Well, devs, my favorite TF is no longer fun to solo.

[nihilii]

Admittedly I haven't played the ITF since the bugfix. But I remember soloing the ITF just fine on Live. Although probably not regularly on +4.

But even on +4, I see no reason the problem couldn't be solved through the tactical or the strategical approach.

 

Tactical: don't let romans clump up. Use knockback, repel. Jump away. Aggressively kill them one by one before they're all in melee. Dispatch most of the minions at once with a strong AoE opening. There's options there.

Strategical: slot for accuracy and tohit. We complain about power creep, but a large reason of that power creep is builds being increasingly optimized and *greedy*. Shooting for barely 95% chance to hit against undefended +4s. Procs procs procs. A build slotting full sets, with meaty accuracy bonuses, running a mix of Tactics, Kismet, Focused Accuracy, and with Build Up or Aim also taking a full set, is going to be fine most of the time.

TBH, I have a feeling even a "greedy" 2021 build would be OK just popping Build Up/Aim and killing minions during those 10 seconds. Focusing on lieutenants/bosses during the ~20s of recharge.

 

[Bionic_Flea]

1 hour ago, nihilii said:

Strategical:

[Werner]

2 hours ago, nihilii said:

TBH, I have a feeling even a "greedy" 2021 build would be OK just popping Build Up/Aim and killing minions during those 10 seconds. Focusing on lieutenants/bosses during the ~20s of recharge.

That tactic works for me, but my build is more old school, less greedy 2021. I have significantly over 95% to hit undefended +4s, and only one to two procs in each attack. When not built up, I like to focus on minotaurs, cyclopes, and Kheldians if there are any. I'm a little slower, but I feel like the more I get used to it, the less time I'm losing. I guess doing some speed runs would give me an idea how much it's slowing me down.

[Bill Z Bubba]

2 hours ago, Werner said:

That tactic works for me, but my build is more old school, less greedy 2021. I have significantly over 95% to hit undefended +4s, and only one to two procs in each attack. When not built up, I like to focus on minotaurs, cyclopes, and Kheldians if there are any. I'm a little slower, but I feel like the more I get used to it, the less time I'm losing. I guess doing some speed runs would give me an idea how much it's slowing me down.

 

You people just don't get it.

 

I'm old! I yell at clouds! I'm resistant to change! I miss having an onion on my belt! My gaming rig's motherboard is dead and the replacement is stuck at some port! I moved my 1080 to a freakin precision server just so I could log in! I'm getting 24FPS in Cimerora proper on a good day! Dogs and cats are LITERALLY living together in my new house which was built in freaking 1898!

 

/breathes

 

Yes, I can still do it with no changes to the build. Yes, it takes longer and is less fun due to the whiffing. Yes, I can change tactics and slow myself down even more to at least see less whiffing but the end outcome is the same. Or I could respec a bit (it's never a bit, it's time consuming.) But gods below... the extra effort...

 

That said, gonna go solo a standard max diff, no insps, no temps and I'll report back with the time. Best time so far with my shield/em tank was 1.25 hours. Sorry, Werner, enemies were not buffed and they won't be this time either!

[Bionic_Flea]

12 hours ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

Yes, I can change tactics and slow myself down even more to at least see less whiffing but the end outcome is the same. Or I could respec a bit (it's never a bit, it's time consuming.) But gods below... the extra effort...

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by Bionic_Flea

[Hew]

4 hours ago, Bionic_Flea said:

Thats a word, right? Because I hear it in my head, and think Vizinni.

[Bill Z Bubba]

1hr23mins

Max diff, no temps, no insps edit: and no amps!

I guess that's still mildly tolerable.

And I got lucky pull on 2nd mish with the straight path map.

Edited September 28, 2021 by Bill Z Bubba

[Sovera]

22 minutes ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

1hr23mins

Max diff, no temps, no insps edit: and no amps!

I guess that's still mildly tolerable.

And I got lucky pull on 2nd mish with the straight path map.

 

You big baby you.

[Bill Z Bubba]

2 minutes ago, Sovera said:

You big baby you.

 

[Aurora_Girl]

2 hours ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

I'm old! I yell at clouds! I'm resistant to change! I miss having an onion on my belt! My gaming rig's motherboard is dead and the replacement is stuck at some port! I moved my 1080 to a freakin precision server just so I could log in! I'm getting 24FPS in Cimerora proper on a good day! Dogs and cats are LITERALLY living together in my new house which was built in freaking 1898!

 

This is going in the BillZ Hall of Fame. 

[VoidSpawn2]

I regret the thread necro, @Bill Z Bubba, but after reading many of your ITF threads, I decided to take the plunge. And it was fun. (Probably due to my being ignorant of the subtleties of the ITF prior to its refactoring; this is only my second, third, and fourth runs of it since I returned to Homecoming.)

 

RUN 1: I created a hybrid of yours and @Werner's SD Tank. For my first run, I ran SD/EM, fully IO'd, with all of the four major accolades, but only one Incarnate, a T3 Alpha. I ran by normal rules only, because I know better than even to try at harder levels, or with many handicaps. This means 0/8, with neither bonuses nor handicaps for anyone. I employed the temp END power a few times, and popped a few blues along the way. However, with those exceptions, that's how I ran it. (The large INSPs on the screenie are leveling bonuses. I popped right there at the end.) Also, I lost 15 minutes on one map looking for the last general. Someone in Help guided me through how to deal with that. 

 

The most unusual delta here was my being able to directly attack the AVs, while paying no heed to the adds. The adds just eventually melted. Even the three Nictus AVs plus the final AV were herded together and whittled down. 

 

 

RUN 2: For this run, I mirrored the same conditions, as per above (all IOs, four major accolades, one T3 Alpha, etc.). This time I ran an SR/DM. It wasn't even hit very much, but it failed to take down the first AV due to damage constraints, so I cancelled that run. It's going to require damage boosting Incarnate powers, and external help (Lores, etc.), to get its damage up to AV-snuffing range (in comfortable time). 

 

RUN 3: I ran up an SD/SS Tanker. Same parameters. The single target damage was in the same ballpark as the EM's, overall. It did, however, have moments when the +RECH proc in its Hand Clap would add some very nifty damage spikes. Also, the crowd control from its multiple AoEs (procced Hand Clap, Foot Stomp, and Shield Charge) basically popcorned every Bad Guy near it, virtually all of the time, reducing the opportunity for them to try to damage my toon.

 

This toon was also able to stack and whittle down the final AVs, right there at the top of the stairs, for all gathered to witness. 

 

The caveat here is that, during the final crystal in the second mish, I was distracted from the keyboard for a few minutes. When I returned, the crystal was gone, and everything, including my toon, was dead. So, I went back to base, burned off my full Salvage hoard (this is just a test!), and returned to visit doom on the Bad Guys. 

 

The time was much better this time. The major variables here versus RUN 1 were: More AoE; Base Buffs for one-half of the ITF; and my incremental exposure to the Task Force itself. 

 

This was my fourth ITF run since returning to Homecoming. Back on Live, I ran it only a few times before I left the game. That's when @Leandro had shown me how to get behind the walls and farm the warriors on top of the buildings with his new Archer Leo toon. Fun stuff. 

 

I could see how soloing this could easily become a total obsession. It's really fun. Especially with EM or the massive "THOOM!" of SS. 

 

So, I'm not complaining, if only because I don't know better what it was that I missed. 

 

Thanks for illustrating how much fun this is. 

 

- @VoidSpawn2    

 

[Aurora_Girl]

Should be noted though, with a T3 Alpha slotted, a +0 setting is actually a -1 in practice...you're definitely not going through the whiff-fest of Cimerora at -1. 

[Werner]

14 hours ago, VoidSpawn2 said:

I could see how soloing this could easily become a total obsession. It's really fun. Especially with EM or the massive "THOOM!" of SS. So, I'm not complaining, if only because I don't know better what it was that I missed. Thanks for illustrating how much fun this is. 

I suspect the T3 Alpha +0x8 experience is identical or nearly identical to what it was before. It's running +4x8 where we're sometimes seeing significantly reduced chances to hit. But either way, I agree - it's really fun! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

[Aurora_Girl]

Oh it's more than sometimes...running FA on my savage/Sr on +2, none of us could hit a damn thing. Was like the Naked Gun shootout. 

[FUBARczar]

It's not just about building for this or that. It's also about not being pigeon-holed into choosing focused accuracy on every build.  It is nice to have variety and choices.