LogFAQs > #979465653

voldothegr8 posted...

Not entirely true, for instance heavy armor with explosive resistance is almost a must for higher level bot missions. It's also really difficult to solo or split off until some of the better stratagems come available in the level 10-15 range.

Armor was broken for most of my playtime so I've only used the light stealth armor. Does that set make a big difference against rockets now?

At the start you get about 1 level up per mission if you're doing all the side objectives so you should be fine to unlock anything you need as you progress naturally. If you have friends skipping you from tier 2 to tier 7 you're going to be in a rough spot but the basic machine gun, EAT, and airstrike loadout is all you need to do your part in a group. Let the high level nerds run off solo and die trying to orbital laser a heavy base and just stick with a duo or trio and focus on the main objectives.

Im not saying its easy to rush straight to helldive difficulty but theres no reason to be afraid of moving up a tier if your main concern is not having the gear required for it. Most people should be fine to push up to tier 6 or 7, especially if you're playing in 4 man lobbies.