This post is simply a collection of tips, tricks, and general outline of how the fight progresses and what should happen in hard mode of King's Fall Raid..
Requirements- have at least 3-4 players with Touch of Malice (this is essential for more damage done to Oryx and mobs while inside the aura)
- have at least one Nightstalker (Black Hole, Light of the Pack, Predator)
- have at least one Titan (Blessing of Light, Bastion, Illuminated)
- a second/optional Titan (Weapons of Light, Bastion, Illuminated)
- it is recommended that your Perma-Floaters have Touch of Malice
"What is the Standard Method?"
The Standard Method is simply killing Ogres and killing Knights. You'll also have two permanent floaters who will be helping on all the Ogres and the last couple of knights.
Out of your two perma-floaters, one should be a Titan with Blessing. If you have two Titans, the other one should use Weapons and also be a perma-floater.
Ideally, you'll want your perma-floaters to be 311+ light as they do more damage to Ogres.
You'll then want to assign a number to three of your teammates (1, 2, 3) - this will be the order of their jumping on a platform. Essentially, they are rotating.
Platform Guy #1 will always be with the Runner ready at the platform Oryx slams; #2 will be at the next platform counter-clockwise; #3 will be at the third.
What are the pros and cons of using the Standard Method?
PROS:
- killing Ogres/knights means you're removing threats of damage and bomb negation
- you'll prevent your teammates from dying/your runner from being shot at by Ogres
- you can consistently get four bombs detonated each phase
- you can clear the remaining adds, preventing players from dying while detonating
- it removes randomness / allows you to fully control the fight
CONS:
- nothing really, unless one of your teammates is an absolutely terrible shot, in which case you'd know whom to help out
THE FIGHT
For clarification purposes, we'll call the section of the map where Oryx spawns as the FRONT; and the section towards the entrance as the BACK.
The major difference in Hard Mode is that after killing an Ogre, a "Light Eater Knight" appears from diagonally-across the map section of whichever Ogre was killed.
This Knight will run diagonally towards the bomb that the Ogre left behind and it will "eat" it, meaning less bombs for you to detonate = less damage done to Oryx per phase.
The idea is to kill the Ogres (Platform Guy with Machine Gun + Two Floaters with Touch of Malice); then kill the Light Eater Knight as it spawns or as it's running to the bomb (the Platform Guy can easily do this with a sniper rifle).
http://imgur.com/k2mc1Uk -
Oryx has slammed his fist; Platform guys are jumping; Runner is moving and has reached 3/4's of the way to the relic
We are going to assume for this example that Oryx has slammed the FRONT-RIGHT platform.
That is #1, so have the runner and platform guy#1 ready there; then platform guys #2 and #3 are also up in sequence.
After Oryx slams the platform, have your floater Titan drop the bubble.
The Ogres will begin to spawn in succession.
Your two perma-floaters + the guy on their platform will kill the Ogre. Let's say Ogre#1 is dead; Platform Guy#1 turns around, snipes the Knight across to kill it.
The perma-floaters dip in and out of the Blessing/Weapons of Light, switching and helping on different Ogres. Second Ogre dies, Platform Guy#2 kills his Knight. Third Ogre dies, Platform Guy #3 kills his Knight.
- Essentially, once the Runner says: "I have the Relic" - it is around the time that Ogre#3 is being killed/Ogre#4 is spawning.
The moment the Runner says he has the Relic, the Platform Guys MUST STOP WHATEVER THEY ARE DOING AND GET OFF THEIR PLATFORMS.
They rush to the middle area where the Titan bubble/s are to gain extra health/DPS.
The two Perma-Floaters are finishing off the Fourth Ogre. The third Light Eater Knight is crossing the lane so it can be quickly killed by then.
The three Platform Guys plus the Runner will also be killing the Vessel of Oryx.
Oryx will be slamming his fist around this time so 4-5 players can focus on his chest to stagger him. The others, ideally the floaters, can kill the fourth Light Eater Knight which is crossing the lane.
Staggering / Detonation
After staggering - DO NOT GO OUTSIDE OF THE INVINCIBILITY AURA YET!!!!!.
You can spend an extra 10-15 seconds clearing the remaining mobs - Centurions, Acolytes, Acolyte Eyes, even Thralls if there are a lot of them. Your runner shoots at Oryx continuously; the rest of the team clears mobs.
After most of the mobs are dead, have one player simply call out:
"Casually walk to your bombs... detonate in 3... 2.... 1...."
At "1" - your teammates activate their bombs and count around 5 seconds while near it; then they quickly run back inside the Invincibility Aura.
For Clarification Purposes:
- Your three platform guys will be responsible for the bomb they were currently at/where they've rotated to
- One of your perma-floaters will be assigned to wherever the fourth Ogre was (ie. the platform where the Relic was on top of)
Running / Artillery Barrage Transition
- Have your platform guys run around the platform/ogre/bomb they had been responsible for earlier
- One of your floaters will run around the fourth platform (where the relic was/ where the bomb he detonated earlier was)
- The other floater / runner can just pick their own Deathsinger platform and run on the outer rim of that; or the lane of the map; or the outer front edge
Repeat the steps for the Normal "Ogre/Knight" Phase, just remember to rotate your platform guys based on their numbering order.
Shadow Realm / Echo of Oryx Transition
- Pretty much the same as it was on Normal Mode; kill the Knights outside first, then the Thralls outside the portal
- when teleported, continuously damage the Echo and watch out for any Thralls that come inside
- call out whenever the Echo has teleported and in which direction
- call out if the Echo is about to charge/slam; if you're teleported, jump away to avoid being insta-killed (if the Echo slams you just as you materialize)
Repeat the steps for the Normal "Ogre/Knight" Phase, just remember to rotate your platform guys based on their numbering order.
You should have Oryx at 0% health after four phases; or five in case you missed a bomb earlier. Just nuke his chest and enjoy your loot.
ADDITIONAL TIPS / QUESTIONS:
(1) "Can we do the regular method where we are assigned a platform and DO NOT ROTATE platform guys at all?"
Yes, of course. Remember that it's best that one Titan should still be the permanent floater (Blessing of Light/Touch of Malice). Having that bubble ready once everyone starts running to the middle helps a lot in preventing deaths.
As of now, majority of players are probably still 310 or lower, hence they have not reached the 311+ threshold yet to avoid being too penalized against mobs. So the idea is to rotate platforms with your weaker teammates; and your strongest teammates (or Titans with blessing and weapons) being the permanent floaters to do the maximum damage to Ogres.
However, if your team can manage and are all decently geared, then killing Ogres should never be an issue. Feel free to just assign them specific platforms if you want.
(2) "Okay, we want to try Rotating Platforms so we can have two permanent floaters; but I'm someone who can easily get confused, what can our team do to make it easier?"
Instead of rotating all three players, you can just assign them to a fixed platform - Front Left, Front Right, Back Left.
Only one player needs to rotate and that is the player who is assigned to a platform - but the relic has spawned on top of it. This player will run to BACK RIGHT which no one is covering.
The player which has rotated will be responsible for the Ogre at the platform he rotated to; the Knight that spawned across; detonating the bomb the Ogre left behind; and (if it's a running transition), he'll run around the platform where he moved to.
The other floater will be responsible for the fourth Ogre's bomb and the fourth Knight spawning diagonally-across from the Relic platform; and (if it's a running transition), he'll run around the Relic platform.
(3) "We only have X number of Titans in the group, what buff should we use?"
If you have only one Titan, designate him as the Perma-Floater (hopefully he has Touch of Malice). He should use Blessing of Light (Bastion/Illuminated). With Bastion, your bubble lasts until the Runner has acquired the Invincibility Aura and has made his way to the middle - which means your Platform Guys can easily dip in and gain the buff once they're told to get off their platforms.
If you have more than one Titan, assign the other one also as a Perma-Floater. He should have Weapons of Light (Bastion/Illuminated). This makes Ogre/Knight/mob-clearing a breeze.
(4) "You mentioned having at least one Nightstalker, for what purpose?"
Nightstalkers are orb-machines and amazing for crowd control and anti-detection.
(a) Start the fight and the Thralls would spawn. Funnel the thralls towards the front-middle of the map. Shoot a tether (Black Hole, Light of the Pack, Predator), and watch those orbs popping up. The Knights would not even spawn yet until several seconds after a Thrall is killed.
(b) Once the Runner has the Relic and everyone is moving towards the middle, if you're a Nightstalker you can throw a smoke bomb on yourself to make your way safely (not that it's necessary, but if in case you were being randomly shot at, it helps).
(c) Finally, towards the end of each phase, you'll probably have the third or fourth Light-Eater Knight crossing the lane. A tether at the intersection of that lane completely prevents the Knights/Vessel from moving too much. If it catches the Centurions/Acolytes/Eyes, it can also completely disrupt and weaken them.
This gives a chance for quick and easy kills, and protecting your teammates and those bombs.
Plus, look at those orbs! It ensures your Titan floaters will always have their bubble ready each cycle.
(5) "As a Warlock, I pride myself in having a clutch-revive if I die. Anything extra I can do?"
Only for emergencies and general confusion - which should rarely happen.
Assuming your team is doing the Running/Artillery Barrage transition, and one of your teammates ended up running at the same area as you, there is a good chance you'll run into each other and die from the barrage.
You can just move away from him and sit down, sacrifice yourself (so your teammate has more room to run around in). Self-ress later.
Additionally, you can throw your Solar Grenades on the lane intersection to scare off the Knights for a few seconds as they are moving towards a bomb.
(6) "What is the optimum Runner progression as we're doing the normal phase?"
Majority of fast/good Runners will say: "I have the Relic/you can get off your platforms" by the time the 3rd Ogre is being shot at (really fast!); or the 4th Ogre is spawning (kinda fast).
Remember that around this time, the Hive Tombship has spawned and is slowly moving above you.
If you are on one of the FRONT platforms and you're still on it, you can get hit by the homing shots and die, so it is imperative that the Runner is fast to move, so you can get off your platform quickly as well.
(7) "WTF? Where is that Knight?"
Please refer to the diagram to see where the Knights spawn.
The FRONT Knights will always spawn at the puddle at the corners diagonally-across from the Ogres that were killed.
The BACK Knights will always spawn at the opposite platform, just behind one of its ledges. You'll see its head pop out from that ledge for an easy headshot.
The Knights can also be shot through the "dark cloud" (spawning Acolytes); if you're fast enough you can get in two headshots/kill it before the Acolytes spawn.
(8) "Okay, I'm on a platform and I killed X Ogre and X Knight, what should I do now?"
The players on the first two platforms per slam will always have it easy. Your Ogres are dead, you turn around and snipe the Knight. You'll have several seconds until the Runner has obtained the Relic.
Use this time to shoot a few Acolytes or Eyes. It can help a lot in preventing your teammates from taking damage.
(9) "The Runner has the Relic and tells us to get off the platform, my Knight is still alive, what should I do?"
(a) If you're a good shot/have good situational awareness, stay on your platform and kill the Knight; you can even take out a couple of adds quickly if you want while you're moving to the middle bubbles.
(b) If you don't want to risk it, get off the platform and continue shooting at the Knight as you're moving to the middle bubbles.
Remember though that if it is too risky and you may die while trying to kill a Knight, just play it safe. It's better to lose one bomb to a Knight than lose one player. You can still kill Oryx though you'll need 5 cycles instead of 4.
(10) "The Runner is moving to the middle; the last Light Eater Knight is crossing the lane; the Vessel is running to us; TOO MANY THINGS GOING ON!! AHHHH!!!"
It's okay. Don't panic. It's part of the fight.
Again:
if you're a Nightstalker and you see a Knight/Vessel crossing the lane, tether it
if you're one of the floaters, continue watching for the last Knight and kill it
if you're a platform guy/runner, just gang up on the Vessel
Again, remember that if it is too risky and you may die while trying to kill a Knight, just play it safe. It's better to lose one bomb to a Knight than lose one player. You can still kill Oryx though you'll need 5 cycles instead of 4.
(11) "Oryx is opening his chest! A Knight is still alive! AHHHHHH! What should I shoot!?!?! AHHHH?!?!"
Again, don't panic. It's quite easy to manage.
You can still stagger Oryx with 4-5 people shooting at him; with the 6th player (one of the floaters) killing off the last Knight
For the third time, remember that if it is too risky and you may die while trying to kill a Knight, just play it safe. It's better to lose one bomb to a Knight than lose one player. You can still kill Oryx though you'll need 5 cycles instead of 4.
(12) "Oryx has staggered! Let's run to bombs, k?!"
NO!
Stay inside the aura, as mentioned. Stay there! Shoot the mobs - kill the most threatening ones like Centurions, Acolytes, Eyes, and even packs of Thralls.
You have around 35 seconds from the moment Oryx staggers, to the moment he closes his chest anyway. Spend 10-15 seconds of that clearing the mobs.
And, again, calmly go towards your assigned bomb... listen to the countdown... "3...2...1". Step near/in it; wait around 5 seconds as your screen flashes brightly, then run back inside the Aura.
You'll have no deaths to mobs because most of them are dead.
You'll have no deaths to bomb explosions because you timed it right and everyone can get back inside the Aura safely.
Plus - it calms everyone's nerves!
(13) "Any more tips for the Echo of Oryx/Shadow Realm?"
The Echo usually slams once. However, if you tether and someone's close to it, it can slam up to three times. Just be aware of where it is; kite it at the edge while everyone else keeps shooting.
If a Titan is teleported early, have him drop a bubble (Blessing of Light) in the middle of the room. This allows the team to dip in and out if they're using Touch of Malice. It can also prevent instant-death in case someone is teleported and the Echo slams at the same time.
(14) "What is the optimal weapon loadout?"
Recommended:
- Touch of Malice
- your highest damaging/impact sniper
- raid machine gun
Versus Ogres = floaters with TOM; platformers with Machine Gun
Versus Knights = platformers with Sniper
Versus Mobs/Oryx = everyone with TOM
Please note that TOM is not necessary for everyone to have; it's essential for the floaters though to do as much damage while dipping inside the Blessing.
Getting TOM is not necessarily a "must have Gjallarhorn" moment, because obtaining that weapon outside of Week2 Xur is pure RNG.
TOM can be easily obtained (story mission, strikes, exploration, normal mode raid, events), and, for me, it just shows that you, Guardian, did a bit of effort in playing the game before trying Hard Mode.
It just means that you came prepared.
(15) "I'm confused about Light Level with regards to damage to mobs, or what armor pieces I should be using."
311+ Light Level is optimal for a perma-floater as it ensures maximum damage to Ogres; but again, if you have only one Titan (even at a lower light level), he should be guaranteed this spot.
That being said, if you're 310 and below (and cannot get any higher), wear armor that can prevent you from taking ARC damage - this can mitigate a bit of damage from Ogres, Centurions, Acolyte Eyes.
Being 305-310 hardly matters, compared to the difference it makes when reaching the 311+ threshold.
(16) "Should I do this Standard Method? I know of others such as the "No Knights Method" that seems to be popular?"
It is completely up to you. Whatever you're comfortable with.
I personally prefer the Standard Method simply because it removes any and all randomness from the fight (Runner shot by ogres, players shot by Ogres, Ogres dying too early/too late, Ogres dying close to Knight spawns and Knights eating the bomb, players dying atop the Deathsinger platforms, players dying to newly-spawning mobs, players not making it back inside Aura, etc)
The phases will be the same, no matter what; the timing will almost always remain as such. It allows the group to control the fight to their advantage.
The bubble in the middle will not dissipate for a long time; players running into it get buffed and can continue killing their Knight as it crosses.
When staying in the Aura, clearing mobs before detonating, and doing a countdown, it calms everyone's nerves since everything becomes systematic.
Lastly, it's almost the same as in normal mode - which means it's what we've been "trained" to do for the past few weeks. We've been trained to kill Ogres then run to the middle for this fight. On hard mode, the only difference is pretty simple - we turn around and snipe a Knight. That's all it is, really.
Again, this is simply my preference; what strategy you do is completely up to you.
(17) What is your success rate doing this method?
When grouping with randoms, they are all trying a new/different strat. We'd have several hours of wipefests due to random stuff happening (mentioned above), to the point that everyone has almost given up or I'm forced to find another group.
Oryx dies in a couple of tries with this strategy.
Again, it will always come down to player awareness, communication, and just playing to the best of your abilities.
As always...
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Credits: Special thanks to
el2mador for compiling this tips.
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