This happened a while ago so I’m going on memory. It left such a bitter taste I’ve not returned to the game. This after I was completely in love with the game and thought nothing could deter me. During an explore session I alerted some machines in a small town so I holed up in a house to fight them. They were pretty relentless as the enemies in this game can be. Those horrible gas rounds (the first thing to deter me from the game) and their frantic running around + sound effects. Still I was holding my own and was confident I’d get past them. However when I was done with a wave and thought they were being sufficiently thinned out I’d find myself surrounded again by the same number of machines. I think you can see where this is heading. They weren’t being thinned out. Dozens of kills later I was still being swamped by the same number of machines. By now I was just curious to see if it would stop. I’d nearly blown all my health anyway so I pressed on for a good while longer. Unfortunately my health items ran out before they did.
I was thinking of the game again just now so thought I’d post my thoughts here. I suspect the advice might be to run rather than engage. Still the question remains, why the unending waves of enemies?
Unless that happened from April to October 2020 there are no longer unending “waves”, before the November update Harvesters could call unlimited Hunter reinforcements.
Now there is only strategy thinking to be made.
It´s simple.
Any nearby enemies will often be called to assist
Some areas have multiple runners squads (from 3 to 6/8)
Harvesters
Prototype calls 3 waves, each with 1 Hunter
Military calls 3 waves, each with 2 Hunters
Fnix calls 3 waves, each with 3 Hunters
Apocalypse calls 3 waves, each with 4 hunters
If there are nearby Harvesters in “Combat” mode, multiply the number of hunters depending on the type of Harvester class.
I remember an occasion where I had more than 20 hunters at a time attacking me because of 3 harvesters (2 apocalypse) and hunters called from nearby locations.
So, in some locations there might be the false sensation that there are infinite enemies attacking you.
For more info check this guide about “Fun” zones or maybe in your case “Nightmare” zones.
This might help you avoid some problematic areas.
Holing up in a house can be a death trap, since mortars and gas grenades can still reach you. Mobility and use of terrain are your best friends. Don’t camp out.
For an end game player, this situation is actually desirable! I love those huge battles! For a new or mid game player I understand it can be overwhelming. Just remember two things. Every kill grants XP. Every shot or medkit used can easily be replenished.
You can also craft medkits and ammo now. Don’t know if you could when you last played? Some people see running short on medkits as a game breaker, but it’s really not that hard to replenish them, especially after crafting became available.
As for a never ending battle, I have never encountered that. I have had a couple large battles where I ended up with roughly 10.000 XP at the end.
Great replies, thanks. And yes it would’ve been during October '20 when I played the described session.
When I last played crafting med kits was just a thing however when I tried I wasn’t able to craft any myself. Presumably I didn’t have the materials? The game is on my mind again so I’ll drop back in for a look. I even bought the expansions on the strength of my early enthusiasm.
That is a shame. It left a bitter taste when they STOPPED the ending waves. I just loved the absolute carnage of the old days and the fact that it made you want to seriously be afraid for your life in the game.
But even with the latest patches, one should still be careful. I came across about a dozen or more Hunters with about the same number of Runners. That was a great fight.
Now I find myself having to actually lure robots together in order to get a decent fight. If you don’t want what feels like endless waves, definitely stay away from the north eastern part of the map. This is my favorite part of the map since a large number of robots are typically there, but if you don’t want a scenario that feels hopeless, I would recommend stating away from that area. My last big fight there was with several Tanks, several Harvesters, and a swarm of Hunters and Runners. That battle lasted about an hour.
Update: I’m back in now and really enjoying it again. I found the basic medkit schematic. I’m playing way more stealthily now and am using flares/lures and gas tanks where previously I hadn’t really explored that mechanic. It’s really well done and very satisying to play. The character customisation/vanity items in this game are a hoot. I’m back on board.
