In MENACE, tactical battles go beyond destroying all enemies. There is a wide variety of mission goals, many of which do not require you to dispatch all opposition.
Let’s take a closer look at the challenges that await you.
Missions in MENACE
A mission is a single turn-based tactical battle deployment that is fought on a procedurally generated 3D map. Each mission has a certain mission goal that needs to be completed in order to win the battle.
If a battle is won, the player’s performance will be rated depending on certain factors like losses suffered, speed, and others. Each mission grants new items to loot and promotion points to promote squad leaders and pilots and unlock new perks for them.
A mission in MENACE is not an isolated fight but will always be part of an “Operation,” which is a cascade of connected missions. The player will always have some choices on what mission to take on next to complete the operation, but more on that in a later diary.
Now let’s look at the individual mission types:
Note: More mission types are in the works.
Capture Area
One of the most common tasks for a strike force is to enter a contested area and gain control of certain important assets like supply depots, infrastructure, factories, and others. The opposing force will, of course, try to rush in its own forces and contest control of these areas.
The player will deploy in a decently sized deployment zone at the southern map border while all enemy forces deploy at the northern map border. In the center of the map, one or two “capture areas” are placed.
Both forces rush to the areas as quickly as possible.
Each capture area is usually around nine tiles large and has a certain number of capture tickets attached to it. Each unit within the area will capture one ticket per turn, so having multiple units in the area allows for fast capture.
Enemy units within the area will prevent the player from capturing it, so clearing the enemy out before taking over is essential. Ideally, the player reaches the capture areas first and suppresses the approaching enemy before they can reach covered positions from which they can mount an assault.
Once all capture areas are secured, the mission will automatically end as a success, no matter how many enemy units remain on the field.
In this mission, speed is absolutely essential, so it's crucial to use transport vehicles, perks that allow extra movement, like “sprint,” or drugs that grant additional movement or actions.
Hold Ground
Once important objects are captured, enemy forces will attack them and try to take them over. This can also be a civilian settlement that has to be protected from a pirate raid or a military arms depot that Rogue Army forces want to take over to bolster their arsenal.
This is a passive mission in which the player must hold out for a finite amount of rounds while the enemy keeps pressing the attack. The map will have a rather large area in the middle that has to be defended for the duration of the mission. The area will usually be placed in the center of a settlement or other structure.
The player has to deploy their forces around the target area while the enemies advance from all four map edges. This is also one of the few missions with unlimited enemy reinforcements that keep rushing in.
The hold ground area has a certain number of tickets. Each enemy unit that stays in this area will reduce the tickets by one per turn, so it is crucial to stop them from entering the area or flush them out quickly once they are in.
Once the tickets are reduced to zero, the mission is lost.
Often, the battle will take place in built-up areas like settlements that offer lots of cover for advancing enemies. One of the most important parts of winning this mission is to spread out your forces in the capture area so that they can instantly react to an advancing enemy and bog them down with suppressive fire before they can get to cover and dig in.
Sabotage
Unlike the open battles of other mission types the Sabotage missions can be done more covertly. The goal is to reach one or more target areas and execute a “sabotage” skill while being next to them. After all targets have been sabotaged the player has to move all units to a designated evac zone and exfil to complete the mission successfully.
The player deploys at the southern map border while the extremely numerous enemy forces deploy all over the map.
The big twist in this setup is that enemy units start in “patrol mode,” where they do not share vision with other units. Once the fighting starts, only units in the vicinity that see what's going on join the fight. Often, many enemy units can be outmaneuvered and passed by without having to eliminate them.
The key to success in this mission type is making the most of cover and concealment, scouting out enemy patrols and positions ahead of time, and being fast once the fighting starts.
Rescue Civilians
Not only military units take part in the fighting in MENACE. Sometimes, civilians get caught up in the fighting and become targets themselves.
In the Rescue mission, your goal is to find and rescue civilians or VIPs from enemy holding cells.
In this setup, there will usually be one or more bases with holding cells on the map. The player will deploy at the southern map border while enemy forces surround the civilians. Once the player moves a unit close to the civilians, you gain control of them and have to move them back to the southern map border for extraction.
The enemy forces guarding the prisoners are relatively weak, but once the action kicks off, strong reinforcements will come from the northern half of the map to try to stop the civilian extraction. The civs have no armor and can quickly perish if caught in the crossfire. If that happens, the mission is, of course, lost.
The key to winning this mission is to approach all civilians at the same time to ensure that the enemy reinforcements do not prevent your access to a second or third civilian position and slow you down.
Once you are moving the civilians out, it makes sense to deploy elements with machine guns and other suppressive weapons to delay and hold off the reinforcements trying to catch up to you. Then, it is a matter of effectively leapfrogging backward to your extraction zone without leaving a friendly unit behind and in danger of getting overrun on retreat.
You can also load civilians into transport vehicles, which is usually the fastest and safest way to transport them to the extraction zone.
Base Assault
Finally, we have the most brutal mission in which your goal is to eliminate as many enemy units as possible. The setup is usually an enemy base, stronghold, or other defensive position prepared to defend itself in the upper half of the map. The player can deploy all along the southern border and start the assault there.
The enemy is placed in heavily fortified positions, and they might have bunkers, barricades, guard towers, automated sentry guns, or minefields to aid their defense. The mission is won once a certain percentage of enemy forces are destroyed or dispersed.
This mission will require players to consider where to attack the fortified positions and how to take out structures, walls, and bunkers. Bringing rocket launchers, grenades, and other weapons that are effective against objects is key. Also, it might help to focus on a single vector of attack and overwhelm the defenders with a massive force instead of attacking from all sides with weak forces.
Good reconnaissance is crucial in this mission, as a single sentry turret armed with an EMP cannon can stop your armored assault dead in its tracks. Similarly, a heavy machine gun position can easily suppress your infantry on approach if you are not prepared for it.
In Summary
| Mission | Key Challenges | Winning Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Capture Area: Seize control of contested zones by capturing key locations. | Enemy forces rush in to contest control; capturing is blocked until enemies are cleared. | Move quickly, suppress enemies before they reach cover, and use transport vehicles or movement-enhancing perks. |
| Hold Ground: Defend a strategic area against waves of attackers for a set number of turns. | Enemies advance from all four directions with unlimited reinforcements. | Spread forces to cover all approaches, use suppressive fire, and prevent enemies from entering the objective area. |
| Sabotage: Reach and destroy key targets before extracting to the evac zone. | Enemy units start in patrol mode but will engage once alerted; heavy resistance if spotted. | Use cover, avoid detection when possible, and plan an efficient exfil route. |
| Rescue Civilians: Extract civilians or VIPs from enemy-controlled holding cells. | Weak initial guards, but strong enemy reinforcements will attempt to cut off extraction. | Rescue all civilians at once, use suppressive weapons to delay pursuers, and load civilians into transport vehicles for faster extraction. |
| Base Assault: Destroy or rout a significant percentage of enemy forces in a fortified base. | Defensive positions include bunkers, automated turrets, and minefields. | Use explosives to breach defenses, focus attacks on a single front, and scout enemy positions before committing to the assault. |
Engage, Explore, and Stay Informed
That's it for now! We'll see you next Friday.
You can find us on Discord, BlueSky, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit for discussions, updates, and feedback. You can also subscribe to our monthly MENACE newsletter on our website — just scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2432860/MENACE/
And here are the recent prior Dev Diaries in case you've missed them:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/515203109058773566
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/534342772300185779
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/512950040394727468