Welcome to the Twilight Avengers Public Villain Hamidon Raid Strategy. While there are a number of successful strategies being used across the servers, we, as a raid guild, have developed this strategy as a variation of the successful hero-side strategy we have been implementing for the past year on the Guardian server. Some of the components of this strategy, of course, will be similar to those used in other raid strategies, and it is not our intention to take credit for the work that many others have put in to develop those strategies. I will say, however, that we did not base this strategy on any other existing villain strategy that is posted and/or used currently, but rather on our own testing and through modifications of our successful hero-side raids.
So, with that purpose, and considering how different it may be to those who have raided with villains previously, I thought it appropriate to describe the strategy in greater detail. The heart of the hero-side strategy was itself adapted from the one used on several other servers, and was originally introduced to the Guardian server (hero-side) by OSHA and the wonderful folks from the OSHA Academy on the Infinity server. That strategy goes back to the many folks who worked during the i9 beta testing, and they are too many to mention here. The strategy that we have used successfully on Guardian server most recently has been modified by myself and several others, and has been used to accomplish a raid in as little as 28 minutes (from entry to reward). While I do not anticipate that kind of efficiency villain-side, especially at first, I do believe that we should be able to get the raid down to the 40-45 minute range using this strategy. It does not require any nukes or other temporary powers, and in fact I prefer that they NOT be used to cut down on lag issues. As with all such strategies, however, it will function best when people with the proper ATs, powersets, and power choices participate.
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Background
To begin this guide, I will first borrow some pertinent logistical information from the Hamidon Guide posted by FashionSense in his i9 Hamidon guide (v2). This information was acquired through trial and error on the test server, so credit goes to all of those who were a part of that testing, as well as to FashionSense for compiling it.
The Hamidon is a level 45-50 raid encounter available separately to heroes and villains in the Hive and the Abyss zones, respectively. The Hamidon only spawns when triggered by defeating a random number of DE monsters in the Hive/Abyss - the number is between 5 and 50. After spawning, Hamidon stays up until defeated or the servers are reset. While the Hamidon is up, all DE monsters flee to large doors in the zone and disappear. They may still attack at this time, but will attempt to exit rapidly. If they are stopped, they will de-spawn within a couple of minutes. They re-spawn immediately upon the Hamidon's defeat.
The Hive and Abyss zones have a 50-player limit. They will spawn a second instance for the 51st player. Players can be locked out if they leave zone and someone else enters, so leaving the zone during a raid is not advised.
Since everything in the Hamidon encounter is level 50, players below 50 should sidekick up, if possible.
The actual Hamidon monster consists of several parts:
- A large purple nucleus (Hamidon)
- 6 yellow mitos (Mitochondria Antibodies)
- 6 blue mitos (Mitochondria Electrolytes)
- 6 green mitos (Mending Mitochondria)
The mitos are arranged in 3 hexagonal rings around the nucleus, with greens on the inside, blues in the middle, and yellows on the outside. All mitos appear to be flying, but are actually perched on small invisible platforms. Mitos do not move and have significant resistance to being moved.
All mitos have high perception (315 ft), 7845 HP, 20% damage resistance to all forms of damage, and a small amount of regen. They do not appear to require endurance for any powers.
The yellows, blues, and the nucleus all have attacks using "electrolytic damage", a special damage type not resisted by any normal powers. These attacks can hit entities under the intangible state, so illusion decoys, phase shift, and hibernate provide no protection. The only source of protection is a special inspiration called "Essence of the Earth" (EoE) that gives a character their archetype resistance max for 60 seconds against this damage (but not any secondary mez effects).
Essence of the Earth can be collected by defeating DE monsters in the Hive, the Abyss, Monster Island, or the northern islands of Peregrine. When a monster dies, every player on a team that did damage gets a % chance of getting an EoE drop. Since the monsters always drop one regular inspiration, players must have 2 inspiration slots open to receive an EoE. EoEs can be traded, stored in SG bases, or bought/sold on the consignment house like any inspiration.
Yellow Mitos
The yellow mitos have a ranged AoE attack with a massive range and very large area firing every 4 seconds for 522 + 5 ticks of 32 electrolytic damage, a knockback of mag 10, and a mag 6 stun. This attack is not autohit but has a chance to hit of 95% even against a character at the +def cap to all positional types. The yellows also have a PBAoE damage aura that ticks for 32 damage about twice a second and inflicts a mag 3 stun. In many cases, scrappers or brutes with the basic level of stun protection (mag -10.38) have reported sometimes being stunned by the AoE + PBAoE of a single yellow. There may be random duration variations that cause the stuns to stack beyond this level. Tanks, regen scrappers with resilience, or anyone with a clear mind-level buff (mag -12.975) is generally protected, although multiple yellow mitos can add up quickly.
Yellow mitos have very high defense against ranged and AoE. Barring a significantly high tohit buff, which is unlikely for a public raid, consider melee attacks as the only viable ones for defeating yellow mitos.
Blue Mitos
The blue mitos have a single target attack firing every 8 seconds for 159 electrolytic damage, -20 endurance, -7.16mph movement speed, -50% recharge, and a chance of approximately 25-33% for a mag 7 fear lasting 4 seconds. The attack randomly bounces between targets like chain lightning. The combat log hit/miss rolls suggest that it has a 33% chance to bounce. The blues also have a heavy PBAoE endurance drain aura with an additional slow component. NOTE: The chain lightning effect is currently bugged, and will continue to jump from player to player long after the blue mitos are down and the power duration has dissipated. If you find that your toon is experiencing this as we reform between waves, move out of range of all other players until it stops, then rejoin the group.
Blue mitos have very high defense against melee and AoE, on the same level as the ranged and AoE defense of the yellow mitos. It would take the same incredibly high (and unlikely) tohit buffs to hit a blue mito with melee attacks, and the extra PBAoE attack makes ranged attacks the only viable alternative.
Green Mitos
Green mitos have two different functions. The first is a ranged single-target heal for 1205 that fires about every 5 seconds, and a PBAoE heal for 321 every 7 seconds. The single-target heal range is enough to hit any other mito. The second function is to fire a single-target attack firing every 6 seconds for 102 + 5 ticks of 16 toxic damage, plus a stacking -0.83% regen debuff and an estimated -75% heal debuff. This attack does not generate a hit/miss text in the combat log.
Green mitos have a toggle shield that grants 90% damage resistance and a higher regen until the mito is held. When held, Green mito resistances drop to the same base 20% as other mitos. The shield is visible as a transparent force-field around the mito. Endurance drain will not de-toggle this shield.
Nucleus
The Hamidon nucleus has a ranged AoE blast for 522 electrolytic damage, plus a knockback similar to the yellows, alternated with a single target attack for 522 plus a DoT of 10 ticks of 80 electrolytic damage. The single-target attack has a long lasting and stacking -0.21% regen debuff and -10% heal debuff. Both attacks are autohit.
The nucleus has 47,120 HP, 95% damage resistance to all attacks, and very high regen.
The bubble of protoplasm encompassing the nucleus and the mitos grants a -7.16mph movement speed debuff and a +159.68ft jump height buff to anyone inside it.
The primary defensive power of the nucleus is its ability to respawn new sets of mitos. This ability is triggered when the nucleus reaches 75%, 50%, and 25% HP. When triggered, this power spawns an additional 6 yellows, 6 blues, and 6 greens in the same basic layout - with the rings rotated a bit so the new mitos are separated from any remaining old mitos. Fortunately, the re-spawn power does not recharge, so when the nucleus is brought down to 75% a second time, nothing happens. The devs have stated that this mechanism is intended to force the raid to take a certain amount of time, and there is no way to prevent the re-spawn. Therefore, the basic raid process involves defeating 4 sets of mitos in total.
When Hamidon is defeated, every player in the zone who did damage to the nucleus gets a reward screen allowing them to choose a random Hami-O or Reward Merits (currently set at 53). The rewards are on separate 24 hour per-character lockout timers, so it is conceivable to raid twice within a 24-hour period and gain full reward, assuming you take the Hami-O as a reward for one encounter and the merit rewards for the other. Selecting merit rewards both times would result in the same diminished return rate as all other TFs/SFs/storyarcs that give reward merits for completion. The Hamidon buds that used to spawn after Hamidon's defeat have been removed. Hamidon can be respawned immediately by defeating more monsters.
Hamidon Raid Strategy
I. Farming for EoEs
The Hamidon is spawned by taking down a random number of Devouring Earth in the Abyss. At times, this number will be very small, meaning that we will be able to start the raid quickly, but may not have enough Essence of Earth (EoE) inspirations to successfully complete the raid. [EoEs, of course, are inspirations which, when used, give the toon capped resistance to the untyped damage that the Hamidon and the Mitos do.] Other times, it takes a significantly longer amount of time for the Hamidon to spawn, meaning that the raid may not begin for a full 30-45 minutes after the official start time, but you will have more than enough EoEs to complete the raid and have some left over for the next one. Note that it is vital that everyone have open spaces in their inspiration trays for EoE drops. If necessary, burn through any other inspirations, as it’s doubtful that non-Brutes will need anything apart from a few Break Free or Respite inspirations.
One way to ensure having a sufficient number of EoEs is to farm them in advance. The best place for this is on Monster Island, which is accessible through Grandville and is located in the far north portion of map. The more people you have, the faster the farming goes, as the monsters drop faster and there are more folks with the chance to get a drop. It is not mandatory to do this, of course, but if you are planning to participate in a raid, it can guarantee that you will not fail because of an insufficient number of EoEs. Should raid leaders choose to do this kind of farming, I would suggest posting the date and time in these forums so that you will have as much participation as possible.
II. Set-Up
There are a minimum of 5 teams used in this strategy: a Hami Aggro Team, a Yellow Mito Aggro Team, a Yellow Mito Kill Team, a Blue Mito Kill Team, and a Green Mito Kill Team. The following is a list of who should, ideally, be on each team. Given the nature of public raiding, however, we live with the reality that we will frequently not have the best combination of toons present. So these teams will, by necessity, be modified for each raid to accommodate the people present.
Hamidon Aggro Team: 1 Brute (w/taunt), 2 Pain Domination Masterminds or Corruptors, and 1 Kinetic is ideal. It is possible to work with 2 Pain Domination toons and no Kinetic, but at that point I suggest having an additional Brute on the team to take over when and if the Brute who is taunting the Hamidon goes down.
Yellow Mito Aggro Team: 6 Brutes (w/taunt) and 2 Pain Domination Masterminds or Corruptors. It’s necessary that at least one of the pain domination toons has recall friend and Conduit of Pain. It is possible to use /thermal corruptors or /thermal or /poison MMs as support toons for the brutes taunting the yellows, but I strongly suggest having an additional support toon or two (preferably a /pain domination corruptor or MM) on the Hami Aggro Team to help the support toons on this team with buffs as a safety measure.
Yellow Mito Kill Team: 6-7 Melee Damagers (Brutes, Stalkers, Soldiers of Arachnos, or Night Widows), 1 Pain Domination or Thermal. It will also work if you have two support toons on this team, and if at least one of them has recall friend and a rez of some kind. Group Fly is a great help on this team. In the event no one on the team has group fly, the flight packs that can be purchased in Grandville are of great help.
Blue Mito Kill Team: 6-7 Ranged Damagers (Corruptors, and Masterminds with FF, Storm, or Traps as their secondary powerset), 1 Pain Domination or Thermal. In this case, one of the corrupters may be a Pain Domination, Thermal, or Sonic, but you would want to make sure that they knew their primary job was mez protection and not damage. Again, two support toons are better. Note that, depending on your team make-up at any given raid, this team may not need an individual using single target mez protection. With two Dark corruptors using Shadow Fall, and two or more Force Field or Traps on the team, the AoE mez protection should be sufficient as long as the team stays together. Therefore, Group Fly is a valuable power to have on this team. Again, flight packs will work if Group Fly is not available on the team.
Green Mito Kill Team: 6-7 Holder/Damagers (Dominators, Fortunatas, and Masterminds with Poison, Dark Miasma, or Trick Arrow as their secondary powerset), 1 Pain Domination or Thermal. Again, if you are depending on one of the holders for mez protection, it will be important to insure those with mez protection responsibilities are clear on their duties. It is useful to have two of these teams working together, if possible, and targeting through the same person. This Team, also, benefits greatly from having Group Fly, although, again, flight packs will be sufficient.
It is rare to have a full 50 people (zone limit) in the zone and active at any given time. Typically, when the zone reaches its capacity, there are a handful of people who are disconnecting and trying to come back in, along with a handful at the entrance of the zone trying to load in. As such, 6 teams will usually be as many as you need. Once the original Yellow, Blue, and Green Mito Kill Teams are full, a second Green Mito Kill Team should gather extra people (regardless of AT or powerset) on a sixth team to help supply holds and damage against the Green Mitos, as mentioned above. After that, the Aggro Teams can pick up one additional straggler each, meaning that up to 48 people can be on teams.
It is EXTREMELY helpful if those who want to participate in a raid unhide completely and post their toon’s name, AT, and powersets in broadcast upon entering the Abyss. This allows the different Team Leaders to see who is available using the search function, and get everyone on a team as quickly as possible. If you announce your toon’s name and do not get picked up immediately, please be patient. There are a whole lot of moving parts in leading a raid, and it’s easy to miss someone. Wait a minute or two, and then post your information again in broadcast. Please leave the Request channel for use by the Raid and Team Leaders only. Do NOT try to form a team yourself, even if you’re sure you know what you’re doing. The Raid Leader will designate team leaders, and having other partially formed teams slows down the set-up time and makes coordination more difficult.
After you have posted your information in the broadcast channel, wait in the water due west of the submarine where you entered the zone. There shouldn’t be Devouring Earth in the area, but please approach with caution, and do not drag any aggro to the gathering place.
It is possible—and likely—that we will be short on one toon type or another. This is a built-in hazard of public raiding. If the Raid Leader determines that something vital is missing, he or she will likely ask in the Request channel if there is anyone who has an alt at raid level that will fill the need. If you are willing to do so, send a /tell to the Raid Leader, indicating that you are willing to switch. Do NOT automatically log out, though, as there may be more than one person willing. The Raid Leader will respond and let you know whether you should switch toons or not.
III. Spawning the Hamidon
Once there are sufficient people present in the Abyss, we will start taking down the DE. The Raid Leader will announce that we are beginning, and designate a Brute for everyone to follow. Please stay with this Brute and do not go off on your own. In a perfect world, we would have enough folks to divide in half and take down two DE at the same time. But this is not a perfect world, and it will ultimately be faster if everyone stays together, using all buffs, debuffs, and damage on the same target.
When the designated start time arrives, the Raid Leader will look at the numbers present in the Abyss and determine if there are enough present to begin taking down the DE. The target number will typically be about 30 people in the zone. When we have that many present, we will begin taking down the DE. If we begin taking down the DE, spawn the Hamidon, and do not have sufficient numbers for raiding, the Raid Leader will wait a designated amount of time (usually 15-20 minutes) for additional folks to show up. During this waiting period, it will be announced in any global channels available, and everyone will be encouraged to contact their own friends or VG mates and invite them to come join the effort. If at the end of that time we do not have the minimum number to raid effectively (i.e. less than 90 minutes in the Raid Leader’s estimation), the raid will be called, and everyone will be encouraged to store their EoEs and bring them back for the following raid.
Assuming we have the necessary number of people to successfully raid after the Hamidon has spawned, everyone should gather in the crater due south of the Hamidon. While we are gathering, a few things should be happening:
1) If you have not raided previously, or have not raided since the changes to Hamidon in i9, please ask your Team Leader about your responsibilities. Do NOT assume you know what you’re supposed to do, even if you’ve participated in other villain Hamidon raids. As stated previously, this strategy is not like others that are being run on villains, so your responsibility may be very different from what you’ve done previously. All of us were new at this at one point or another—although for some of us it’s so long ago that we no longer remember it—so please don’t hesitate to ask. It will be better for you and for everyone involved if we take a few extra minutes in the set-up portion of the raid, rather than wipe and have to reset because some folks didn’t know their jobs.
2) If you have EoEs that have dropped during the spawning, give them to the Brutes you see nearby. If they are full, find another Brute. If all seven Brutes responsible for maintaining aggro are full, hold onto the EoEs so we can distribute them later in the raid, as needed. Brutes who are on the Yellow Mito Kill Team do NOT need EoEs, and should pass theirs to the Aggro Brutes as well. Aggro Brutes will be asked to form up to one side so everyone will be able to find them easily.
3) Team Leaders will spend this time organizing their teams. This will include such things as designating the person who is leading the way to the first target for that team, assigning a specific Yellow Mito to each Brute, assigning who will be responsible on each team for recall and rez duties, and, if necessary, who should focus on support on a given team.
4) Everyone who is on a support toon and has a single target buff should use it and maintain it on their teammates. This includes Clear Mind, Clarity, Thaw, Enforced Morale, Antidote, Speed Boost, Increase Density, and O2 Boost. If you are a Force Field Mastermind, place both bubbles on your teammates, as one contains Toxic resistance and the other provides resistance to End Drain. If you are a Sonic, place Sonic Barrier (toxic resistance) on your teammates. No other single target buff shields are necessary, as defense and resistance to anything else are useless. Shadow Falls, Dispersion Bubbles, Sonic Dispersions, and Force Field Generators should be activated.
5) We live with lag, particularly during something like a Hamidon Raid. But there are two main ways to cut it down, ultimately making us more effective. So if possible, wear costumes that do NOT contain the following: capes, auras, wings, or trench coats. Also, turn off unnecessary powers. Things like Superspeed are nice for the Brutes to use to get into position, but once there, turn it off. It’s an end drain you don’t need. No one outside of the Brutes or their support toons need to have SS activated, as it’s important for everyone to stay together and, hopefully, each Mito Team will have Group Fly running. Using any shield that does not protect against mez attacks or end drain, toxic damage, or increase your regeneration rate, is a waste of endurance, and can cause unnecessary lag. This is true for the Brutes as well, as the EoE will give you 90% resistance (resistance cap for Brutes) to all of the Hamidon’s un-typed damage. So, for example, an Invulnerability Brute would need to run Unyielding only, as Temp Invulnerability (smashing/lethal resistance) is completely ineffective against the Hamidon and the Mitos.
IV. The Raid
1) The Raid Leader will wait until all the Team Leaders have indicated that their teams are ready to begin. At that point, the Raid Leader will call for buffs. At this time, anyone who has Accelerate Metabolism, Mind Link, or World of Pain should fire them. This is also the time for the Pain Domination support person for the Hamidon Taunter to fire Painbringer on that Brute. It is important for everyone to be gathered as close as possible so that everyone gets the maximum number of AMs.
2) As soon as the buffs have all been fired, the Raid Leader will call for Aggro Teams to go in. All Brutes on the Aggro Teams will pop an EoE and move into position. Each Yellow Mito Brute will proceed to his or her designated target and taunt it. This should be done from maximum range, and OUTSIDE the cytoplasm, taking the damage as far away as possible from all other raiders. The Hami Taunt Brute should proceed due north, taunting the Hamidon as he or she goes by, and then positioning on the north (far) side of the Hamidon at maximum range. This allows your Pain Domination support toon to remain outside the cytoplasm for buffs.
3) When the Raid Leader sees that the Aggro Teams are in place, he or she will call for the Mito Teams to attack. Each Team should then proceed to its first target, following whomever the Team Leader has indicated, and taking down that target as quickly as possible. Note that the attacks are different for the different Mito types. The Green Mito Kill Teams should begin with single target holds, as the mitos will not take significant damage until they are held. Once held, any form of damage may be used to take them down. The Blue Mito Kill Team should stay a little distance away from the Blue Mitos and use ranged attacks only (since they are nearly unhittable by melee attacks and have a PBAoE attack). The Yellow Mito Kill Team should use only melee attacks on their target, as they are nearly unhittable by ranged attacks. Note that the Yellow Mitos have a “pulse” that does PBAoE damage and knockback, so you may have to re-position yourself to get back within melee range.
4) When the first target drops, the Team will follow its designated person to the next target and repeat the process until all six targets have been eliminated. Those with AoE buffs should fire them for their teammates whenever they recharge. Also, as the Yellow Mitos are taken down, the Brute assigned to them should move in and taunt the nearest Blue Mito until it, too, is defeated. Note that the Brutes do NOT need to use any EoEs after their assigned Yellow Mito is defeated. Doing so wastes the EoEs, and causes unnecessary delays in getting them replenished between waves.
5) It is common for the Green Mitos to be the last to go down, since they have to be held before they can be defeated. So when the Yellow or Blue Mito Teams complete their own Mitos, they should proceed to the Green Mitos and assist on the SAME Green Mito as the Green Mito Team is targeting. It does not help for those without holds to attack a different Green Mito, so please pay attention to your targets. If, because we have two teams taking down Green Mitos, they are finished with Blue or Yellow Mitos still remaining, they should follow their Team Leader to the nearest target and use whatever damage type (ranged for Blue Mitos, melee for Yellow Mitos) is appropriate to help take the target down.
6) When all Mitos are down, the Raid Leader will call for everyone to attack the Hamidon. All debuffs should be used, along with all damage. Heals are NOT needed at this point, and cause unnecessary lag, so please don’t use them. Pets can be spawned for additional damage, but please spawn them on the opposite side of the nucleus from the raiding group. When Hamidon nears the “Pop” point (35,340 for the first pop, 23,560 for the second, and 11,780 for the third), the Raid Leader will call for those responsible for recall and rez on each team to leave the cytoplasm. ONLY those toons designated for recall/rez duty should leave the cytoplasm at this time. Please leave immediately and move quickly, as Hami’s health bar can be dropping fairly quickly at this point, and the last thing we want is to have an entire team wipe and have to change toons out to get reset.
7) When the “Pop” happens, everyone should get clear of the cytoplasm and break line of sight as quickly as possible. Do NOT go straight back to the gathering spot, as you may bring aggro back with you and cause a wipe. Instead, wait behind a rock for a few seconds to ensure that you are no longer a target, and then proceed as quickly as possible to the gathering spot. If you are still taking damage and are teleported back to the group, you will drag your aggro with you. Therefore, please have your teleport prompt activated so you can decline a teammate's recall if you are still taking damage. If you should be defeated trying to get out, do NOT go to your base or the hospital. This causes unnecessary delays, and may prevent you from returning the zone (in the event that it is full). Simply wait for your recall/rez teammate to do his or her job. Teammates should be brought back and rezzed, getting those who have a rez ability of their own back on their feet first. The quicker this happens, the quicker we’ll be ready to go back in.
8 ) Once everyone has been gathered again, Team Leaders will check to make sure their team members are ready to go. This includes checking to ensure buffs are being applied, Brutes have sufficient EoEs, etc. When the Team Leaders indicate that they are ready to go, the Raid Leader will call for buffs and repeat steps 1-7.
9) On the last wave, of course, the Hamidon will be taken all the way down. It is important for those who are playing support toons to make sure they get a hit in on Hami, along with those who may have disconnected. We don’t want anyone to contribute to the raid and go away empty-handed.
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With cooperation, this can be a very fun and successful event. Of course, people who are not listening to the raid or team leaders, short tempers, griefing, impatience, and things of that nature can make the process much more difficult and less enjoyable. But we have enough good people on this server that there’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to routinely succeed in a timely manner.
If you have questions about the strategy or suggestions for this guide, feel free to send me a message on these forums. Also, I have some macros for anyone wishing to lead the raid in the future, so feel free to contact me in-game and I'll be glad to share them with you.
The Twilight Avengers will be hosting the first of these raids on Wednesday, February 3rd, at 9:30 EST. Barring a very long spawn or an inordinate lack of cooperation, we should be completed no later than 11 EST. Hope to see you there!
Redside Hami has been done before. I think Pinnacle was the first server to take hami down redside once he was released. But that's just one of those things I heard from someone and I have no confirmation.