How to get started into fractal CMs?

[Chyro.1462]

Like there's always just CM lfgs around with requirements of already having thousands of the killproof currency.

I get that I'll probably have to make my own LFG with a training group, but where do you even start?

What are the CM fractals that people do in those daily groups with the high requirements? And would it make sense to train them first at a lower tier?

Can you learn the fights going in blind or are the mechanics so complex that you'd need to watch a guide first?

[Linken.6345]

1 hour ago, Chyro.1462 said:

Like there's always just CM lfgs around with requirements of already having thousands of the killproof currency.

I get that I'll probably have to make my own LFG with a training group, but where do you even start?

What are the CM fractals that people do in those daily groups with the high requirements? And would it make sense to train them first at a lower tier?

Can you learn the fights going in blind or are the mechanics so complex that you'd need to watch a guide first?

You can learn them going in blind yes.

And no you cant train them in lower tiers the cms are only 100-97 fractals so far.

[Vinceman.4572]

Are you familiar with fractal level 97 & 98 and oneshot every boss on normal mode there? Well, then it's time to learn CMs. If not get better at the game. If you have many problems with both fractals in your daily groups you are not ready.

[Chyro.1462]

Yeah, doing 97 and 98 just fine whenever they come up in t4 dailies. Even 99 isn't a problem, am familiar with all the mechanics and can usually keep the party alive if they don't mess up too badly (I usually play alac-heal tempest). Though barely done 100 yet, only one or two clears when it came up as daily.

So 97, 98, 99 and 100 each have a CM mode with different mechanics? It isn't the healing reduction CM like in lower fractals, the stuff you do for Ad Infinitum?

Are they roughly on the same level of difficulty or are some a bigger step up in difficulty?

 

[Baseleader.4128]

50 minutes ago, Chyro.1462 said:

So 97, 98, 99 and 100 each have a CM mode with different mechanics? It isn't the healing reduction CM like in lower fractals, the stuff you do for Ad Infinitum?

 

Correct, they dramatically change the fractal and fights. 99CM for instance gets rid of all the first bosses and is a big bossfight against the final boss.

 

51 minutes ago, Chyro.1462 said:

Are they roughly on the same level of difficulty or are some a bigger step up in difficulty?

Generally 97 and 98 are considered a bit easier than the other 2. 99CM is def a bit more difficult (and punishes low dmg a bit more). 100CM is by far the hardest atm, partly because people are still learning it and because some bugs and weirdness (some of which will be fixed the 22nd) make the fight considerably harder. THe mechanics arent very complex but failure is punished unusually heavy for fractals.

So personally I would start with 97 and 98.

[Nimris.3781]

12 hours ago, Chyro.1462 said:

Like there's always just CM lfgs around with requirements of already having thousands of the killproof currency.

I get that I'll probably have to make my own LFG with a training group, but where do you even start?

What are the CM fractals that people do in those daily groups with the high requirements? And would it make sense to train them first at a lower tier?

Can you learn the fights going in blind or are the mechanics so complex that you'd need to watch a guide first?

• do you have any friends/guild to play cm's with?  it would be a lot easier to ask guild for help or at least have ~3 members and just look for 2 more to fill in. also it would be a lot better if you had someone who could teach you. (on live guidiance via voice chat helps a lot)
• ignore cm 100 for now (just do normal 100, cm is crazy bugged and hardest of all) , watch on youtube vids that explain tactics (Mukluk has decent vids, each ~5min). its 50% knowing what to do and 50% actualy doing stuff and not dying. if you dont have guild group, you should probably start with 97 & 98 (Arkk is going to be huge obstacle anyway) and try sunqua after that. 
• there are 3 types currently,  "old cm's" - 97&98,    "cm(-100)" so 97-99,   "all cm" meaning 97-100.     97&98 often have low kp requirements as they were added long ago, nearly everyone knows them and you can complete them with semi-competent group.   cm(-100) have sunqua which can be brutal for inexperienced players (water phase tethers or dark phase lasers) its easy to die in sunqua if you dont know whats going on.    all cm's currently require title from cm100 (proving you did it with noone dying) and because of bugs, barely anyone does it
• different kp brackets relate to experience and often how are fractals done. something low as 1-2k will likely be semi-training groups.   ~5k groups are going with full heal, probably wont look at type of your dps (condi/power) and shouldnt wipe but may happen.      10k+ are experience groups doing skips and trying to be efficient.    anything above 20k is most likely no heal (or celestial heal), experienced with skips and look at performance.       kp brackets is sort of way to indicate playstyle of group, because regardless of kp each group will clear daily, but completion time and tactics may differ. 
• you can go in blind and learn by dying but thats gonna be much harder that way. also not every mechanic is that obvious and there are community created tactics how to deal with them. knowing this will help a lot ( like how to spread to adds on Siaxx in Nightmare, who does annomaly in shattered, cc in dark ai phase etc.

6 hours ago, Chyro.1462 said:

Yeah, doing 97 and 98 just fine whenever they come up in t4 dailies. Even 99 isn't a problem, am familiar with all the mechanics and can usually keep the party alive if they don't mess up too badly (I usually play alac-heal tempest). Though barely done 100 yet, only one or two clears when it came up as daily.

So 97, 98, 99 and 100 each have a CM mode with different mechanics? It isn't the healing reduction CM like in lower fractals, the stuff you do for Ad Infinitum?

Are they roughly on the same level of difficulty or are some a bigger step up in difficulty?

 

cms have either new mechanics or some mechanics are bigger/more important.  like sunqua circles that attach to players (spread mechanic) are much much bigger. also Ai in sunqua has second phase (after elemental AI phase).   Siax has adds on 66 and 33%, MAMA- first boss of nightmare has adds on 75,50,25% and new phase at <33%. Arkk has new skills to use and so on.

Arkk(last boss of 98) and Ai (99) are a lot harder than other cm bosses and Kanaxai(100) is a lot harder (and much more bugged) than Arkk and Ai. other bosses are more or less simmilar in difficulty, more dependand on instabilities ( like Afflicted on Artsariiv, Afflicted and Last Laugh on Siax makes fights much harder).

no cm has any permanent healing reduction, but they have Agony which in cm's is applied by a lot of attacks.

also i think you should try doing cms as dps first. being inexperienced healer will be big burden ( as you have to keep others alive and not die yourself).   and heal-alac-tempest might not be the best choice here either, you want a lot of stability for cm's.   sure you can complete cms with any specs currently, but not everything fits there well

Edited August 13, 2023 by Nimris.3781