Nightsong Operatives - Mercenaries Superplays

1st
Replay - Midwestsbest+Dydarian+TheOnlyAce+Esnaroth_10334775.w3g

Final Score - 10,334,775

Submission Date - 02//07/10

Players - 4

Submitter - midwestsbest (Server - US East)

Commentary - This survival replay is 2 hours long, and in the latter half features adult conversation, by adults. Laugh or be offended. You have been warned.

Dydarian, TheOnlyAce, and midwestsbest get a fourth player for this one, the capable Esnaroth. They run their usual setup of Squad Leader, Sniper, and Scout, this time supplemented with Esnaroth on Medic. As a result they end up shattering all records in an hour less time than their previous submissions. Their team max kill streak was 694, and their individual kill streaks all went well over 1,000. TheOnlyAce approached 2,000 kills, and midwestsbest came in second with just over 1,600 kills. As usual, they had a clear plan and executed it...aggressively. Watch and learn from the best, or watch and be entertained by their skill and banter.

2nd
Replay - NSM_105_7,348,200.w3g

Final Score - 7,348,200

Submission Date - 06/08/09

Map - Nightsong Mercenaries 1.05

Players - 6

Submitters - Terrokan and Cmdr_Buttpirate (Server - US West)

Commentary - This one is set to Normal spawning mode, with Survival set as the game type. It is approximately two hours and ten minutes, so be ready for that... But it's a hell of a game. Cradish and Catma play as Scouts, Terrokan plays a Squad Leader, HappyBeaver plays a Sniper, Cmdr_Buttpirate plays a Demolitions, and Theocrati plays an Assault. These guys really know how to survive and communicate well. They defeat the third megaboss, Big Momma's Revenge, and go on to get thousands of kills afterwards. Most of the players break 1,000 kills, with some breaking 2,000. I highly recommend checking out the tactic Terrokan uses at about 48 minutes into the replay. It's a very high risk, high reward maneuver, and it's a great way to get fast damage on mega bosses. You'll also get to see how the use of the Nanite Shield by a few players works out. As for the kill streaks...well it's easy to lose track of them all, there are so many.

3rd
Replay - Midwestsbest+TheOnlyAce+Dydarian__6662932.w3g

Final Score - 6,662,932

Submission Date - 01/09/10

Map - Nightsong Mercenaries 1.10b

WC3 Version - 1.24b

Players - 3

Submitter - Midwestsbest (Server - East)

Commentary - This survival mode replay clocks in at 3 hours. These guys now hold both 2nd and 3rd place! They really set a great example in their play, though their opinions on non-game related matters are their own! They ran the same setup as they did in their previous superplay - Dydarian as a Squad Leader, TheOnlyAce as a Sniper, and midwestsbest as a Scout. They again ran into technical issues which hampered their performance late in the game, and their adventure came to the end thanks to a particularly nasty combination of bosses and minibosses. Again, the next version should fix the issues they ran into, for real this time!

4th
Replay - TheOnlyAce+Dydarian+midwestsbest_6356200.w3g

Final Score - 6,356,200

Submission Date - 11/10/09

Map - Nightsong Mercenaries 1.08

WC3 Version - 1.24b

Players - 3

Submitter - TheOnlyAce (Server - East)

Commentary - This is another long survival mode replay, clocking in around 3 hours. These guys played excellently despite some technical issues which were outside of their control. They also had a deliberate strategy with managing their score and the enemies on the board so as not to get overwhelmed. TheOnlyAce plays a Sniper with 1,205 kills, Dydarian plays a Squad Leader with 1,526 kills, and midwestsbest plays a Scout with 1,267 kills. There are kill streaks and close calls galore. Had the technical issues not come up in this game I'm sure they would have taken first place. The issues they encountered should be resolved in the next game version.

5th
Replay - NSM_104_warcrazy123_4670775.w3g

Final Score - 4,670,775

Submission Date - 06/11/09

Map - Nightsong Mercenaries 1.04

Players - 6 at first, 5 in the end

Submitter - warcrazy123 (Server - US East)

Commentary - This is another survival mode/horde mode high score submission. It is also another 2 hour and 10 minute submission, which the players joke about at 1:43:00 in the replay. To the players...well it helps that you can speed up replays! Warcrazy123 was an Engineer, Stevefire played an Assault, NightWishper played as another Assault, FLyingFridge chose Sniper, and evildude344 went Medic -the first yet in a high score game! Funny enough as well, the Medic led the team in kills with 1,220, while the next two up were Stevefire with 996 and warcrazy123 with 929. There are several close calls in this one, notably at 8-10 minutes in, 20 minutes in, 1:47:00 in, and a SUPER close call at 1:52:00, where the Total Party Kill timer nearly ran out. This replay also highlights some problems with the AI pathing which will be addressed in NSM 1.06.

6th
Replay - NSM_105_Tosho_4540075.w3g

Final Score - 4,540,075

Submission Date - 06/14/09

Map - Nightsong Mercenaries 1.05

Players - 6 at first, 2 in the end

Submitter - Tosho (Server - Unknown)

Commentary - This is the longest replay yet, by far, at approximately 4 hours and 50 minutes. Tosho, a Demolitions, and MistahTwistah, an Engineer, find a way to keep the game going indefinitely. Tosho gets super stacked, with over 80 strength and base damage of over 450. MistahTwistah takes it upon himself to make sure Tosho doesn't stay down for long. As a result, Tosho gets 3,308 kills while MistahTwistah gets 402 kills. So for this one keep your eye on Tosho and you'll have a good time.

7th
Replay - ur-master, himynamesdan & kevin_lor 4071400.w3g

Final Score - 4,071,400

Submission Date - 10/22/09

Map - Nightsong Mercenaries 1.07

WC3 Version - 1.24b

Players - 3

Submitter - ur-master (Server - East)

Commentary - This is the highest scoring Mercenaries mode replay yet. Ur-master plays a Squad Leader, kevin_lor plays an Engineer, and himynamesdan plays a Medic. Kevin_lor uses an exploit with constructocon creation that, combined with Rallying Call, results in a near-invincible army that gibs just about anything. He thus achieves a GODLIKE streak. Despite kevin_lor's army of destruction, himynamesdan manages to also achieve a GODLIKE streak. And at the end of the game, they have a duel to settle who is the ultimate warrior in their team. The exploit used in this replay will be fixed in NSM 1.08.

8th
Replay - reasonli_3031300.w3g

Final Score - 3,031,300

Submission Date - 12/15/09

Map - Nightsong Mercenaries 1.09

WC3 Version - 1.24c

Players - 5

Submitter - reasonli (Server - Unknown)

Commentary - This is a Mercenaries + Normal mode replay that is another example of how defense wins games. ToiletDemon, iggy760, and erjkgf.dng.ljkd each play Assaults, reasonli plays a Medic, and ner0 plays a Demolitions. Iggy760 managed piloted a tank and got it leveled up and geared up to the point where few things could threaten it, and so he dominated the battlefield with 269 kills. Reasonli played a great medic, making sure that teammates weren't dead for more than a few seconds, kept his team in top condition, and kept major threats stunned. Erjkgf.dng.ljkd did some base building and also used a Tank to great effect, but abandoned it mid way through the game. Ner0 came second in kills as Demolitions, so you could say he did his job well.

9th
Replay - Nightsong_104_TheOnlyAce_Dydarian_2824250.w3g

Final Score - 2,824,250

Submission Date - 06/06/09

Map - Nightsong Mercenaries 1.04

Players - 6 at first, 2 in the end

Submitter - TheOnlyAce (Server - East)

Commentary - This replay is the first horde mode high score submitted. If you think horde mode is imbalanced in that it's too hard...well, you might find that for these guys it's imbalanced because it's too easy! TheOnlyAce plays the finest Assault I've seen yet, getting 771 kills, and Dydarian comes in a distant yet respectable second as a Squad Leader with 495 kills. Both of them played admirably, demonstrating great hero control, good team work, and smart item choices. As you might guess, there are kill streaks galore.

10th
Replay - Nightsong_103a_Hellzrage+Darez+Toyic+Scott_Stapp_2450425.w3g

Final Score - 2,450,425

Submission Date - 05/30/09

Map - Nightsong Mercenaries 1.03a

Players - 6 at first, 4 in the end

Submitter - Hellzrage (Server - East)

Commentary - This replay is the first survival mode high score submitted. They had great teamwork and trust, with Hellzrage granting control to everyone for Squad Leader summons if needed. Darez played an exemplary scout, getting the most kills and keeping the team buffed up. Hellzrage played an exemplary Squad Leader, with an excellent tanking item build. For people that think it's too easy to die in this game, just watch and learn from Hellzrage! If only he had a Medic, too...Anyway, Toyic and Scott also provided good support as a Demolitions and Assault. Just about everyone gets pretty stacked with items/upgrades in this one. There are ten shitloads worth of kill streaks too, including at least one GODLIKE streak. The players were finally felled by a bug with enemy damage auras that gave enemies +1,000-2,000 damage. Naturally that bug is fixed in NSM 1.04.