Defend the planet

Template:Appearances

Mission details
Assigned by	Ratchet
Reward	Infobot
Location	Tobruk Crater, Novalis
Preceded by	Return to the garage
Followed by	Find someone to help you repair your ship

Defend the planet is a mission in Ratchet & Clank. After Ratchet and Clank crash landed in the Tobruk Crater on planet Novalis, they found the planet under attack by the blarg, due to Mayor Agnogg Buckwash' nephew Skidd McMarx accessing illegal hydroharvester schematics. The two then sought to defend the planet from the attack.

This mission must be completed for the mission "Find someone to help you repair your ship", and the Plumber will not repair Ratchet's ship until completed.

Walkthrough

When you first arrive, break the Raritanium on the ground in front of you to obtain Raritanium, used to purchase specific weapon upgrades. When you use the vendor, press to enter the Upgrades menu. This will lead to a tutorial in which you must upgrade the "Tutorializer". As instructed, select it, then use the stick down to select an available icon, and select it. Move the stick to adjacent icons and select the final icon. This will unlock them all, and reveal the mystery upgrade in the center between them. After this, you return to the upgrade screen. However, first exit this screen with . You will find two weapons available: the Pyrocitor for 2,000 bolts, and the Proton Drum for 4,000 bolts. Both are useful on this planet, though the Pyrocitor is more affordable. Purchase the Pyrocitor, then return to the Raritanium upgrades screen. Upgrading any of these weapons is essential, though upgrading the Combuster's rate of fire, the Fusion Grenade's area of effect, or Pyrocitor's stream width, are the best upgrades at this stage. You should also refill your ammo.

(Note: Those with the pre-order bonus will be able to purchase the Bouncer, for 100 bolts. This is the most powerful weapon in the game at this stage, and should absolutely be purchased now.)

It is likely during the next mission that one of your weapons may also upgrade automatically from level 1 to 2. Each weapon upgrades with use, up to a maximum of level 5, at which point the weapon reaches a final form. Using one weapon at a time is an effective weapon to upgrade each one in combat. However, if you do this, ensure that you still swap out the weapon for another when not strategically viable, such as if it is weak against a certain set of enemies in an area you cannot complete.

Take the elevator down to the area below and head left. Here, birdbots and peckbots can be found hovering and flying in the air, but will land as you get closer, descending to attack you. Birdbots fire ranged blasts, while peckbots are purely melee. Dispatch of peckbots with either any weapon (though the Pyrocitor is quickest, or the Fusion Grenade with some area of effect Raritanium upgrades purchased), before defeating the birdbots from a range (with either the Fusion Grenade or the Combuster). Defeat enemies along this area, destroying crates for bolts as usual, then head up the stairs on the far left and into the structure connecting to the bridge.

As you cross the bridge, a blarg saucer will destroy parts of it, requiring you to avoid falling through. Defeat the birdbots on the other side and cross the other side, and Mayor Buckwash' crashed ship will be revealed across a path. Cross the path, defeating birdbots and peckbots along the way, and a group of birdbots and blarg troopers will be found. Defeat these, and Mayor Buckwash will appear, providing an infobot with information on his nephew, Skidd McMarx, on planet Aridia. This completes the mission. Press the green button in front of the door allowing you to return to the elevator and travel up to the starting area.

After this, if the Plumber had already been rescued, returning to your ship will also complete "Find someone to help you repair your ship". If not, take the elevator up to your ship, turn left into the tunnel leading to the waterworks, and complete that mission to leave the planet and travel to either Kerwan or Aridia.