Rapier is good fun and keeps showing up here and there in the game. It is a medium large ship, which will at times launch two smaller vessels which will attack you from the sides, while you will not be able to return fire. Nasty!
Video: Heroic Solo
Katyusha S, Menace S, Nayad S
51 seconds
Video: Heroic Solo
Greataxe B, Menace S, Undine A
2 minuts 2 seconds
Gameplay
Phase 1: This is a long phase, with a lot happening. Basically you will have one large ship, and two smaller ones. There will be a lot of bullets, large and small ones, and red circles of some kind of electrical charge. Also the ships will circle around.
Try to kill the right smaller ship first, then the left one. Likely you will not be able to take out either of them. If you can take out both, Phase 5 will be triggered. Otherwise Phase two will start after something like a minute.
Phase 2: The two smaller ships will exit the screen to right and left, and fire waves of bullets at you from the side, while you, yourself cannot do a thing about it.
The main ship will continue to spew large bullets and electrical charges at you. This is your only target for now, so try to receive as little damage as possible while attacking the mothership.
Phase 3: The right ship will make a second turn to rain bullets at you from off screen (this is why you should try to kill the right one first in Phase 1). The left ship will however remain onscreen, and you can shoot at it. Which you should do, even if there is still damage to be done to the main ship.
Phase 4: The right ship will reattach. If both smaller ships still have some armor left, they will still be around for you to shoot at. Continue to concentrate on the small ships, one at the time.
When that is done, kill the remaining gun att the main ship.
Phase 5: Watch out! The ship will make a dive far down along the left side of the screen, instantly killing you if you are badly positioned.
Surviving that, it is just a matter of patience. Rapier will turn the back towards you, releasing long blasts of fire from the engine exhausts. First from the right, then the left, then both, then repeat. Also electrical charges will also keep coming.
Only thing that is difficult here, is when both engines release fire blasts. Then it is difficult to stay out of (lethal) harms way.
Advice
Rapier is a nasty piece of work.
- The battle is long, especially when you haven’t upgraded much yet, so we suggest putting focus on armor and/or plane overdrive and brobot special.
- Try to take out both smaller ships during Phase 1, you will the skip immediately to Phase 5.
- Concentrate on the ship to the right first. Killing it in Phase 1 (but not killing the left ship), Phases 3 and 4 will be omitted.
- Even if you get a glimpse of the smaller ships when they are off screen in Phases 2 and 3, it seems like it is not possible to do any damage to them during these phases.