Great information Pavehawk. Can't wait to give it a try.
@MarvelatMee and @COL Burn
24 - 50s
Too many ALTs
Thanks for this overview. I tried this on Victory Wednesday night with a mostly melee team and we utterly failed on the last mission. It definitely takes a change in mindset for most players who are used to standing in place and beating down AVs. It was a frustrating encounter but shouldn't be so bad once people get used to dodging.
@cozmic
Kid Kozmic - lvl 50 Ill/Emp Controller
Agent Chance - lvl 50 Traps/DP Defender
Venatores - lvl 50 Broadsword/Shield Scrapper
i'm genuinely excited to try it, as soon as i get my uberscrap alpha'd. Accelerator is all about hit and run!
What would u think if the entire group stays in one position and have one Guy dedicated to team teleporting away from the blue pods? That way all the pods stay in one spot and makes maneuvering the team easy.... just a thought. Could be real easy for a team wipe though if he fails to to LOL.
Someone please try the team TP thing and get back to me :-)
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Anything is worth trying, however it has been my expierience that several things will go against this plan. First off is the inablility for 95% of the teams in CoH to listen to and follow directions. The second is that it "seems" that several people standing together in close proximity causes the warning aura to spawn. I say "seems" becuase this could be nothing more then my perception, or it could be the real deal. |
Originally Posted by Ceasar
What would u think if the entire group stays in one position and have one Guy dedicated to team teleporting away from the blue pods? That way all the pods stay in one spot and makes maneuvering the team easy.... just a thought. Could be real easy for a team wipe though if he fails to to LOL.
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I also don't know the activation time for that power so that may be a factor also. I would like to see if a team could pull this off, but it might be a bit of overkill. I would also worry about the reduction in DPS on Battle Maiden.
If anyone does try it please post and let us know.
Also as a side note we ran several more Apex TF yesterday and have started to turn out some Master of Apex Task Force badge holders! So congrats to all those who have earned this badge please pass on your expierience to others and lead a few runs too!
To error is human, to forgive devine..niether of which is Air Force policy
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The auras are targeted on apparantly-random team members. So if everyone is standing on the same spot, you'd get three overlapping auras on that spot.
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Originally Posted by Pavehawk
The second is that it "seems" that several people standing together in close proximity causes the warning aura to spawn.
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"The Hamidon is a what what of what?" - Brian the mission guy.
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From what I've observed, it seems like upon entering the area you become selected on an agro list. The highest three will be targeted and attacked. And it's completely independent from her agro list.|
Originally Posted by Leese
The auras are targeted on apparantly-random team members. So if everyone is standing on the same spot, you'd get three overlapping auras on that spot.
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Are the spawns infinite though? I thought you clear three or four waves. I ask because I was in a team earlier and we were fighting only her yet it seemed as though the entire map was cleared. I'd like to get some kind of confirmation on this though as I'm not sure if it's a bug or not.
Though Im sure it would make things easier, but do you have to be Alpha slotted? what is the minimum level to run this TF?
A friend said we were running it tonight so I want to be prepared, just in case.
The spawns are not infinite. We cleared the whole place out while trying to kill her.
You don't HAVE to be alpha slotted, but you'd better be. All enemies are at level 54 and without a boost in your alpha slot you will be debuffed to level 46.
Basically unless you're sure of what you're doing don't run this without a boost. It's not enough to have the slot unlocked, you must have a boost in it.
"The Hamidon is a what what of what?" - Brian the mission guy.
just an fyi if you can get a sonic defender or troller on your team you can get considerable resistance to toxic. my sonic defender can buff the entire team with near 60% toxic resistance.
I think the warning aura is called by non-movement, and there may be a max number called or available to be called" at any one time. The last two runs we did had several folks trying to keep the swords and champs off the blasters/debuffers and whenever 3 of more folks were in close proximity bingo we ALL got auras. Later I was able to stay in one spot for 12ish seconds shooting before i got an aura, earlier it was abut 6-8. Perhaps there is an aggro list for each entity, her, swords and warning/death auras.
As to the infinate number of Champion waves after her return. I have never been in there long enough to see how many waves she calls after she gets back, even on our worst run she was dead before troops stopped spawning. If there is a real count as to waves please let me know so I can update the guide. Please make sure that one isn't lost in a corner (it happens to champs and swords) making the next wave not spawn.
To error is human, to forgive devine..niether of which is Air Force policy
Solid guide Pavehawk, lots of good advice in here. Let me add a couple things about the final mission:
2 Taunters is enormously helpful -- One to keep Maiden's attention focused on them, the other to round up the swords and the straggling minions. The second taunter allows the rest of the group to focus all their dps on Maiden.
The summoned swords, the ones that chase you all over the map, will respawn once their summons is defeated. In other words, just leave one or 2 alive, and they won't respawn. Our second taunter spends the last couple of minutes of the fight with one or two swords on them tabbing around for any loose champions.
You really want your main taunter to keep her out in the open areas. The last mission can be dynamic, chaotic fight, and occasionally Maiden may stray into the corners on either side of the statue's feet. This is a no-no. The death auras in that small area can be a nightmare. The more space your ranged characters have, the better.
"Can play" is not a binary. It's a float.
There are some pretty low values of "can play" out there.
--Fulmens
The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off
ok, apparently my friend was wrong, and was talking about running the mission to gain the alpha slot... can anyone join in as long as the main character is 50? if not, what are the requirements?
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Another possibility is that warning aura is location AoE with some large but finite radius. |
Originally Posted by Pavehawk
I think the warning aura is called by non-movement, and there may be a max number called or available to be called" at any one time. The last two runs we did had several folks trying to keep the swords and champs off the blasters/debuffers and whenever 3 of more folks were in close proximity bingo we ALL got auras. Later I was able to stay in one spot for 12ish seconds shooting before i got an aura, earlier it was abut 6-8. Perhaps there is an aggro list for each entity, her, swords and warning/death auras.
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On last run me and another player were able to stand in the same location blasting at BM without triggering warning aura for at least 5-6 cycles, while other players on the team were getting it consistently.
I'll try to pay more attention to that thing on our next run.
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The requirements are that you must be level 50, have the alpha slot unlocked and have something slotted in the alpha slot. |
Originally Posted by nytflyr
ok, apparently my friend was wrong, and was talking about running the mission to gain the alpha slot... can anyone join in as long as the main character is 50? if not, what are the requirements?
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You can (theoretically) do the TF without meeting the last requirement but in practice doing so means you will be fighting +8s at which point the only thing you can do to help your team is buff (since any attacks or debuffs will be at 5% effectiveness).
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Ya know I was thinking that was the case. So what may cause them to be infinite? Or is it a an illusion where people aren't clearing the waves completely so the forth or fifth didn't come out. We tried earlier yesterday and the poor Wolf Spider got upset because he was convinced the lack of spawns was due to one mob or two being alive which stunted the wave progression. I wasn't sure who was right so just wanted to make sure.|
Originally Posted by Leese
The spawns are not infinite. We cleared the whole place out while trying to kill her.
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| You don't HAVE to be alpha slotted, but you'd better be. All enemies are at level 54 and without a boost in your alpha slot you will be debuffed to level 46. |
It's duo-able but I myself wouldn't advise it. Cole's Debuff makes you trying to hit much harder (since they'd con +4 or something) and on top of that they hit you like you're just a pet. And even with Alphas slotted, mobs such as the Tentacles, swords, and Champions of War will chew you down quite easily (Tentacles more so because they have concentrated PBAoD attacks so fighting one alone isn't a big deal but four at once... don't try to melee them).
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Originally Posted by Adeon Hawkwood
You can (theoretically) do the TF without meeting the last requirement but in practice doing so means you will be fighting +8s at which point the only thing you can do to help your team is buff (since any attacks or debuffs will be at 5% effectiveness).
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Is it +8? I keep hearing mixed. I just know it treats you like you got exampled down.
As for not running around with an Alpha-slot filled. You'll take a beating. Only archtype I think that dodges that is a non-situational support archtype. So healers or buffers that don't require mobs to get the buffs or heals off. Kinetics can help Stone tanks as well, boosting their movement speed to prolong the ST's life expectancy if squaring off against the Maiden.
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The Characters are facing level 54 foes throughout both Apex and Tin Mage.|
Originally Posted by Stryph
... <snip> ...
Is it +8? I keep hearing mixed. I just know it treats you like you got exampled down. ... <snip> ... |
Characters without the Alpha slot filled with one of the Alpha Boosts have it thoughtfully filled by Emperor Cole with [Emperor Cole's Incarnate Control] which applies a -4 level shift to the character as their "boost". Type the bracketed portion on live and you can peer at the debuffing alpha boost Cole gives the character.
Fyi, it is possible to start the task force with your Alpha Unlocked and a shard or two shy of being able to create and equip your Alpha slot, gain the necessary shards in the first portion or two of the task force, then create and equip your Alpha which will move Emperor Cole's boost out and yours in eliminating the -4 level shift. I wouldn't recommend doing this with more than 1 or 2 folks, without the team knowing and most likely teaming with friends, sg mates etc on a well balanced team.
so sad, we ran it and almost defeated BM, but we were down to 7 people. after we fell apart at the end, we could never overcome her regen again. we were so close! (and didn't even know it...)
50: Ill/Kin(A+,R,J)-1047 badges RE/Dark(A) Fire/Elec Warshade BS/Regen Necro/Poison Ice/Fiery(A+) Son/Son Bane(A) FM/DA(A) DM/Nin Grav/Icy
lvling: Inv/EM DM/Sheild Arch/MM Bane NW Elec/Earth Grav/Elec Elec/FA Rad/Ice
Paragon Elite/Rogue Elite Joined Oct 2004
Failed a run this evening, even though someone referred to (and quoted portions of) this fine guide. We just had too much melee and not enough ranged, and couldn't bring enough DPS to bear on Battle Maiden. (Some more debuffing of her sick regen would have been nice too.) 
Ah well - my first attempt at the STF was also a failure, back in the day. 
My characters at Virtueverse
Faces of the City
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Originally Posted by Megajoule
Failed a run this evening, even though someone referred to (and quoted portions of) this fine guide. We just had too much melee and not enough ranged, and couldn't bring enough DPS to bear on Battle Maiden. (Some more debuffing of her sick regen would have been nice too.)
Ah well - my first attempt at the STF was also a failure, back in the day. |
Sorry you guys didn't get the pie, but you make an excellent point. Back in the day I remember people failing at ITF, States and Recluse. Oh no what can we do, which AV will we pull now, which nictus do we kill/hold/confuse...
Now most teams steamroll these and so shall it be with Apex as people get used to the maneuver portion of the fight. On the few failed runs I have gone on the cause for failue was not the AT mix, but rather the inability to DPS her because of the need to shoot and scoot along with the failure of people to ignore the adds and dilute the DPS on her in favor of the various distractors.
An earlier poster suggested two taunters one on her and one on the adds. We specifically tried this on a master run the other night and it worked quite well. I will be adding this to the guide in a future update.
To error is human, to forgive devine..niether of which is Air Force policy
While the temp power Envenomed Dagger isn't necessary, if you're a melee AT, and you don't have it... shame on you.
It's a relatively cheap recipe at the Market and it gives you the chance to add to -Regen, which is especially useful against Battle Maiden since you don't want her to regain her health while you can't get in close to melee her.
Similarly, Melee-ers should have whatever ranged attacks they have from Temp Powers, Vet Rewards, and Epic Pools ready to use when they can't close in on BM.
Also, Taunters and those with Tauntish powers like Punchvoke should back far enough away to make BM move out of the BRoD. Taunt debuffs her range, but if you're just standing right outside the sphere of the BRoD, she has no reason to move out of it. If you back far enough away that you're outside the range of ranged attacks, she'll move out of the BRoD.
Also, I've heard Melee-ers complain that they feel useless when they can't close in on BM because of the BRoD. Hello?! How about switching targets and take out a Champion or Sword in the meantime and give the squishies a break.
Basically, Melee-ers must establish a new mode of attack than what they're used to. Those who can't break from the attack-chain stand-and-queue are doomed to fail. IOW, they need to play like a Blapper.
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Ran this today, took a lot of advise I had read in this guide into account. I initially did not worry about the envenomed daggers, we had a debuffer and enough damage to get past the regen quite easily, but when Battle Maiden ran off, our debuffer decided to quit the team for no reason that was ever made apparent.
Battle Maiden came back, and whiped the floor with us. I asked around, no one had the dagger, so I went to the black market, grabbed a few, grabbed the salvage to make them, handed them out and popped out my handy dandy Portable Workbench.
3 people with daggers made this EASY. I think even that might have been overkill, and I know I was not spamming mine anywhere near as much as I could have. I am now seeing that dagger as something I must have with me at all times, except on my debuffers, because of that fight.
Anyway, thanks for the very helpful guide 
@Incarnadine - 50s on Victory:
Electric-Boogaloo (Electric/Psy Dominator) | Floating Flame (Fire/Psy Blaster) | Guldo Golem (Stone/Mace Tanker) | Hornak (Elec/Elec Brute) | Insatiable Greed (Demon/Dark Mastermind) | Solar Explorer (Plant/Thermal Controller) | TimeTraveler (Kin/Ice Defender) | Verranil (Emp/Archery Defender)
Wanted to say thanks for this guide! Thanks!
We did this the other night on Guardian with a very well built team and sailed through this sucker.
We had 2 buffers. Sonic and cold. And 2 tanks.
I was one of the tanks. Me and the other hopped around a lot to stay out of BMs death aoe flash thing. Kept her busy and it worked well. That is key just not getting wipped from that mega weapon.
With the 2 buffers the first mission was a synch.
We had a blast.
Thanks again for the guide! Now I just need to find a Tin Mage!
-Bizz
APEX Task Force
Revised and Updated
Apex is one of the TWO new task forces in I 19 and it is great fun, has an epic feeling, and also contains a few nasty surprises. It is however easy if you follow some simple guidelines for success.
BADGES: There are several badges that can be earned inside this task force, getting them all through successful runs will grant the master of Apex task force.
Burden Bearer: For NOT using any drones during the police station battle.
Drone Protector: For NOT letting any drones die during the police station battle. This counts if they are activated or not. As long as one does not die.
Already Dead: For killing Battle Maiden in 15 minutes or less.
Warrior Princess or Weapon Master: For completing the Task Force on either a female or male character.
Master of Apex Task Force: For earning all 4 of the badges listed above in one or more runs.
TEAM MAKE UP
Unlike some Task Forces Apex is doable with almost any team composition provided they are alpha slotted and have a basic sense of how to play. IT is nice to have a diverse group though and debuffs do come in handy. It is also essential to have the Alpha Slot unlocked and slotted.
The strongest team I had led into Apex was an all Blaster, Dom, Defender, and Controller with a couple of VEAT (Crabs), we completed the TF in 26 minutes purely because we had two DOM’s with above average builds and skills. With that said an all melee team has completed this TF during test, and I took a team of mostly melee in last night with success though it took and 1:12 minutes.
Based on input from Huron I am going to recommend a DOUBLE taunt system as I have tested this on several runs with great success.
I would recommend the following for a good solid run:
Ranged damage x 2
Crowd Control/debuff with Single target and good AoE hold/immob x 2
Tauter x 2
Assorted damage x 2
This can be done with any mix of AT but the more range the better for most teams. Melee is great but takes more effort.
PREMISSION PREP
Yes if you want you can get shivans, heavies, nukes, Amy, and whatever. If you are light on debuffs the envenomed dagger temp is nice. YOU DO NOT NEED ANY of this for success.
Make sure ALL players are on the same page regarding the status of the police drones for earning the badge(s). We have had TWO failed master runs because someone rezzed a drone even though we had repeatedly said NOT TO. Some people don’t read chat, others don’t understand sometimes and some folks are just to excited to be doing something new to pay any attention to anything besides killing stuff.
MISSION ONE: Kings Row
This mission is in three parts:
Part 1: Clocks in the Street
You enter onto a rooftop, there are EIGHT glowie boxes. These contain a temp power to resuscitate police drones. If you are going to use the drones EVERYONE needs a power as they are slow to recharge. If you are NOT going to use the drones you don’t need the power.
This is pretty simple three groups of level 54 Praetorian Clockworks. Kill them to unlock the next part of the mission. If you have not fought these before they do have some nasty debuffs and DoT attacks, oh and did I mention they are level 54.
Part II: Into the Sewers!
You are instructed to defeat three Rikti pylons in the sewers. They are protected by level 54 Rikti, Hydra and tentacles. Stay mission focused here DESTROY THE PYLONS, ignoring the Hydra as best you can because when the pylon POPS the hydra all die.
We have found that engaging the pylons from range is the best bet as you will find toxic hydra spit at level 54 to be a real bummer. (It is fun to watch the tanks and brutes charge in and die in seconds, fortunately they only do it once and they learn to stand close to blasters and taunt any Rikti off of them.)
Kill all three pylons which are conveniently placed in separate sections of the sewers and you’re on your way to part III.
Part III: So where the hell is Blue Steel?
CoH’s most uber hero is taking a coffee break so it is up to us to save the Police Station.
A group of PPD Kheldians is vainly trying to stop the Clocks. Help them…or not. Here is the decision point for a badge. If you want to use them resuscitate one or more of the drones on the courtyard. If you want the BURDEN BEARER badge then leave them alone. The point will be to NOT have any of them die during the upcoming epic battle. You can earn two badges at once if you don’t wake up any drones and you don’t let any die. The drones do one shot clockwork so they can be useful. They don’t affect the warwalkers at all.
Whoa…did you say WARWALKERS. Yes I did. Err wait LEVEL 54 WARWALKERS?
Yep that’s right along with clockwork infantry in support. All you need to do is fight off a few waves of these critters and this mission is in the history books. It is not as hard as it sounds. HOLDS are your friend, debuffs too, and TORNADO knocks these things off their feet. The goal is to kite, taunt, KB, whatever, the critters away from the drones so that a stray orbital bombardment does not kill one. WE try to keep all players and enemies DOWN on street level to avoid any collateral damage to drones.
Once this mission ends you’re halfway done with the task force and feeling pretty damn good about yourself!! Hit the RWZ combat medic and BUY as many greens as you can fit in your tray, nothing else really are as useful as greens for the next mission.
MISSION TWO: Blyde Square in Chaos!
Battle Maiden and her troops are wreaking havoc in Blyde Square, Positron is still grabbing a donut in Faultline with Fusionette (don’t tell Jim) so once again we must jump in and save the day!
This mission has 2 parts, the rooftop and the battlefield. Three parts if you consider running back from the hospital a part.
Warning there are two kinds of players who run this task force…those who die during Battle Maiden fight, and those who haven’t died yet during the Battle Maiden fight. Yeah I’m sure somebody has made it through without dieing, or will but that’s not the point. The point here is that you’re probably gonna die at least until you figure out the system, and then you will still die just not as much.
PREMISSION PREP: If you have ground effect powers that are shaded blue, or in other ways obscure the ground you may want to change the color to something that will allow you and your teammates to see the auras that will be in effect.
Part I: Up on the roof.
Look at the side of the helicopter as you exit, yes those are swords, lots of swords…in fact the same kind of swords that are about to attack you! Two waves of level 54 flying swords just to get your blood pumping, and then it’s down the stairs to save the world!
Part II: Hey wow look at the pretty blue…WTF I’m dead!
Battle Maiden and her Champions are wiping up all that remains of a few throw-a-way heroes who had been trying to start a Posi part I. Drop her champions and then pound her, both at once if your team can multi-task. Keep an eye out for stray flying swords and blue death auras, they do nasty nanite damage with DoT and are auto hit and irresistible and untyped. They hurt and will kill most folks in seconds though fast people can sometimes fire off enough greens to survive for a second while running away.
There will be warning auras that form around your feet these are a light blue and are basically telling you to MOVE NOW. Once they form you have about eight seconds to clear datum (change location in MILSPEAK) or you will get pounded by the death aura. The death auras also have a – fly and do spawn in the air so being on the ground is probably safer but some folks fly. The ground is strewn with debris so watch out for getting stuck on terrain. I have fond NINJA RUN or COMBAT JUMP to be about the best tool.
Once you have beaten Battle Maiden to 50% she will retreat to have a beer and chat with Cole. She will send THREE waves of her Champions after you. KILL THEM FAST, ignore the swords just kill the champions. The faster you kill them the faster she comes back. If you can kill her in 15 minutes or less you get another badge (Already Dead) and that is needed for a Master of Apex badge. The waves in between her two sessions do not count against your time as far as I can tell. (based on reports from other teams too.)
Once she comes back CONCENTRATE ON HER, shoot and scoot watch the auras and ignore the adds, you can lock them down or kill all but one or two, if you kill them all they just respawn. Debuff her if you can and POUR ON THE DPS. Every shot at a sword or champion is less DPS on her and folks, DPS is the game winner here damage is king.
USING THE DOUBLE TAUNT METHOD
Two Tanks/Brutes/Scrappers with taunt, NOT just taunt aura.
One is the main and TAUNTS Battle maiden and is constantly backing up away from her to keep her moving out of the blue and shooting at him/her. The second is the Garbage Collector and taunts/kills the stray champions and swords keeping them off the shooters/debuffers.
Two tanks work, a tank on Battle Maiden and a brute collecting garbage is awesome.
SOME key things to make your life easier:
1. Do NOT think this is a tank and spank encounter. If you stand still and mash buttons as fast as you can you will die and you will fail.
2. If you have a tank, they should be constantly trying to taunt her out of the blue death so other melee can get in some good licks.
3. Don’t queue up attacks like usual. Fire…check for warning aura…fire…MOVE…fire rinse repeat. You can get caught in a long animation and killed so it is easier to not string long chains of attacks, Again this is not a CoH button fest AV. You can also joust her with attacks.
4. KEEP moving and KEEP aware of your surroundings. Situational Awareness is the key to this as is the ability to move. It is not TWITCH as some people have claimed, as you actually have a long time to move away before the death aura strikes…trust me eight seconds in combat is a lifetime. It takes practice.
5. DON’T try to use wakies in here chances are good you will be pounded before you can recover. Just go to the hospital it is close and there is a combat medic to restock inspirations.
6. DO NOT linger in one place longer then 5-10 seconds or you will attract a warning aura. PLEASE stay away from the doorway so that an aura won’t spawn in the doorway cause insta-death to someone coming back from the hospital.
7. You can look down from the roof and check the door (if you have a nice video set up and uber computer) or you can just yell… “DOOR?” and folks will tell you clear or not.
I know that some folks will have bad lag, or crappy computers, or be color blind or have a disability or for whatever reason have trouble with this mission. I’m sure you can find teams that will help you complete this. If not find me on Victory and I’ll be glad to help.
Well that’s it for my first attempt at a guide hope you find it useful and if you have something to add feel free to do so.
Many thanks to the heroes on Victory who came on our first couple of runs, and many thanks to the fine closed beta folks who helped perfect the tactics used in this guide!
PEACE…through superior firepower!
If you’re on Victory and need help hit me up on global @Kidon
To error is human, to forgive devine..niether of which is Air Force policy