| “ | LEGION, I have been informed of a new alien offensive. Forces are materializing within Yellow Zone cities and enslaving the populace. The support of the Yellow Zone is essential to Nod's survival. We must defend these cities, these people... as if they were the Prophet himself. - Alexa Kovacs |
” |
Hearts and Minds is the tenth mission in the campaign of Kane's Wrath.
Plot[]
| “ | Only the Ion Cannon could generate enough energy to create a chain reaction in the Liquid Tiberium. The energy released was so extraordinary, it captured the attention of our Visitors. Just as the Tacitus prophesied. - Kane |
” |
During the Battle of Sarajevo, GDI ordered an ion cannon strike on Temple Prime, detonating a liquid Tiberium deposit under the Temple. This caused a massive explosion which apparently killed Kane. Alexa was in shock at this turn of event, and even more shocked that Kilian Qatar took control of the Brotherhood in Kane's absence. However, Kane revealed himself to Alexa and LEGION in a transmission. He told them that they would have to deal with Qatar for her "betrayal" later.
Kane then explained that he was not present at Temple Prime, and he had baited GDI into striking Temple Prime with the ion cannon in order to cause a liquid Tiberium explosion that could attract the Visitors, who were already landing on Earth and began constructing massive towers. He told LEGION that they must stop GDI from destroying the towers, because they were "gateways to a civilization far beyond our own", and that there was much for them to learn.
One of the three drone platforms
However, the Visitors have began attacking civilian population centers, GDI and Nod alike. One of these cities was Kampala, a Nod-friendly Yellow Zone city, so Alexa dispatched LEGION to save the city.
At the beginning of the mission, Kane attempted to contact LEGION, but was apparently unable to do so due to interference. Instead, Alexa briefed LEGION on its mission, ordering it to liberate Kampala from the forces of Traveler-59, an alien subfaction that enslaved the city using mind-control technology.
Traveler-59 forces had established a large base to the north, and deployed three drone platforms in the center of the city, the destruction of which would force the aliens out of the city. Several Black Hand units from the local garrison were mind-controlled by cultists - bizarre alien-human hybrids - and patrol the city alongside alien forces. LEGION was ordered to free them from alien control if possible.
After the destruction of the first drone platform, LEGION received a message from Kane:
The Eradicator hexapod heading for the Nod base
| “ | LEGION, I address you, and you alone. First, know that you are more than a mere neural network, your design is drawn from the Tacitus itself, you are connected to the artifact. Now know this, as the Visitor’s towers near completion, the Tacitus has begun to transmit a signal, a signal only you can receive, you must find it, liberate it. The Tacitus is the key to ascension and beyond. Not everyone can be trusted, my child, be wary, even those with the best of intentions can go wrong. - Kane |
” |
At this point, Traveler-59 deployed an Eradicator hexapod in an attempt to destroy the Nod forces. Due to the threat of the massive alien walker, LEGION was granted access to the Redeemer, and was ordered to destroy the Eradicator before it threatens all Nod holdings in the sector. After the destruction of the Eradicator, LEGION destroyed the remaining drone platforms, freeing the city from alien control. Kane once again attempted and failed to contact LEGION. Instead, Alexa told LEGION that the Tacitus was on the move, and ordered the AI to retrieve it.
Walkthrough[]
(Note: This walkthrough assumes Hard difficulty.)
At the beginning, immediately construct a Shredder turret and a refinery. Meanwhile, move your raider buggies up to kill the cultists controlling the flame tank. Once this is done, move the buggies and the freed Flame tank back to base. Place the Shredder turret on the northwestern edge of your base and the refinery to the easternmost edge, your economy for this mission depends on the massive blue Tiberium field to the east of your base.
A Prodigy will enter your base at this point, kill it with the buggies and the flame tank. Build a power plant, and then an operations center to unlock liquid Tiberium core. You will need a lot of power. Use your Scorpion tanks to crush the second cultist squad and free the Black Hand, they will be useful for anti-infantry defense.
Upgrade your power plants. Build a Hand of Nod to unlock laser turret and train a saboteur to capture the Tiberium spike. Build some more defenses, including SAM turrets (since Traveler-59 will soon start sending Stormriders) around your base to make sure you are safe from enemy harassment. Take special care to cover your eastern refinery.
Once your base is secure enough, build a tech lab and bolster your defenses with some Obelisks. Research Tiberium core missiles and quad turrets to make dealing with enemy attackers easier. You can build an air tower and some Venoms to free the two squads to the east from cultists, though set them to hold fire stance to prevent them from accidentally killing the mind controlled units. Also, only kill the cultists when the mind controlled units move away from the defenses near the southeastern corner, or they will be instantly killed once freed.
Now, it's time to prepare for the main objective. Build at least one more air tower and as many Vertigo bombers as you can, then build some more Obelisks, make sure they are concentrated on the edge of your base. You will need them for the next portion of the mission.
Build up some Specters and at least ten Venoms to take on the drone platforms, and research laser capacitors if you have not done so already. First, clear the way to the drone platform with ground forces, then destroy the defenses around the drone platform before attacking the platform itself. The drone platform will unpack and attempt to retreat to the bases to the north as soon as it comes under attack. At this point, take it out with the Venoms.
After destroying the first drone platform, Traveler-59 will deploy an Eradicator hexapod, which will directly head for your base. At this point you will be authorized to build the Redeemer engineering facility. Immediately begin constructing the facility, and the Redeemer itself, in order to fulfill the bonus objective. In the mean time, send your Vertigos and Specters after the Eradicator in order to do some damage. Don't expect to be able to take on the Eradicator with the Redeemer alone: the former has heroic veterancy, and is equipped with Shock trooper pods and repair pods.
Lure the Eradicator to the Obelisks to significantly reduce its health. Once the Redeemer is ready, send it after the Eradicator. Equip it with two Saboteurs if possible to maximize its survivability. Don't forget to bomb the Eradicator with Vertigos to further reduce its health.
Once the Eradicator has been destroyed, take out the remaining drone platforms to finish the mission.
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- Since Kane was unable to contact LEGION for the entirety of this mission, the message from Kane that LEGION received was likely pre-recorded. Since it was triggered by the destruction of a drone platform, it can be assumed that it was set to play once LEGION engages Scrin forces in battle.
- Unused dialogue for this mission has a Nod soldier exclaim "What the heck is that thing, some kind of Mechapede?", implying that the Mechapede was originally going to be introduced in this stage. Comments in the map file noted that the Mechapedes would have spawned in response to the drone platforms being attacked. However, they also noted that the Mechapedes are broken, and the script that would have allowed the Scrin AI to build them is disabled.
- Even though this mission describes Kampala as a Yellow Zone city, it is actually located in Red Zone R-2 according to the official zone map. Though since the official map appears to depict zone borders following the Third Tiberium War, it is possible that Kampala became a Red Zone by the end of the war.
- The fog of war is completely absent from this mission.
- Though the Tiberium processing plant is available for this mission, the only support power it provides is Tiberium vapor bomb.
- The name of this mission has two meanings, referring to how Nod tried to win the hearts and minds of the Yellow Zone populace and how Traveler-59 controlled the hearts and minds of people using mind control technology.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
