Post by vdx on Mar 16, 2014 8:50:17 GMT -5
As my third party completes the Cult Temple (Normal, Brutal, Nightmare), I thought I share the tactic I used with the boss of the temple, Big V. NOTE: All three parties beat the temple on v2.1.5, but first enterd the temple on a earlier version.
Some quick notes:
1) You can open chests during combat. I didn't know that till this fight. :-( There are a few chests near several foci. They contain a lot of much needed potions.
2) Every time you break a foci, your party gets full AP as if it's a start of a new round. If you time breaking the foci at the end of your round, it's like getting an extra round of combat. Big V also gets full life when you break a foci.
3) If you kill Big V before all 8 foci are broke, he just instantly reappears with full life.
4) Big V will summon monsters occasionally but after the first wave, not really a big deal.
5) I used a lot of potions. Not sure how there's a way to win this fight without drinking potions like crazy.
6) Big V is supposed to be resistance to fire, so adjust accordingly. Kjartan's level 10 firebolt still reguralry did ~75-125 damage.
7) Check for curses on your party. It's easy to not spot the curse attack and get hit with the -20 damage, -3 accuracy etc curse.
My Big V Tactic
1) Start of fight: The opening of the fight sees you facing a swarm of spiders and cultists coming down from the the center of the room. Let them come. Don't charge them or you'll get swarmed. If you can secure a defensive position on the lower left of the screen, you'll have a minor choke point in your favor on your left and a constricted access from above and from the right (Take what you can get). NOTE: The ranged monsters attacking from the center have a much longer range than you. You'll likely have to deal with their attacks while clearing the immediate area.
My party used Vras to plug the choke point to the left and Kyerea to guard the right while Kjartan and Tamilin started clearing the area with their Level 10 Firebolt and Aimed Shot.
2) Clearing the melee spiders and cultists may take a few rounds and can be pretty intense. Party healing potions are nice, if you have any. Once you have a relatively clear area immediately around you, you can start attacking the ranged monsters in the center of the room. By this time, Big V should be almost to you. Reduce his AP with Ethereal Anguish (even level 1 is effective on him) or some other talent. You can damage Big V, but if you kill him he just pops back into existence with full life.
My party sent Vras the tank after the ranged monsters while Keyera played chew toy with Big V. His AP was limited so she could take his hit, even if it hit at full strength. Kjartan and Tamilin used ranged attacks to kill the monsters that tried to get into melee range. Keyera also was a meat shield for the incoming ranged attacks (nice about having a flank guard that can take some punishment). In this portion of the fight, 2-H weapons and anything that gives move points is great for Vras as it will let him kill the ranged monsters quicker, just make sure he can live each round. Note: at the start of the fight, it's easier to let Big V chew on someone you know can take the damage than risk him attacking someone who can't take the damage. Running from him blindly also will have you run into triggered fights at awkward times.
3) Once you have cleared the starting monsters, you have control of the starting area and most, if not all the center area. Big V should be playing chew toy with someone. Vras should be someone in the middle area with the rest of the party near the bottom. Now, it's time to go after the foci. I don't think it really matters, but I went with the far left foci first. My party sent Vras to the foci on the lower left while the rest of the party took the long way around the lava pools near the entrance. This caused Big V to chase at a longer path (he has less AP and MP, esp if debuffed, so the longer the route, the more he falls behind).
4) The foci on the lower left (and a few others) have extra monsters that are triggered once you get near them. If you have cleared all the monsters in the middle of the area, the new monsters can be dealt with pretty quickly. Note: If Big V caught up with you, designate a chew toy for him. My party used Vras to close ranks on the foci guards with support with Vras and Tamilin. Keyrea used Ethereal Anguish when she could, healed when needed and took the beating from Big V.
5) After the lower left foci was cleared, I went to the far lower right foci. The long walk distance made Big V fall way behind the party, allowing me to clear several foci, including monster guards, before he caught up to me again. I grabbed the chests along the way.
6) After clearing the lower right foci, I started clearing the foci going up along the right side and over. I was able to get Big V far enough behind most of the time that he didn't get to chew on someone too much, but I kept Kyere near him to make sure he didn't get to anyone else. Note: At this point in the game, every character should have enough hit points to live through one of Big V's attacks if they don't get attack any one else.
7) There are few monsters that are near or triggered by getting near the foci. By this time in the temple, there shouldn't be anything too odd about the fights and you should know how to kill any of them pretty quickly.
8) As you get near the top center foci, there's a pretty big monster mob triggered (guarding the bridge etc). Deal with them and move on.
9) Once you have removed all the outer foci, you should be alone with Big V. You can do two things: simply run in circles keeping Big V busy or retreating through a tight spot in the lava islands so that Big V is chewing only on one person (Vras anyone?). With Big V busy, send someone, or the whole party, after the two foci in the center. You can grab the blue-locked chest if you send your thief.
NOTE: At this point, tf you want to pretend Big V is a punching bag, you can kill him a few times before breaking the last foci. He'll just pop right back, ready for some more damage. I felt a bit irked the first time I fought him so I may have killed him a few times. Sure, it was a waste of potions and time, but it did wonders for my stress.
10) Break the last two foci and Big V can be killed. He doesn't seem to get tougher or do more damage. After the entire temple of heavy hitters, he's pretty easy.
SPOILER: The temple is swallowed by the earth when you beat Big V so make sure you take that into consideration loot wise.
Some quick notes:
1) You can open chests during combat. I didn't know that till this fight. :-( There are a few chests near several foci. They contain a lot of much needed potions.
2) Every time you break a foci, your party gets full AP as if it's a start of a new round. If you time breaking the foci at the end of your round, it's like getting an extra round of combat. Big V also gets full life when you break a foci.
3) If you kill Big V before all 8 foci are broke, he just instantly reappears with full life.
4) Big V will summon monsters occasionally but after the first wave, not really a big deal.
5) I used a lot of potions. Not sure how there's a way to win this fight without drinking potions like crazy.
6) Big V is supposed to be resistance to fire, so adjust accordingly. Kjartan's level 10 firebolt still reguralry did ~75-125 damage.
7) Check for curses on your party. It's easy to not spot the curse attack and get hit with the -20 damage, -3 accuracy etc curse.
My Big V Tactic
1) Start of fight: The opening of the fight sees you facing a swarm of spiders and cultists coming down from the the center of the room. Let them come. Don't charge them or you'll get swarmed. If you can secure a defensive position on the lower left of the screen, you'll have a minor choke point in your favor on your left and a constricted access from above and from the right (Take what you can get). NOTE: The ranged monsters attacking from the center have a much longer range than you. You'll likely have to deal with their attacks while clearing the immediate area.
My party used Vras to plug the choke point to the left and Kyerea to guard the right while Kjartan and Tamilin started clearing the area with their Level 10 Firebolt and Aimed Shot.
2) Clearing the melee spiders and cultists may take a few rounds and can be pretty intense. Party healing potions are nice, if you have any. Once you have a relatively clear area immediately around you, you can start attacking the ranged monsters in the center of the room. By this time, Big V should be almost to you. Reduce his AP with Ethereal Anguish (even level 1 is effective on him) or some other talent. You can damage Big V, but if you kill him he just pops back into existence with full life.
My party sent Vras the tank after the ranged monsters while Keyera played chew toy with Big V. His AP was limited so she could take his hit, even if it hit at full strength. Kjartan and Tamilin used ranged attacks to kill the monsters that tried to get into melee range. Keyera also was a meat shield for the incoming ranged attacks (nice about having a flank guard that can take some punishment). In this portion of the fight, 2-H weapons and anything that gives move points is great for Vras as it will let him kill the ranged monsters quicker, just make sure he can live each round. Note: at the start of the fight, it's easier to let Big V chew on someone you know can take the damage than risk him attacking someone who can't take the damage. Running from him blindly also will have you run into triggered fights at awkward times.
3) Once you have cleared the starting monsters, you have control of the starting area and most, if not all the center area. Big V should be playing chew toy with someone. Vras should be someone in the middle area with the rest of the party near the bottom. Now, it's time to go after the foci. I don't think it really matters, but I went with the far left foci first. My party sent Vras to the foci on the lower left while the rest of the party took the long way around the lava pools near the entrance. This caused Big V to chase at a longer path (he has less AP and MP, esp if debuffed, so the longer the route, the more he falls behind).
4) The foci on the lower left (and a few others) have extra monsters that are triggered once you get near them. If you have cleared all the monsters in the middle of the area, the new monsters can be dealt with pretty quickly. Note: If Big V caught up with you, designate a chew toy for him. My party used Vras to close ranks on the foci guards with support with Vras and Tamilin. Keyrea used Ethereal Anguish when she could, healed when needed and took the beating from Big V.
5) After the lower left foci was cleared, I went to the far lower right foci. The long walk distance made Big V fall way behind the party, allowing me to clear several foci, including monster guards, before he caught up to me again. I grabbed the chests along the way.
6) After clearing the lower right foci, I started clearing the foci going up along the right side and over. I was able to get Big V far enough behind most of the time that he didn't get to chew on someone too much, but I kept Kyere near him to make sure he didn't get to anyone else. Note: At this point in the game, every character should have enough hit points to live through one of Big V's attacks if they don't get attack any one else.
7) There are few monsters that are near or triggered by getting near the foci. By this time in the temple, there shouldn't be anything too odd about the fights and you should know how to kill any of them pretty quickly.
8) As you get near the top center foci, there's a pretty big monster mob triggered (guarding the bridge etc). Deal with them and move on.
9) Once you have removed all the outer foci, you should be alone with Big V. You can do two things: simply run in circles keeping Big V busy or retreating through a tight spot in the lava islands so that Big V is chewing only on one person (Vras anyone?). With Big V busy, send someone, or the whole party, after the two foci in the center. You can grab the blue-locked chest if you send your thief.
NOTE: At this point, tf you want to pretend Big V is a punching bag, you can kill him a few times before breaking the last foci. He'll just pop right back, ready for some more damage. I felt a bit irked the first time I fought him so I may have killed him a few times. Sure, it was a waste of potions and time, but it did wonders for my stress.
10) Break the last two foci and Big V can be killed. He doesn't seem to get tougher or do more damage. After the entire temple of heavy hitters, he's pretty easy.
SPOILER: The temple is swallowed by the earth when you beat Big V so make sure you take that into consideration loot wise.
