Okay, I give....

I've tried going toe to toe, I've tried being sneaky. Everytime I come back with Salrilian boots firmly planted in my posterior. What is the secret to beating this level? Am I missing something?

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Hmmmm... Is this the one where you fight the Salrilians in Thasero? If it is, then here are a few tips:

1. Don't attack Thasero station. Waste of time and ships.

2. As soon as you start out, build a gunship and 3 or so cruisers and go attack the Salrilian base. Don't stop at the station, just attack the Salrilian base before they get much ships.

3. Always leave at least 1 or 2 cruisers at your base to guard for cloaked Salrilian transports.

4. When you make your transport. Pilot it. Pilot it (along with 3 or so cruiser escorts) around Thasero station and then directly towards the Salrilian base.

Hope these tips work!

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To Escape Velocity: Nova and Beyond!
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Millennium. Its coming, prepare for it.
Coming to the (url="http://"http://www.ambrosiaSW.com/games/ev/chronicles.html")EV Chronicles(/url).

No, that's level 15 (which is also a very hard level). Level 13 is the one where you first meet a Salrilian Carrier. This is arguably the hardest level in the game (I'd say it's either this, Level 15, or Level 20). The movie right in front of it is a little scary too, hehe. Here's what I do, though it still took lots of tries before I got it:
•As the Gaitori pirates' ships come toward you, plant yourself right on the jumpgate (the three triangle-arranged thingies).
•The Gunship will be the first to come at you. Kill it immediately; if you don't, those pulses will bring your shields down.
•Then, focus on the Carrier, because if you don't get rid of it the missiles will be a danger. Stay behind it and you're fine; stay out of the way of those fighters. Let loose with all three of your weapons and that crappy ol' Carrier should be ripped to shreds in no time.
•Then, get rid of the rest of the ships; the two cruisers and whatever fighters there are. If by the time you're done with the Gaitori your shields are down more than about 1/4 or 1/5 of the way, restart the level; you're gonna need a lot of shielding to win.
•Now, collect the escape pods. Try to have the last one you collect as close to the jumpgate as possible.
•Select yourself as a target (hold down shift for a couple seconds). As soon as you can, send the Heavy Cruisers to you, making them your escorts.
•In a few seconds, the Salrilian Carrier will appear. This is the best Carrier in the game, so be cautious. What you do now is get a ways away from the jumpgate; far enough away so that when the Salrilian ships hyper to the gate their beams won't be able to reach you immediately.
•Select the Carrier as your target and slowly move towards the Salrilian ships once they're at the gate. Fire missiles constantly; they won't run out. Then go to the Carrier, just out of range of its beam (very important not to get hit by its beam), and fire with all your weapons. This is the hard part of course. If you manage to destroy the Carrier, with at least about a third of your shields left, you're all right; destroy the rest of the Salrilian ships and you're done! Easy, except not.

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--Joolzman5, that guy with the red spikey hair whose presence never fails to suddenly kill Mag Steelglass

This won't help you much but every once in awhile the placement is right so that the liner drifts almost on top of the the jump gate. Once you've beaten the Gaitori ships (fairly easy, although it may take one or two tries) the tractor tug arrives and because of the drift almost immediatly pulls the liner into the gate. I never could drop the carrier...but I seem to be the only one.

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Coming Soon: MIRV Corp./Dendari Mercenaries Plug

The Salrilian Carrier's your main problem. When the Tractor Tug arrives, assign the heavy cruisers to escort you and make a stand at the jumpgate when the Carrier arrives.

Just keep moving, circling, while firing at it so you don't stay in it's beam too long. NEVER release the third trigger when engaging it because the missiles will lure the bolt away from you.

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If our military is so much better than theirs, then why don't we ever use it?

Hi, Want Help? Download the Ares strategy guide under GUIDES.
Bye!

i never really tried to beat the carrier i just waited till the liner drifted to the jumpgate before i picked up all the pods.

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"Learn about art captian,
when you understand a
species' art you
understand that species"

The key to this level is that, when fighting the Salrilian Carrier, "ZOOM TO CLOSEST HOSTILE" == DEATH!!!! Fighters will get between you and the carrier, and you won't be able to hit it accurately BUT IT WILL BE ABLE TO HIT YOU.

Use 1:4 zoom to aim, and HOLD IN THE FIRE BUTTONS. If you're facing anywhere near the Salrilian carrier, it's not wasting ammo. By converse, while fighting the Gaitori, conserve fullerine ammo. Finishing the carrier with leptons and missles is hard, and missles alone (maximum range) is impossible because the magnos and t-space bolts would shoot them down while the other ships shoot YOU down.

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William Darkk, head of the Darkklight Entrepenurial Federation
Your cargo or your life!!!

There is another way to beat level 13. After collecting the pods, confront the Salrilians briefly. Then run like Hell!! do not under any circumstances take your finger off the tab key, and stay away from the liner & tug. The Salrilian carrier will follow you. When the liner finally makes it to the gate you're done

I really don't see why this is so hard for some people!! I was done on my 3rd try without any advice from other people- and it only took me that long cause I didn't conserve enough ammo on the gaitors the first time, and the second time I found out how tough the Salrillian carrier was and how annoying thier cruisers were, but the third time I made it without my shields low and most of my cruisers intact! I just flew up to the Salrillian carrier with some cruisers escorting me, and just kept shooting until it was dead. I find the Audemedon very difficult to beat (i'm stuck on level 17 right now), WAY harder than the Salrillians.

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Don't knock on the gates of hell, ring the doorbell, it drives them crazy.

Darkk's method is right. Use 1:4 or 1:16 to aim, and KEEP FIRING.
(Tycho?): I actually found Level 13 a lot harder than 17; maybe you were just lucky... although yes, those Audemedons are pretty goddamn hard.

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--Joolzman5, that guy with the red spikey hair whose presence never fails to suddenly kill Mag Steelglass