Death Valley: WTF, BI

[lugiahua 26]

You need to pick up UAV terminal from the operator

[st!gar 3]

I didn't find the mission particularly hard - possibly because I was playing on "Regular" - but I found it extremely un-enjoyable. They hand you a grenade launcher with four shells that do so little splash-damage, you might as well throw snowballs at them. They teach you how to "calibrate" the launcher for short, medium and long-range, respectively, but don't tell you what the game considers those ranges to be, meaning you still have to experiment with trial-and-error. Which is what tutorials are for. The player should never be forced to do this in a live mission while under fire. He should be taught how to use the thing before the mission, so that whether he hits his targets or not, it's his fault; not the game's fault for not bloody teaching him what to do.

When you finally collect the UAV, you're told to use it to "paint targets". Just a bit of a bitch that the game never tells you how target-painting works, then. I eventually figured it out by trial-and-error after multiple defeats. You're supposed to zoom the UAV camera close to the enemy, and keep the dot on him for a number of seconds. I can't even begin to describe how fucking infuriating it was to see the enemies, mark the enemies, and then just sit helplessly and watch while nothing fucking happens until your men are all blown to shit. Eventually, it turned out that the reason the game didn't register the marking, was that I hadn't zoomed the camera in on the target. Because who cares that you can clearly see the enemy, and are keeping the laser directly on one of their faces? Everyone knows you have to press the "+"-key on your keyboard three times, first!

God; that mission is so incompetently designed.

[instagoat 133]

I didn'T use the UAV in the end. After I found the spotters once, I shot them with the rifle after scrounging a scope from a body.

Using the UAV got the squad attempting to shoot the spotters killed, which failed the mission twice for me (at least that's what I assume. They get shot at, immediately spin around, shoot a couple of times and then the mission ends in failure.).

I lost count of how many tries it took for me in the ending, but I only managed it by doing the other missions first, resulting in "Death Valley" taking place at night. Suddenly, it was a decently playable mission.

Attempting it during daytime, however.... not well designed, sorry to say.

[lugiahua 26]

You can use shift+lmb on map to measure distance. Very helpful if you carry a GL

[Nads 10]

I'm just on this mission now on veteran and am just at the UAV stage (complicated or what?) but getting to the village took a lot of reverts, actually going through the valley is insane, the team got killed every time from miles away and myself no matter what cover I was using. In the end (after team got killed yet again) it was lone wolf, I went up over the left ridge, around the side and came down in the village, from there with decent cover I dodged between the houses and picked off the enemy who are some way out in front of the village itself, as they closed in on my position the allies in the house picked a few more off and eventually it was clear, actually took quite a while but was one of the more intense parts of the campaign so far. I'm still fiddling with the UAV had it up a few times, still working on it.

[MandozerTheGreat 10]

Are Mortars to be expected on this mission now? Granted I'm using mods and I'm trying to see if one of them alters the mission some how. Also I no longer am handed a grenade launcher automatically nor is it available at the Armory.

List of Mods I'm running I'll bold the ones that change the AI. I usually run the game off of the Play withSix launcher since it keeps everything organized and beautiful for me. I've beaten this mission before vanilla before I discovered the joys of modding/when I got frustrated at my own AI squadmates getting murdered so hilariously that I looked into options to improve the play and thus far I've enjoyed myself until I repeatedly had Mortars land on me this mission, directly on me. Death in the deathscreen is credited to Mk. 6 Mortar and the explosion was way too loud to be a grenade launcher, I thought it was someone who flanked us with a Grenade launcher until I saw that and this repeated itself. If its part of Vanilla ARMA 3 now which I will double check in a moment, then nbd. If it something on my end, hopefully someone might chime in and let me know.

@A3_FreeAim_Fix

@ASR_AI3

@BlastCore_A3

@CBA_A3

@compassfix

@FFIS

@lgit_ADJ

@JSRS2

@LHM

@outlw_magrepack

@outlw_moduload

@realarmor

@sthud_a3

@tao_foldmap_a3

@tmr

@TPW_MODS

@TPWCAS_A3

edit: Editing ASR to turn off the AI units radios so they wouldn't share info between eachother. I'm assuming they called the spotters who drop mortars on bravo and dropped them straight on my squad. Lost the entire squad anyway but it wasn't because of mortar spam though a couple of mortar rounds did land randomly. Got past this lone wolf, easy day.

Edited May 3, 2014 by MandozerTheGreat

[FlankerDFR 10]

I like this mission. On regular difficulty I only lost one man before taking the village. I had to revert twice because I was following my squad leader in the town when the mortal shell hits them.

I also got unlucky with the drone, because it got hit my a mortar shell when I was drving it towards the hills! But whaever, I just went on foot in teh hills and killed the spotters by myself.

Thank you!!!

Not sure how many deaths and reloads I've had (a bunch) on regular difficulty. I'm not playing with the default weapon; I picked up some sort of SAW with what appears to be CT ammo from a dead enemy in the first campaign mission; I've stuck with it every since (can't freakin' believe everyone isn't using telescopic optics in 2035 :mad: ). Anyway, like several others, I learned the hard way to stay uphill from my not too bright squad, to the left in the trees/rocks. I've actually made it into the village with my entire squad intact (many of my reloads were due to losing a squad member), only I can't figure out how to get the bleeping drone up and running, even though I've got it assembled and the control terminal in my inventory. Fortunately, for the Devs..................none of them were here for me to beat senseless with a cooked cauliflower! :rolleyes: Anyway.....................THANKS to nicolasroger for the tip I can just **** can the whole drone thing, and go uphill to kill the spotters myself! I was so :mad: off before I came here; I was ready to throw my bleepin' comp through the window out into the yard!

[faire 10]

I am having a terrible time with this mission. I am not the best shooter but I am able to get the rest of missions done on veteran. This one not. I have tried about 10x yesterday. First I go left, shoot the attackers, move to the right (quite good positions for cover) - and die again and again and again. I do not want to leave my teammembers to die, the mission would be a bit pointless for me then. I am able to get past the first contact with my team intact but unable to make it past the second one. Will try again today.

[Jona33 51]

The mission is seriously difficult, the most important thing is to remove large numbers of enemies as quickly as possible, that way your team is more likely to survive, therefore focus on using the UGL rounds (if you have a weapon with a grenade launcher), do not waste them. Don't expect for your entire squad to survive, they won't. The mission is aptly named.

[apdapreturns 10]

I managed to do it getting injured in purpose, go to the hill top to the left and say that I'm injured, that bypassed the Combat Life Saver from using the suicide waypoint and instead he kept following me through the hill top, I hope that helps someone.

[dr@gon 118]

I hate this F#&*g mission. What brain dead turd thought that frustration equals fun.

UAV 100 feet off the ground gets taken out by a mortar? Not once in a blue moon but 1 in 5???? Just one of many flaws in this stupid mission.

Too many retries to be reasonable, I appreciate a challenge but this is arbitrary sit here while you figure out how to fly an UAV, spot with it while friendlies are being mortared. then when you do find the enemy it takes so long for Charlie to respond that Bravo dies anyway. Bull Shit

I watched a few guys do this on line and I am not doing anything different. I finally had to crash the UAV into the spotter's position to get them to move out of cover then I shot them myself. Mission Completed....dumb.

[OMAC 254]

I'm playing through East Wind for a second time now on Veteran. I suggest using the MK 200 light MG (AAF) with either an ARCO or MRCO scope which you can scavenge from vanquished greenbacks earlier in Survive. With this weapon, Death Valley was a piece of cake.

I used VTS Weapon Resting mod, which I highly recommend, but will likely be made unnecessary by BI weapon resting now available in dev branch.

Edited February 20, 2015 by OMAC

[EricJ 759]

I've used the Mk200 on Insurgency and it's not bad at all, though I use an ACOG but yeah good weapon.

[bw1231996 11]

I have been stuck on "Tipping Point" for about a month, even though I have beaten the campaign before. My squadmates keep dying and I haven't even gotten to the part where you are in the valley going towards the boat and they start firing mortars at you. I think it is absolutely ridiculous.

[memphisbelle 99]

I am currently playing through eastwind and have started the Adapt part (OK, I just managed to escape). But the Death valley Mission took me 4 reverts, but not due to killed by AI but due to the Darter Controlling. I crashed a few times until I finally found the spooter and lasered him. All in all I have to say that I like the Campaign pretty much, it´s the best Campaign since Cold war Crysis, I tried the ArmA1 and ArmA2 as well as the OA Campaigns, but they all didnt caught my Attention though.

I am very exited about what is still to come in the Eastwind Campaign...for the luck I am looking on 3 days off ahead

[Atanbis 10]

HI ALL

i need help on this mission i'm in girna and i take the terminal but after....

i 'm french and i can't expling well in english my prob i say in french may be one can help me.

je suis bloqué à girna j'ai le terminal du drone j'ai pris les lunette nocturne mais après que doit on faire ??? chercher des gars oui ça je comprends, mais ces gars appaissent une fois sur 10 ils sont en fushia sur la carte mais la plupart du temps on ne les voient pas .

les drones c'est les petites étoiles noires dans la mer? si je comprends ce qui ressort de ce post c'est qu'il faut faire apparaitrent les gars en fushia puis prendre la vision nocturne pour les tuer ?:confused:

merci a qui pourras me renseigner friendly to.