Fire marauder in Infinite Archive so ultra hard

AnduinTryggva · June 2

Compared to the other two marauders this one gets me 9 out of 10 attempts and my partner unless that partner is a full blown tank or a high end arcanist.

His attacks that don't show as heavy attacks go thru your block and latest at cycle 3 this is immanent death. I would even go so far that if you are not a full blown tank with 40k health it is instant death already in cycle 2 if you try to block his attacks.

He also has incredible hit range with his melee attacks. And I am not talking about the sword that he throws from time to time.

Shared view of all people that I talked to about that guy is that you have to perma-kite him. This is putting builds that are melee based in a situation that makes this boss unplayable unless you have a very good tank or a very very good ranged partner on your side. Considering that you cannot prepare if this marauder appears or not makes this complete annoying.

I only continue to attempt to lay that guy in a drive of stubbornness not in a self-delusional estimation of actually being able to beat him.

For info: I run as a semi-tank dps. My health is 30k and I use shield and sword from cycle 2 on and I use my dk shields and other shields as much as I can.

BetweenMidgets · June 2

I agree, this guy ain't no joke. I normally do IA as a duo, and if this guy spawns, even as a tank with 47k HP in the later arcs with my tank gear on, I'm absolutely kiting him. I try to keep far enough away from him that he won't hit me, and that I have enough wiggle room to turn around and keep taunt on him so we won't one shot my partner.

Truly horrifying in some of the smaller locations with no room to actually kite.

XSTRONG · June 2

Yeah Gothmau hits super hard but I dont think Zos will tune him down because its have been known since Infinite Archive launch that hes over tuned compared to the other marauder and they havent even answered anywhere why. Same with Zarrasa the forgotten 'spelling?'

AnduinTryggva · June 2

To be honest I have the strong suspicion that this guy is there as a sort of "fail safe stopper" so that he will always manage at one point to kill players off.

code65536 · June 2

ZOS knows. Because they posted the stats themselves.

People have been saying it since PTS...

...with cute memes, too.

SilverBride · June 2

I can verify that kiting is the key to defeating this guy.

He is actually my favorite, as long as I have a lot of space to kite him around. If I get him in a small enclosed area he usually wins.

AnduinTryggva · June 2

SilverBride wrote: »

This is actually my favorite, as long as I have a lot of space to kite him around. If I get him in a small enclosed area he usually wins.

That is a huge flaw that you can win only if you can kite him. We are again at the discussion melee vs ranged. Basically melee players cannot win. The other two marauders are totally different: you don't have to kite them but stay close to them and bock them in time. For a ranged player it does not matter how far one stands from the boss. For melee it makes a huge difference.

In most cases melee builds will have their damage abilities on the front bar and on the backbar their support skills and maybe some dots. Even if they run a ranged weapon on the backbar it makes the task so much more difficult.

It is just a really bad bad game design.

SilverBride · June 2

AnduinTryggva wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

This is actually my favorite, as long as I have a lot of space to kite him around. If I get him in a small enclosed area he usually wins.

That is a huge flaw that you can win only if you can kite him. We are again at the discussion melee vs ranged. Basically melee players cannot win. The other two marauders are totally different: you don't have to kite them but stay close to them and bock them in time. For a ranged player it does not matter how far one stands from the boss. For melee it makes a huge difference.

In most cases melee builds will have their damage abilities on the front bar and on the backbar their support skills and maybe some dots. Even if they run a ranged weapon on the backbar it makes the task so much more difficult.

It is just a really bad bad game design.

I have more trouble with the other 2 because some of their mechanics make it more difficult to just kite them around.

I don't think it's bad design that the different marauders are more vulnerable to different strategies. It just makes us think outside the box for other strategies to defeat them.

EdjeSwift · June 2

AnduinTryggva wrote: »

That is a huge flaw that you can win only if you can kite him. We are again at the discussion melee vs ranged. Basically melee players cannot win.

He's completely beatable as melee solo as a DPS build, you just have to know HOW to fight them. It's all a matter of understanding their attack rotations and blocking/surviving the berserker barrage he unleashes upon you.

The first thing to make sure is you have a survivable DPS build, 30k+ HP is usually enough to block through the initial damage. Then while fighting them, time your defenses in their attacks. Dropping a shield or something defensive in between their attack rotation they have is key. Attacking during this barrage in advisable if you're DPS spec, but I do occasionally throw in a carve for a little bit of a damage shield, but it's risky. Once they stop doing the five or so melee hits and shifts to spin attack or summon fire attack, wail on them, rinse repeat.

tsaescishoeshiner · June 2

Ruinach light attacks appear to be doing 3-4x damage in the Archive. Both Gothmau and the cycle boss Ghemvas deal light attacks that hit 3x harder than bosses of their own level.

So I think it's potentially a bug with ruinach bosses in the Archive.

I don't mind one marauder being harder than the others (it helped me get tankier much faster lol), the damage just seems way more than the other marauders and cycle bosses.

TairenSoul · June 2

I think most of the bosses in IA are too hard. It's hard to enjoy a part of the game that is basically a beat down/loss every time you play it. I don't want it crazy easy, but does it have to be so hard that it's virtually impossible to get by? {I'm writing this as a level 2856 toon with very high dps, so it's not like I'm a noob.)

EdjeSwift · June 2

TairenSoul wrote: »

I think most of the bosses in IA are too hard. It's hard to enjoy a part of the game that is basically a beat down/loss every time you play it. I don't want it crazy easy, but does it have to be so hard that it's virtually impossible to get by? {I'm writing this as a level 2856 toon with very high dps, so it's not like I'm a noob.)

At which point are they too hard for you?

For me, the bosses are all about mechanics and understanding how they differ from their normal counterparts. The Archive isn't something where you can brute force things and get deep, adjustments and learning is important. And in my many runs, it's rarely bosses that end my runs, it's the tedium of getting bad verses/visions for my builds and getting bored and cutting runs off before I run out of threads.

Muizer · June 2

EdjeSwift wrote: »

For me, the bosses are all about mechanics

I don't like the mechanics in this game tbh. In Maelstrom arena I got stuck on the Ice boss for ages, then I read somewhere that I had to move to another island when their health bar reached a certain stage. I mean yes you can make the game hard that way but it's a cheap kind of hard. It's basically trying and dying until you manage to sidestep all tricks and get to the end.

oldbobdude · June 2

I suppose I should have known but I really didn’t. The whole idea of the IA after arc 4 is just bigger/harder mobs with harder bosses. How else could you make it “infinite”? I’m not the greatest player I admit and I had fun with IA into arc 5 but it just isn’t fun for me to keep banging my head against the wall with the same content just harder. You’re kind of at the mercy of verse and vision RNG too. That’s just me though, everybody else: have fun!

SilverBride · June 2

I've stopped even going past Arc 1, when I go at all any more. I just can't sit for hours on one single activity.

MidniteOwl1913 · June 2

The IA is good for stress testing a new build, really that's all it's good for. It got boring very quickly.

There is very little variety. The color pallet is awful, visually it's tiring. Too much trash, too dependent on RNG and for the amount of time it takes the rewards are pitiful.

It's just not for me.

Czeri · June 2

As a melee stamblade I've pretty much given up on ever beating him. I used to enjoy IA, discovering strategies for the various bosses, and trying to complete the achievements. But I have long since hit a wall of hard limits that I cannot get past on my main whatever I do, so now I only go there if endeavors compel me. It truly is a terrible design.

Jaimeh · June 2

When Gothmau appears, In the words of Fa Nuit Hen, the fight becomes 'like a ballet only with blood' (get it, because he twirls and he has bleed attacks

), but I agree with a comment above that once you learn his attack pattern, it becomes a lot easier to know when to damage and when to mitigate. In later arcs I pop a mitigation ulti and a defensive verse when he appears, try to dodge his ranged throws, block his barrage, and damage him when he twirls or does the fire mechanic. He is definitely overtuned compared to the other marauders, but honestly I've died as much to his attacks as I've died to blob shards or archer DOTs in trash mob stages

spartaxoxo · June 2

tsaescishoeshiner wrote: »

Ruinach light attacks appear to be doing 3-4x damage in the Archive. Both Gothmau and the cycle boss Ghemvas deal light attacks that hit 3x harder than bosses of their own level.

So I think it's potentially a bug with ruinach bosses in the Archive.

I don't mind one marauder being harder than the others (it helped me get tankier much faster lol), the damage just seems way more than the other marauders and cycle bosses.

Yeah. They hit so hard it almost seems bugged. When the strategy doesn't feel any different on my tanky DK and my squishy DPS, that seems like a design issue to me.

TairenSoul · June 2

EdjeSwift wrote: »

TairenSoul wrote: »

I think most of the bosses in IA are too hard. It's hard to enjoy a part of the game that is basically a beat down/loss every time you play it. I don't want it crazy easy, but does it have to be so hard that it's virtually impossible to get by? {I'm writing this as a level 2856 toon with very high dps, so it's not like I'm a noob.)

At which point are they too hard for you?

For me, the bosses are all about mechanics and understanding how they differ from their normal counterparts. The Archive isn't something where you can brute force things and get deep, adjustments and learning is important. And in my many runs, it's rarely bosses that end my runs, it's the tedium of getting bad verses/visions for my builds and getting bored and cutting runs off before I run out of threads.

I seem to get Laatvulon more than necessary. He one-shots me every time. I've tried many different approaches and obviously not the correct ones! LOL It doesn't seem to matter what mechanics I try. He gets me every time and really fast. Any ideas for him and I'd be grateful!

EdjeSwift · June 2

TairenSoul wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

TairenSoul wrote: »

I think most of the bosses in IA are too hard. It's hard to enjoy a part of the game that is basically a beat down/loss every time you play it. I don't want it crazy easy, but does it have to be so hard that it's virtually impossible to get by? {I'm writing this as a level 2856 toon with very high dps, so it's not like I'm a noob.)

At which point are they too hard for you?

For me, the bosses are all about mechanics and understanding how they differ from their normal counterparts. The Archive isn't something where you can brute force things and get deep, adjustments and learning is important. And in my many runs, it's rarely bosses that end my runs, it's the tedium of getting bad verses/visions for my builds and getting bored and cutting runs off before I run out of threads.

I seem to get Laatvulon more than necessary. He one-shots me every time. I've tried many different approaches and obviously not the correct ones! LOL It doesn't seem to matter what mechanics I try. He gets me every time and really fast. Any ideas for him and I'd be grateful!

The only real one-shot they have is their breathe weapon during the flying phase. That one is rough cause of lack of ground marker, you just have to keep eyes on them and when you see their flight path rush to the side where they don't hit. That's pretty much the trick there. It cover about 70-80% of the circle area where it's safe to be so getting to safety is priority, ignore the atronachs and rush. They do this twice, so keep eyes in the sky.

TairenSoul · June 3

Thank you very much!

BretonMage · June 3

EdjeSwift wrote: »

The only real one-shot they have is their breathe weapon during the flying phase. That one is rough cause of lack of ground marker, you just have to keep eyes on them and when you see their flight path rush to the side where they don't hit. That's pretty much the trick there. It cover about 70-80% of the circle area where it's safe to be so getting to safety is priority, ignore the atronachs and rush. They do this twice, so keep eyes in the sky.

Isn't this marked with a big red circle? The part where you basically move to the edges of the platform, at which time Laatvulon lands and knocks you right off the platform.

EdjeSwift · June 3

BretonMage wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

The only real one-shot they have is their breathe weapon during the flying phase. That one is rough cause of lack of ground marker, you just have to keep eyes on them and when you see their flight path rush to the side where they don't hit. That's pretty much the trick there. It cover about 70-80% of the circle area where it's safe to be so getting to safety is priority, ignore the atronachs and rush. They do this twice, so keep eyes in the sky.

Isn't this marked with a big red circle? The part where you basically move to the edges of the platform, at which time Laatvulon lands and knocks you right off the platform.

That's the fire dragon, L is the Ice Dragon.

I've never been knocked off on landing, or at all. You dodge/block Fus'Ro'Dah and wing slaps.

katanagirl1 · June 3

This is the only maurader I have not got the achievement for killing.

I almost always have to solo this so I just use my arcanist so I can blow through the first arc and then call it quits. She has low health due to being my trials toon but I can use the arcanist shield for bosses and Th’oat.

The few times I have fought him he always appears at the start of the stage and him plus all the adds makes for a mess. It’s always me plus another dps when not solo so we don’t stand much of a chance.

I don’t want to bother making a tanky build just for this, I have plenty of other toons already.

Djennku · June 3

[snip] (aka Gothmau) also tends to desync when fighting you, and in early arcs, if you have the resistances, block mitigation, etc., he doesn't hurt much if you just block his attacks. I use Bracing Anchor on my NB dps, and that helps up until I run out of stam (skill issue).

The key to soloing him is keeping him at range, and yes, his reach is incredibly long.
Here's a mech guide that'll explain his patterns and how to handle it. (Description has timestamps for bosses)

https://youtu.be/Cpi3YUIpGBI?si=wut7gAttWtyOhngC

[edited for profanity bypass]

BretonMage · June 3

EdjeSwift wrote: »

BretonMage wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

The only real one-shot they have is their breathe weapon during the flying phase. That one is rough cause of lack of ground marker, you just have to keep eyes on them and when you see their flight path rush to the side where they don't hit. That's pretty much the trick there. It cover about 70-80% of the circle area where it's safe to be so getting to safety is priority, ignore the atronachs and rush. They do this twice, so keep eyes in the sky.

Isn't this marked with a big red circle? The part where you basically move to the edges of the platform, at which time Laatvulon lands and knocks you right off the platform.

That's the fire dragon, L is the Ice Dragon.

I've never been knocked off on landing, or at all. You dodge/block Fus'Ro'Dah and wing slaps.

Yes, you're right, I had Laatvulon just then. I've never been able to block any of the wing attacks myself (am I just not fast enough?), and have learnt to stay in front of their face at all times, where the attacks can be blocked.

Hapexamendios · June 3

I have more trouble with the wind guy myself.

DragonRacer · June 3

BretonMage wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

BretonMage wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

The only real one-shot they have is their breathe weapon during the flying phase. That one is rough cause of lack of ground marker, you just have to keep eyes on them and when you see their flight path rush to the side where they don't hit. That's pretty much the trick there. It cover about 70-80% of the circle area where it's safe to be so getting to safety is priority, ignore the atronachs and rush. They do this twice, so keep eyes in the sky.

Isn't this marked with a big red circle? The part where you basically move to the edges of the platform, at which time Laatvulon lands and knocks you right off the platform.

That's the fire dragon, L is the Ice Dragon.

I've never been knocked off on landing, or at all. You dodge/block Fus'Ro'Dah and wing slaps.

Yes, you're right, I had Laatvulon just then. I've never been able to block any of the wing attacks myself (am I just not fast enough?), and have learnt to stay in front of their face at all times, where the attacks can be blocked.

The key is don't get near the wings. There is no reason for you to anyway. When he lands, just stay still because when he lands, even if he is facing the wrong way, 9 times out of 10 he turns to face you correctly (every now and then something goes buggy, he doesn't behave correctly, and I get wing-slapped off the platform). Then just tank/self-heal through bites and blasting breath, DPS him, and you only need to actively block when he does his Fus Ro Dah, which is telegraphed as coming by the usually gold line streaks coming out of the head that all enemies do to telegraph an impending heavy attach that you should block. If you do not block that or don't have stamina to block, then, yes, that will knock you off the platform as well.

That's basically the strategy for any and all dragons.

Gabriel_H · June 3

AnduinTryggva wrote: »

That is a huge flaw that you can win only if you can kite him.

Why is it? Does every fight have to be Tank & Spank? Sounds pretty dull.

BretonMage · June 3

DragonRacer wrote: »

BretonMage wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

BretonMage wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

The only real one-shot they have is their breathe weapon during the flying phase. That one is rough cause of lack of ground marker, you just have to keep eyes on them and when you see their flight path rush to the side where they don't hit. That's pretty much the trick there. It cover about 70-80% of the circle area where it's safe to be so getting to safety is priority, ignore the atronachs and rush. They do this twice, so keep eyes in the sky.

Isn't this marked with a big red circle? The part where you basically move to the edges of the platform, at which time Laatvulon lands and knocks you right off the platform.

That's the fire dragon, L is the Ice Dragon.

I've never been knocked off on landing, or at all. You dodge/block Fus'Ro'Dah and wing slaps.

Yes, you're right, I had Laatvulon just then. I've never been able to block any of the wing attacks myself (am I just not fast enough?), and have learnt to stay in front of their face at all times, where the attacks can be blocked.

The key is don't get near the wings. There is no reason for you to anyway. When he lands, just stay still because when he lands, even if he is facing the wrong way, 9 times out of 10 he turns to face you correctly (every now and then something goes buggy, he doesn't behave correctly, and I get wing-slapped off the platform). Then just tank/self-heal through bites and blasting breath, DPS him, and you only need to actively block when he does his Fus Ro Dah, which is telegraphed as coming by the usually gold line streaks coming out of the head that all enemies do to telegraph an impending heavy attach that you should block. If you do not block that or don't have stamina to block, then, yes, that will knock you off the platform as well.

That's basically the strategy for any and all dragons.

Fus-ro-dah is pretty easy to block, yeah. I've actually found the Elsweyr dragons to be lethal if you're in front of them. My DD can't block through their lightning/fire breath, for example. The dragons in IA are more manageable (at least in the first few arcs, don't know if they get harder after that).