Reserve Is Great, Shoreline Sucks - Raids 171 to 174 - Level 25

Destination: Reserve

Goals: Mark tanks, kill raiders, visit rooms for Therapist and Ragman

Progress: I had fun.

Raid 171 - Cornflake versus the World

Loadout: P90 SMG, Armored Rig, Meds and Ears.

This is my last P90 - the top rail for this weapon is just never on the flea anymore and I don't have the level 3 traders necessary to get it (but I'm working on it).  Hopefully whoever gets it from me today will put it to good use.

Spawned far away, made my way to the tank underneath the Observatory that I need to mark. Marked it. There was the sound of combat from the garages. That could be a good sign: maybe someone will open RB-ST.  I waited in the little Harry Potter house, scoping the manhole extract and the garage area. I heard more weapon fire, but didn't see a soul. It got quiet. I waited, sure that someone would stagger in front of my reticle, but no one did. 

Went to the garages - it was quiet. RB-ST still locked. Damn.  Crossed over toward White Bishop, someone fired on me from the Knight buildings and I dove into White Bishop.  I'm standing where I died last raid. I listened. Anyone approaching?  Nothing.  I've already sat around too much this raid, need to move.

I descended into the bunker, hoping to find raiders. There were no raiders. But there was a duo descending from White Pawn. I was near the D-2 stairs. I leaned out, put a blast of fire on my target and retreated. This is the wrong way of conducting combat with an SMG. I'm fighting like I do with the Ash-12, where a shot or two is all it takes to down someone. I probably just annoyed my target.

The duo split up, one came towards D-2, the other I could hear moving around  - maybe headed to the White Pawn stairs. I leaned out and exchanged fire with the player who showed his face at the ramp. He fired, but I was already moving. I'm not sure I landed any shots in that exchange, but he definitely did not. I toggled my flashlight, moved over to the matching antechamber below Black Pawn and doused my light. 

I'm standing in an odd corner - there's a light shining right on me, but the shadow goes to the wall the duo won't be able to see if the approach from White Pawn or King, so I should be ok.

A player descended from White Pawn - he moved around the White Pawn antechamber, and then he sprinted towards the D-2 switch hall. I was ready. I fired, blasting him in the back. But as I did I heard more footsteps - the squad mate was not far behind him. I moved moved moved and ran up the ramp leading to Black Bishop. The squad mate unloaded, but not down my hallway, but the parallel one - the switch one. He might be firing on his mate!

Ha ha! I'm still unscathed. I kept my flashlight off, so as to not give away my position and walked around on a sneaky flank. Except I somehow got totally turned around and I got lost underneath Black Bishop. I returned to the meat room somehow twice. What? Fortunately, the duo helped me out by flipping the D-2 switch which turned on the lights. I ran to the Black Bishop stairs - the ones that are blocked - damnit. I made my way back, but by now it's too late - they are long gone. 

Now what? I returned to White Bishop and checked the Therapist rooms. They were locked. What now? How about I just exit via manhole? I headed out. Should I stop in King for some loot? Footsteps.  I dove into King, the entrance with the big stairs wrapping around. A player scav ran in after me, I blasted him dead.

"Whoa! woah! Hold up there man! We're all scavs. No firing."  - someone called to me from outside the doorframe with VOIP. I can't reply - it's late at my IRL home and I can't be waking others. 

"Oh, you're a PMC aren't you?"    How did he know? Probably saw my laser, or clued in by my lack of reply. 

I don't know what possessed me, but I thought I'd just try to shoot my way out of this. But rather than flank through the hall, or run up the stairs, or anything smart, I just ran out the front door. There were four scavs in a semi circle surrounding me. (Hi Guys!) I died instantly.

Time In Raid: 24 minutes, 56 seconds
Exp: 150
Kills: Bashir Korch (player scav)
Shots: 42, Hits: 6, Accuracy: 0.12, Armor: 63, Body: 223
Killed By: Bashir Gornostay (Radiator_Helix) .  GG Radiator_Helix  . Which Scav were you? Enjoy the P90!

Mistakes

• that last play was just the worst. Even if I had been facing only one opponent, just jumping out the door like that was dumb.
• not killing one or both of the duo down below. I could have played that better especially at the beginning
• my P90 has weak ammo - need to use it differently
• getting lost
• why was I extracting? I should have gone to King to look for loot before heading to manhole
• too much waiting at the beginning - perhaps should have pushed to garages during the combat that was occurring there

Successes

• most of the flanking and movement in the fight with the duo was pretty good.
• was fun
• gives me a goal: to return to Reserve

Raid 172 - Boreline

Loadout: short high ergo ADAR, Scav Vest, balaclava, UN Blue helmet, UN Blue armor

There is one Peacekeeper quest I can finish: Humanitarian Supplies. Kill scavs, mark vehicles. Plus I really need funds, so I can get loot. But this was a boring raid. I hit Cottages and used my keys at the resort. No one at Power. Killed one scav, I don't even remember where. Apparently the ammo struggled to bring him down. Marked the vehicles.

Time In Raid: 43 minutes, 50 seconds
Exp: 1492
Shots: 25, Hits: 6, Accuracy: 0.24, Body: 251
Kills: Lyoha Sila

Raid 173 - Boreline - with an AK-74

I have not seen any Ash-12 magazines on the flea in the longest time. So I started looking for an alternate weapon, ideally one I can get with my Class 2 Traders. The UMP is always good, but not great at range and the ammo is weak.  In the 5.45 ammo I can get BT on the flea. Stats-wise it has better penetration than 7.62 PS. So I built an AK-74 using Level 2 traders only. The weapon is cheap but offline it has been a mixed bag. I was able to kill Reshala and the gang and a bunch of raiders fairly effectively, but it was nearly all headshots. This thing struggles otherwise. 

So I don't think this can replace the Ash-12. I'll check out an M1A with M80 next. But I've got this weapon, so I'm running it.  The raid itself was boring. Got loot from Cottages and behind locked doors in the resort, killed scavs at the resort, the bus depot, and the weather station. But I still need a lot more scav kills for this quest and am not finding them. (Though, in fairness, my time is mostly spent looting)

Time In Raid: 41 minutes, 33 seconds
Exp: 1826
Shots: 14, Hits: 6, Accuracy: 0.43, Body: 246
Kills: Zurab Ebanko, Parfeniy Pechenka, Petya Morkovnik

Successes

• found some Marlboro cigarettes, which completed a quest and now I'm Level 25

Raid 174 - Boreline

I now have another quest for Skier. I spent a quarter million rubles on keys. So now I'm pursuing three quests simultaneously.  Spawned behind resort. Made my way to the sniper rock behind. With some effort managed to kill the sniper. That's a lot of noise, hope no one heard it. Made my way toward the gap in the fence behind admin.  BAM BAM BAM BAM  red tracers flew overhead  (another BT enthusiast?) . Those shots are definitely aimed at me, but I'm at no real risk - I'm still below the crest of the hill and he can't get me. But I've encountered this before - he's not trying to kill me, he's warning me away. He is most likely an RMT miner just trying to get some loot - he can probably see me through the hill and through walls (but admittedly anyone with ears would have heard me fighting the scav a minute ago). 

I need PMC kills for Punisher 4, but charging forward will just get me dead. I backed up. Flanked around to the east side of the resort and flanked admin from there. Turned on my flashlight and stepped in. It was dead quiet.  

Long story short, the safes in Admin had been looted. No sign of the PMC who fired on me. I got my quest items and filled up my bag. 

Afterwards went looking for scavs. None at bus depot, none by the truck in the field, but there were two near the stash before Exit to Lighthouse. It was very difficult fighting them - the tall grass prevented me from seeing them, but not them from seeing me. I killed one, but ultimately ran out of time and evaded. The scavs messed up my arms.

I still have not killed enough scavs for the Peacekeeper quest, and apparently there is yet another controller for Skier that I overlooked. So I'll be back. But maybe not right away, I want to do something fun.

Time In Raid: 45 minutes, 55 seconds
Exp: 1730
Kills: Avksentiy Arahis, Zheka Desink - Godspeed gentlemen
Shots: 21, Hits: 3, Accuracy: 0.14, Body: 112

PostScript

Some overpriced Ash-12 magazines appeared on the flea. I spent more than 200K rubles on a bunch of them. Then I grabbed an Ash-12. So now between my new fancy big "for looting" backpack, the keys Skier made me buy, and these magazines I desperately need funds.  But, what else is new?