Can The Minotaur in the Fog be soloed?

[Yomo Kimyata]

I see that there are a lot of Labyrinth updates in Beta, which tells me either there are a lot of players who are doing this content or that it is a pet project of some of the developers or both.  However, I don't see any advertisements in LFG channel for the content, so I occasionally head in there solo.  I'd love to explore the content solo at my own pace and not get caught up into speed rushing it with a min max group, but each time I stick my head in I appear to be the only player, and the Minotaur hunts me down within a minute or so.  

 

So I ask the question, is this solo-able?  I've got some scrapper builds that can solo giant monsters slowly, but nothing designed for the task.  I'm taking a look at the power descriptions (https://cod.uberguy.net/html/entity.html?entity=miscellaneous_labyrinth_minotaur_axeshield) and some of the numbers seem pretty big.  I figured I'd ask here to see it anyone can give me anecdotal evidence either for or against this endeavor.  Thanks in advance.

[ShardWarrior]

9 minutes ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

I see that there are a lot of Labyrinth updates in Beta, which tells me either there are a lot of players who are doing this content or that it is a pet project of some of the developers or both.

 

I suspect you are right and that the main reason is more one than the other.  I very, very rarely see Labrynth runs being advertised in LFG, at least on Excelsior.  I have run around and explored the Labrynth a few times myself solo, but I have not bothered trying to solo the Minotaur.    

[Glacier Peak]

33 minutes ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

I see that there are a lot of Labyrinth updates in Beta, which tells me either there are a lot of players who are doing this content or that it is a pet project of some of the developers or both.  However, I don't see any advertisements in LFG channel for the content, so I occasionally head in there solo.  I'd love to explore the content solo at my own pace and not get caught up into speed rushing it with a min max group, but each time I stick my head in I appear to be the only player, and the Minotaur hunts me down within a minute or so.  

 

So I ask the question, is this solo-able?  I've got some scrapper builds that can solo giant monsters slowly, but nothing designed for the task.  I'm taking a look at the power descriptions (https://cod.uberguy.net/html/entity.html?entity=miscellaneous_labyrinth_minotaur_axeshield) and some of the numbers seem pretty big.  I figured I'd ask here to see it anyone can give me anecdotal evidence either for or against this endeavor.  Thanks in advance.

To answer the title thread question, no the Minotaur in the Fog cannot be soloed. There has been tests to confirm as few as four players can defeat it and on Indomitable we regularly defeat it with between 5 and 7 players. 

 

To answer your question in the thread above, there are a lot of players who join on Indomitable for Labyrinth raids. We do so on Mondays at 10PM Eastern and have been doing so for over a year now, if you are interested. There is no need for a min-max group, any player with any build is able to participate (assuming that they are at least Level 45 or higher). With the new changes on Beta, after the Minotaur in the Fog is defeated, every enemy on every floor except the Orange floors will despawn, allowing players to explore as they desire. Even if the Minotaur is not defeated, players can avoid it entirely after it reaches the location of the last pinged (Minotaur hunts!) message. 

Edited 19 hours ago by Glacier Peak
Time zone!

[lemming]

18 minutes ago, ShardWarrior said:

I suspect you are right and that the main reason is more one than the other.  I very, very rarely see Labrynth runs being advertised in LFG, at least on Excelsior.  I have run around and explored the Labrynth a few times myself solo, but I have not bothered trying to solo the Minotaur.    

Cobalt has plans, so we'll probably see more of it as time goes on.

 

I thought Excel had a regular Lab run going on?

Everlasting and Indom have some regular runs, and on Everlasting has had a few pickups lately.

 

It's one of my favorite places to do solo exploration stuff.    However, I spent a lot of time mapping out connections and locations, so I'm actually pretty good at avoiding the Mino.   Basically if you see that the Mino is hunting, and you're the only one in the lab, he's coming for your current location.   He'll correct course every so often, but using one of the many randomizer doors will break his pursuit until he resets.

I don't tend to go after GMs & AVs in there though.    I just whack solo gladiators with most chars, though pulling a full group is possible even with my builds.  What's on open beta now shows some easier solo content with the repeatable missions. 

[Yomo Kimyata]

4 minutes ago, Glacier Peak said:

Even if the Minotaur is not defeated, players can avoid it entirely after it reaches the location of the last pinged (Minotaur hunts!) message. 

 

Could you say something more on this?  Concrete example:  I enter the Labyrinth and go to the blue floor.  Within a minute, the Minotaur shows up and attacks.  Would I be able to run away and explore a different color level for a short period of time before it hunts me down again?

[lemming]

As Glacier says (and he's done a lot of checking the new stuff out),  Mino isn't soloable.

And the Font is definitely good to have some strong characters to anchor.   A dozen chars can do it if done well, but  a poorly organized group of any size will have issues.

[lemming]

10 minutes ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

Could you say something more on this?  Concrete example:  I enter the Labyrinth and go to the blue floor.  Within a minute, the Minotaur shows up and attacks.  Would I be able to run away and explore a different color level for a short period of time before it hunts me down again?

When the notice comes up, he heads to your location.   If you start moving, he'll go to that location.  He'll even pass you in the hall ignoring you until he gets there.   Every so often, he will course correct, but jumping thru a door will delay him, and going thru a randomizer door will delay him further since he'll need to take the long way.   And there are randomizer doors fairly close to all the drop points.

You can also escape to lobby fairly quickly (though that can be interrupted so difficult in a fight)

 

I'm able to do a full run thru the lab on a demorecord run without ever having the mino get close.

[Glacier Peak]

30 minutes ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

Could you say something more on this?  Concrete example:  I enter the Labyrinth and go to the blue floor.  Within a minute, the Minotaur shows up and attacks.  Would I be able to run away and explore a different color level for a short period of time before it hunts me down again?

Yes as you've described. There are instances where the Minotaur will follow you if you've engaged in combat with it, but if you see the message and move to a different location away from line of sight from that spot, the Minotaur will run past and ignore. 

[MoonSheep]

1 hour ago, Glacier Peak said:

on Indomitable we regularly defeat it with between 5 and 7 players. 

 

wow, it takes the entire indom server population to defeat the minotaur?

[Glacier Peak]

3 minutes ago, MoonSheep said:

wow, it takes the entire indom server population to defeat the minotaur?

Our Font record has the highest score with the least number of players! We are mighty. 

 

[Ukase]

On Excelsior, as far as I know, the Labyrinth is run once a day, at approximately 5pm Central time. (generally right after the hami raids in the Abyss). 

Goddess Laucianne does the leading usually. Some days, it's Mino clobbering only, and on some days, we do the full hour in the Font of Malevolence. I say "we" because I love the labyrinth content and try to never miss it. 

As for using LFG - to my knowledge, Goddess has the time posted on the Elysian Guardians Discord. So, you hop on the discord, you can see the schedule. And she will use LFG - but because it's right after the hami raid, and the time is posted on the EG calendar, there's usually a few teams worth of folks already in zone, ready to go. So, she doesn't use lfg every time. Just when necessary to fill. And I'm sure she could tell you herself more, so I won't say anymore about it. 

So, here's the thing about the Minotaur: he has 5 different armor/weapons, and only the rng knows what he's going to use that day. Now, anecdotally, I've been hopping in there to get the scoop on what he's using, because when you defeat all 5 types of armors, you get a mini-pet of the Minotaur. So, I will usually log in, pop in - wait for him to show up and see what he kills my character with. Then I check my sheet, and see which characters need that weapon. 

So, soloing it, I do not think it's remotely possible, mainly because of the level shifts. To get the level shifts to match up with the minotaur, you have to run around the labyrinth and kill malevolent fogs. They are not easy to find, and even if they were, you lose those level shifts after 5 minutes, so I just don't think one player can gain the level shifts needed to have a chance. Now, there are other ways to get those shifts, but those aren't fast, and they're not easy either. 

 

So, clobbering 2 fogs will get you one level shift. I just don't think there's one player that's going to be fast enough to find the fogs, and kill the fogs fast enough to get the level shifts required to have a snowball's chance. 


Additionally, I think even if a league helped you get the level shifts - and then opted to not enter the arena to help you fight him, you'd have a hard time because he hits so hard. Like 3000-4000 pts of damage. 
And sure, you can use barrier, but after about 30 seconds, unless you have a ton of inspirations or other tools at your disposal, you're going to struggle - at least I would. 

And, because we can't be sure what he's going to bring on a given day, it would be tough to prepare for a specific version of the minotaur. That alone is just a small part of what makes this particular content so interesting. It's like a different AV/GM each time. Sort of. And that Moooo! I hear when I enter the arena...it's just hilarious and needs to be experienced! 

Edited 18 hours ago by Ukase

[lemming]

2 minutes ago, Ukase said:

So, I will usually log in, pop in - wait for him to show up and see what he kills my character with.

Best way to check I find with least amount of work and risk with a char with core access when the lab is empty

1. Go to lobby
2. /demorecord checkmino
3. Go to Core
4. Head into arena and if Mino is still there
5. Run thru (optional to go "Woo Woo Woo" as you run by)
6. head to lobby or core
7. /demostop
8. Check file for what Mino type is

 

Staff        Labyrinth_Minotaur_01_S
Titan Weapons    Labyrinth_Minotaur_01_TW
Bow        Labyrinth_Minotaur_01_B
Axe & Shield    Labyrinth_Minotaur_01_AS
Dual Bladed    Labyrinth_Minotaur_01_DB

 

[Captain Fabulous]

  

18 hours ago, Cobalt Arachne said:

Minotaur scales down to being killable with as few as four people, he's hardly a difficulty beyond the process of gathering Level Shifts for him.

 

[Glacier Peak]

I will go ahead and add that given enough inf and time, a player could get to 10 Level Shifts solo, then keep the Auction House open or their email and buy all the Super! Inspirations they needed to cap damage/acc/res/def during the fight, bring their Lores and whichever temp pets receive level shifts, and maybe if they had a specific build, like illusion/rad or something, I could say maybe it's possible.