Helpful tips for Major Solstice Strike arkfalls...

[ukz finest mk]

Seen so many of these fail and completed loads too! Now managing to finish 4 per day one on each character.


First thing a lot of people get wrong is which enemies to shoot first.

Always start by hunting down Bombers, if you allow these guys to build up they will get you downed and knocked back constantly.

Next target Troopers, they have 3 attacks, there guns do little damage but their grenade is an almost one hit kill for lower egos. Lastly there slam attack which knocks you back, combine that with bombers grenades ect your dead in seconds!

Lastly once all troopers and bombers are dead target the lowest health vicera, I always scan around and find ones with half health or no shield.

Doing it in this order will mean you don't get too crowded too quick on the big waves near the end. Plus one all smaller guys are gone you will out number the Viceras and take them all out in no time!



Another reason they fail very quicklybis because there are so many low egos (below 1k) on EU server where I play that they get overrun, retreat outside the circle and once there out there they do so little dmg they may aswell just log out and play something else. This is because if I'm on my ego 1200 character and I'm inside the circle at threat 10, I have an ego boost to 4750 which also gives my guns a damage boost! When your outside the circle you loose this! I've seen crowds of 20 outside the circle take over 2mins to kill one vicera!


The only rock I've seen a Vicera inside is during the most northern SV boas fight. This is normally because someone was stood on top of it trying to be clever, if he becomes the last enemy he will have everyone run close and he will stay there. As soon as he gets in that rock run away from him and he should eventually start walking out of there.



One last tip is to use radiation!
Yes electric is good for shield but you still have to beat the armor, yes bio is good for armor but it's still not as good as radiation in my eyes. You bypass armor and increase damage on Nano effect. I use a radiation springer on every event and I tear through all enemies no problem! Just remember what ever nano your using make sure you have the perks to go with it!



Hope these tips are useful and please spread the word to other players on your friends list and clan too!

I rarely fail one but when I've waited over an hour for one to spawn I can't stand failing them because people don't know what there doing!


Edit: after reading all your replies I've decided to add a few things.


Firstly there is no enemy on these that has an unlimited spawn, towards the end bombers and troopers keep spawning so quick in the last massive wave, but I promise you if you kill them quick enough they will stop and it always ends with a handful of Viceras which are quickly dealt with.


My suggestion for bmgs would be it depends which one you want to use, having a few lower ego guys using a stingray is fine if they are healing people!

The spanner trapper and others don't heal enough people to make them worth while. Also the spanner protector is the most annoying thing ever so please don't use these.

Grenade wise I agree Bio or Shrill are good. (I never use them myself haven't got time. I always use a ammo spike but all 3 are good. Lastly because I use a Springer with radiation and a 118 mag size I use over charge and a power stim. I empty the mag, then over charge for an instant reload then stim and repeat. Theres really no point using decoy as it would be took out in seconds, cloak is almost pointless and blur I guess could be over for quicker dodges but I would recommend over charge myself.


Guns you should not use:
Infectors are pointless! Not enough dmg or mag size!

Pistols should be wolfhounds only, with the right crit it's the strongest gun in the game!

Rocket launchers are also not really helpful and only increase the lag for others.

Detonators, I would say only a big boomer with either high dmg or very quick reload is worth using.

Snipers, personally I hate them but some can be worth while if they have a high crit mult stat.

Charge blades, your kidding me right? Seen people using these loads, yes they may be cool but your really going to dry hump the volge!? Any machine gun would be much better with far fewer downs!

Shotguns, this depends on the stats, my mate uses a courier which tears them apart. Just at least use one with multiple dmg stats or reloads.

Last but not least is SMGs, LMGs, and ARs, these are priority everyone has there preference but for me it's smgs. Using my Springer I never have to aim down the sight meaning I can move away and dodge attacks easier. With a 118 mag size low reload and higher fire rate from my cannoneer it's my favorite gun by far. I use the radiation springer and a radiation wolfhound with a 7.2 crit.


Hope this helps sorry if I missed anything.

[ukz finest mk]

Bump to the top

[KingNephilim]

Although there have been other tip topics for the SS majors ...this one also seems quite reasonable & informative.

As such... #bump

[Tura Satana]

I still don't think killing the troopers before viscera is necessarily the right thing to do. They seem to keep respawning until the last wave of viscera. Honestly I don't even pay attention to them anymore. I look for bombers and then concentrate on viscera - to MAKE SURE their numbers decrease. Focusing on troopers, to me, is a waste of time. Any newb can kill a trooper. And likely ARE because its so much quicker. But killing viscera takes time and better tactics and once you are overrun with them, forget it.

Think about it.. in relation to the solstice minors, or how they were at first. No one one was complaining about being overrun by troopers. It was viscera, at a fraction of the numbers. So now translate that to the majors.

[ukz finest mk]

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[Cyripax NeoPrime]

You have to have a electric in your loadout to take the shields down quickly, then hit em with radiation for the armor, also having a bio nade helps. Id rather use a bio nade and a rad weapon over a shrill nade and bio weapon. Theres also plenty of perks to help with armor especially "Gamma Rays" and "Radiation Burns" if your running with a rad weapon. But as far as nades go its shrill or bio for this event.

[KILLSHOT707]

You need to edit your post and tell all the people NOT TO USE BMG'S. They offer little to no healing and damage. Points don't mean jack when you lose.

[Athaysia]

You need to edit your post and tell all the people NOT TO USE BMG'S. They offer little to no healing and damage. Points don't mean jack when you lose.

You obviously do not know the benefits of using a BMG. Everything isn't about scoring points or healing others. BMG's can be a very handy tool and huge contribution to the overall battle. Not every player is super evasive or have eyes in the back of their head to avoid being damage or killed. You know how many times I've had a grenade explode behind me and where I would normally die, I survived with a sliver of health simply because I was using my BMG at the time. Just saying, every weapon in the game has a positive side in any battle. The most ideal team is not one where everyone does raw DPS 100% of the time. The best team is a balanced one. That's why in the military we have combat medics, pure medics, riflemen, gunners, grenadiers, snipers, tanks, commanders..etc. You'll never see a platoon with nothing but rifleman because that is a flawed team and is easily defeated by a single enemy sniper.

Despite the BS that players spit out of their mouths, a BMG is not a useless tool in a battle. Like any weapon, it can be useless or it can be the weapon that saves the day. You just have to know how and when to use it to be most effective.

[KILLSHOT707]

You obviously do not know the benefits of using a BMG. Everything isn't about scoring points or healing others. BMG's can be a very handy tool and huge contribution to the overall battle. Not every player is super evasive or have eyes in the back of their head to avoid being damage or killed. You know how many times I've had a grenade explode behind me and where I would normally die, I survived with a sliver of health simply because I was using my BMG at the time. Just saying, every weapon in the game has a positive side in any battle. The most ideal team is not one where everyone does raw DPS 100% of the time. The best team is a balanced one. That's why in the military we have combat medics, pure medics, riflemen, gunners, grenadiers, snipers, tanks, commanders..etc. You'll never see a platoon with nothing but rifleman because that is a flawed team and is easily defeated by a single enemy sniper.

Despite the BS that players spit out of their mouths, a BMG is not a useless tool in a battle. Like any weapon, it can be useless or it can be the weapon that saves the day. You just have to know how and when to use it to be most effective.

Sorry if your butt hurt about my reply, but all the BMG people there are not doing any help at all (healing or damage). We would be better with BMG users not even there. I am not saying that the BMG is useless at all, just not at the arkfalls we are talking about in this thread.

[SanCarioca]

I tend to agree on every major point the OP makes with this thread.

On top of that, I'd suggest the "Volge Killer" loadout, from DefianceData, created by WeLoveDefiance (you're my hero, whoever you are):

http://www.defiancedata.com/loadout.php?id=28

I have been using this loadout for months with incredible success to kill Volges, with a simple tactic: switching between electrical and fire weapons.

I use this loadout with a Hekaton Chimera SMG (electricity) and a Perforator Paradise AR (Fire) + Ammo Spike + Shrill Grenades (of course, you can use any combination of electric/fire weapons that suits you). Works beautifully. if people are helping, I can take down a Level 10 Ark Viscera Shield in less than 20 seconds with the Hekaton. Switch to fire, and he´s dead in another 15 seconds.

It makes sense to take the Bombers and Troopers first. Indeed, the shockwaves the Troopers generate, due to their sheer number, are less dodgeable than the Bombers' missiles. Every time you're knocked back, you're not causing damage, so your DPS is wasted, no matter how good it is. Opposite to that, for a EGO 5000+ player, you can take down a trooper in seconds with the loadout above. It's good for scoring, and more importantly, it helps clear the field, because when the Bombers arrive, they are usually in the center of the field, surrounded by all other enemies. In more than one occasion it was hard to take a Bomber out just because there was so much clutter in my way.

In every Arkfall I take part, usually, I either kill myself because of my stupid Detonators (that I love to use, so, eh) or because of knockbacks. So, I now have a loadout that shields me from my own explosions in 60%, and in the Solstice Arkfalls, I'm taking down all the Troopers around me BEFORE I focus on a Viscera.

Also, to all players using Protection Spikes during SS Arkfalls: you guys are great. They do help, a lot. As a matter of fact, in Arkfalls, I use everything I got: EGO power, Stims, Spikes and Grenades. I have read more than one Arkhunter saying they simply forget to use all that, and focus solely on shooting. I think the game if even more fun if you use everything at your disposal.

One thing I love to do, during Co-op maps like Motherlode and Island of Lost Soldiers (enclosed spaces, full of enemies):

1. Shoot all my grenades from my Detonator (but do not trigger them)
2. Toss a Shrill grenade where the shots above were fired
3. Deploy a Damage Spike
4. Engage Overcharge and fire

I love the screen going crazy with all those yellow effects triggered at the same time