Friends, fellow players and the casual dude who needs Google translate to read this topic.

I would like to share with you today an issue which burdens me immensely and that is the pug run of Lost Island FP on the HM difficulty level.

For as long as I remember this combination has always yielded the most unusual types of groups and caused an extreme frustration for many people, as people behave like this is their usual FP and causes wipes on biblical scales.

Let's start with short history lesson,

LI is second part FP of "Trouble in Tion Hegemony" quest line which involves the rakghoul plague. In the far past LI was considered a "Tier 2" flashpoint and was immensely difficult (in the best gear you could get tank had bit less then 20 k hp and we had less 5 levels, also the fp was more difficult then it's now).

But brave yourself my fellow players as the difficulty comes not from extremely hard bosses or heavy hitting mobs.. no.. it comes from complex mechanics which even now will put most other content into shame..

But,

Number of things happened since those days where you needed mid tier pve set to finish this quest. First we got extra 5 levels so now everyone over level this instance, then we got gear level increased from (58) to (78) and actually now for doing heroics on any planet except makeb even on DK or Coruscant! you can get (58)\Rakata mods of you choice! just like that - and you can do easy mode level 50 fp to get Campaign gear!

Then the developers re-arranged the PVE content so in the process Tier 2 FP was removed and Lost Island was nerfed beyond reason... it's now came to a point where I can 2 man Sav-Rak on hm.

With all of this in mind you ask yourself: "Why this precious caring player who failed to pug LI HM for his speeder quest needs to share his experience?"

And to you my friends I answer: Because we must help those who do not know for I refuse to believe someone will deliberately do what I've seen.

so guidelines...

1. Quests - make sure you started "Trouble in Tion Hegemony" and did 'Kaon under siege' first then you return to the quest giver in order to advance for the objective of LI - NOTE: can do this on SM as well.

Next quest is the Daily- The daily is split into 2 missions: first one is the "choose random FP" from the GF and then there is "Complete level 50" SM \ HM fp - make sure you pick the right one.

Then there is the weekly - "Complete random GF FP" mission.

2. Levels - In the past before xp boosts \ perks \ double xp \ KDY when I wanted to level up doing ALL dailies including pvp and space missions + doing every mission on a planet got me to max level of 50 on belsavis.

Not long ago with all the new mods of xp boosting but still WITHOUT KDY\GSF I managed to get into level 55 while doing Hoth.

With KDY you get loads and loads of XP it's like a level per 1-3 runs of it. It's also very very very easy.

With GSF the longer the match is the more xp you get so for 10 minutes I got something like 15k xp.

Use xp boosts and everything is much faster - You get free 1h\3h xp boosts for completing:

a. Class story arch on planet.

b. Faction arch on a planet.

c. Bonus series on a planet.

Just make sure you pop the boost before you start a FP or pvp to maximize it.

Another thing is when you reach level 50 go to:

Illum \ Belsavis bonus series \ Black hole \ Section X - > those are the old level 50 daily areas and very quick to do.. doing all of those one after the other will get you at least to 53 if not more.

NOTE: do not try this at HM before you are at least 51 and preferably 55, why?

Because when makeb and extra 5 levels were introduced to the game they added for each AC a new ability which you get on level 51 - those abilities are priceless at the endgame.

Also you may want to take the extra 2-3 hours it takes to level from 50 to 55 because skill trees were changed and you miss some skill points that may affect your gameplay in tight spots.

3. Gear:

In the past each planet had its own type of token, those days are gone.

Fact is you can now get (58) set [Rakata] from planetary cooms on the fleet from the makeb vendor and those are good enough to start end game pve content.

Then for some SM and easy HM fp and for the classic cooms you get from the l50 daily areas you can get Campaign gear which was much superior to the Rakata mods.

you got extra cash? GREAT! spend some credits and get (66) mods on GTN they are much superior to anything else previously implemented in the game. for those you can even get implants and earpiece marked as level 54 on gtn.

If you got to level 55 you can go to Oricon with a friend and do the dailies with the intro mission to get FREE 5 pcs set of 66 gear, you can do Czerka cz-198 weekly to get random 66 gear piece as well!

and now breath... are you ready? for almost any 55 daily mission you can get basic cooms - they are so easy to get it's amazing. and you know what you get for those? (69) mods! formerly only available via elite cooms.

Note: please take you time and make sure you got at least full set of "Rakata" (58) mods before you try this fp on hm, get some nice equivalent implants and earpiece (you can get campaign or rakata ones) from gtn and get some relics from gtn or classic cooms to complete your starter set.

And NO! my dear friend marauder with 12k hp and level 38 green mods it's not Skill > Gear when sav-rak 1 hit\kill you.

4. L2P

You can't queue as healer only because you got 2 heals abilities, go to the pvp section of the fleet and respec into heal\dps\tank before you queue.

You want to be healer\dps? for most part it's same gear and you can do fine but tanks needs tanking gear! you want to use shield on off hand and you want to use mods with defensive abilities.

Communicate - > if you used Google translate in order to read this page watch on youtube some vid on LI HM but if you understand English make sure everyone understands everything before you start a boss fight, I understand that repairing your level 30 mods is cheap but with my end game gear each wipe is 10-20 k :X

And most importantly if you don't know something or tactic just ask anyone will be more then happy to explain!

Another issue I must ask of you dear friends is learn your class, You can't tank just by turning tanking stance and using shield offhand you must use the right rotation to survive and it's your job to control the positioning of the battle - same for healers and dps each one must do its part and for that they had over 50 levels to learn their class so why I always get people which do weird stuff?

And last thing there are general tactics which applies to any fight in swtor like: AOE on the groun - > AVOID. AOE DOT attacks by the mobs? AVOID, leroy jenkins zergging? AVOID.

5. Tactics:

* . please note that LI is mechanic based FP so in practice it's not about burning the boss fast it's about beating the game mechanic like a good puzzle so when somone is not aware of what he is doing you will lose fast no matter what.

a. Most trash mobs can be avoided in first part, there is a mini boss (Bird on the bridge) which you can skip or just kill and keep walking ahead. Only important bit here is to stick as one group - > I can't stress enough that if you zerg ahead and you attract the mobs you will die, if you are the healer or the tank then you just killed your entire time most likely as well.

b. First boss - > Giant git at the gate.

Very simple, see the yellow circles on the ground > AVOID! run away.. run around... and smash.

c. Trash & bonus - after first boss there are some trash droids in the building they got 2 interesting ones:

First one will pull you and interrupt, they die quick just kill them asap.

Second one will create AOE bubble which will cause DOT in large amount so if you stand inside a bubble and you hear your character shouting "AAAAAaaghhghhghghghgh" step aside outside the bubble please.

For bonus you need to click 5 (iirc) terminals along the path, try not to miss them cause otherwise you'll need to walk back.

d. Droid Boss - This guy was the bane of my existence in ancient time but now he is so nerfed I can do with one hand behind my back. Basically you hit the panel and room is locked down, there is a huge droid on platform in the middle of the room.

Ranged dps like snipers and sorcerers can stand near the door where you entered the room and abuse their range while melee dps need to stand in the middle platform near the boss.

Ranged healers like sorcerer and merc can stand on the far side of the platform near the kolto tanks while more melee oriented healer such as the operative (aoe heal \ Tac advantage stab) can stand near the melee dps.

Tank stands in the middle and make the boss face away from the group while the fight is going on - ther eis one attack which can't be taunted ad it's random so no pressure.

From time to time the healer or the mDPS will get a white circle under their feet > it means they have been targeted with aoe attack and they need to run asap to the edge of the room until the circle is glued to the ground and then run back to the boss. when the circle is glued to a place an AOE bubble will appear and grow in size so if by mistake it's located near the boss the tank needs to rotate the boss in place so he and the mDPS won't be hit by it and still be in middle platform.

From time to time adds will pop out just let the dps kill the.

Boss will have a frontal AOE attack called "Incinerate" it's the duty of the Tank and DPS to interrupt it asap as longer it is channeled the more stack you get.. 3 stacks = mass damage!

e. more trash and minor bosses - > now we passed the boss got some more trash with the random giant rakghouls in between. Trick is to let the tank run ahead first (slowly! don't aggro the room) and wait for the mobs to jump on you from the tanks\walls etc...

f. rhino boss - he can't be taunted , he can't be stopped. he will randomly charge at players tossing them across the room so back to the wall and burn him fast even healers throw some dots and dps here.

g. Sav-Rak - > this is by far the most simple boss ever and always I'm amazed how everyone wipes here... most of my attempts to pug LI HM U end up 2 man\ 3 man this boss.

You got a platform and 3 pipes around it. At the edge of the platform there is a chasm which falling down there will kill you.

Tank need to lure the boss to the middle of the platform then you bash him good. Next you will see from time to time red text on the screen saying: "Project Sav Rak going to stomp you good" then you run quickly between his legs.. really in the middle of him until he jumps, move aside little bit and you are off the platform.

Next he jumps on a pipe, here near each pipe there is a terminal - total of 3. 2 dps and tank take a terminal and channel it while the healer stays in the middle throws heal. Stay away from each other until save rak is going down again so you can kill him. Rinse & Repeat.

h. Trash mobs - Trolls. See those troopers shooting lasers on the raks? it's not lasers it's portable shield so stop attacking the raks and kill the troopers.

i. Bonus boss - > after you finish the activation of all the panels for the bonus you can fight the bonus boss. Very simple fight the only thing you need to know is when the earth shakes and huge chunks of Ice falls from the ceiling on your head DON'T stop moving.. run in circles. The more you stand the slower you are and more damage you take.

j. More trash - > now on this trash group there are "Medics" kill them first.

k. Dr. Lorrick > final boss.

By far most annoying boss which causes most wipes. Yes I'm looking at you dear sniper with 17 stacks of DOT.

Fight is very simple and split into phases:

- We start by running all over 90 degree straight line from the door to the window and luring the boss near the right kolto tank.

- The stomp him good until you see circles on the ground. this is your queue to leg it because some green goo will be on the ground and as long as you stand on it you get loads of stacks of DOT which will kill you.

- From time to time Dr lorrick will say "I got few trikcs up me sleeve" this is a queue that he is going to spam sticky bombs in an arch in front of him. This is the tank job to make sure he is NOT facing the team cause then everyone get sticky bombs on them, with practice the Tank himself can avoid the bombs.

- Then Dr. Lorrick will disappear and you got few seconds to attack a kolto tank "My children will feast on your flesh" is the queue. we start with the kolto tank on the right side near the window and hence the reason we lured the boss there, each time it will be one kolto tank to the left around the room so lure the boss each time near a tank so you can nuke it fast.

Fail to destroy the tank and an add will pop out with the hp remaining to the tank.

- After few appear \ disappear \ kolto tank \ aoe-dot with Dr Lorrick and if you damaged him enough he will evolve into much larger pokemon - > now nuke him asap as fast as you can.

- You will see small raks and adds walking towards you around the room they just stuns you so avoid them at all.

- Once you inflicted enough damage he will turn into giant Rakghoul and this is your queue to run ASAP either to the door or to the window and close tight with your back to them in close group.

- Healers will spam AOE heals, players will pop defensive cd and the boss will stomp you and stack loads of DOT stacks on you... This phase is a race on who makes most damage first to see if teh boss will kill you or will you kill the boss.

And that's it.

I hope I helped those young un-initiated players which likes to pug on random 50 HM without understanding they may get LI HM.

May the Force be with us and may I get my speeder.

Sav Rak is quite easy, but we ran into a problem the other day on story mode.

He does his emote, so we all ran into the red circle under him...and then he did a quick hop backward and fired his ability, blowing us all off the platform.

That's idiotic. We followed the mechanic, played the right way, and still all died because he decided to do something outside the mechanic.

LoL

That Sav-Rak is such a troll

btw talking sav rak if u got ranged dps hit Tab to lock on him then u can still dps while he is on the pipe and u finished to channel the terminal.

One additional tip to new players in Lost Island.

There is a "lore item" inside the flashpoint. When you get to the first recording you need to listen to for the bonus, right opposite it you will see 3 kolto tanks (the "recording" is on the left side as you enter and the kolto tanks are on the right side). The first kolto tank can be interacted with and will give the lore entry.

Note: there are no mobs near the kolto tank in question. If you are looking at a kolto tank with mobs near it, you are looking at the wrong one .

as far as i remember this fp was designed for tioneses gear (51) before the second boss was nerfed. if you are asking for rakata gear (58) you're asking for too much.

Well, Tionese and Columi were completely removed from the game. Rakata, from the Makeb vendor, is the least you can get in terms of "end game gear" (I'm using the term very loosly, lol)

Less than that would be blue items from Corellia vendor, which is less than Tionese.

There's another problem with the Sav-Rak fight, and it's been around since LI was first introduced. Some people experience extreme lag every time he jumps up onto a pipe. It's not avoidable. I have no idea what causes it. But I'm talking about being at a complete standstill from the time his knees bend to the time he hits the pillar, and then again when he returns to the platform.

If it's your healer, you might be screwed. If it's the guy who needed to channel the pillar Sav-Rak chose, you might be in trouble. If it's more than one person... you're probably going to wipe.

I've run LI more times than I care to count and that's the single most common complaint I have heard from other players. I have to imagine it only happens with certain PC builds because it doesn't happen to everyone... but it does happen a lot.

There's another problem with the Sav-Rak fight, and it's been around since LI was first introduced. Some people experience extreme lag every time he jumps up onto a pipe. It's not avoidable. I have no idea what causes it. But I'm talking about being at a complete standstill from the time his knees bend to the time he hits the pillar, and then again when he returns to the platform.

 

If it's your healer, you might be screwed. If it's the guy who needed to channel the pillar Sav-Rak chose, you might be in trouble. If it's more than one person... you're probably going to wipe.

 

I've run LI more times than I care to count and that's the single most common complaint I have heard from other players. I have to imagine it only happens with certain PC builds because it doesn't happen to everyone... but it does happen a lot.

We call that "getting one-shot by the server boss"

Too bad the people who need to read this won't, and we'll still get clueless groups of even 55's with 72+ gear who find ways to wipe the group.

As I only run the 50 HM on my levelers for XP or to collect comms for schematics on my 55, I just auto drop LI and usually Kaon as the time / reward ratio is out of whack compared to speedering through something like Battle for Ilum.