Advice on solo Tridolon optimisations

[(PSN)xtharbadx]

Hey fellow hunters, I'm hoping some experienced hunters out there could give me some tips/advices on how to speed up my hunt so that I can eventually get to a point where I can solo 1x3 + one Terry within the same night cycle using the current setup I have.

( yes I'm aware this should be done with teams and not solo, but I want to do it anyways ).

So far I've been able to do Terry and Garry in about 25 minutes, but I want to reduce that to 15-20 minutes max so that I have plenty of time left to deal with Harry and eventually do another Terry afterwards.My setup and the script I'm using ( largely drafted based on watching/reading how Eidolon hunters do it but sprinkled with some stuff I've come up with ) follows below.

What I'm looking for is any advice in how to further optimize the hunt time, but taking into consideration the current limitations I have ( no Riven, using Madurai .. ). I've seen people doing 2x3 with similar setups ( but with a Riven), so it's definitely possible. Probably it's just a combination of "get gud" by improving the script and training .. but maybe there's more to it.

My setup:

- Trinity Prime, duration and survivability build:
  - CP, Power Drift, Narrow Minded, Primed Continuity, Rage, Hunter Adrenaline, Vitality, Fleeting Expertise, Augur Message, Transient Fortitude
  - 2x R3 Arcane Nuliffier
- Madurai focus school maxed ( Including Void Strike and all schools unbound skills enabled )
- Lanka standard build, no Riven:
  - Serration, Split Chamber, Heavy Caliber, Vile Acceleration, Hellfire, Strombinger, Vital Sense, Point Strike
- Melee: Sarpa w/ Shattering Impact
- Adarza Kavat ( Cat's Eye for extra crit damage )
- Operator:
  - Amp 223 w/ Virtuos Fury
  - Magus Husk, Magus Vigor

Script:

0. Itzal, fly up, spot and mark Eidolon location.
1. Itzal, Blitz to first lure at the pond near gate. Use Iztal's Penumbra for full stop + invis
2. With pyrana secondary shoot it. Use Blitz to get close, hack it w/ciphers ( all on arching )
3. Blitz to near gate, kill vombs to charge lure ( this doesn't always work, sometimes no vombs around )
4. Get 7 more lures, or whatever max possible without wasting too much time
5. Blizt to Teralyst location

// generic fight cycle:
  5.0. 5x strikes with Sarpa to strip armor
  5.1. Shoot shields till amp runs out of energy.
  5.2. While amp out of energy, be close to Eidolon and void dash to the ground ( Meteoric Dash ) damaging Eidolon, charging VS and amp at the same time.
  5.3. Also use Metoric Dash when Eidolon does ground slam attacks ( this avoids being pushed out and will be doing damage at the same time )
  5.4. Shoot sequence: 1) Arm pits 2) Arms 3) Legs ( leaving legs for last helps as they are easier to shoot when Eidolon escalates attacks at the end )
  Teralyst specific:
   - Bless to keep myself alive only, don't worry with lures
  Gantulyst specific:
   - Make sure to keep lures blessed while massive attacks occur ( especially the "lasers of death from above" )
   - Ground slam repeated attacks, stay close and void dash ( Meteoric Dash ) to the ground to ignore them
  Hydrolist specific:
   - Make sure to kill the bloom purple things that make vombs invulnerable
  Kavat: If dead, revive before shooting limbs to get the crit, otherwise don't bother.

 

Thanks in advance!

[GnarlsDarkley]

Dunno seems pretty decent. But I would go for Unairu, permanent +100% Operator damage has more value than 8 shots with +50-150% damage

[(PSN)xtharbadx]

1 minute ago, GnarlsDarkley said:

But I would go for Unairu, permanent +100% Operator damage has more value than 8 shots with +50-150% damage

I will, but first want to do it with Madurai.

That's actually a good point I forgot to mention/ask. The process to get wisps vs the process to get VS seem to ultimately lead to roughly the same thing.

As in, when I'm doing shields I usually have at least 2x up, shouldn't that be the same as the 100% you get from the wisps? Haven't done any research on that, just thinking out loud.

[GnarlsDarkley]

1 minute ago, (PS4)xtharbadx said:

As in, when I'm doing shields I usually have at least 2x up, shouldn't that be the same as the 100% you get from the wisps?

Yes. That's what I was pointing out constant 100% vs variable 50 to 150%.

The reason I would tend to Unairu is pretty simple: you just have to "melee" with OP 1x and get a wisp for 12seconds and this can be "redone". Sometimes you can't rely on your script and in such situations you can't generate any VS. 

In the end it comes to personal preference I would say. 

[(XBOX)Thang Hung]

I would give Unairu wisps a try like Gnarls was saying. 

There are really 3 parts to it. You just need to see where you could save time and the answer is more than likely always going to be shields. 

1.Lures, may be some time to save here. Are you able to find 8 fairly quickly?

2.Shields, this I'm sure is where the biggest chunk of time can be saved.

3.Limbs, this is not a problem for most teams, though you are doing it solo, may be some time here. Only you can say. 

[(PSN)xtharbadx]

27 minutes ago, (XB1)Thang Hung said:

1.Lures, may be some time to save here. Are you able to find 8 fairly quickly?

I know where to get them and how to get them fast, but sometimes they don't spawn for some reason, so often I end up with less and have to get the remaining later.

Sometimes I also get unlucky with vombs and can't find any at the usual spot to charge lure fast.

27 minutes ago, (XB1)Thang Hung said:

2.Shields, this I'm sure is where the biggest chunk of time can be saved.

I usually don't have many issues with shields, can take them down fast and consistently. Although I assume this can get better with Unairu later on, but for now I will stick with Madurai.

27 minutes ago, (XB1)Thang Hung said:

3.Limbs, this is not a problem for most teams, though you are doing it solo, may be some time here. Only you can say.

Limbs is likely where I end up taking more time.

I think it's a combination of:

- Not having a Riven, I'm sort of dependent on my Kavat to boost crits. Can take anywhere between 3 to 10 Lanka shots.

- Bad aim, terain, visual noise caused by Eidolon attacks, sometimes have trouble even seeing the target.

The only thing I can do here to improve ( I think ) is basically keep training. With experience comes perfection I guess 😉 - Or pray to RNG gods that one day the sortie will bless me with a Lanka riven eheheh ...

[Guest]

I have a similar script, but I use a riven and smeeta kavat. On my Lanka build, I would use Vigilante Armaments instead of Heavy Caliber. The extra shot will increase my sniper combo faster.

I don't know how you use your AMP, but I only use secondary fire (Scaffold). I always grab 8 lures first, and then charge one, but I think you're doing this step faster.

NORMALLY, I don't use dash on the eidolon, because their shield is already gone. When do you charge VS? and how much? I normally only charge after destroying a limb (until 4x) and during a strong attacks (until 2x).

 

[(XBOX)Thang Hung]

3 minutes ago, (PS4)xtharbadx said:

things

A riven for sure could help you. In the mean time, do you find yourself missing shots? I can't stand Heavy Caliber is why I ask. Since you are shooting so many times maybe try Speed Trigger instead of Heavy Caliber? I'm not saying you must try this, just food for thought. If you connect faster and more consistently you could out DPS the Heavy Caliber build easily I think. 

 

[(XBOX)Thang Hung]

6 minutes ago, (PS4)iQuedas said:

I have a similar script, but I use a riven and smeeta kavat. On my Lanka build, I would use Vigilante Armaments instead of Heavy Caliber. The extra shot will increase my sniper combo faster.

I don't know how you use your AMP, but I only use secondary fire (Scaffold). I always grab 8 lures first, and then charge one, but I think you're doing this step faster.

NORMALLY, I don't use dash on the eidolon, because their shield is already gone. When do you charge VS? and how much? I normally only charge after destroying a limb (until 4x) and during a strong attacks (until 2x).

 

He/She has a point with Vigilante Armaments. 

Edited October 10, 2018 by (XB1)Thang Hung
add something

[(PSN)xtharbadx]

3 minutes ago, (PS4)iQuedas said:

smeeta kavat

That's interesting. Why smeeta if I may ask?

I've been assuming that the consistency of Adarza crits would be more efficient, but maybe not?

4 minutes ago, (PS4)iQuedas said:

I don't know how you use your AMP, but I only use secondary fire (Scaffold).

Yup, secondary to take down shields. Primary for vombs if they are too far away.

4 minutes ago, (PS4)iQuedas said:

I always grab 8 lures first, and then charge one

I charge the first one first because I think it's faster since it's the only one, and after that I don't need to worry about charging any more lures ( most of them will already be charged by the time I capture Teralyst ).

One thing I haven't tried is to for example have only 5 lures when doing Teralyst and grab the others later, not sure if that would shave off any time thou .. have to test.

7 minutes ago, (PS4)iQuedas said:

When do you charge VS? and how much? I normally only charge after destroying a limb (until 4x) and during a strong attacks (until 2x).

No set amount, but probably very similar to those values. I think we're doing the exact same thing here. Difference is that I usually dash with Meteoric if our of amp charge or/and during his attacks. It does a bit of damage to shields, every bit helps I guess.

[(PSN)xtharbadx]

7 minutes ago, (XB1)Thang Hung said:

do you find yourself missing shots? I can't stand Heavy Caliber is why I ask

Yes, but because of bad aim, not Heavy Caliber 😉

I'm usually close enough to the Eidolon so that HC accuracy loss doesn't really seem to be an issue. But it's possible, haven't really paid much attention to it ( I will on the next hunt, and will also give Vigilant Armaments a go as suggested above ).

[(XBOX)Thang Hung]

4 minutes ago, (PS4)xtharbadx said:

Yes, but because of bad aim, not Heavy Caliber 😉

I'm usually close enough to the Eidolon so that HC accuracy loss doesn't really seem to be an issue. But it's possible, haven't really paid much attention to it ( I will on the next hunt, and will also give Vigilant Armaments a go as suggested above ).

Good to see you at least have a open mind and are willing to try some different things. You are correct Adarza is way more consistent, stick with it. 

Please let us know how things worked after you tried some of these new ideas.  

[Guest]

2 hours ago, (PS4)xtharbadx said:

That's interesting. Why smeeta if I may ask?

I've been assuming that the consistency of Adarza crits would be more efficient, but maybe not?

Too lazy to switch pets constantly, but my Smeeta rarely goes down. I take some distance from the eidolon before switching to my operator, so my smeeta is normally out of its range, but still buffs me.

 

Another thing to note, how much do you charge your Void Strike between eidolons? After taking down one of the eidolons, I try to charge my VS to 8x or more. It's enough to chew through its first shield and destroy a limb in one or two shots. Some times I have some charges left to destroy its shields once more.

 

Edited October 11, 2018 by Guest

[(PSN)xtharbadx]

10 minutes ago, (PS4)iQuedas said:

Another thing to note, how much do you charge your Void Strike between eidolons? After taking down one of the eidolons, I try to charge my VS to 8x or more. It's enough to chew through its first shield and destroy a limb in one or two shots. Some times I have some charges left to destroy its shields once more.

I only really charge it while in void mode after kill shot and picking up the loot, that's maybe 3x if that much.

I then proceed to place shard, charge a bit more (maybe up to 4x?) while the next Eido spawns, and then quickly dash to it.

Could probably try charge it longer, but that's going to be dead time, not sure what's best, if it pays off or not.

Really don't think that with 8 charges with 8x I would be able to to drop Garry/Harry shield, shoot the limb and drop another shield. Not sure how are you able to do that.

I can give it a try next night cycle and see how that goes.

[(PSN)xtharbadx]

Hi all!

First of all, thanks to everyone who provided feedback!

I wanted to just post an update on my progress here, as well as comment on some experiments ( also based on feedback ).

I realise none of this is probable relevant for you guys, but maybe someone on the same path as I am can benefit in the future if they happen to come across this post.

 

Small things I changed that, combined, made a noticeable difference:

1) Positioning properly to shoot Synoivas. I would previously just try to shoot them from where I was, or moving around slightly to get a better shot etc. It's totally worth it to lose a few seconds to move to the optimal position, especially considering I have to shoot several times.

2) Better reading of AoE Ground Smash attacks and avoid them as best as possible by figuring out which areas won't be affected by the "Homing Quakes". This is especially useful when shooting the Synoivas. Previously I wasn't paying much attention to those attacks and would get staggered a lot ( or even killed if fighting the Gantulyst )

3) Collecting 6 lures at start instead of trying for 7-8. This ends up making a substantial difference. Often I would waste time flying around because some times they don't spawn where I expect them to be. By collecting 6 only, I have enough to go all the way to start Hydrolist battle, and since the Lures respawn, I can go back to the usual spots and will always be able to pick up 2 more easily. Also, having less lures means lowering chances of them blocking my shots.

4) (ab)using Methoric Dash more often. Really happy about this focus skill. Cuts on the dead time since I'll basically be damaging the Eidolon's shields, killing Vombs, and charging VS/amp at the same time. In fact, often it's Meteoric Dash that deals the killing blow on the shields.

5) Better management of Madurai's VS multiplier. This just comes with practice I guess, but the point is to try to have all 8 shots when ready, and some times means shooting a few times to nowhere just to reset that counter before going into void.

 

Some things I tried, from feedback read here:

a) Speed Triger. This doesn't seem to be worth it for me, since the charge rate on the Lanka barely moves at all, and means losing something like 5k damage.

b) Dropping Heavy Caliber in favour of Vigilante Armaments. Did some testing here and payed close attention to the missed shots. My conclusion ( and I realise this may be just personal preference ) is that it's very much worth it keeping for the extra damage, and I didn't really noticed much of a difference on the combo counter. Dropping HC actually caused my DPS to decrease considerable.

Things I'm yet to try:

(PS4)iQuedas - "I take some distance from the eidolon before switching to my operator"

I really like this idea. I usually have to revive my Adarza Kavat often, and sounds like I can shave plenty of time here, especially considering that the Kavat tends to stay with the frame, and when I pop back to the frame, he comes to me.

All in all, things have been working well, and have been lots of fun trying to optimise my solo hunts.

I am currently doing Terry+Garry in under 25 minutes consistently. I had done this before on that same time, but wasn't consistent, now it is.

I've manage to do a full tricap + 2xTerry a couple times already.

On the negative side, looking at how the hunt goes, I don't really think it will be ever possible to do 2x3 unless somehow I get blessed by the RNG gods with a riven.

 

One last thing: When I finish a tricap and if I have enough time for a Terry or two, I've been using Unairu on them so that I can start getting some experience with that school. It's awesome for the shields, but it actually ends up hurting my DPS overall because I can't use the wisps to hit Synoivas nor the Eidolon, whereas I can use Madurai's VS very efficiently. Starting to think that Unairu is more efficient only if you have a Riven? Thoughts? 

[Guest]

22 hours ago, (PS4)xtharbadx said:

b) Dropping Heavy Caliber in favour of Vigilante Armaments. Did some testing here and payed close attention to the missed shots. My conclusion ( and I realise this may be just personal preference ) is that it's very much worth it keeping for the extra damage, and I didn't really noticed much of a difference on the combo counter. Dropping HC actually caused my DPS to decrease considerable.

Something I do to make use of Vigilante Armaments (VA) is shooting the eidolon (invulnerable spots) to increase my combo when I'm not charging VS. It is pretty quick to get to 3x multiplier with VA, but you might need ONE ammo pad, just in case. VA also affects your crits, but the difference is much more noticeable with a riven to go over 100% crit chance.

 

22 hours ago, (PS4)xtharbadx said:

3) Collecting 6 lures at start instead of trying for 7-8. This ends up making a substantial difference. Often I would waste time flying around because some times they don't spawn where I expect them to be. By collecting 6 only, I have enough to go all the way to start Hydrolist battle, and since the Lures respawn, I can go back to the usual spots and will always be able to pick up 2 more easily. Also, having less lures means lowering chances of them blocking my shots.

 

22 hours ago, (PS4)xtharbadx said:

1) Positioning properly to shoot Synoivas. I would previously just try to shoot them from where I was, or moving around slightly to get a better shot etc. It's totally worth it to lose a few seconds to move to the optimal position, especially considering I have to shoot several times.

These go hand in hand. If you position yourself well, none of the 8 lures will block your shots.

 

 

22 hours ago, (PS4)xtharbadx said:

Starting to think that Unairu is more efficient only if you have a Riven? Thoughts?

I think so too. The thing with Unairu is that it has a much smaller downtime, in comparison to Madurai. Mid-limbs I won't have charged VS enough to make my charges last past shields.