Issue wih Zash - SPOILERS

[Prettylight]

SPOILERS

 

I beleive only allowing khem in this fight, while interesting lore wise, is a bit frustrating. Since i didn't look up anything about the class quest line, prefering to experience it without any prior knowledge, i chose to use andronikos as my companion as soon as i got him. Because of this, khem is very undergeared for this fight. I think it should be changed to allow for different allies or at least have the difficulty level changed. I enjoy a challenge but this seemed like too much.

[SpikeRosered]

I did the same thing. Frankly I don't understand why the game doesn't give you ALL your companion unique equipment when it becomes available as a quest reward.

 

It gives you options but makes it so you're likely not going to use them.

 

All of those choices are perm too, you'll never have a chance to get that unique sword for Khem again.

[Sephrain]

Yes, it is true that you choose to gear several companions up while leveling, and it is while doing so, inevitable to have some who are lesser geared, in this case being Khem. But - that being said, while leveling, questing, doing flashpoints and so on it is impossible not to get heavy armor for Khem, unless you of course choose to sell everything.

 

If you find Zash an issue, it might just come down to either you choosing to sell important items or not being high enough level due to skipped quests or something similar.

Lord Zash isn't really a hard fight, and if you in the end find Khems gear the only issue, then go to the GTN and get him some gear.

 

I understand your frustration regarding the lack of 'flexibility' from BioWare in this quest besides the story, but the problem is easily solvable. In any case, you can always find a friend to come along on your story quest to help you out.

[fettpett]

get a friend or guildy to come help you, thats what I ended up doing. make sure to go into your preferences and select the option to let others in.

 

 

even when gearing Khem, the Zash fight is a pain in the rear

[Ashnazg]

You have several options if Khem is undergeared and you absolutely cannot solo Zash (which you can do at 30+ with interrupts / LoS):

 

a) Gear him up using GTN

 

b) Level a few more times and come back to the quest

 

c) Ask friends

[Sabbathius]

I haven't used Khem since level 18, I switched to ship droid. And I still used him just fine to deal with Zash at 30. With properly timed interrupts, stun and knockback, as well as some serious line-of-sight play, you can easily do it at 30. No matter how badly Khem is geared. Mine was still wearing level 16-18 greens, no hat, no implants, no nothing.

 

Though I do get what you're saying. The game kind of throws you a curve ball.

 

Having said that, other classes often have it worse. One class for example is forced to fight two enemies (I think one is strong and one is elite) with no companion at all. In a tiny little room with not enough space to do much but do or die.

Edited January 24, 2012 by Sabbathius

[Phenomomnom]

Change Khem to his DPS mode so he wont pull threat. Run around the back altar place when she casts her lightning and try to interrupt heals as much as possible. when she casts her storm ability it will show where it is casting. Run away from that and use force lightning with recklessness. Rinse and Repeat and you can beat her without taking too much damage. I did this while I was 2 or 3 lvls under her and only lost 11% HP.

 

I agree that this is a tough fight but it is quite satisfying once you beat her.

[DerexSWTOR]

Single most frustrating fight in the game so far...bad news is, it's not the only one of these you're going to face either. Your next act, pretty much the same fight though slightly different with a better companion selection. Took me a good 10 - 12 tries to finally squeak out a kill. I suspect I'll never finish my end of game quest to become a darth without help.

 

On this one, I finally broke down and "cheated"...I hauled one of my L50 guldies in and he pwned the tart for me in about 5 seconds flat.

 

The most frustrating part of this fight for me (other than the fact I was never able to get her down even 1/4 of her HP before dying) was the sheer amount of stuff you're being required to manage at one time.

 

Stay out of AOE, Keep Companion out of AOE, Keep shield on Khem or yourself, interrupt heal and/or AOE, heal and do damage. All of which requires you to have a SEPARATE target selected every time. I can't see what Zash is casting without her selected, but I can't heal khem with zash targeted...and trying to maneuver myself and khem out of AOE lightning is a pain all around.

 

Interrupt *is* the key to this fight. Interrupting the RIGHT spells at the RIGHT time. That leads me to believe YOU should be the one tanking the fight, NOT khem. This was a 180 degree jump for me (and I never got to try it as my guldie was on the way when I came up with the tactic) since I've been playing healer to khem since level 10.

 

Your best bet is probably to put khem on DPS mode, turn off his taunts and let him go agro on Zash, while she follows you around with lightning. A few DOT/Lighting strikes should keep her attention focused on you and chasing you while khem stands back and beats the crap out of her....generally out of AOE range since she's trying to catch you as the main threat. This also allows you to switch between bubble/heal without losing target since your bubble / heal will automatically affect you while your damage/dps will automatically affect zash.

 

Being the tank in this scenario takes out alot of the complexity of the fight and may just make it do-able. I won't know since it'll be a LONG LONG time before I ever see that fight again.

 

--Illydth

[_Darkstar]

I actually find Zash to be one of the easiest fights and I got to her at level 30.

 

Just interrupt her lightning storm and there isn't much else too it. I kept Khem out of tank mode so I never had to bother healing him and I just burnt her down.

 

Start with shield up, when the shield goes down either recast it, or use electrocute if you need the breathing room, once you do have to hit electrocute hit call on the force (Or whatever it is called that refreshes the cooldown) so it is ready again, keep using jolt when she tries to use lightning storm (But let her waste a few seconds in the animation, don't interrupt too soon).

 

If you haven't killed her by the time she starts doing some damage to you there are health packs you can pop that give you time to get your shield back up, and with you having aggro you can kite her while Khem does the damage if you really have to.

 

If you waste your interrupts on her force lightning then you won't be able to avoid her lightning storm. She also heals so I made sure I was close enough to use overload on that power.

 

This was the first fight where I realised how useful interrupts actually are, and although I learned it quickly it has changed my playstyle for the better.

 

 

Edit: On topic:

There is a cut-scene involving Khem Val at the end of this fight that explains why you can't take any other companion with you.

 

Edited January 24, 2012 by _Darkstar
As stated

[Ziggieke]

All of which requires you to have a SEPARATE target selected every time.

 

Easily done using alt-t - Khem will always target Zash, Zash will target Khem if he is in shadow killer mode and has aggro.

 

I can't see what Zash is casting without her selected, but I can't heal khem with zash targeted..

.--Illydth

 

Unfortunately, this is true unless you watch for casting animation(s). The storm is a dead giveaway when the marker is on the floor, the chain lightning shouldn't be too difficult to spot either...

[Hyfy]

I actually find Zash to be one of the easiest fights and I got to her at level 30.

 

Just interrupt her lightning storm and there isn't much else too it. I kept Khem out of tank mode so I never had to bother healing him and I just burnt her down.

 

Start with shield up, when the shield goes down either recast it, or use electrocute if you need the breathing room, once you do have to hit electrocute hit call on the force (Or whatever it is called that refreshes the cooldown) so it is ready again, keep using jolt when she tries to use lightning storm (But let her waste a few seconds in the animation, don't interrupt too soon).

 

If you haven't killed her by the time she starts doing some damage to you there are health packs you can pop that give you time to get your shield back up, and with you having aggro you can kite her while Khem does the damage if you really have to.

 

If you waste your interrupts on her force lightning then you won't be able to avoid her lightning storm. She also heals so I made sure I was close enough to use overload on that power.

 

This was the first fight where I realised how useful interrupts actually are, and although I learned it quickly it has changed my playstyle for the better.

 

 

Edit: On topic:

There is a cut-scene involving Khem Val at the end of this fight that explains why you can't take any other companion with you.

 

You're assuming he's a Sorc and not an Assassin. If he did say it or it's in his sig then I missed it, but as an Assassin it can be one hell of a tough fight. Even with a few levels on the bink.

[gannonmoss]

SPOILERS

 

I beleive only allowing khem in this fight, while interesting lore wise, is a bit frustrating. Since i didn't look up anything about the class quest line, prefering to experience it without any prior knowledge, i chose to use andronikos as my companion as soon as i got him. Because of this, khem is very undergeared for this fight. I think it should be changed to allow for different allies or at least have the difficulty level changed. I enjoy a challenge but this seemed like too much.

 

I have found best results thus far with equipping Khem with DPS gear (including a dps shield) and putting him in DPS stance. He still holds epic amounts of aggro (even though I pull from time to time, especially if I crit) and with my talents slated towards my shield protection (Corruption/Lightning) he never dies. If he gets below fifty, I pop a shield on him, heal him up until the shield breaks; rinse + repeat. Not the most exciting way to win, but it gets the job done.

[_Darkstar]

You're assuming he's a Sorc and not an Assassin. If he did say it or it's in his sig then I missed it, but as an Assassin it can be one hell of a tough fight. Even with a few levels on the bink.

While that is true I thought Assassins got the same interrupt powers as a Sorc?

[Neffian]

I can't see what Zash is casting without her selected, but I can't heal khem with zash targeted...and trying to maneuver myself and khem out of AOE lightning is a pain all around.

 

Try enabling nameplates; this lets you see cast bars of enemies whether you have them targeted or not.

[Malusz]

You're assuming he's a Sorc and not an Assassin. If he did say it or it's in his sig then I missed it, but as an Assassin it can be one hell of a tough fight. Even with a few levels on the bink.

 

No real problem as a sin but then being Darkness may help. Khem Val was just pounding on Zash the whole time.

I was already used to interrupt and not stand in bad things from previous fights and tanking flash points.

I actually expect it to be significantly tougher on my OTHER Sith Inquisitor, which I specced for healing. Mileages vary of course, but what I'm reading here from healers reporting isn't too encouraging.

We'll see when that one is also there.

[Jorander]

SPOILERS

 

I beleive only allowing khem in this fight, while interesting lore wise, is a bit frustrating. Since i didn't look up anything about the class quest line, prefering to experience it without any prior knowledge, i chose to use andronikos as my companion as soon as i got him. Because of this, khem is very undergeared for this fight. I think it should be changed to allow for different allies or at least have the difficulty level changed. I enjoy a challenge but this seemed like too much.

 

If you can't beat that fight without a companion you may want to look into re-thinking your playstyle. I had Khem fully geared and he would typically die in the first 20 seconds with me spamming heals on him and interrupting that blasted Force Storm whenever I could. So I just started kiting and DoTing, playing very carefully. Took me about 20 minutes but I killed her.

Edited January 24, 2012 by Jorander

[WutsInAName]

My Khem was also undergeared, some lvl 25 greens with a lvl 21 vibrosword. The fight is just a DPS race, your ghost pal/ancentor even dropped hints at this.

 

'He said something along the lines of dont give her the opportunity to strike first, and strike hard'

 

As Assassin, I just opened up with crushing force, and force lightning from a distance, electrocute, channel, electrocute by this time she was at like half w/ lil to no damage to me or khem.

 

Just stood there and burned her down, did interrupt but no more than any other fight I do.

 

 

 

What bothered me about this quest chain was what Lord Kalig ghost said later

 

"Twice now you have walked into the tomb of a sith lord unprepared and nearly died"

 

"How should I prepare?"

 

"Oh yea that ... well see now you should go to this third sith lord tomb cause umm i think that might help ... dir!!!!"

Edited January 24, 2012 by WutsInAName

[Hyfy]

While that is true I thought Assassins got the same interrupt powers as a Sorc?

 

Interrupts yes, shield bubble no. Sorry I should've been a little more specific about that.

[_Darkstar]

Interrupts yes, shield bubble no. Sorry I should've been a little more specific about that.

Actually I should have read my own post better lol, I skimmed it to see any Sorc specific powers I mentioned and didn't clock how much I said 'bubble'!

 

I really don't know what I would do without that one power.

[Hyfy]

No real problem as a sin but then being Darkness may help. Khem Val was just pounding on Zash the whole time.

I was already used to interrupt and not stand in bad things from previous fights and tanking flash points.

I actually expect it to be significantly tougher on my OTHER Sith Inquisitor, which I specced for healing. Mileages vary of course, but what I'm reading here from healers reporting isn't too encouraging.

We'll see when that one is also there.

 

I was a few levels above on my Assassin, darkness specc'd at the time, and it was a bit rough for me.

[Advocatis]

 

What bothered me about this quest chain was what Lord Kalig ghost said later

 

"Twice now you have walked into the tomb of a sith lord unprepared and nearly died"

 

"How should I prepare?"

 

"Oh yea that ... well see now you should go to this third sith lord tomb cause umm i think that might help ... dir!!!!"

 

I didn't think about it at the time, as I was still irritated at flying to the fleet for a no-text conversation. When I read your post, I actually laughed out loud. I bet that sequence seemed like a good idea in the planning meetings, but I bet they missed the irony.