Iron Brigade

This achievement is a lot easier solo!!! After numerous tries in different gaming sessions and searching for randoms, I had only reached Wave 28. After following this strategy, I made it to Wave 56 ALONE!!!

There are fewer enemies, and they have less health depending on how few of players you have. Also you don't have to share scrap and can drop a turret from the start of the first wave in survival.

Run a Hamer MkIV with 3 Muerte Fiesta Numero 6s. You get this shotgun for Wave 5 loot on Settlement Survival. Also, equip Speedy Biped Legs. You are going to run a lot in the first 15-20 Waves.

From the start of Wave 1 you can immediately place a sniper turret. The best places to put your turrets is on top of the vegetation on the level. Spam sniper turrets whenever you have enough scrap. I never upgraded turrets until after wave 20. When you do upgrade your turrets, upgrade the back defenses first to ensure your scrap isn't wasted on a turret that might be destroyed by a burst transmitter.

This video helped me. It shows the angles needed to get turrets on top of mushrooms/trees out of reach of knobs. It will also help with locations of enemy spawns, however some of the spawns are randomized, but not major enemies such as Volt Droppers and Big Berthas. This guy also did it without support turrets. I dropped a few collection pods and dampeners after I felt I had enough snipers to limit my running.

NOTE: This hasn't been confirmed yet, so not 100% on this, but a possible tip is to start with 4 people. Have 1 player drop lots of turrets in the middle (dampening/super shredder), then quit out on wave 9. Once you make it to 22, kill all the jacobs/big willies/amplifiers. Make sure the engineer has several snipers everywhere, then quit out on 22. This make all the enemies has lesser health, and also you will have tons of turrets out to assist the other 2 players as they make it to wave 30. But like I said, this is just an idea, it worked for us beautifully, even with one of the final 2 guys glitched in the ground for the final 8 waves.

We used 4 people for this. I've made it to 22 solo, but no where close to the achievements. Here are the 4 load-outs we used (not 100% though, I only remember 3 of them for sure)

Mech #1 (mine):
Core: Selker Mk V
Legs: Hot Pants
Weapon (RT): The Perforator Machine Gun
Weapon (LT): BD-7T6 The Hold Puncher Shotgun
Turret #1: Super Shredder Turret
Turret #2: Knockback Shotgun Turret
Turret #3: Piercing Sniper Turret
Turret #4: Cluster Mortar Turret

Mech #2:
Core: Karlsson Mk V
Legs: Defensive Tripod Legs (has quickload, just doesn't say it)
Weapon (RT): Gungir
Weapon (LT): Gungir
Turret #1: Dampening Generator Mk III
Turret #2: Super Shredder Turret

Mech #3:
Core: Karlsson Mk V
Legs: Defensive Tripod Legs
Weapon (RT): L-2 "Faster Blaster" Machine Gun
Weapon (RT): The Perforator Machine Gun
Weapon (RT): BD-7T6 The Hole Puncher Shotgun
Weapon (LT): Gungir
Turret #1: Ironclad Repair Crane
Turret #2: Super Shredder Turret

Mech #4:
Core: Karlsson MkV
Legs: Defensive Tripod Legs
Weapon (RT): Albert Sniper
Weapon (RT): The Perforator Machine Gun
Weapon (LT): Albert Sniper
Weapon (LT): The Perforator Machine Gun
Turret #1: Dampening Generator Mk III
Turret #2: Super Shredder Turret


Some tips and strategies:

First and foremost, the MAIN thing to focus on when you're playing the volt droppers. That's why 2 people have the gungir's. As soon as you know the Volt Dropper is coming out or out, dig in with you tripod legs (Press A). You should get off twice as many shots while you're dug in. The waves I know for sure is 7 and 10. I'm always too busy to write down the later levels, but I think its 22, 26, and 29. 26 should have 2 Volt Droppers.

The engineer of the group should put down sniper turrets and that should be his main purpose in this match. Me personally, I placed them up by the decoy on the left. Its a random place, but thats where the Volt Dropper does his figure 8 moves, and I placed them right on the edge over looking the center, and the nobs actually didn't bother them. The other choice is to place them on the center peninsula's in front of the blue base. But beware, make sure you have dampening generators and machine guns protecting them b/c there are a ton of nobs in this level

The only other problem was the Jacobs in this level, so make sure you call out Jacobs and the people with Snipers can help take them out. The double gungir mech should always focus on Jacobs and the bigger enemies. Make sure he is dug in almost all the time. We had him dig in on the right peninsula and had shredder turrets around him to protect from the aerials.

The placement of turrets is majorly important. Make sure you have tons and tons of dampening generators w/ machine guns everywhere to help with nobs/kathy's. I also placed a mortar on the tip of each peninsula which helped with some of the clusters of enemies. Don't forget to place a healing turret in the back, probably between the blue and orange base somewhere.


Wave by wave (not always the same, but just gives you a heads up on what you should be expecting...Also, it might be different enemies depending on # of people)

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Alternate Set-up

Mech#1
Core: Honeychurch Mk IV
Legs: Hot Pants
Weapon (RT): Albert Sniper
Turret #1: Super Shredder Turret
Turret #2: Piercing Sniper Turret
Turret #3: Dampening Generator Mk III
Turret #4: Ironclad Repair Crane

Mech #2
Core: Karlsson Mk V
Legs: Tripod Legs (fortify + quickload)
Weapon (RT): Albert Sniper
Weapon (RT): The Perforator Machine Gun
Weapon (LT): Albert Sniper
Weapon (LT): The Perforator Machine Gun
Turret #1: Dampening Generator Mk III
Turret #2: Super Shredder Turret

Mech #3 (same as mech #2)
Core: Karlsson Mk V
Legs: Tripod Legs (fortify + quickload)
Weapon (RT): Albert Sniper
Weapon (RT): The Perforator Machine Gun
Weapon (LT): Albert Sniper
Weapon (LT): The Perforator Machine Gun
Turret #1: Dampening Generator Mk III
Turret #2: Super Shredder Turret

We just did this last night, after 2 of us got disconnected by 22, the other 2 managed to make it to 38 or so. The double Albert is BEAST! You can shoot 6 enemies at once if they're lined up, but even better, you can shoot the Jacobs through enemies. So if a Big Willie has 10 jacobs, no need to run behind him, just shoot Big Willie where you think the Jacob is, and you can kill them. I have lots of fun on the left shooting tons of enemies in 1 shot b/c they're always lined up for me. You could also place a piercing sniper on the green base so that it also shoots up the path and kills multiple enemies. But beware, make sure you have tons of machine guns and dampening up the path to protect the sniper.

Same as the other method though, its crucial that you get those sniper turrets down. I had 4 sniper turrets overlooking the middle up by the left decoy. For some reason the nobs never bother them too much, making it a great spot for them.

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Wave 1:
a. Tommy’s center
b. Resistor’s left
c. Tommy’s center

Wave 2:
a. Blitzers center + Burst Transmiters left

Wave 3:
a. Aerials right + Breakers left
b. Noids center

Wave 4:
a. Blitzers left + Arty center
b. Burst Transmiters left + Kathy’s middle

Wave 5:
a. Cathy’s center + Blitzers right + Cathy’s right
b. Cathy’s center + Aerials right

Wave 6:
a. Tommy center (JACOB) + Tommy right
b. Aerials go left


Wave 7:
a. VOLT DROPPER!!!
b. Arty center
c. Nobs center
d. Resisters right

Wave 8:
a. blitzers everywhere

Wave 9:
a. Big willie center
b. Resisters center
c. aerials

Wave 10:
a. VOLT DROPPER!!!
b. big willie left
c. aerials center

Wave 11:
a. breakers left + breakers center
b. noids
c. breakers center
d. bertha right

Wave 12:
a. aerials center/right
b. resisters

Wave 13:
a. aerials center/left
b. blitzers right

Wave 14:
a. resisters center
b. resisters right (JACOB)

Wave 15:
a. amplifier center + Arty center

Wave 16:
a. Burst Transmitter left

Wave 17:
a. amplifier left (JACOB)
b. Resisters left (JACOB)

Wave 18:
a. Big Willie right
b. aerials center

Wave 19:
a. JACOBS! followed by a ton of...
b. blitzers center

Wave 20:
a. Nobs/Kathy's everywhere

Wave 21:
a. Resisters right (JACOBS)
b. Resisters center
c. Nobs right
d. Amplifier (JACOBS)

Wave 22:
a. Big Willie (JACOBS) x3
b. Amplifier
c. Resisters

Wave 23:
a. VOLT DROPPER!!!!

Wave 24:
a. Bertha center
b. Bertha center

Wave 25:
a. Burst Transmitters
b. Nobs right

Wave 26: (sand storm)
a. VOLT DROPPER!!!!
b. VOLT DROPPER!!!!

Wave 27:
a. Big Willie center (JACOBS)
b. Resisters left
c. Wave of jacobs in center behind Willie
d. Resisters center
e. Aerials

Wave 28:
a. Kathys center (JACOBS)
b. Arty center
c. Burst Transmittors left (JACOBS)
d. Bertha right
e. Nobs everywhere
f. Burst Transmittors left (JACOBS)

Wave 29:
a. Arty center (JACOBS)
b. Bertha right (JACOBS)
c. VOLT DROPPER!!!!
d. Aerials right

Wave 30: (tip, make sure to have extra turrets in from of the amplifier to keep him a little busy while you take out volt dropper)
a. VOLT DROPPER!!!!
b. Amplifier left (JACOBS)
c. Bertha right
d. Arty center

Thanks to rabies for the basic loadout/strategy.

You can do this solo, but I played with a friend of mine. The difficulty scales, but I figured with both of us being fairly good players this was the best bet. The beginning is the hardest -- once you get some sniper turrets set up, you'll be gaining tons of scrap and won't have to run all over the place, so don't worry if it feels like you're getting slaughtered at the start. By wave 15 our green base had only a sliver of health left, but we made it!

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Trench loadout:
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At least one person should have:

Core: HoneyChurch IV with Sprint+ Legs
Weapon: Albert Sniper Rifle (Pierce+)
Emplacements: Dampening Generator, Repair Crane, Sniper Turret, Shredder Turret

My friend used a bigger Trench with heavy weapons. Use whatever you're comfortable with. He had a collection pod. If you're playing solo, you should probably swap the repair crane for the collection pod. I mostly stayed up near the green base, and my friend stayed down near orange. Because I had the sniper rifle, I was able to help him out from up there.

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Tips:
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- Start with all shredder turrets. They're cheap, and at the beginning you need all the help you can get. More is better. Don't waste scrap on other stuff yet (maybe a collection pod after a few waves).
- Scrap disappears after a while, so grab it when you can, and eventually build collection pods.
- Put emplacements on top of "trees." I think you need to be on the lowest level for this to work (don't be on a peninsula). Knobs shouldn't be able to kill them this way, but watch for Burst Transmitters.
- Build lots of sniper turrets once you start getting more scrap, and protect them from knobs with shredder turrets. Place some snipers at the end of the peninsulas, and up by the green decoy.
- Focus all your fire on the Volt Dropper if you can! They do a lot of damage and ignore dampening generators, so you need to take them out as quickly as possible. Sniper turrets are what you need here, so I hope you've built a few by this point. When you fire at the Volt be sure to lead the target (aim a little in front of it when you fire).
- Save the decoys for waves 25+ (as long as you can wait, basically).
- Eventually build a repair crane somewhere in the middle, but not until you have plenty of scrap.
- Turrets are dumb, so kill Jacobs first, as soon as you can.
- If you're using the Albert sniper rifle, try to line up multiple enemies when you can because of the pierce ability. If Jacobs are protecting an enemy, shoot through the enemy to hit the Jacob(s); don't wait for a clear shot.


We made it to wave 42 with this method, and would have gotten further if we had tried. After we got the achievement we relaxed and mostly let the turrets do the work, so eventually some enemies slipped by.

A personal thank you to ALI900(who really wrote this guide), LitemanXLegacy, Odadjian Actual & xCyberDx.

I realise that this achievement can be quite frustrating but just be patient. The idea was to get rid of those pesky volt droppers as soon as possible and this method DOES work and has been tested.

I would personally recommend two individuals having Iron Clad Sniper Turrets (NOT PIERCING!). Placing them around the ridge of the left decoy towards the green base is what will help you the most. This will not only allow you to decimate the Volt Dropper as he circles this particular area but this will attempt to help you weaken other enemies before they reach their destination.

I would strongly recommend placing around 5-6 snipers there out of those, 1 is fully upgraded and 2 others are upgraded once. This will strengthen your chances of shooting that annoying Volt Dropper but also help you with any other aerial foes you may face.

I used the Muerte Fiasta Numero 6 shotgun on either side with my Selker MKV load out. I had a Knockback Shotgun & Super Shredder turret while an explosive barrel generator was there to assist my fellow gamers. I would enforce everyone to begin upgrading their turrets rather than spawning a crowd of turrets. Stronger turrets will clearly do more damage but will also help you be in control a bit better. Keep weaker turrets in the front and upgrade the turrets at the back where possible.

I would also recommend doing this with 3 people (to make it easier due to enemy health) and IF someone has this achievement beforehand, it would be ideal for them to quit around wave 24 or so to speed things through as your enemies will lose health when someone does quit. The enemy health does drop with 3 people by a lot but when someone else drops out; the enemy health is almost down by 15-20% if not more. I would not recommend doing this with 4 people as the enemy health is at its maximum as well as everyone can take their sides with 3 people going for it.

Good luck and please do up vote if this helps you.

The best way to get this achievement is by far: communication among your teammates, placement/upgrading of your turrets, and a well-rounded team. Having at least one engineer with sniper turrets and mine layers, and at least one sniper/heavy cannonier seems to be safe bets. Place turrets (flaks and snipers help best) ON TOP of trees or such keep them away from knobs. As for the rest, its all about dropping the heavies (especially those annoying volt droppers), knobs/jakobs, and having some patience. Other than that, good luck!

EDIT: Went back through a few weeks later with this method and made wave 56. Main thing I remember from the match was there was (I swear) 30 sniper turrets. Those volt droppers didn't stand a chance. Only problem we had was those annoying jakobs. Another big help was the admiral archie flak turret, but you need this achievement to unlock it.

For this use this loadout, got the achievement first try after using all the other guides with no luck for weeks.

Chassis: Hammer MK IV.
Legs: Speedy Biped Legs.
Weapons: H-178G "Topiary Trimmer" (Machine Gun), has a range of 200 so very good if you are a bit away from the bases and has decent stopping power, even against the Breakers, also extremely effective against the Knobs, about 5 or 6 out of each wave got through.
Emplacements: Piercing Sniper Turret, follow the video guide CRAZYCal2Ya has in his solution to get an idea of where to put the turrets, helps massively with this setup. Also i put a fully upgraded turret high up next to the blue base, helps deal with attackers at green and a fully upgraded turret on the vegetation at the far back of the orange base and used the decoys at wave 26 but if you feel a little overwhelmed use them, saved me when orange base had a shit load attacking it. And put a couple level 1 snipers around the back where the aerials and noids usually spawn.