tower will take three to five bombs, depending on how directly the bombs hit. (I think dropping closer to the top of the tower does more damage, but I'm not sure about that.) When you r!

un out of bombs, fly around for a minute while they regenerate. You can use that time to take out some of the pesky TIEs on your tail, if you like. The fourth and final objective area starts out like normal; just bomb the gun towers. Once they're all gone, the prisoners will take off in a shuttle, and you need to protect them from TIE Interceptors until they can get away. Command your wingmen to attack the TIEs, then fly towards the shuttle and look for groups of Interceptors shooting towards it. If you need help seeing which TIEs to hit, or just help seeing them at all, don't feel guilty about using your targeting computer. This is a very good situation for it. After about one minute, if you've killed enough TIEs to keep them from blowing it up, the shuttle will escape safely and the mission will be completed. Congrats! This is one of the most lengthy and frustrating missions in the game, if you let yourself get distracted too much. If you follow this strategy and still have a ton of trouble, practice your bombing skills and laser-dodging skills on other levels..


RAZOR RENDEZVOUS

This is easily one of the toughest missions in Rogue Leader, so it's no surprise that it's giving hives to many players. The following strategy depends heavily on your shooting and dodging skills, but it's the fastest easiest way I know of to beat the level. Since the Star Destroyer is so insanely powerful, and because it unleashes dozens and dozens of TIEs, it's important to beat this mission quickly; you're not going to survive a sustained battle against this behemoth.

When the mission starts, immediately tell your wingmen to attack the TIEs. They'll hang around your frigate (the Redemption) and defend it against the onslaught of TIE Fighters and Interceptors, leaving you to take out the Star Destroyer. If you don't follow this step, you will have to constantly switch back and forth between attacking the Star Destroyer (I'll call it "SD" from here on out) and defending the Redemption, and that makes the mission a lot longer and therefore harder. Realize that you'll spend practically the whole mission with TIEs on your tail; also know that you need to destroy the SD very quickly, or your wingmen won't be enough to protect the Redemption. Your first target should be the SD's set of four ion cannons, which are easy to spot because they shoot giant beams of white/blue light. Just aim your lasers right at the sources of those shots, and when the first one goes up in flames, shift your aim over a bit to the next. It'll probably take you two passes to kill them all. (Taking out the SD's ion cannons is actually not necessary, but it's a pretty easy way to lengthen the Redemption's lifespan. If you're getting killed a lot on this step, try skipping it and going straight for the shield generators.) After each pass, when you get too close to the SD to do anymore good, turn 180-degrees back towards the Redemption and slam on your boost all the way. After about ten seconds at full speed, hit the brakes and turn back towards the SD for another pass. Your second goal is to take out some of the SD's many, many gun turrets. They are literally everywhere on the ship's surface, and you can probably take out a few just by spewing out laser fire anywhere on the surface. Pay special attention to the ones at the large end of the SD, because they'll cause you major trouble while you work on the shield generators. After you've killed a lot of the gun turrets on the topside, start another pass and try to take out a few o!

n the bottom of the SD...one pass should be enough to significantly reduce the amount of laser fire directed at you. (Again, eliminating gun turrets is not mandatory to beat the mission, but if you need this guide to beat the level, I'm assuming that those turrets will provide too much laser fire for you to handle once you go after the shield generators. As before, you can try skipping this step if it gives you major problems, but braving the turrets may not be an easier option.) Then begin a series of passes to blow up the shield generators. The first two are sphere-shaped and are found on the very top of the SD's bridge, the big end. They should be easily visible even from far off. Concentrate laser fire only on the nearest sphere; two passes should be enough to blow it up. Don't bother with torpedos, because they'll probably just miss and be wasted. Then repeat for the other sphere, it should go about the same way.

Here's a nice tip from Jeff Clagg and Milton Friedman...use a ship with ion cannons, like the B-Wing or Y-Wing. You can hit each shield generator with an ion blast, and that will significantly reduce the number of laser shots it'll take to destroy the generator. I've tried this tactic, and it helps a lot to speed up the mission. Plus, the fewer passes you have to make to kill those things, the better your chances of survival.

At this point the frigate will be begging for help; if you're making really fast progress, leave it to your wingmen to handle. If it's taken a lot of time up to this point, you might want to go back to the Redemption and help the wingmen take out some of the attacking TIEs. Just use your targeting computer and attack the yellow ones. Either way, your next major objective is the last shield generator, and it's on the bottom of the SD. Start a new pass, but fly way down so you'll have a good view of the SD's belly once you turn around. Be aware that there are probably a ton of gun turrets still left on the bottom, and it's a good idea to spend one or two passes eliminating most of them. Then start concentrating your fire on the large dome on the belly...I recommend using lasers until you're reasonably close, then aim slightly above the bottom of the dome and unleash about half of your torpedos. It should blow up after two or three passes of heavy fire. Now there's only one part left! Fly back ot the topside of the SD, but instead of starting a pass by flying back towards the Redemption, go towards the pointy end of the SD. (At this point, do not fly back to the frigate for ANY reason, because the SD will escape into hyperspace. Once the three shield generators are down, you have to finish off the entire ship ASAP or it will get away and you'll fail the mission.) Quickly turn around and concentrate your lasers on the very center of the almost-rectangular bridge, below and between where the spherical shield generators were. You should be able to see a small, shiny nub right there in the middle; use your targeting computer if you have trouble finding it. When you get pretty close to the nub (it won't take long, because now the SD is moving forward towards you), dump the rest of your torpedos into it. Then start another pass back at the pointy end, and finish off the nub. The SD will crash into the nearby planet Kolith, and Razor Rend!

ezvous is complete. Even with my strategy, it may take you many tries until you get the hang of dodging HEAVY laser fire and seeing the gun turrets on the SD's surface. Keep in mind that you might also need to modify this strategy with more trips to defend the Redemption, if you're slow with destroying the SD's shield generators.


RAID ON BESPIN

This is actually a very quick and easy mission if you know what you're doing. Raid on Bespin is divided into two sections; protection of the gas platforms, and a raid on Cloud City. Start out the first part by flying towards and slightly below the nearest balloon. When you're close enough to see up under the balloon covering, fire your lasers up under there, just off-center from the vertical shaft so that you hit one of the engines. You should be able to blow it up in just one pass if you make clean shots to the engines. After the balloon is gone, take out the TIE Interceptors attacking the gas platform. Command your wingmen to attack the TIEs, and go out on your own to shoot down some of them yourself. Once they're gone, you'll be ordered to go to the next set of platforms. Repeat the previous pattern: balloons first, then TIEs. This strategy (along with some decent shooting on your part) should get you through the first half of Bespin easily. The only other thing to note is about the gigantic gas clouds...you know you've entered one when you suddenly can't see for anything. Try your best to avoid the clouds when possible, and if you get into one, don't panic. Just switch on your targeting computer and fly on towards the next gas platform, and you should exit the cloud before you get to it.

Once you arrive at Cloud City, the level can be over within a couple of minutes. Command your wingmen to attack the TIEs flying over the city, and then immediately head towards your orange radar wedge for the first shield generator. Each generator is down in one of the city's many trenches; your radar will take you to the general area, but you'll have to explore the trenches there yourself to find the generator. Note that generators only appear in STRAIGHT trenches, they lie directly on the ground, they look a bit like snails, and you can hear them rumble when you're close by. When you see one, fire a set of concussion missiles at it, then follow up with laser fire. It should go down in a single pass; if not, pull up out of the trench, turn around, and go back down to finish it off. Then move on to the next generator. Once all three are gone, fly to the last gas platforms, which are found on the outskirts of the city. On your way, tell your wingmen to form up; once y!

ou arrive at the platforms, command the wingmen to attack TIEs. Meanwhile, you should take out the balloons, same way as before, and then use your targeting computer to identify the TIE bombers. Help your wingmen shoot down all the TIE bombers, and the mission is complete. No problem! The biggest thing about this stage is to not get distracted in Cloud City; ignore the many balloons, TIE Fighters, and surface gun turrets. Just go straight for the generators and then head to the last gas platforms, and you'll have it beat in no time.


STRIKE AT THE CORE

This level is easy as hell if you know the trick. Just stay close behind Lando. Once more: STAY CLOSE BEHIND LANDO. The thing that gave me so much trouble with this mission, and the thing that is most likely giving you trouble with it, is that Lando keeps getting shot down. If that happens, you can be sure that it's because you got too far behind. For the first part of the level, where you're flying over the Death Star II's surface, it is literally impossible for the TIEs to kill Lando. You can beat this part without shooting down a single enemy...I just did it to make sure. The nasty thing is that if you get really far behind, the "Mission Failed" cutscene makes it look like Lando got shot down. This is actually not true; it's just that you let him get too far ahead of you. If the problem is keeping yourself alive, just fly up high where the turrets can't reach you. You may have to dodge some lasers if a TIE gets on your tail, but it's nothing that'll kill you. So to sum up this first part: fly high and stay close behind Lando. Just close your S-foils to make up lost ground every so often.

Eventually you'll get to the shaft, and here things get more complicated. Not only will Lando still die if you get far behind, but he can now be killed by the TIEs. Your job is to stay close to him (usually by closing your S-foils in the straight parts...leave them open on turns or you'll smash into a wall) and shoot down any TIEs that are on his tail. You have little room to work with here, so go easy on the stick. More TIEs will periodically come in from behind to attack Lando; you don't need to worry much about their lasers hitting you, but they can and will smash into you and knock you into a wall. The best way to avoid that is to just fly low when they're coming. Listen for the sound of their engines and duck low. Once they pass you, shoot them down as quickly as possible. If they follow Lando into a turn, quit shooting and concentrate on safely making the turn...he'll be fine until you can get a good clear shot again in a straightaway.

Eventually the shaft will open up into a massive chamber. Kill off the last TIEs and head for the power generator. It is on the side of the structure directly above the blue core. Turn on your targeting computer if necessary to find it. Wait until you're pretty close, then you can blow it out with just a few quick laser blasts. Easy.

The last section is the escape...and it's not too hard as long as you don't panic. There are no more TIEs to worry about at all, so put away that trigger finger. Lando will be flying full speed out of here, and the only way you can keep up is to close your S-foils on the straight sections...and do so carefully, because you'll have to dodge all the obstacles at a pretty fast speed. If you get too far behind, fire will start to creep up around the screen. That fire is actually based on your distance from Lando, so if you stay near him, it won't even show up. Finally, yes, you can get in front of Lando right at the beginning of the escape. It won't really help much unless you're going for a medal, and if you can pull it off and go fast enough for him to not catch up with you, you probably don't need this guide anyway. ;-) The shaft will eventually open up slightly into the final stretch, and the end of it signifies the end of the mission, and the game. Enjoy the ending and start honing your skills for those medals and secret missions!


CONTACT INFO

If you have questions/comments about this walkthrough, you can email me at jonathan@planetgamecube.com. Please include the words "Rogue Leader Walkthrough" in the subject, because I get lots of other mail at that address every day. I would love to hear if these strategies worked for you, if there is a problem with any of them, or if you have a different strategy for beating one of these levels the quick-and-dirty way. Please DO NOT email me asking for walkthroughs of the other levels, help with finding tech upgrades, or help earning medals. I will totally ignore emails about those subjects. I may yet add walkthroughs for the other levels, but I really don't need 100 emails asking for something I plan to do anyway. Capiche?


DISCLAIMER

This walkthrough is the sole property of the author, Jonathan Metts. It is only authorized to be posted at GameFAQs.com and PlanetGameCube.com. If you see this walkthrough anywhere else, please contact the author about it. All copyrights and trademarks belong to their respective companies, namely LucasArts and Factor 5. Don't sue me.

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