Star Wars: Squadrons guide – Mission 4: Secrets and Spies tips and walkthrough

In this Star Wars: Squadrons walkthrough, we’ll help you with tips and tricks for completing Mission 4: Secrets and Spies.

Polygon’s Star Wars: Squadrons guides and walkthroughs help you navigate more than a dozen missions set in a galaxy far, far away. For Mission 4, we’ll help you learn to pilot a TIE Fighter and explain the best way to escort this mission’s Lambda Shuttles.

We didn’t want our guides to become narrative novels, so we skipped useless advice like “follow the squad leader.” Instead, every Squadrons walkthrough begins with general tips for the mission, followed by specific strategies for difficult sections and objectives. We wrap up with advice about earning mission medals.

Mission 4: Secrets and Spies walkthrough

For this mission, you’ll be playing as part of the Imperial Titan Squadron, escorting a spy out of Project Starhawk.

Mission 4 tips

• Once again, you’re in a new ship with new weapons, so take your time to learn the basics before messing much with the loadout.
• TIE Fighters don’t have shields, so your Power Management is a little simpler — you’re only swapping between weapons and engines.
• TIEs are better armored than X-Wings (minus the shields) and have maneuverability and acceleration comparable to an A-Wing. They’re nimble and can take a beating.
• Your first task is to take out several Missile Platforms as part of Destroy Outer Defenses. Come at them from below to avoid most (if not all) of their defenses.
• The rule while piloting a TIE is to keep moving. Use its speed and maneuverability to make up for the lack of shields. This is especially important while taking out the Outpost Defenses and targeting the Turbolaser Cannons. Do strafing runs as much as you can. If you don’t have time for a missile lock, double tap the missile button to launch one straight — if you’re lined up (or uncomfortably close), the missile will hit what you’re aiming at.
• There’re several optional objectives plus the two Medals for this mission that will pull you in several different directions. Focus on getting the mission done first, and then go back for the extras.

Objective: Escort Shuttle Gladius

Toward the end of the mission, you’ll need to escort a Lambda Shuttle (and an Imperial spy) away from the outpost while it’s getting picked on by New Republic forces. Go for the Thin The Herd Medal first by taking out all the New Republic fighters to make the fight a little less crowded.

While escorting the shuttle, hang back a little and wait for fighters to slide in front of you. They’ll be focused on the shuttle, so you can come in behind them to take them out. Maximize Weapon Power since you won’t need speed.

Several New Republic Corvettes will pop in during the shuttle’s escape. Ignore them. There’s nothing a single TIE can do about them, and you’d leave the Gladius exposed.

Mission 4 Medals

• Mission Complete. Completed Mission 4.
• Efficiency Medal. Completed Mission 4 in 13 minutes or less.
• Enduring Service Medal. Completed Mission 4 without dying.
• Collateral Damage. Destroyed New Republic GR-75s (transports) before any escape.
  
  After you take out the shield generator on the outpost, Sol wil call out that two transports are leaving the station. When choosing a loadout for your TIE Fighter, you can choose heavier hitting options like the Concussion Missile, which you can launch without a lock on by double tapping the button assigned to that auxiliary slot, and the standard rockets, which you fire directly ahead of you.
  
  Since the two transports move slowly, you can set your Emergency Power Converter to lasers, which is explained while you make your attack on the shield generator, and then lay into the two transports with your main weapons and dual rockets.
• Thin the Herd. Destroyed all remaining fighters before the Gladius’ arrival.
  
  All of the enemy ships will be swarming around a single area. If you’re having trouble taking them all out quickly, remember that you can lock on instantly to an enemy by tapping the Select Target Ahead button, and then tap Ping Target to have your squad focus fire on that enemy. Use this tactic to have your team fight one enemy while you focus another.