Iron Marines+ War of Attrition Veteran Mission Guide

To beat Mission 8, War of Attrition, on Veteran difficulty in Iron Marines+, fortify the primary approach lanes around your command center immediately before expanding your economy. Veteran difficulty ramps up wave pressure quickly across multiple directions, making passive turtling unviable. Success requires establishing overlapping fire at fixed chokepoints, switching squad classes to counter incoming armor, and reserving off-map tactical call-ins for multi-lane breaches.

Establish Chokepoints and Secure Etherium

Begin by building baseline defensive structures on the construction pads guarding the entrance paths to your base. Fast swarmers and heavy alien bruisers can quickly overwhelm an undefended command post.

1. Deploy baseline turrets: Place automated Gatling or missile turrets on the forward construction pads overlooking the main lanes. These absorb initial attacks and provide consistent baseline damage while you position mobile squads.
2. Cluster combat squads: Keep your mobile units grouped within turret firing arcs so overlapping fields of fire eliminate fast flankers before they reach your units.
3. Escort resource expansion: Push out to nearby etherium nodes only as a concentrated strike force led by your hero. Clear any defenders, construct the refinery, and pull your mobile force back to the fortified perimeter rather than leaving units isolated in the field.

Deploy and Adapt Squad Roles

Relying solely on basic light infantry will result in rapid squad wipes once armored alien strains appear. Anchor your line with durable units that absorb melee pressure, backed by long-range specialists who can eliminate prioritized targets safely.

Take advantage of on-the-fly role changes as wave compositions shift:

• When heavy armored beasts approach: Convert excess frontline assault units into snipers to burn through their high health pools from distance.
• When low-tier swarms flood a lane: Swap secondary units to flamethrowers or rocket walkers to prevent heavy anchors from being surrounded and worn down.

Upgrade Turrets and Manage Repairs

Basic turrets lose effectiveness midway through the mission as tougher enemies lead assault waves. Leaving un-upgraded emplacements on active lanes bleeds etherium through repeated repairs and lost defensive ground.

• Missile and Heavy Cannons: Place these on long-approach lanes to soften armored beasts before they reach your units.
• Tesla and Plasma Emplacements: Build these where enemies bunch tightly to strip shields and clear grouped melee attackers.
• Turret Repair Micro: Pull damaged infantry back so defensive structures temporarily take enemy aggro, then spend tactical resources to repair damaged pads between wave spikes.
• Shielded Emplacements: If an auxiliary pad faces regular pressure from an angle your squads cannot actively cover, invest in defensive shielding upgrades to stall hostile forces until your mobile team arrives.

Hero Positioning and Late-Wave Defense

Your hero acts as a rapid-response unit to stabilize weak points. Keep your hero positioned slightly behind your frontline blockers, stepping forward only to activate active abilities when enemy packs collide with your line.

Reserve crowd-control skills, deployable shields, invulnerability buffs, and orbital strikes for mid-wave pressure spikes rather than wasting them on opening scouts. If a lane collapses, pull your hero back toward the base while ranged squads kite. Avoid losing your hero in the open, as Veteran resurrection timers leave your perimeter vulnerable to cascading failures.

During the final phase, multi-pronged assaults strike multiple lanes simultaneously:

• Pre-place minefields: Lay down landmines along known approach vectors before attack sirens trigger to weaken incoming vanguards.
• Split your defensive focus: Direct your main army and hero to defend the primary assault route.
• Use tactical call-ins for secondary breaches: Drop combat pods or deploy off-map orbital bombardments directly onto the secondary breach lane to stabilize it without pulling your main squad out of position.