Lost Island, ***...

[Carlsbergh]

Finished Lost Island HM last night for my first time there. Our group consisted of me (Seer Sage, mixture between Rakata and Columni gear, blame Op loot drops really), a Guardian Tank (again, mixture of Columni and Rakata), Guardian DPS (again, same gear level) and a Vanguard with mostly Columni and some PvP Battlemaster pieces, so an all-melee group.

 

While the droid boss was challenging, it was certainly not impossible. The trick is to have a designated "spotter" to see where it would be best to move to. Generally give this to your member with the most oversight over the fight. Put a marker above his head and just stick to that person. The healer can stay in melee range, I haven't noticed anything particularly difficult about that. Healing is rough, but certainly doable as a Seer Sage. AoE-heal is king in this situation and if everyone moves properly, the blue **** on the floor shouldn't be too much to handle.

 

Sovrak definitely doable, rather easy. Crunch-healing moments, but doable and challenging.

 

Dr. Lorrick was hard as fudge on me, that's for sure. Clever coordination from your tank and melee DPS to dodge the aoe pools he drops on the ground are needed and all of your DPS and tanks need to be on the ball for when he does his cone-attack. As for the rest, hardest part in an all-melee group is without a doubt the last phase because of the aoe-dot he does (which stacks). Your melee dps need to pop everything they have to make this phase end as quickly as possible and your healer needs to take out everything he has to keep the group up, but it is again, doable.

 

So please, BioWare, don't listen to the whining of these guys. It is very much doable for a coordinated group of semi-good geared people to run, which is what you intended it for, I suppose (looking at you, Rakata chestpiece!). Challenge is good and it's not a bad thing that you need a good team to get the fights down. I've complained tons about the PvP since the patch, but you've done a great job on the PvE department.

[Crixaliss]

Just for the record, ran this for the first time with some guild mates today, straight into hard mode (no story run first). Took us just under two hours, which I guess is long for a flashpoint, but not too bad considering it was the first time going in there.

 

Group composition of powertech tank, assassin dps, marauder dps, sorc healer. Not 'overgeared' for the content, mostly columi with a few rakata pieces, assassin still had some tionese pieces. The columi/rakata drops were still of direct use to our group.

 

I won't deny that we found the boss fights hard, but they were doable after a wipe or two and learning the mechanics properly.

 

So there you have it, first time run through with melee group most certainly not having to be full rakata, the drops were still very much useful for us (especially the end chest piece). Yeah, its hard, but I fully recommend anyone who likes a challenge to go and do it, its really fun to have a flashpoint with a lot of boss mechanics and not something you can just power through without thinking.

 

Honestly, from all the chat on these forums, I thought we were going to be there wiping all night, but in actual fact we found the droid boss alright with melee after a few tries. Everyone stays together so the bomb is only going to go in one place, tank runs off to next spot for droid to follow too, a dps stays near boss to interrupt incinerate, rinse and repeat, everyone's happy.

 

Its fun! Everyone should give it a go! And people need to complain less about perceieved 'too hard' stuff, this was a great level of difficulty - challenging, but still do-able, to give a good feeling of reward at the end (and a nice rakata piece to boot).

 

http://i42.tinypic.com/153xs8o.png

 

tldr; I think the bosses on HM at least are of a good difficulty, you need a bit of awareness, but essentially its all killable with lower gear than the end boss drops. Plus the fact that it adds up to a weekly for black hole comms means its well worth doing. Don't nerf, keep it just as it is, I think its perfect in terms of difficulty, fun and reward!

[NitemanCometh]

I'm glad it's "hard". It wouldn't be very fun if it wasn't. For only being out since Dec I think BW has done a great job! Thanks for adding more content 4 months after release. And promising more. If people would just give it time, like they have for other MMO's they would see how far this game can go!

[CrunkShizzle]

I'm glad it's "hard". It wouldn't be very fun if it wasn't. For only being out since Dec I think BW has done a great job! Thanks for adding more content 4 months after release. And promising more. If people would just give it time, like they have for other MMO's they would see how far this game can go!

 

sadly though,casuals and hard content dont really go well together

 

all casuals want is to walk into the place.push "die monster and give me loot"and then leave the instance

[dankat]

much love

 

Where Gandalf kills the Balrog I remember. Epic reference by the way.

[WhatVVB]

Took my group three hours to beat the droid. Got to the next boss, wiped a few times, then decided to screw the whole thing. It's just not worth it and was more frustrating than fun.

[Adellion]

Took my group three hours to beat the droid. Got to the next boss, wiped a few times, then decided to screw the whole thing. It's just not worth it and was more frustrating than fun.

 

If you are doing this on hard mode, and you haven't done it on normal yet, I suggest that you try on normal first.

 

If you are doing this on normal currently, then you are either under geared or you still have to fine tune your tactics.

 

I did this with a sith assassin tank, sith marauder DPS sith spec DPS and me as merc heal.

 

We wiped once on the boss that pushes you into the lava, and twice more on the final boss. It is a fun but challenging FP but it is still not as hard as the false emperor IMO.

[Khayleth]

First boss is ridiculously overtuned, certainly beatable, but is simply too much, it's honestly not worth the effort. Small group content should be the easiest content and beatable in a very short amount of time regardless of difficulty setting.

 

Edit: I'm not going to touch this place again until they get that first boss down to an easier difficulty. Before people say anything, the first boss of any instance should always be the easiest, not the most difficult.

Edited April 18, 2012 by Khayleth

[Veimi]

First boss is a bit overtuned, otherwise the FP is fine. We cleared the rest of the fp in the same time we used on first one (~1,5 hours). This was with a melee only full rakata group. Edited April 18, 2012 by Veimi

[Enlaw]

I agree with the OP in one respect: For the effort that goes into this..the loot is CRAP. But I also have to say it isn;t just challenging, it requires a specific group combination. So in effect, it's less about "skill" than having the right classes. 2 ranged for the first boss =cakewalk. Throw melee in there, and then the skill factor kicks in. But then, if they arent REALLY well geared, no matter HOW much skill you have, it's unreasonably difficult for a 4man HM FP.

 

But my main beef is with the loot. Come on BW..you want to "challenge" us with this new FP, at least reward us accordignly. Black hole comms, and columi tokens. Keep your crystals, ty.

[owlinspace]

The whole flashpoints gets ALOT harder with melee DPS. Sadly this is a common theme in many boss fights.

[ronniehenlau]

I just need to weigh in here quick.

 

We did it yesterday, took us 5 hours.

 

Group setup:

Me tank - Powertech, Columi + 6 rakata pieces (belt+bracers, implant, ear, legs and helmet)

Mara dps - Columi / Rakata mix

Merc dps - 1 Columi piece, 3 tionese, rest orange. (tionese = 1 combat medic, 2 eliminator)

Sorc healer - 2 columi, 2 rakata (belt + bracers), rest was tionese / orange mix.

 

After bothering to read up on mechanics, we usually one shotted each boss, except the last one. Our main problem was that we just went in half-assed and tried it out. After reading quick up that we should interrupt incinerate (duh) on the droid, and just keep everyone stacked behind droid (melee, ranged, healer, everyone stacked), it was piss easy.

 

Sav-rak, everyone runs to one pipe each, healer shields himself then heals the rest. Easy after reading up on.

 

Last boss, Wiped like 20 times getting the tactics down. Once we had tactics etc down, easy. Nuked him with all of us at 40% hp ++.

 

Moral of the story: Read tactics, and dont complain after 2 hours of trying. We spent more time on that fp than we usually do on EV hm, but it was fecking worth it!

 

If we can do it with 50% good geared, 50% **** geared people, there is no reason for anyone to complain that gear is an issue, or the bosses are overtuned. Its easy, just stick to it, and pay attention to mechanics :-)

 

FYI, our Merc was damn happy after doing this, he got Columi gun + one more columi piece.

[LordTie]

If your in full Rakata and struggling in this instance you should be imbarrassed. I surely would not post about it. We cleared it in Columni and with a melee dps and tank. Only mob that is remotely hard is LR-5.

 

BW keep the harder content coming for groups and raids. Want easy mode go solo with your companions.

Edited April 18, 2012 by LordTie

[DarkfallDC]

If you're in full Rakata gear and are still struggling with this Flashpoint, you need to re-evaluate how hard you are being carried by the rest of your guild.

 

Just cleared it tonight with my main team of PVPers. Before the run, we had 1 dps with 2/5 columni, and 3/5 tionese. I was in 1/5 columni, 4/5 Tionese, with champion/centurion tank gear. Final DPS and healer were in PVP gear / tionese.

 

First boss is definitely difficult, but he was the hardest in the instance. Took us 3 tries to figure him out, 2 on the second, 1 shot on the optional, and 4 for the final boss.

 

It isn't easy, it isn't overtuned. It's perfectly balanced for the rewards it gives, and most of all, it's FUN.

[Bimmer]

On patch day it took us about 4-5 hours to figure out the droid boss. We have refined the strats since then and now average 40 minutes a run with our fastest time at 34 min on hard mode without doing bonus boss.

 

Our group is in full or almost full Rakata. Scoundrel healer for most runs but have completed it with a commando healer too. As others have pointed out ranged DPS makes the fights much easier than with melee but it is still doable.

[Urglab]

Finished Lost Island HM last night for my first time there. Our group consisted of me (Seer Sage, mixture between Rakata and Columni gear, blame Op loot drops really), a Guardian Tank (again, mixture of Columni and Rakata), Guardian DPS (again, same gear level) and a Vanguard with mostly Columni and some PvP Battlemaster pieces, so an all-melee group.

 

While the droid boss was challenging, it was certainly not impossible. The trick is to have a designated "spotter" to see where it would be best to move to. Generally give this to your member with the most oversight over the fight. Put a marker above his head and just stick to that person. The healer can stay in melee range, I haven't noticed anything particularly difficult about that. Healing is rough, but certainly doable as a Seer Sage. AoE-heal is king in this situation and if everyone moves properly, the blue **** on the floor shouldn't be too much to handle.

 

Sovrak definitely doable, rather easy. Crunch-healing moments, but doable and challenging.

 

Dr. Lorrick was hard as fudge on me, that's for sure. Clever coordination from your tank and melee DPS to dodge the aoe pools he drops on the ground are needed and all of your DPS and tanks need to be on the ball for when he does his cone-attack. As for the rest, hardest part in an all-melee group is without a doubt the last phase because of the aoe-dot he does (which stacks). Your melee dps need to pop everything they have to make this phase end as quickly as possible and your healer needs to take out everything he has to keep the group up, but it is again, doable.

 

So please, BioWare, don't listen to the whining of these guys. It is very much doable for a coordinated group of semi-good geared people to run, which is what you intended it for, I suppose (looking at you, Rakata chestpiece!). Challenge is good and it's not a bad thing that you need a good team to get the fights down. I've complained tons about the PvP since the patch, but you've done a great job on the PvE department.

 

I was the tank here. Tons of fun.

 

Btw, yes, we only had melee interrupts but that's where force leap comes in handy.

 

When we got blue stuff on us and he stayed there to do his suppressive fire I just moved with the rest and waited for his incinerate cast with my finger on my force leap button. Sure I took some damage from landing in the aoe but nothing heals couidn't take care of.

 

Like others have said, PLEASE do not nerf this flashpoint. It's challenging, it's fun. Don't take it away!

[davhut]

I agree, first boss is utterly impossible. We're all full columi/rakata, and we can't kill him. It's stupid. BioWare, you SUCK at bossdesigns.

 

I am curious how you got in almost full rakata if you are having this many problems on this boss. He is not hard at all. The most important thing is to interuppt his incinerate. The tank can do this each time. Have the DPS move from the plasma that is thrown at them and kill adds before they take out you healer and it is an easy fight.

 

We wiped too many times the first night we ran. Now my guildys and myself clear in less than an hour without wiping. Lost Island is as enjoyable as Kaon IMO. Makes you have to pay attention.

 

Its only Hard Mode if you dont pay attention.

Edited April 20, 2012 by LexiCazam
IC -quote

[tazrok]

here is a how to guide for every boss in there and it makes the fights very easy

[zachbuford]

BTW i called this. I said when bioware releases harder content, people will qq about it being too hard after qqing about content being too easy. Case and point

 

World of Warcraft always had the same problem, every time they released something new there was always the entitlement baddies posting on the forums how they cannot beat the content and thus is much be brought down to their level. Lost Island on normal is AS tough as any other flashpoint on HM, just like EC is compared to the other ops. The new content is geared around much better geared and organized groups.

 

The night of release Me (sawbones) and my guildies did it first on normal to get the mechanics down then immediately HM afterwards. Yes it was hard but we managed to get it. QQers gunna QQ, and they always will, but in the mean time everyone else should ignore them and enjoy the game.

[arrionw]

I did hard mode with a group appropriately geared in a mix of Columi, BM, Champion's, and Tionese. In 2 hours we beat the first boss after half a dozen tries, and the second boss after a couple of wipes, then had to leave for an ops. I'm glad to see challenging content and would rather not see the instance changed.

[KilmarFyrewynd]

I don't mind the FP being hard. I don't mind the loot table. But when the boss fights are naturally geared towards a specific DPS type, that's when I throw my hands up.

 

PuGs are already asking for ranged DPS only for Lost Island due to LR-5. My guild (Guardian full Columni/Rakata, Sage with Columni, Sent (not sure on armor) and DPS Shadow (me) with full Columni/Rakata) went in knowing full well the tactics of the fights and could not get past LR-5.

 

Also, there may be a bug as our Sage and Sent was unable to see the floor glow before the lightning dome drops and the dome graphics is delayed. Of course, it could also be a lack of awareness of some of my guildies.

Edited April 18, 2012 by KilmarFyrewynd

[filadfilad]

Fp drops rakata chest. Nuff said. Gj BW.

[Bayho]

Fp drops rakata chest. Nuff said. Gj BW.

 

Um, it drops it because Soa was such a bugged out fight, it's an apology for horrible, overlapping mechanics. Oh, and they just put those types of mechanics and bugs back into Lost Island. What was learned? Nothing!

 

Also, the gear it takes to get through Hard Mode and get the Rakate Chest, especially if you have a melee DPS, is basically full Rakata, anyway. With the upgrade from Columni to Rakata chest, it is not significant. In fact, as a Jugg, I would have to remove the enhancement and put a properly itemized one in, just to make the Rakata chest better than the Columni one.

 

Nothing about what you said makes a single bit of sense.

[Milya]

Nice flashpoint!

 

Did with basically full rakata geared group, including one melee. With the first boss we just had the melee whack the boss full time while I (commando) took care of the adds and shot at the boss when there were no adds around. Our healer and the melee had done the instance before, though the melee had been tanking then.

[Sir-Phobos]

Beat this flashpoint on hard with the following group:

 

Vanguard tank (lots of Rakata)

Sage healer (lots of Rakata)

Guardian DPS (a couple Rakata pieces)

Shadow tank wearing DPS gear (me, my DPS gear is not good, Columi and Battlemaster, no Rakata)

 

Anyone who says you can't do it with melee DPS or that it requires full Rakata on everyone to beat it is just wrong.