Target: Carnifex
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|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Tangier High Pass, Hab Spire Legis, Spire Golgotha, Argus Settlement | ||
| Briefing | Commander, we have a priority target. A thundering Carnifex is driving forward with a host of Tyranid creatures. This Carnifex is very powerful, Commander, but that also makes it valuable to the Hive Mind. These creatures require large amounts of biomass to create, and killing it will slow the Tyranid infestation considerably. This will buy more time for the Litany of Fury to make it to Aurelia. | ||
| Objectives | Eliminate the Carnifex | ||
| Intelligence | This target is vulnerable to attacks from power weapons. Large, heavily armored creatures are defending this target. | ||
| Notes | Bio-Feedback: Victory reduces infestation (-2) | ||
| Reward | Random | ||
Objectives
- Primary Objective: Eliminate the Carnifex
Walkthrough
This walkthrough assumes Primarch difficulty and Hab Spire Legis map.
For this mission, you definitely want a missile launcher for Avitus (or ranged Force Commander, if you have one) and a plasma gun for Tarkus. There are lots of Carnifexes around, probably 10 or so, with many of them having the bioplasma cannon. Luckily, they are very easy to kill with the proper weaponry – get a couple of missiles in and you can finish the beast with melee or plasma gun. To do this, try to lure them in your kill zone alone without 20 smaller Tyranids along. Draw the Carnifex's attention with Force Commander (iron halo) or Tarkus (Tactical Advance) while Avitus does his job, and you'll be killing the monsters with barely a scratch.
Other Tyranids on this one include several Zoanthropes, Lictors, some Warriors and Raveners, and a small amount of Hive Nodes. Luckily, no venom cannons this time. Cyrus will help a lot with his scouting ability and High-Powered Shot (save those for Zoanthropes and Lictors). Other "game-opener" options are a To Victory! charge or Assault Jump (Aegis of Fury required) if you don't have Cyrus. Luring a Carnifex on a remote detonation explosive will also almost kill it.
The boss Carnifex is a ranged variant, who has a ranged bioplasma attack, a charge attack, and a self-centered area of effect blast. He is slow, easy to dance around, and can be meleed relatively safely from behind because of his slow turning speed (iron halo still recommended).
However, there's a little surprise here: When you get his health down, the boss will summon two more Carnifexes from the map corner. This appears to be considered extremely difficult in online strategy discussions, but can actually be managed easily.
- Be on the lookout for this, and pull back a little when it happens, possibly nuking the area with an artillery/orbital strike or just figuring out which one to kill first. Force Commander and Tarkus to draw attention, missiles, explosives, aim for the weakest one first, pull back and repeat if necessary – you're done (or at least back to fighting just the one).
- If you can micromanage your squads well, you can actually dance around the trio and take them out without withdrawing. Cyrus can run in and arrogantly plant a remote detonation pack at their feet, leaving the helpers nearly or completely dead and delivering a good smack for the boss. Concept proven by killing the "extra" Carnifexes with only Cyrus and Tarkus (on Primarch).