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City of Heroes: Raid Guide: Taking Down Lusca
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
MMORPG.com City of Heroes Correspondent Marjorie Rhoadhouse writes this guide to defeating Lusca in a City of Heroes raid.
No Squid Here! The term, “lusca,” emanates from the Caribbean, and refers to a legendary species of giant octopus --- not squid (or calamari) as some would have you believe.
The Facts: Heroes of any level can participate in a Raid on a Giant Monster such as Lusca, but that doesn’t make a Level 2 Empath with a single Heal, or a Tank too low for Taunt, particularly welcome. Lusca spawns in several locations within the Harbor of Independence Port. Two highly balanced, experienced teams of eight or three teams of a less acute composition are required to take down this giant octopus. Lusca’s inky spray imparts grave Toxic Damage-Over-Time that negates Fly. One thwack from a tentacle can kill. Lusca’s head cannot --- I repeat --- CAN NOT be damaged until the tentacles are all defeated. Each of the eight tentacles, plus the head, count as Giant Monsters (35,215 hit points EACH for a Level 50), and EACH award XP, Influence, Prestige and Debt accordingly. The DevilFish badge is awarded once the head is defeated.
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Read the Raid Guide: Taking Down Lusca
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
Good stuff! The CoH of today is far changed from when Lucsa first arrived but the idea and directions are solid stuff at any time!
Due to word count limitations, the names of those who helped me with this raid could not be included, but I dedicated a blog entry to their awesomeness. If you care to meet my mentors and supporting cast, check out the link:
www.mmorpg.com/blogs/TheRedPill/122008/3012_Lusca-Raid-A-Note-Of-Thanks
Nice article. It is especially helpful when people actually listen to the advice to TARGET THROUGH THE LEAD TANK. If only the Mind Mastery epic had a power that allowed you to program that thought into your team, telepathically...
I have been on Lusca teams where there was much death and debt, and others where there was virtually none. (Including one duo of an ill/emp and an ill/rad with no deaths, pre-IOs). The success seemed to be commonly achieved by squishier characters staying out of range and letting the tanks soak up the 'slaps' (as the guide warns - let the tanks take the brunt of the attack), keeping the tentacle you are working on seriously debuffed (yay for kins, darks and rads!), and most important - as mentioned in the article - working together on the same tentacle.
Taking down Lusca is great fun with a group who has it together, and a LONG nightmare of frustration and debt capping with a disorganized group. It might be a good idea to bind some of the tips in this guide to dispense to the group, pre-raid, like the old Hami Raid leaders used to do.
Oh, and another suggestion - perhaps people should TURN OFF their TP prompt during these raids. The empath is definitely a squishy and it is much easier to TP a body out to the perimeter than it is to rush into melee and die as you try to get off that rez in time. It seems like Lusca can smell an empath miles away and is smart enough to know that they need to be taken out ASAP.
YES! Good point! I am writing it into my notes! Thank-you! And thanks for the nice feedback. You too, Samhael.
Excellent article Carro....er uhm.. Pretty.
Although strategy-wise there are many different approaches to taking out the big squid you threw a great refresher together for us! It's probably been a solid year since I've taken on Lusca, I miss my sushi!
If cheese could scream I imagine that eating would be so much more fun.
United Heroes Brigade
@Force
I did this monster back when I was playing CoH. Great fun.
I still remember flying in and seeing one poor hero getting twacked and flying back with more knockback I had ever seen in the game
I got thwacked a little later on lol
This is a good guide. Congrats!
Unless Lusca has changed dramatically in Issue 13, I'm boggled as to why it would be called a 'raid.' I've done Lusca countless times in PUGs that have been announced over broadcast. Most people are sensible enough to watch for the one all the melee folk seem to be hitting and target that tentacle first.
I'm shocked that this guide promotes a holy trinity mindset (tanks in first! protect the healers!) that isn't really necessary in CoX. Especially all the focus on rezzing and tp'ing. If you're having to rez and tp people, yer doing it wrong...
(I appreciate that the writer may be new at CoX and all excited at taking down Lusca. That's cool.
Lusca is fun. But it really makes me cringe that you call it a raid and encourage people to think in terms of tank, healer and DPS when CoX is all about moving away from it.)
Here's more CoX specific tips:
Any time you fight a giant monster, all purple con and nasty, you need one thing. -Regen.
Without -regen, the AV or giant monster is going to regen health so fast, it'll be a pain to defeat. That is why the general public will begin to call out for 'rad' (radiation) defenders. Not healers! Rad defs or /rad controllers of a sufficient level will have lingering radiation, which kills regen.
Less well-known is the fact that there are other defenders that can also put some serious -regen hurt out. Any kinetics def or trollers will have transfusion. Ask them to SPAM this on the tentacle. Not only will the melee heal keep any melee tank or scrapper upright (reducing the need for any rez), the -regen will do its work.
Dark defenders have two -regen powers. Howling twilight is a mass rez, yes, but its real value comes from the -regen. This goes on the tentacle you're fighting immediately and as often as it recharges, just like lingering rad. Any dead people reviving is just a bonus. Twilight grasp works its -regen magic in the same way as transfusion. Spam often. The heal effect is just a bonus, now healing the ranged people around the dark def - unless the dark def feels brave enough to jump near the melee folk.
A tank's work is simple. Turn on toggles, including the aggro aura. Jump in and destroy one tentacle. It's super easy to gain aggro in CoX, so no damage-dealer should ever be hurt unless they are in melee range.
Scrappers are a little more screwed. Their defences are not as high, and if there are not enough friendly defenders around, you WILL get hit by the tentacle AoE and if you stay around, you will die. In and out, get a friendly buffer or healer to notice you, or just accept the impending death as part of scrapper ninja zen.
Range have it easy. Spam damage. Fly if you feel like it. Stay away. Done.
Crowd control are unable to do anything really significant to purple-triangled AVs or giant monsters. Tough luck. Just do the best damage possible, plus support other people.
Where might things go wrong? Not high-level enough a tank to have his defenses/resists slotted out properly. If he dies, loose aggro will fly everywhere to anything doing damage, and boom, lots of squishies will suddenly be backpedalling, screaming in horror, or already dead before they know it. To avoid this, just find a kind level 50 tank, or something in Granite form, or enough defender critical mass to support any other tank.
How to target? If people don't know what the heck 'target through' means... Just pick the lead tank and shout his name out and say "Hit the same tentacle he's hitting!"
(Though, honestly, I have a little more faith in the CoX public to figure out that the tentacle with all the glowy white, neon green, purple-black, foggy swirly things around it, on fire, is the one to hit. Maybe I'm an optimist.)
Random tanks and scrappers deciding they can solo the other tentacles or trying to be kind and gain aggro of those so that squishies don't get hurt. Well, defender attention may not get to you in time, you die, and then the aggro'ed tentacle is flailing around looking for someone to pound.
If there are other tentacles hitting people, the best thing one can do is taunt and run back to the group around the main tank so that AOE heals will catch and keep you upright. It shouldn't wipe them unless there wasn't enough support in the first place. Either that or hope you have an empath kind enough to look after strays in your team, I guess. The main tank can also taunt those tentacles. Yes, in CoX, you can hold multiple mob aggro and not die! Caveat: you know your own limits and if there are awake defenders supporting you. Illusion controllers can also drop phantom army to tank.
Not enough -regen. Omg, this thing won't die! Leading to an eternity of pounding away without much progress, leading to people getting bored and losing attention span, and bang, someone dies, and the whole thing cascades from there... Get enough critical mass for damage, and enough critical mass support (def + trollers) who know how to use -regen to solve this.
The same simple rule works everywhere in CoX. Squishies stay at range from things that hit hard, dart in and out if you need to close for melee. Squishies are anything that aren't tanks (maybe a scrapper if they know what they're doing) and low level people. Any buff or debuff or heals applied will keep squishies upright and tanks uprighter. -regen for purple barred things that don't seem to die. The End.
No need to yell at people and make a big WoW raid production out of it.
Now new hamidon. That qualifies as a raid setup.
You make some good points, but truly... following the advice in the guide will insure a much smoother battle. Lusca is like fighting several GMs. If you don't have the right strategy, then yes, you are doing it wrong. But not everyone is always experienced enough to be on the same page.
And of course, there will be rezzing. it is the noobs that need the badge, right? You can't expect everyone that fights Lusca to be an experienced player, and you can't expect there always to be the right kind of debuffs.
Much of what you say is bascially a rewording of the original advice. The whole problem is getting a PuG of noobs to understand it. On the bright side, a rez counts to the healing badges...
This was a guide... intended as advice on how to successfully 'raid' Lusca. I do not think the OP is new to City of Heroes. I certainly am not. I have four accounts, three currently active (and playing all three at the moment - YAY Winter Break!) and the 42 month badge on my main account, which is includes time not subbed during the school year.
Your mileage may vary depending on your AT, slotting, and play style. I think this guide was very accurate and very well written, and great advice for those who might not understand how Lusca works. There are always 'better' ways. The ill/emp & ill/rad duo'd him with no deaths at all. Buffs, PA tanking, and rad's beautiful -to hit and -regen debuffs FTW! But not all adventures can go so smoothly. And they won't if you don't follow the 'tanks tank' strategy. Lusca is no lightweight. She hits really hard. If someone (especially a squishy defender) does not understand the the tanks have to grab aggro, they will die. It is that simple. And if you have a team of noobs, you will see lots of death and rezzing. It is part of the learning curve. We were all new once.
Not all teams have dark or rad or kin. Sometimes you have to work with what you get. Nor did I not see anyone in this thread yelling at anyone else - though I seriously came close during my next to the last Lusca encounter with one stupid noob who kept attacking the head from the opposite side then running back and aggroing other tentacles. He kept spamming "We need to just kill the head"... even though many veteran players kept telling him we HAD to kill the tentacles first. *sigh* That ended up being a multiple hour long debt-cap fiasco before I got so frustrated I simply said "Gotta go, got RL things that need done" and loggged off. I am all for helping people get badges but like anything else in life, they have to be willing to help themselves!
I think it was very nice of Pretty to post the guide as a good reference point to show the new players if they are having trouble getting their Lusca raid mojo going. As for the new Hami? From someone who spent many many nights participating in raids on the OLD Hami, even after they nerfed the crap out of the enhancements, *rolls eyes* well, I have better ways to waste my time than the 'new' raid. Like watching my nails dry.
To each their own, though.
Jeromai, they changed all the monster mobs quite awhile back so it was impossible to kill them with small amounts of people/solo, since a regen scrap back in the day could easily solo AV/monster, but now they'd have no chance with the monster changes since they removed the levels from them and they scale to whoever is attacking
I don't think Lusca has changed too much since he was introduced but IMHO any time you need 2+ full teams to do something it's a raid. And while SOME people are sensible, it's always a good idea to have a plan anytime you’re doing something that could get you killed.
TGIF (Tanks Go In First) is always a good idea, after all that's their job, and if defenders (healers) didn't need protecting, they would not be called squishies. Most people know that so well they don't need to be told, but some people...
Guides are written for the people who want to know what to expect before they get involved in what-ever they set out to do. When you look at the user manual for your new TV one of the steps is plug it in. Well Duh, but it's still there. If you assume too much knowledge on the part of your reader, you're doing it wrong.
IMHO this guide is intended for people that have never done Lusca, and waht to know what to expect. As such it is an excellent guide.
I'm sorry, Jeromai, along with a definition of the term, lusca, I should have included one for the term, raid. Here you go:
RAID: a surprise attack by a small force; a hostile incursion; a daring operation; a brief foray beyond the usual.
BTW Calamari is fried squid - Polvo Frito is fried octopus. And Lusca is more octopus than squid. Just thought someone would like to know.
Hey!
You can help us take him on again, sometime soon. Some of us really want to nail down that spawn cycle. And besides, Lusca raids are one of my favorite adventures in this game.
What other strategies have you employed or observed? There is always more than one, of course. I cited the one that always seemed to work best for me.
Thanks for dropping by!
Going to have to agree with Vudu on this one, it's a GM not an MSTF. You get what you get with your multiple teams and usually cover all the bases. Getting too technically into the event is tedious and pointless. Unlike those of us who have been at it since the games release some people aren't going to have the know-how to understand the technical side of certain things. Your over thinking it bud.
If cheese could scream I imagine that eating would be so much more fun.
United Heroes Brigade
@Force
Double post. Delete.
If cheese could scream I imagine that eating would be so much more fun.
United Heroes Brigade
@Force
Thanks for defining your version of 'raid.' I was reading it as being used in the fashion of typical dikuMUD-inspired MMOs. In other words, a tough difficult mob requiring special strategies and preferably well-picked teams of specific classes to defeat. I had no idea it was being used in a more layman variant. Guess it was the wrong assumption, even though this website is called MMORPG.com.
All I did was express my opinion that the information provided in the guide would not help anyone used to other MMO raids with CoX specific nuances. And that certain phrases used would lead people into assuming a 'holy trinity' approach would be sufficient to defeat giant monsters in CoX.
One of my biggest pet peeves in-game is someone obviously quite new, yelling at everyone like a drill sergeant with macros for healing and rezzing and tp'ing, telling other people what to do and where to stand. Often providing the wrong information, based on their prior experiences with other MMOs. And I feared that this 'raid' guide would contribute to more newbies who would do exactly that very thing.
All you really need to ensure is that enough stacked -regen/buff/debuff/heal is present and everything else will fall into place quite naturally in CoX.
If you'd just called it "Giant Monster Guide: Taking Down Lusca" and avoided terms like 'raid' and 'healers', I would have much less issue with it. I did say that I understood the author may be newly into CoX, and may not have been sensitive to any differences in terminology between CoX and a standard MMO.
Then I followed up with personal advice on what I've found to be most crucial in defeating AVs or giant monsters. -Regen. Do I like it that this system is so reliant on this single factor? No. But the fact stands that this is key. Masking it up would be a disservice to people who do not understand why is it they worked so hard at the mob, with it not dying.
I have personally been on teams, sometimes as a lowbie, pounding at these giant monster mobs with very little effect on their health bar. Then all it takes is one level 50 rad to walk by, or get summoned by a friend... and suddenly POW, its health suddenly drops with no other change to the team makeup. That is my experience. That is my advice I would like to share, since it was not mentioned in the guide.
How much more polite do you want me to be?
I would not call this a "layman variant" - layman carries a derogatory implication that (and perhaps this is your intention) a person is not an "expert" in a particular subject or field. I believe you are dancing on the fine line of semantics here. To the vast majority of CoX players, a raid is any endeavor that typically takes the coordination of more than ONE EIGHT MAN TEAM. Thus requiring a "raid leader" who directs not just in team chat but in a venue heard by all participants. (Example - Hamidon "raid", or Rikti Mothership "raid"). The same principle can be applied to some Giant Monsters, especially Lusca, who is, in effect, a GROUP of Giant Monsters. Normally, with most Giant Monsters, the strategy is fairly simple, although - again - there are always those who lack strategy and make up for it by playing the part of team meat shield. *shrug* They are all points on the glorious path to Empath for me... no matter. What this entire discussion, and your attitude that your opinion of what should be defined as a "raid" has to do with either other MMOs, or this website being called "MMORPG.com" is completely beyond me. We are discussing City of Heroes, here. Not WoW, not EQ. Their raids are not our raids (thankfully). Many of us are dedicated CoX players and really don't care what defines a "raid" in some other game, however we are intimately familiar with any and all types of CoX raids. Insulting someone over your particular semantics is combative, and quite frankly, rather rude, especially when you effectively call the writer of the guide a noob in a very thinly veiled way.
I sense an issue with either someone else being in control, or with following directions here. The drill sergeant mentality was actually quite common at Hamidon Raids (and heaven knows there were times when their inner 'control freak' really outed itself in some of them), but you make it sound as if having binds or macros that enable efficient coordination and cooperation is somehow an unpardonable sin. Often times the easiest efforts (a successful Mothership raid, for example) are punctuated by helpful binds that keep the group together and focused or perhaps within heal/rez range (yay for Howling Twilight!). The last Mothership Raid I attended went beautifully except for the first huge wave of Magus, and bit of stunning, and a small group who briefly tasted the hull of the ship before one of the characters I was playing (dark/dark corruptor) fired off HT. Other than that small glitch, the leader encouraged everyone to group up, my empath spammed the squishies with Clear Mind, and we proceeded to spank the Rikti like they were our red-headed stepchildren.
Our "Raid Leader" was not obnoxious in any way. I never got the vision of a tattooed, burly drill sergeant sitting behind his monitor. He was efficient, and polite. There is nothing wrong with a leader who is actually leading. Simply using binds and macros does NOT a dictator make. I am sorry, but I would MUCH rather follow someone who has organizational skills and a STRATEGY, than just run in blindly praying the -regen drops whatever I am fighting before I hit the debt cap.
Maybe you have not played the City of franchise long enough to understand that it is really not like most other MMOs. While I remain a faithful player, I have occasionally dabbled in other games and have come away unimpressed. As for your 'tactic' suggestion here, explain to me how you "ensure" that you have enough -regen/buff/debuff/heal? What about those times when only one controller shows up to the party? Do you throw the noobs to the squid (okay, okay, OCTOPUS) and say, "Sorry I cannot help, you do not have sufficient debuff potential to insure an easy win"?
This guide is straight up good strategy. It is ALWAYS common sense to let the TANK GO IN FIRST AND GET AGGRO. You mention this as well, just phrased in a different way. But you disrespect the person who took out of their time to write the guide as having a "holy trinity" mentality. You also mention having sufficient debuffs/buffs and heals. Just exactly where do you think those are going to come from? Oh, yeah, LIVE empaths. You know, the ones who take the guides advice and TARGET THROUGH THE TANK and STAY OUT OF MELEE. Again, it appears that you do not so much disagree with the information, as you have yourself reiterated a good chunk of it, but rather are interested in harping on the use of the words "raid" and "healer". Here is a clue: the word "heal", you know as in "...enough stacked -regen/buff/debuff/heal" is the root of the word "healer". So it is acceptable to promote having enough heals but not to mention healers who bring them?
Advice is great. It is always nice to share things you know with others. However...rushing in with belittling comments such as"I'm shocked that this guide promotes a holy trinity mindset (tanks in first! protect the healers!) that isn't really necessary in CoX" and "I appreciate that the writer may be new at CoX and all excited at taking down Lusca." Really the only point that you have made (repeatedly) that is not covered in the guide is the importance of debuffs. You denigrate the guide as leading to a drill sergeant mentality for noobs, however you harp on what the dark defenders and kins should be doing. You yourself preach on the role of tanks in aggro management. Just in a different syntax (and perhaps a more insulting way) than the guide's author.
The bottom line is, we all have our own play styles. Some individuals are great at battling AVs and Giant Monsters. Some are not. A good raid leader can take a group of both and make things go smoothly with the right gentle guidance. Whether it is three teams of eight battling Lusca or masses assaulting the Mothership, the bottom line is we all want to have FUN. Is that not why we play? If you don't like a leader that actually leads? My advice is to find a few like minded friends and stick to teaming with them, and leave helping and leading the noobs to those with patience to deal with badly balanced teams and unskilled teammates.
How polite? Well, tact is a skill that is difficult to learn but a wise and very intelligent man once told me, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. If you want others to come around to your point of view, rushing in and insulting them won't gain you much ground. Had you merely mentioned "all it takes is one level 50 rad to walk by, or get summoned by a friend... and suddenly POW, its health suddenly drops with no other change to the team makeup" rather than being belitting and insulting, then I think your input would have been viewed more as being constructive rather than combative and warmly welcomed by all.
Hello again Jeromai.
Thankyou for responding to my request for better manners.
Indeed you make a couple valid points, but they are still drowned out by broad and condescending assumptions, not the least of which is that the article was written by a newcomer to the game. Do you see the title affiliated with my name? Do you think MMORPG.com would enlist a newcomer as their Gaming Correspondent for City of Heroes? Or that they would accept a piece written without the enthusiasm of one?
I've been playing the game just about every day since July of 2004. That's 4 1/2 years, Jeromai. And while you as a player there, and a reader here, may have different in-game experiences and knowledge to share, it certainly doesn't invalidate mine, or anyone elses.
That said, I shall be pleased to address your comments.
(Text quoted below originally posted by Jeromai)
1) "Thanks for defining your version of 'raid.' "
It wasn't my definition; it's Webster's.
2) "I had no idea it was being used in a more layman variant. Guess it was the wrong assumption, even though this website is called MMORPG.com."
Proper language elements are often found in feature articles BECAUSE this is MMORPG.com, the gaming industry website for the thinking player. If you want l33t speak, its the next site over.
3) "...the information provided in the guide would not help anyone used to other MMO raids with CoX specific nuances."
First, I presume nothing of my readers when I write a how-to article. Those who have some knowledge of the subject normally politely skim over what they deem unimportant, realizing less experienced readers need to see the material. My articles are written for the first-time player, with lots of hints for players with up to perhaps a year of experience. Presuming that I must second-guess what previous knowledge they may or may not have of any other game is ludicrous. This is the main reason I use conversational English in my articles and try not to over-use game-specific terms. Secondly, its that term "anyone," that bothers me. You say the guide would not help, "anyone." Actually the guide is quite helpful, and to an assortment of players, just not those who don't need the guide...or those who dismiss out-of-hand the knowledge which comes from experience, even if they do need it.
4) " ...certain phrases used would lead people into assuming a 'holy trinity' approach would be sufficient to defeat giant monsters in CoX."
If by "holy trinity" you refer to the combination of tank-damage-healer, you are painfully correct in that it is not sufficient to defeat most giant monsters (and most archvillains as well) in City Heroes. However where did I state the reverse?
I mention the presence of the tank because in my 4 1/2 yearsof experience, I've learned that tanks SHOULD go in first, and when it matters, all others SHOULD target through the tank. Some controllers like to think they must get in there first and put the whammy on a GM, and then if their whammy falls flat (because it is a GM after all), they end up dead from the alpha strike. Then while the healer is trying to rez the controller, the healer dies. Or maybe the controller is the healer. In any case, there is no healing going on during the first onslaught, and everyone else dies. I've seen it happen again and again, and again, and again. So Jeromai, I truly speak from experience when I say, TGIF.
I mention the healers only to point out that, if anyone wants heals worthy of the name, low-level healers ought to get dibbs on sidekicks.
Let the tanks secure agro. Give the healers (be they defenders or controllers) what they need to heal. If you prefer a different strategy, that's fine. However, to be fair to your prospective team-mates, you might want to throw that out there while you're inviting peeps to team, though. "Lusca team forming. Controller leading the way in. We'll start by attempting a hold on all tentacles at once. But never fear, my scrapper will pick up the agro."
5) "One of my biggest pet peeves in-game is someone obviously quite new, yelling at everyone like a drill sergeant with macros for healing and rezzing and tp'ing, telling other people what to do and where to stand. Often providing the wrong information, based on their prior experiences with other MMOs. And I feared that this 'raid' guide would contribute to more newbies who would do exactly that very thing."
Actually, this guide contains a lot of valuable information for new players, thus minimizing the chance that they will call out incorrect information. Now how they act based (by your presumption) on their previous experiences with other games---? That is beyond my control. And your's. It is an MMORPG Jeromai. It takes all kinds of people. Get used to it.
6) "All you really need to ensure is that enough stacked -regen/buff/debuff/heal is present and everything else will fall into place..."
My what a boring game it would be if that were true. Everyone would be running regen scrappers and healing controllers. No one would die. Not even the bad guys.
7) "If you'd just called it "Giant Monster Guide: Taking Down Lusca" and avoided terms like 'raid' and 'healers', I would have much less issue with it. I did say that I understood the author may be newly into CoX, and may not have been sensitive to any differences in terminology between CoX and a standard MMO."
Not going there again. See opening paragraph, and my response to comment #3.
8) "Then I followed up with personal advice on what I've found to be most crucial in defeating AVs or giant monsters. -Regen. Do I like it that this system is so reliant on this single factor? No. But the fact stands that this is key. Masking it up would be a disservice to people who do not understand why is it they worked so hard at the mob, with it not dying."
Interesting, as we in my supergroup (also venerable players) have been enjoying a lively discussion concerning the merits of debuffing in this very light. And truly everyone is entitled to their own opinion based on their own experiences. But the merits of one power set over another was not the subject of my article, was it? Not even when facing down a GM. (And by the way, each GM is different, so what may work wll with one just might trip you up on another.) My article was about strategy. In my experiences with raids on Lusca --- and yes I've done a ton of them because I do ENJOY them and I AM enthusiastic about them --- strategy is more important than team composition (at least in as much as power sets are concerned). This is not true with all GMs. In fact it may not be true with any other GMs at all. But in my experieinces with Lusca, it seems to be true. And this guide is after all, a guide for taking down Lusca.
9) "I have personally been on teams, sometimes as a lowbie, pounding at these giant monster mobs with very little effect on their health bar. Then all it takes is one level 50 rad to walk by, or get summoned by a friend... and suddenly POW, its health suddenly drops with no other change to the team makeup. That is my experience. That is my advice I would like to share, since it was not mentioned in the guide."
This is a valid point. And if there were not a single debuffer among two or three teams beating on Lusca, and he wasn't going down, I too would seek one out. It's never happened, but I would do it. Again, as I point out in the article, Lusca is different from other GMs in the game. A strategic attack with a coordinated force of multiple teams is in my experience the most effective way to take him down.
And yes, that qualifies as a raid --- in any language.
I think you guys are reading insult into sentences where none was intended.
Can I not express my own personal feelings that I was shocked? Would you have prefered I fling namecalling insults at other people instead of commenting on myself? Since everyone is different, can you not understand that different people may read the same guide differently?
As for assuming that the writer of the guide is new, you may take offense at it if you like. With four and a half years of experience in CoX, I would personally think that one would know better than to call a defender a healer, and to be able to pick out the critical component of a giant monster or AV fight.
How should one ensure enough defenders or controllers are present? The search tool so nicely described in the guide, plus sending tells, also described in the guide. If there was a horde of newbies all throwing themselves at Lusca without any success, I would think it quite sad to let them continue dying without recruiting something that could tank (tank, ill/ controller) and one or two -regenners.
I'd like to direct your attention to this thread on the City of Heroes to make one last point:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=12771929
In it, there are examples of people who feel that Lusca is an involved battle of 2-3 well-balanced teams (quite similar sentiments as expressed in the guide!) and thus should be worth more than 2 measly merits. Please notice also that there are people whose experience with Lusca show that Lusca can be done quite easily in a partial team of 5 or less. And there's even one individual who can solo it as an ill/rad if he was willing to spend 2-3 hours on it. Hence they argue that the merit reward should be kept as is, to prevent any octopus farming.
How is it that some people are able to defeat Lusca quite easily without forming a full team? I'd posit that it is because they have an understanding as to the underlying mechanics, and can identify the crucial minimum factors necessary. The extra people that can be invited are just a bonus that kills Lusca faster and everyone's happy because they get the badge and the merits.
But by encouraging people to just gather 2-3 teams without specifying what's necessary, one runs the risk of gathering teams where that critical component is lacking. And having quite a miserable time out of it as a result, despite being very adept at healing, tping and rezzing and so on.
I hope to have expressed dissent in a way that isn't perceived as insulting to you. I would appreciate the kindness of not having defensive paragraphs of quote spam thrown at me. But whatever you would like to do is fine. People are different, after all. I believe my point is made, and I don't think I'm coming back to extend the thread further. Thank you for the time reading this.
Read article & found it very helpful! Only been playin' 15 mos & my only fight w/Lusca so far was one raid that bombed. Too many chiefs & not enough indians. Everybody thought they knew what to do & nobody'd listen to anyone else. Crazy. Not sure if I could go to the lengths & breadth you describe Ms R., but I sure would exercise leadership tips you suggest to bring about a cohesive force. As a dedicated healer, I especially appreciated the reminder to sidekick. Looking forward to more of your work.
lusca can be taken out in a variety of ways and there really isn't a requirement to do it in a certain fashion.
phantom army can be made perma, snow storm and hurricane can work in conjunction with one another, thunderstorm and tornado (highest damage ingame) can be nice distractions and these are just debuffs and pets/attacks from an ill/storm and just a handful at that.
throw a whole group of ill/somethings and you'll be hard pressed to find a combination that can't take out a GM with one group of 8.
and yes i'm harping on the term 'healer' a lot, and if you're a 4 1/2 year experienced *good* player, you'll understand my feelings of why that term is too incredibly limiting and just wrong for THIS game.
could we please get correspondent writers and moderators, on the eve forum at mmorpg.com, who are well-versed on eve-online and aren't just passersby pushing buttons? pretty please?
take a team of fire/rads, 8 people, and between AMs and fire imps... lusca is gone before you realize there was a fight underway. talk to top doc or one of those guys about the fire/rad superteams and see how many GMs have been taken down by a team of 8 or less.
there's other "super team" combinations that equally excel and can take out a GM with a single team or less.
experienced players know and understand this type of thing, people claiming to be experienced make crazy statements about how you need the right balance and lots of teams, etc etc etc.
could we please get correspondent writers and moderators, on the eve forum at mmorpg.com, who are well-versed on eve-online and aren't just passersby pushing buttons? pretty please?
you're playing semantics now, and i'll play along.
who, that plays ANY mmo, reads the word "raid" and thinks "hey, it's a small group". no one that's played an mmo for 4 1/2 years, that's for certain.
a raid, is a LARGE team, sometimes it COULD be as small as say 20 people, but a most mmo players will think 25-40 players when the term "raid" is used.
if you're going to use a definition for a common term like "raid", which is completely different than the STANDARD definition of that term, when used in the mmo context of taking down a big bad... then YES, you need to define the word and not crawfish on "oh that's not what i meant, i thought you'd read the dictionary and knew that i'm using this word in a way that no one else playing this mmo uses it".
at least you didn't throw in the term healer in that post.
could we please get correspondent writers and moderators, on the eve forum at mmorpg.com, who are well-versed on eve-online and aren't just passersby pushing buttons? pretty please?