Search is the thirty-ninth offline mission and the fourty-second online mission in Earth Defense Force 2025 and the fourty-first offline mission and the fourty-fourth online mission in Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair.
Objective[]
2025: The clean up operation will begin. Engage all enemies in the city. The expected arrival of a team has been delayed, os we will have to continue the attack with the Ranger team and Storm teams only.
4.1: The clean-up operation will now commence. Engage all enemies in the city! The arrival of reinforcements has been delayed, so we'll have to continue the attack with the Ranger and Storm teams only.
Storyline[]
Storm Team and two Ranger teams are on top of a bridge. They move up on the road and find a group of ants.
Meanwhile Pale Team reports that they managed to escape their foes and are waiting for their engines to cool. HQ asks for a damage report, but before they could give one they realize that the enemy caught up to them. After that, fragments of the fight can be heard from the radio and they seem to be losing.
Apparently saying that giant insects can't fly so many times finally jinxed it, because as soon as Storm Team finishes off the ants giant hornets start appearing. The Rangers can't believe it, but still engage them. A baffled Ohara somehow manages to get hold of the radio and starts saying some not very helpful statement about the flying giant insects that appear to be flying.
When the Hornets are finally finished, not quite the fearsome predators Pale Team portrayed them to be, another wave starts and HQ orders to attack the giant flying insects in case someone forgot what they have been doing until now. When the last wave is defeated the mission ends.
4.1 Changes[]
The mission is now set on the City Outskirts map. Storm Team and two Ranger teams start at the park near the Tokyo Tower copy.
The weapons and the numbers of the Ranger teams was changed.
There are slightly more Hornets added. The first wave of ants are around the commercial part of the city while the Hornets are flying from the other side of the map.
Allies[]
2025[]
- A team of 4 Rangers equipped with shotguns appears near the players at the begining of the mission.
- Two teams of 3 Rangers equipped with shotguns appear at each side of the map at the begining of the mission.
4.1[]
- A team of 5 Rangers equipped with shotguns appears near the players at the begining of the mission. They cannot be recruited until the second wave.
- A team of 5 Rangers equipped with assault rifles appears at the other side of the park at the begining of the mission. They cannot be recruited until the second wave.
- A team of 5 Rangers equipped with rocket launchers appears on the road near the river at the begining of the mission. They cannot be recruited until the second wave.
Enemies[]
2025[]
| Wave | Spawn | Enemy | Amount | Notes |
| 1st | Appears at the begining of the mission. | Black Ants | 33 | |
| 2nd | Appears when the previous wave is defeated. | Hornets | 33 | |
| 3rd | Appears when the previous wave is defeated. | Hornets | 54 |
4.1[]
| Wave | Spawn | Enemy | Amount | Notes |
| 1st | Appears at the begining of the mission. | Black Ants | 33 | |
| 2nd | Appears when the previous wave is defeated. | Hornets | 45 | |
| 3rd | Appears when the previous wave is defeated. | Hornets | 60 | 90 on Hardest or above. |
Online Limits[]
Armor Limit
There's no limit for Inferno difficulty.
| Difficulty | Ranger & Air Raider | Wing Diver | Fencer | |||
| 2025 | 4.1 | 2025 | 4.1 | 2025 | 4.1 | |
| Easy & Normal | 884 | 887 | 492 | 493 | 1105 | 1109 |
| Hard | 2160 | 2386 | 1130 | 1243 | 2701 | 2983 |
| Hardest | 3440 | 4165 | 1770 | 2132 | 4300 | 5206 |
Weapon Level Limit
| Game | Easy & Normal | Hard | Hardest | Inferno |
| 2025 | 12 | 36 | 61 | - |
| 4.1 | 12 | 37 | 63 | - |
Approximate Weapon Drop Rate
| Game | Easy | Normal | Hard | Hardest | Inferno |
| 2025 | 5-9 | 7-11 | 21-33 | 3-58 | 12-72 |
| 4.1 | 4-9 | 6-11 | 22-37 | 0-59 | 12-72 |
Strategy[]
Bring weapons that have decent range and good rate of fire or spread against the Hornets.
The ants at the beginning are fairly easy to kill. They are few in numbers, spread out and most of them climb a skyscraper and start running around them endlessly.
The real challenge of the mission are the Hornets, which are a completely new enemy type. They are similar to the drones however their AI is slightly different. Unlike the drones who move around erratically and sometimes crash next to their target, they tend to keep some distance and move less when they are shooting their enemies. They surround their foes and shoot multiple darts at them that can sometimes block the vision.
It's best to move to cover to limit the direction of their attack. On the other side of the river there's a walkway running under the bridges that provides a very good cover.
| DLC 1: Special Forces | Exploration • Giant's Advance • Silver Camp • Citadel • Floating Fleet |
| DLC 2: Mutant Rampage | Advance • Mountain Assault • Enemy Camp Infiltration • Underground Advance • Giant Robots • Battle Species • Beast Mountain • Dark Arena • Gathering Around • Armored Species • Iron Wall • Mountain of Change • Whirlwind of Death • Bugged City • The Tough • Golden Darkness • True King • Final Impact • Into Destruction • Ship of Dragons |
| DLC 3: Beyond Despair | Tracking • Underground Complex • Blocked Pass • Close Formation • Dragon Ship Fleet • Heavy Artillery • Bloody River • Dangerous Goldmines • Beast Mobilization • Total Protection • Aerial Bombing • King of Armor • Cannon Defenders • Traps Behind • Four Kings of Nightmares • Resistance Against the Twilight • Shivering Nexus • Three Giants • Crimson Lotus • Starry Prison |
| 1-10 | Reconvene • Spreading Disaster • Winged War Goddess • Setting Sun • Wind Shear • Underground Cave • Eruption • Retaliation • Beach Fear • The Return |
| 11-20 | Air Force • Day of the Demons • Takedown • Preventing Landfall • Land Collapse • Fortress Siege • Valley Shadows • Artillery • Breaking Through • Shining Stronghold |
| 21-30 | Into the Depths • A Trap • Giant Robots • Summit Ship • Anchored • Silver City • Crimson • Assault • High-Speed • Bloody Mountain |
| 31-40 | Brute Force • Charge Phase 1 • Charge Phase 2 • Dark Prisoner • Charge Phase 3 • Thunder • Infiltration • Convergence • Inferno • Starship |
| 41-50 | High Density • Dozing Beast • Crossing • Search • Waterside Bugs • Annihilation • Natural Calamity • Steel Beast • Void Ship • Blue Fighters |
| 51-60 | Earth Defenders • Fleet Attack • Mountain Pass Trap • Fortress Frenzy • Pincer • Ravages of War • Crash • Air Mobilization • Bug Invasion • Transport Ship Surprise Attack |
| 61-70 | Bug King • Crazy Skies • The Fleet Below • Ill Omen • City of Horror • Mountains Ablaze • Breaking Through (2) • Bug Tower • Fortress Attack • Mountain Liberation |
| 71-80 | Battle of Giants • Sniper Attack • Mountain Giants • Towering Beast • Teeth of the Universe • Giant Ship • Spearhead • Tower Siege • Den of Thieves • Death Queen |
| 81-90 | Machine Squad • Monster Party • Labyrinth of Light • City Flaws • Monster Camp • Fallen Flagship • Heaven's Army • Encircling • Divine • The Threat |
| 91-98 | Troubled Valley • Battle to the Death • Massive Mobilization • Legion of Monsters • Scorching • Demon Army • Surrounded! • Star Eaters |
| DLC 1: Time of the Mutants | Air Offensive • Giants Advance • Recon • Dust Town • Defense Line • Underground Advance • War Breed • Mountain Assault • Enemy Camp Infiltration • Dark Arena • Beast Mountain • God's Army • The Gathering • Armored Species • Iron Wall • Silver Base • Shifting Mountain • Whirlwind of Death • Bugged City • Toughness • Golden Darkness • True Sovereign • Final Impact • Floating Fleet • Into Destruction • Ship of Dragons |
| DLC 2: Extreme Battle | Tracking Bogeys • Underground Complex • Blocked Pass • Close Formation • Dragon Ship Fleet • Heavy Artillery • Overflight • Dangerous Goldmines • Beast Mobilization • Total Protection • Bombs Away • King of Armor • Cannon Defenders • Bloody River • Three Giants • Traps from Behind • The Four Horsemen • Cross the Line • Facing Off • Crimson Lotus • Shivering Nexus • Last Bastion • Starry Prison |