Hmm. in the few times I have played we found having the side folks cover the pit was more effective than the center guy.

Normally yes, but challenge mode changes that. If Aksis is in the center, then the only places the supercharge plate can be are on the left and right. Both sides have to deal with that, so it makes more sense for the center to take him.

I've done the challenge both ways a few times. In my experience the method where the center and right guardian share responsibilities is better, because everyone is closer to the slam/supercharge and the timing is a bit easier. The downside is that it's a more complicated approach and the entire team needs to understand it and execute it. It took a while for the Wednesday Xbox group to really nail it so it becomes second nature. I think that's why you usually see the "center takes front and back" strategy in pick-up groups- it's far easier for everyone to understand, but it requires center guardians who are quick to react and move (Titans preferred).

Yeah both methods seem to have their own advantages. We discussed it a bit at the start of the night, and we decided to let the middle guardians handle front-mid and back-mid because it reduces the number of places each player needs to look as the teleport phase starts. Keeps things slightly less confusing, and it does mean the players covering the middle need to be super on-point when it comes to hauling ass to the back or front when they need to. Just as you suggested, we make the conscious decision to put 2 Titans in the middle so they could handle the jumps more easily.

All things considered, it worked out fairly well. It took us close to 2.5 hours to complete the challenge, but there were only 1 or 2 instances where we wiped because of players in the middle failing to reach their positions on time (one of those instances was partially due to a forced rotation that led to a Hunter being stuck in the middle and struggling to make one of the jumps). So there definitely are risks involved, but as long as you have 2 Titans with good jumping skills, it shouldn't cause too many problems.

Hmm. in the few times I have played we found having the side folks cover the pit was more effective than the center guy.

Normally yes, but challenge mode changes that. If Aksis is in the center, then the only places the supercharge plate can be are on the left and right. Both sides have to deal with that, so it makes more sense for the center to take him.

I've done the challenge both ways a few times. In my experience the method where the center and right guardian share responsibilities is better, because everyone is closer to the slam/supercharge and the timing is a bit easier. The downside is that it's a more complicated approach and the entire team needs to understand it and execute it. It took a while for the Wednesday Xbox group to really nail it so it becomes second nature. I think that's why you usually see the "center takes front and back" strategy in pick-up groups- it's far easier for everyone to understand, but it requires center guardians who are quick to react and move (Titans preferred).

Well maybe not Marty anymore, but certainly Mike and C Paul.

That fight is so much cooler with music!

I love the music in that fight too, but given how many times we failed because we were having trouble hearing all the call outs, I didn't want to take any chances :)

That fight is so much cooler with music!

Hmm. in the few times I have played we found having the side folks cover the pit was more effective than the center guy.

Normally yes, but challenge mode changes that. If Aksis is in the center, then the only places the supercharge plate can be are on the left and right. Both sides have to deal with that, so it makes more sense for the center to take him.

I think the only crucial factor is that Cody needs to be the one to die ;p

Yeah, but it was totally Cody's fault - he left all the damn shanks alive.

He needed to save his Golden Gun shots for the captain, duh...

If you know how to use Golden Gun as a Nightstalker, you're a much better player than I am ;p

Yeah. Those orbs are being generated by the tether suppressing the captain. Believe me, I wouldn't have left those shanks alive if I knew they were there! Oopsie. Such is the responsibility of the switching player.

The key is that there might be very little time between picking up the 7th bomb and being forced to throw it to prevent a team wipe, so it is very important that the 3 empowered players are relatively close to their ideal positions. Hence having them be the throwers, which allows the cannoners to travel more freely.

Thanks for the explanation. On the Xbox side we make a big deal about the 7th bomb too, but that gives the empowered folks time to get into position before the throw (we'll ignore the 8th or 9th servitor if time is tight). I think our instinct is always to have the empowered moving until we get to that last throw - that way they can move to wherever we need them in the moment. When we have two empowered people on a side, it's always the cannoneer that moves to cover the gap.

I wish Sony and Microsoft could bury the hatchet and allow cross-platform games; it'd be fun to run with the other side.

I think the only crucial factor is that Cody needs to be the one to die ;p

Yeah, but it was totally Cody's fault - he left all the damn shanks alive.

He needed to save his Golden Gun shots for the captain, duh...

If you know how to use Golden Gun as a Nightstalker, you're a much better player than I am ;p

I think the only crucial factor is that Cody needs to be the one to die ;p

Yeah, but it was totally Cody's fault - he left all the damn shanks alive.

He needed to save his Golden Gun shots for the captain, duh...

I think the only crucial factor is that Cody needs to be the one to die ;p

Yeah, but it was totally Cody's fault - he left all the damn shanks alive.

Exactly.

blamecody.gif ;)

I had a question about always having your empowered people throw - doesn't that pull the center empowered person out of position? On the xbox side anyway, we tend to put the center guardian in front of the right side stairs so they can cover the right plate if Aksis teleports to front center (and cover the back plate for all other scenarios). When the center guardian is in that location, they don't have line of sight to throw at Aksis.

What we found is that the people with the cannons are more likely to be rushing all over the place chasing down servitors, so having the empowered players handle the bombs allows them to at least stay in their quadrant of the map. In the video you can hear us counting out the bombs as they are thrown... we get to 6 bombs as quickly as possible. As soon as someone picks up the 7th bomb, they make a big deal of announcing it so that everyone knows the final bomb is in hand and ready to be thrown. At this point, all 3 empowered players make sure they are in their positions. The 3 cannoners might still be chasing down the final servitors at this point (just to get them out of the way and make sure they don't cause confusion), which is fine. Once all 3 empowered players call out that they are ready to go, the one holding the 7th bomb lets it fly.

The key is that there might be very little time between picking up the 7th bomb and being forced to throw it to prevent a team wipe, so it is very important that the 3 empowered players are relatively close to their ideal positions. Hence having them be the throwers, which allows the cannoners to travel more freely.

* is cannoners a word? I don't know, but I like it.
** Look Cyber, I spelt cannon right! :D
-edit-
*** ahhh, I now see that it should be "cannoneers". To late, can't fix it now ;)

I think the only crucial factor is that Cody needs to be the one to die ;p

Yeah, but it was totally Cody's fault - he left all the damn shanks alive.

Exactly.

... "Chappy's doom scenario"...

I think I have the name of my next band :) Congrats on the challenge; I think it's the toughest in the game so far.

I had a question about always having your empowered people throw - doesn't that pull the center empowered person out of position? On the xbox side anyway, we tend to put the center guardian in front of the right side stairs so they can cover the right plate if Aksis teleports to front center (and cover the back plate for all other scenarios). When the center guardian is in that location, they don't have line of sight to throw at Aksis.

Of course sometimes that's just the way it happens and the center needs to throw and get into position quickly. Generally we try to have left or right throw the last bomb, since they can do that from their starting positions.

In any case - well done!