When I used to play PnP games, I'd occasionally run into gamemasters who got so caught up into their favorite npcs, player participation became superfluous. The players were just there on the sidelines, essentially watching the GM play with himself in "epic" battles, having his favorite hero npcs carry the day against his favorite enemy npcs. Player participation made no difference in the encounter.

I didn't expect to see something like this in SWTOR, but then I ran into the Executor Krannus encounter (level 43) in the Jedi Knight storyline.

Summary of the encounter:

I thought that I must have handled the encounter wrong for it to go down as it did, even though I figured out how to get an easy, if unsatisfying, win. Looking at forum posts and at a YouTube of a level 50 JK doing the encounter, it turned out that my approach the second time was spot on -- you win by being a flunky and watching the npcs be the heroes. To add further insult, you don't get to loot Krannus since he's greyed out, proving how much of a hero you weren't during the fight.

I'm writing this because I was very disappointed to see an otherwise very professional and well-designed MMORPG game make a rookie mistake like the PnP example I described above. I don't participate in games like SWTOR to watch a bunch of computer-driven npcs in a circle jerk while I get to applaud them for how tough they are. Player characters should be the decisive factor in these "epic" encounters. Companions or "guest stars" can add variety to the design of these battles, to be sure. However, when the encounter seems wholly driven on standing back and watching the pro npcs do what you can't, it's a game design failure.

I did that encounter not that long ago but I don't remember it being like that. I'm trying hard to remember anything that struck me as odd but I don't.

I have had a battle a couple steps after Krannus not go like I'd expected--the "helpers" kept the boss in battle so that when my rez timer allowed, I stood, healed and finished them off. I'd hit a latency spike (was an issue on my end) and died twice when I shouldn't have. It wasn't that I'd have lost the encounter, but it was a bit annoying to lay there as a corpse watching NPCs engage in battle while doing no damage to each other as they waited for me to stand up .....

edited to add: I was level 43 or 44 in the Krannus encounter, watchman/combat hybrid, using Doc.

If you want it to feel more "epic", dont engage at all... go disarm all the bombs first, which should eat up enough time for you to show up just in time to finish Krannus off after the flunkies "kept him busy" for you to go save the planet.

Im pretty sure thats why the encouter is set up like this. Also, Ive never been unable to loot him. (have done the story line only two times though, so thats not a broad sample)

I hate to be that guy, but you've got to be freaking joking me.

Bioware tries to implement one boss fight in the entire storyline where NPCs help and you are so offended by the fact that they did more damage than you that you feel the need to complain about it on the internet.

I truly hope this is a troll post, otherwise it reassures my sad belief that people will complain about literally anything possible. Damnit humanity.

If you want it to feel more "epic", dont engage at all... go disarm all the bombs first, which should eat up enough time for you to show up just in time to finish Krannus off after the flunkies "kept him busy" for you to go save the planet.

 

Im pretty sure thats why the encouter is set up like this.

Did that work for you on one of your runs in this mission? I read posts from a couple of folks who tried it and the mission failed on them. When I've tried a similar approach in other missions without a timer (i.e., click objective while in combat), I've gotten an error message.

I'm sorry you chose to feel like a flunky. I, however, chose to feel like a member of an awesome spec ops team who handled a dicey situation and was able to react to a fluid situation.

I think the greying out is a clue to go after the bombs. If there's any flaw to this encounter, it's that the feedback isn't quite clear regarding what you need to do.

And yeah...it's ONE encounter out of how many? I actually wish there were more missions where I could feel like part of bad-assed team (barring group PC missions of course).

uhhh,

I just did this mission. Basically I noticed one of the spec ops guy had aggro, so I just killed all the trash mobs around him first, then went to him. He was still at 3/4 hp when I got to him. Killed him, was still able to loot him.

Seemed pretty cut and dry to me.

Failed miserably with Lord Scourge as companion, and realised he was AoE taunting everything and getting ripped to shreds xD

Tip of the day: Don't use Scourge to tank this encounter!

I thought it was kind of cool they had some variation in a fight - everything else was so "end boss elite" fight that got kind of dull.

I wish they'd done more of that, to be honest - maybe even some fights where you weren't supposed to fight but get around an obstacle by another route, like a puzzle perhaps.

Yep, my Krannus fight was exactly as the OP described except I used his 2nd method the first time and yep, found him grayed out and unable to loot.

Also, I wasn't aware of a timer for the bombs for a good 30 seconds after he was dead (was going through inventory) and then was like "oh s***, I've got to disable bombs too?"

Hmm... I do remember the encounter only because I was surprised at how helpful the NPCs were. And it was refreshing. lol. Usually I move through encounters like this with all due speed thinking that the mission might fail if the NPCs die so its up to me to protect them. But in this case there was no need which is not a bad thing.

As for the strategy. Pretty basic and consistent. Take out the trash/adds and come back for the boss. If I remember correctly, I did manage to get back to him early enough for the killing blow. I was able to loot him without issue.

I enjoyed the fight... felt like a little bit of a break after alot of grinding to get there. Of course, I enjoy a good challenge at the end Boss. In addition, I want that last confrontation to be a good strategy test as well. But in this case... and maybe because I was ready to move on, I was grateful it ended quickly and somewhat quietly.

Just did this. First killed the mobs with doc as companion. the speccy ops dudes held aggro, i spammed dps on the bosses backside. He remained red all the way till the very, very end. he was one hit from dead and i saw him turn grey just as he died. First i thought that its scripted to be un-lootable, but someone here says that he can be looted. So was i just one split second too slow? Perhaps.

would love to know what he drops tho? 500 credits and some poor green mod? propably.

So true OP, because Luke Skywalker handled Darth Vader and the Death Star all by himself.

Oh wait.....

I hate to be that guy, but you've got to be freaking joking me.

 

Bioware tries to implement one boss fight in the entire storyline where NPCs help and you are so offended by the fact that they did more damage than you that you feel the need to complain about it on the internet.

This.

Also, OP, try to view this encounter as a learning experience and take note of the fact that a good dps will take out the weaker mobs first and only then go after the big one being tanked by the tank. Adds ripping the healer apart while the dps bashes on the big guy happens way too often in this game.

Had this fight this morning.

In fact I was disappointed in the fight.

Doc had no trouble keeping my health up. I used AOE damage where possible to keep some of his cronies interested in me, but overall I had no trouble really. I just stuck with Krannus, moving as needed to grab agro back when he wandered off to attack someone else.

My toon is a level 44 guardian. All orange armour with level appropriate guardian armourings and enhancements with shield and defence stats as well as strength and endurance. Mods are all might mods. All bought from mods vendor with commendations.

This mission is utterly game breaking. The mobs keep resetting over and over. The second I step in I get slaughtered in seconds.

There are threads about this all over these forums, but no one is doing anything about this bugged mission. I have screenshots to prove it. But not a peep from the Devs.

When I used to play PnP games, I'd occasionally run into gamemasters who got so caught up into their favorite npcs, player participation became superfluous. The players were just there on the sidelines, essentially watching the GM play with himself in "epic" battles, having his favorite hero npcs carry the day against his favorite enemy npcs. Player participation made no difference in the encounter.

 

I didn't expect to see something like this in SWTOR, but then I ran into the Executor Krannus encounter (level 43) in the Jedi Knight storyline.

 

Summary of the encounter:

 

 

1) Cutscene: JK and companion confront Executor Krannus as he is about to blow up a planet. He's got several Imperial troops as backup, and is about to chop the jedi and his chum into chutney. Suddenly, Sergeant Bedd and a few Republic troops show up, and the numbers even out.

 

2) Cutscene ends, battle begins. Krannus is a level 43, 73k hp Champion. At least one strong and 3-4 normal mobs are grouped with him.

 

The first battle, I took Krannus on directly, hoping that the Republic troops would engage Krannus' cronies and take a few hits for the team. I was level 45 (Vig/Def hybrid, 9/27) with Kira as companion. I used a medpack and blew every cooldown I had, but lost to Krannus when he was at about 10% health. I had sent in Kira first to take a couple of hits, but had most of the aggro from him during the fight, and plenty of it from his teammates.

 

Second battle, I used Doc as companion and wanted to see what happened when I took down Krannus' troops first. I took them down without too much trouble, though Doc did have to do a few heals. I noticed that the Republic troops did a very good job holding aggro with Krannus, so I thought I took the right strategy. When I dispatched all the flunkies, I was ready to take over on Krannus and save what was left of the Sergeant and his men.... except Krannus was almost dead, about 20% health, and greyed out. I did a few final clean-up hits on Krannus, but there was no challenge -- Sgt. Bedd had tanked Krannus and carried the day. I was a flunkie on the sidelines, taking out the cannon fodder while the npc Sergeant stood his ground and did most of the hero's work on the planet-threatening enemy.

 

 

I thought that I must have handled the encounter wrong for it to go down as it did, even though I figured out how to get an easy, if unsatisfying, win. Looking at forum posts and at a YouTube of a level 50 JK doing the encounter, it turned out that my approach the second time was spot on -- you win by being a flunky and watching the npcs be the heroes. To add further insult, you don't get to loot Krannus since he's greyed out, proving how much of a hero you weren't during the fight.

 

I'm writing this because I was very disappointed to see an otherwise very professional and well-designed MMORPG game make a rookie mistake like the PnP example I described above. I don't participate in games like SWTOR to watch a bunch of computer-driven npcs in a circle jerk while I get to applaud them for how tough they are. Player characters should be the decisive factor in these "epic" encounters. Companions or "guest stars" can add variety to the design of these battles, to be sure. However, when the encounter seems wholly driven on standing back and watching the pro npcs do what you can't, it's a game design failure.

You might consider Option C, that the encounter is one of the very rare few encounters during the storyline of the games, that isn't a completely condescending cakewalk, and the simple fact of your complaining about it is probably why the NPCs were buffed up to hold the aggro of Krannus better. To better serve the lowest common denominator of player that clicks their way through combat.

Here's a hint: In EVERY encounter, you're supposed to kill weakest to strongest, and it's perfectly possible to both loot Krannus and deal with his backup. The fact that he was already at 20% by the time you finished with his flunkies is the problem.

Perhaps you would have been better off sticking with Kira, and siccing her on one the flunkies, blitzing through his weaks, letting the NPCs pick up one of the silvers, and then attacking Krannus.

I've come across players like you while GMing other games, and if everything doesn't go 100% in their favor, they get super upset.

Sources: I've done this quest both as a guardian and as a sentinel.

This mission is utterly game breaking. The mobs keep resetting over and over. The second I step in I get slaughtered in seconds.

 

There are threads about this all over these forums, but no one is doing anything about this bugged mission. I have screenshots to prove it. But not a peep from the Devs.

It's not impossible to complete. Suck it up.

I've completed it twice. Once with sentinel and once with guardian dps. The first time was a bit disconcerting because I didn't know where the bombs were. Otherwise, I waited for the reinforcements to attack, then took out the enemies from weak to the champion guy the republic commando should be pounding on.

I'm leveling another guardian. I will see if it's "impossible" when I get there.

Ok, first of all, yes, this encounter is designed poorly. It's really ****ed up, but not for the difficulty. Now, a few points explaining my point of view

1) The people saying "this is easy you're noobz" please die. Or at least, cut your internet down. Some players, like myself, are born with two left hands and even with that we love playing, even if we're condemned to be mediocre at best. We can still do OPS and be the average DPS or the runner. Being defeated 12 times in a row is frustrating enough. The last thing you need is going to the forums and read "You're a nubz". Yeah, thanks a lot, ******e.

2) Now, the encounter. It's very complex, and it's nice, it's challenging and even funny. BUT, no one tells you what to do. In the entire game, the encounters are all the same. Even in the JK story are all the same. Use your lightsaber against that guy until video shows. So, when they change it, you should if not warned, at least advised. Something like "Go to deactivate the bombs we will cover you" from the allied NPCs, for example, should be enough.

3) "Run for the bombs and ignore Krannus. NPCs will kill him". No. That BS. Plain and simple. That's even worse that the people in the number 1). This is a wrong tip. If you don't kil Krannus, The allied NPCs are going to die. EVERY *********** TIME. The NPCs are doomed. They are going to die if you left them. I tried this 7 times. Every time they die. You have to deal with Krannus before the bombs, and you have to tank him. If you walk away and let the NPCs tank him, they're going to die, and the encounter will reset.

4) The main problem with this encounter. It's buggy as hell. My Kira has flyed away every single time every combat begin. I had to deal with the enemies on my own, and then dismiss companion. Half of the times, the NPCs are not there, and the other half, they don't spawn correctly. And the worst. When you fail, it sends you back to the beggining, and makes you clean the entire way again, because all the enemies have respawn.

So, the encounter is nice, and it's very clever, I wish every encounter was like that. But please, fix it. Fix the bugs, and fix the reset thing, so you appear next to Krannus again when you fail, or at least don't make the enemies respawn.

Also, if you can't complete Krannus, my friend, try this:

1.- Treek. She's the best, and well geard, she can tank Krannus as she heal herself. If you're a sentinel you should kill the guy by the time Treek dies, or is about to die. Use Unity, Use the Heroic and throw to Krannus every single weapon of your arsenal. I nuked the guy with the all the legacy skills when I beat him. It was funny... Lighting storm, orbital bombardment, a stone in his face, a kick in the nuts, a sticky grenade, a flamethrower... And that with my famele-bikini Twi'lek JK. Even if you're a mediocre player, the two-handed JK at lvl 40-45 can deal 73k of DPS in 1.00 - 1.30 minutes. And that's without the heroic and the legacy skills.

2.- If you don't have Treek, or she's not well geared, then try Kira. She's the best DPS you will get. Step back, kill the minor mobs first, let the NPCs gain the aggro and then, between a well-geared Kira and you, Krannus will die in seconds. No more than 45 seconds. And the main and important NPC is going to survive. Barely...

3.- If you don't have Kira, nor Treek, then... You can try luck, or ask for help. A lvl 60 friend can vaporize Krannus in 3 seconds XD.

So true OP, because Luke Skywalker handled Darth Vader and the Death Star all by himself.

 

 

 

Oh wait.....

Somebody didn't see Return of the Jedi.

And even in A New Hope it was Luke that went in and took the killshot. He didn't have to go pick off a few TIEs then return to find Wedge had already hit the thermal exhaust port.

Your standard trope logic would have the NPCs fight off the trash while you take on Krannus as per the OPs initial expectation. Or the champ special forces sergeant takes on Kranus and his boys pick off the enemy trash while you disarm the bombs or deal with some new stupid powerful for some reason Sith that's hanging with Krannus.

It's particularly insulting because Krannus isn't even supposed to be ridiculously powerful in a fight, lorewise. He's a pureblood with no Force abilities. He should be a disgrace by Empire standards. He can be a tactical genius but him roflstomping the guy who's supposed to take out the Emperor unless plot-armored NPCs back him up is beyond dumb.