Completing the campaign is just the first step in Into The Breach, but it’s a pretty great feeling to finally save the Earth from the alien bug menace. As a strategy rogue-like, randomness of Into The Breach makes the campaign especially tricky. Not everyone is going to have the patience to complete this tricky campaign, and if you’ve found yourself struggling to survive until the final island, there are some strategies that will make the game much, much easier.
It’s all about Custom Squads and using the best possible mechs from multiple teams to create a powerhouse group. Here, we’re skipping the platitudes and delving into the specifics — how to create a squad that will give you the best possible chance of survival if you’re new to the genre. It’s all about experimentation, and we’re aiming to make the campaign just a little bit easier from the get-go.
More Into The Breach guides on Gameranx:
- Into The Breach: 10 Tips To Help You Crush The Vek | Beginner’s Guide
- Into The Breach: How To Use Console Commands | PC Cheats Guide
- Into The Breach: How To Unlock Secret Alien Pilots | FTL Easter Eggs Guide
How To Complete The Campaign | Tips & Tricks
Before getting into the specifics of an Into The Breach campaign, it’s best to understand exactly what it takes to complete a single campaign run.
- To reach the end credits, you’ll need to:
- Complete at least two islands. Islands can be completed in any order.
- Islands consist of mission-based battles. Complete areas until only three zones remain. When only three zones are left, a boss will spawn at the corporate HQ.
- After two islands are complete, a volcanic island will appear at the top of the map.
- This map will scale in difficulty — it becomes more difficult the more islands that you complete.
- To complete the final island, you must complete two missions.
- The above ground mission tasks you with protecting power coils connected to the Power Grid like buildings on normal maps.
- The underground mission tasks you with protecting power coils and a large bomb. When the timer reaches zero, the bomb will detonate.
- Complete at least two islands. Islands can be completed in any order.
Setting off the bomb in the underground hive completes the campaign. Naturally, the more experience, abilities, and Power Cores you have unlocked the more options you’ll have in the final battle. Also, more Power Grid power will make the last two missions easier, as you’ll be able to sacrifice more Power Coils.
Making the Campaign Easier With Custom Squads
Every default squad in Into The Breach has strengths and weaknesses — but what if you had a squad that’s only strengths, no weaknesses? With Custom Squads, you can combine mechs into any squad you choose.
If you want a straightforward squad that packs a punch and makes life easier, you’ll want to unlock the following mechs.
- Rift Walkers (Default)
- Blitzkrieg (Costs 3 coins)
- Rusting Hulks (Costs 2 coins)
To unlock mech squads, you’ll need to earn coins. Coins are earned when you unlock coins — you’ll only need five coins for this simple squad. From these squads, select the following mechs.
- High Damage Custom Squad:
- Rift Walkers – Combat Mech
- Blitzkrieg – Boulder Mech
- Rusting Hulks – Rocket Mech
All mechs in this custom squad have a default 2 damage for their attacks. That means they can always damage armored Vek, or kill Psions in a single hit. Doubling your damage output essentially speeds up every turn — instead of hitting a Vek twice, you can hit it once.
These mechs still have significant pushing abilities, and plenty of range. Two of these mechs are powerful artillery pieces, so you can simply shoot from range while the Combat Mech soaks up damage and fights up-close.
- NOTE: Getting Power Cores is important for this squad. Don’t waste Reputation on alternate abilities or passives — the standard stats are all you need to upgrade.
- Upgrade health / movement for the Combat Mech first, or choose a primary pilot with extra health, power cores, or shields.
- Upgrade damage for the Rocket Mech, then the Boulder Mech.
- Finally, upgrade damage for the Combat Mech last.
This squad is all about suppressing Vek and killing them quickly. Direct damage is the way to go. Pummel Vek and use the Combat Mech to block emergence tiles to control the amount of Vek on the board. Because this squad is only about fighting, it has weak crowd control — great for beginners, not so great for veterans.
Additional Tips & Tricks
- Play on Easy if Normal / Hard are too punishing. You can always return later and replay on harder difficulties. But, I don’t recommend using this squad on any difficulty above Normal.
- You only need to complete two islands to unlock the final island mission. The more islands you complete, the more difficult the Vek that spawn on the final island.
- The first two islands are the easiest (grass, desert) for beginner squads like this. I don’t recommend trying to navigate complex missions in the third and fourth islands.
- You can see the type of boss that appears at the end of an island before selecting it. If you see a spider boss, I recommend skipping it with this team.
- If the giant blob boss appears, don’t even attack it.
- Bring Pilot Camila Vera with you on the Combat Mech if you can. She isn’t affected by smoke or webbing.
And that about covers it. This is one of the simplest, most straightforward custom squads for beginners. If you’re tired of all that push / pull stuff, this is a very simple, basic, combat-focused strategy to help you reach the end.
