Post by OniGanon on Jul 20, 2011 2:51:27 GMT -5
Someone in chat was apparently having some difficulties surviving with the Soldier Archetype in normal solo content. I've put this video together with some basic tips to hopefully help out.
Footage is from the Test Server, MC Powerhouse Battle Station, set at 3-man Hard to simulate worse conditions than are likely to be encountered in any normal solo quest. The gear is just crap from C-Store gift boxes, yielding around 200 dex/ego and 100ish con with a bit of rec thrown in. A properly geared Soldier at lv40 would likely have less energy issues than seen in the vid.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJuVwgA3Gr8
The Opening Move
The most dangerous part of any pve battle is in the beginning, where all enemies are alive, relatively healthy and eager to hit you with their alpha strikes. Therefore, the most important part of the fight to get right is the first few seconds, before the enemy can effectively respond to your attack. At lv40 you can try using the Sniper Rifle to eliminate a Villain then follow with your aoe, but until then you should open with an aoe attack like Gatling Gun, Rocket, SMG or Shotgun to kill as many Henchmen as you can within those first few seconds.
The Crowd Responds
After that, you should use Smoke Grenade, Shotgun Blast (with Breaching Round) or Frag Frenade to break up the crowd and reduce their response, and/or simply Block it, while you retreat backwards to funnel the enemy into a straight line for Gatling Gun. You can use Shotgun/Grenade to knock back melee mobs that are getting too close.
Mopping Up
In situations with multiple Villains, try to hit the ranged Villain with the Smoke Grenade to effectively eliminate them from the fight for a few seconds while you deal with the other Villain with either Assault Rifle taps (ranged) or Shotgun Blasts (melee). Nearing the end of the fight, you may be very low on health, but it shouldn't matter much because you're down to one or two enemies and anything Master Villain level or less is completely neutered by Rank 3 Smoke Grenade.
That's basically it... Hopefully that's of some help to Soldier players in getting through normal solo content. Finally, if nothing else, I hope this post and the vid demonstrate two things:
R3 Smoke Grenade is hax.
The Ego change currently on PTS makes Shotgun Blast hilarious.
Footage is from the Test Server, MC Powerhouse Battle Station, set at 3-man Hard to simulate worse conditions than are likely to be encountered in any normal solo quest. The gear is just crap from C-Store gift boxes, yielding around 200 dex/ego and 100ish con with a bit of rec thrown in. A properly geared Soldier at lv40 would likely have less energy issues than seen in the vid.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJuVwgA3Gr8
The Opening Move
The most dangerous part of any pve battle is in the beginning, where all enemies are alive, relatively healthy and eager to hit you with their alpha strikes. Therefore, the most important part of the fight to get right is the first few seconds, before the enemy can effectively respond to your attack. At lv40 you can try using the Sniper Rifle to eliminate a Villain then follow with your aoe, but until then you should open with an aoe attack like Gatling Gun, Rocket, SMG or Shotgun to kill as many Henchmen as you can within those first few seconds.
The Crowd Responds
After that, you should use Smoke Grenade, Shotgun Blast (with Breaching Round) or Frag Frenade to break up the crowd and reduce their response, and/or simply Block it, while you retreat backwards to funnel the enemy into a straight line for Gatling Gun. You can use Shotgun/Grenade to knock back melee mobs that are getting too close.
Mopping Up
In situations with multiple Villains, try to hit the ranged Villain with the Smoke Grenade to effectively eliminate them from the fight for a few seconds while you deal with the other Villain with either Assault Rifle taps (ranged) or Shotgun Blasts (melee). Nearing the end of the fight, you may be very low on health, but it shouldn't matter much because you're down to one or two enemies and anything Master Villain level or less is completely neutered by Rank 3 Smoke Grenade.
That's basically it... Hopefully that's of some help to Soldier players in getting through normal solo content. Finally, if nothing else, I hope this post and the vid demonstrate two things:
R3 Smoke Grenade is hax.
The Ego change currently on PTS makes Shotgun Blast hilarious.