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We need a new End Boss strategy . . . I found this in the forum. Lets Talk Endboss by [-Zera-] [-Zera-] ======================================================== 01: Introduction ======================================================== I've seen it quite a few times that people are having a much harder time with EB than they were before the update. I've done some light searching of the forums to see if I could come by any definite strategy for him, but there was nothing that was particularly helpful in the first 5 pages. Now, this is a legitimate way to beat endboss that I came up with yesterday; there's no gimmicks, and no exploits, and this actually does work (or at least, it worked yesterday). Now, if you want to further test this, then more power to you. I would love to hear feedback. ======================================================== 02: What rings to bring? ======================================================== This is one of the reasons I think we have the number of "Endboss is too hard!!" threads we do. A lot people think of EB as another animated in the field that they can simply plow through. He's the last boss for a reason. You cannot run in hacking away at him and expect to get very far. You will die, trust my words on this matter. I noticed yesterday that one of my crewmates simply didn't have the proper ringset for the boss. Defib, Diagnose, then six attack rings? That sort of thing isn't going to fly (and quite literally, you should be booted from the crew if you don't change). Some rings that should seriously be considered: arrow Defibrillate: If you don't have this, go out and get it right now. I'm serious, stop reading and go buy/find one. If you're not packing Rock Armor in your crew, this rings a must. arrow Diagnose/Bandage: Heal or you die. It's that simple. arrow Scaredy Cat: This thing can, quite literally, keep your entire crew alive. Works wonderfully with Hunter's Bow. arrow Solar Ray/GunsGunsGuns: A ranged ring is almost a necessity against the Head and Body, because it's quite dangerous to get near them. arrow Duct Tape: If you opt to destroy the Pinchers first, this thing comes in handy. If you have Rock Armor, I wouldn't bother with the Pincers or this ring though, unless you just want to. arrow Hunter's Bow: I recently got this bad boy to CL10 (I completely ignored it before due to it being relatively weak). Drop Scaredy Cat on whatever part that's giving you trouble and pelt it with arrows when it tries to return. This -seriously- lowers its moving speed and gives your crew more than enough time to regroup. arrow Turtle: A Turtler's best friend, but it an absolute last resort. Keeps you alive long enough to keep everyone else alive, but it removes any buffs you had active. This ring is completely and utterly shadowed by a crew with 2 Rock Armors. arrow Rock Armor: You would not believe how useful this ring is. If you've got 2 attentive Rock Armor users, you probably won't even need Defib. Seriously, this is probably THE best buff anyone can ever cast on you. arrow Divinity: Nothings more irritating than having to sitdown in the middle of a fight to regain stamina, and trust me, EB will punish you for it. This increases your stamina regen even while standing, so you can get back into the fray faster. This is the ringset I typically carry along with me for EB. If anybody wonders, my role for EB is usually the "Turtler". I usually sit in the corner and pelt the enemy with long ranged attacks, and if everyone dies, I can easily give my crew enough time to fully recuperate after being completely annihilated. Defibrillate \| Scared Cat \| Hunter's Bow \| Diagnose* \| Solar Ray \| Rock Armor \| Turtle \| Fitness *Because of what happened during my last EB run, I'm seriously thinking of dropping this for Bandage. Why? Because Bandage gives rage. <3

Posted by: kool ken Sun Mar 01, 2009 @ 07:42pm

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kool ken
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Sun Mar 01, 2009 @ 07:44pm

========================================================
03: The Golden Rules
========================================================

exclaim Defibrillate goes into your 1st/2nd ring slot. No ifs, ands, or buts. You want access to it as soon as you get Defib'd by someone else. One person with Defib can revive the entire crew if everybody plays smart and follows this rule.
exclaim Ring placement is key. Your most important rings should be as high up as possible. It's not a good idea to have all attack rings on your left hand, as when you get Dazed and need to regroup, all you'll be able to do is attack (and quite possibly get Dazed again).
exclaim Multiple attack rings are NOT important. When fighting EB, the survival of your crew should be your #1 priority. You can attack him once everyone is alive.
exclaim If your crew gets annihilated and you need to Awaken, leave two people in the room, especially if the person staying has a less-than-reliable connection. It's EXTREMELY frustrating to have your anchor disconnect and you're forced to start from scratch.
exclaim Don't clump together when fighting. Those with ranged rings should be as far away from EB as possible, while staying within shooting range. Really, this should be common sense, but I've seen people use Solar Rays directly under the Body.
exclaim Be patient. Enboss is a rather long process (1+ hours). Take your time and think when you're fighting. Reckless behavior can get your crew wiped out.
exclaim Pay attention to you and your comrade's health. For some people, they zone out and simply mash the attack button over and over. You need to be aware of what's happening.
exclaim Know your roles and plan ahead! It's a good idea to assign tasks to each individual beforehand, so people aren't running around like a chicken with their heads cut off when things start to go south.
exclaim If you know you're going to have to leave, don't bother joining a crew for it. It's not fair to your crewmates. I understand random circumstances, but if you know dinner is in an hour, just don't join. EB takes much longer than an hour (the trek down there AND the fight combined)
exclaim FOLLOW DIRECTIONS. A lot of people die because they don't want to listen to the person who knows what they're doing.

kool ken
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Sun Mar 01, 2009 @ 07:48pm

[-Zera-]

========================================================
03: Tail
========================================================

exclaim The bottom right corner is a "safespot". The boss cannot hit you in that corner (because it can't turn around; it always faces left), but be wary of Grunny Subs. If you need to heal, regroup, or sit for Stamina, this is the place to go.

This thing is so easy, it doesn't even really require any serious strategy (or thought, for that matter). Just keep everyone Defib'd and heal your crew regularly. It's attacks are fairly linear, so there's no mega attack you need to lookout for. If you need to heal or Defib multiple people, use Scaredy Cat on him. Really simple stuff.

exclaim I don't recommend using Hunter's Bow on this thing once you scare it away (especially if it's trying to return), simply because of the Grunny Subs that spawn in the room. It's possible to Scare him away and have him take so long to return, that the Grunny Subs respawn faster.

When the subs spawn in, scare the Tail and focus all your attacks on the Grunny Subs. Otherwise, you run the risk of the their spawns overlapping each other, and being overrun, but that shouldn't happen though. They're no different from the Grunny Subs you encountered on your way down, so it should be pretty simple.

When the Tail dies, you'll see missile flood the area to clear out as many of you as possible. If you've got Rock Armor on, these guys shouldn't do anything but provide a slight annoyance. After a few waves of missiles, the Body will appear.

kool ken
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Sun Mar 01, 2009 @ 07:52pm

========================================================
04: Right Pincer & Left Pincer
========================================================

exclaim It is quite possible to bypass these guys altogether and go straight for the Body, but you have to be prepared for it. In my last crew, we had 2 people Duct Taping specific arms (one person Tapes L.Pincer, another person Tapes R.Pincer) to keep them from spamming missiles while the others pelted the Body with ranged attacks. Another strategy is to have the entire crew buffed with RR4 Rock Armor.

These guys are in charge of those missiles you see flying about the room. Ignore them, and go straight for the Right Pincer first. Be wary of the Body, it will fire TEH LAZERZ (WTFBOOM!) at random and it hurts.. badly. When I say it "hurts", I mean it will probably kill you instantly if you're within range of it (and not buffed).

Now, the Body will fire it's laser every now and again for no apparent reason. DO NOT CLUMP TOGETHER. You'll greatly reduce the damage it does to your crew. Everyone with a decent ranged ring (Solar Ray/Guns) should stand as far away from it as possible. What I like to do is have one person (the Turtler) stand in the bottom left corner of the area, and act as a reserve in case everyone dies. If you're the reserve, your primary goal is your own survival. Do not get close to the boss, do not make reckless decisions, do not attack the boss (unless you've got Hunter's Bow), and don't leave your spot without Turtle active. Seriously, you're the crew's lifeline; don't do anything rash.

When the arms die, have everybody run as far away from the Body as possible, and regroup. It shouldn't attack you just yet.

kool ken
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Sun Mar 01, 2009 @ 07:54pm

=======================================================
05: Body
========================================================

exclaim The left side of the screen is a safe spot, but the higher north you are along that wall, the greater your chances are of getting hit by the laser. So, if you need to sit or something, go as far down as possible.

exclaim To give you an idea of how much range the laser has, if you can hit the Body with Solar Rays, he can probably hit you with the laser. I'm pretty sure he can't shoot directly behind himself, so perhaps that's an idea to look into. Be carefully though, as he's known to move around to put you in range of his attacks.

Congratulations, you've now stepped out of the frying pan and into the fire. The good thing is, no more lag missiles exploding all over the place. This is the most difficult part of fighting EB, and by far the most time-consuming and frustrating. The laser is the ONLY attack this guy has now and it's his go-to move, so you're going to need to especially be on your toes to keep from dying.

This is the method I used no more than 10 minutes ago for an impromptu boss run that ended in success (yes, laser spamming and all). We started as a crew of 5, but whitled down to 3 by the time we had cleared the switches (everybody was there for farming actually except for me, who was there solely for Endboss). Skipping forward, we went straight for the Body, skipping the Pincers/Arms. First and foremost, use Scaredy Cat on the Body and fired off two shots with Hunter's Bow, if you have it, to slow him down (yes, Hunter's Bow lowers Speed, for those who don't know). While he is Scaredy & slowed, use RR4 Rock Armor'd (Oh yeah!) on the entire crew. You can get some light damage in by pelting him with arrows, if you've nothing better to do (it's what I did). Once he is in melee range, go to town. Give him everything you've got until you've run out of stamina. If you have Rock Armor, you won't die from the laser (Yeah, Rock Armor is that good, but don't tell Qixter. ninja ). DO NOT SIT DOWN TO REFILL STAMINA! Rock Armor, like Turtle, won't protect you if you're kneeling/sitting, so just stand there. If you've got someone with Divinity, have them cast it on everyone; the faster your stamina recharges, the faster you can start attacking again. Keeping RR4 Rock Armor up is of absolute importance, so keep an eye on the recrewt panel if you can. As soon as you see your Rock Armor wear off, run away from the Body and have someone recast it.

Keep up the pressure, and the Body will fall, taking both Pincers down with it (if you haven't destroyed them already). Be careful, before the Head comes out, he likes to drop Deathmines to clear the stage for his arrival.

kool ken
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Sun Mar 01, 2009 @ 07:58pm

========================================================
06: Head
========================================================

Oh snap, it is Gradius! heart
...
OMG IT LAGS SOO BAD HERE!! gonk

Seriously, my browser (Firefox) crashed twice, and I'd lag for like 2 minutes at a time.

exclaim If you use Adblock, you can greatly reduce a lot of the lag from the boss fight by blocking unnecessary items (like avatars or ring animations). For example, I removed monster animations, so I get absolutely no or very, very slight lag. The tradeoff is, I cannot physically see any animated, including the boss. This may prove problematic for most users, but it is quite possible to kill the boss without ever having to lay an eye on him. Just be sure to make good use of the "~" key, which lets you cycle through enemy targets on the screen.

As soon as he burst on the scene, use Scaredy Cat on him and regroup, if necessary. Like Gradius itself, you've got to use a hit-and-run tactic against this guy. He's got a laser attack that hits once for mid 400s (mid 300s with Pot Lid), and he can also drop Deathmines, that don't technically hit you (or at least they didn't hit me) but you receive about three shots of 450 damage nonetheless (which will effectively kill you more often than not). The mines stick around for about a minute or so, then explode, which I assume also does damage. This guy is a pushover if you've got people that know how and when to use Scaredy Cat. IF SOMEONE HAS TO TELL YOU TO USE SCAREDY CAT, YOU'RE NOT DOING YOUR JOB. You should get 1-2 shots in max, then scare the crap out of him. It's the only way to keep him from dropping Deathmines and causing, well.. death. This is also why it's good to have multiple people with Cat; that way, if somebody lags, you're not completely screwed.

Do not crowd the area where Gradius Head returns, or else he'll stay off the screen and shoot his laser until you move. Ranged rings are your best friend here, because when he's scared, you won't get many (if any) melee hits on him because he runs pretty fast. Not to mention, you can hit him when he's coming back as well. Just focus on keeping him Scared and pelt him with ranged attacks; he's got less health than the Body, so it shouldn't take too long to take him down.

Keep up the hit-and-run tactics long enough, and he'll explode. Congrats, you've just beaten the chapter boss for zOMG! Whoo!

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