Curse

RTSFirebat · Sep 18, 2007, 04:28 PM // 16:28

Blarp is just plain annoying and my ping isn't ideal. Maybe when I get a gold drop I'll try again, but still maybe I'll beat him though blind luck sometime.

But meh!

kazjun · Sep 19, 2007, 01:14 AM // 01:14

If your ping is bad, all you got is brute force, so yeah, the only use I have for dungeons nowadays is the hope for a gold piece dropping

I mean seriously, 3 elementals and you got crap. Well, the kappa and fire imp are all you'd have unlocked, though I really like the skale.

Moloch Vein · Sep 19, 2007, 01:27 AM // 01:27

There must be something you miss. I beat all the players in the polymock quest chain without trying more than five times on any of them, most on the first try. When I did lose to any of them it was usually by a very small margin.

The same strategy works for more or less all foes and it's not dependent on good ping, clever interrupts or anything of the sort. Start the fight with a high damage short cast, the computer ai will almost always be busy applying glyph of concentration and thus the spell will go through. Cover the slow casting high damage spell with glyph of concentration and the fast casting one with polymock block. Spam all spells on recharge trying to cover the important ones as mentioned. Use glyph of power when your health drops below 50%. Use ether signet as necessary.

I defeated all computer opponents using this basic strategy. Now, the really frustrating thing is that there is no continuation of the quest line, no point in playing since it's ridiculously easy with the gold piece, and no pvp polymock.

Kry Onicle · Sep 19, 2007, 01:42 AM // 01:42

Interupt him and Block, Actually use the glyph of power. I did every polymock guy first time.. Really don't see any issues with the skill level of it.

kazjun · Sep 19, 2007, 01:52 AM // 01:52

You reckon you can interrupt with bad ping? Hell, sometimes I've kited his ice spear to the opposite side of the arena only to see the damage numbers pop up anyway. Course other time's I can kite around all the projectiles in a round with ease. It's just that it's inconsistant that makes it hard to rely on interrupts or good timing. You either just sit there and trade hits with something with 1k more health than you or wait till you can string 3 rounds with good ping together. Not exactly strategy...

Moloch Vein · Sep 19, 2007, 07:12 AM // 07:12

As I said, good interrupting isn't really necessary to win the fights. Neither is kiting. I _never_ kited when I got through the quest line, simply because I didn't know you could or that it made a difference.

biofrog · Sep 19, 2007, 08:51 AM // 08:51

I'm another in the Aussie-ping-too-high-for-Polymock department, and Blarp certainly gave me the wooops during the couple hours I spent trying to kill the bast'd...

I did eventually get him however, and all the others after were much easier; I even managed to use no other pieces from what you win. I think through pure frustration the only answer came to me, so here's my high-ping-guide to Polymock:

* The first couple shouldn't be too difficult as they use fairly simple pieces
* Gargoyle, Fire and Ice are your most damaging to kill Blarp
* GEK - Start using Gargoyle, Earth Ele, Kappa after Blarp
* Interrupts are a bonus, don't expect them
* Don't move; due to ping you will most likely miss the opportunity to dodge
* You win by spamming out damage faster than they do, nothing more
* You WANT to have everything recharging! If you do not then you aren't doing enough to win!

* Start with Block, then Concentration, then your most damaging skill
* Regardless of if they might block or not, if your damage skill becomes available, hit it again
* damage skills > block or interrupt > weak skill, always use that order
* Repeat:
- Once you get under 6 energy, use block/interrupt then spam your weak skill until 0 energy, if you are under 50% hp then use power glyph then weak skill
- Use recharge signet, then block, concentration, damage skill

* Don't even LOOK at him/his skill use! Just watch your bar, and if a skill recharges, USE it!

It sounds crazy, but once I followed this I actually got through every fight after a couple attempts even with a high > 400ms ping.

Mangione · Sep 20, 2007, 09:28 AM // 09:28

Blarp is insane.

How am I supposed to win if he does 800+600 dmg with just 2 hits?
Even if I block and power drain the first two attempts, he'll throw them out again soon after the block...
Not to mention that the damned earthquake interrupts your attacks too...

I manage to reach the last of his pieces (that fire elemental) and bring him at 25% energy... but no way lower than that.

RTSFirebat · Sep 20, 2007, 11:01 AM // 11:01

Tried again Blarp again, his Earth Ele is by far the most difficult of his pieces. I managed to get him down to 15% health on this least piece, but he got a lucky 600 damage spell on me.

It seems it really to bottled down to dumb luck. I will keep trying, but unless my 1st piece takes down his Earth ele, I just give up.

Cebe · Sep 20, 2007, 12:05 PM // 12:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by RTSFirebat

It seems it really to bottled down to dumb luck. I will keep trying, but unless my 1st piece takes down his Earth ele, I just give up.

That's exactly what I thought. I got so frustrated with Blarp I thought "That's it, I'm NEVER playing Polymock AGAIN...EVER. Screw You Blarp." Then after a week I could hear the Mursaat calling....so I tried again. 3 tries in and I finally beat the little git. I guess my luck finally just arrived. They all seemed easier after him.

Out of interest, is it just me who always starts with the Skale piece first?

SeraCombi · Sep 20, 2007, 01:33 PM // 13:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by RTSFirebat

Tried again Blarp again, his Earth Ele is by far the most difficult of his pieces. I managed to get him down to 15% health on this least piece, but he got a lucky 600 damage spell on me.

It seems it really to bottled down to dumb luck. I will keep trying, but unless my 1st piece takes down his Earth ele, I just give up.

same here, i can get to the last one (the fire ele), and get his health down to 1/5th at best before dying. many times i have died. very frustrating.

i use kappa, gargoyle, skale, as suggested on wiki. i've tried suggestions on this forum. no love. only hate from blarp.

Coraline Jones · Sep 20, 2007, 03:47 PM // 15:47

Anybody that cannot stand Blarp and is stuck there--I feel your pain. My tip is to just keep doing dungeons and trying to fill out your Master Dungeon Guide book. Eventually, whether you want it or not, but a rare Polymock piece will drop and then you can easily steamroll each and every NPC player. My suggestion is to get a Ruby Djinn and then laugh evilly when you see how much damage it does.

=====

As an aside, I've never seen a mini-game as bad as Polymock. There are so many odd things about it that I don't understand.

It seems that the only real purpose of having rare Polymock pieces is to help players having trouble with it. As the quest line lets you use whatever you want, in theory, you could simply buy your victories by putting in three rare Polymock pieces and just winning on raw power.

Once you defeat Master Hoff the first time, your collection devalues immediately, as you can only play "tournament style" which only lets you play one rare, one uncommon, and one common piece every time. I.e., the more rares you get, the less often you'll be using each piece anyway. Rares give you some "flexibility" in your play, but that's about it.

Finally, you'd think that the PvE-only summon skills are super-awesome for such a tedious process of earning them... But actually they are among some of the weakest Asuran skills in the game. You'd think that Summon Mursaat would result in monsters falling over left and right from Spectral Agony. But actually your Mursaat friend has relatively low armor and it only has one spell, Enervating Charge.

bilateralrope · Sep 20, 2007, 11:15 PM // 23:15

I notice that the official wiki seems to of taken down its suggested piece use for the polymock quests.

Personally I think that if we get to have our pieces controlled by heroes instead of directly by players it would make polymock a lot less frustrating, along with emphasising the piece selection more. But this may be just me.

O-Dawg · Sep 21, 2007, 01:19 AM // 01:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by biofrog

I'm another in the Aussie-ping-too-high-for-Polymock department, and Blarp certainly gave me the wooops during the couple hours I spent trying to kill the bast'd...

I did eventually get him however, and all the others after were much easier; I even managed to use no other pieces from what you win. I think through pure frustration the only answer came to me, so here's my high-ping-guide to Polymock:

* The first couple shouldn't be too difficult as they use fairly simple pieces
* Gargoyle, Fire and Ice are your most damaging to kill Blarp
* GEK - Start using Gargoyle, Earth Ele, Kappa after Blarp
* Interrupts are a bonus, don't expect them
* Don't move; due to ping you will most likely miss the opportunity to dodge
* You win by spamming out damage faster than they do, nothing more
* You WANT to have everything recharging! If you do not then you aren't doing enough to win!

* Start with Block, then Concentration, then your most damaging skill
* Regardless of if they might block or not, if your damage skill becomes available, hit it again
* damage skills > block or interrupt > weak skill, always use that order
* Repeat:
- Once you get under 6 energy, use block/interrupt then spam your weak skill until 0 energy, if you are under 50% hp then use power glyph then weak skill
- Use recharge signet, then block, concentration, damage skill

* Don't even LOOK at him/his skill use! Just watch your bar, and if a skill recharges, USE it!

It sounds crazy, but once I followed this I actually got through every fight after a couple attempts even with a high > 400ms ping.

I finally beat Blarp after taking a two-week break from his misery. Woohoo! Thanks for the great advice Biofrog. The best thing to do really is to not look at his skills, not try to interrupt, and just hit your skills as they refresh. Block as often as you can, interrupt when it refreshes, but don't consciously try to interrupt his big skills as you will just lose time.

Thanks for the help!

lord_shar · Sep 21, 2007, 01:28 AM // 01:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by biofrog

...<SNIP>...

* Don't even LOOK at him/his skill use! Just watch your bar, and if a skill recharges, USE it!

...<SNIP>...

Sorry, but this is the worst advise I've seen yet. Your #5 + #6 Interrupts should always be saved for the opponent's big sucker-punch hits, but there's no way you'll be able to interrupt them if you don't watch his current skill being used. You can also counter his spent interrupts by pressing your #1 weak attack button and winning the energy exchange.

Once your polymock piece dives into the sub-10 energy range, energy management becomes critical. Racing to Zero Energy to use the #7 Ether-Sig quickly becomes your life-line.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RTSFirebat

Tried again Blarp again, his Earth Ele is by far the most difficult of his pieces. I managed to get him down to 15% health on this least piece, but he got a lucky 600 damage spell on me.

It seems it really to bottled down to dumb luck. I will keep trying, but unless my 1st piece takes down his Earth ele, I just give up.

No, it's not all luck. Here are some tips I can share (posted from another forum):
=========================
1) don't flinch with the interrupts. Watch your opponent's current skill being used at all times. Counter the opponent's big attacks whenever possible by saving your interrupts for them. Also note that you can also use power block and power drain for energy managment (see #2 below). Ignore the weaker #1 spam attacks until you hit the 10-energy mark.

2) Be aware of your energy and manage it wisely. Once you hit 2 energy, use Power Block to Ether-sig faster. At 3 energy, use powerdrain instead. This lets you use Ether-Sig for +10 energy much sooner to fuel your stronger attacks skills

3) Manage your energy with your skill recycle clock(s). Time your primary attacks so that you have enough energy available when your main damage skills becomes available.

4) Burn your opponent interrupts with your weakest attack skill. When you see the opponent use power block or power drain, simply press #1 to get the better of the energy exchange.

The first time I did polymock, it wasn't easy. On my second toon, I finished all the polymock opponents off in under one hour once I had all the required towns. It does take practice, but it's not all about luck.

biofrog · Sep 21, 2007, 07:20 AM // 07:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by O-Dawg

I finally beat Blarp after taking a two-week break from his misery. Woohoo! Thanks for the great advice Biofrog. The best thing to do really is to not look at his skills, not try to interrupt, and just hit your skills as they refresh. Block as often as you can, interrupt when it refreshes, but don't consciously try to interrupt his big skills as you will just lose time.

Thanks for the help!

Welcome! I'm glad something has come from my own Blarp and high-ping misfortunes! It should work for the rest of polymock just fine too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lord_shar

Sorry, but this is the worst advise I've seen yet. Your #5 + #6 Interrupts should always be saved for the opponent's big sucker-punch hits, but there's no way you'll be able to interrupt them if you don't watch his current skill being used. You can also counter his spent interrupts by pressing your #1 weak attack button and winning the energy exchange.

lord_shar, I am assuming you read the title of my guide? It is a high-ping-guide to Polymock only.

I can tell you now, with a 400ms and higher ping, with spikes often up into the 800ms plus range, there is simply no chance of planning a successful interrupt whether it's power block or power drain. There physically is just not the time for the visible notice of their cast, your reaction time, and the response back to the server to consistently interrupt any of their one-to-two second cast skills.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lord_shar

Once your polymock piece dives into the sub-10 energy range, energy management becomes critical. Racing to Zero Energy to use the #7 Ether-Sig quickly becomes your life-line.

This I agree with totally, but I suggest using the same block, concentrate, power skill after recharge if the skills are available :-)

lord_shar · Sep 21, 2007, 08:10 AM // 08:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by biofrog

lord_shar, I am assuming you read the title of my guide? It is a high-ping-guide to Polymock only.

OK fair enough, I missed that part

Quote:

Originally Posted by biofrog

This I agree with totally, but I suggest using the same block, concentrate, power skill after recharge if the skills are available :-)

Agreed as well... basically you want to be at zero energy after delivering your big counter-hit so that you can ether-sig back to 10 energy asap.

Res Ipsi · Sep 21, 2007, 02:51 PM // 14:51

Finally got through the entire compliment of Polymock challenges. Like many posters, I found Blarpp the most frustrating - but across all challenges my average ping of 500 ms, with spikes in the 2.5 sec range, made Polymock one of the most hated quests to date. I have not seen anyone else post possible glitches with this quest, but I experienced a couple fairly consistently - some of which I have screenshots of. The most annoying glitch was the one that showed I had 10 energy, when in fact I had none. I only discovered this when I hit Ether Signet in desperation and was rewarded with a 20 energy bar (which we know isn't possible). Another glitch - as far as I'm concerned - is the one where you die from degen a split second after you've killed the polymock. I tied the necromancer 3-3, but it was me who was returned to the outpost. And he had the nerve to gloat :/
Anyway, kudos to those who breezed through these quests, and good luck to everyone else who still needs to complete them. After discussing with a friend what the best strategy was for beating all polymocks, this is what ended up working for me (in the following order):

1. Block (the Watch Yourself skill)
2. Skill slot 3 (the big damage skill)
3. Glyph of concentration
4. Skill slot 2 (next big damage skill)
spam spam spam Skill slot 1 while everything else recharges
Throw Block up when you see him cast Glyph of concentration or Glyph of Power (he's going to try and sucker punch you)
Save your interrupts for the really nasty skills (like Searing Flames, Mark of Rodgorts, Earthquake, etc.)
As soon as you reach 50% health, start using Glyph of Power (for the added punch), and always use Glyph of Concentration before you use your big damage skill.

Energy management is important. Once you reach 0 energy, you have to be a bit more strategic with what skills you use, and when.

Hope this helps

Retribution X · Sep 21, 2007, 02:55 PM // 14:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Res Ipsi

Finally got through the entire compliment of Polymock challenges. Like many posters, I found Blarpp the most frustrating - but across all challenges my average ping of 500 ms, with spikes in the 2.5 sec range, made Polymock one of the most hated quests to date.

Glad I'm not the only one with that.

I found Blarpp annoying too.

Kris · Sep 21, 2007, 03:27 PM // 15:27

Polymock is not down to luck, it literally takes practice and self-conditioning.

1. The start of every round is simple - use the large dmg 2-sec spell.
2. After that, you have to react to everything the computer player does - if you wish to play efficiently.
3. You should hover over the block and interrupt with your mouse, and use your keys to control the 3 main damage spells.
4. Ignore the small damage spells the enemy does (very difficult to stop yourself blocking by reaction sometimes but you need to stop reacting to the small spells).
5. Interupt the condition / DOT spell every time he uses it (I.e. don't spam interupt, keep it for the condition / DOT.
6. Block every time the enemy uses their large dmg spell. (Again, don't spam it).
7. Use your own large dmg or condition / DOT spells immediately after it uses it's own interrupt, or alternately with your concentration signet.

If you do all that (it takes time to teach yourself), you will be beating an enemy with 2 polymocks, never mind 3. It works wonders.