So basically I finally stopped procrastinating and upgraded my 2*defender all the way to 4*. I don't play on weekdays (Mon-Thurs) but when Friday comes around, you bet I'll be trying out a T3 gate.
Is the jump from T2 to T3 just as shocking as the jump from T1 to T2 (Oh no the monsters actually do damage now!)?
Is there anything at all I should know about in terms of contrast between tiers 2 and 3?
Ah, I remember my first T3 run. God, it was so horrible that I ran back to JK and never set foot in T3 again for a month.
Yes, the jump from T2 to T3 is quite huge, perhaps even worse than that of T1 to T2. The main thing to remember in T3 is to never get hit. Shield bump, strategic running, good use of pushback--no matter how right your armour is, you can take about three hits before you die in T3. Learn monster attack patterns (especially Zombies, since you'll probably be doing FSC quite a bit) if you can, and definitely start investing in different weapon types if you haven't already. Bonus damage can help a lot in T3, and having the right armour as well, though the armour should be tailored to counter statuses rather than direct damage (both if possible), as you shouldn't be taking too much of that. The statuses are what kills in T3 (shock greavers make me weep like a little girl still).
Bottom line though--practice, practice, practice. Good luck! You'll one day look back on T2 and find it to be a breeze in the park.
Aye, T2 you can afford to take hits, and there's a big margin for error, letting you rambo style most places. T3 (especially if you're in the lower T3 bracket and only just entering) you'll find will kill the hell out of you fast. Spend your time practising defending and sidestepping, eveyrthing will deal massive damage to you, even spikes and branches. Get used to a more defensive line of play and make your priority staying alive before anything.
Also, it's generally a good idea to avoid shock gates unless you have particularly high resistance against it. The initial shock will seriously hurt, last long and spasms will deal a fair bit too; they'll also open you up to further murderous attacks.
If you haven't already, make a point to try and use weapons that have damage advantages as well, so as to keep combat as short as possible.
I've got some T3 gameplay videos on my youtube channel you can check out (Example: T3 Dark City). There's nothing particularly evil or mysterious about T3, but it is indeed much more punishing than T2. Monster attacks are harder to avoid, come at you faster, and hit much, much harder. T3 monsters also gain extra abilities, like teleporting wolvers, or greavers and mechaknights firing bullets, or healers resurrecting their downed comrades.
A good plan would be to only do up to basil for a while and shop for 5* recipes. You'll probably find that more than enough of a challenge, though keep in mind that the payout per level for S5 will be lower than S4. This will give you a good opportunity to learn the T3 monsters' attack patterns and abilities.
But as others have said, you'll probably run screaming back to T2 after your first T3 run. This is perfectly natural and expected. You'll get over it.
Take notice of the way monsters move, when/where they hit, their weaknesses, what damage they deal, etc.. Basically be AWARE in T3 because, as other people already said, there's less room for mistakes; one hit in T3 could be a couple in T2.
And even though skill > gear, the latter is still important. You might want to invest in another shield instead of your defender. It's also smart to have the three damage types in weapons: piercing, shadow, and elemental.
My first try at T3 was a Shock Slime arena before the Quicksilver nerf. Oh boy, I still have nightmares about that.
So, maybe what I'm trying to say is... be prepared for the themes you're running into.
For you first T3 endeavors, pick a gate the doesn't have fiends in it. I advise running one with a lot of Clockworks in it, preferably in a group of two. Take things VERY slowly, singling out monsters one at a time whenever possible, kiting around them like you've got a string attached and the wind at your back. Avoid danger rooms and overconfidence.
T3 enemies pack a lot of new tricks that the T2 enemies don't have. Until you're used to them they can be really devastating. Even seasoned veterans can't breeze through T3 (with the exception of FSC, perhaps, due mainly to experience with the area). Familiarize yourself with damage and know what kinds of enemies are going to murder you if they hit you and avoid their attacks like the plague.
Once you get accustomed to it, T3 really is a lot of fun and remains challenging for a long time. It's a lot of fun, so enjoy it.
"Get ready to die. Over and over"
Indeed. Putting it very bluntly, but indeed.
Died on my first T3 depth, just so happened to be Fiend, at the start. It was the day before yesterday.
Make sure to run with a buddy; preferably a T3 regular. Do not solo, or you will spend everything ce rez'ing.
I like to say that the tier progression goes like so:
In T1, you learn to attack
In T2, you learn to use your shield
In T3, you learn to dodge
So you better be light on your feet and quick to draw. :p
Oh, and here's a little tip for you. Attacks cannot outright kill you unless you have low health. As such, you can take like 7 pips of damage and survive if you only have 3; you'll just be reduced to one. Picking up a few hearts will allow you to take an additional hit, no matter how devastating. Abuse the hell out of that.
t3...the good ol days... remember my first day in strata six....fsc... *gloom cloud* well good luck =D
I've been running through T3 for about two weeks, and as most have already stated, it helps temendously to have gear corresponding with the stratum you're in. Be aware, and always cautious.
However, I will say this.
Pre-January patch, T3 was very challenging, but all of the monster nerfs have created a noticable drop in the difficulty for me. But I still don't stand a chance in Fiend strata. ;-_- (or any stratum I lack the gear for)
Light brings up a good point; if you're worried about T3 (or try it and have trouble) and want to start in T3-easy-mode, find a gate that has some mech.miles shortly after Emberlight -there's usually at least one- and you can run in and work yourself on the retrodes and scuttles. The damage is still very real, so you'll know about it when you make a mistake, but it won't be quite so intense and unforgiving as a devilite lair, for example.
Once, back when I was new to T2 (2* gear only), I got an invite from a super-pro friend of mine.
I ended up in a clockwork terminal, and freaked, because back then, they used to deduct 10 energy even when joining at a terminal.
Then I notice how everyone else around are pros. I ask them whats up.
"Doin Vanaduke."
"Who's Vana?"
"The hardest boss in the game."
"O_O"
"Don't worry, we can handle him."
We go down.
The next thing I know, all three of them somehow got booted to Haven, leaving me alone in T3 FSC. IDK why, but they couldn't join me, so they asked me to try my best down there.
....
One zombie hit took out almost all my HP, so I ran, charge attacked, and ran in circles. Fortunately, the wheels killed most of them, and I managed to hit the killing blow on 2 of them.
Next, came the maze of fireblocks and Spike wheels. A spikewheel nailed me head on while I had my shield up. It SHATTERED my shield AND took away 9/10 of my HP. I freaked, and was extra careful dodging. I made it up to the launchers, but then like 20 fire zombies spawned, and I freaked out again.
Needless to say, a Spike wheel killed me.
That was scary...Q_Q....
I just basically freaked. All the noise and fire. It has taken me ages to become even half-way decent in those levels.
Devilites, reavers, and shock - lol - very recently I was with 2 pros in stratum 6. I stop to re-equip on the loadout pad while they start off. I finish re-equiping, and the 2 of them were already dead - from full health to dead in about 10 steps. I made it a few steps beyond them, but the 3 of us never even managed to kill the first group of monsters. We made a pact never to bring it up amongst ourselves. This is anonymous, right?
And then that first time you finally reach the Core - all the way, Baby! except . . . well, that's another thread.
A Wolver Den. A horrific experience, getting hit for 7-10 damage, getting poisoned and Wolvers popping up everywhere. Me and my friend never went back to T3 for a long time.
After a while, I do feel more comfortable there, and still do get slaughtered. A top 5 list of things to avoid (or destroy as fast as possible)
1) Rocket Puppies. The rocket will defy physics to find some way of doing the ~10 damage and sets you on fire if you are unlucky.
2) Devilites. Take a Flourish/Barb, and go for one on the edge. Once 3 or 4 have focused on you, you are generally in a lot of trouble.
3) Kats. Fine on their own, but take three or four, add a distraction and you have to spend your whole game chasing them as they fill the board with shadow damage and pain.
4) Alpha Wolvers. A 5star shield takes one hit (if you are lucky, maybe two). If the wolver chargers, peg it out the way.
5) Greavers. Kill it. Kill it fast. Pull out the flourish and hack it to death, shield bash it before it attacks (the mist inflicts status, shock is horrible.)
The first few times T3 is definitely overwhelming if you don't know what you are stepping into.
Wolvers teleporting everywhere. Getting swarmed by Gremlins with shields and menders who bring them back to life. Or massive amounts of traps in FSC. And every hit does massive damage. I started T3 with all 4* stuff and only had one 4* weapon. I expanded my arsenal to include a piercing sword and it made everything a LOT easier (rather than having just elemental) since I could deal optimal damage to all of the hard monsters and neutral damage to slimes and gremlins.
achieving tier 3 where weapons and gears are concerned isnt complete XD
getting used to ur gear n shiz is moar important XD
good that you got your things upgraded :)
now the hard work is to rise to the challenge tier 3 awaits you
happy gaming~!
~reaper
ah the joy of t3, agree with everyone else as i pretty much only do fsc unless im helpin out, but i will say when you do go make sure u have some kind of fire resist armor or your gonna die pretty fast. and your shield is gonna be your best friend. cant count the number of times i died being pushed in to fire.. and got trapped by trojans. if your gonna do fsc i would invest into getting a blitz needle for the trojans and vana. that and a d.a come in handy in fsc i usually bring my gig pulsar for crowd control for the mobs of zombies. but other than weapons shielding,shield bumping,sidestepping and dodging can just easily save your life.
I find trojans are easy enough that it doesn't matter what you use even when solo. If you have 2 people in a party, trojans become the easiest monster around if the players can use their brains. Stand on opposite sides and attack or dance/shield when appropriate.
So, I wouldn't bother with a blitz needle just for trojans since someone else in the party probably has one. I would think upgrading everything else to 5* or getting stage appropriate armor would be a much better investment.
In terms of lockdown...prepare to get your ass kicked. But seriously, 4* armor in LD will almost guarantee death. In terms of clockworks, a little bit of pracice and you'll be fine. Just start out easy and do aurora isles or something like that. Then go do candlestick keep, then arenas, then FSC, and lastly, danger rooms. Gradual difficulty increase always works. Just remember:
Try not to get hit. (Tanking works as well as a winmillion in T3.)
If you've been playing defensively since T2, you can go far.
When I gained my T3 clearance, I was using 2 weapon slots - Super Blaster and Tempered Calibur, Elemental Hood, Horned Owlite and Dusker Coat. I immediately used the mist tank and entered it. I invited the friend I completed T2 with, who doesn't have T3 clearance yet and was in 2-3* gears (Calibur, Defender and Chromalisk armor). That's T3 for the first time for both of us, we decided to check it out and go as far as we could.
It was mostly clockwork levels, some wolvers but no fiends. We each died once (HP revive) and made it to the terminal. At that point we unlocked the party and waited for stronger players to join. The first who came look strong enough, so we continued. The three of us made it to the Core without energy revive.
After readin' all this I wonder if the OP hasn't just given up and stuck with JK e.e...
Did anyone ask if you were working on armor and shield with elemental/pierce/shadow protection?
"Just got T3 clearance! Anything I should be ready for?"
Trolls.
Yeah, I find the Trojans to be one of the easier parts of FSC. Can't wait to get my hands on a BTB recipe.
...the only problem is when a Trojan occasionally traps me against a corner. At that point, I'm dead unless I have a teammate kind enough to get it out of my face.
Although the stupidest thing I've done in Teir 3 is accidentally head up halfway through FSC... Thankfully one of my Guild-Masters was in the party so I was able to get back. He unfortunately then had to leave, and we wiped without him so it didn't matter anyway.
Yesterday, since I couldn't get to the Warden, one of my cool Guildmates went down to emberlight and invited me down so I could have a little chat with the warden.
Needless to say, I now hate Scarlet Fortress. The cramped areas, coupled with the T3 Kats, was just awful.
I got to the first level of FSC, then I got run over by spike wheels. I lagged so hard, for some reason my little signal bar went red all the time, and I lagged into every attack possible. :(
Good thing is, Basil now only sells good recipes for a change. Problem is, I couldn't afford them.
Also, since when was the first revive cost 10 energy?
As far as I know, the first revive in T3 has always been 10 energy. It's 2, 5, 10 for Tiers 1-3, respectively.
T3 Basil doesn't only sell good recipes (or maybe he just hates me?), there's plenty of unpopular 4* and 5* recipes he can stock.
I normally have okay connection in Clockwords, but FSC just kills my framerate and I start lagging. One solution is to turn graphics down to low there, and maybe change your AA setting as well.
T1 first rev = 2 energies, T2 first rev = 5 energies, T3 first rev = 10 energies.
It is a big jump, in my opinion. You'll now get the full elemental and shadow damage.