A New Game - Raids 54 to 61 - Level 16

I reached Level 15 and finally have access to the flea market. This also means that I try to keep my limited stash area dedicated to quest items and things I'll use immediately. I sold off some of the trash, and purchased some of the last items I needed for some hideout improvements. And, I've vowed to not use an AK or any low level weapon any more. It's a new game. Until I start on the Punisher Quest line. 

Raid 54 - Loot Run on Shoreline.

I can't afford anything on the flea market. I need funds.

Time In Raid: 35 minutes, 36 seconds
Exp: 1168
Ammo Used: 21, Hits: 6, Accuracy: 0.29, Damage to body: 282
Kills: Vitya Koryaga (AI Scav). Godspeed Vitya. Sorry our paths crossed.

Raid 55 - Triple Questing on Customs

I can't start the Punisher Quests until after I finish the Shaking Up Teller quest and until I reach Level 17. But with my new flea market access I was able to buy a bunch of keys. So now I'm hoping to tackle Operation Aquarius Part 1, Golden Swag and Shaking Up Teller.  Four keys required and all take place in Dorms.

Loadout: beat up class 4 armor, UMP SMG with .45 FMJ ears, meds, keys

I spawned in the go-between in the industrial section. It was raining heavily. I moved across the wall and to the hills, stopping to pick up an Iskra that had spawned on a box - I need it for a quest. I made my way around the map. There was some activity at dorms while I walked, but it seemed quiet when I got there - though the rain made hearing things like footsteps difficult. 

Now what? Well, I'm here at two story dorms, I guess I'll start with that.  I started up the stairs, just as I went to open the door someone began firing on me. He must have just stepped around the corner of the building. I fired blindly back and tried backing down the stairs, but died before I reached the bottom.

Time In Raid: 8 minutes, 7 seconds
Exp: 15
No hits
Killed by: GSG9_XIAOXU.  GG GSG9_XIAOXU !!

Mistakes

• probably should have stopped and listened more before advancing
• should have at least peeked into the courtyard
• should have jumped off the staircase and run, rather than trying to back down it firing

Successes

• did not die to a scav

Remarks

• everything came back on insurance. No sights or lights taken. 

Raid 56 - Triple Questing, again

Loadout: no armor, UMP SMG with .45 FMJ, keys, ears, meds, backpack

Spawned in the exact same place as last quest. Raining heavily. There was an Iskra lunch on the same box as the previous run. Weird. I took pretty much the same route, but I added an extra stop to hit a stash - which had a Ghzel Class 5 armor set. There was heavy fighting going on at the Gas station. I suspect Reshala is up, and apparently he's kicking ass.  I arrived at the dorms. Listened. Checked out the courtyard. Went up the stairs, opened the door. There was a scav in the hallway - I shot him then jumped into a room - don't stand in the hallway. The scav I shot was dead, but another came. I leaned out and took him down too. I paid my respects, opened the room, got the subtask success sound and headed out.  Circled around to the side stairs on the three story dorms. Got the package for Prapor, went up another and got the lighter for Skier.  

I crossed the map. It was getting quite dark as evening approached. A scav fired on me near Sniper Roadblock, but I didn't take the fight - too dark. I deposited the lighter in the portable cabin and extracted.

Time In Raid: 27 minutes, 45 seconds
Exp: 1453
Ammo Used: 18, Hits: 3, Accuracy: 0.17, Damage to Body: 124
Kills (AI Scavs): Kolyan Belenkiy, Fetch Glittershayn .  Godspeed gentlemen.

Mistakes

• I briefly considered dropping the quests and heading over to New Gas to see what was up.  Maybe I should have, that likely would have been more fun. And it's not like Prapor's package is going anywhere.

Successes

• didn't repeat the mistakes from the last raid: stopped and listened for a bit before advancing

Raid 57 - Factory Fail

Postman Pat pays the most XP. I'm just going to try and put this behind me. I went to factory at night with a Grach and a flashlight.

I spawned at the forklifts. Fortunately, the other nearby spawns seemed empty. Used the underground passages to make my way to the body, get the message, and then back to the underground. As I came down glass hallway headed to the Gate 3 extract a scav stepped into the hall. I blasted him and he went down.  Another scav shouted and ran into the hall - I blasted him right in the head - but he disappeared - like a magician. There was a huge blood splatter right behind where his head had just been. But no second body. Where did he go?  I don't care. I started out, when a scav shot me just before I was to exit the glass hallway. I retreated quick, and got behind the boxes - the ones that don't actually stop bullets. My arm has been blacked. The scav came into the hall. I left leaned (the worst lean) out but with the blacked arm I couldn't get the pistol to center on his head - just another second and BLAM - he shot me dead.

Time In Raid: 5 minutes, 6 seconds
Exp: 320
Ammo Used: 7, Hits: 4, Accuracy: 0.57. Damage to Body: 146, Damage to Armor: 43
Kills: Rudik Krest.  Godspeed Rudik
Killed By: Genka Bibis

Raid 58 - Factory Success

Time In Raid: 4 minutes, 27 seconds.  Run Through
Exp: 105

The quests completion pushed me to Level 16

Raid 59 - Reserve Raider Run

Supposedly the raiders have returned to Reserve.  I checked this out offline, and they aren't bugged offline anymore, so that may indicate that it is true. I notice that offline they seem to sometimes spawn in four now, instead of three, and pulling the D-2 switch doesn't guarantee a second set.

Loadout: Ghzel Class 5 armor and UMP with .45 FMJ, ears, meds, rig.  CMS and AFAK in my secure container.

Spawned in the barracks outside trains - near with the far marked room. I haven't caught this spawn in a long long time. I jumped out the window and re-oriented. How should I do this? Follow the rear wall all the way and then enter via White Bishop?  Or take the underground over to the far side of the loading docks and enter via King?  Or I could follow the fences?

A player was on the hill in front of me - he fired and missed. Fuck. I turned around, ran back toward the barracks - zig zagging and trying to keep bushes between me and him. He fired more shots and missed more. I reached the safety behind the barrack buildings. If he comes directly at me, that'll be a left lean for me  - not good. What if I circle around? I tried, but couldn't get eyes on him.

You know - if he was coming this direction so early in the raid, he's probably heading to marked room. Don't put myself between him and that. I retreated out to the little flagging station where the tracks meet the edge of the map. I waited. Should I be able to hear him? Did he see me go here?

I right peeked from behind the station - my plan was working! My adversary was crossing the open heading toward the marked room. I started firing on him. But my little UMP only has a dot sight, not a scope - I'm not sure if I'm landing shots or not.  My adversary may have been confused on where I was firing from - he rushed the door of marked, firing as he entered.  He disappeared into the building as I fired more shots, probably missing.

Now what? Well, after looting the marked room he probably won't come back out the front door - he'll probably go out a rear window. So I got on the little sloped shed roof behind the flag station and peeked over. I can see the door and the rear from here.  Though, this might be dangerous if he knows I'm here.  BAM BAM BAM - shots on me - he knows I'm here. I dropped down to safety. I quickly right peeked again, but couldn't see him. This is dangerous - I can't fight him across these distances and I am pinned behind this tiny little building.  I ran away, and looped behind the trains. I crouched behind the train wheels looking for him. He came out of the building, but headed away. I tried putting shots on him, causing him to run. But now the distances are even longer. There's no point trying any more. And the raiders are waiting.

I made my way along the outside of the train station - there was a scav at the corner - I killed him. But my unsuppressed weapon fire must have attracted attention because a sniper started firing on me from above. I ran up the loading docks and cowered behind a stack of water barrels. 

I threaded my way in and through the tracks. I have a sniper above, and possibly my previous adversary is taking a parallel route as me. But I made it to the safety of White Bishop with no more trouble than a scav shouting at me. 

I descended into the bunker. There were no raiders, nor any sign of them. I checked all the usual places and nothing.  Up near the Black Pawn marked room I could hear a player moving around.  "Oh god, what am I doing here?" he asked. I had no answer. "Just don't come into the basement, buddy" I thought to myself. "This is so tiring" he continued. I turned on the D-2 switch. No change.  

Some of the technical crates had been looted already, but the provisions one was untouched. It had a lot of provisions. Between it and the meds I scooped up under White Bishop my bag was full to overflowing. I dropped off the bag, did a circuit looking for raiders. Nothing. Retrieved my backpack and extracted via D-2.

Time In Raid: 18 minutes, 48 seconds
Exp: 803
Ammo Used: 14, Hits: 2, Accuracy: 0.14, Damage to Body: 99
Kills: Hristofar Psih (AI Scav).  Godspeed Hristofar

Mistakes

• The first PMC I encountered was clearly no better than me. I should have closed the range and taken him.  

Successes

• evaded the sniper
• got good loot
• survived

Raid 60 - 0 XP Mercy

I returned to Reseve, once again looking for raiders. Spawned in behind Black Pawn. This is a good spawn for reaching the raiders first.  Someone took shots at me as I entered Black Pawn, but I paid them no heed. Turned on my flashlight and descended into the bunker.

There were no raiders in the bunker. I made a loop around and through - nobody.  Now what?  Others will be coming soon.  I decided to pull the D-2 switch to see if that would spawn more.  Hit the switch. Nothing. But now everyone knows where I am - need to scoot . I started running up the side hall that leads to the big room. There was a laser shining on the wall - and it wasn't my laser. I stopped dead in my tracks. I turned off my flashlight.  Now what?

I heard a grenade land behind me. I ran forward, turning on the flashlight, but didn't get far - a round of ActionSX from an MP7 took me in the head.

Time In Raid: 3 minutes, 33 seconds
Exp: 0
Killed By: EATCACA  .  GG EATCACA .

Mistakes

• I didn't hear the pin getting pulled on the grenade. 
• I should not have turned on the D-2 switch. 
• Maybe I shouldn't have turned off the flashlight. Perhaps I should have walked forward and tried to fight it out. I was definitely at a disadvantage - my adversary knows where I am, I can only employ a left lean there.  
• Perhaps the second I saw the laser I should have turned around and gone the other way - through the glass, through the water.
• I need a backup plan for when there are no raiders.  I got killed repeatedly last wipe working on this quest, in large part because there were never any raiders down there - only other players.

Successes

• saw the laser on the wall. 
• turned off the flashlight. Even if not the right action - it was pretty cool.

Raid 61 - Shoreline with the Scar-L

The "No place for renegades" quest to kill raiders on Reserve is still my biggest paying quest, but I'm discouraged that there haven't been raiders and I don't want to start down that path of just dying repeatedly until it's done. Plus, I want to use some weapons that I want to use. So it's to Shoreline I go, to find some signal sources for Mechanic, and hopefully kill a bunch of scavs and maybe some PMC too. I have a suppressed Scar-L that I want to run. 

Loadout: Beat up Class 4 armor.  5.56 Scar-L assault rifle with scope, canted sight and laser. Snacks, meds and ears.

It took me a second to figure out my spawn. I was in the NE corner of the map - the resort to my right and a wall behind me and to my left. That signal source on the resort is the closest, but my extracts are on the far side of the map - I should go to the radar tower first.  

So I made my way to the radar tower. Cover to cover, concealment to concealment. The sky was gloomy and it rained intermittently.  I didn't see anyone on the journey over, but I heard a small battle at the resort. Otherwise quiet.   I arrived at the radar installation and sat outside in a bush. It was quiet. Eerily quiet. No sound of any movement.  I entered the facility. There was a dead scav in the doorway of the building. I got the first subtask done, and left. The safe inside has probably been looted already, and I don't want to carry a bunch of stuff too early in the raid. I made my way to the power plant. There was a dead PMC on the road next to the tank. Hmmm. 

The powerstation was eerily quiet as well. I entered it. There were bodies everywhere, both PMC and scav.  What happened here? And when? Was this the battle I heard earlier? I'm pretty sure that was at the resort, but when did all this happen?  The PMCs had had their tags taken.  I picked up some loot, including a nicer class 4 armored rig. I threw my own busted up class 4 armor into the bushes.

I ascended to the bus station. It was quiet there too, but no bodies.  I went to the resort - quiet as well. I went up and grabbed my next signal source, looted some crates. There were footsteps moving in the building below me. I carefully checked the grounds below - clear. Then I descended the stairs I had come up. A scav shouted at me from the first floor  - I ran up the stairs as he opened fire. Then I returned and right peeked him and dropped him. But holy heck did he tank the ammo, maybe some shots were missing? He didn't collapse until my magazine was nearly drained. 

After that I made my way to extract, with one disconnect due to bad network and one stop by the swamp to fill up on a last bit of loot. I came away with two Class 4 armored rigs, neither of which I can sell on the flea. That's fine.  

Time In Raid: 40 minutes, 31 seconds
Exp: 1474
Shots fired: 26, Hits: 5, Damage to body: 187
Kills: Sanyok Yakut (AI Scav).  Godspeed Sanyok. 

Mistakes

• mis-understanding where the fight was taking place?
• arriving late to the fun

Successes

• survived and didn't lose the Scar-L