Arknights: Guide to GT-HX-2 Challenge Mode

GT-HX-2 is the second Operation of the HX series. If you are looking for the normal mode guide or other HX guides, you can find them here: 

In this article, we come back to get another piece of Big Adam, but this time we are going to take the whole thing!  This particular strategy is brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Peacecow. His video showing this exact plan in action can be found here and via the Youtube link at the bottom of this article.  More videos can be found on his Youtube Page.

The information should be sufficient to give you a good idea how to emerge victorious, though we will likely be making improvements and adding detail during the week as time allows.

There are two main map components we need to be aware of.

1. Corrosive Ground - Operators deployed on these tiles will have their Defense halved. On this map it only appears on melee tiles.  This makes Big Adam un-tankable. He must be dpsed down on his way to the doctor.

2. Challenge Condition: The Attack Speed of all enemies is increased significantly.  Overall, this isn’t a drastic change for this map, since the corrosive ground meant most strategies for normal mode involved a primarily ranged non-blocking strategy anyway.  The main difference for players is most likely to be at the very beginning if Vanguards were being relied on to block and kill things, or additional medic support if players were previously dpsing through the drone damage.  But, any strategy that was using any blocking at all will be affected.

• 2 Supporters, Su1 and Su2, with Slow.  Supporters with Slow are very effective on this map due its layout and conditions.  Orchid is free, so you have at least one, so if you are lacking a second, then substitute a Caster for Su2.

• 5 Casters, C1 - C5.  We want to be able to use as many Single Target Casters as we can while still having enough DPS to kill the enemies outside of Big Adam.  If in doubt, use 2 AoE Casters. We will place the AoE Casters at C2 and C3. If you don’t have this many Casters at your disposal, you can use whatever ranged DPS you have, preferably anything with Arts, high Attack, or Defense down (aka ShiraYuki, Platinum, or Meteorite).  Another possibility is to use Arts or Def ignore melee to supplement Big Adam damage (eg Mousse, Lappland, Franka). We will mention how they can be placed below. If the Firebomb Throwers are giving you trouble, you might want to bring another ST Sniper instead of one of these casters.  This will also be mentioned below.

• 2 Snipers.  S1 will be Single Target, S2 will be AoE.

• 1 Medic, M1. 

• 2 Melee. Me1 and Me2.  Their main role will be to take out Firebomb Throwers, act as decoys, or act as meat shield Adam Delays.  This means Kill-DP Vanguards are great for this as they return DP on retreat. Fast-Redeploy Operators are also excellent and useful candidates.  That being said, pretty much any melee can do the job.

Here is an example of a team that can work:

The concept here is slooooow things down and take our sweet time with the murdering.  Unit placement can be seen in the image below, and deployment order should be done exactly as presented to ensure the proper units get attacked. Each Operator can be placed as soon as there is sufficient DP.

Deployment Order: 

S1 > Su1 > M1 > Su2 > Me1 (if/when necessary) > S2 > C1 

Me1 should be deployed if/when any enemy units reach that point.  If our DPS is strong enough, we may not need to deploy Me1 there at all.

One of the enemies that has to be specially dealt with are the Firebomb Throwers. One emerges at around Kill 15, and a second at about kill 20.  These will stop at Red Circle 1 in the image above, and repeatedly bomb our Su1 like it’s a free gacha pull. They will not move until they are eliminated.  One way to do this is to wait until they both arrive at circle 1, then drop Me2 to eliminate them. If our healer can’t wait that long, another option is to take one of them out at Red Circle 2, and the other later at Red Circle 1.  Finally, a third option is to replace one of our reserve casters with another sniper (must be E1), and place them at red circle 3 facing up. They will have enough range to take them out as well as chip at other enemies that pass by.

If we need to support our DPS more with the Wraith Leader, we can place another Ranged DPS on Red Circle 3 facing left or up.

The next wave (with Big Adam) will not commence until all enemies in this wave have been eliminated.  Thus, if we wish, we can stall Adam’s wave by allowing the second Firebomber to continue to bar-b-que our Su1 while our Skills charge up, Re-Deployment Cooldowns expire (or we do laundry, make a sandwich, take a nap, etc), then eleminite it at our leisure to commence the next wave.

If Me1 was placed, it should be retreated when the dps and blocking it provides are no longer needed, as we can use it later for Adam delay.

Adam will soon appear, and he’s hungry, and he wants the sandwich we made during the delay.  C4 and Me1 should be placed as shown in the image above. If you are attempting to use Arts or Defense ignore melee dps, green circles 2 facing up, and 3 facing left will allow you to get some damage on him with he pauses.  After Big Adam passes the Red Circle 1, we will replace S2 with C2, and after the last Drone has gone down, we will replace S1 with C3.  Pop your cooldowns and unload with all you’ve got if you want to protect your sandwich. When Me1 gets sawed in half, replace them with Me2.  At this point, we either celebrate a victory, or go make a new sandwich. I hope it’s the former.