Dev Discussion Episode 36: The Phoenix Cannon (Raid)

I think fixing something else might have also fixed the bosses knowing that they have those abilities available sooner in the elite version. I'll keep an eye on it. For now, I'll have being in Dawnbreaker's ring make you immune to Merciless's pull.

- Quixotic

Oh okay. Thank you. It would be great if somehow you could have them space out their one shots too. Instead of everything happening at once. Because trying to run to the ring is still difficult if merc is pulling. Not just being in it.

Is it possible to not allow Dawnbreaker to drop his orbital inside the ring when everyone is there? That also seems kind of unfair.

Dawnbreaker shouldn't target anyone in the ring with his orbital, but it's probably possible for him to target someone just before they enter the ring and then drop it inside. I'll see if I can make him hold the orbital until after the ring is gone.

- Quixotic

I've seen it happen since day 1 of the current DLC. As for getting to the Light Ring, you can roll to it. Equip the Tumbling Master tactical mod to make it even easier. ^_^

Batman always wins!

Need to fix mass disconnects when entering the Phoneix Cannon raid

Is the eternal anguish supposed to tick under shields. I’m taking dot damage under my shields, as being ice my survivability depends on shields...the ticks are 17-18k with a 65k base tic...

I get that... I’ve done it all ways possible it just doesn’t seem to be very consistent. I’ve entered and stayed in on numerous occasions... Perhaps it wouldn’t register? Also on multiple occasions over 10+ runs, I had times when I would just barely brush against a smaller orb and lived- it didn’t matter where I went, I could be standing right next to a big one and let it blow up without any damage whatsoever. To me it just doesn’t seem very consistent.

Also, just wanted to clarify if its intended to have 8 people in the group to wait inside 2 little orbs until the big one explodes as the boss doing her scripted AOE skull charge that can one shot a shielded tank. Not to mention 4-5 people (non-tanks) clumped up together waiting for the big orb to explode just to get KO’d by the boss’ flying charge skull AOE. The way I see it, you either die from explosion (since you have to sit inside a small orb) or die from the skull attack resulting in the same outcome. This part seems a bit luck-based to be honest since she can charge randomly at any group-mate while they are waiting inside with 3-4 people next to them.

A little more feedback, also during this fight I have had experience where the adds would spawn, kill a dps them become targetable...

What if, now its a big what if, but what if they could fix the dced issue with this raid? have the time once you get a group together 3 to 5 people get dced. its extremly troubling just trying to group up then to have half your group dc and try to get it back together SUCKS!!!!!!!! this only happens here and has been sense day one. please devs mepps fix this, thank you

The goal for that is to be near a small one when its timer expires. It doesn't matter where you are before that happen as long as you're close when it does.

For the large one, its explosion hits the entire fight space. Your location doesn't matter...regardless of where you are, you'll avoid it with the small one's protection and be hit by it without.

An entire raid group should be able to get near one of the small ones and be hit by it, so with 2 of them you can split your raid if you want to separate the tank from everyone else. For Lady Blackhawk's charge and other attacks that don't target a tank: if it comes near a small one, I think everyone can block and be okay.

I checked and none of the adds in that fight are ever made untargetable. Maybe something else took out the dps player before the adds spawned?

- Quixotic

Nope, the adds wwre untargetable. I was physically pulling the adds when they came out and all I saw were skeleton animations spawn then pop a dps then I’d be able to lock on them (I was in range)

For the Lady Black Hawk attack, I’m pretty sure a dps cannot block it especially if she spawns a tornado on you

I'd like to address a very annoying knockback that happens when the first boss does a skull charge attack (the one without whirlwinds).
While Standing in a small Energy orb and getting charged at is no big Problem itself if you Block, but through the knockback even while in Block and bad Timing of this charge attack, i died 3x in the last 2 runs because i didnt get the small Energy orb buff due to me being knocked out of the small Energy ball just in time...

The issue of overlapping mechanics has always plagued elite raids but this raid seems to be by far the worst. Not only can you correctly block only to be knocked out of the safety portal or get over to the portal in time only to be stunned just outside of it, I'm also pretty sure the portals phase is tied to time whereas the adds phase is tied to boss health creating overlap unless a particular burn rate, neither too fast nor too slow, is maintained keeping the two phases perfectly staggered. Then you have some weird CC mechanic with the suppressor where sometimes you can stun him 10 times in a row and he never gets immunity and other times up to three straight stuns (with 3s cooldowns in between) can have zero effect. Meanwhile a suppressed tank who has lost access to very single action, including blocking, can't move faster than the adds who are somehow pummeling him through a shield, harder than any HoT can heal while healers can't burst heal because they're hightailing it to a portal or blocking a skull.

I'm all for high degrees of difficulty that put players' skills, stats, teamwork and communication to the test, but making RNG luck or the perfect alignment of independently timed phase triggers a huge and constant determining factor can really take the fun out of the game. Most players can live with a wipe or two or three being caused by unlucky, unavoidable "perfect storm" circumstances, but when bad luck causes a group of some of the best players in the game to wipe 20 times in a row despite near-flawless execution, something's wrong.

I've seen this as well, both for the adds that get up off the ground and the skeleton adds. To me it's not that adds are attacking BEFORE they are targetable but that they attack the first MILLISECOND of being targetable. It seems the only way to ensure that nobody gets one-shotted by adds requires, in addition to zero lag or latency, the pull or stun to have inhumanly precise-to-the-nanosecond timing. And even that is only possible if the adds spawn within range of the tank and while the tank is looking in that direction.

My tank toon is atomic and fortunately the spawn animation for the skeltons allows enough time to pop mass density. But there are four other tank powers that don't have that luxury. My gadgets toon is 289CR on the controller side with 50sp in dom and 20sp in resto (for stronger shields) and those adds still rip through my group shield like it was made out of spiderweb.