#and his platform gun is extremely helpful especially on morkite refining missions helps out a ton when pipeline building

[prototypelq]

Okay so, yesterday I've been on my worst DRG mission yet xD

I am a very green-greenbeard (barely over 10 hours playtime), my fav mission type is Liquid Morkite mining (space oil mining, you need to build a system of pipelines leading to each morkite rift, which requires a lot of fun terrain-conquering problem-solving), because building pipelines is addictively fun. So, as a complete idiot, I see a mission with modifiers (this was a decision I would later regret-but not really) and get on it on a public server (meaning any player can join in, which normally doesn't take too much time at all).

The modifiers on that mission? Low oxygen and Cave Leeches (Cave leeches are enemy type that grab you and drain your health to zero unless somebody else saves you, Low Oxygen means precisely what the name implies, and you need to regularly come back to the mining station to refill your oxygen tanks.) Oh, and the Cave Complexity was 3 (which means, as I've intimately learned on that mission, that the map becomes much bigger, and more obstacles will get in your way, this pairs very badly with low oxygen modifier, as your mission objectives are placed further, but you constantly need to route back to be able to breathe)

So, there my lonely Engineer was, with my best boi Bosco (robot-companion while you play solo, he actually does what you ask him to so he is more useful than actual players xD yes but not really but yes), terrified of the amount of lootbug mess I just stepped into, once I logged in and realised what exactly all those modifiers meant.

I was terrified to explore, as it would be extremely easy to get caught by leeches and Bosco can only revive me two times, and this was only the prep step of the actual mission. Very carefully, I was able to find the first morkite well, and then the real issue arose. While, I am really glad I picked Engie for this mission, as his ability to create platforms is extremely useful when building pipelines, he also is one of the classes that doesn't have innate fast mobility options. In the context of a big map and pipeline building this meant that I had to: imagine the route I can build the pipeline to that particular morkite well, figure out how to mold terrain so the pipeline route would be actually possible to build, go out and mold terrain, then immediately route back because I have no oxygen left, rinse repeat, but switch 'terrain mold' to 'pipeline construction'. Very soon the time I spent getting to the construction point and back took most of my oxygen, so I could work like 30 seconds maybe on a pipeline, before heading back, otherwise my dwarf would suffocate. Also, somehow, Nobody would join. I think I spent around 30, maybe a bit more minutes just trying to build the first pipeline. I was terrified of going outside the tried and true routes because of the cave leeches, so I didn't even have any nitra for a resupply when my platform gun ran out of ammo. I started manually digging through the rock to build the second pipeline. I mean, I started digging for 2 seconds at best, then had to run back because of low oxygen, then back to mining for my two limited seconds.

For some reason, I persisted through this, and built two out of three pipelines. Thankfully, the best route I found for the last line went parallel to my first built line for a long time, so that eased the process a little, and the middle morkite well turned out to be closer than the others, so that was a break. I only had the longest pipeline to build, the one where I had to manually dig a tunnel to place, when, THANK GOD, another player joined in. It was a Gunner, he clearly didn't feel nearly as terrified as I was of the cave leech ambushes, was I bravery or stupidity I know not, but he found us nitra, and I was finally able to order a resupply. Things went easier after I figured out that his ziplines took less time to go up the cliff that pipeline surfing, and with my reloaded platform gun things got much easier. Then another player joined in, a scout this time, and it all went pretty smooth after that. The entire mission took me an hour and a half to complete, and for the most of it I was on my own.

Bosco, I will never forget the bond we built on that mission, robot-buddy my dear,

and the joined guys really saved my ass there,

I would never have finished the mission without them. Remember, if you Rock and Stone, you're never alone!

#sadly they left after the mission and I didn't even get to order them a beer at the bar #i did thank them extensively during the mission chat so I think my appreciation was communicated well xD #thank god it was only hazard 2 so we didn't have too much troubles with bugs #my main is driller but i am starting to really love the engie too i like playing support roles #and his platform gun is extremely helpful especially on morkite refining missions helps out a ton when pipeline building #still drg is great because every class is pretty much self-sustainable so any one dwarf can finish any mission #you might really wish for teammates in times like this tho so the coop aspect of the game really works wonders here #rock and stone #drg #deep rock galactic #i am not doing low oxygen missions on my own again xD #though it will be my duty from now on to join each one I can cause I really needed those teammates