Mercury
LEVEL 7: Mercury Core
Game Info Basics Walkthrough Robots Weapons Game Info Game Info

DIFFICULTY:  Hard

MAIN THREAT:  The Boss, of course.  But watch out for the SUH's…

ROBOTS:  C1D C2D SMH MDH SUH ML CLL SP BSP VD


Under constructionTime for the first big boss level, and the last level of the shareware version of the game.

Robot Makers #1, #2:

ML

Trigger:  Passing between the RM's in either direction


B1 Boss #1

The first thing you notice when you come in might be the chilling drone of the boss robot, or it may be you notice that the Red Door is locked on the this side.  It's a good thing, then, that the Exit is in this room. :)  This huge cylindrical room has 3 tunnels and 1 small room in the center of it: one tunnel with an EC and 2 sets of Homing Missiles, one with 3 sets of Homing Missiles, and one with 4 Shield Boosts.  The small room in the back of the central pillar, at lava level, has 2 Shield Boosts and a Cloaking Device.  The Exit is on the outer edge, near the ceiling, as is the tunnel you came in.  There are a total of 4 SUH's and 3 VD's in addition to the Boss.

The key point when battling the first boss is: KEEP MOVING! The more you move, the more difficult it is for the Boss's Smart Missile plasma blobs to keep up; circling the room, hugging the center core, is the best way to do that.  However, since the Boss has the ability to cloak itself and teleport to another part of the room, there is a small chance that you may run headfirst into it while circling.  At your first opportunity, head for the little room with the Cloak and grab it, which will allow you to more easily pick off the SUH's and VD's while chasing the Boss.

The way I usually do it is as follows:

Start by arming your Homing Missiles, if you haven't already, and your Quad Laser 4's (As the QL4's seem to have the best energy-efficiency-to-power ratio (IMO), they are perfect for this application).  Hover near the end of the tunnel, just beyond the point where you're visible to the bots, and fire Homing Missiles off to the right.  These should home in on the SUH over in that direction; keep firing till you destroy it.  Next, fly out, angling down toward the VD below you, firing a Homer at it as you pass.  Then, start circling clockwise around the room, firing at the SUH's and VD's, and the Boss whenever it decides to appear.  Once you see the small room down at lava level, dive down and dart inside, grabbing the Shields and Cloak.  Head back out as soon as the explosions cease, and pick off the remaining SUH's and VD's one by one, hopefully not drawing too much attention from the Boss.  As soon as you vape the last of them, head through the center tunnels and stock up on Shields, Homers, and energy.  Continue circling clockwise around the room, firing at the Boss with Quads, Homers and Concussions whenever you encounter it.  Keep doing this, and eventually you'll see "5000" light up below your score and hear the Boss death-rolling, and he'll explode in a huge fireball.  This would be a good time to get the heck outta there, stage left...

Tip for Insane: I strongly recommend saving the Cloaking Device above the robot-makers until you're ready to enter the red door.  If you don't have the Cloak going in, it'll be next to impossible to reach the little room above the lava alive.  (Trust me; I've tried.)  The alternative is to save the Invulnerability in the large chamber near the RM's (or, get both); this works remarkably well, though you'll only have about 15 seconds of charge left by the time you got to the Boss room.


SECRET PASSAGES

  1. In the back of the platform in the last room through the second unlocked door in the starting room; has a Vulcan Cannon and 3 packs of Vulcan Ammo.
  2. Two secret doors in the room with the Spider on the way to the Invulnerability room; the passage contains 2 CLL's and an Energy Center.
  3. Two secret doors in the ceiling of the robot-maker tunnel; the passage contains two 4-packs of Homing Missiles and a Cloaking Device.
  4. In the far wall of the large room with the Red Door; has a Quad Laser.  Oddly, this door remains open.
  5. In the floor of the room adjacent to the Hostage room; the passage leads to the Hostage door, but also contains a MDH, a Cloaking Device, a SB, and an EB.

TRIGGERED PASSAGES

  1. Two auto-closing secret doors just inside the door of the curved tunnel leading to the large room with the Red Door; each contains a C1D and a SB, one has a pack of Proximity Bombs, and the other a pack of Homing Missiles.
  2. Three secret doors in a small room after entering the Blue Door near the starting point; each contains a C2D.
  3. EXIT: In the outer wall of the Boss room, clockwise from the tunnel you entered through.