Yay you finally posted your guide!
Thanks for finally sharing this with everyone, GREAT job.
I have watched and adopted your/Ice's strategy with a zero death rate, when the team has allowed me to do this. What's unfortunate, is that many experienced players still think the best strategy is the team rush - because sometimes that does indeed work, so they feel its best.
I have watched sooo many team wipes when I have a team that doesn't listen, and watch as they rush it, wipe, rez - and repeat a few times until there are so many spawns there is zero chance of finishing. Then theres the peeps that won't listen and try to TP etc 
I have indeed soloed a cyst with my stone tank in his 40s when the Kheld had a fairly poor human build, and after watching you have successfully soloed many a cyst with my Kheld...the most challenging situation for me has still been (b) where a mob/cysts are together.....learned the hard way that a ranged pull causes a spawn 
Question still remains with me for WS's. Are they also the best suited to solo the Cyst?
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Question still remains with me for WS's. Are they also the best suited to solo the Cyst?
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I would welcome comment from an experience WS player on this, as my WS only reach lvl 25 before she tripped over the delete key.
However, to the best of my knowledge, a warshade would still be your best choice over any non-kheldian to handle a cyst. They are perhaps not as direct in their damage dealing as a PB, but will still be stronger against a nictus than a non-kheldian would be.
One other note I'd add; Cysts can see through invisibility. So the scouting Shadow Cloak/Superspeed invisible Warshade will trigger it.
Also, stack anything you have to slow recharge on the crystal so it will spawn slower, and make sure folks have a chance to target it before anyone goes in, it starts getting hard to target once it spawns a bunch of nictus.
The final explosion is not debuffed by any -dam debuffs, btw, for reasons of the order the game code processes things in. And it will 1-shot a squishy.
Much of this also applies to the couple of clockwork missions with the Parts Piles, they have much the same issues; high spawn rate, explode on death, etc.
Heh. Is it bad that I was interpreting the "Brief Shadow Cyst Guide" to mean:
A. Encounter Shadow Cyst
B. Team Wipe
There are no words for what this community, and the friends I have made here mean to me. Please know that I care for all of you, yes, even you. If you Twitter, I'm MrThan. If you're Unleashed, I'm dumps. I'll try and get registered on the Titan Forums as well. Peace, and thanks for the best nine years anyone could ever ask for.
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Heh. Is it bad that I was interpreting the "Brief Shadow Cyst Guide" to mean:
A. Encounter Shadow Cyst
B. Team Wipe
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Hence... the guide.
My abbreviated shadow cyst crystal guide:
If you have the damage output to take out a boss in 60 seconds, pop 3-4 purples and destroy the crystal with impunity.
If you do not have 3-4 purples, ask teammates for them
If you do not have the damage output to take it out in 60 seconds, give the purples to someone who does.
Of course, there's some situations where this won't work (e.g. if the cyst is in a spawn of quartz-dropping devouring earth), but basically 3-4 purples > any encounter in this game.
Good point on the nictus bosses though, I giggle a little when someone calls out "dwarf" or "nova", those bosses are so anemic they're basically free XP.
Pop MoG
To Jordan and Konoko (and anyone else who has a tried and true cure for Cysts), yes there are several ways by which to win against Cysts. Sooner's point here (I know this because I helped her refine this tactic to a brutal science) is to let people know about these tactics.
It is staggering how few people (particularly high level Kheldian players) who do not know about the massive edge a human form Kheldian has over any non-Kheldian AT when fighting Nictus. Can a Regen Scrapper, Invul Tanker or Fire Blaster win such fights? Of course they can, but (and I know this from my own PB's experience) no one can handle Nictus as well with consistency.
don't forget the stone tanks I know because of a time where the whole team wiped with the exception of the stone tank in granite armor, took a lot of time for the tank to wipe the cyst but got it eventually.
Dark Dark Defenders can neuter cysts pretty effectively. Darkest Night + Fear = lotsa frustrated nictus that can't hit the broad side of a barn. Of course somebody (else) still has to do the actual KILLING. 8-)
At the end of a Hami raid on Liberty last week, two Crystals were spotted next to monsters surrounding the goo. Once most of the zone had calmed down from earning their HO, the raid leader decided to charge a crystal. There were over 100 people in the zone: imagine how many nictus (nicti?) spawned. Let's just say that the fight was... interesting.
First, to the OP -- An excellent guide, with a lot of information that I didn't know and am glad to be aware of now.
Second, my bit about stone tanks:
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don't forget the stone tanks I know because of a time where the whole team wiped with the exception of the stone tank in granite armor, took a lot of time for the tank to wipe the cyst but got it eventually.
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I've been running a stone tank, and there's nothing I have to fear from a cyst. Nictus simply can't pierce granite's defenses, and the cyst's explosion is reduced enough by my resists to be ignorable.
That being said, charging has had a high success rate with low debt. Out of at least ten cysts, I'd say we've managed six with no deaths whatsoever, one with a near team-wipe due to aggroing not just one but two groups of enemies at once (Two PBs on the team sacrificed themselves to take the crystal to about 1/10th life, a scrapper barely escaped with his life, and I managed to kill it with a fulcrum shift that our /kin did right before he fell), and the last three with only one or two deaths due to either a boss escaping my taunt (I hate the aggro cap sometimes) or people being too near the cyst when it exploded.
So, another viable strategy (With no claims to being safer, I'd say it's riskier but works reasonably well): Everyone targets the cyst, a tank goes in first and throws taunt/taunt aura around to pull all possible enemies onto himself (Targetting the normal spawns first, as the spawned nictus seem to do less damage) and then all the melee allies retreat as the cyst gets weak. This does require a tank that can withstand aggro cap abuse levels for the duration of the cyst's life, so a tanker that can perform that is required. One person using a nuke early to clear large amounts of minions can greatly aid the tank in capturing the most dangerous aggro. For the most part, you'll escape without debt to anyone involved if they're smart enough to pull back when the cyst is about to die.
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Question still remains with me for WS's. Are they also the best suited to solo the Cyst?
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I would welcome comment from an experience WS player on this, as my WS only reach lvl 25 before she tripped over the delete key.
However, to the best of my knowledge, a warshade would still be your best choice over any non-kheldian to handle a cyst. They are perhaps not as direct in their damage dealing as a PB, but will still be stronger against a nictus than a non-kheldian would be.
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I would say no, but my 'shade isn't built to fight in human form. I just don't have the attacks needed for something like this. A warshade built for damage in human might manage it, particularly with mire(s). I did solo several cysts in the 45+ arc with inspirations, but I used nova form for it.
Thing is, my own experiences disagree with yours in regard to nictus spawn sizes. I recently (I7) did the 45+ kheldian arc. I soloed the first few missions, and the cysts spawned very few nicti. The last couple missions I got a team for. On several of the cysts in those missions a single teammate charged in and aggroed the cyst alone. In one case, the rest of the team (except for me - and I was out of aggro range) was on the other side of the map. The cysts still spawned nicti for the entire team. Not sure what accounts for the difference in our experiences, but when a cyst spawns a large number of nicti, no one will be soloing it without purples. The stacked -recharge from nictus attacks will be too great. In any case, cysts rarely pose a problem for a solid team. As long as the cyst is spotted ahead of time, and the team *listens* to instructions they go down with out much difficulty.
My less sophisticated, but easy to succeed with strategy: I say, "Everyone focus on the cyst, and *only* the cyst until it dies. They explode when they die, so if you are squishy, stay well back." Then we proceed with a simultaneous rush, and kill it. I did this all the way to 50 on my WS, and the only time I've seen it fail is when some teammates don't focus fire on the cyst. Most deaths result from squishies who aren't smart enough to stay back.
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My less sophisticated, but easy to succeed with strategy: I say, "Everyone focus on the cyst, and *only* the cyst until it dies. They explode when they die, so if you are squishy, stay well back." Then we proceed with a simultaneous rush, and kill it. I did this all the way to 50 on my WS, and the only time I've seen it fail is when some teammates don't focus fire on the cyst. Most deaths result from squishies who aren't smart enough to stay back.
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I like your way of putting it better than mine.
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Most deaths result from squishies who aren't smart enough to stay back.
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and those who refuse to listen that it spawns based on attackers in melee range and get close, increasing the purple fluff monsters.....kinda like what the brilliant raid leader did in a earlier post encouraging an entire Hami raid map to attack it....would love to see those pics 
Don't discount the other tanks either...believe it or not, my Fire/Stone took out a Cyst about two weeks ago. Used a near identical system to what you outlined in the guide. Between my self heal and Burn (yup...Burn), it was taken down in fairly short order. The fear from Burn actually worked to my advantage, the unbounds and the other mobs would head for the hills giving me time to recoup...and the Cysts don't run.
Fire Brick - Fire/Stone Tanker
Plasma Brick - Fire/Fire Blaster
Dark Brick - Dark/Regen Scrapper
Electron Transfer - Kin/Elec Defender
Zeake Ferrari - PB
Mr. Rick - Inv/SS Tanker
Einsiedler - Bots/Traps MM
Ice Brick - Ice/EM Tanker
One man's paranoia is another man's engineered redundancy.
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2. All Nictus creatures (Dwarves, Novas and Shadow Cyst Crystals) are weak to Kheldian energy attacks, and kheldian defenses are strong against the type of damage that nictus do.Therefore, against any type of nictus, a Kheldian will fare better than other ATs. Note for clarity: Voids and quantums are not nictus.
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I just recently created a PB and fought a Nova (A WS ally was along) and to check we used our blasts and compared the damage it received to the damage council receive.
Unless council are vulnerable to energy and negative energy or the named boss didn't have standard resists, Bright Nova are not particularily vulnerable to kheldian energy attacks -- at least not when they're in Nova form themselves. I'll have to wait to encounter more novas/dwarfs to do more testing.
Can Cysts be stunned? I've fought Cysts using my Invul/EM tanker by popping a yellow skittle, turning on Focused Accuracy and hitting them with Stun initially and no Nictus spawned.
Still, like this guide says, with the Energy/Negative Energy Shield on for either type of Kheldian, Shadow Cyst Crystals are a lot easier to defeat than with most other ATs.
I had a very nasty teamwipe with one of those on the Katie Hannon TF.
Y'know the first mission? The one where an AV and about 20 of her buddies ambush you 9 times?
Yeah, there was a Cyst in one of the ambushes.
owwww.
Virtue:
Grul Doctor Pinnacle Swarm Caller Pity Fist Smashdozer Dhuuln
Do not forget, the bind is out there for Khelds who often use their own variation, but this is my own.
/bind tab "target_next$$target_custom_next Sapper$$target_custom_next cyst"
/bind lshift+tab "team (Targetting $target!)"
This means when I tap my tab key I first see Cysts, then Sappers, then anything else, while left shift and tab makes me shout my target. I'm not afraid of cysts, but when your team doesn't see one, that's what causes issues. And it only causes more if they can't target them through the spawns. With those two I can re-establish a lock and have my team target through me.
Great guide Sooner. A couple of added tidbits. First of all, the crystal explosion is not kheldian energy, its lethal/fire. The explosion is ridiculously overpowered. I was on a team last night where we fought several crystals. I was playing a /DA scrapper, so I had 35% resists to lethal and fire and 47% to negative energy. Had no real problem taking the damage from the nicti while fighting the crystal. But the explosion - even with my resists, a lvl 35 crystal did 954 points of damage (that's close to 1,500 unshielded unless the explosion bypasses shields). As I only have 1,046 hit points, I face planted. I was so intrigued by this I repeated it with the second crystal. So not only will the crystal explostion one shot a squishy, it will pretty much one shot a fully shielded scrapper.
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My abbreviated shadow cyst crystal guide:
If you have the damage output to take out a boss in 60 seconds, pop 3-4 purples and destroy the crystal with impunity.
If you do not have 3-4 purples, ask teammates for them
If you do not have the damage output to take it out in 60 seconds, give the purples to someone who does.
Of course, there's some situations where this won't work (e.g. if the cyst is in a spawn of quartz-dropping devouring earth), but basically 3-4 purples > any encounter in this game.
Good point on the nictus bosses though, I giggle a little when someone calls out "dwarf" or "nova", those bosses are so anemic they're basically free XP.
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That's what I've been doing on my Regen Scrapper. Pop three shields, tp onto the cyst and it's down within 30 seconds. And I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those unbound Nictus for showing up so as to power Soul Drain.
Of course, I've been doing this under the mistaken assumption that the cyst was especially dangerous to the Kheldians in the party in the same way that voids and quants are, and I was trying to protect them. Next time, I'll let the Kheldians take care of their own problem.
Good info here. It'll now be appearing in the Guide to Guides.
Speeding Through New DA Repeatables || Spreadsheet o' Enhancements || Zombie Skins: better skins for these forums || Guide to Guides
And the newly discovered
"Let the AV fix the problem for you" Plan
My illusion controller on a team with two khelds stealthed ahead in the Anti-matter AV mission only to find evil-posi in a mob with a cyst crystal.
I confused Anti-matter and he wiped out his mob, and then cyst crystal for us.
Consider this appendix A to the guide.
Neely's Brief How to survive a Shadow Cyst Crystal Guide
Few things can induce a team wipe faster or more efficiently than a Shadow Cyst Crystal. These crystals can spawn into missions when you have a large team and/or a high difficulty setting and either have a Kheldian on your team, or have previously teamed with a Kheldian.
Some Crystal facts:
1. The crystal will spawn a certain number of unbound Nictus for every character in aggro range of it. NOTE: Not for every member of the team, for every toon in aggro range. So, on an 8 member team, if one team member enters aggro range of the crystal, it will spawn unbound nictus for one. When a second toon enters aggro range, it will spawn additional unbound nictus for that toon.
2. All Nictus creatures (Dwarves, Novas and Shadow Cyst Crystals) are weak to Kheldian energy attacks, and kheldian defenses are strong against the type of damage that nictus do.Therefore, against any type of nictus, a Kheldian will fare better than other ATs. Note for clarity: Voids and quantums are not nictus.
3. Upon being defeated, the Shadow Cyst Crystal will explode, doing massive damage to everything around it. However, as stated above, kheldian defenses are strong against this damage, and are rarely affected by this damage. This includes the unbound nictus summoned by the crystal.
4. If any member of your team has teamed with a kheldian in their current play session, a "kheld flag" is activated and, even though there are no khelds on your team, the missions may still spawn voids, quants, and shadow cyst crystals.
So.. to begin:
Oh $#%^&!!! Its a Shadow Cyst Crystal!!!
There are three basic scenarios for finding a cyst crystal. One quick note... if the crystal has already aggro'd and spawned unbound nictus, you can still proceed with the plans below. Everyone needs to back out of range, however.
The Basic Plan (Plan A) - You have at least one Kheldian on your team, and a Shadow Cyst Crystal has spawned into your mission.
The easiest scenario is one in which the Crystal is far enough away from other mobs that you can deal with the crystal without aggroing other mobs. This is the best scenario, because you only have to worry about the nictus, which will not hurt a Kheldian significantly.
1. Most importantly: Everyone stays well back from the Crystal. It is critical that only the Kheld approach the Crystal, so that the smallest number of unbound nictus are spawned. Repeat: Everyone stays back. No tank goes in to help with aggro, no defender goes in to heal/buff/debuff, no troller goes in to hold/immobilize... everyone stay well back. If there are multiple khelds on the team, by all means.. send in every available kheld.
2. It is my opinion that human form is best for this. Nova is too fragile to withstand the damage, Dwarf deals damage too slowly. And, since Crystals spawn typically on large teams, the human form should get plenty of bonuses from the team. The Kheldian should make sure all sheilds are on before proceeding. Any and all available buffs should be used on the Kheldian now.
3. The Kheldian needs to move fast. Charge the crystal. Throw everything you have at it as fast as you can. Ignore everything but the crystal. Again, it is vital that the rest of the team stay back to limit the number of unbound nictus spawned.
4. When the Crystal is defeated, it will defeat most of the unbound nictus as well. Once the Crystal is defeated, the rest of the team can move in, and help defeat the remaining unbound nictus.
The More Complicated Plan (Plan B)
If there are mobs nearby, the situation becomes more complicated, because the mobs can kill the Kheldian while the Kheld is concentrating on the Crystal. Nonetheless, with the possible exception of an AV, nothing nearby is as dangerous to your team as an overwhelming spawn of unbound Nictus.
1. It remains important that everyone stay well out of aggro range of the Crystal.
2. As above, the Kheld needs to be buffed and ready to go. Some of those really short duration buffs (AB for instance), you should hold until the kheld goes in.
3. Begin pulling the nearby mobs away from the crystal. Yes, this is true even if the nearby mob is a named boss, an elite boss, or an AV.
4. If you manage to pull everything away from the crystal, go back to plan A. If, however, the crystal aggro's before the area is clear, you need to make a choice.
a. If the remaining mobs are few enough that the Kheldian can take the damage, stick with plan A.
b. If there are still too many mobs, you may need to send someone else in with the Kheld. A well-built, well-played tank is a great choice. Or, to put it another way, a toon that can take the nearby mobs off the kheldian, without being overwhelmed by those mobs, and the unbound nictus. When the Crystal is close to being defeated, the nearby non-kheldians need to be prepared to take that explosion, either by backing out of range, using some inspirations, making sure they are at full health.
5. As above, when the Crystal is defeated, the rest of the team should enter the fight, clearing the remaining unbound nictus, and any remaining mobs.
The "But there's no Kheld on the team!" plan
If there has been a Kheldian on the team earlier, missions can continue to spawn Void Hunters, Quantums, and Nictus. You have a few options if a Shadow Cyst Crystal spawns when you don't have a Kheldian on the team.
1. The easy solution: reset the mission. In fact, if you want to be sure to fix the problem, everyone should log, then reform the team. This will reset the "kheld flag"
2. The other easy solution: recruit a kheldian, go to Plan A.
3. The gutsy choice: Fight it yourself. Non-kheldians can defeat a Crystal, it will just be a lot harder, and has a very high risk of defeat. But, hey! Its only debt!
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- I have used this strategy successfully many times. Generally, I take no significant amount of damage from the time I charge the crystal to the time it explodes. There was one occassion where after the explosion, I lost about 1/4 of my health, but I think that may have been from nearby mobs rather than the crystal. This works.
- This is not to say that non-khelds can't take out a crystal. They can. This is, however, the easiest and safest way for a team to handle a crystal.
- Many thanks to Ice9_UPS for his help on this. Any errors are entirely mine.