Soloing Champion mobs

[UnSub]

As a Shadow Warrior, I find my ability to solo Champion / Hero mobs is awful regardless of what they con. I might get a few shots in - the advantages of range - but as soon as the Champion closes to melee range, I'm screwed.

Any tips? I'm aware I possibly suck and am doing it wrong.

[Trippy]

No you aren't, that's just the way it is. Even at the later levels when you get more melee and support abilities it's not possible. Basically without a perma-root you are boned.

[Hawkbit]

95% of the time I find that Champs can be duo'd and Heros can be done in a threesome (healer, tank, dps).  PQs work differently though... some of them I've been in require two full groups to finish properly. 

[schild]

Ranged Champions are easy. Melee champions are hard. This is not surprising in any way.

[Triforcer]

Soloing champs is actually one of the few things Squig Herder can do well.  I could defeat 2 levels below me easily, 1 level below me 95% of the time, and even con about 60%-70% of the time.  The basic squig soaks aggro, he'll give you 20 or so free seconds of damage, then you have to root for 10 sec, snare 10 sec, and run around for 10 sec until he's back. 

I didn't get that far, but I'm fairly sure I've Got Lots would make this even easier. 

[FatuousTwat]

Back in beta, my WP was able to solo 2 champs at once. They were nerfed soon after that, I wonder why...

[Lantyssa]

My Disciple and Warrior Priest can take an even level champion most of the time.  Normal adds reduce that chance.  My Sword Master can handle anything lower level.

My SM can take heroes only if I have a healer.  Two or three if it's one of those annoying suckers with rage.  I've had one blast me from near full health to dead in a few seconds.  In a group with me and two White Lions, I died twice to bosses, but we got them down far enough my groupies finished them off without dying themselves.

[Zetor]

My 2h ironbreaker (focused offense, +str build) can take even-level and +1 champions, but it's very close; I have less than 5% hp at the end, and probably have to burn at least an AP potion... sometimes a HOT or healing potion as well. 1h+shield ironbreakers stacking defensive stats and no focused offense are reporting much better results, which isn't surprising. I just don't want to carry around two full sets of gear at all times, as a scavenger inventory space is at a premium as it is.


-- Z.

[kildorn]

My WP can solo champs 2 levels above me, heros depend on the exact hero (one in T3 empire handed me my ASS. The rest I could take even con for the most part).

SW: Melee champs are easy. Ranged harder. Learn to shoot while running away (angle mouse, sidestrafe) and abuse snares. Root if needed. Pray it's not parried. Spam broadhead and spiral fletched.

[Nija]

My DoK could solo those champs at the PQ near Chaos chapter 9 no problem. Hell, any champ up to 2 levels above his level.

My White Lion can't solo shit.

My Witch Elf can't solo shit.

My Archmage MIGHT be able to solo something, but I've spent the 10 minutes it would take to get in a solid attempt. I know I couldn't kill a 13++ at 19.

[schild]

I can't kill a 15++ at 32 unless it's a ranged mob, in which case I decimate it.

[Mrbloodworth]

HAY!

Something my Squig herder is good at. 

[rattran]

I WL specc'd in the Axeman line in TTT can take most even con champs. The ones that have huge burst or aoe take a couple resummons of the pet, but are doable.

Now that I've respecc'd to a non-solo style, I can sometimes take a -5 champ. Sometimes.

[Draegan]

My WP can kill most champion mobs.  I only die if I get distracted and forget to heal myself.

[Hawkbit]

Huh... I had no idea I'd do so well against a Champ.  I just soloed the Ogre in HighPass for the bestiary unlock... even con, I finished with half health.  Awesome.

[UnSub]

I think I'm going to run back to Tier 1 and see how I go against the Champion and Hero mobs I saw there. Even con mobs are a death sentence at this point.

[Arthur_Parker]

Toughness makes a big difference, I fought a -2 champ melee mob by accident and won, I was amazed but have since figured out all that toughness I was stacking was making a big difference. 

I'm currently having a lot of fun experimenting by changing my build around, I believe Witch Hunter at rank 30 is the closest thing there is to playing Ian Paisley in a fancy hat.

[UnSub]

So, I ran back and did some of the PQs I'd missed. My lvl 14 SW managed to solo a few of the early chapter PQs, but found the lvl 5 Hero hydra in House of Arankah (sp?, not that I care) was absolutely brutal. Fortunately some other players showed up and helped finish that one off.

Also, without doubt, the Shattered Beach PQ in High Elf land needs a redesign - it needs too many players to pull off. The ambush wave is insane. I've seen the three items you need to protect destroyed in less than 20 seconds.

[squirrel]

My 22 SM can solo even con Champions pretty easily. But I'm stacking +Tough and +Wounds mostly, so my damage is pretty weak.

[Kail]

Also, without doubt, the Shattered Beach PQ in High Elf land needs a redesign - it needs too many players to pull off. The ambush wave is insane. I've seen the three items you need to protect destroyed in less than 20 seconds.

Just about all of the tier 1 PQs need serious redesign.  I don't think many level four Chosen are going to wander down to the north tip of the Blighted Isle for that beginner Dark Elf PQ, for example, yet it still requires a tank to win.

[Mrbloodworth]

About PQ's and difficulty. Its been my observation that in each chapter there are at least 3 PQ's, each one increasing in difficulty, and at the same time, Rewards.  Some of the high difficulty ones are WELL worth sticking around and putting a warband together.

Before calling for a redesign, maybe look at whats required, how many people, and what the potential reward is, because it seems they give you a easy, medium and hard PQ for each chapter.

[Lantyssa]

Before calling for a redesign, maybe look at whats required, how many people, and what the potential reward is, because it seems they give you a easy, medium and hard PQ for each chapter.

The rewards are nice if you can get them.

Too many times I've come in first or second, rolled poorly, and gotten squat.  Then did it again even with the persistance bonus.  I don't want to hang around a third time, especially since everyone else is ready to move on.  One green bag is enough for them since there is only one real choice, and the chances of a blue or better dropping and them winning it are small enough that it isn't in their interests.

When that is happening with the PQ right next to the hub, how long are people supposed to wait at the out-of-the-way ones where it'll take an hour to gather a group to do it the first time?

Also, no tanks for certain realms is stupid when PQs require them.

[Righ]

Also, no tanks for certain realms is stupid when PQs require them.

You mean certain factions? Yes, empire and dark elves need their tanks back, statim.

Incidentally, I got a reward for a quest in Dwarf chapter 14 which was a heavy armor helmet, listed as being for the careers Ironbreaker, Engineer or Knight of the Blazing Sun. It's clearly a KotBS helmet, complete with feathers which sits in the air two feet above my above my scalped stuntie head. 

[Nija]

Also, no tanks for certain realms is stupid when PQs require them.

When does that matter after level 4? Who gives a shit which realm you're a member of? I find which chapter has the best rewards for me and I do that. It doesn't matter where it is.

[Lantyssa]

Because I like taking characters through all the faction lands?  It's tough enough finding people for any given PQ.  Needing tanks to wander out of their habitat on top of it just makes it that much more difficult.

So I don't give a shit who is a member of what, but there just aren't a whole lot of Chosen and Black Orcs wandering the Dark Elf lands, nor Swordmasters and Iron Breakers wandering the Empire.  It means more wasted content if there is no incentive to play through the PQ stages due to missing a critical part of the Holy Trinity.

Not all of us play for just the sake of loot.  It is a nice bonus to my explorations though.

Even on Order as a whole it must be bad because people are complimenting my Swordmaster's skills.  I'm not that good, there just aren't a whole lot of tanks (being restricted to Dwarfs and Elves [Why are dwarves, dwarfs, but elves not elfs?]) so semi-competance is being mistaken for actual skill.

[squirrel]

To be honest though at level 4 tanks aren't really tanks per se. I mean a DoK can tank reasonably well at that level. It's not until tanks get guard, juggernaut and their taunts that they really start to become tanks (plus by that level they have the armour and health increases over other classes.)

[UnSub]

To be honest though at level 4 tanks aren't really tanks per se. I mean a DoK can tank reasonably well at that level. It's not until tanks get guard, juggernaut and their taunts that they really start to become tanks (plus by that level they have the armour and health increases over other classes.)

If they put themselves between a large source of damage and my squishie RDPS body, I consider them a tank.

[Righ]

From the perspective of tanking PQs, which is where this came from, juggernaut doesn't really come into play, and below the level at which you get guard (10), you don't have heroes that require the sort of heal rates that demand guard as a hate focus. So, for lowbie PQs, tanks become tanks at level 7 when they get taunt. The 'level 4' thing is a fallacious distraction because there is no huge diaspora of tanks ready to spread out to the other pairings as soon as they hit level 4. Most people play most of the way through tier 1 before they fly anywhere, and a substantial subset of players play through their pairing zones past that, while the rest concentrate in the zones that the most common scenario is linked to so that they can get the extra XP from the completion & kill quests. Those who run to the warcamp to fly ASAP are doing so because they're going to group with pals, not to do PQ tanking for PUGs. Lantyssa's point stands.