Help With Tinpex

[WuTang]

Or Apemage, whatever your preferred name happens to be.

 

This isn't exactly a Brute question, but I'll be using my Brute experience as the example for the situation.
 

How do I survive the leviathans in the sewers on a melee? Toxic resist on many of my Brutes and Scrapper are very low, so is it just load up heavy on orange candies? My SR Brute doesn't stand a chance, though I sort of expected him to dodge more but newp dies just as fast. There a trick I'm missing?

 

And on Bobcat... She can 1 hit drop me at will. That a thing with her mechanics or again what am I missing?

 

If I use a range AT I have no problem with either situation.

 

Thanks!

[Lunar Ronin]

Most Apemage teams will run through the sewers, spiking the pylons and moving on.  If your team you are on is doing similarly, you don't engage the mobs.  Now that toxic defense is a thing, you either team with someone who gives +toxic defense, and/or team with someone who gives +toxic resistance, and/or team with someone who gives +absorb, or chew purple and orange candies, or have one or two people put up Barrier Destiny as soon as you enter the sewers, or buy defense and survival amplifiers as a last resort.

 

In regards to Bobcat, if Neuron is downed first, Bobcat will enrage and do a lot more damage.  The trick is to either take Bobcat down first, or get some absorb and/or defense and/or resistance from teammates or Barrier Destiny.

 

Basically, it comes down to teamwork, inspirations, and/or Destiny powers.

[WuTang]

11 minutes ago, Lunar Ronin said:

Most Apemage teams will run through the sewers, spiking the pylons and moving on.  If your team you are on is doing similarly, you don't engage the mobs.  Now that toxic defense is a thing, you either team with someone who gives +toxic defense, and/or team with someone who gives +toxic resistance, and/or team with someone who gives +absorb, or chew purple and orange candies, or have one or two people put up Barrier Destiny as soon as you enter the sewers, or buy defense and survival amplifiers as a last resort.

 

In regards to Bobcat, if Neuron is downed first, Bobcat will enrage and do a lot more damage.  The trick is to either take Bobcat down first, or get some absorb and/or defense and/or resistance from teammates or Barrier Destiny.

 

Basically, it comes down to teamwork, inspirations, and/or Destiny powers.

So don't use AOE on the pylons? lol And do Bobcat first... ok Yeah Neuron went down first the last few runs.

[lemming]

29 minutes ago, Lunar Ronin said:

The trick is to either take Bobcat down first,

Note, that avoids a badge.

 

But yes, Bobcat hits hard so an extra orange can help and teammates.

[lemming]

Pylons suck because of all the toxic.   My intro to that was with my electric/electric brute on live.  It was horrific.   Kill the pylons and the hydra go away.  Barrier is a good thing for that part of the trial, but inspirations can do the job as well.

[Hedgefund]

I say "same, same" with regards to the humility my elec/elec brute felt after the first time on this encounter.  

 

These days, when I've got a meleer  that's apt to grab a bunch of aggro and isn't strong to toxic, I'll pop Demonic the instant before attacking a pylon.  That should last through 2 pylons, maybe all 3 if your team rocks.

 

For ranged ATs, even those I typically play at melee I'll stay a safe distance and shoot the pylons from a spot where there are no rikti nor hydra.

[WuTang]

I appreciate all the replies!

[Doomguide2005]

     Remember first off. it's Incarnate content.  Your softcap just jumped by 14 points, it's now roughly 59% though I haven't double checked (that they're using Incarnate To Hit) in a while to be sure.  Usually, I move past the Pylon.  If I need to move away from the fight, I generally have more cover here where I can heal and or regroup.  Pulling the mobs this way also leaves the Pylon less protected for those who come behind.  They will have an easier time spiking the Pylon.  SR has very minimal resistance to Toxic damage.  My main is sitting at under 10.  Barrier helps but it tapers off fast (especially if you just started you Incarnate journey).

     Bobcat can be very painful stemming from primarily two things.  First, she's an Incarnate AV who gets an offensive boost when Her companion dies.  Second, she's Claws and uses Eviscerate.  This relatively unliked power in Claws by many Players has an increased chance to crit.  Under the right, if rare, circumstances can do enough damage to drop a Tanker at their Hit Point cap.  Fortunately, those rare circumstances include prior to recasting powers after death ... and unfortunately, she will potentially make a beeline for you should you rez in LoS too close even if teammates are in between.  How do I know, being the only melee on our team and having her just massacre me and briefly noting the 3000+ damage she inflicted on me (combat logs said 3600 or so iirc) after making said beeline to my rez location. Even in less rare conditions a Lvl 54 Incarnate AV getting a x3 crit will be quite painful.  Use Orange or as I realized a bit belatedly both Purple and Orange, make sure you defense, and resistances are capped if you are at all likely to draw aggro.  And if not make sure you not standing in any cone (Shockwave or Eviscerate) she might use.

[twozerofoxtrot]

Another tip for the Sewer portion (which won't help your SR brute, sorry) is that a lot of  melee set self-heals have a +Toxic Res portion that lasts a minute or two depending on your powerset. Using that heal as a buff before diving can help.

 

In a similar vein having a FF on the team is useful because the SLM def bubble has +Tox Res, too.

[Snarky]

10 hours ago, WuTang said:

Or Apemage, whatever your preferred name happens to be.

 

This isn't exactly a Brute question, but I'll be using my Brute experience as the example for the situation.
 

How do I survive the leviathans in the sewers on a melee? Toxic resist on many of my Brutes and Scrapper are very low, so is it just load up heavy on orange candies? My SR Brute doesn't stand a chance, though I sort of expected him to dodge more but newp dies just as fast. There a trick I'm missing?

 

And on Bobcat... She can 1 hit drop me at will. That a thing with her mechanics or again what am I missing?

 

If I use a range AT I have no problem with either situation.

 

Thanks!

Look I ran Brutes for years.  But you cannot survive everything in the modern game and do Scrapper damage.  Glory days are gone. Brutes were nerfed 7 times and the game is harder.  End game anyways.  
 

You need to use tactics and strategy.  And yes, inspirations.  Barrier.  Team synergy.  Does any of this seem likely?  

[NotsoevilDM]

/SR scrapper here. The pylons and the blue are Flitz's nemesis in TInpex. Barrier helps but is not a guarantee. Single target attacks against the pylon help to reduce aggro from everything else. A large orange and some greens in the insp tray are his best defence.

 

I also have a Fire/Fire brute. Same story but RotP can get him through the occasional pylon mishap and he does have a self-heal. The blue can still catch me out if not paying enough attention. 

 

[Sovera]

The toxic damage from the pylons is auto-hit if I recall correctly, and it stacks (again if I remember correctly). Bottom line is having Barrier and using it on the whole team right at the first pylon (while waiting for the animation of the sewer iris door to open) before going ham. Forget being a marine, if a man falls they get left behind. On my Fire Armor Tankers I would use a medium/big orange but it's more about greens tbh. Each pylon should be less than 10 seconds.

[Kaika]

7 minutes ago, Sovera said:

The toxic damage from the pylons is auto-hit if I recall correctly, and it stacks (again if I remember correctly). Bottom line is having Barrier and using it on the whole team right at the first pylon (while waiting for the animation of the sewer iris door to open) before going ham. Forget being a marine, if a man falls they get left behind. On my Fire Armor Tankers I would use a medium/big orange but it's more about greens tbh. Each pylon should be less than 10 seconds.

Auto hit or close enough to not matter, ran it on my SR tank and not a single attack missed.

Edited September 24 by Kaika

[WuTang]

3 hours ago, NotsoevilDM said:

/SR scrapper here. The pylons and the blue are Flitz's nemesis in TInpex. Barrier helps but is not a guarantee. Single target attacks against the pylon help to reduce aggro from everything else. A large orange and some greens in the insp tray are his best defence.

 

I also have a Fire/Fire brute. Same story but RotP can get him through the occasional pylon mishap and he does have a self-heal. The blue can still catch me out if not paying enough attention. 

 

 

The heal from Fiery Aura has a toxic resist buff built in that is stackable. Mine is on a 11 sec recharge and I can stack it to 90% toxic resist with 4 or 5 clicks and then maintain it. 

[WuTang]

2 hours ago, Sovera said:

The toxic damage from the pylons is auto-hit if I recall correctly, and it stacks (again if I remember correctly). Bottom line is having Barrier and using it on the whole team right at the first pylon (while waiting for the animation of the sewer iris door to open) before going ham. Forget being a marine, if a man falls they get left behind. On my Fire Armor Tankers I would use a medium/big orange but it's more about greens tbh. Each pylon should be less than 10 seconds.

Ugh for realz?! Welp that makes sense... Yeah the pylons sink fast unless the group falls apart, which in a pug happens sometimes especially if there aren't enough higher-level vets in the group.

 

So would it make sense for the Brute/Tank, like @Doomguide2005said, to pull all the mobs passed the pylon to clear way for DPS to smoke it? Though, "strategy" in most pugs is more (chaos + luck = success) than anything else.

Edited September 24 by WuTang

[WuTang]

13 hours ago, Snarky said:

You need to use tactics and strategy.  And yes, inspirations.  Barrier.  Team synergy.  Does any of this seem likely?  

 

Likely?

1. In a PUG, less so.

2. Very, now that I know it's probably auto hit.

3. Maybe, if I get lucky and someone has it and they time it well.

4. In PUG life "team synergy" is potluck.

[WuTang]

14 hours ago, Doomguide2005 said:

     Remember first off. it's Incarnate content.  Your softcap just jumped by 14 points, it's now roughly 59% though I haven't double checked (that they're using Incarnate To Hit) in a while to be sure.  Usually, I move past the Pylon.  If I need to move away from the fight, I generally have more cover here where I can heal and or regroup.  Pulling the mobs this way also leaves the Pylon less protected for those who come behind.  They will have an easier time spiking the Pylon.  SR has very minimal resistance to Toxic damage.  My main is sitting at under 10.  Barrier helps but it tapers off fast (especially if you just started you Incarnate journey).

     Bobcat can be very painful stemming from primarily two things.  First, she's an Incarnate AV who gets an offensive boost when Her companion dies.  Second, she's Claws and uses Eviscerate.  This relatively unliked power in Claws by many Players has an increased chance to crit.  Under the right, if rare, circumstances can do enough damage to drop a Tanker at their Hit Point cap.  Fortunately, those rare circumstances include prior to recasting powers after death ... and unfortunately, she will potentially make a beeline for you should you rez in LoS too close even if teammates are in between.  How do I know, being the only melee on our team and having her just massacre me and briefly noting the 3000+ damage she inflicted on me (combat logs said 3600 or so iirc) after making said beeline to my rez location. Even in less rare conditions a Lvl 54 Incarnate AV getting a x3 crit will be quite painful.  Use Orange or as I realized a bit belatedly both Purple and Orange, make sure you defense, and resistances are capped if you are at all likely to draw aggro.  And if not make sure you not standing in any cone (Shockwave or Eviscerate) she might use.

 

My base defense % on my SR Brute: M-53%, R-50%, A-51%

I bet I'm tickling the incarnate cap on a team, but I'll have to check. But that matters little in the sewers if the leviathans have auto hit. 

[SuperPlyx]

That sewer map is about the only time I click on my temp power Wedding Band. It gives a really good resistance buff.

Just make damn sure you turn it off when you get to the end of tunnel. It only last 2 hours of usage time but with careful management of when to use it , can have it a long time.

[Skyhawke]

57 minutes ago, SuperPlyx said:

That sewer map is about the only time I click on my temp power Wedding Band. It gives a really good resistance buff.

Just make damn sure you turn it off when you get to the end of tunnel. It only last 2 hours of usage time but with careful management of when to use it , can have it a long time.

 

Love, love, LOVE the Wedding Band and yes, this part of the TF is a great use for it! First TinPex I did was on my Ice/Elec Brute that, until that point, could take on amything. Got humbled quickly and learned the lesson. Subsequent TinPexes taught me that most PUGs will zerg that part and my goal is find the pilon, inspiration/temp power up, attack pilon, run as soon as it drops: rinse/repeat. Hasn't failed me so far. 😁

[Uun]

Does anybody know what the actual entity name for the Apex TF pylons is? I searched CoD and the only entity with "pylon" in its name listed that has attacks of any kind is the RWZ Rikti Pylon (which has Swarm Missile). There's a task force Rikti Pylon listed, but it has no attacks. 

 

EDIT

I think the toxic damage may come from the tentacles, not the pylons. Apparently the ranged tentacles and melee tentacles are separate entities, with the ranged tentacles having a toxic damage aura (not autohit).

https://cod.uberguy.net/html/entity.html?entity=hydra_alphatf_ranged_tentacle_boss

https://cod.uberguy.net/html/entity.html?entity=hydra_alphatf_melee_tentacle_boss

Edited September 24 by Uun

[Sovera]

4 hours ago, WuTang said:

Ugh for realz?! Welp that makes sense... Yeah the pylons sink fast unless the group falls apart, which in a pug happens sometimes especially if there aren't enough higher-level vets in the group.

 

So would it make sense for the Brute/Tank, like @Doomguide2005said, to pull all the mobs passed the pylon to clear way for DPS to smoke it? Though, "strategy" in most pugs is more (chaos + luck = success) than anything else.

 

 

No no, that Barrier use (repeated if someone has it) and purples for the squishies. No herding, no hitting anything that isn't the pylon.

[Doomguide2005]

6 hours ago, WuTang said:

Ugh for realz?! Welp that makes sense... Yeah the pylons sink fast unless the group falls apart, which in a pug happens sometimes especially if there aren't enough higher-level vets in the group.

 

So would it make sense for the Brute/Tank, like @Doomguide2005said, to pull all the mobs passed the pylon to clear way for DPS to smoke it? Though, "strategy" in most pugs is more (chaos + luck = success) than anything else.

     Need to be flexible (situationally aware).  PuG gels, pylons flattened quick, then stay as a group.  If though folks see red or dead, then I'm more likely on my melee (typically my Claws/SR) I'm going to pull the mobs away from the Pylon.  Basically, I'm going to be able to handle either all the spawns (Rikti, Hydra, whatever) or the Pylon.  If I try to handle both with the PuG busy face planting PuG style, I'm more likely to join them.  If I can chew up the mobile mobs (heh) and return to the Pylon, Rebirth, etc., in hand, then even if the PuG is still pulling itself together, I can probably drop the Pylon.

     I also think there's a tendency, myself included, to try and save Lore (if you have it now) for later.  But there's no shame in using a Lore, Shivan, Vanguard Heavy or whatever if the battle is going heavily pear-shaped you need to get there first!  Kitchen sink upside the head if needed.

[Doomguide2005]

2 hours ago, Sovera said:

 

 

No no, that Barrier use (repeated if someone has it) and purples for the squishies. No herding, no hitting anything that isn't the pylon.

     Obviously, I disagree to some extent.  But I'm also talking primarily about when things are NOT going well.  Support used their bigger Defense and Resistance inspire to survive outside.  Barrier isn't available now (or isn't available at all) and all the other things that don't go well on a PuG especially.  If you've got multiple first timers who are only vaguely aware of what the "Pylons" even are to focus down.   Except in very specific instances, it's always better to stay close or tight as a Team. 

     Recently I had a rather rough TinPex or the team did anyway.  Two first timers, minimal, if any, directions in team chat.  Partway to sewer entrance I realize I'm still running a minor test set up ... had Clarion t4 but no PB, plus food in the oven about to "ding".  So, I chat going afk for a moment.  Return less than 30 seconds later team had entered sewers and apparently disintegrated. Three have turned red/yellow, the other 4 are dead iirc.  Maybe I should have jumped the Pylon and tried to solo the whole bit but well that is a lot of Toxic damage.  Maybe the way I said I would and did handle it wasn't the best, but it very definitely worked in a reasonable time span.   And I was running Rebirth not Barrier though I could have my choice. 

[Snarky]

9 hours ago, WuTang said:

 

Likely?

1. In a PUG, less so.

2. Very, now that I know it's probably auto hit.

3. Maybe, if I get lucky and someone has it and they time it well.

4. In PUG life "team synergy" is potluck.

As much as i shit talk pugs I actually am on a lot of them.  On Excelsior almost any pug will have 2-6 peeps who know exactly what the deal is and what to do.  And 1-4 of them will be doing that lol.  BE ONE OF THOSE PEEPS 

[WuTang]

11 hours ago, Snarky said:

As much as i shit talk pugs I actually am on a lot of them.  On Excelsior almost any pug will have 2-6 peeps who know exactly what the deal is and what to do.  And 1-4 of them will be doing that lol.  BE ONE OF THOSE PEEPS 

Oh yeah I pug 100% of the time. I only have 4 buds that play so even when we're all on, still need 4 more. But I do have a nice "collection" of global friends that knows what's up. And I've been putting notes and ratings on folks that I see playing really well. Everlasting has no shortage of really good players, we just all seem to be from all over the world or at least have different gaming times.

 

I don't dislike pugs at all. I think it adds an extra layer of challenge to the TFs. And I don't mind wipes so long as they aren't my fault...occasionally they are. What I don't really like is a slog, but those are rare.

 

But good news! I survived the sewers last night! But that could've also been because I was teamed up with a global that was rolling with her Tanker and she definitely knew what she was doing....but still didn't die. My strategy, not be the first through the gate and ate green candies like a fiend, also didn't use any AOE. Now, I want to see how I do without a Tanker soaking up the majority of aggro.

 

Next challenge.....standing in the blue. It can be done, I've seen it.