SW:EAW: Forces of Corruption - Kessel

Star Wars: Empire at War - Kessel
This is a hint / walkthrough for a planet in Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption. The index of all our guides for Empire at War: Forces of Corruption is here.

Prologue

The initial cutscene isn't clear, but it appears that Tyber Zann did not mean to be arrested after stealing the artifact. Although both he and Urai Fen have a personal cloaking device, probably as a plot device, Tyber Zann is allowed to be captured and sent to the spice mines on Kessel -- this, despite the fact that the scene in Kessel suggests he already had a plan to escape.

After the initial cutscene, you start the Forces of Corruption campaign in the Kessel prison. There really isn't much here that can defeat Tyber Zann and Urai Fen except possibly the Dark Troopers at the end, so save your credits and waive using Tyber Zann's power to bribe the enemy.

Corrupt Militia
The earliest you can perform this Corruption is after Mission 11 (Visions of the Past) when you finally get Crusader-class Gunships.

Piracy (Corruption Income +128; can build Marauder Corvettes)
The earliest you can perform this Corruption is after Mission 14 (Cloud City Conflict), where you get IG-88. Because of this, you may want to wait before conquering Kessel even though it is accessible early in the game.
On the other hand, you can perform this Corruption at the same time as Piracy on Bespin, which gives you the comparable Broadside Cruiser.

This mission is pretty tough because of the Imperial cruisers (Victory or Acclamators) roaming the map. If you are unlucky, you might get two coming at you at the same time, which will probably cause you to lose your Crusaders. The Vengeance-class Frigates are actually fairly good against fighters and bombers, but you only have one and IG-88 isn't particularly good in space.

The Vengeance Frigate has a weapon range longer than that of the space turrets, so you can use it to safely take them out.

Space Battle
Land Battle
The prisons here release a random mix of prisoners who are generally hostile to you and each other.