Hami Question & Misc. Content

[warrock]

So I've never participated in any sort of Hamidon content. I actually only stumbled upon 'The Hive' by accident yesterday and almost faceplanted into a Monster with my defender. What really surprised though was seeing an entire map full. I asked someone about it and they said it's for Hamidon raiding? I've always known it was a part of the game but didn't think people ran still. I've been playing for little over a year now and I've never seen any sort of "Hami raid forming" in lfg or that sort. I'm not even quite sure how good hamidon enhancements are? In comparison to a boosted IO which is what I usually find in most builds.

 

All of the content I run at 50 typically consists of PI missions, incarnate trials, task forces, or AE farming. It pretty much boils down to whatever the flavor is in the LFG that day vs. if I feel like soloing.

 

In opposite fashion, the list more or less goes like this for 'content I'm ultimately unfamiliar with but am curious about' :

HamiRaid/MSR - Giant Monster Killing - Signature Story Arcs - Tip Missions -  DA/RWZ Missions - Badges/Accolades - Flashback System(good story arcs)

 

Any sort of $0.02 would be appreciated. Reading hcwiki/paragonwiki isn't terrible for this sort of question but sometimes I burn out with the mass of content that's available. Even grabbing exploration badges has been relatively new, which is how I ran into Eden and subsequently 'The Hive' in the first place.

 

Thanks HC.

Edited January 19, 2021 by warrock

[Apparition]

What shard are you playing on?  Hamidon raids are ran every day on at least Excelsior, Indomitable, and Everlasting.  Unsure about Torchbearer and Reunion.

 

Some Hamidon origin enhancements are very useful.  They're a good way of boosting multiple effects.  Especially since boosting non-purple and non-PvP IO enhancements means you no longer get the set bonus while malefactoring down.

 

MSRs are also regularly ran on Excelsior, Indomitable, and Everlasting.  Both zone and instanced MSRs are run on Excelsior, only instanced MSRs are run on Indomitable, while only zone MSRs are ran on Everlasting.  They're a great way to get Incarnate threads and a decent source of reward merits.  Zone MSRs, you can join at level one.  Instanced MSRs require you to be level 35+ and have the Member of Vanguard badge, but have several advantages over the zone MSR.

 

What is it that you would like to know about giant monsters?

 

There are two signature story arcs.  They start out differently depending on which side you play it on, (red side or blue side).  Both are excellent and well worth doing.

 

Tip missions aren't run as much these days as they were prior to sunset, but they're nice alternatives and a good source of reward merits.

 

Dark Astoria is for Incarnates only, meaning you need to be level 50.  It was originally intended as a solo method of gaining Incarnate abilities for those who were/are averse to Incarnate trials.

 

What is that you would like to know about RWZ missions, and badges and accolades?  Those are quite varied.

 

Blue side, all of the Faultline story arcs are well worth doing as they are the best content in that side of the game, IMO.

 

Red side, I recommend Veluta Lunata (ghost pirates!), The Radio, Seer Marino, Doc Buzzsaw, Darrin Wade, Vincent Ross, Slot Machine, Television, among others.

Edited January 19, 2021 by Apparition

[warrock]

Quote

Hamidon raids are ran every day on at least Excelsior, Indomitable, and Everlasting

That just made me so sad 😞 I feel like it's a struggle finding group content. I play on Excelsior. How do I go about joining one? Or am I just blind in the LFG channel.

Quote

What is it that you would like to know about giant monsters?

I... don't know how/when/where they spawn 😕. When I see one advertised in channel I haul ass to make it to the zone and then run around hoping I make it in time. I'll ask for location and on most occasions I'll get ignored - which I chalk up as getting the noob treatment.

Quote

There are two signature story arcs.  They start out differently depending on which side you play it on, (red side or blue side).  Both are excellent and well worth doing.

Something about weekly rewards? Or am I getting that confused for something else.

Quote

What is that you would like to know about RWZ missions, and badges and accolades?  Those are quite varied.

From my understanding, the alternative to Peregrine Island would be RWZ and DA in terms of repeatable missions but I don't see that variation. But yeah putting badges and accolades is super subjective hahaha I'm going to strike that out.

 

Thanks for the reply~

[Placta]

35 minutes ago, warrock said:

I've been playing for little over a year now and I've never seen any sort of "Hami raid forming" in lfg or that sort.

Adding to what Apparition said: On Excelsior, at least, enough people know when the Hami raids start (I believe 10 PM Eastern is the official start time) and trickle into the Hive in the hour before that the zone fills with no need to recruit.

Edited January 19, 2021 by Placta

[Apparition]

18 minutes ago, warrock said:

That just made me so sad 😞 I feel like it's a struggle finding group content. I play on Excelsior. How do I go about joining one? Or am I just blind in the LFG channel.

I... don't know how/when/where they spawn 😕. When I see one advertised in channel I haul ass to make it to the zone and then run around hoping I make it in time. I'll ask for location and on most occasions I'll get ignored - which I chalk up as getting the noob treatment.

Something about weekly rewards? Or am I getting that confused for something else.

From my understanding, the alternative to Peregrine Island would be RWZ and DA in terms of repeatable missions but I don't see that variation. But yeah putting badges and accolades is super subjective hahaha I'm going to strike that out.

 

Thanks for the reply~

 

 

Like Placta said above, on Excelsior Hamidon raids aren't advertised because the zone always fills up before even the official start time, so there's no need to.  The official start time is at 10 P.M. ET/7 P.M. PT, but I advise being in The Hive at least a half hour early.

 

Most blue side giant monsters spawn on timers, typically every four to six hours.  Kraken spawns in Perez Park.  Babbage spawns in Boomtown, and also in Skyway City during Synapse Task Forces.  Jurassik spawns in Crey's Folly.  Jack in Irons and Eochai spawn in Croatoa.  Lusca spawns in Independence Port.

 

There is also the Kronos Titan, which typically spawns in Founders', and is a result of running a story arc from Crimson.  Also the Council Goliath War Walker in Boomtown, which is intentionally spawned by defeating 20 regular Council War Walkers.

 

Red side giant monsters include Deathsurge in Cap au Diable, Ghost of Scrapyard in Sharkhead Isle, and Caleb in Nerva.  Unlike blue side, all three are intentionally spawned instead of random.  You spawn Deathsurge by defeating 100 gremlins in Cap au Diable, (takes about 35 minutes solo).  You spawn Ghost of Scrapyard by defeating 100 Scrapyarders in Sharkhead (which takes only a few minutes at level 50).  You spawn Caleb by defeating 100 spectral daemons in Nerva but only during daylight.

 

Co-op GMs include Adamastor (can be intentionally summoned once per hour in Echo: Dark Astoria by clicking on a temp power), and the Seed of Hamidon in First Ward.  The Seed of Hamidon spawns every hour (I believe), and is the hardest GM in the game.  It can be done with a full team of level 50 characters.

[Psyonico]

Something about weekly rewards? Or am I getting that confused for something else.

There is at least 1 TF per side that is listed as the Weekly Task Force/Strike Force.  Completing these gives you double merits as well as either an XP bonus or (if you're level 50) a Notice of the Well, which is used for higher-tier Alpha slotting.  Note you can only get these bonuses once per week.

 

To find out what the current weekly TF is on your side, on the chat window, click "LFG" the one that is in purple is the weekly TF.

[nihilii]

56 minutes ago, warrock said:

When I see one advertised in channel I haul ass to make it to the zone and then run around hoping I make it in time.

Do you mean when people advertise it in LFG? Just in case: for GMs, you can add the hero/villain event channels to your chat tab. It will give you a located warning whenever a Monster spawns.

[Sakai]

How do you get the Temp power to summon Adamastor?

Edited January 19, 2021 by Sakai

[GuardianSaint]

There isn't a temp power to summon Adamastor.  It is on a one hour timer, which begins upon his being defeated.  Once he is ready to be spawned, a new tray will open up in your power window with a button to summon Adamastor.  Click the power button and Adamastor will appear after several seconds.

[TheZag]

15 minutes ago, Sakai said:

How do you get the Temp power to summon Adamastor?

If you go to the spot for Adamastor and the tray with the power doesnt pop up then kill a few banished pantheon nearby.  Thats what is says to do when you click the '?' .  My fresh tank didnt have it pop up on his first run until i did.

[Greycat]

10 hours ago, warrock said:

In opposite fashion, the list more or less goes like this for 'content I'm ultimately unfamiliar with but am curious about' :

HamiRaid/MSR - Giant Monster Killing - Signature Story Arcs - Tip Missions -  DA/RWZ Missions - Badges/Accolades - Flashback System(good story arcs)

If you're on Everlasting, there are several Hamidon raids done every day, as well as at least two mothership raids (done by Chaos United.) They're always advertised in the LFG channel. They start in the afternoon, run into the evening. And other ones will pop up on occasion.

 

Let's see.

 

Hami Raid:

Raid the Hamidon. Giant hero-eating blob, if it can manage. AKA "Jello."

Level 45+ - usually involves a full or nearly full league. (Has been done with as few as 8, but typically needs much more. Has been one shotted once due to a bug way back on live. Peacebringer 1, Hamidon 0.)

Location: The Hive (far end of Eden, itself in the corner of Founders Falls,) the Abyss (from Grandville or a sub in Peregrine Island.)

 

Items of note:

 

Essence of Earth - special inspirations that protect against Hamidon's unique damage. Gained through the auction house or fighting (with the league) the DE monsters in the zone. You'll want several (rule of thumb seems to be "have four." But they can build up so you'll end up with spares after a raid or two.)

 

Reward choices:

40 (80 the first run on any specific character per day) Reward merits.

4 Empyrian merits (must be 50.)

Hami-o enhancement (must be 50.)

Also "buddy" badge for killing 100 of the Hamidon buds that spawn after defeat.

 

Mostly - at least on Everlasting - pay attention to Request. Figure out which group you're in (melee/ranged/holds/taunt,) follow whoever's designated targeter, melee/blast/hold what they target. (Target through them.) Watch request for when to attack (and stop attacking) Hami, or anything special about the raid. It'll seem a bit chaotic at first. Jetpacks advised if you don't have fly.

 

MSR: Mothership Raid

Location: Rikti War Zone. Accessible through multiple zones (or the teleporter, or base teleport.) Look for the white circle with the "V" on the map. (Atlas, Founders, PI, Cap au Diable, ... I'm actually forgetting the other zones, probably Grandville, sure someone will mention them.)

Level: Any level. If you're 35+, do the introduction to vanguard arc from Levantra to get Vanguard merits for defeating Rikti. (You'll get these whether you defeat Rikti in the zone or elsewhere.)

 

Rewards: XP, inf. 6 reward merits if you're there in the bowl (center of the ship) pretty much when the GM, U'kon G'rey, is taken down. 6 more (and "Welcome to Earth") badge if you're close when / if the dropship is taken down. Vanguard merits if you have Member of Vanguard.

One explore badge in the center of the "bowl" of the mothership, once the shield's down. (so, in a way, 5 more merits once you get all the explore badges there.)

 

Jetpack's handy if you don't have fly.

 

Take out the pylons (same ones people use to test their DPS builds, yes) around the mothership. Get on said ship. Break down the grates on the sides to plant bombs. Try not to get killed. Rush the bowl when told, kill rikti for 20-30 minutes. Get XP. Get merits.

Of special note, if you have an AOE repel power (hurricane, force bubble,) do *NOT* turn it on in the bowl unless you want to become suddenly very unpopular.

Higher level tanks will go out and taunt mobs to bring them into the meat grinder the rest of the league makes in the middle. There are usually a few people with healing auras hanging out there, too, to try to keep you alive. Fire at anything that isn't a player.

 

Special note: While you'll probably start converting Vanguard merits to reward merits (30:1 ratio) eventually, there are a few things you can buy directly with them. There's a "storage sack" increase for salvage (500, IIRC.) A Vanguard HVAS (250.) A psi bomb (3 charges, I don't know that people really pick this up.) And... Nectembo's Curse Breaker. This is something to pick up for two things - the Vanguard arcs (as the third one... Gaussian, as I recall - has you fighting rogue Vanguard) and the Mender Ramiel arc you use to unlock Alpha. This specifically counters the Curse of Weariness, which cuts your END pool in half for 5 minutes. (Non stacking, fortunately.) It's particularly annoying if it hits during that alpha unlock.... There used to be more items (Vanguard costume pieces,) but fortunately those are now just part of the costume editor from the get-go.

 

Giant monsters:

 

Don't know where they are? Go to your general tab (or create a tab) with hero and/or villain zone event alerts. Several zones, blueside, will have something. (Perez park - Kraken. Boomtown: Council war walker, Babbage. Kings Row (north) - Paladin (generally broken, honestly.) Indy Port: Lusca (takes a bit longer, you fight each tentacle independently.) Echo: DA - Adamastor. Talos or IP - Ghost ship (you fight the ghosts, not th eship. Not really a GM.) Croatoa: Eochai and Jack in Irons.  Crey's Folly: Jurassik... and the list goes on. Yes, I know, didn't touch villainside. Scrapyard, Caleb, Arachnos flyer, Deathsurge... Just watch that channel. or check the wiki.)

 

Rewards: For most, 6 merits (and a badge the first time you kill them.) Lusca's sort of multiple GMs (you have to defeat the tentacles, too,) but it's 6m for the entire encounter. Sally, in Croatoa, some might list under GMs, but she's literally taken down with brawl. Do so several times for a badge.

The ghost ship, again, isn't really a "GM" and you won't get merits. XP, if in range for the ghosts, and a badge (Ectoplasmic) for killing... I think it's 100 of them.

 

Sometimes people will come up with GM hunting teams. The ones I've seen can last from 30-60 minutes, frequently, and will go through several monsters... so you'll get some merits built up that way.

 

Side note, several of the encounters' badges are also required for various accolades. I'm just going to say "check the wiki."

 

Signature Story Arcs

 

There are two overall story arcs, "Who will die" (SSA 1, some people are grumpy about this one,) and "Pandora's box," made up of several contacts and their own arcs. Of the rewards for these, you'll... probably go for the reward merits. Once every 6.5 days, the reward table (for each individual arc) will give you the option for 4x merits - so, for "who will die" episode one (3 missions, I've got a mini guide for it in the guides section) you'll get a choice of 20 merits, 5 merits (if you've taken the 20,) 4 threads (if you're 50) or an accuracy SO. (or one other thing that's ... also underwhelming.)

 

Going to just point to the wiki again, look up the SSA names for who to talk to and where they are. 🙂

 

 

Tip Missions:

 

Tips drop after you hit level 20. These will show up in your contacts under "tips." This was the old way of changing alignment, and you have to go through the "cycle" of hero - vigilante-villain-rogue-hero if you want to change from one to the other. (Null the Gull will just let you change.) You can have up to three (plus the halloween tip, which does nothing for alignment.) Accept the tip, decide if you're going to do it as (for instance) a hero or vigilante (it will explain which option does what, then ask you to confirm.) After ten tips, you get a morality mission which will reaffirm (or change) your alignment. There's a merit reward (40, I think) for that. Plus you get a temp power (after a period of time.) Badge, too, as I recall.

 

DA/RWZ missions:

Are ... simply missions in Dark Astoria or the Rikti War Zone. Mostly used for leveling if you're not 50 - you'll join a team and run them. Once you're working on incarnate stuff, you'll do DA missions to get components - there's a repeatable mission giver in DA. (There's also one in the RWZ, but not incarnate specific.)

 

You'll get the contact when you're 35 (RWZ) or 50 (DA,) respecitively.

 

FLashback system:

... is what Ouroboros is all about. Go through their intro, they do some explaining. Go to the little crystals in the main tower, you'll be able to pick a level range and look for missions you've outleveled. Good for seeing content you missed, grabbing badges you missed (there are also badges for the content and some difficulty settings, as well.) There's also Ouro specific contacts - run Twilight Son's arc once you have some levels under your belt.

 

That should be a ... maybe not *quick,* but reasonable overview of those. Remember, the wiki's your friend....

 

[Ironblade]

15 hours ago, Greycat said:

Reward choices:

40 (80 the first run on any specific character per day) Reward merits.

4 Empyrian merits (must be 50.)

Hami-o enhancement (must be 50.)

Pretty sure you only need to be level 47 for the HO - i.e. the level at which you can slot a Hamidon enhancement.

[Greycat]

1 hour ago, Ironblade said:

Pretty sure you only need to be level 47 for the HO - i.e. the level at which you can slot a Hamidon enhancement.

I'm fairly sure it didn't give me the choice on my last high-40. That said I have a character at 47 now - I'll have to run her over to one.