It's finally done. This involved so much experimentation and practice, and many precise timings, but I finally achieved my goal. This was so much harder than 12 operator that the previous clear almost seems easy in comparison.
First, I had to consistently get to the second Nian deployment - kind of a "checkpoint", since Nian's talent allows me to recover health on all of my operators. I learned that Manticore's deployment timing was absolutely crucial for slowing down specific mobs later on in the run, which I only found out after careful review of past attempts. Then I decided that pursuing a triple-brawler strategy for the ending was going to end in failure because my medics can't keep up without Gravel, so I tried going for this alternative version that required much more careful micro in the final fight with Faust...
I could write a lot about all of the different deployment and skill timings that went into this, but for now, I'm tired... Maybe I'll upload a version with comments, or a written walkthrough if there's enough interest.
There were still some mistakes, especially in the final 10 minutes (this was my first attempt that reached the Weedy redeployment point using this strategy), but I pulled through somehow. Nian carried hard.
/ zebraquake
/ zebraquake