Are Mayhem Missions Bugged?

[Fista]

Just ran a 3 person Mayhem and we had a never ending stream of Longbow. It was a real pain in the ass. Seemed like they were spawning every 30 seconds or so for a while.  What should their spawn rate be?

[Razor Cure]

No they aren't bugged. They are just super stacked against the vills, in the same way other things are (accolades, more tfs, contacts with ENTIRE arcs of good farmable maps) much easier on blueside. Mayhems can be utterly insane, even when decked out at level 50.

[SarahTheM1]

Mayhem missions can act funky if you try to zip around and skip over parts of the map. Fly straight to the bank at your own risk.

 

On top of specific scripted spawns (ie, when the named hero spawns to stop you at the bank) there's also generic Longbow ambushes that come at certain intervals so if you don't clear them out as they spawn (always signaled by some dialogue) they might build up and suddenly oops now there's infinite Longbow pouring through the door.

 

Additionally, if you get the Pawn Shop side mission, every single security system that's triggered will spawn its own Longbow ambush(es) so if you're not careful or methodical about it you can suddenly be faced with a huge army of 'em.

[Bubblehead]

One good clue that you have a Longbow spawn is when you have the bonus time for resisting arrest pop up but haven't just taken down some police. Those Longbow spawns will chase you all over the map, even into doors.  Best to just stop and wait for them, or else you will end up with wave after wave.

[Erydanus]

Basically there's a whole army of Longbow placed somewhere, like on the rooftop of the bank.

 

If you move through the mission slowly and work your way to the bank you may trigger a few at a time to come attack you. If you beeline to the bank you may trip several. If you do a quick circuit around the map and go to the bank you may trip them all.

 

We used to trip them all. Deliberately. Fighting a hundred longbow is a lot easier when you know they're coming and the entire team has precast the good buffs, laid down trip mines, traps, tar patches, etc. Then the entrance to the bank becomes a killing field.

 

I once made a music video for it. Pity I don't still have it. ;)

[joyispunkrolex]

I think you get 3 waves of X Longbow as you head to the bank. They don't all show up at once and if you can't take them down quickly, they will overwhelm. There's also a crap ton of variability in Longbow Boss-class mobs that often makes them more dangerous than EBs from other factions, so any group big enough or set high enough to add bosses to the mix is going to have issues unless they're buffed up and ready to deal with it. Longbow has a spoiler for every weakness and you WILL run in to yours eventually. They're no joke!

 

Like everybody else said, don't just beeline to the bank. Take the spawns one at a time unless you know you're able to handle it.

[Chuckers]

Watch your npc chatter, they will announce something like "Freeze Villain" and that means they're coming after you. They spawn when you pass specific spots on the map. So, if you zip to the bank, you'll have every spawn you pass coming after you, including the bank door spawn. I watch for the message, then wait for their arrival and take them down before moving on. Once you've defogged part of the map, they won't spawn again in the defogged areas.

 

When you solo a mayhem, you get 2 longbow per spawn. However, when you add teammates, you get more for each member. They will follow you in and out of doors.

 

One thing I like to do, I have my npc chatter in my main chat window, is after I get a "Freeze Villain" I will spam my battle cry. That way there's a marker between each spawn message.

 

You will also get a longbow spawn each time you enter a side mission and the bank. So, I wait at the door to take them out so they're not added to mix inside. When you break the vault, you get a spawn of police, longbow with hero, and then more police after you defeat the hero on your way out.