So, this just happened[spoilers?].

[Angry Bob]

I've been playing for a short time. My second "real" ship(The freighter) has gotten to the Heretic system, and as I understand it, messed up everything.

So I get to the Heretic system and start doing the missions for the various stations. I screw up the beacon experiment, I do the "fly around the Heretic star and protect the Svalbard" mission. I go over to the Taikon Ventures station and get a quest from them to get an Iocrym Artifact back from some Xenophobes on the edge of the system. I fly out there and shoot my howitzer at the center of the large fleet of ships. I was expecting them to send out a few weak fighters. Instead, they turn out to not have a station. The entire mass of ships starts coming at me. I have not wet myself like this since the introduction of the Flood in Halo: CE. I nope out of the system to upgrade and recover. I install the Megatherial Alien Device that turns out to be a Fracture Cannon, refuel, repair, etc. and head back to Heretic. I get back to see the xenophobes destroy the Ringer station and have just enough time to dock with the Taikon station before it too is destroyed, but not before warning me that the Iocrym are coming. I plow through the remaining xenophobes(thinned somewhat with fighting the friendlies in the system) with my new awesome gun. I'm about to go to work on the last group of them when the Iocrym finally show up. There are three of them, and they are angry as hell, and start killing everything the xenophobes didn't, presumably including the xenophobes themselves. Again, I nope back to the previous system, pick up some Longzhu Spheres, and repair some looted fracture cannons to solve the Rin problem that's been plaguing me since I left Commonwealth space. I derp around in this system, destroying some Ares shipyards I didn't get to the first time. After a while, I head back to Heretic and destroy one of the Iocrym command stations because why not. I loot some alien devices and head back to the previous system with three sentinels on my tail.

As it stands now, my ship is decked out with all sorts of exotic xenotech, but when I go back to Heretic, there are three sentinels waiting for me to come through. When I stay and fight, I kill one before the other two kill me. When I escape, it dawns on me that the friendlies in the system have been reduced to glowing gas in the void of space.

What can I do now? If the answer is "gear up until you can take on the other Iocrym stations," I'll accept it, but I want to know if I've made my game "unwinnable."

[Atarlost]

The game shouldn't be unwinnable, but have messed it up about as much as you can, largely by panicking when you shouldn't.

You need a few things to salvage your game. You need a Pteracnium Megadrive, good shields (Taikon-200 is best), and to remain calm.

Get into Heretic and run right through the blocade, then kill them from beyond their range. The Xenophobes are almost all pathetic mooks, and they tend to separate themselves out by speed. Just kill them. If you have virtually any omni or spread weapon you can laugh at the fighters, and anything not hopelessly obsolete will do for the defenders. The ark is tougher, but it's a single opponent.

Then you have to farm sentinels for roms. Kate should still be ensconced in the Iocrym station and can lower the quarantine field when you get enough. You wouldn't be having this problem, though, if you had actually killed the Xenophobes instead of running away.

[Angry Bob]

Keep in mind this was my second game, and first game to make it to Heretic with at least a little preparation(the first game was scrapped due to finding one of the Halo Gems that teleports you to Elysium and taking the Heretic Gate). When I fought the xenophobes, my weapon loadout was Mk III howitzer + omnidirectional TeV 9. Now I have a fracture cannon + Ares Lightning turret, 4x Iocrym light plate, Iocrym Veil, and Megadrive. the xenophobes are gone now, but the system is crawling with sentinels.

Also, every single Taikon Ventures station of is a ruin now for one reason or another. Where else would I find a Taikon-200 shield? Adventurer Outfitters? I've been playing with Fabricators, but they seem to reject most of the shield generators I feed them.

[Aury]

On the wiki I think there is a table for the fabricator item generation; its still largely random though

[Angry Bob]

Been farming gear from the Ares fleets in the previous few systems.

With a Lightning Turret/Fracture Cannon, and judicious use of protective Domina powers, am I expected to be able to kill the twenty or so sentinels that are now camping on the Stargate into the Heretic system?

What's the recommended armor setup for this undertaking?

I've read and reread the Teraton article on the wiki, all I understand is the fabricator's happiness, energy, and materials level, not the outputs.

[Aury]

Ithalium is plasma resistant; try to get the heavy variant.

Phoboses have an improved main weapon which the sentinels do not have a damage type resistance to (plasma) (like the IFC (plasma), but unlike the ALT (ion)); it can also attack them at a long range. By staying far ahead of the sentinels and leading them on a straight line, you can keep them all nice and lined up to blow up far outside their range.

[Angry Bob]

I'm carrying around a damaged Archcannon, if that's what you refer to. Used up my available Longzhu spheres on high-level weapons and selling them to build up my Rin account and am looking for more. I don't even know if they'll repair it. If it works, cool. If it doesn't, do I have options other than Phobos hunting to get an intact one?

[Atarlost]

If you can +damage enhance your lightning turret enough it should be adequate, but slow.

[Angry Bob]

So I went back combing systems and raided a Penitent sanctum I somehow missed. Donated its contents to the Sisters, and unlocked shatter. That culled the mob waiting for me at the Heretic stargate down to a managable size, which I cleaned up with my shiny new Archcannon.

I found the Prototype Lamplighter on the wreck of the Europa, and turned it in to Point Juno. Do they complete it at some point? I suspect I may need it to fight the Command Ship.

[Yama]

Hi Bob,

Do you have, or can get a Jump drive? There's a pretty easy way to kill the Command Ship if you have one, and you won't even need anything fancy in the way of weapons or shields.

[Angry Bob]

Have a Jump drive, know about using it on stargates, but that's it.

[shanejfilomena]

Have a Jump drive, know about using it on stargates, but that's it.

a jump drive sends you over distances within a system: no set direction : you can jump away from a fight , but you might very well land near a bigger hostile ( as I did trying to jump away from an Ares Patrol while I was repairing: I jumped right into the path of a Xenophobe WorldShip.....not cool, but it happens )

on the gate it sends you....( for those that do not know we really should let it be a surprise )

the Lamplighter weapon is completed and delivered to the CSC Terra. this ship is the commanding battle ship ( basically ) and that is where you can get the mission to test the weapon.

However : you do not get that mission unless you meet the qualifying data :
Status of CSC Antarctica: IF you met the ship : you got to destroy it before Decker will even talk to you like your not dirt.
If you did not find the ship Decker will send you after it.

THEN you get the toys in the basement.

[Angry Bob]

What system is CSC Terra in?

I've beaten the Command Ship by now, though, with a little persistence, some domina powers, and judicious use of my archcannon, so I guess I don't technically need it.

[Yama]

Have a Jump drive, know about using it on stargates, but that's it.

If you use the jump drive when you're not over a stargate, you'll jump 500 light seconds in the direction your ship is pointed.

The Iocrym command ship's (ICS) plasma weapons are all very short range and it moves pretty slow, so it's not too hard to keep a reasonable distance and wear it down with any powerful ion, or thermo weapon; that is if the Sentinels would just leave you alone long enough. That's where the jump drive comes in.

Once you've wiped out all the sentinels that are roaming the system, go attack the ICS. When you start to put a hurt on the ICS, it'll spawn three sentinels; don't kill them. If you do, it'll just spawn three more. As long as they stay alive the ICS won't spawn any more. Instead, fly to the other side of the system and the sentinels will follow you; when you get there sit and wait for the sentinels to catch up. When they arrive, jump and fly as fast as you can, back to the ICS. In the process you'll leave the sentinels far behind, so when you get to the ICS, you'll have several minutes to hammer away at it undisturbed. With a little luck, you'll finish the job before the sentinels get back. If not, just lead the sentinels back to the other side of the system again and repeat the process. You should easily be able to finish the bugger off the second go-round.

Just make sure you have plenty of fuel before you start. If you think you'll have a problem carrying enough, you can cache some in a crate on top of the sun.

[Angry Bob]

If you use the jump drive when you're not over a stargate, you'll jump 500 light seconds in the direction your ship is pointed.

Good to know.