Update: Raids 80 and 81 - Under the cover of darkness

I want to continue running some night raids. Might as well get the value from the Night Vision Gear (NVG) I purchased.  

Destination: Customs

Goals: 

• pick up the doc case from the Tarcone Director's Office
• Kill Scavs (need 15 kills for Therapist quest)
• Find Intel (need this for intelligence center in the hideout, which I will likely need to step up to a beta secure container, instead of my little alpha)
• Find white armor
• Survive

Plan: There are supposedly new spawns on Customs, so that may temper any plans. But basically I'd like to cross the map, being sure to hit Crack House and Director's Office and kill scavs on the way. 

Loadout: Trooper Class 4 armor. VPO-209 with both Valday scope and canted sight. Three 30-round magazines, two with .366 AP and one of TKM FMJ.  Tiny Kurz SMG in rig, two grenades. Meds. Armasight N-15 setup for night vision. In my alpha container: IFAK, CMS kit and key to Customs Office.

Previously Insured

Raid 80 - The Quiet Night

Got one of the new spawns - right behind old gas. Made my way to crack house.  Scoped stronghold and no sign of activity there.  I was quietly creeping outside crack house, listening for footsteps from inside (there were none).  I took concealment in a bush at the corner of the building and was about to enter when suddenly running footfalls came my way. I froze for a moment. Looked left and right trying to figure out where they were coming from. Behind me? No... other side of building. A player rounded the far corner of the building and ran into the entrance. That short run had him making a straight line for me. I panicked for a moment and froze, thinking it was my demise. I recovered and aimed down sight (with the VPO-209, I need a headshot - need to put him away quick). But I was too late, my ADS occurred right as he stepped into the building and stopped. 

Damn! Why is my ADS sound so loud? Did he hear it? I couldn't see the player, and couldn't rightly see the door either from my angle, but if he stepped out I'd have him.  The player pulled the pin on a grenade and I heard it roll right near me.  I ran.

But as I ran, I thought to myself: that grenade sounded like it was on hard floor, not the ground. I was right - the grenade exploded but inside the building. I looped around the fence and calmed down again at the RUAF extract.  No one was following. And no scavs neither.

I crossed the map, using the main bridge, picked up the package from the Director's office, looted the safe (just some petty cash), and extracted. Excepting the player, I didn't hear or see a soul the entire raid. 

Time In Raid: 18 minutes 37 seconds.

Exp: 759

No Shots Fired

Mistakes

• trouble placing the sound of the player
• not aiming down sight sooner. If I had been prepared, I could have taken him.

Successes

• survived
• got the doc case

Raid 81 - Robbed

I need to kill some 15 scavs. Encountered exactly zero on the previous raid, so I'm a little worried this night-raid thing might not be good for scav murder. They're likely all asleep.  But let's try it again.

Spawned in the liquid containment zone, in one of the little "go between" buildings that has no loot. Seemed quiet. No scavs again? Headed over to the green-screen building and entered it from the rear staircase.  Looted the machine room when I heard footsteps prowling outside. Hmmm. I really don't need to die to another player in the first minute of a raid - I'm here to kill scavs. So I quietly went back the way I came, exited and took concealment in the bushes. 

The footsteps came running around the building, "here we go" I thought. But I didn't have clear thoughts on how to conduct the upcoming battle. Should I stay put and hope to jump him? Should I step out where I can pre-aim the corner? Grenade?   Too many choices - so I did nothing. 

The footsteps rounded the corner and with them a flashlight, a scav shouted in Russian. Oh - it was a scav - I was so sure there would be none. I quickly tried conducting a firefight with the scav, but it didn't go well. That damn flashlight was blinding - fortunately he didn't land any shots on me. After I started firing on him, he ran away. I ran around the building in the opposite direction - if I do this poorly I'll end up right in his sights - or I could flank him and use the building as hard cover.  But two corners later there was no sign of him. No flashlight to see, no footsteps to hear. Where did he go?

Looking up I saw a sniper scav on the next building over. Scoped, aimed, and headshotted him. Nice. That shot stirred up the previous scav and we once again began chasing each other. I was using hard cover quite well and he wasn't able to land any shots. But neither was I - that flashlight!  He disappeared again, and I decided not to pursue. 

Went through the wall to the military checkpoint. I found Emelya-brand croutons!! I was so excited, I put them in my secure container, in place of the IFAK.  I crossed the map over to construction, hugging new gas on the hill. As I moved, I would sometimes catch fire from new gas. So there are scavs there.  Is it possible Reshala is there? How would I be able to tell?  As I circled new gas I took repeated opportunities to scope it out, but I never saw anyone. They must be hiding well in the shadows.  I even put myself in jeopardy hoping to see a muzzle flash. Had some shots fired at me, but still was unable to place them.  Shot another sniper scav and continued down the road.

As I approached the intersection with the main bridge, there were a pair of scavs up there. I killed one, ducked while the other swept around with the flashlight, and then killed him. I want to check those scavs for white armor, but before I do that let's check construction.  No scavs in construction. When I came back out there was another scav at the intersection where I had killed the previous two. I killed him too. I searched the three scavs and there it was: white armor.  Yes!! Finally!!

Crossed the main bridge. Scoped the little toll house for any snipers on it, same with the train. Seemed clear.   Should I head straight for extract? Or head into the customs building to possibly kill more scavs and re-check the director's office?  I was deciding on the latter as I neared the end of the bridge span when WHAM I got slammed in the chest with suppressed sniper fire. From where? Can't tell - I ran. There is the train car that has the planks going up and down each side. I bet if I can cross this train I'll be able to shake him. I ran to the planks - but for some reason I couldn't go up them - wrong angle, desync, panic running ? Who knows? I can either slow down and re-attempt this ascent, or run elsewhere. I snap decided to run elsewhere - get down into the bushes.  I didn't get far. A second shot in my back finished me off.

The armor!! The croutons!!  Robbed!!

Time In Raid: 30 minutes, 40 seconds

Exp: 1233

Healing: 6K

Killed by cunniff811 with 2 shots of 7.62x51 M61 to the thorax. Congratulations cunniff811! 

Kills: Kisa Oblomov, Maks Torch, Spiridon Ovaschebaza, Arsen Sheva, Stepa Naglyy.  Godspeed gentlemen.  

Ammo Used: 17  Hits: 6  Accuracy: 0.35   Damage to Body: 348  Longest Shot: 153.8 meters (when was this?)

Mistakes

• in that snap decision, I was running for concealment, but I should have run for hard cover, like maybe the little toll booth at bridge end
• The plank mistake was costly. Should I have just re-attempted?
• Didn't range my scope at the beginning of the raid. I'm not sure if it was for 50m or 100m. I usually keep it at 100m, but on a map like customs 50m might be smarter.
• Died
• Lost white armor. And the stupid croutons have to be found-in-raid, so I have to find them again.  Oy.
• Need to learn how to fight against flashlights. Also, consider learning how to fight with a flashlight (will it blind scavs, I wonder?). 
• Should have been braver against new gas.  Should have taken that fight.

Successes

• Put croutons in secure container. Technically this is a mistake, because they lost their FIR status when I died. BUT at the time I got them I didn't know they had to be FIR. So having the sense to secure them will count as a success, however misguided.
• killed 5 scavs.  Only 10 more to go.

Postscript

One of the scavs I killed (Spiridon Ovaschebaza) was a one-shot kill at 58.2 meters, with me aiming at his head, not sure how the scope was ranged. But my post-morten screen says it was a thorax shot. So the shot ended up lower than I was aiming. Not sure what to take away from that:

• .366 AP packs a punch.
• if my scope was set wrongly (to 100 meters), then shouldn't the shot have gone high and not low?
• .366 AP is 4% faster than TKM FMJ which is the ammo the VPO-209 is baselined to. So shouldn't that have also contributed to a high shot, not low?
• .366 AP has a bad accuracy adjustment (-20% IIRC). I wonder if that accounts for why it was a thorax shot, instead of a headshot?