Things just keep getting worse in the Firekka system. After the patrols in the previous mission uncovered a significant Kilrathi strike force, now it’s time to start bringing in some firepower to actually deal with the problem. The Rapiers of the Black Lions will be a much better fit than the Blue Devils’ Hornets.
Not much going in the bar before the mission starts. The cats are pulling out of more places, and we don’t know why, but there’s not too much other stuff going on. For now. The briefing starts with one piece of fantastic news: the Scimitar has been officially retired! Goodbye to that piece of hot garbage!
The actual mission is another recon patrol. This time we’re armed enough to deal with everything though. But what’s this? A fighter we haven’t seen before? That’s right, it’s the first appearance of the Hriss, which is rapidly going to become the bane of our existence. Also the Snakeir-class carrier makes its first appearance, but we don’t care about capital ships. Not really. They’re just big, dumb targets, whatever shape they come in.
The Hriss though. One of the major game balance aspects of Wing Commander is that Kilrathi ships more or less follow a simple set of rules: if a Kilrathi ship is about as fast or faster than the Confed fighters (Salthi, Dralthi, Krant), then it’s less well armed. If the ship is better armed and armored (Gratha, Jalthi) than the Confed birds, then it’s slower. The Dralthi Mk II upsets that balance a little bit with its Mass Drivers, but not much since it’s still just a Dralthi at heart. This is also what made the captured Rapiers in Wing Commander: The Secret Missions so miserable to fight. The Hriss, however, has a 380 kps top speed, and the same Mass Driver/Neutron Cannon armament as a Raptor. It’s effectively a slightly slower, but more maneuverable Raptor.
The first Secret Missions campaign mainly provided more challenges to the player by throwing more enemies into missions. Crusade alters the formula a bit by relying on more challenging pilot AI, and equipping those pilots with fighters more aligned with what the player’s flying.