City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

Blaster tactics quiz

Another_Fan

By Another_Fan,
Posted on: 2009-12-07 21:51 in Blasters

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jade_Dragon View Post
I'll add, though, that normally I wouldn't expect to encounter all three in the same spawn and if I did I'd be worried. Typically I see Yellow and Green Ink Men teamed with Ancestor Spirits, and in such cases it's the SPIRIT that gets the first shot. I want him dead before he gets into melee with me.
I got inspiration for this quiz because this exact configuration came up in a Mercedes Shelton arc multiple times. I had lots of "practice" trying out different combinations.

 

Posted

Going in with a Fire/Elec, assuming I have a KB enhancement because I do not travel without one these days:
#1: Fire Breath/Fireball will drop both minions without BU or Aim. If I remember correctly. I may throw one in on general principles. The Sorc will either port out or try to heal a minion. If it sticks around to heal, Blaze the Sorc and some combo of Charged Brawl, Havoc Punch and Fire Bolt to finish or near-finish both of them. If I get stuck in Hurricane range of a sorc, BU or Aim or both and then hit him with whatever's up.

#2: Murk first. Aim, again with fireball/firebreath, fire bolt and nemstaff. If I get a chance to cheapshot one of the others who's at near-zero HP I will, but mostly kite that murk. Hate em. If the Murk gets in arm's reach I'm screwed. If one of the others gets in arm's reach I should have either Havoc Punch or Charged Brawl and can slap them down hard. I'm not as comfortable with my odds on this scenario as I am on #1. (I will admit I don't see Murks much except as bosses. Maybe they run out HP with enough speed that they don't catch me and kill me. Maybe.)

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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fury Flechette View Post
Quiz question #1:

In the following group, who would you attack first?
a) Tsoo Sorcerer (healer, hurricane, foe hold)
b) Tsoo Green Ink Man (melee stun)
c) Tsoo Yellow Ink Man (ranged sleep)
Electric/Electric/Electric really spoiled me. Until I started playing non-Controllers (and non-E^3s), I had no idea how dangerous mezzes (and the -ToHit Debuff auras of certain Nerva Spectres) are.

Aim + Build-Up -> Zapp Tsoo Green Ink Man -> Tesla Cage Tsoo Sorcerer -> Lightning Bolt Yellow Ink Man -> Charged Bolts Yellow Ink Man.

Both minions will be dead by the end of the encounter, and the Tsoo Sorcerer will be Held wherever he teleported to until Tesla Cage wears off. File my nails and wait for him to return. Hurricane? Who cares? Tesla Cage again (shuts it off), then take my time taking him down.

The other challenge doesn't work so well, because if I'm fighting Vahzilok, I probably don't have Tesla Cage or Zapp at my disposal. I'd start with the Mortificator, because they rez foes if you're not careful

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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fury Flechette View Post
Quiz question #1:

In the following group, who would you attack first?
a) Tsoo Sorcerer (healer, hurricane, foe hold)
b) Tsoo Green Ink Man (melee stun)
c) Tsoo Yellow Ink Man (ranged sleep)

I asked a number of SG mates this question, and I was fairly surprised at their answers. Assume you're a level 23 blaster, and the minions are orange con, which means you can probably take out one of the minions outright with 1 aim + build up blast but would take 2 shots to take out the Sorcerer. Who would you attack first and why?
Okay, since my main is Ice/Ice, we're going with:

Aim, BU, Ice Storm from around a handy corner, with the sorc targeted. Immediately, queue up freeze ray, catching the sorc when he teleports around said corner, then kill the two minions with the usual blasts (maybe a frost breath). Return to the sorc, refresh the Freeze Ray, then kill him in melee and laugh as he is utterly impotent.

Quote:
Quiz question #2:

In the following group, who would you attack first and why?
a) Vahzilok Mortificator (ranged -slow, revive fallen cadavers, hard hitting melee attack)
b) Vahzilok Embalmed Cadaver (explodes, dumb AI)
c) Vahzilok Murk Eidolon (downgraded from a boss to a Lt, Midnight Grasp, Opressive Gloom)

Assume you're a level 11 blaster, and have build up but not aim. The Lts con yellow while the Embalmed cons white.
Chillblain on the Mortie to keep him in place, then alternate between the murk and cadaver, slowing them with all my ice blast attacks so they can't close with me. when Chillblain recycles, hit the Murk with it, since cadavers have immob protection, then kill the cadaver. Keeping the mortie and Murk immobed, mortie is next. Finally the murk goes down last.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Back Alley Brawler
Did you just use "casual gamer" and "purpled-out warshade" in the same sentence?
Apostrophe guidelines.

 

Posted

Without looking at other people's answers:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fury Flechette View Post
Quiz question #1:

In the following group, who would you attack first?
a) Tsoo Sorcerer (healer, hurricane, foe hold)
b) Tsoo Green Ink Man (melee stun)
c) Tsoo Yellow Ink Man (ranged sleep)
Do Yellow and Green Inks even exist in the same level range?

Assuming they do.... If I have a ranged mez, I hit the Sorcerer with it, then take out the Yellow while staying out of melee range of the Green. If I don't have a ranged mez, I shoot the Sorcerer to make him teleport away, take out the Yellow then the Green. When the Sorcerer comes back I Nemesis Staff him, he will heal first so he won't have time to get his hold off before the minions are dead.

Quote:
Quiz question #2:

In the following group, who would you attack first and why?
a) Vahzilok Mortificator (ranged -slow, revive fallen cadavers, hard hitting melee attack)
b) Vahzilok Embalmed Cadaver (explodes, dumb AI)
c) Vahzilok Murk Eidolon (downgraded from a boss to a Lt, Midnight Grasp, Opressive Gloom)

Assume you're a level 11 blaster, and have build up but not aim. The Lts con yellow while the Embalmed cons white.
One- or two-shot the Embalmed to keep him from puking on me. Then take out the Mort, the -rech is killer at low levels. He should go down fast enough to keep him from rezzing the Embalmed. The Murk I would attempt to mez or KB from range while I fight the Mort.

Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper

Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eva Destruction View Post
Do Yellow and Green Inks even exist in the same level range?
Normally they don't but the difficulty scaler has done some funky things with some arcs. I've literally had a full map with this exact same configuration: 1 yellow ink man, 1 green ink man, 1 sorc (or 1 ancestral spirit).

I've had a SG mate which had an arc with green ink men, sorcerers and blue ink men (which are annoyingly worse than yellows because of their kinetic powers).

 

Posted

As a fellow Elec/Elec, I'm totally with Circuit Boy on his approach.

ZappKill a minion (don't even care all that much for which one), Cage the
Sorc and deal with the other...

Depending on whether I'm feeling adventurous, and what the particulars of
the scenario are (range, terain, stealth etc.), I might Zapp and LB the Sorc
first, then cage 1 minion and kill the other - and finally finish the last one.

That way, you avoid that boring finger-nail filing while waiting to kill the
Sorc that tp'd away while getting caged...

In scenario number 2, I take the Morti... I hate 'em with a passion so they
go first... The cadaver I can avoid... additionally, I'd have either Charged
Brawl or Havoc Punch, so there's the possibility that a hit sleeps the
Cadaver if he does get too close. As for the Eidolan, pop a luck and keep
at him from range...

Because I don't have Zapp or Cage, popping the Luck inspie is probably
item number one in that scenario before taking the Mort down.


Regards,
4

I've been rich, and I've been poor. Rich is definitely better.
Light is faster than sound - that's why some people look smart until they speak.
For every seller who leaves the market dirty stinkin' rich,
there's a buyer who leaves the market dirty stinkin' IOed. - Obitus.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fury Flechette View Post
Quiz question #1:

In the following group, who would you attack first?
a) Tsoo Sorcerer (healer, hurricane, foe hold)
b) Tsoo Green Ink Man (melee stun)
c) Tsoo Yellow Ink Man (ranged sleep)

I asked a number of SG mates this question, and I was fairly surprised at their answers. Assume you're a level 23 blaster, and the minions are orange con, which means you can probably take out one of the minions outright with 1 aim + build up blast but would take 2 shots to take out the Sorcerer. Who would you attack first and why?
Of my two primary Blasters, neither have both aim and build up. But both can fly, which allows me to usually evade the Green Ink Man -- so he's usually last. Blasters can still use Primary powers even when held, so I'd probably take out Yellow first, then Sorcerer, then Green. But in a mixed group where the Sorcerer cons a higher threat level than the other two, I'll focus on him first.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fury Flechette View Post
Quiz question #2:

In the following group, who would you attack first and why?
a) Vahzilok Mortificator (ranged -slow, revive fallen cadavers, hard hitting melee attack)
b) Vahzilok Embalmed Cadaver (explodes, dumb AI)
c) Vahzilok Murk Eidolon (downgraded from a boss to a Lt, Midnight Grasp, Opressive Gloom)

Assume you're a level 11 blaster, and have build up but not aim. The Lts con yellow while the Embalmed cons white.
I almost always go after the big gun first (unless I can safely snipe without counterattacks -- then it's usually low-to-high). AFAIK, they hit more often, and for more damage -- so getting them out before they can start tagging you too much is IMO a good thing.

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I invite everybody to add the above image to your signature as a petition to reverse NCSoft's decision.

 

Posted

Quote:
I almost always go after the big gun first (unless I can safely snipe without counterattacks -- then it's usually low-to-high). AFAIK, they hit more often, and for more damage -- so getting them out before they can start tagging you too much is IMO a good thing.
A lot of people think the same way and, in many cases, it's a mistake: collectively speaking, the minions do as much if not more damage than the lieutenants and/or bosses do, and they're a lot easier to kill. I try to remove sources of damage as quickly as possible, so I usually work low-to-high, barring any other more pressing concern.

In this specific case, the Mortificators are, in my opinion, the most dangerous because of their ability to rez foes you've already defeated, not because they're lieutenants--that just adds to their annoyance factor. However, if we were talking about Cimerorans, I'd take out the healers (minions), then all other minions well before working on the Centurions. Similarly, with Malta, Sappers must die first, period, before any lieutenant-level Operations Ops. Otherwise, you're in for a nightmare of draining and mezzing.

This is one of those places where Blasters have to be smarter than most other ATs: You have to be able to evaluate the real threat level of each mob, based on your knowledge of that mob's capabilities and not based on a cookie-cutter rubric

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230187: The Hero of Kings Row
No H8 - 08.04.10
@Circuit Boy - Moderator - Pride global chat channel

 

Posted

I...kind of just hit tab and press my attack buttons randomly. Is that wrong?

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Circuit_Boy View Post
A lot of people think the same way and, in many cases, it's a mistake: collectively speaking, the minions do as much if not more damage than the lieutenants and/or bosses do, and they're a lot easier to kill. I try to remove sources of damage as quickly as possible, so I usually work low-to-high, barring any other more pressing concern.
Hmm. But collectively speaking, won't the minions have as much or more health than the lone Lieutenant/Boss? If taking out one target takes out ~half of the group's damage potential, why not start "at the top"?

I am somewhat new to the game, having played for less than a year (around 9-10 months IIRC). But in my (admittedly less experienced) opinion, if a target misses you, it doesn't matter how much damage that attack might have done. Thus, the likelyhood of an attacker connecting with an attack is one of the reasons why I often start at the top. Another reason for me is that I can use interruptible powers like Zapp (w/ Aim + Build Up) on the first target, but not reliably afterwards in a combat.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Circuit_Boy View Post
In this specific case, the Mortificators are, in my opinion, the most dangerous because of their ability to rez foes you've already defeated, not because they're lieutenants--that just adds to their annoyance factor. However, if we were talking about Cimerorans, I'd take out the healers (minions), then all other minions well before working on the Centurions. Similarly, with Malta, Sappers must die first, period, before any lieutenant-level Operations Ops. Otherwise, you're in for a nightmare of draining and mezzing.
Either I'm not up on all the CoX/MMO lingo yet, or I haven't gotten to these "Sappers". But I do agree that abilities like healing, draining, and mezzing put those targets up a few ranks on the "threat assessment" scale.

NCSoft, Please reconsider your decision to close down CoH. It has an extremely loyal following and enjoys a great amount of free support from the larger community.

I invite everybody to add the above image to your signature as a petition to reverse NCSoft's decision.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fortress_NA View Post
Either I'm not up on all the CoX/MMO lingo yet, or I haven't gotten to these "Sappers". But I do agree that abilities like healing, draining, and mezzing put those targets up a few ranks on the "threat assessment" scale.
Oh you'll just love em. They take away all your endurance and then they'll keep you stunned. Possibly the most feared minion enemy in the entire game.

The developers actually had to tone them down because at one point you'd find groups with multiple sappers in them. One's bad enough, but two or more could easily lead to a team wipe. Malta back in the day were really, really hard. Now, teams just target the sappers first and take them out of the equation early.

Still, you sometimes find sappers in two separate groups but close enough together that both sappers will aggro. If you want to see something nasty, do the Tina Mcintyre mission of saving the Oranbegans from the Malta group and set the difficult at 4+ heroes. Huge groups of tightly packed Malta in the Oranbega map from hell. Worse yet, you have save 12 mages on that huge map within 90 minutes.

 

Posted

Quote:
Hmm. But collectively speaking, won't the minions have as much or more health than the lone Lieutenant/Boss? If taking out one target takes out ~half of the group's damage potential, why not start "at the top"?
Because you can take the minions out much, much faster, and remove that damage from the equation early and easily.

If you start "at the top", those minions continue doing damage to you--as does the boss. The entire time you're trying to take down the boss, you're taking 100% of the entire spawn's damage. If you start from the bottom, by the end of the fight, you're just taking the boss's damage, and each minion you take out reduces the damage you're taking for the rest of the fight.

40062: The World's Worst PUG
84008: Jenkins's Guide to Super-Villainy
230187: The Hero of Kings Row
No H8 - 08.04.10
@Circuit Boy - Moderator - Pride global chat channel

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fury Flechette View Post
Quiz question #1:

In the following group, who would you attack first?
a) Tsoo Sorcerer (healer, hurricane, foe hold)
b) Tsoo Green Ink Man (melee stun)
c) Tsoo Yellow Ink Man (ranged sleep)

I asked a number of SG mates this question, and I was fairly surprised at their answers. Assume you're a level 23 blaster, and the minions are orange con, which means you can probably take out one of the minions outright with 1 aim + build up blast but would take 2 shots to take out the Sorcerer. Who would you attack first and why?
I'd hit them all with Build Up plus an AoE if I have one (or two if possible), then drop the Yellow Ink Man. The Sorc will have teleported out, so I should be able to finish off the Green Ink Man and then nail the Sorc as he pops back in to try to heal. If I have a hold I'll hit the Sorc with that at the start, wipe out the minions, and then finish of the Sorc. Honestly, Tsoo are easy if you stay at range (assuming none of those Siphon Speed / Siphon Power users are there) so the order isn't too important. The sleep is a bit more dangerous than the stun but a Blaster can take two minions while slept or stunned so the main concern is staying away from the Sorc's PBAoE debuffs, which is pretty easy since they tend to port away for a few seconds at the start of the fight.

Quote:
Quiz question #2:

In the following group, who would you attack first and why?
a) Vahzilok Mortificator (ranged -slow, revive fallen cadavers, hard hitting melee attack)
b) Vahzilok Embalmed Cadaver (explodes, dumb AI)
c) Vahzilok Murk Eidolon (downgraded from a boss to a Lt, Midnight Grasp, Opressive Gloom)

Assume you're a level 11 blaster, and have build up but not aim. The Lts con yellow while the Embalmed cons white.
This is a trick question, right? The correct answer is "fight something less annoying than Vhazilok."

Ok, assuming I was fighting them I'd throw everything I had at the Murk. I hate Eidolons... the Mort's slows are annoying but to-hit debuffs at pre-DO levels are a killer. Once he's down I make sure I get close enough to the Embalmed to trigger his self destruct (if he hasn't already done so), then move away and let him eliminate himself while I take down the Mort.

Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name

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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Circuit_Boy View Post
Because you can take the minions out much, much faster, and remove that damage from the equation early and easily.

If you start "at the top", those minions continue doing damage to you--as does the boss. The entire time you're trying to take down the boss, you're taking 100% of the entire spawn's damage. If you start from the bottom, by the end of the fight, you're just taking the boss's damage, and each minion you take out reduces the damage you're taking for the rest of the fight.
I remain unconvinced. I can often take down an equal leveled-Lieutenant before he can get off more than one power, thus very little of the damage I take is from the lone "boss". Build Up, Zapp, Lightning Bolt, and Ball Lightning often does the trick. Then for the minions who reach me I have a special treat -- Air Superiority, Charged Brawl, and Havoc Punch. (What, no evil grin emoticon here?)

NCSoft, Please reconsider your decision to close down CoH. It has an extremely loyal following and enjoys a great amount of free support from the larger community.

I invite everybody to add the above image to your signature as a petition to reverse NCSoft's decision.

 

Posted

Unless you can one-shot a lieutenant or a boss (and no one can), you're going to take damage from him--AND from all his minion buddies. You can, however, one-shot a minion before he can fire back.

Let's assume a solo genuine boss spawn: one boss, two minions. I take out both minions with Aim -> Build-Up -> Zapp Minion #1 (defeated at this point, no attack back from that target) -> Lightning Bolt Minion #1 -> Charged Bolts Minion #2 (defeated at this point). From my opening attack, I've already reduced the incoming damage I'm going to take by a significant percentage. I take the alphas from Minion #2 and the Boss, but not Minion #1, and Minion #2's damage is eliminated seconds later. That leaves the boss and its damage for the rest of the fight.

If you take the same scenario and go from high-to-low, starting with the boss and dealing with the minions last, you're taking 100% damage from the Boss, Minion #1, and Minion #2 for almost the entire duration of the fight.

Both fights are going to last more or less the same time, but people who use my low-to-high strategy are going to come out of their fights less banged up than those who go from high-to-low.

Defeating foes is the blaster's best damage mitigation strategy.

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84008: Jenkins's Guide to Super-Villainy
230187: The Hero of Kings Row
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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Circuit_Boy View Post
Defeating foes is the blaster's best damage mitigation strategy.
Unless you're Sonic, in which case your priority target is whatever managed to avoid going to sleep when you opened with Sirens Song...

Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name

[u]Arcs[u]
The Scavenger Hunt: 187076
The Instant Lair Delivery Service: 206636

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fortress_NA View Post
I remain unconvinced. I can often take down an equal leveled-Lieutenant before he can get off more than one power, thus very little of the damage I take is from the lone "boss". Build Up, Zapp, Lightning Bolt, and Ball Lightning often does the trick. Then for the minions who reach me I have a special treat -- Air Superiority, Charged Brawl, and Havoc Punch. (What, no evil grin emoticon here?)
... Depends on what you're playing and what you're fighting.

Fireball/Firebreath (depending on level, with some combo of Build Up or Aim or both) removes up to ten minions at once.

Mini-guides: Force Field Defenders, Blasters, Market Self-Defense, Frankenslotting.

So you think you're a hero, huh.
@Boltcutter in game.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Circuit_Boy View Post
Unless you can one-shot a lieutenant or a boss (and no one can), you're going to take damage from him--AND from all his minion buddies. You can, however, one-shot a minion before he can fire back.
I'm assuming you mean in the proposed scenario... cause the only reason I ever take snipes on my blasters is to make a game of one shotting lts. Well, that's the fun reason. I guess the real reason is SoM, but you catch my drift.

@Gilia1
I play heroes on Champion.
I play villains on Virtue.

 

Posted

Gilia, you must be somewhat low-level, then, because beyond, say, 20 or so, no snipe I'm aware of does enough damage to one-shot a lieutenant, regardless of whether the Blaster using it is at the damage cap.

Stryker, defeated foes don't wake up. Defeating foes is still your best damage mitigation strategy. Mezzing foes is always a second-best strategy; if you can one-shot foes, you usually should.

40062: The World's Worst PUG
84008: Jenkins's Guide to Super-Villainy
230187: The Hero of Kings Row
No H8 - 08.04.10
@Circuit Boy - Moderator - Pride global chat channel

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Circuit_Boy View Post
Gilia, you must be somewhat low-level, then, because beyond, say, 20 or so, no snipe I'm aware of does enough damage to one-shot a lieutenant, regardless of whether the Blaster using it is at the damage cap.
Assuming no Resists, all Blaster snipes at the damage cap should be able to one shot an LT.

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