Spiral Knights - Menders

Menders

21 replies [Last post]

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 15:42

Pokenuevo

Those pesky little gremlins that heal the other monsters you need to defeat. I'm wondering how people deal with menders, especially in smaller areas that may have powerful constructs (such as lumber). I had an annoying experience with this today, every room had a mender along with some tough constructs. Since it was depth 28, it was tough, but I managed to get through. The menders would always put the barrier up, causing me to not be able to kill it. Then, the other monsters gang up and attack me while the gremlin then continues to heal itself and others.
So what do you all do to get around these little annoyances?

Personally, I'll usually get them first with my final flourish, then go after others. However, this does not work well in small rooms, and I'll lure monsters away from the mender and then go after it. So what're your thoughts? (Note: Don't tell me I'm whining because I'm just curious. In fact, in that depth I got two Shadow Steels.)

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 15:44

Alpha-Stevo

I always split the mender

I always split the mender from the group and take him out. If there's a group of enemies, I circle them until I find an opening to the Mender.

And then BAM! Charge attack!

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 15:46

Thimol

-----

Back in they day, when the menders weren't deer staring into headlights, I'd shoot them with my trusty Callahan to immobilize them then have my way with them with my Faust.
Failing that, I'd just time my attacks right with relation to their strafing i.e. I'd strike after they did that fkkin strafe thing.

Now, you can just go after them like they were gun puppies.

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 15:46

Warlordx

Knock em down with callahan,

Knock em down with callahan, finish off with silent nightblade.

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 15:47

Shidara

There is always a way

I just wail on their barrier until it shatters. If threatening mobs are closing in, you might want to lure them away before you resume your assault. Whip out a Handgun if you have one and keep shooting at the barrier whilst moving around. If the enemies are weak and you're not in a multiman party you can even attempt to dispose of some of them to get a little more room to deal with the mender.

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 15:49

Pokenuevo

So Callahan seems popular

So I see replies saying to use the Callahan. I've never used it, but now it sparks my interest! Also, I was solo. I forgot to mention that. The question was more designated for those who dealt with the mass of enemies by themselves.

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 15:53

Shidara

Callahan and Iron Slug

The Callahan and Iron Slug are capable of knocking down enemies, making them useful for disabling menders for a short period of time, making them susceptible for a finishing blow with a shadow weapon of your choice.

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 15:54

Bopp

charge shadow or piercing weapon

The ultimate example of this is part 3 of an arena, where there is a horde of monsters, with two Tier 3 gremlin menders in the middle. A shadow (or piercing, or normal, or Sentenza) gun can be used to snipe the menders, but I rarely carry a gun. A Venom Veiler, Ash of Agni, or Voltaic Tempest can be used to neutralize the menders, and I sometimes do this. But often I have only swords on me. So I charge up my shadow sword (piercing works well too) and plunge very carefully into the crowd to one-shot one or both menders. It's thrilling and not really very safe.

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 15:57

Axonio

I don't kill menders, it makes the game more challenging and fun to play. I do bump them away with my shield and freeze or stun them with vials.

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 15:57

Myllakka

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I usually just aim at all the mobs (so more or less ignoring the menders) when I solo, like the lazy bum I am. It's easy to get someone to zero in on menders when you have a team, but I almost never carry my Callahan, so I just aim charges or shots at everything, and the menders die eventually. Not the best way to deal with healers, but I find that trying to isolate menders while kiting the other mobs can take even longer, especially if the mobs have long reach like lumbers. In things like Wolvers Den, I just aim a couple of BTB charges at menders + wolvers, and the menders go down in about two charges.

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 16:04

#10

Gwenyvier

Callahan works well on

Callahan works well on Menders, as does the Acheron charge. If solo even a Glacius charge can take them down as they're fairly weak. As for Lumbers with them the easiest way is to bait the Lumbers. Run right in front of the Lumber, you don't even have to stop, and it'll start its attack, leaving it wide open and not pestering you as you go off to kill the Mender.

~Gwen

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 16:44

#11

Culture

Hmm

An important note, when the Mender is doing his "heal something" animation he's immobile for a moment and won't dodge. So what I'll do is damage a nearby enemy to trigger the heal action then just take them out. I think the most annoying part of killing Menders is just trying to chase them down.

Guns do work well, but I don't use guns much. Sentenza will cause them to constantly dodge back in a predictable manner that is easy to follow. Also when dodging they can't heal and undo your hard work.

A solo bomber you can drop a Nitro to disperse the crowd. Knocking Menders into a corner repeatedly is quite enjoyable. With a Venom Veiler you can just have them commit murder/suicide, but it takes a little longer than other methods.

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 18:39

#12

Evilnut

- With strong weapons you can

- With strong weapons you can simply out damage their heals. Combuster work great on all non-fire levels, I've done it solo in T3 arenas.
- Poison other mobs. Then the menders will do the killing for you.
- Curse the menders.

Also note that mender AI give healing/resurrecting other menders a high priority. If you manage to shield bump one mender away from the crowd, kill it. Other menders nearby will rush to its rescue, giving you the chance to kill them.

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 19:17

#13

Misten

Bring

Bring Biohazard. Watch the friendly mender kill all the mobs for you.

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 20:02

#14

Tengu

personally, I head straight

personally, I head straight for them. It's puppies>healers>everything else usually. If they throw that shield up, just keep hitting it, but don't sacrifice yourself to get it dead with one salvo.

Thu, 02/09/2012 - 03:25

#15

Shortnstubby

If I have a curse vial I will

If I have a curse vial I will be sure to make my self a direct line to throw it at the menders then smack a few mobs then proceed to watch them heal themselves to death quite funny actually. Or most of the time I will just out dps the healers till there is very few mobs left then take out healers then clean up remaining few mobs. I would say the only time I go straight for healers is if its a t3 arena last phase of 3rd arena and its all bombers and the gremling with the shields that are annoying to hit. Other tactic I've used is just drop a poision bomb and let healers be your friends and dps for you and just run around dropping bomb. There is my 3 ways to deal with menders when solo or even in a group.

Thu, 02/09/2012 - 04:14

#16

Metagenic

Hmm

Use the Blackhawk, it's way underrated

Thu, 02/09/2012 - 04:48

#17

Toastnaut

<3 Menders

I would never DREAM of killing menders. In tier 3, especially arenas I am mightily tempted to use the kick button on party members who kill them off prematurely.

Menders are my closest and best friends in the clockworks, for you see I have a Venom Veiler.

There exists in Spiral Knights no weapon more sinister or cunning (OR as high DPS in the right circumstances.)
When menders show up, I simply plop one or two down, and do my best to shield bump the menders out of harm's way so that they can kill EVERYTHING else for me. Then I drop another bomb, and then sometimes another.
I don't stop laying out my field of poison until the menders have dispatched all (or most) of the other enemies in the area, and sometimes themselves/each other (when I'm lucky enough to meet more than one of them at once) as well. Then I pull out Acheron and a few quick swipes shows my thanks for their help.

Ohhhhh, sometimes this game makes me feel so evil. >:-D

(Biohazard works well too, but it takes a bit more work. :P)

Failing that, as pointed out above, Acheron (for gremlins) and Combuster (for constructs) easily out DPS' their healing even with large groups. With smaller numbers of enemies I use a strong piercing or shadow weapon to single them out, or callahan to juggle them around. Blast bombs work well to isolate them too. Place one near the mender when he's healing something, and place each consecutive bomb a short distance ahead of where he will land, so that you can keep bouncing him around (and knocking back other enemies) until you've dealt with him.

Thu, 02/09/2012 - 05:24

#18

Lukehandkooler

Using the mechknights

Using the mechknights tendence to stop and shield when shot at is a valid way to jam them all up or kind of "herd" them so to speak and get the majority of them offset to provide larger openings in 3/3 arena.

Also laying down some healthy collateral damage rather than focusing on them alone at first will make them heal more and in turn root them selves more often to preform their heals. When carrying out their heal animation they cannot move.

Thu, 02/09/2012 - 11:57

#19

Tom-Awsm

Sentenza actually does a good

Sentenza actually does a good job of taking out menders, if you have good aim. It's probably not worth crafting one just for that purpose, but if you have one lying around it's fairly easy to circle the mobs and keep shooting the menders until they flip.

Thu, 02/09/2012 - 12:25

#20

Nordlead

my favorite technique is to

my favorite technique is to not let the mender put the barrier up in the first place. A well aimed Acheron charge will do the trick, or if you have the time a full combo works even better.

a VV paired with some other damaging bomb (say VT or AoA) work awesome because the menders are inclined to heal the slightly damaged mobs. I don't have a VV, but I use the same technique by throwing poison vials.

Thu, 02/09/2012 - 12:46

#21

Wodanct

Most of the time I play in 2

Most of the time I play in 2 or 3 player parties.. but I don't see many problems with menders. Maybe its because I'm usually always using MAX damage but I just kill whatever gets in my way first. >.> (Unless in arena then any turret type enemy has to die first :V ) I only have 3 weapon slots so I carry one Elemental, one pierce or shadow weapon, and one gun.

But yeah.. most of the time the healer can't even heal my target before I drop them. :/

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