Ash Rework [Tactics & Strategy]

[(XBOX)EternalDrk Mako]

ive had a few tenno asking on this, so thought id make a quick strategy system/guide of sorts

rework summary:

Spoiler

Blade Storm Changes:

• Blade Storm now has a new 'Mark Enemy' mode that is activated when you hit 4. Ash enters target mode, which you can freely target enemies with your reticule up to 3 times each for attack. Once you're satisfied, press 4 again, Blade Storm begins and all targeted enemies are attacked!
• Each mark costs Energy (15) which is affected by Mods. If a marked enemy is killed by a squad mate, you will get the energy back. 
• Marks made while invisible by any source will have a cheaper base cost (10). 
• Enemies killed by Blade Storm will dissolve, leaving no corpse behind to detect!

Teleport Changes:

• Teleport will now allow you to target anything with a health bar! Instead of being limited to Teleporting to allies or enemies, you can now teleport to objects. 

Smoke Screen Changes:

• Smoke Screen can now be cast while running (no lower body movement lock).
• Smoke Screen can now be cast while in-air! 

 lets get to the point, the rework has changed the standard tactics of play 

For those who want to try and understand the rework and utilize it to your advantage and/or having difficulties in doing so

Now Ash originally had a radius of effect , were he would activate and attack/damage enemies within range of saturated effect so to speak [like example ring] 

Spoiler

Now lets get down to the current rework

• bladestorm now rewards players for marking while invisible with reduced cost: duration, range, and efficiency should be something to consider  
• smoke can be cast at anytime, greatly increasing its usage and utility 
• teleport can now jump you to inanimate targets now [needs hp] this includes crates and other objects 
• no corpses = lost synergy with nekros? 

so logically thinking if you have a good LOS and range you could in a simple method gain a larger AOE of damage then old ash as marks stay with targets /mark each x3 , and you can deactivate/attack from literally anywhere to kill/damage the marked targets. no point click kill a ringed area, its a no longer a restricted ring but a limitless strike capability all over a map, sounds pretty strong to me with this reasoning in mind

now how to use this new reworked ash to you advantage you might wonder? 

simple strategy for play: cast smoke, then activate 4 , mark enemies, deactivate kill/damage targets

Spoiler

 

 how to utilize for a quick AOE saturation?

A: Jump while under smoke and mark all enemies within LOS [looking down and around] , in maps with large areas this leaves you to a VERY wide saturation area of marked targets 

B: while under smoke, teleport up high, cast 4 then mark targets, deactivate and kill/damage targets

This seems pretty straight forward then, and can be done very quickly and at a rapid pace 

now how to utilize this to attack smaller groups in tight /close quarters ?

 

in constrained areas consider the following :cast smoke/cast BS/cast teleport into group

Spoiler

 

1. spin in a circle if in center of group to mark a 360 LOS
2. if on outer edge jump, roll to mark all in LOS

now release 4, kill/damage targets 

this again is pretty straightforward.

 

Larger AOE strategy :

Spoiler

 

so your like, well these are nice to quick kill decent groups, large groups , but how do i nuke huge areas? 

well this is a little than just tactics of play as well

instead of quick cast decast method, keep smoke active and keep 4 active 

now go around and mark as many enemies as you can [as power & efficiency of build allows] , tel;eport between areas to rapidly build up marked groups

now once youve marked as many as you can [per your build restrictions] unleash BS and kill them from virtually any location on the map  

again ... rather straight forward approach to using these powers in a synergistic way

 

I hope this helps those who may be wondering at new play tactics 

~best regards 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2016 by (XB1)EternalDrk Mako

[Xekrin]

32 minutes ago, (XB1)EternalDrk Mako said:

no corpses = lost synergy with nekros? 

Negative, corpses technically exist for whatever duration they should but the actual corpses vanish from sight.  Same for miasma victims and so on.  It was explained on Prime Time by @[DE]Rebecca

Nice guide, unfortunately it may prove to difficult for ash users who are accustomed to sleeping through missions and getting highest kill counts.  That aside, I hope others find it useful.

[AtroSpiker]

He's still OP....even more so in the damage department now with the way his mark multiplier works.

 

[i.chit.you.not]

my tactic is retire him to the fodder section, done

- the ult is becoming too much of a chores, most frame now resort to skill 1 & 2 & 3, the 4 are waste of energy and often fall short

[Kurienno]

Does Blade Storm still activate Arcane Trickery?

[Kyronz]

if i am going to spend that much energy i will bring ember and click on accelerant.  while getting a lot of CC at the same time.

[Eldnacpeek]

5 hours ago, Xekrin said:

That aside, I hope others find it useful.

 

In all honesty, if I were to read any guide, I'd rather it be from someone with experience (given OP is on XB1). Unless using a PC account on the side, I don't see validity in a guide based only off reading patch notes and/or watching videos.

No harm intended, OP.

Edited November 26, 2016 by LazerSkink

[Cidolfus]

58 minutes ago, g4yb4ll said:

my tactic is retire him to the fodder section, done

- the ult is becoming too much of a chores, most frame now resort to skill 1 & 2 & 3, the 4 are waste of energy and often fall short

 

2 hours ago, Xekrin said:

 

Nice guide, unfortunately it may prove to difficult for ash users who are accustomed to sleeping through missions and getting highest kill counts.  That aside, I hope others find it useful.

^

[Kyronz]

Just now, LazerSkink said:

 

In all honesty, if I were to read any guide, I'd rather it be from someone with experience (given OP is on XB1). Unless one is using a PC account on the side, I don't see a lot of validity from someone who's only and only read the patch notes and/or seen videos.

No harm intended, OP.

A suprrising amount of dangle stick warriors also play on pc...perhaps they like the ability to aim :P

[(XBOX)EternalDrk Mako]

11 hours ago, LazerSkink said:

 

In all honesty, if I were to read any guide, I'd rather it be from someone with experience (given OP is on XB1). Unless using a PC account on the side, I don't see validity in a guide based only off reading patch notes and/or watching videos.

No harm intended, OP.

no worries 

i was  able to test it on PC thanks to a friend who let me check it out and play in simulacron and on a few mission to get a feel for how it works

just  curious was all.  kinda figured this out for my own play strategy while i was messing with it 

[(XBOX)EternalDrk Mako]

13 hours ago, AtroSpiker said:

He's still OP....even more so in the damage department now with the way his mark multiplier works.

 

feels more fluid to me when i tried it, smoke the BS /decast

[Vilemyre]

So since bladestorm mode costs no energy to keep up and the energy is only spent on marks how possible is it to get ash to clear a ext mission solo with just marks alone? Is there a range limit on how close marks need to be to still be marked?

[Timberwolf581]

Honestly, my tactics haven't changed that much.

Use 1 when I need to kill an enemy quick or silently, use 2 when I want to vanish or don't want to be seen, use 3 when I need to cover a large or obstacle rich distance and use 4 when there are too many enemies for my primary to kill.

 

The only thing that changed is the effort required for 4.

[(XBOX)EternalDrk Mako]

4 hours ago, VermillionScourge said:

So since bladestorm mode costs no energy to keep up and the energy is only spent on marks how possible is it to get ash to clear a ext mission solo with just marks alone? Is there a range limit on how close marks need to be to still be marked?

no limit to my understanding /experience , as long as a target is marked and not killed [by other means] you will teleport to them and kill/damage 

so in theory you can mark them all and kill them all 

seems very ..map nuke

 

[wathor88]

cause he is useless now he share a room with mag in the section: frames that were aweseome once

[(XBOX)EternalDrk Mako]

8 minutes ago, wathor88 said:

cause he is useless now he share a room with mag in the section: frames that were aweseome once

obviously you dont play mag ... 

nuke  maps without much energy or effort

 

 

[jjpdn]

Whats with the people going "Nope!" and switching to Teleport? 

I'm running a lot faster out of energy with pure Tp... 

Ahhh so they aren't waiting out the slash damage ticks, that explains it. 

Or they were against 10 Level 110 Bombards. <- hate when this happens. 

Edited November 27, 2016 by jjpdn

[(PSN)lhbuch]

4 hours ago, (XB1)EternalDrk Mako said:

no limit to my understanding /experience , as long as a target is marked and not killed [by other means] you will teleport to them and kill/damage 

so in theory you can mark them all and kill them all 

seems very ..map nuke

 

So its possible to mark all enemies in a ext mission and just activate BS once? 

[PsiWarp]

4 hours ago, (XB1)EternalDrk Mako said:

no limit to my understanding /experience , as long as a target is marked and not killed [by other means] you will teleport to them and kill/damage 

so in theory you can mark them all and kill them all 

seems very ..map nuke

 

As much as I want this, it isn't the case. Tested in Simulacrum with negative and positive Power Range, if they leave the range their marks disappear and energy refunds.

[Miser_able]

The only problem I have with the ash rework is that it really shows how much of a problem the energy system can be. Basically forcing you to have a trin in the squad or being prepared to spam some pizzas.

I haven't played him yet so I don't know much more than that.

[(XBOX)EternalDrk Mako]

15 hours ago, PsiWarp said:

As much as I want this, it isn't the case. Tested in Simulacrum with negative and positive Power Range, if they leave the range their marks disappear and energy refunds.

so there is a range of cast , i was testing in large groups, but the maps i tested were defense to see the saturation damage 

how much positive did you try? 200%+ ? 

 

15 hours ago, (PS4)lhbuch said:

So its possible to mark all enemies in a ext mission and just activate BS once? 

 

15 hours ago, shadowfire380 said:

The only problem I have with the ash rework is that it really shows how much of a problem the energy system can be. Basically forcing you to have a trin in the squad or being prepared to spam some pizzas.

I haven't played him yet so I don't know much more than that.

rage lifestrike is something to consider, i usually like that , but as its more stealth based now ..could be a issue 

most would keep a primary weapon like sy simulor or supra ..ect that grants energy 

ratka cenros would be a good match then ? 

[Ailissa]

On 11/26/2016 at 3:46 AM, AtroSpiker said:

He's still OP....even more so in the damage department now with the way his mark multiplier works.

 

Ash is still okay .,..... for solo play.

 

If you are in a group those mobs would be dead before you've finished marking.

[DatDarkOne]

1 minute ago, Ailissa said:

Ash is still okay .,..... for solo play.

 

If you are in a group those mobs would be dead before you've finished marking.

This is quite true. Then again Ash never really has been known as much of a team player. Just think about it for a bit. What did Ash really contribute to a team? :D

[Soulden]

35 minutes ago, DatDarkOne said:

This is quite true. Then again Ash never really has been known as much of a team player. Just think about it for a bit. What did Ash really contribute to a team? :D

As much as any other press 4 to nuke frame does. Besides Trinity, all other frames are pretty much irrelevant, I mean, who needs a shield/globe/buff, when you can constantly regen health/shields/energy, keeping all enemies dead or cced.

[Kaiser_Suoh]

Waste

of

energy