Here is how to Gold the Boss Blitz

[Zacchary.6183]

This comes from several attempts, each used in a trial and error type experiment I have done over the past few days.

• ~7-10 PLAYERS MAX PER BOSSOtherwise scaling kills the attempt.
• DO NOT JOIN A BOSS IF THEY DO NOT NEED YOUInstead, tap one or all the bosses and maybe go kill vets away from the boss. You'll get credit without scaling the boss.
• HIGHEST DPS EACH GROUP CAN MANAGEThis should be a no brainer. Bring DPS. Rifle Deadeyes, I suggest you go DA 2/3/3, Trick 3/1/2, DE 1/1/1 with Valk/Maruder and infiltration runes for 30% under 50% HP. Very powerful DJs after boss hits 50% while not being squishy.
• DO NOT HOLD DPS FOR OTHER GROUPSThis bit of extra coordination does not provide better results for the amount of effort put in. The transferred abilities do not add much difficulty to the boss fight as they can only be used one at a time and at certain intervals. All are easily avoided. Instead of holding DPS, ensure bosses are killed in a specific order so that the added abilities do not overwhelm groups in later stages of the Blitz. I recommend this order: Sparc, Kuraii, Pyro, Boom Boom, Wiggins, Hablion. Sparc's area is a pain to navigate mid fight, but his fire tornado is easily avoided. Same with Kuraii. Pyro's is also trash, but at least his area isn't a pain to navigate and thus making it easier to avoid abilities. Boom's is fairly damaging but can be dodged out of. Wiggins is avoidable but its a pain because the AoE spread is huge. Hablion's can instantly kill with fall damage, hence being the last. It would also be a good idea to make sure high DPS players are spread out among bosses.
• WHEN YOUR BOSS DIES, WAYPOINT AND WAIT THEREThe only exception to this is if a group lacks bodies. It would be preferable to send players with high damage.

[Aaralyna.3104]

Small addition: if you are dead, res up and go back (if you see more than 10 players at boss, then stay at waypoint in middle).

[Zacchary.6183]

@Aaralyna.3104 said:Small addition: if you are dead, res up and go back (if you see more than 10 players at boss, then stay at waypoint in middle).

This should be a given. (was seriously debating adding it)

[Zaraki.5784]

Small addition: people will still mess up every possible strategy.

[Ayrilana.1396]

The reward for putting in that extra effort over just getting silver is:

• 20 Festival Tokens
• 7-10 Queen's Gauntlet Tickets
• One piece of equipment with Masterwork or better rarity.
• 2 champion loot bags

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

I can't agree with all the recommendations. My evaluation is based on participating with a commander who managed 10 golds in a row that I observed (6 one night, 4 the next day). They had a longer streak than that, which I wasn't around for.

• 7-10 per boss? Sure. 15 works just fine, too.
• Don't hold DPS? Sorry, no. We had one group of 15 take their boss down to 15% while another group took longer to get started and was at 85%. We wouldn't have reached gold if even one group had finished early. Plus, it's simply a lot less fun to be 2nd, never mind 6th.
• Highest potential DPS? No, not necessary. As with nearly everything else, mechanics matter more: breaking defiance when it appears, staying out of hazards, rezzing teammates, stability for centaurs, focus on turret for bandit, etc.
• When boss dies, waypoint to center. Agree. Moving just scales up the next boss.
• WP when dead? Agree; laying around scales up the boss without you there to contribute.

---

I think it's simpler: split up evenly, hold DPS to let straggler group catch up, pay attention to mechanics. We generally finished around ~2 minutes left, although there were exceptions.

[Zacchary.6183]

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:We wouldn't have reached gold if even one group had finished early.Have you tested this?

• Highest potential DPS? No, not necessary.I agree that mechanics matter. But considering there is a time limit, don't you think maximum possible DPS is also important? Especially since damage is what inevitably kills the boss anyway?

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

@Zacchary.6183 said:

@"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:We wouldn't have reached gold if even one group had finished early.Have you tested this?To the extent possible? Yes. Given that those "rough start" occasions were also finished with under 10 seconds left on the clock.

Here's the thing you've glossed over: 7-10 experts don't have to care much about "enrage timers." They can just power through whatever the game brings. 7 experts can clear all but a few raid bosses without breaking a sweat, never mind wannabes like the blitz bosses.

What I can tell you is that in a non-optimized strat, which we were using, some groups struggle and having to deal with the mechanics of 2-5 other bosses would have hurt.

• Highest potential DPS? No, not necessary.considering there is a time limit, don't you think maximum possible DPS is also important?Important? Sure. Is it necessary? No.I don't recommend it as a strategy because this content doesn't require it and it discourages all comers. I'd rather plan for "anyone who wants to join" rather than pay close attention to anyone's DPS.

There's a limit, of course. If all 15 people are are doing under 2k DPS each, it's going to cause an issue. Fortunately, that's never the case.

---

So for me, it's a simpler and more festive strategy to simply ask everyone to split up evenly. The top DPS people know who they are and can move around as needed.

[yusayu.3629]

Cool.

Isn't the loot worthless anyway, though? Doesn't sound like it's even remotely worth farming.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

@yusayu.3629 said:Isn't the loot worthless anyway, though?It's not worth a heckuva lot, no.

Doesn't sound like it's even remotely worth farming.Depends what you are farming. I was working on achievements and having fun with friends and strangers. That's worth more to me than a few more gold coins.

[Zacchary.6183]

@yusayu.3629 said:Cool.

Isn't the loot worthless anyway, though? Doesn't sound like it's even remotely worth farming.

I buy Zephyr Lanterns and make decorations for the guild hall. All the other stuff I don't really have any desire for.

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:What I can tell you is that in a non-optimized strat, which we were using, some groups struggle and having to deal with the mechanics of 2-5 other bosses would have hurt.The reason why I am asking and suggesting these things is because, in my experience, I've fought some of these bosses with a small random group that had no issue with the 5 added mechanics. I've also seen small groups dps one of the bosses down much faster than another group going on 15+, with a tag, that wasn't even at 75% half way through the timer. In one of these instances, it was Boom Boom Baines. When I went to go help with DPS, I saw one person AAing the turret while 5 players actually used their skills on the boss.

I can't help but think that Gold would be easy for PUGs to get if all groups were like that one that thought nothing of the added mechanics and melted face. Call me elitist but I fail to see much difficulty in the Bosses and their abilities, especially since their original mechanics were worse.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

@"Zacchary.6183" said:The reason why I am asking and suggesting these things is because, in my experience, I've fought some of these bosses with a small random group that had no issue with the 5 added mechanics.Sure. That hasn't be the majority of my experience.

I've also seen small groups dps one of the bosses down much faster than another group going on 15+, with a tag, that wasn't even at 75% half way through the timer. In one of these instances, it was Boom Boom Baines. When I went to go help with DPS, I saw one person AAing the turret while 5 players actually used their skills on the boss.Definitely. That's a clear example that executing mechanics is more important than DPS. And a less clear example that DPS varies substantially across the population.

I can't help but think that Gold would be easy for PUGs to get if all groups were like that one that thought nothing of the added mechanics and melted face.I'm just telling you it's not the majority of my experience, this year and last.

Call me elitist but I fail to see much difficulty in the Bosses and their abilities, especially since their original mechanics were worse.People who are unskilled have trouble understanding that they aren't as skilled. From their perspective, difficult is difficult. Likewise, people who are highly skilled have trouble understanding that there are plenty of people who aren't nearly as good. It's not about being "elitist;" it's a cognitive dissonance problem that confuses just about all humans in all sorts of situations.

People who raid or fractal (as examples) aren't going to have any trouble with any of the bosses, seeing tells, executing on mechanics, delivering the deeps. Any five such people aren't likely to care. I haven't tested it, but it would not surprise me if three groups of seven can manage this: start on the first three bosses, and then swap to the last three.

But that's atypical of the community at large.

---

The reason I prefer the "hold for 10%" strategy is that anyone can do it, any map, any time. The "just go go go" strat depends on having the right people. If you have them? Sure, by all means, speed it up. I haven't seen it though.

[Khisanth.2948]

Meh I'll stick with "kill one boss then go AFK"

[casualkenny.9817]

just a tot....the ones who won't have trouble with additional mechanics are usually also the ones who can melt their bosses first.and the accompanying statement is also true.so, in cases of such uneven distribution of skill, unless the ones who have no problem shift over and are able to compensate for the others' lack, there is a problem.

[Bloodstealer.5978]

@"Khisanth.2948" said:Meh I'll stick with "kill one boss then go AFK"

I'll stick with just killing the event down no matter if it's Gold Silver or Bronze cos to me the loot is not worth all the whines and insults that seem to happen every Blitz run. After a few runs and seeing map chat fill with all the same obnoxious ranting and raving, name calling and outright rudeness each time.... I just loose interest and go do some something else for a while, while the rest carry on crying about losing a few bags of greens and blue trash loot.

[Ayakaru.6583]

Forum: this is how to complete this event on gold rank. What we need is proper organization and everyone knowing what they're doing. It's not difficult, as long as no one goes leeroy jenkins.

All 150 players on the map: LEEEERROOOOYYYYY JJEEEENNNKKIIIIINNSSSSS

[Pifil.5193]

It's not necessary to waypoint to the centre after killing your boss since they reduced the bosses maximum health. A horde of players burns down bosses pretty quick.

At least they did when I was playing.

[Tukaram.8256]

@yusayu.3629 said:Cool.

Isn't the loot worthless anyway, though? Doesn't sound like it's even remotely worth farming.

The loot is worthless to me, but I am having a ball. Then I sell everything on the trading post. I can make 5-10 gold in 3 rounds of bosses. Mostly it is just fun monster bashing.

There are always a few people yelling for others to leave, but most players seem to be having fun and not that concerned with gold/bronze/silver. :)

[Airdive.2613]

@Ayrilana.1396 said:The reward for putting in that extra effort over just getting silver is:

• 20 Festival Tokens
• 7-10 Queen's Gauntlet Tickets
• One piece of equipment with Masterwork or better rarity.
• 2 champion loot bags

And just like the previous year, you're getting more rewards in shorter time compared to getting silver.

[Sobx.1758]

How to learn how to 'gold' BB without any actual research:

1. join an organised BB squad
2. accept you don't know everything and listen to people that explain you what to do. When in doubt, ask "why is this important?"
3. ???
4. profit

Worked well for me.

Also holding a boss at 5% isn't hard at all, but to each their own. To avoid being a kitten, consult 'holding dps' with your group.

[Luthan.5236]

The worth of farming this for gold reward depends on what you need. For me I did this event the first time - after taking a break from GW2 from end 2013 until June 2019. I already have finished all the anually 1-time achievements and the festival + pavillion stuff. (Only the Barnstormer not which requires expansions and I only play core game for now. + the repeatable stuff in the annual achievements tab ... boss blitz for AP is a bit grindy and the Droogbur bags aren't worth the festival favor as long as you still have normal rewards left.)

So ... I'm mainly logging in for the gauntlet (some remaining achieves), dailies (for the favors - for rewards and the 5 daily reward chest) and for tokens - which I already get a good amount out of daily races/adventures and the gauntlet. (I still need to buy some bundle of loot stuff and to treasure hunt for the bundles - which also gives tokens.)

At the end it is: Saving tokens as I don't want to to treasure hunt once I have bought all the rewards (1600 bundles of loot in total only needed) and probably will get tokens at a lower rate then (only from daily gautnlet, racing and the daily achieves). Tokens are for rewards which I'll buy at the end of the festival (1 day earlier before it ends) with the favors, tokens, gold - combination of them.

Boss blitz is a great way - but time consuming - to get gauntlet tickets and save favors. (Should I manage to do all the achievements for gauntlet I might stop with boss blitz as well.) So ... considering that it saves a ton of time + giving more reward .. I'd say gold is definitely worth to aim for. Otherwise I also tend to help killing 1 boss and then afking doing ither stuff.

[Lexi.1398]

Last year there was a lot of "LF druid for x boss blitz gold" -eque LFGS. Stuff for specific max dps compositions; this made gold very inaccessable for a lot of peeps and you can definitley get gold even if next to no one's bringing a raid build. My personal guide is based around only one person taking a specific role, and that person would usually command, since some bosses are way harder without stability and more.

Also not holding dps for other groups is something i'd not recommend unless you know that all 60 people on map can deal with mechanics. I'm no pro, but far from a nub- and though i definitely /can/ avoid all the transfer skills (except hab's sometimes since it's very hard to see it b4 you get warped sometimes) i don't /like/ to because it's so much visual clutter it's hard to keep track. And with mind that the sheer majority of transfer skills often deal over 50-90% of a players health pool in one hit if they land (often OHKO if a player is damaged before hand), it's better IMO to not take that risk.

[Khisanth.2948]

@Pifil.5193 said:It's not necessary to waypoint to the centre after killing your boss since they reduced the bosses maximum health. A horde of players burns down bosses pretty quick.

At least they did when I was playing.

Did they? Sure that is what they claimed in the patch notes but patch notes aren't always correct ...

Reality would also like to dispute that claim especially on Sparcus. The rest seems unchanged from last time or maybe even have increased HP seeing as how they seem to be doing down at around the same rate despite some power creep that we have gotten.

[Tiviana.2650]

@Ayakaru.6583 said:Forum: this is how to complete this event on gold rank. What we need is proper organization and everyone knowing what they're doing. It's not difficult, as long as no one goes leeroy jenkins.

All 150 players on the map: LEEEERROOOOYYYYY JJEEEENNNKKIIIIINNSSSSS

sad but true. I dont know why it is but in every game this happens, its like people job hit mob mentality and go charging in without a plan.

[Ayrilana.1396]

@Airdive.2613 said:

@Ayrilana.1396 said:The reward for putting in that extra effort over just getting silver is:

• 20 Festival Tokens
• 7-10 Queen's Gauntlet Tickets
• One piece of equipment with Masterwork or better rarity.
• 2 champion loot bags

And just like the previous year, you're getting more rewards

in shorter time

compared to getting silver.

Yeah but is it really worth the effort? There are far better ways to obtain all of those rewards instead of doing the meta in so much less time. Getting gold is more for saying that you've done it than for the rewards. If maximizing rewards was important, you shouldn't have been doing that meta in the first place.