Co-op missions Fast Level Commanders Hard Brutal Normal

Damian-23221 · August 29, 2022, 9:31am

Hello, I started playing missions in cooperation with other players, but the problem is that the brutal level is too difficult for me, I can’t play at this level. and I wanted to quickly level the commanders, unfortunately, on the normal high level, it takes much too long experience points and the levels are breaking slowly, not like on the brutal one.
for this, maybe you have some tips on how to play on a brutal level to win with each commander when I have them on level 1 without any prestige points and power points spent
can he only play normal and hard but then it will take me weeks to max the commanders and it will be a slow leveling process.
I want to hit the level 15 commander as soon as possible so that my experience points and the level bar fill up quickly any advice you have for me

Caffeine-2856 · August 29, 2022, 9:59am

Rather than focus on fast levelling why not just enjoy getting to know the commanders. After all it’s just a game.

Elyssaen-2450 · August 29, 2022, 9:59am

Personally I wouldn’t rush it, because that time spent playing the commander will give you the opportunity to learn the commander and the maps and develop your skill to the point that you’re comfortable playing on Brutal. Levelling up can serve as your tutorial time.

Do you want to tell us which specific commander(s) you’re playing so that advice can be a little more focused?

Alternatively, CtG is a Co-op content creator on YouTube who’s recently done a series of videos on how to play commanders at Level 1. In each video he wins a Brutal map playing without an ally – don’t get too intimidated by this, as he put in a lot of practice and is often playing certain maps or against certain enemy compositions to make it more realistic. It’s just a way to show games that really focus on what a Level 1 commander can do.

Another thing is, if you’re insistent on treating this like a grind rather than a tutorial, you could consider selecting the map Void Thrashing. It’s not necessarily the fastest map, but it’s the easiest map to complete quickly without using a specific strategy. It’s also just simpler and easier than other maps. I think new players might find they can win on Void Thrashing on Brutal within 18 minutes quite reliably, when the alternative is playing Random Hard and having many games that take 25–30 minutes. A lot of the time on Brutal Void Thrashing you’ll get an ally who can completely carry you in well less than 18 minutes, as well.

Swordier-1952 · August 29, 2022, 10:20am

As others have said, you’re not going to be able to easily rush it from square zero. Not only is it commander knowledge, but also map knowledge. Knowing when waves hit, what kind of enemies are in those waves, what to prepare for when assaulting bases, etc.

I do have one further question. How much game time do you have with SC2 in general? Have you played the campaigns? Any ladder play, etc. Mind you, you don’t NEED to have done any of that, but it can help to have that general macro and micro knowledge. If not, I would recommend taking coop nice and slow. No need to try and burn yourself out.

FearrWhalins-1432 · August 29, 2022, 1:50pm

Find someone who can carry you on Brutal and play?

There’s not shortcut outside of that. You can’t just “learn” some trick then all of a sudden beat Brutal easily with sub15 COs. That kind of experience requires… experience.

Afterstar-1658 · August 29, 2022, 2:39pm

If you want to level up any commander on brutal with a random ally “as soon as possible” then I suggest you do the following:

Specifically select the map “Void Thrashing” and Difficulty “Brutal”.
(Lower difficulty to Hard/Normal if you are having a hard time.)

Read and study the details of the map here:

https://starcraft2coop.com/missions/voidthrashing

Read on your commander or watch others replays and write down a simple opening build order.
Don’t overcomplicate, keep it as simple as possible for you.
Make sure to expand very early if the map allows.

https://starcraft2coop.com/commanders/raynor

The Random Mission bonus experience you will lose is nothing compared to the complexity and time possibly spent on other missions to finish, so don’t worry about it.

By playing the same map over and over it will help your brain create a routine and make it easier for you to finish a map regardless of what your ally is doing.
It may get boring playing the same map over and over, so once you feel comfortable then you can go for the Random Missions but that will slow down your experience gain process.

Some other tips:

If you are having a really hard time on Brutal then switch to Hard instead.
If you are still having difficulties on Hard, then I’m afraid you will have to stick to Normal until you feel confident to move up a difficulty.
If your macro is slow and you find yourself supply block a lot or floating too many resources then make more production facilities, so you can easily build/rebuild up your army.
Use “F2” to select your entire army at any time for ease of use.
If your Commander has a hero or elite units, you may want to put them in their own selection group.
Use the PING system when you want to attack/defend an area to alert your allies attention.

Ping/Signal System

Next to the minimap bottom right, click the Ping icon (looks like radio waves, sorta like ((•)) ), then click anywhere on the minimap.
Alternatively press Alt+G on the keyboard, then click anywhere on the minimap.
The ping shows an exclamation mark and plays a sound.

Rukanth-1690 · August 29, 2022, 5:40pm

Yeah, for Sc2 even though for some endgame the lvl 15 prestieged brutal can be seen as walks in a park, doing brutal lvl 1, especially before maxing few if any commanders to 15 on a potential early play through might be a bit of a stretch goal.

There are a fair amount of people who can brutal lvl 1 but most of it requires like commander knowledge or experience that usually comes around the lvl 100-300 markish for them etc.

Or just a few solid strats or just strong leveling commanders out the gate in general. (Tychus and zeratul in particular lvl 1 in brutal fine with fair knowledge comps/great sustain and wave clear. Some like Abathur are more level based (harder to get / no ults, less nests without prestiege, etc. )

Brutal is only about 33% more xp than hard so you don’t have to feel bad but you’ll get there eventually or with the right commanders.

As mentioned earlier, while some are on the easier side or always definitely with a good ally, some commanders like lvl 1 karax (no cannons, no self revive, + unit tax or something), are kinda on the iffier end.

And as always, learning a comp guide to start working is a great thing, as others have mentioned starcraftcoop and team liquid have some great commander guides, (though tl sometimes hasn’t been updated with say unit buffs or prestieges but still has very solid starting basics with dps charts and recommended comps to try. ) https://tl.net/forum/starcraft-2/527054-co-op-commander-guide-kerrigan

Remember as others have said, doing brutal at lvl 1 (for most commanders), isn’t a everyman thing and most people may need to acclimate to sc2 over time, but knowing a solid comp can do great, and pretty much any commander can do aboutish 15-18 minute void thrasher brutals ± bonus if they want. Some even 11-12 min.

But usually for most commanders, learning how to do (quick) brutal from lvl 1 can usually takes longer than the 1-15. If you don’t care about time anything works, but there are some great resources in this thread.
Welcome to sc2 coop, and we wish you good luck, and have fun!

Undead-2724 · August 29, 2022, 8:18pm

Isn’t Rift to Korhal better? Since all non-bugged attack waves come through a single point on the map?
Though I’m not sure it’s also the case in Brutal, but it probably is.

FearrWhalins-1432 · August 29, 2022, 8:39pm

Let’s not suggest to anyone who is already having difficulty on brutal:

To play any ONE map on Brutal repeatedly, as a solution to leveling faster.

Learning maps while sub15 and already having difficulty on Brutal is entirely different ball game than L15 or M90. And it is an exercise for those with experience, unlike OP currently.

The fastest way to level is finding someone who can carry on Brutal or B+, so that the time it takes to completion mission is fast (sub15 usually) and success rate is 100%.

Alternatively, cheesing it with tomato farming is even better if you don’t want to lose your mind.
Can't find someone like that? Play on Hard Difficulty, which OP is already doing. Sorry, there's no better solution, genuinely.

To suggest doing this without a partner to someone like OP (as OP describes his own skill level) is utter nonsense. Nobody can get that good in that short period of time, whilst trying to do it all from level 1… Otherwise, they wouldn't be on here posting a topic to ask for real help.

Koetetsu-1896 · August 30, 2022, 6:27am

I would recommend not playing on brutal while leveling unless you’re in a duo. Coz there are some elitist types skulking about that would leave at the sight of a sub 15 commander on the other side. I’d suggest normal for 1-5 then go hard til you get 15.

Afterstar-1658 · August 30, 2022, 7:23am

Repeatedly playing the same most straight forward and easy map, will allow him to be able to create and repeat a routine and be able to speed up his learning curve.

As far as the difficulty, yes you are right maybe he should stick to Hard or Normal instead of Brutal if he still have a hard time. Adjusted my post to reflect that.

Of course having a good partner to carry him would be the ideal option for leveling up.
However finding someone to carry as a solution is easier said than done, especially for long periods and multiple sessions.

Afterstar-1658 · August 30, 2022, 7:56am

It’s just as easy but Rift of Korhal has an unusual early 2minute attack wave, well before hero units spawn, that could be a problem for the op.
It’s a good alternative to Void Thrashing though.

CptnOcto-1739 · August 30, 2022, 10:55am

It’s a weird one but actually the algorithm will try to match you with someone of a similar level so I did so much leveling on Brutal with <15 commanders and most of that was with other people also leveling. This makes it important to be able to “hold your own” but I so rarely came up against those “elitists” that you mention (though they do exist).

Void Thrashing is a great map choice and following a specific build order and trying to hit timings. Try to get that expo saturated ASAP and make sure to never be floating min/gas, even when Fighting use control groups to quickly queue more units all the time (and not filling the queue but just queueing 2-3 at a time).

Brutal difficulty is 99% macro for most commanders. If you can determine an appropriate unit composition to build to counter Amon and churn out those units quickly enough you should be about to F2, A-move most of the map.

Good luck!

KrikkitOne-1424 · August 30, 2022, 11:34am

I would say stick with one commander (unless you are needing some variety) and start on hard and transition to Brutal when
-Hard seems too easy
AND
-you are at least level 5-10 (by that point almost all commanders have one of their big calldowns and some of their bonuses)

For your first commander leveled this way, probably wait till level 10 (if you are sticking with it straight through)

General Map/Commander Leveling strategies
Random v. One specific over and over

-One specific will help you learn that commander/map better
-One specific commander will level up faster
-One specific map can be chosen as a short time map
-Random is less boring
-Random map comes with experience bonus

TLDR
Choose 2-3 commanders you want to level up, alternate between them when you get bored of one (drop back from Brutal to Hard when switching…until you are really good with that commander and 5+)
Use Void Thrashing, switch to Random Map on a lower difficulty when you get bored.

Once 2-3 commanders are level 15 you might be able to comfortably play them on brutal so then you might want to only level 1 sub 15 commander at a time, and play with the 15+ ones when you want some variety.

RickRumble-1434 · August 30, 2022, 1:39pm

Best thing to do, imo, is to solidify the fundamentals; macro, unit counters, and a decent map knowledge. Not so much details on exactly where waves will spawn or such, as knowing what comes next objective wise and map quirks like Rifts to Korhal having an early first wave and Chain of Ascension having a stronger than normal one.

ackmondual-1952 · August 31, 2022, 4:41am

Can’t say I blame the OP. I remember when I first started Coop, moving the mouse cursor over each box, reading the mouseover text for the talent levels in the Upgrade tab, and getting all psyched to try them out (especially the power spikes). Rinse and repeat for each of the new COs.

Looking back, “no biggie”, but back then it was quite exciting!