by: Odysseus

Intel: The Casso Weapons Facility is the Bane’s primary manufacturing facility for Energy Weapons. They are supplied by the nearby Fluxite Mines and are the main distribution channel for weapons on Mires. Because of these factors, the facility is considered a high priority military target.

There are many things to like about the Energy Weapons Center instance. For one, the map is a glorified square shape, and there are no levels. The time needed to run this instance is less than one hour (about 30 minutes if you are running with an aggressive group). Because this is a relatively small instance, you are never too far away from the medic in case you need a quick healing. The instance missions are all provided within the instance (i.e., you don’t need to take any missions with you into the instance). And lastly, like all of the instances in Mires, there is no lag which is a nice contrast from the open zone. The enemy is level 29-30.

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Don't be Fooled by the Size

If you obtain the mission “The Shootist” in the Mires zone, you should consider running the Energy Weapons Center just after you get that mission completion. The level 33 Lightbender Phost’Benon (who is the target/object of that mission) stands just outside the entrance to the Energy Weapons Center. After entering the instance, Sergeant Wolfe will be on your left and the medic on your right. Sgt. Wolfe gives you the “It’s All In the Timing” mission where you are to shutdown a plasma generator. Go past Sgt. Wolfe, and go left at the intersection. Clear the room of Hunters and their dogs, Technicians, Riflemen, Caretakers and Kael. Next go through the unlocked laser gate (which according to the map would be West). At the “Y” in the path, go right.

You are now in the plasma reactors area which contains two high energy beams that look like they are straight out of the Star Wars Death Star. These beams are pulsed, so time your movement in that area to avoid becoming bacon. Actually, it is rather fun to draw the Bane into the energy tunnel and watch them get fried while you are safely in a side passage. Weave around the two beams, clearing Technicians and Nitroglazers, until you come to the Plasma Generator. The generator seems weakest to lightning and EMP weapons, but it still takes a while to knock it down. While you are knocking it down, nitroglazers will spawn (sometimes behind you) and try to encourage you to leave. Once you have destroyed the plasma generator, Headquarters will radio you the mission completion. You can choose from a Vextronics Electric Polarity Gun, a CryoGen Reflective Armor Helmet or a Titan Reflective Armor Vest.

Moving past the plasma generator into the Research Lab, you will get the radio mission “Tesla Inversion”. There is some equipment to shoot in the Research Lab, but it doesn’t seem to any benefit to destroy the gear. A level 30 silver Thrax soldier named Overseer Xirnon awaits you as do other Riflemen, Technicians and Kael. Grab the datablade from one of the tables and keep moving to the Tesla Control Room. Use the Tesla Control Console to trigger the tesla inversion. The Tesla Coils go crazy and start zapping the Bane and Stalker who, in turn, are forced to destroy the tesla coils. The mission reward options are a ChiTech Virulent Injector Gun, Voltrox Stealth Armor Gloves, and a ChiTech Pulse RPG Launcher.

Headquarters will then send you the radio mission “Look Before You Sabotage”. Head toward the mission marker to find the remains of Demolitionist Engelsen. On your way there, you will enter a room with four Bane terminals. Facing the long wall, there are two terminals on your left and two on your right. Choose the first one on the right (the one closest to the long wall) to get a nice fly-over scene that shows you exactly where the poor fellow lies. Take the open laser gate into the warehouse. You will end up on a raised walkway drawing fire from two directions. There is a level 30 caretaker named Sergeant Zixno and some standard Bane to eliminate before heading to the corpse. Gather the three explosive charges from the Rotting Human Corpse (nice), and blow the three storage tanks. Mission rewards are different grenades or a med pack.

The last mission (via radio) is “The Strongest Link” where you are to defeat Linker Commander Casso and his minions. If you slowly enter the room, you’ll notice that the boss doesn't spawn until you are fully in the room with the door locked behind you. Be sure to read the comments from the boss as you clear the room. I’ve found that EMP weapons work well against linkers (and howlers, too, for that matter). The boss and the caretakers are level 30 while the other linkers are level 29. As a reminder, don’t shoot the linker when he is building up a charge or that energy will be redirected back to you.

As you head back to Sgt. Wolfe, notice a long corridor to your right with shield drones and riflemen. It is optional to clear this area, but there are two blue drops that you will get for your effort. Turning in “The Strongest Link” to Sgt. Wolfe gives you the choice of a Prodigy Graviton Armor Helmet (blue), Pulsar Bio Armor Gloves (blue), Pulsar Mech Armor Legs (purple), and a Vextronics Incendiary Net Gun (blue). See the medic to heal up and sell any stuff you don’t want before heading out. Note that the area you cleared before entering this instance will likely have respawned by now.

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