Volcano Juice's Guide to Killing Malta...

VOLCANO JUICE'S GUIDE TO KILLING MALTA...
or MALTA-MEAL BY VJ!


So Malta are giving you a hard time, eh? Sappers gettin' you down? Too many deaths on your team? Well, never fear! VJ is here... with another guide!

Killing Malta is situational, meaning, depending upon the situation in which you find groups of Malta, you need to choose different tactics. The good news is that if you follow these tactics, Malta missions will be a breeze.

There are 2 situations that you need to be aware of prior to every battle with Malta:

1) The Malta spawn is easily seen and no other spawn groups are nearby, or
2) The Malta spawn is not easily seen and/or there are other spawn groups nearby.

The first situation is the easiest. If the group of Malta are out in the open and there is no chance of another group aggroing, then the first step is to neutralize the Sapper in the group if there is one. This is mandatory. The Sapper could be held, mezzed, or killed instantly... but he needs to be taken out first. If he isn't, heroes will die. Mezzing or holding the Sapper is the safest tactic, but you've got to make sure that there is someone who can kill the held/mezzed Sapper quickly after he is held (otherwise, the Sapper will still be alive and causing havock as soon as the hold/mezz wears off). If a mezz or hold isn't available, then if your tank can jump in and 1 or 2-shot the Sapper, then by all means let him. Scrappers could probably jump in and 1-shot the sapper, but then they're usually in trouble when the rest of the group turns on them... so it might be a good idea to have the scrapper go in with the tanker at the same time if available so the tank can grab the aggro while the scrapper takes care of the Sapper. Or lastly, the whole team simply attacks the Sapper, and then the group. All of these different methods are fine... as long as the Sapper is taken out first, and the aggro from the other Malta will not kill the team or the hero who killed the Sapper.

The second situation is trickier. There is no way that you would want to engage 2 more more groups of Malta with 2 or more Sappers in them. It's certain death. Therefore, if you can't see all of the Malta and don't know if another group might be lurking behind them, then the best tactic is to pull. This means either sniping or taunting the visible Malta from range to a designated spot out of their line of sight (so that they will move to that spot rather than merely stand where they are and attack from range). The general strategy is the same here... kill/hold/mezz the Sapper first. If a Sapper moves into view, the entire team must take out the Sapper instantly. Don't wait for the Sapper to reach the pull/herd spot, get him now! This also means that whenever Malta are being pulled or herded, the entire team must be on the lookout for sappers in the group of baddies. Pulling or herding Malta is probably one of the most dangerous things to do in City of Heroes, so the team must be vigilant. If they are, and the sapper is neutralized instantly, the battles will go smoothly and fighting Malta will become just another villain group... rather than those "dreaded Malta!"

Yet another tried and true tactic from Volcano Juice! Hope it helps.

---

Level 50s:
BlackSpectre, Dark Defender (Guardian)
Thorin, Invul/Axe Tank (Justice)
Volcano Juice, Fire/Stone Tank
Professor ?, Mind/FF Controller
Stone Forge, Stone/Fire Tank

Of course...
/macro sap target_name Sapper might make this a bit easier. And target through the tank.

And if there's a gunslinger around, things get interesting. Can't really do the same bind with gunslinger - since they get such *colorful* names in so many missions, like Kitty Kat Bravo...

---

If you happen to have a Storm Defender/Controller on your team, make sure they pre-buff everyone with O2 Boost. It gives a resistance to endurance drain. With two stormies stacking O2 Boost, nobody notices being hit by a Sapper. I think it's the only buff in the game that resists endurance drain, but I might be wrong.

Also, warning for squishies. Some of the lieutenants (Operation Officers I think?) have the Stun Grenades of Doom. AoE disorients that literally can last a full minute.

Gunslinger bosses also have Holds and -regen attacks.

Usually when I run into Malta, our priorities are Sappers->Gunslingers->Ops Officers then smash the rest as needed. If it's a team of squishies, Ops Officers get moved to second priority, since they can take out multiples at once.

---

Just wanted to add that spawns with multiple Sappers are easy if you bring Forcefields along. Insulation Shiled kills Sapper End Drain since first they have to hit, which the high Energy Defense makes difficult, and then the drain is nullified with the End Drain Protection.

---

Aegis Rose, Forcefield/Energy Defender - Freedom
"Bubble up for safety!"

Confuse/Deceive for the win! the sapper is now fighting on your side! and if you miss, you don't generate aggro and get to try again!

TP for a sapper into a pack of fire imps, a couple of /dev trip mines, and the sapper is no more!


I'm more scared of the knockback and stuns from all the AoEs than I am of the sappers. the best tactic ther is to make sure you work as a team and spread out strategically.
Tanks and Scrappers ususally have KB protection, so do peopole running acrobatics, but Acro will drop when stunned, people with hover should hover to mitigate KB. In the end your best bet is a controller or two, but I'm partial to controllers...

---