posted by
Fuego
August 11, 2023
"Look sir – Droids!"
The second part of our Mustafar Series coincides with LAVAFEST where the lockout timers are getting thrown out with the oil bath. Enjoy unlimited Mustafar runs and more chances for loot all weekend long!
“Droid Army is where we decided to really pump the gas on making these instances fun and challenging. Every enemy is stronger, every attack comes more quickly. This turns it into a race that requires team coordination and speed in order to hold off a relentless attack, forcing you to stay ahead lest you become overwhelmed.”
-ornj
The Droid Army is coming. And they are not happy…
The Droid Army is an instance in a long line of quests known as the Champion of Mustafar which ultimately leads to confronting the infamous HK-47. This particular dungeon has players enduring a marathon of droids and bosses to ultimately take down the Forward Commander and save the mining camps from destruction.
• Beetle Cavern (Released with 1.0 last September)
• Old Republic Facility (Released with 1.0 last September)
• Droid Factory Decrepit (Released with 1.0 last September) https://comlink.swgr.org/features/mustafar-series-droid-factory-1
• The Droid Army (Released in February)
• Operational Droid Factory (Released in March)
• HK-47 (Released in May)
Shortly after entering the instance, droids will begin to spawn at the far side in various spawn points to the Northwest, North, and Northeast. There are two camps players need to protect. One to the East and one to the South. If both camps are lost, the instance is over.
“Use the entire battlefield to your advantage. Don’t just setup one choke point, meet them where they are and fall back as you need to, and remember that there are spawn points all over. If they get past the generators, you’re in trouble…”
-ornj
The East Camp has a few items used in mining that could be repurposed to lay waste to groups of droids. Pick up explosive charges and set them in strategic points across the instance. But be careful — they pack a punch!
Lava Miners also want to join in and defend their camps. Talk to the Shift Leaders to follow you and redeploy the Lava Miners where you want them. There are several Shift Leaders at both camps you can interact with.
After enduring wave after wave of droids and gold bar bosses, Forward Commander will spawn. Watch out — this droid means business and will wipe out the camps in no time!
We asked the server first Champions of Mustafar about their experiences as well as tips and tricks they’d be willing to share.
“It was extremely satisfying to see the community come together when Droid Army first released and trying to get past this new challenging content. Pickup groups turned into guildies and friends as they worked night after night to get through it.”
-ornj
Back in the early days of the Droid Army invasion many lava miners were willing to fight for the cause, with enough persuasion from the group of fighters we took in, to push back the Droid Army. The key was positioning them between where the droid army entered and the power generator needed to be defended. I think after enough union complaints from loss of life from their peers and our failed attempts to defend the compound, Ornj decided to cut the lava miner workforce which greatly increased our efforts to be able to succeed. We had to learn to use the explosive charges. We realized that placement is absolutely key. Whilst the lava miners had to be used as cannon-fodder to slow down the army when we needed to retreat after fighting many waves, the explosive charges were the final defensive point to take out the Forward Commander’s own personal squad.
The battle was won with a lot of AOE damage and making sure we were prepared with food and drink beforehand, but a group of highly skilled adventurers that we had crossed paths with along Mustafar chasing the title of Champion informed us of the sweet wafer treats that would help us in our battles and we went forth and triumphed! Thus pushing back the droid army and protecting the lava miner camp.
Reevesy, Bounty Hunter
I remember one of the more obscure Droid Army runs we did. I mean we knew of the explosive charges, but never really placed them strategically. I decided we should use them to assist in this run, rather than depending on Second Chance and switching between Volley Fire and Double Time. I asked the squad where the best place to put them was and placed them EXACTLY where we agreed. Pretty much just outside each spawn area of the 3 waves that invade.
The only issue, and lack of foresight on my part, I had recently respec'd from Squad Leader Carbineer build to a Squad Leader Commando build. Love those Heavy Weapons. Now in all honesty, we never read the fine print of anything. I'm sure a lightsaber would have a warning of "Don't look directly into the emitter" and you’d still look. Unbeknownst to no one, or that we could remember, a Commando placing them increased the yield. But we soon did when we were a little overwhelmed, I got several shouts to "Pop 'Em" rang out.
So I did. We cleared the wave but also incapacitated every member of the team. So yeah, word of warning, if using the Explosives Charges, read the warning and for the love of The Emperor, stand back.
Tallyn, Squad Leader
Mustafar really encourages teams to actually form a team composition like a typical MMO would, which SWG really doesn’t require in the pre-NGE periods.. Typically you could roll up with any kind of composition to do content but Mustafar, in this CU period, shakes things up.Mustafar acts as a solid primer for pretty much anyone to get familiar with playing in a team, building communications and how to better themselves at the game.
The difficulty of the Champion of Mustafar quest series scales nicely, encouraging people to continue the series and become true Champions. You will start off with a little friction, and the difficulty will scale where you will find yourself needing a particular set of roles, such as a Squad Leader, a Tank, and either a dedicated main or off-healer (this is flexible depending on how the group likes to play). You can probably get by with not appointing a dedicated healer, but that affects DPS output - it’s better to have one person using healing abilities rather than 6 DPS off-healers, especially as there can be overlap in who decides to take the responsibility in that moment, or perhaps everyone negates that moment, expecting someone else to do it, and someone pays the price - not to mention it makes the Instances more fun and engaging and helps fit someone in that likes to play a healing playstyle.
When it comes to the Droid Army encounter and beyond, things start to get a bit more difficult. It is a really good idea to have not one, but two Tank roles within your group. A main Tank should do the heavy lifting, with an off-tank to step in to give some breathing room when required, or to help pull mobs off of DPS - or, if the fight goes on way longer than expected, step in for the main if the main tank has a full ‘Fill’ bar. (Fill is essentially a stomach value for food and drinks). It’s also very helpful if the Off-Tank has Armour Break in their build, it goes a really long way in not only speeding up the encounter to make sure you don’t run out of time, but also when you need to keep on top of other mobs that are summoned during the boss fights. Also, remember, as a Tank you want to try and position bosses to look away from the group so that any AOE abilities don't make it a harder job for the healer to do their thing.
With regards to Squad Leader, they have a special role in bolstering the teams Accuracy, Defenses, Damage, Regens, Movement Speed and of course the saving grace that is Second Chance. There is a key moment in each Instance where Second Chance can help prevent your team from falling and ultimately turning the tide and closing out a successful raid. As your Squad Leader gets more confident in their role, you will hopefully notice they become more active in their role of switching out which buffs are required for the group - and don’t be afraid to ask for them yourself as well, this is a team objective and everyone should work together.
As you go through the Champion of Mustafar questline, you should hopefully see your gear scale as well. All of the Weapons, Buff Items and Loot can start to build up your repertoire and you can use these items or sell them to help fund attachments for your Weapons, Clothing and Armour (Skill Enhancing Attachments) to improve your stats.
And finally a few extra words of encouragement, particularly to newer players, is to not just stick with what you know about SWG Restoration right now. Think about changes you can incorporate to your typical game style or what equipment you normally use. As an example, Energy Layered armour is really useful against the Mustafar Droids - go and support an Armoursmith and get a new set of Energy Layered Armour made up, and of course keep it inside a droid or in the bank so it doesn’t decay when you die and aren’t using it. Only use it when you need to in places like Mustafar or DWB to get the most sustain and bang for buck that you can.Also do not forget powerups and spice. They are often overlooked but are very important!
Civic, Bounty Hunter
May the Force Be With You
SWG Restoration Staff
