[INDENT][INDENT]Damage|Load time|Stall time[/INDENT][/INDENT]
Mage[INDENT][INDENT]Highest|Longest|Moderate[/INDENT][/INDENT]
Alchemist[INDENT][INDENT]Lowest|Moderate|Longest[/INDENT][/INDENT]
Gunner[INDENT][INDENT]Moderate|Lowest|Lowest[/INDENT][/INDENT]
From Highest to Lowest,
Mage skill ranking priority:
Ice Spear Rank 9
Meditation Rank 9
Thunder/Fireball Rank 5
Fire/Lightning Mastery Rank 5
Thunder/Fireball Rank 1
Whilst Ice spear maybe fast, it lacks damage, which is what mages do best and should focus on. The money required to reach rank 9+ is simply not worth it and should be spent on other skill/items.
Although a mage's main role is to deal the highest damage possible, thunder would be a good choice here since it allows more versatility in decision making and crowd control. It is therefore recommended that one mage focus on Thunder while the other on Fireball
Alchemist skill ranking priority:
Shock Rank 9
Flame Burst Rank 5
Life Drain Rank 9
Shock Rank 5
Flame Burst Rank 1
As an alch, your objective is not to deal the highest damage as possible but to stall the monsters as long as you can. Although most are inclined to rank Flame burst to the max, it should be kept in mind that the given alch is only rank B shock, 2 ranks away from an increase in shock duration and AOE. Flame burst is aimed at one direction only while Shock acts in all direction. The only reason why shock is still inferior to flame is because of its cooldown. However, since you have 2 alchs on the team, you can practically spam shock at higher ranks.
By the time you reach Flame Burst rank 5 you should almost be facing your first Lich. Life drain deals way more damage than heat buster of the same rank and is much more accessible not to mention free heals
Gunner skill ranking priority:
Shooting Rush Rank 9
Bullet Storm Rank 5
Total of at least 500 Str + Int Stats
Bullet Storm Rank 1
The major drawback that makes a gunner's role here different from what it is outside of the mission, is that your characters are given default stats and you are simply uncapable of dealing high damage. However, you excel from the other two classes here because of your short load time and wide AOE. Although Shooting Rush is the preferable choice out of mission, to maximise damage it is more preferable to invest in Bullet Storm first.
[video=youtube;zW2T5SJ0W7g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW2T5SJ0W7g[/video]
As you can see what the Gunslinger/Alchemists are doing is stall the enemies while the mages destroy the mob with Fireball. Fireball is much more recommended than Ice Spear, because Ice Spear loses effectiveness in later rounds because Emerald Hyenas and some Prison Zombies have Lv2 Mana Deflector making them unfreezable, and Thunder, although Thunder is strong had has distance it can only hit a maximum of 12 Enemies at Rank 1 while Fireball hits all. Also Fireball can effectively kill the Bosses. ([SIZE="4"]Note that in order to finish the 8th Round you must kill the final boss.[/SIZE] If the final boss is a Master Lich odds are you're screwed, otherwise what you can do is have your two mages charge FB, launch both at the same time to the Arc/Demi then everyone run back while the gunslinger/alchemists stall the Lich until the mages recharge another Fireball to land the killing blow.
Mages should, of course, get some potions first. Usually 10 MP Potions should last one round unless you're a Giant spamming Ice Spear which you shouldn't be using anyway. Ice Spear is fine for early levels, but it's recommended to not Rank Ice Spear, instead Rank Fireball as aforementioned. Mages should get Rank 1 Fireball ASAP, but watch for potion supply. Always make sure you have enough MP. After Fireball you can go for Fire Mastery for reduced MP usage and more damage (this is essential for dealing damage to the bosses although it's not really necessary, you can increase your MP instead but both can be done if your Gunslinger gives you their extra gold)
Gunslingers are the most worthless class in this Event. Why? Because their skills spread enemies apart and their damage is ridiculously low which doesn't make up for the spreading. Gunslingers would need to invest in a lot of gold into stats in order to deal high damage but then even after using gold for high int/str you wont have enough to rank your damn skills so you're weak regardless. Gunslingers should just use regular attack to either draw Zombies that got past the Alchemist or simply try to kill those zombies. Otherwise if you're a Giant like me (Giants should be the Gunslingers for the purpose of Ranking Stomp and do what I'm doing in the video) then Stomp away.
Alchemists should rank Shock up to 1 first for some cover AoE. Of course it loses effect on later rounds but it's still useful early and against regular zombies. Shock cannot stun Emerald Hyenas and cannot hit Emerald Shriekers. Be careful. Flame Burst doesn't really need to be ranked but get at least rank 4 for faster load time, any higher isn't really good. But anyway even the default rank can suffice so it's your jurisdiction to rank it or not.
Everyone should try to boost their HP, or +MP if Mage, for insurance against boss battles and Volatiles. Basically clump up as much enemies as possible for the Mages to destroy.
[SIZE="4"]2. Understand your surroundings[/SIZE]
[Image: http://puu.sh/3WmmG.jpg]
In the map as shown above, zombies spawn at the locations marked with a red X and the team of players are to defend the spot marked with a large blue circle.
Unlike the previous nightmare event, the only chokepoint on this map does not cover all of the spawns. The two spawn points closest to the base may potentially jeapordize the mission.
[Image: http://puu.sh/3WmnB.jpg]
At the beginning of the mission, it is recommended that the team take offensive position due to their lack of damage and the monster's lower hp. The set up for such is:
- Alchs in Section 1 limiting the zombie flow
- Mages in Section 2 eliminating the zombie mass
- Gunner in Section 3 finishing off half dead zombies
First off, load flame burst and let the zombies from far behind spawn. By the time the further zombies reach the tunnel, the zombies spawns closer to base should begin. Only then should you use flame burst on those.
Mages aim inside the tunnel instead of the tunnel entrance, it is the area with the most amount of zombies not to mention eases alch's workload.
Gunner is free to move around and deal damage in the beginning, but should resort to defensive position by the end of the round to clear off stray zombies. Your skills will not interrupt other's so feel free
However, later in the mission, zombies run much faster. Given that damage is less of a concern by now, the team is recommended to take defensive position which is the reversal of offensive position:
- Mages in Section 2, the one using Thunder focused on the zombies in the tunnel while the one using Fireball focused on the zombies in the room
- Gunner in Section 2 & 3 using shooting rush to lower the hp of zombies and finish them off
- Alchs standing on the base itself using the limited space as the last chokepoint and stalling zombies enough for shooter and mage to finish off
In the defensive set up, alchs may perform better with barrier spikes, either behind them covering the base or the preferable choice of in front of them leaving only a small gap to flame. Zombies tend to walk around barriers instead of hitting them so make sure you leave no gaps on the side, only in the middle
[SIZE="4"]3. Knowing yourself[/SIZE]
- Trust in your teammates and do not abandon your position. In the worst case a few will pass through but if you leave your position, it can jeapordize the entire mission.
- Mages alternate in fire. Wait until the Thunder/Fireball have cleared and keep an eye on their hp. It may seem like there's a lot of zombies when in reality most of them are already cleared by the other mage.
- Bullet Storm before Shooting Rush. The character you play in this mission has little to no damage gained from stats. Bullet storm may have limited targets but it helps pave way for shooting rush to finish them off. If you rush first, you may very well already be out of a good tactical location to use Bullet Storm again.
- Although it is possible to take down the lich, it is only worth 5 hp and unless your base is on the verge of losing, it is more preferable to play dead for the lich and let it pass
- To my surprise most people do not know how to use shock properly. Aim shock at your teammates, not at the monster. If you decide to use shock on yourself, instead of running around trying to stun more enemies, start loading flame burst. Shock is a status effect for a reason.
- You are given ice mines. Use them.
- If you're giant, STOMP!
Stomp stops MD Lv 2 Hyenas for full stun.
Good luck.