so, this weekend we did normal mode and hardmode EV with a semi-pug.

Normal was easy as usual and Hardmode also didnt prove much of a challenge except for the Ball Lightnings in Soa Phase 2.

Thing is, avoiding them while they were visible was not much of an issue but after some time we got the feeling that they dont despawn properly.

So what happened is this:

Ball Lightning spawns and starts chasing a player

player avoids ball lightning and ball lightning "despawns" only doesnt really despawn but go invisible.

Now with enemy nameplates active you can see they are still there and if you happen to run up to one they still did damage and blew up eventually.

Now if they didnt blow up they still continued to move around the area and chase players which in the end leads to being completely overwhelemd by lightning and eventually wiping.

Now from what ive gathered from the forums is that the best way to do this as of 1.1 is simply to shield players and run up to them and blow them up.

unfortunately we only had one sorc and one merc as a healer so in between healing the ops group and keeping the tank alive he couldnt keep up with shielding folk all the time.

What im asking myself now is wether the invisible ball lightnings are a bug or working as intended.

any tips on different tactics are appreciated aswell.

so, this weekend we did normal mode and hardmode EV with a semi-pug.

Normal was easy as usual and Hardmode also didnt prove much of a challenge except for the Ball Lightnings in Soa Phase 2.

 

Thing is, avoiding them while they were visible was not much of an issue but after some time we got the feeling that they dont despawn properly.

 

So what happened is this:

 

Ball Lightning spawns and starts chasing a player

player avoids ball lightning and ball lightning "despawns" only doesnt really despawn but go invisible.

Now with enemy nameplates active you can see they are still there and if you happen to run up to one they still did damage and blew up eventually.

Now if they didnt blow up they still continued to move around the area and chase players which in the end leads to being completely overwhelemd by lightning and eventually wiping.

 

Now from what ive gathered from the forums is that the best way to do this as of 1.1 is simply to shield players and run up to them and blow them up.

unfortunately we only had one sorc and one merc as a healer so in between healing the ops group and keeping the tank alive he couldnt keep up with shielding folk all the time.

 

What im asking myself now is wether the invisible ball lightnings are a bug or working as intended.

any tips on different tactics are appreciated aswell.

Invisible lightning balls used to be a common bug, they would constantly do this when targeting a player they couldn't otherwise reach because he was being thrown in the air or became mind trapped. Haven't noticed the issue much after the patch. As you stated, the best strategy is simply to have the people being targeted blow them up. With decent gear, they shouldn't need a shield for it even on hard mode and unfortunately you will require healers that are able to cope with healing the tank, random damage and topping the people that blow balls.

Invisible lightning balls used to be a common bug, they would constantly do this when targeting a player they couldn't otherwise reach because he was being thrown in the air or became mind trapped. Haven't noticed the issue much after the patch. As you stated, the best strategy is simply to have the people being targeted blow them up. With decent gear, they shouldn't need a shield for it even on hard mode and unfortunately you will require healers that are able to cope with healing the tank, random damage and topping the people that blow balls.

its not that.

i was tanking Soa and had one ball come after(also announced) after some time the thing would go invisible but i would still see the nameplate chasing me.

another melee dps ran past the nameplate...boom...blew up(that animation showed)

im not sure about how much damage they do when they blow up but i think its around 6k or so for me in hardmode....

healing was fine up to Soa but the problem is what happens when a healer has to run away from lightning(or both of them if youre unlucky).

we just blow them up(person targeted just jump into his ball), they don't do that much damage, and less caused damage instead of having them go all around the room and sapping people and people having to kite

no real need for a shield either, just top people up and they go down to ~40% HP and just heal back up

we are also a merc healer and a sorc healer

its not that.

 

i was tanking Soa and had one ball come after(also announced) after some time the thing would go invisible but i would still see the nameplate chasing me.

another melee dps ran past the nameplate...boom...blew up(that animation showed)

 

im not sure about how much damage they do when they blow up but i think its around 6k or so for me in hardmode....

 

healing was fine up to Soa but the problem is what happens when a healer has to run away from lightning(or both of them if youre unlucky).

Yep, the damage is about 6k give or take, when they blow up. A healer should not run away from lightning, they should be blowing their own balls, like everyone else (unless I misunderstood you), as fast as possible, then shield and use a medpack (if available) and go back to topping everyone off, with priority to tank and people blowing up other balls. People also need to "lead" balls away from other people and especially away from the melee camp. You may get invisible balls, yes it's an unavoidable bug and yes it can result to deaths, tbh there is little you can do about it, other than try again and hope for the best.

Dive into the lightnings. I don't see why your healers should be having a problem. If people are quickly diving their lightning balls, there shouldn't be any significant raid damage going out from incidental zaps, and this boss hits me as a tank like a baby.

The invisible ball lightning is a bit of a bug, but I've never had them be completely invisible. Either their nameplate is showing, or the ball itself. Usually both. Make sure everyone has enemy nameplates enabled for this fight.

My guys seem to be getting hit by the lightning balls and dying.. Im tanking so I dont see it how they are doing it?

Everyone is over 15000 hp... not badly geared.. I have 23000...

Do u got to JUMP into them? do you have to hit them first?

They dont seem tauntable or anything...

Not sure where 6k is coming from, our HM and NM lightening balls are hitting for 12kish, that's not counting the AE tick for 5kish if you hesitate a second before it blowing up.

Not to mention, when you get a healer cc'ed you effectively have to kite them for a bit while waiting on the healer to get back. It's not "hard" persay, but definately have to keep people called out full and the bubble helps immensely. Self CD's help also but for some reason our dps forget they have them when we raid.