I remember why I did not like them the first time around
By Specialist_AKA_SpecsRaid is in full swing now, and I know many of you are struggling. I would be a liar if I said that I was not having issues. This raid has been the most costly for me since the last Scourge raid, and I am starting to remember why I hated them, to begin with. I want to be clear that the issue with the raid is not the difficulty level, layout, or even the damage dealt. It is the fact that the buildings have so much health that you have to take extra time to take them down. Hopefully the tips I will share will help you the next couple days and to move forward with this raid series. I could go with my cannoneer build, but as I want to help my non-coiners out with my thoughts and I have been so busy the last two days that i have not been available the focus of this article is to make the Centurion the best possible fleet going forward.
Edit - I just ran a Tier 4 with my Centurions, I still have 3 PAC in the fleet as I am not done with the refits. The PAC blast was taking out more than one turret and was doing far more damage than the start of the raid. Thank you for listening to the concerns expressed by the Moderator team over the last few days to those that made this decision. It will help those with the PAC Centurions to at least grind tier 4 this raid.
Video will be coming shortly as soon as it uploads!
Centurions -
Basic Centurion build for Tier 4
Arbalest can do the Tier 4 targets. The problem is that it takes a bit longer than with the Mauser and will lead you having more chance to take damage. You will want at least 20 arbalests in the fleet (5 per ship) to make this a reality. The good news is that this weapon will allow you to snipe most of the towers. The bad news is that it might take you extra time to finish the target. Again the targets are not challenging in the sense of what we have had the last year of raids. We were able to just take the hull and slap any weapon on it that was in the same class as the best weapon for the format and do well. This raid that was changed, and we were not properly prepared for that. This raid you need the weapon more than the hull.
My Basic strategy for Tier 4
Entering from the top helps more than the bottom or the sides. There are a few targets that start you at the same spot no matter where you enter. But, I cannot remember them and just enter from around the 11 clock position as you look at your screen. This entrance sets me up for the most comfortable way for me to approach the targets.Take your time and move only when you need to move. Combat speed is crucial in the targets. The large radioactive turret can reach the whole map just about so you do have to keep moving. But, paying attention to the rising turrets can have you in jeopardy quickly. While learning a pattern has been the norm in previous raids. Getting to a spot is far more important in this one as you can take the turret out before it gets a chance to fire on you.
Damage to buildings is your friend! The more damage that you can deal with the buildings the quicker you take down the massive health these buildings have. So you will want Siege Battery 3, it is the most significant special. Followed with Siege Loader for the extra reload (increases DPS) and building damage. That leaves you Engine, Resistance and Nuclear Accelerator (or one of the newer specials for ballistic range).
Mauser Build for Centurion
Mauser will make short work of Tier 4 targets. You could even do T5 with this weapon, it would be similar to using arbalest in the T4. The best setup is the Millenium Cannon and the High-velocity rounds that go with it. Why? Because the targets are not really grouped together so, the splash is not needed, but building damage is. And the Millenium is the best gun for this raid.
My Cannoneer Build
Summary
You might disagree with me on the difficulty of the targets, but after testing and spending more on this raid than I have in the last 4 combined I can tell you that the difficulty is not the target themselves, but it is the amount of health the buildings have. That is why when you get a blue blast from the PAC it seems like it is not doing much damage. That 100K damage is like 5% health, and that is a shame because it is such a rare thing to go off that it should not have been negated to novelty status in my opinion.
You will want to get a newer weapon, and I hope that the powers that be, those that decide what gets into the Forsaken Mission or TLC, will give us another chance to get the Millenium or Mauser this month. Barring the release of those weapons to salvage this raid format. I hope they reconsider the ridiculous amount of health on the targets so that those that are unable to spend the money to get the millennium and cannoneer this month, can get the pieces needed next month.
It was a good first step by letting us have the campaign tower camps, it would have been better if we could have gotten the 30 million points through those camps. It is not like we could get through them in a matter of minutes or even an hour or two. The grind factor would have most cursing by the end of the weekend. But it was a great thing to offer the players, and I am happy it is there. The 6 million points or so from that for tiny damage is a welcomed change to those that I help with the game each day.
