Curse

SotiCoto · Aug 20, 2007, 10:33 AM // 10:33

Probably a stupid thing to bring up... but does anyone else use Minion-assistance for boss-farming?

I'm generally too lazy to bother mastering most solo-killing builds for bosses.... so for quite some while I have engaged in the use of a very particular tactic for certain bosses (normal mode only):
With my SS necro (non-farm build or very simple farm build), I take a full herohench party with high damage potential out... and ensure that Olias is set up as MM. I fight my way to the boss in question.... carefully clear out all the normal enemies by ShiftCtrl targeting.... then once only the boss is left, I flag the rest of my party off-map (often right past the boss if aggro has been broken).
The minions are always left behind in combat with the boss.... and as the rest of the party are going off-screen, I throw SS and Insidious Parasite into the mix to hasten the kill.
Sometimes the minions kill the boss before the others can completely leave (usually due to them engaging early before I can flag the others away), and occasionally they all die first and the farm messes up (if I don't cast my own spells early enough).... but generally it seems to work quite well.... and doesn't require a hyper-precise process (it is quite crude).

I have been using it for some while to farm such bosses as Sskai, Dragon's Birth and Jayne Forestlight... and have accumulated quite a number of green weapons this way (several copies of Sskai's Sword, Jayne's Staff and Vera, among others).
I'm hoping to try and get it to work on the Acolyte of Dwayna next.... since I know she CAN be killed by minions this way, though since she is a competant healer it proves much more picky to get the timing right. I might have to use another character that isn't hex-reliant... like my Elementalist (okok, and change his build, since as a Water Ele he IS hex-reliant).

Vexed · Aug 20, 2007, 12:24 PM // 12:24

Well, that's an interesting way to do it.

I'd think most farmers wouldn't use this method precisely because, as you said, there's a chance of the henchies not clearing out of the drop zone or killing the boss too early - and the point of farming is, after all, to get all the drops yourself. Typically you put together a build capable of taking down the boss on its own, clear the mob and send henchies away, then engage the boss so there's no chance of foul-ups. Or, in the case of the A/E or E/A, you use the boss's mob against him.

But hey, whatever works for you, man. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

SotiCoto · Aug 20, 2007, 02:24 PM // 14:24

But honestly, all farming builds have some probability of failure... irrespective of how they work. Some are more secure than others... and I have found that typically boss-farming builds are the least secure of the lot.

I like getting help from Minions primarily because it doesn't require a lot of thought nor precise timing. Sometimes I can just casually stand there and let the minions kill the boss without lifting a finger myself! Furthermore, they can be used to assist even with solo-builds if done right. A bit of extra damage on top of what you already do to the boss rarely goes amiss.

SalamandraTheNinja · Aug 20, 2007, 05:40 PM // 17:40

Well, plenty of farming builds have, short of an enormous lag spike, or the player not paying any attention and forgetting to renew enchantments, a 0% chance of dying.

Mostly only Ele or Monk though.

SotiCoto · Aug 21, 2007, 10:38 AM // 10:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by SalamandraTheNinja

Well, plenty of farming builds have, short of an enormous lag spike, or the player not paying any attention and forgetting to renew enchantments, a 0% chance of dying.

Mostly only Ele or Monk though.

... Short of?
The player losing concentration and forgetting to renew enchantments at the right time is quite possibly the primary cause of failure in the dying respect.

But there is also the matter of some perfectly survivable builds lacking the offensive power to put the enemy down for good. That is why I used Minions to farm Jayne Forestlight.... much as I do other Monk bosses. The Monkeys have that nasty tendency to trigger a perpetual stand-off otherwise...

SalamandraTheNinja · Aug 21, 2007, 04:09 PM // 16:09

I wouldn't really call an enormous lag spike causing someone to die a fault of the build... and in the case of forgetting to renew enchantments, I wasn't talking about someone losing concentration, I was more talking about someone falling asleep or walking away from the computer. I mean, anyone with... any ability at all (and a stable internet connection) will never die while doing some of the safer runs.

SotiCoto · Aug 21, 2007, 06:13 PM // 18:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by SalamandraTheNinja

I wouldn't really call an enormous lag spike causing someone to die a fault of the build... and in the case of forgetting to renew enchantments, I wasn't talking about someone losing concentration, I was more talking about someone falling asleep or walking away from the computer. I mean, anyone with... any ability at all (and a stable internet connection) will never die while doing some of the safer runs.

.... With any ability at all ........... safer runs...

... Right.

I've died 55ing before. Know what happened?
I went to pick up some loot from some Jade Brotherhood Mages and Knights I had killed, and wasn't familiar enough with the precise spawn-triggers in the area, so a drop-down group spawned very close and killed me before I could get Protective Spirit up. I got the loot at least.

Similar things have happened in many farming circumstances with many of my characters. Everyone makes mistakes, and I'm no exception.

I mean sure... some runs are entirely safe. There is practically no way to mess up farming Byzzr Wingmender if you have the correct build in the first place..... But there is always some level of risk, and it is different for every boss or farming situation.

I just find that getting help from Minions will generally make me much more likely to succeed.... sometimes even when I shouldn't have done so at all.

Vexed · Aug 21, 2007, 09:53 PM // 21:53

You seem to be getting riled up and I'm not sure why, as nobody here has told you that you shouldn't use minions or that it's a bad idea. Clearing boss mobs with henchies and flagging them away to solo the boss is a well-known and totally viable way to farm greens.

I will say that the reason I wouldn't use this method personally is that minions introduce a random and uncontrollable element into your farm, which many farmers try to avoid.

No need to get into what works and doesn't work in farming builds in general, this thread is about your method, which seems fine

Friar Khan · Aug 21, 2007, 10:31 PM // 22:31

I've used minions and/or heroes to help farm greens in the past and I have to say that I agree totally with what Vexed has said in his two posts.