The Voice and the Claw of the Fallen (spoiler!)

[GWMO.4785]

Can i post strike mission here? Im just going to do it. I just wanted to say that this instance is great. With Icebrood Construct i didnt had much hopes for this type of content. But this second strike mission really did hit the spot for me. I love it. Thanks ANet! Recorded a small footage of our first experiance. Well.. second one, cause first one was a duo to see how the encounter would be like to get a feeling for it. (Spoils at own risk!)

[Randulf.7614]

Enjoyable fight. Haven't been in a successful group yet, so that's a plus compared to the last one. I'm sure some are finding it incredibly easy, but it's certainly harder than what I'm used to in game so that suits me just fine

[LadyKitty.6120]

The Kodan Duo is quite an interesting fight, yush. Kitty did it with some LFG squad as dps-esque support chronomancer and we killed them on first try though 7:56 CC bar almost wiped the squad ('cause like anywhere except at Mordy, nobody CC'd). We didn't have any healers in squad. Guess it works as halfway point towards raids as the stuff the bosses do are actually a lot more bothersome than what half of raid bosses have, but the damage from mechanics (except for CCs) isn't quite as punishing.This time there's actually a somewhat challenging DPS check if you want full loot (this LFG squad failed both gold and silver bonus). From what Kitty quickly mathed, the bosses seem to have about 9mil HP each according to the video she recorded.Timer for gold rewards is 3 minutes and you'd need about 60k squad cleave/30k avg. squad dps per boss to reach that.Timer for silver is 5 minutes and you'd need about 36k squad cleave/18k avg. squad dps per boss to reach that.Claw likes to jump and both bosses port around (including lots of time in the surrounding lava) so you can't exactly cleave them both full-time and dps uptime is probably a bit lower than Matt (which is already infamous for low melee dps uptime).
So, if you actually want the gold rewards you might need at least slightly experienced squad of raiders/fractalers. Condi might be beneficial unless you're doing it with high-end raid squad with good burst dps (in which case the bosses would die in about 60-100 seconds, Kitty makes an educated guess).

E: And as such, let the flood of "this strike mission too hard" begin.E2: Kitty now did it again and it actually seems like a mixmash of some previous raid bosses with bears having lb-DH and hammerwarr skill set. Bunch of damage pressure but no 1-shot mechs, smaller invidual hits from multitude of mechs and no arena aura. So from DPSer's perspective, this might actually be more difficult than W4b1-3, Gorseval and Sab (and certainly more annoying if you eat mechs and you're sturdy enough to survive lots of small hits). Kitty also

with overwhelming heals.E3: Kitty now did it 4th time and apparently the bosses indeed have high toughness (like Kitty assumed) as some mirage was doing twice higher dps than some decent power dpsers.

[maddoctor.2738]

@"LadyKitty.6120" said:And as such, let the flood of "this strike mission too hard" begin.

If/when that happens it would mean this strike mission is actually good content. Haven't tried it yet myself but from what I read it sounds really promising.

[GWMO.4785]

@LadyKitty.6120 said:Let it sink in. I mean these are the first steps people take in the instance. In time, people will improve

[RaidsAreEasyAF.8652]

The fight is actually fun and it might as well have been a Raidboss with some fine tuning. Mechanic wise they can keep up with some of the bosses already.

[Randulf.7614]

Silver seemed straightforward enough. Did it with 9 - I have no real dps to speak of being on my pvt warrior, so I might have just had a really good pug, but it seemed to go smoothly enough without much worry about mega dps.

Gold would likely be beyond my contributing abilities, but that's kind how it should be to be honest

It is a good fight though. It just need context and a reason to exist to round it out as perfect

[Krzysztof.5973]

I'm just sad but not surprised that there is no CM.

[zealex.9410]

@maddoctor.2738 said:

@"LadyKitty.6120" said:And as such, let the flood of "this strike mission too hard" begin.

If/when that happens it would mean this strike mission is actually good content. Haven't tried it yet myself but from what I read it sounds really promising.

It hasnt been soloed from what ive seen so far so thats a plus and supposedly the boneskinner is harder.

[GWMO.4785]

@Randulf.7614 said:As i said before, these are the first steps people take in the instance. in time people will improve once they get familiar / comfortable with the encounter(s)

@Krzysztof.5973 said:I'm just sad but not surprised that there is no CM.Well... it suppose to be entry level raiding. So dont expect difficult content.

@zealex.9410 said:It hasnt been soloed from what ive seen so far so thats a plus and supposedly the boneskinner is harder.To my knowledge there are 3 SM bosses. Which will rotate every week. Boneskinner being one of them. We'll see i guess. Definitely looking forward to it tho

[LadyKitty.6120]

@GWMO.4785 said:

@Randulf.7614 said:As i said before, these are the first steps people take in the instance. in time people will improve once they get familiar / comfortable with the encounter(s)

@Krzysztof.5973 said:I'm just sad but not surprised that there is no CM.Well... it suppose to be entry level raiding. So dont expect difficult content.

@zealex.9410 said:It hasnt been soloed from what ive seen so far so thats a plus and supposedly the boneskinner is harder.To my knowledge there are 3 SM bosses. Which will rotate every week. Boneskinner being one of them. We'll see i guess. Definitely looking forward to it tho

Kodan Bros is one, legendary Boneskinner is second and High Shaman is third strike mission and they said it'll rotate weekly, yush.

[Vinceman.4572]

Casual squads will barely finish this encounter on a regular basis and for ambitious groups it's still too easy.The only reason they are doing this is because they've already abandoned fractals & raids. Sad to see things going this way. The 3 strike missions could have been a new fractal or actually a raid but no this way it's easier to develop & to ship out to the players. I really cannot believe that this strategy will pay off to be sustainable for the future.

[NorthernRedStar.3054]

Fun fight, finished on first try. The issue is having to wait for the Boneskinner and High Shaman fights. Wish it would've been somewhat (a bit?) harder, but I suppose it's hard enough for most people as is.

[GWMO.4785]

@LadyKitty.6120 said:Kodan Bros is one, legendary Boneskinner is second and High Shaman is third strike mission and they said it'll rotate weekly, yush.Which is what i said on the message you quoted me on ^^

@"Vinceman.4572" said:Casual squads will barely finish this encounter on a regular basis and for ambitious groups it's still too easy. The only reason they are doing this is because they've already abandoned fractals & raids. Sad to see things going this way. The 3 strike missions could have been a new fractal or actually a raid but no this way it's easier to develop & to ship out to the players. I really cannot believe that this strategy will pay off to be sustainable for the future.Maybe. I mean there are lot of people being bored of fractals, while there is a large group that doesnt want to bother with raids duo to w/e the reason. I think strike missions really fits into that niche place. Personally i like endgame content and thus it adds up to my daily "to-do" list.

[LadyKitty.6120]

Though there's prolly lots of organized squads which've got the gold reward, here's a video of an LFG run Kitty got the mission done in 2:30 (0:30 left on gold). This squad had lots of good dpsers and "focus one to 15% then swap focus the other to death, try to lure them together for cleave"-tactic seems to work very well.

[Randulf.7614]

@Vinceman.4572 said:Casual squads will barely finish this encounter on a regular basis and for ambitious groups it's still too easy.The only reason they are doing this is because they've already abandoned fractals & raids. Sad to see things going this way. The 3 strike missions could have been a new fractal or actually a raid but no this way it's easier to develop & to ship out to the players. I really cannot believe that this strategy will pay off to be sustainable for the future.

I think Strike missions will pay off although it would be nice to tie a context for them to exist. They are a bit random right now even though I like this weeks fight a lot.

It is a sustainable solution...however they need to be paired with continuing releases for the other instances. These are meant to to bridge the gap, but bridging the gap only works if there is something on the other side. If the cliff on the other side has eroded away, then they're just a random boss fight they could throw out into open world.

I'm not playing much of fractals anymore (haven't enjoyed the last 3-4 releases) and I haven't raided...but success in these would tempt me to do more of the other instances

[Aaralyna.3104]

Played this strike mission 3x. First on a public (big whipe and then when ppl were leaving someone thought it could be done in trio so was stuck to sit that out and ofcourse that would go nowhere). Then found a squad in lfg and joined that and they knew tacts (or well they mentioned kill together) and that went good. Same as yesterdays attempt via lfg. I never stepped any foot in raids, I never did more than 1st fractal in t2 once... I don't have a meta build on me either (gs zerker chrono) tho I did hug the group and take in some damage as ranged does more according skill description (tho boons may up for it at same time). Asked commander after if my dps was ok enough (as I expected to be a giant failure on that department) but got replied I did well and in line with all dps. (I don't use dps meters so). And I did enjoy this strike.

The only thing I found was that there is every time only 1 strike mission advertised in lfg... Like where are all the lfg squads for them in EU? (prime time, map lfg)

But I also have a question for the more experienced ppl that do raids normally. How big is the gap of skill and difficulty between this particular strike boss and the raids in the game? And could raids still be done in the same build setup I have kinda? I do have a sword/focus in secondary hand but as soon as I use that for some reason I am always dead (despite avoiding aoe's/front attacks and stand at side of boss or behind it and dodge when needed) so I stick to my familiar greatsword. Also, in the strike mission 1 boss shoots ranged.... But does the skill "Feedback" actually work on such enemies? I am using it coz I thought, its shoots ranged but I can't see if it actually reflects projectiles of the boss (lots of visual noise going on in screen). I know a bit of a noob question but have to get to learn such stuff somewhere lol.

[RaidsAreEasyAF.8652]

@"Aaralyna.3104" said:Played this strike mission 3x. First on a public (big whipe and then when ppl were leaving someone thought it could be done in trio so was stuck to sit that out and ofcourse that would go nowhere). Then found a squad in lfg and joined that and they knew tacts (or well they mentioned kill together) and that went good. Same as yesterdays attempt via lfg. I never stepped any foot in raids, I never did more than 1st fractal in t2 once... I don't have a meta build on me either (gs zerker chrono) tho I did hug the group and take in some damage as ranged does more according skill description (tho boons may up for it at same time). Asked commander after if my dps was ok enough (as I expected to be a giant failure on that department) but got replied I did well and in line with all dps. (I don't use dps meters so). And I did enjoy this strike.

Since you like to play a gs zerker chrono you will probably be happy to hear that it is in fact a meta build.Just one nitpick. No matter what you do, unless you have to deal with a mechanic you always stack on the boss. Thats where you get boons and heals. Even if you go downstate, the squad can just press f to revive you and doesnt have to move around to get you.

But I also have a question for the more experienced ppl that do raids normally. How big is the gap of skill and difficulty between this particular strike boss and the raids in the game?

It really depends on the boss. Some Bosses are super easy. I would say the current strikemission is already more difficult than Mursaat. It could be more difficult than some other bosses, but it dies to fast for that. Some tiny adjustments (more hp, breakbar every 25% instead of a timer) and the strike could have been in a raid. It would still remain one of the easier bosses though.

And could raids still be done in the same build setup I have kinda? I do have a sword/focus in secondary hand but as soon as I use that for some reason I am always dead (despite avoiding aoe's/front attacks and stand at side of boss or behind it and dodge when needed) so I stick to my familiar greatsword.

Like i said, GS Zerker Chrono is a Meta build. You might have to do some adjustments depending on the rune/sigils/traits you currently have, but you might be fine for the most part. Just remember, as a gs zerker chrono you are a dps class. Your job is to do damage. Thats why you will want to take the traits that add more damage.As for survivability, try sword sword. Not only is it stronger, i also has a block and stacks might on you.

Also, in the strike mission 1 boss shoots ranged.... But does the skill "Feedback" actually work on such enemies? I am using it coz I thought, its shoots ranged but I can't see if it actually reflects projectiles of the boss (lots of visual noise going on in screen). I know a bit of a noob question but have to get to learn such stuff somewhere lol.

You wont take damage from his attacks when you have feedback up. I dont know if the skill actually reflects his attacks though. Everything related to projectiles in this game is just weird.

[Fueki.4753]

@"LadyKitty.6120" said:And as such, let the flood of "this strike mission too hard" begin.I think it was quite hard, but not too hard.I finished it with about one minute left on the timer, but we were only 8 people in there and two of the others were dead in the last few minutes.

@"LadyKitty.6120" said:Kodan BrosThe Voice is supposed to be female, so it's not "bros".

[GWMO.4785]

@Aaralyna.3104 said:I do wish add something on top of what @"RaidsAreEasyAF.8652" said without stretching it too far. cause it does goes a bit off-topic. As someone that used to main Chrono since HoT., first thing i like to tell you is get more comfortable in melee zone. Or rather stay in the "packt" Cause that's where all the support and heals happens.

Second, based on SC benchmarks the GS dps build is stronger, but dont take it as granted. Since these are done in an "sandboxed" environment. In a real scenario more then often you will end up being more efficient with the /sword & focus variant in endgame content. Especially outside raids (fracs, sm, dungeons etc). Overall the power Chrono relies heavily on phantasms as that is where the main damage comes from. So try to keep that up as much as possible.

Lastly Feedback does indeed protect you from projectiles by reflecting it. However keep in mind these are not always the same. There are direct projectiles that you or foes directly shoot towards a target. For example ranger's rapid fire or ele's staff auto attack on fire attunement. These will reflect if it comes in contact with feedback. But other attacks that look like projectile, but is essentially ground target aoe will not. Examples are Arcing Arrow on warrior's longbow, or the grenades on engi. Another exception is when projectiles are/become unblockable. Some bosses do have this property. An example could also be when a warrior procs Signet of Might, before using longbow or rifle skills.

[RaidsAreEasyAF.8652]

@"GWMO.4785" said:Second, based on SC benchmarks the GS dps build is stronger, but dont take it as granted. Since these are done in an "sandboxed" environment. In a real scenario more then often you will end up being more efficient with the /sword & focus variant in endgame content. Especially outside raids (fracs, sm, dungeons etc). Overall the power Chrono relies heavily on phantasms as that is where the main damage comes from. So try to keep that up as much as possible.

Sword Focus is better in bad groups because its usually played with the illusions traitline. That trailine offers easy access to quickness for yourself without losing any damage (well, technically thats lie because you miss out on some torment damage, but you are a power class anyway so its whatever).

Considering that most of the time you run timewarp anyway (or you should run it) the group has to be really bad to make illusions better. Illusions is less damage and your focus phantasm can target other enemies. Enemies include tears on deimos and the poison floor on slothasor.

Usually, what SC write on the website is really good and if you follow them and learn what they tell you to learn you will do so much better than pugs. If you really want to push out extra dps, you need to understand not only your class but also the encounter and adapt the rotation.

I agree with everything else you´ve said though.

[Randulf.7614]

As someone who hasn't raided in this game, I am intrigued by comments that this is on par with some of the raid bosses. I didn't overly find this too difficult, so it is somewhat encouraging (mind you given my build, I'm thinking about how much I may have been carried).

[Aaralyna.3104]

Thanks for the reactions guys, they are helpfull :)

[Nephalem.8921]

@Randulf.7614 said:As someone who hasn't raided in this game, I am intrigued by comments that this is on par with some of the raid bosses. I didn't overly find this too difficult, so it is somewhat encouraging (mind you given my build, I'm thinking about how much I may have carried).

Thats why a lot of the more hardcore players complain about raids. Most of them have cms but cms dont have any extra reward after you finished them once. Some of the cms feel like it should have been normal mode aswell because the boss lacks mechanics in normal. w4 b1-3, all of w7 for example. Especially w7 endboss feels like its missing something without the cm.

[ArthurDent.9538]

@Randulf.7614 said:As someone who hasn't raided in this game, I am intrigued by comments that this is on par with some of the raid bosses. I didn't overly find this too difficult, so it is somewhat encouraging (mind you given my build, I'm thinking about how much I may have been carried).

I personally disagree with the new strike being remotely on par with any of the raid bosses. There really just aren't any particularly punishing mechanics and the incoming damage is low overall. Regardless I enjoyed the fight, it had a nice flow to it, but it needs something that can really wipe groups to put it on par with raid bosses as basically everything can be healed through with little difficulty.