Trepang2 - Survival Mode DLC Gameplay - Very Hard Difficulty Full Run Clear

Now I originally wanted to do three normal Survival Mode runs next, featuring the other animated gun skins with matching Player Outfits.
But since I was busy having fun with unlocking everything beyond Very Hard difficulty clears from the Campaign and regular Horde Mode, I decided to do this instead. You'll see I've improved with my gameplay!
Why Cryptid for the player skin and Silver guns? I cosplayed Sgt. Jack Kellar from Black.
Wanted to show what's it like to clear Survival on Very Hard, which is my personal best for this mode. Over the past two weeks, I tried doing this on Extreme, but the RNG and luck were not on my side in any of my runs. My personal best there was 8 Maps cleared. It's not that I can't do it, but like I said before: RNG and luck largely dictates the success of your Survival runs. It's kinda frustrating if you make one minor mistake during your run after the halfway point.
I ended up just using Cheat Codes (Infinite Focus, Cloak, Stamina, and Ammo) and the in-game console to unlock Gold Foil for myself, just to see what it looked like on the guns. I know, I know. But I never tried using the in-game console before, so I was curious. I did a legit Extreme run later on after I got practice.
For the record, I completed the Campaign on Rage Mode and all of the regular Combat Sim Horde maps for unlocking the cosmetics locked behind each level (i.e. Very Hard for Accents, Extreme for other skins, etc.). I don't mind challenge and dying over and over, but having checkpoints makes a huge difference in enjoying it and not feeling like your progress got nuked if you die towards the end.
UPDATE (11/19/2023): I managed to complete Survival Extreme; I have Gold Foil legit!!! Like I said before, EVERYTHING boiled down to RNG for my run; I got Cavern for my last map. I think I'll stick with Very Hard for Survival if I want the challenge. Extreme is pretty much pray you don't get hit by a one-shot attack; some attacks ignore Armor!
Survival Very Hard is my Goldilocks Zone for challenge when it comes to RNG and putting my skills to the test in Trepang2. While fighting the enemies isn't an issue, I was nervous as to what map and forces I was going to get in the run sequence. Reminder: you don't have to complete all map objectives; it's just a means to get more Food! Example: the 1/2 Rifle Kills for Map 2 for me didn't matter. I highly recommend getting as much Food in later maps of your run.
Before I mentioned I hated playing on Cultist maps, because of lack of cover. There was also the variable of, "Okay, so if you get Tier 4-5 HECU in ANY map, you BETTER be ready to face five Heavy Soldiers at once."
So, to that end, I implemented tactics I used when clearing the regular Horde maps on Very Hard/Extreme:
- Main Dual Incendiary Shotguns
- Purchase Proximity Mines after all Map Objectives are done
If you're wondering why I killed my friendly Minigun TF27 squad members when the Minigun Objective showed up, you save a HUGE amount of money getting the Minigun this way than buying it from the Supply Box. Sure, you only get a small amount of ammo this way, but if you hold onto it for the next map, you get a full magazine refill for free! Definitely a money saver so you can purchase your Objectives equipment.
Another thing I'm trying to do better is saving my Food pickups so I can get that max Stamina bar filled when needed, not just for staying fed. It's a lifesaver if you need to get a Focus refill instead of just killing enemies.
More things I learned while playing Survival on harder difficulties:
- Unlock the Minigun Squad (And Smartgun Squad) if you can. It's difficult, because you need to play some of the Campaign missions on Extreme. But trust me, it'll help you in Survival for sure.
- As mentioned before, holding onto certain guns gives you a free magazine refill when going into a new map (Hence why I held onto the Minigun for as long as possible).
- Juggling weapon pickups during a map prevents items from despawning. I learned when there's too many of them, items will despawn in order of when they drop. It's why I juggled the minigun once I got it later in the run.
- "Bowling Slide" enemies or lighting them on fire helps with harder Objectives (i.e. SMG Kills, Throwing Knives, Tomahawks, Melee).
- While not mentioned, some Grenades also count for Explosive Kills (i.e. Gas Grenades). So if you have 4 Gas Grenade Kills for an Objective and Explosions too, keep using them to knock'em both out!
- Don't worry about picking the harder options for maps, or doing all Objectives unless you can/want to. I skipped one Objective early on to show your entire run isn't jeopardized. The goal of this Very Hard clear was to just make it and show off some "neat tricks".
I'll do another Survival Very Hard run in the future with the Lacquer weapon skin on. After that upload along with my less serious one soon, I'll go back to some Campaign things to take a break from this mode.