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DoomRL => Discussion => Topic started by: garcia1000 on March 26, 2012, 08:06

Title: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: garcia1000 on March 26, 2012, 08:06
Hey guys,

I have a problem passing this level. I put on my best armor, get the large health globe so that I'm ~150% health when at the middle. But I still die to lost souls/cacodemons.
Or else, I try the rocket jump trick to get back to the start. But the problem is I can only rocketjump with my armor off. Then I die quickly without having made it back.
Unless I find an early phase device, it seems very hard to get past. Any tips on this?
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: garcia1000 on March 26, 2012, 08:07
sorry I don't know how to edit my post. I mean Angel of Humanity, the one that is 10 HP at start
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: Motorheadbanger on March 26, 2012, 09:17
Use phase devices or try using cacodemons' shots to get rid of lost souls while RUNNING and DODGING to the either door, preferably the one closer to the middle. With some luck you will be able to close the door shut and they will not be able to open it back.
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: Klear on March 26, 2012, 09:22
Well, the best way is obviously to use a phase device.

Another option is to simply outrun the souls - I've played a lot of AoHu recently with scout, and I've sometimes even managed to outrun them without taking any damage at all.

If you finish Hell's Arena, chances are you'll find phaseshift armour, which you can immediately A mod, which gives it +40% speed bonus. Invest any further agility mods you find into tactical boots (or armour, if you don't get phaseshift), though the chained court is quite dangerous. I avoided it in my AoHu runs like a plague, only entered it once by accident and almsot made it out alive - arena master was almost dead when he killed me.

Anyway, with some combination of hellrunner, A-modded phaseshift armour, scout speed bonus, tactical boots and tactical armour, (and running, obviously) you should be able to reach safety of the entry doorway and deal with the souls/cacos at your leisure.

Before you reach the place where the souls are released, switch to running, then once they come, go straight back where you came from and once behind the door either blast at the bastards if they are still quite far, or shut the door in their faces before they can block them and wait for a better time to attack.

Don't bother with the red armour for this encounter - it slows you down and will get you killed.
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: skarczew on March 26, 2012, 10:10
Also one more note: the right doors are nearer than the left ones ...
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: Klear on March 26, 2012, 10:20
Also one more note: the right doors are nearer than the left ones ...

...but they need to be opened first. Is it still better to go right?

I know for a fact that it's possible to outrun the souls and reach the left door without a scratch, so if the right door is closer, it should be even easier, unless the opening of the doors causes too much delay.

I know it's possible to shoot the door beforehand, but then you cannot close it behind you which may or may not cause difficulties.
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: garcia1000 on March 26, 2012, 10:37
Oh I see now! The phaseshift armor is way better, because it has additional knockback, so the rocketjump throws you close enough to the left side door. I will try this out next time!! Thanks a lot! Maybe that is why they gave us phaseshift armor for clearing the arena.
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: Pricklyman on March 26, 2012, 14:54
Oh I see now! The phaseshift armor is way better, because it has additional knockback, so the rocketjump throws you close enough to the left side door. I will try this out next time!! Thanks a lot! Maybe that is why they gave us phaseshift armor for clearing the arena.

Considering you have 10HP - are you sure you want to rocketjump? (Which is code for - "DON'T DO IT MAN, IT'S NOT WORTH IT!")
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: Klear on March 26, 2012, 15:00
I just played it again and I can confirm following:

With movement speed 0,34 or less (and maybe slightly more) you can outrun the souls and hide behind the LEFT door without taking a single point of damage. You'll till need to avoid one soul which gets too close but I think it's a sure thing. The cacos won't even start to move until you are out of their sight.

I got this movement speed by: being scout, running, wearing tactical armour and A-moded boots, 2 levels of hellrunner.

Edit:

Another attempt: speed 0,4 is not enough to get to the RIGHT door. In three steps I was surrounded (but still managed to phase out in time, thankfully).
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: skarczew on March 26, 2012, 15:33
I just played it again and I can confirm following:

With movement speed 0,34 or less (and maybe slightly more) you can outrun the souls and hide behind the LEFT door without taking a single point of damage. You'll till need to avoid one soul which gets too close but I think it's a sure thing. The cacos won't even start to move until you are out of their sight.

I got this movement speed by: being scout, running, wearing tactical armour and A-moded boots, 2 levels of hellrunner.
Klear, try now doors to the right.
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: Klear on March 26, 2012, 15:44
Klear, try now doors to the right.

I'm playing a lot of AoHu right now, and I'll be sure to try to right door next time I manage to get the right gear to have enough speed. For science.

I have a feeling that the need to open the right door plus lost soul and caco starting positions make it a more dangerous option, even if the door is closer. At least on HNTR.
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: Creaphis on March 26, 2012, 17:35
This sounds silly but this level is much easier on ultra-violence. You can outrun demons at a comfortable jogging pace.
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: Ashannar on March 27, 2012, 01:37
I'm nearly positive UV has the same number of cacodemons as HNTR.
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: Klear on March 27, 2012, 01:39
Yeah, but the biggest initial problem is with the lost souls, who can rush and kill you easily. On higher difficulties they get replaced with demons, who are much easier to outrun.
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: skarczew on March 27, 2012, 04:13
Yeah, but the biggest initial problem is with the lost souls, who can rush and kill you easily. On higher difficulties they get replaced with demons, who are much easier to outrun.
Which leads to the conclusion that Lost Souls are OP now :> .
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: Klear on March 27, 2012, 13:37
Here's why it's better to run to the left on HNTR:

The lost souls on the far right will immediately rush you, cutting off your way. Also, the int 2 reveled enemies farther to the right are the cacos, who will attack you when going for the right door.

Edit: In this run I had running speed 0.4 again, so it's not enough to get unscratched to either door. I still have to try to reach the right door with speed 0.32 though.

BTW, in this run (AoHu again), I went a few steps to the right and got surrounded, so I whipped up a phase device thinking that it was enough science for now, and the blasted thing teleporteted me to the upper left corner in this very room. Luckily I was able to run away, though it cost me half of my HP.

The run was almost perfect and very easy after I made a nano missile launcher in the armory, but I got greedy and a mancubus killed me on 4th level of hell =(

Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: Creepy on March 27, 2012, 18:17
The run was almost perfect and very easy after I made a nano missile launcher in the armory, but I got greedy and a mancubus killed me on 4th level of hell =(

It seems like anytime I read about an infinite-firing kill-everything-ever gun, a mancubus pops up and kills the creator. It's like there's some Curse of Tubba out to kill people with superguns.
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: ih8regin on March 27, 2012, 23:01
this curse is called "overconfidence" and is normal for a doomguy to succumb to... Well, I'm now at level 92 on UV with a nanomachic/F plasma rifle which IS the gun you describe, with a nuke-BFG at the ready if I need to whack a crowd at once. Well, Cateye helps to evade mancubi to a certain degree, but I have troubles with a cyberdemon in close quarters.
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: garcia1000 on March 28, 2012, 08:34
If you finish Hell's Arena, chances are you'll find phaseshift armour

Problem! I just finished Hell's Arena, and I got a ballistic vest instead of a phaseshift armor. This gives me a problem with the out-running strategy...
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: Klear on March 28, 2012, 09:11
Then hope for a phase device and/or plenty of agility mods for your armour/boots.

Hell's arena gives you either the phasehift armour, the ballistic vest or acid-proof boots.
And take hellrunner. With a running speed 0.32, you're probably guaranteed to be able to escape without taking a scratch, but I believe even if you are slower it's possible to escape the souls, though you will lose a few hitpoints.
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: skarczew on March 28, 2012, 09:41
Jump to UV/N! and screw all that kindergarten.
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: Klear on March 28, 2012, 09:49
Jump to UV/N! and screw all that kindergarten.

Yeah, that can also work, as long as you only use an unmodded pistol and don't take SoG.
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: Klear on March 28, 2012, 12:52
Another attempt and more data (and I'll stop with these reports from now on): I had running speed 0.38 (HR2, tactical armour, running, being a scout) and I escaped the souls without taking a scratch again, though it was very close (you have to zig zag a little, so that you only move to tiles that are not adjacent to lost souls).

That means that as a scout you only need to find single agility mod and take hellrunner to be able to pass anomaly without damage. Hope that helps.
Title: Re: How to pass Phobos Anomaly on AoH?
Post by: garcia1000 on March 28, 2012, 19:53
Ballistic vest is probably the least useful of the Hell's Arena rewards. Who needs a vest when you already have a P-modded red armor?

So, I figured out a way to survive Anomaly without phaseshift. Put on the red armor, have some shotgun in your secondary slot, and rocket launcher in primary. grab a large health globe so you are at 200%, and then immediately run. As soon as the walls explode, rocketjump to the left, then run a few spaces left, then switch to shotgun and shoot the lost souls. You will take damage but survive.