Iron Marines+ Mission 8 Guide: How to Beat the New Planet Landing

To beat Mission 8 in Iron Marines+, immediately claim the neutral Ether refinery next to your base, convert your infantry into Snipers supported by Bouncer mechs, and build a defensive turret at the main entrance choke point before pushing forward. The landing zone introduces shielded alien forces and multi-lane attack waves that punish unarmored units and undefended base paths.

Early Ether Economy and Base Setup

Your starting command center supplies only baseline Ether income, which is insufficient to sustain squad reconfigurations and defensive emplacements.

1. Capture the First Refinery: Send your starting squad and hero directly to the nearest neutral Ether node without scouting deeper into the fog of war. Secure the extraction rig before engaging outer enemy pods.
2. Anchor the Entry Choke Point: Once the first refinery is active, reserve your surplus Ether for a defensive turret (autocannon or laser) at the primary entrance lane. Do not spend all your early resources on immediate unit swaps.
3. Preserve Squad Models: Station your combat units beside or slightly ahead of your turret to draw aggro evenly. Pull damaged squad members out of combat to allow their health to regenerate naturally, preventing squad wipeouts and conserving reinforcement funds.

Squad Composition and Unit Roles

Standard rifle troopers lack the armor penetration and burst damage needed to defeat the shielded alien strains on this planet. Rebuild your roster around high-damage ranged fire and heavy mechanical vanguards:

• Snipers: Convert your basic infantry squad into Snipers as soon as Ether stabilizes. Their extreme range and single-target burst allow them to strip shields and pick off heavy bio-constructs and alien casters before they close in.
• Bouncers: Deploy Bouncers as your primary frontline sponge. They absorb incoming melee pressure, knock back charging hostiles, and protect vulnerable ranged units.
• Walkers: Add a Walker unit if enemy swarms threaten to overwhelm single-target fire, using their sustained area-of-effect weaponry to clear light infantry.
• Combat Engineers: Keep Engineers near fixed defenses if perimeter turrets require active field repair during sustained attack waves.

Position your Bouncers roughly half a screen ahead of your Snipers. This spacing keeps the Snipers firing at maximum range while preventing alien area-of-effect attacks from splashing onto your rear line.

Hero Positioning and Ability Timing

Station your hero directly at the active defensive choke point, standing between your frontline Bouncers and the base turret. Avoid leaving your hero idle inside the base or sending them out alone into unmapped territory.

Save heavy hero active abilities—such as crowd-control stuns, invulnerability shields, or ordnance strikes—for concentrated wave spikes rather than isolated scouts. Trigger crowd-control skills the moment an enemy assault pack consolidates at a choke point, giving your Snipers uninterrupted time to focus down shielded commanders. If your hero drops below safe health thresholds, retreat behind your turrets immediately; losing hero presence during a lane push leaves your base exposed to flanking waves.

Step-by-Step Clearing Route

Advance through the map methodically to prevent activating multiple enemy nests at once:

1. Hold the Entrance: Leave your base turret, your hero, and a Bouncer squad guarding the central entry lane to manage regular wave timers.
2. Clear the Secondary Node: Advance your Snipers and hero along the side path toward the secondary Ether deposit, drawing enemy packs out in small groups.
3. Fortify the Second Refinery: Build the second extraction rig and place a defensive turret beside it immediately to deter roaming patrols.
4. Shift the Defensive Line: Move your main combat force to the forward choke point beyond the second refinery, establishing overlapping fields of fire between your squads and static turrets.
5. Push the Objective: Advance slowly toward the final mission target, keeping your Bouncers ahead of your Snipers to absorb ambush spawns until the landing zone is clear.

If an attack warning sounds at your home base while your main force is away, deploy support powers or command center reinforcements to stall the assault rather than pulling your entire army backward in disarray. Clean up the breach using your fastest available units while keeping your forward positions intact.