Armor: Black Kat cloak
Helm: Black Kat cowl
Shield: Swiftstrike buckler
Weapons: Acheron, Warmaster Rocket Hammer, Argent Peacemaker, Electron Vortex along with sword and bomb ctr trinkets.
worked well enough except for the last two waves, took a long time and I didn't use the hammer that much.
Used Iron Slug too, was ok
I might try Dark Retribution and Ash of Agni with Volcanic Demo Suit/BTS and see how that goes.
Ran it a few more times today.
Ash of Agni wasn't as effective on the slimes as DR was, but DBB ended up winning out in the last wave. No surprises there.
So my loadout was
Armor: Chaos Cloak
Helm: Black Kat Cowl
Shield: Barbarous Thorn Shield
Weapons: Voltedge (for zombies), AP (for lumbers), DBB, DR
Trinkets: bomb focus + penta-heart
pretty boring but worked.
Since the main goal is to get radiants as fast as possible then you should try this out:
Armor: Mercurial Demo Suit/Black Kat Raiment
Helm: Mercurial Demo Helm/Black Kat Cowl
Shield: Ancient Plate Shield
Weapons: DBB, DR, Nitro and Ash of Agni.
Trinkets: 2x Elite Bomb Focus Module
Sprite: Seraphynx (Heart Attack in case you need health) or Drakon (Backfire Barrier for speed boost)
Sprite Perk: Swiftsteps II
Basically a loadout for speedrunning. Mercurial Demo set is perfectly fine but Black Kat allows you to kill everything faster and provides universal dmg bonus maximum, so you can use a sword or a gun if you feel like you need it. Seraphynx Heart Attack can provide a few hearts if you need health, Drakon's Backfire Barrier gives you an extra speed boost to run through the long corridors and get through runny levels faster. DBB and DR will easily kill enemies. Ash of Agni can provide some extra DPS, it also allows you to kill void slimes and lumbers slowly without getting too close to them so you can preserve your health.
Armor: Ancient Plate Mail
Helmet: Ancient Plate Helm
Shield: Ancient Plate Shield
Weapons: Supernova, Voltaic Tempest, Stagger Storm. I intend to swap out one of the bombs for a Big Angry when I craft it, and currently I'm just experimenting with a couple different weapons.
Trinkets: None
Sprite: None
Pretty much means that I don't really take any noticeable damage except from Gremlin and Toxigel spin attacks. With this loadout though I've noticed from my short observations that you need about three hearts to get Last Stand. Two doesn't cut it.
For weapons you need a
High damage normal, example iron slug
Crowd control, grand tortofist, heavy sword, pulsar (ugh) ,nitronome, etc
Fast gun for souls, any damage kills them so you can have chilling duelist, proto(and modifiers), antiguas, also good for box breakers
And a wep of choice for extraneous damage, rocket hammer, autoguns, brandish, DBB, etc
Have a seraphynx, either yours or another party members, and use heart attack
Normal shield
Maybe poison defense, as the slimes have an attack that deals it which is basically invisible due to it blending in, the speed if the projectiles, and actually not rendering, as things tend to do this in game
And high normal defense or whichever type bugs you the most
I personally use
Perfect mask of seerus(poison med, shock low)
Mercurial mail( fire med)
Grand tortoise(forget the current UV, but will add normal to it)
Grand tortofist ctr med
Iron slug ctr med
Chilling duelist(soon to add asi)
Rocket hammer asi med(but right now I'm heating a gorgofist ctr high)
Punkin maskeraith with virulent quills, vengeful shadow cloak, and chaotic haze, with swift steps 2
Armor: Chaos
Helmet: Volcanic Demo
Shield: Omega Shell
Trinket: Elite Boom, Tetra-Heart
Weapon: Polaris, Ash Of Agni, Dark Briar Barrage
Sprite: Maskeraith with Health perk
I buy one health capsule from Basil in the staging room, and only end up using it about half the time on elite.
Issues I've run into:
1. Being mobbed by a fresh arena spawn...5-6 all pile on at once is bad.
2. The swarm black box effect obscures attacks a LOT, end up taking a bunch of extra damage from shots that were behind the interface screw.
3. Lagged out void souls...nothing else on the screen, and suddenly I take damage because a soul blew up that never showed up on screen.
4. Sticky void souls...these guys adhere to your head and cannot be outrun. Shield up or take a big whallop. Kind of a bug.
BK set,
Ancient plate shield,
2 love lockets,
swift steps from sera
+ volt/obsidian edge (the swods have ctr vh + asi med, so i don't rly need modules there)
AP for switches, souls and good measure (has asi vh, so again, no need for modules)
Running around spamming my sword charges, spreading the statuses while doing dmg, occasionally using heart attack is basically what I did. Nothing fancy, is a basic strat, but hey, it sure does work.
chaos set
swiftstrike yeah im a daredevil but I ran out of sparks so barbarous thorn shield
acheron
obsidian carbine
overcharged mixmaster
humbug hazer(venom veiler)
I use this by mainly running around taking as less health as possible while taking risks by taking that acheron and running to gremlins to shove it up their (insert obvious answer here). I find swarm gremlins the most annoying so be careful around them and just gun them down.
With no healers in the entire mission, I don't see a lot of point in the Venom Veiler. Dark Briar Barrage makes mincemeant out of the gremlin swarms. They are completely non-threatening.
Poison makes you deal more damage to enemies inflicted with it, so it works without a healer
Why is that @me? I know how poison works if that wasn't obvious already
Red-Galaxy mentioned that he uses Venom Veiler for its utility as a defensive weapon, Kalistes asked why he was using poison when there's no way to utilize its anti-healing function (technically "reversed healing", which basically makes it a deadly weapon, as Venom Veiler users will inform you), and you corrected Kalistes but only mentioned its damage buff function, which was not the reason why Red-Galaxy was using it.
The best thing about the haze bombs (Freeze, Fire, Poison and Stun, but not Shock since it's elemental) is they can be used anywhere, regardless of monsters, with the exception of the strata theme they relate to, and still be fully effective. Stun even more so, it can be used in pretty much all levels and monsters with the sole exception of status lichens. (Slimes and Lumbers in general are pretty stun resilient, so the already short effect of stun is further reduced)
I'm aware of the damage reduction function of the VV, I just don't think it's worthwhile by itself with no healers in the picture. The Dark Briar Barrage also has damage reduction because it will faultlessly knockdown both the gremlins and the wolvers in this mission even on Elite. It also does huge damage to them and the zombies, which the VV will definitely not do.
>The best thing about the haze bombs (Freeze, Fire, Poison and Stun, but not Shock since it's elemental) is they can be used anywhere,
>regardless of monsters, with the exception of the strata theme they relate to, and still be fully effective.
All of them are elemental, what are you on about?
I've used the Ash of Agni in DAN, and it works pretty well in the Arena for the lumbers and lichens. That second to last phase is the sticky point to me - those damned jellies are snipers with their spinning thorn attack, and their movement often blocks off the edge path.
Shivermist would be useful in a group, but detrimental while solo.
Stagger Storm, useful as it may be in general, I think would also be a detriment in this fight. Monster movement is usually not a problem, and if it is then the problem is that they are too slow...slowing them down further is not a desirable goal, plus it doesn't help at all for the monsters in front of you on the counter-clock path. But this is from the perspective of primarily bombing and gunning. I don't use swords at all. If you have to get into the middle of them for blade work, then I could see where Stagger Storm would have its place.
Voltaic Tempest would probably work well, especially once you get a big cluster bunched up in the middle of the arena where they can spread the shocky love to one another. I see that effect a fair bit with the Polaris. I haven't tried the VT in there yet (mine is at 4 stars, I haven't found the 5 star recipe yet, and my radiants have higher priorities).
I'm aware of the damage reduction function of the VV, I just don't think it's worthwhile by itself with no healers in the picture.
Venom Veiler isn't supposed to be worthwhile by itself, it's a support bomb. Since poison hangs around for a long time, you can get multiple charges of other weapons in before it wears off, so even if just a single person brings a Venom Veiler, never are they going to be using it exclusively, even when there are healers.
The Dark Briar Barrage also has damage reduction because it will faultlessly knockdown both the gremlins and the wolvers in this mission even on Elite.
You seem to be mistaken that DBB, a DPS bomb, can be directly compared to a support bomb like VV. No-one compares Graviton Vortex to Nitronome, because they fulfill completely different roles.
Let me paint you a picture. DBB doesn't allow you to take regular Lumber hits to the shield (a special mention to VV being an excellent Silversap counter, but I haven't tested how well non-plate shields hold up against unpoisoned swarm Lumbers) and escape with it unbroken, and has to be constantly charged used to maintain a defense, during which you cannot shield anyway. (and even then, won't stop the swarm lumbers from shoving their big black axe into your or your party member's skulls) It doesn't interrupt zombies, and you still have to switch to another weapon or shield to deal with toxigels and their spines (if you were using a VV, you would already be on a different weapon because the tactic with VV is "drop and swap", you only need to be holding it 20-33% of the time, depending on your CTR)
It also does huge damage to them and the zombies, which the VV will definitely not do.
I don't know why you got the idea that anyone would use a VV offensively in a healer-less level, Red-Galaxy even specifically mentioned that his strategy was orientated around survival, using his Acheron when he was going on the offensive.
All of them are elemental, what are you on about?
Does that mean you can't use Haze Bombs against Gremlins or Beasts because they resist elemental damage? Use your noggin', dude! What are haze bombs used primarily for? What is their primary function? Certainly not their miserably small range of mediocre elemental damage, I can tell you that.
Answering "What should I bring?"
The levels lack fiends entirely, which provides an obvious set of weaknesses- fire and shadow. Fire hits zombies extra hard, and is almost always attached to some form of elemental damage; toxigels and lumbers are also weak to fire, and only gremlins are resistant. Those same gremlins are in turn weak to shadow, as are the toxigels- meaning that the combination hits both sides of the spectrum and (for me) the hardest mobs hardest- toxigels.
Everything else falls in between and is less of a threat- beasts crumple slowly to fire and shadow attacks but pose no threat in doing so and the mobile nature of the level makes lumbers waste time strafing and susceptible to deterioration via fire. Having a finishing blow that hits everything universally with normal damage can also help out.
Core weapons for the core
Any fire/shadow weapon that can be used to strafe + charge, or simply strafe + shoot will work well as a main source of damage here.
Acheron = I dislike brandishes here as they requires me to stand still when using the charge
Combuster
Phantamos
Grim Repeater = normal shots are important
Umbra Driver
Winter Grave
Biohazard = actually very viable but not recommended as very few will have/use it correctly.
Obsidian Carbine/Sentenza = suspect but you could..
Shadow/normal tortofists
Magma Driver
Wildfire = must be aware of team members
Volcanic Pepperbox = again, normal shots for strafing are important
Dark Retribution
Shocking Salt Bomb
Deadly Dark Matter Bomb = probably the worst option of these
Ash of Agni = the best fire weapon of all mentioned; one team member should have this.
Auxilery weapons for the core
These are weapons that can be used to finish off that one mob that's straggling, even if it's a slag, or they can be used to just strafe around when you're low on health, or they can be built in if the team has enough shadow + fire to cope with everything and just needs that one party member capable of felling lumbers/slags in record time. I'd recommend bringing one if you have slots for that kind of thing because they can vastly improve your time, especially if you lack a gun to help get through the first two levels.
Winmillion = can be used to finish off weakened mobs. Not the best option, but viable
Dread venom striker, leviathan blade
Valiance = probably the best weapon listed here, grants incredible utility value
Supernova
Mixmaster = great at felling lumbers
Iron slug = could easily make for a core weapon as well, but less able to strafe
Deadly Shard Bomb
Voltaic Tempest
Obsidian Crusher/Electron Vortex
Nitronome
Note that weapons not mentioned here could be worked into your loadout as well, and that I've probably left quite a few out.
The armor situation
The main damage type here is normal with a side of piercing and poison. Lumbers, gremlins and the swarm all deal high normal while slags and wolvers deal at least partially normal and hit less often. The wild card is certainly the toxigel, which deals tons of poison and piercing. If you're willing to give up some of your precious movement speed, Savage Tortoise will be the best defensive fit. If you're not, ironmight plate shield, ancient plate shield, or even Aegis will serve you well.
This brings up the ancient situation- since these levels deal primarily normal, should you use ancient? It would let you take more risks (a lot more), but would also slow you down and for this reason I doubt its functionality over bringing glass cannon sets. If you plan to farm the level, then a decrease in attack speed and movement speed as well as the loss of charge time reduction, a gain in movement speed, and damage is likely to hold you and your party back a bit. Because of this, I would recommend using chaos/black kat if you have them and whatever class armor you have if you do not.
Since you will not be finding a vitapod, bringing some form of health bonus alongside your setup will benefit you greatly and speaking of staying alive, having one or two players with seraphynx and thus heart attack will greatly improve your odds of survival. Maskeraith is largely unnecessary due to the lack of healers and drakon is viable due to dealing fire, but less important than seraphynx's ability to heart attack enemies to replenish the party's health. Seraphynx can also be used to guard against flying spikes and deal damage to otherwise deadly toxigels.
Armor: chaos
Helm: chaos
Shield: Ancient Plate Shield
Weapon1: Wildfire
Weapon2: DR
Sprite: Bomb Damage
This loadout aims for the last Arena. Kill everything vulnerable in a wave with DR, finish off zombs or lumbers with Wildfire. DR is exspecially helpful because it still deals damage when you are far away -> more distance to enemies mean more safety. For faster killing run smaller circles.
I would consider the ancient plate shield as the best choice here, because it stands many hits (except jellied shots) and you get it without orbs.
When I solo, I usually get no damage.
There are only 3 troubles in the whole mission.
The Slimes.
The Void Turret.
The black quadrilaterals in the last arena.
Helm and Armor : Ancient Plate Set.
Reason : The Void Turret deals normal damage.
Shield : Savage Tortoise or Drake Scale
Reason : The Slimes deal piercing and inflicts poison as well.
Get any one of them, whatever interests you.
Perks : Swift Steps II.
Reason : You need some sufficient speed to outrun during the rush you are already slowed down by the Ancient set and the shield.
Weapon 1 : ASH OF AGNI.
The ONLY weapon you would need for the last arena. The safest of all.
Reason : Fire is a decent mass damage inflicter.
Weapon 2 : ANY shadow gun except Catalyzer series. Preferably Blackhawk series is good.
Reason : Easy to break more blocks during rush.
Weapon 3 : Dark Retribution.
Optional.
Weapon 4 : Polaris.
Optional.
I have tried it. You won't need anything else in order to solo this.
A tip for the last arena : Break all the boxes around you, circle the boundary of the arena as you Bomb. All you have to see is that you dodge the bullets and the void barrier line revolving around the turrets.
(Also, the spike release attack of the Slimes...)
That's all.
I've been doing it like this:
Armor: Chaos Cloak
Helm: Chaos Cowl
Shield: Barbarous Thorn Shield
Weapons:
1: Combuster
2: Acheron
3: Dark Briar Barrage
4: Dark Retribution
Weapons i've tried and recommend:
Tortofists: The charge attack is incredibly useful in the last arena, especially in the slime and gremlin waves.
Vortex bombs: Best used in wolver, zombie and gremlin waves.
Nitronome: Does good damage and knockback, useful through the whole mission.
Stagger Storm: Good crowd control tool but it doesn't affect void zombies.
Basically you should get something to provide good DPS and crowd control. Bombs make this mission a cakewalk, especially Dark Retribution and DBB. If you only have two weapon slots then just get the bombs i just mentioned, a Chaos or a Mad Bomber set and you're fine. Status resist isn't something you should worry about here, unless you really have a problem dealing with the poison.