CrimsonShadow's Updated Hamidon Raiding Guide

I can offer you my experience and possibly some help in a few of the roles of raiding. I have been the targeter and the aggro team lead and have also coordinated the PA team on pinnacle while being in one of the other roles on Pinnacle.

Targeters, Follow and lead need to be clearly stated at the beginning of the raid. A Team of Illusion Controllers AKA the PA team should be set up before attempting to approach Hamidon.

Due to the graphical updates of Issue 6 and Issue 7 graphics lag and client side lag may be more of a problem for most players. There are certain procedures that you can do to reduce the lag on your side.

Targeter: Add to your friends list, target him and if you are melee get used to using /assist to see their target. If you are not attacking their target, you are wrong.

Follow: This is the hero that leads the movement of the healing umbrella, stick close to them as they will move under the current target and you will be in your best and safest range to attack.

Lead: This is the one that has to coordinate everything, they will provide instructions before the raid and during each and every phase. They will let you know when to attack, when to hold, when the aggro team is set up, and when the best time to take your snack or drink break is. The leaders will talk in request. No one else should talk in that channel. If you have pertinent information to the current state of the raid it is reccomended that you send a tell to someone in the raid leader team. Keep in mind the leader and targeter will be extremely busy and you do not want to have them flooded with tells.

There are two other teams that are more behind the scenes in their roles but are very necessary. These are the aggro and PA teams.

Aggro Team: Pinnacle usually uses a Tanker with 2-3 healers locked on and only healing that tanker for locking down aggro during the raid phase. The aggro team is moved in after enough targets have been elminated to form a wedge. Keep in mind that the aggro team may be moved in earlier if hami blasts stray to the umbrella during the attack phase.

PA team: A team of Illusion controllers that drop their Phantom Army to draw Hamidon's aggro. Flyers are needed for this team since they drop from a position overhead Hamidon. If the illusion controller cannot fly, a group flyer is usually added to the team to get them up there. It also helps to have a kinetic and/or Radiation controller/defender to boost recharge to keep PAs dropping without much space without PAs.

Debuffs: In the hold phase it is important to refrain from using –regen debuffs to avoid extra damage to Hamidon before a concrete hold is established. These debuffs are Lingering radiation, EM Pulse, EMP Arrow Transfusion, and Twilight Grasp

Due to the graphical updates of Issue 6 and Issue 7 graphics lag and client side lag may be more of a problem for most players. There are certain procedures that you can do to reduce the lag on your side. Along the same lines it is recommended that if you have a costume without a cape or an aura, to please use that one. You may also want to reduce the in game sounds as they can also add to lag.

Set World Detail to the lowest setting
Set Character Detail to 100% or 200%
Suppress Extra Player FX Enabled
World Texture Quality Low
Character Texture Quality Low
Max Particle Count < 3000
Vertical Sync Disabled
FSAA Off
Shadows Disabled
Use Geometry buffers Disabled
Anistropic Filtering Off
Shader Quality Low
Water Effects Disabled
Depth of Field Effects Disabled
Bloom Effects None

So if the above paragraph doesn’t sound like fun, just go in safe mode.


Pinnacle maintains a set starting point of the south rock. The reason for this is that we can gather the most in one spot visibly, tighten up our healing umbrella as well as time heals. During this time we coordinate through request and our Hamidon raiding channel what types of controllers and defenders we have currently in the hive to determine if we have enough for the PA team and healing umbrella. Some leaders will treat each raid as if it is someone's first raid and explain the roles they should play while on the south rock. This is not to be insulting but to get new raiders up to the speed of the more experienced raiders. Once we have established that we have the necessary numbers and groupings, We will send in the PA team to begin dropping Phantom Armies to absorb Hamidon aggro. If the raid group plans to go in a counter-clockwise pattern, it works best for us to have the PAs dropped on the west side, approximately 1/3 to 1/2 the distance from the Nucleus to the outer edge of the jello. Once the PAs are set up and seem to be grabbing Hami's aggro the targeter will head in to pre target the first target. If there are any monsters on the path toward the first target, the targetter will call target on all monsters until the path is cleared then re target the first Mito.

Since I have targeted many times I can offer this advice. I myself use overhead targeting. This is best done at about half the height in the jello, and centered as much as possible between the Mitos. I also use a camera distance of 250 (/camdist 250) so I can see a good amount of Mitos. I've tried the facing away from Hamidon targeting and sometimes due to lag, Mitos can derender and targets can be missed. With overhead targeting one can determine easily the Mitos on top of Hami and plan out the next mito that is not too far away from the current target. This also helps in determining when a proper wedge is cut for the aggro team to move in. I usually move in a pattern that goes in and out from the Nucleus to keep the targets close and minimize drastic movement to the next target which sometimes results in several dead heroes.

As a note the targeter should have set up 2-3 binds. The first one is to note that we are approaching a new target. The current Follow will follow this with a similar bind to reinforce that the umbrella is moving. One should also set up a bind to state that we are attacking said target to reinforce which target everyone must be attacking through. One bind that not all targeters have but can help is one to notify splits in the mitos and to state that they need to be held. Mitos split less when there are more holds on them and when they are damaged quickly. I have gone 10 targets without a split with holds enforced on at least one raid. Another bind that some targeters use is one to hold fire while they select the next target. To call out the targets, one can use the bind- /bind <key> “request Attacking $target.”
The $target variable will be automatically replaced by the target’s name.

In the process of attacking it is usually good for Kinetic defenders to spam Inertial reduction so non flyers can jump to be able to reach the higher targets. Also it is good for radiation controllers to use Accelerate metabolism to keep attack rates up. AoEs and cones are prohibited as they can sometimes aggro other mitos within the range or even worse Hamidon if the target is close. Having the bubbler as a follow makes it easier to see where people are moving to so if one doesn't have the follow targeted they can at least see the bubble.

A proper wedge can be cut in about 6-8 targets. If the last two targets in the group are blue and/or green, you can move the aggro team in at the left side of the wedge (facing Hami) and begin to grab aggro since the blues can't effect you if you have your status protection toggle enabled.

As we approach the west side where the PAs were stationed at the beginning of the raid, the aggro team and the PA team are moved slowly and carefully to avoid moving out of range counterclockwise from Hami (if raid has proceeded counterclockwise) Once the last mito is down I refrain from targeting anything and head back toward south rock, since we have now gone full circle and ended up back in the starting position.

At this point controllers are asked to move in and begin spamming their single target holds. Anyone without a hold that is not on the aggro team should move out of the jello. Healers are not as necessary since Hamidon's aggro should be on the Aggro team tanker or Scrapper. We usually have several kinetic and radiation controller/defenders to speed up the recharge on the holds. In a Pinnacle raid you will usually see someone that in their excitement will count how many AMs they have on them.

I have a bind that I periodically use in request if I am part of the lead team, or in broadcast if I am not, that states that if you can put a hold enhancement in it, it's a hold, and to use it until hamidon dies. We will usually bring in the blasters for additional holds while the melee remain out of the grouping that is trying to hold hami. If your character has hover it is reccomended to fly above hami while you hold him to cut down a bit on the lag.

The strength of the hold is determined by the amount of time since the tanker or scrapper of the aggro team has not been hit. We will usually time this to about 2-3 minutes to be sure that he is held. Once the 2-3 minutes have passed, the leader will sometimes call for the AoE holds to be used to lock in the hold. Holders are reminded to continue to spam holds until Hamidon's health drops to zero. Any drop in holding could result in hamidon breaking free and possibly spawning a mito for every hero currently in his vicinity. It is asked that any –regen debuffs (Lingering radiation, EM Pulse, EMP Arrow Transfusion, and Twilight Grasp) are not used during the initial hold phase due to the fact that with containment damage his health going down too fast before the hold is locked can result in a Mito spawn. Once he has been held for a confirmed 4-5 minutes then the leader will order the final phase. This can be done as an Attack Phase or a Hold and Debuff phase.

Hold and Debuff Phase
Due to graphical updates and the minimal amount of player activity required since only characters with holds are needed this method reduces lag and makes it less likely for players to crash out before the HO drop.

After about 4-5 minutes of the tanker not receiving damage, the leader will then requests that those holding hamidon use all their debuffs including the –regen debuffs (Lingering radiation, EM Pulse, EMP Arrow Transfusion, and Twilight Grasp) that were not used before. Only one member of your team needs to put in an attack for the team to get the drop. Some leaders will simply call a one hit phase, in which each hero in the hive will take their one shot at hamidon and no more. Some leaders will divide up the One-Hit phase by calling heroes of certain origins to put in their one hit. THERE IS NO ATTACK PHASE, SO IF YOU ARE NOT HOLDING HAMIDON OR PUTTING IN YOUR ONE HIT YOU SHOULD NOT BE ATTACKING. When his health reaches 50% (about 26K), we will call the vanguard, an accolade power that increases the duration of the hold, and the Geas of the Kind Ones, an accolade power that increases recharge and accuracy, to make sure he is nicely locked down as we take out the rest of his health. Be sure to ready your toggles during the hold and debuff phase, hamidon buds with no toggles tend to hurt.

Attack Phase
The attack phase was a previously used method, but due to graphical updates and the sheer amount of activity with everyone attacking, it is shown to cause an excessive amount of lag and has been set aside for the most part for a hold and debuff phase.

After about 4-5 minutes of the tanker not receiving damage, the leader will then ready the raiders for the attack phase. DO NOT ATTACK UNTIL THE LEADER SAYS SO This is extremely important since if he is not completely held and hits 50% health he will spawn mitos. Once the attack phase has begun if he does attack the aggro team, attackers must not attack until he is determined to be held again. If he does not attack the aggro team again and his health reaches 50% (about 26K), we will call the vanguard, an accolade power that increases the duration of the hold, and the Geas of the Kind Ones, an accolade power that increases recharge and accuracy, to make sure he is nicely locked down as we take out the rest of his health. Be sure to ready your toggles during the attack phase, hamidon buds with no toggles tend to hurt.

Once we pop the hamidon, do not begin trading, instead everyone needs to attack the Hamidon Buds that spawn shortly thereafter (usually after a nice big lag surge). Killing all bud spawns helps to allow Hamidon to spawn sooner, usually 6-8 hours after defeat. When all buds have been cleared you can begin trading and be sure to thank your raid leaders

Looks good, Crim -- especially with all the new modifications made for Attackless.

Don't forget to add with link to the Guide to Guides, stickied to the top of the board.

it'd be interesting for any one that has never seen a raid to comment on this guide before they attend one. I can't put my finger on it but it seems like this is lacking info that newbie would need to have in order to really understand the guide.
REmember, someone that;s never been to araid doesn't even know wht Hamidon or Mitos look, like, what the goo is, etc...
Heck they may not even know where to go and to watch out for the giant DE monsters on the way...
this feels more like a "refresher course" than a guide for newbies.

Addendum for Jell-O First Timers:

Hamidon is a Giant Monster located in the 45+ zone known as the Hive off of Eden, a hazard zone connected to Founder's Falls. He is a single celled organism consisting of a nucleus and 33-34 Mitochondria all encompassed in a gelatinous body. His origin is mentioned in The Terra Conspiracy arc given by Ginger Yates to 35-40 heroes.

There are 3 types of Mitochondria in the Hamidon. Mending mitochondria are green and heal the other mitochondria. Mitochondria Electrolytes are blue and have stuns. Mitochondria Antibodies are yellow and are the mitos that attack.

Each mitochondria and Hamidon (Nucleus) have AV level Hitpoints, Hamidon (Nucleus) being at 47K. Therefore fighting Hamidon is like fighting 35 AVs in one area, therefore requires several heroes to take them down. Mitos can split, cloning themselves and adding another target. A Mito Spawn is when Hamidon is unheld at 50% and 25% he will spawn a mitochondria antibody for everyone currently in the hive in a very close proximity to the nucleus. Occasionally it does spawn some mitos where a hero may have been located including in the air. This can appear to look sort of like caviar. In this picture, the big purple oval is the Hamidon Nucleus, and the yellow bubbles around him and all over are the Mitochondria Antibodies of a Mito Spawn.

MITO SPAWN DOOM!!!

Hamidon Origins or Hami Os or HOs are the drops for every team with a member in the Hive, that did damage to the Hamidon Nucleus when he is destroyed. They work as SOs for 2-3 attributes of a power.

The HOs are:
Nucleolus Exposure - Damage and Accuracy

Centriole Exposure - Damage and Range

Ribosome Exposure - Damage Resistance and Endurance Reduction

Microfilament Exposure – Travel Speed Increase (Run, Fly, and Jump) plus Endurance Reduction

Golgi Exposure - Heal and Endurance Reduction

Peroxisome Exposure - Damage and Mez (ie: Hold, sleep, stun, etc .. but NOT knockback)

Endoplasm Exposure - Accuracy and Mez

Lysosome Exposure - ToHit and Defense Debuffs, and Accuracy

Enzyme Exposure - ToHit and Defense Debuffs, and Endurance Reduction


Membrane Exposure - ToHit and Defense Buffs, and Attack Rate

Cytoskeleton Exposure - ToHit and Defense Buffs, and Endurance Reduction

On the HOs that boost 3 attributes, while it's nice for a power to be able to use all three aspects, they do not have to if they get the benefit of at least 2 of the powers then they can be worth slotting.

Hope this clarifies any confusion of what Hamidon is if you have never seen him before.