Apex Vanguard

Detailed Strategy

Phase 1 - Apex Vanguard (100% - 93%)

The first short phase is a straight burn of Apex Vanguard until its health reaches 93%. The tank should pull Apex to a wall (see Phase 2 discussion for tanking path) and only move him if Acid Blast is cast (it may or may not be depending on group DPS). DPS tunnel on Apex. Healers should help DPS as well as damage taken should be very low, though some cleanses for Contagion may be necessary (again, depending on group DPS as to whether it is cast or not).

Phase 1 Transition - Power Transformer

When Apex Vanguard reaches 93%, it will cast Photogenesis over 10s. When the cast completes, Apex Vanguard will begin self-healing anytime the lights are on. See below for further discussion.

After Photogenesis, the group should DPS the Power Transformer (panel on the center column - it is placed directly behind where Apex stands before beginning the fight). This should take 10-15s. After the Power Transformer is destroyed, the outer panel is removed and provides access to the Battery. The designated battery runner should immediately click on the battery to remove it.

Phase 2 - Apex Vanguard (93% - 0%)

The vast majority of the fight will be in Phase 2. For everyone except the battery runner, this phase is essentially a tank and spank with minimal movement requirements and an occasional cleanse. The main mechanics and associated strategy are as follows for everyone EXCEPT the battery runner:

• Acid Blast (30s after pull, 1:30 after pull, then every 15-20s afterwards): Apex drops a yellow puddle on the ground directly under the tank's feet. The circle is fairly large and deals low damage to any player in it. The tank should move the boss each time a puddle is dropped. See Role Discussion below for tanking strategies, but these mostly boil down to (1) kiting back and forth on the left side of the map to stack puddles as closely as possible; or (2) keep moving in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction and skipping each active device console when dropping puddles. Skilled tanks can quickly move back into a yellow AoE just before another one goes out to stack them, which is very helpful to allow more time between uses of the Wash station.

• Contagion (30s after pull, 1:45 after pull, then every 30-40s afterwards): Contagion applies a DoT to every player that manifests as a small green AoE around a player. Standing in another player's Contagion AoE will tick for additional damage. Self-cleanse immediately if possible, otherwise healers should cleanse. Does not tick for much damage so is not very dangerous in Story Mode.

• Zone Defense (2:30 minutes after Darkness Overdrive, then every 5:30 minutes afterwards): Apex targets players with either Purple / Left or Yellow / Right cannons. Apex's shoulder cannons begin glowing colors corresponding to this buff. Players will be targeted by the cannon with the same color as their buff, so should move to the OTHER COLOR. Players with Purple should stand on the same side as the Yellow cannon, and vice versa.

The main mechanics and associated strategy for the battery runner are as follows (in order of importance):

• Mass Target Lock (see Role discussion below for timing): Applies Mass Target Lock on all players. Must be cleansed via the Disruptor station (North on the map, see layout above). If not cleansed in 30s, Apex will do massive raid-wide damage by channeling Bombardment. The Disruptor station drains the battery of all charges and requires an immediate recharge at the Power Transformer.

• Red Venom Cloud (see Role discussion below for timing): Applies Red Venom DoT stacks to players every 2s. Must be cleansed via the Fan station (East on the map, see layout above). An immediate use is not required but delay will place greater and greater strain on healers. Most teams will begin to struggle to keep up with DoT damage round 12-15 stacks after 24-30s of Red Venom Cloud being active. The Fan station expends 1 charge from the battery, but cannot use the last Red charge.

• Acid Blast (see above for timing): Can only be cleansed by the Wash station (South on the map, see layout above). This is the lowest priority of the three stations and should be coordinated with the Tank and/or Ops leader as to when to utilize. If employing the strategy to only use the left side of the map (stacking puddles near each other away from the device stations), then the Wash station should be used every 4 minutes or so after Darkness Overdrive activates. Skilled tanks will require less frequent use of the Wash station.

• Tired: Stacking debuff slows battery runner 1% per stack. The player gains 1 stack every 3s when carrying the battery and loses 1 stack every 4s when not carrying the battery. The battery runner should try to minimize time spent running the battery to let stacks drop off. See role discussion for more details.

The tank has the sole task of walking Apex Vanguard around the room, moving him each time a yellow Acid Blast puddle is dropped. Each puddle does relatively low damage when standing in it, so it is possible to move back into a puddle to stack a second Acid Blast, or using a defensive to even stack a third.

The main decision a tank should make is their kiting path. The general approach boils down to the following two options:

1. Kite Apex in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction the entire fight. This is simple and probably ideal for tanks new to this fight. The key is to make sure the tank always stands in the middle between device consoles, so that the battery runner never has to stand in Acid Blast to activate a device.

2. Kite Apex along wall on the left side. This is the most efficient strategy and avoids dropping Acid Blast puddles near the device stations. The tank pulls the boss to the wall around 15m to the West from either the Disruptor (North) or Wash (South) stations, and then moves along the left wall. See the tanking layout graphic above. Ideally, a Wash station cleanse should be used by the time the tank nears the other side, at which point they should reverse course and move back the other way.

Healers should have a fairly easy time on this fight assuming the battery runner handles all mechanics smoothly. The key points to consider are as follows:

• The tank will take increasing damage from Apex as stacks of Darkness Overdrive increase, though ideally the battery runner should leave the lights on a bit to reduce those when they reach 15+.

• If the tank stands in Acid Blast puddles to stack them, some additional burst healing may be necessary.

• Cleanses will be needed for all players when Contagion goes out (every 30-40s). Players should self-cleanse if possible. The team will need some AoE healing for the associated damage, though Contagion does not tick hard in Story Mode so this damage is very low stress to heal.

• The largest expected healing push will be during Red Venom Cloud. Early stacks are easy to heal through, but as the group nears 10+ stacks the AoE healing will become very high. Most healers will begin to feel very stressed in the 12-15 stack range (24-30s of Red Venom Cloud being active). Save cooldowns for this mechanic in any situation where the battery runner is running behind (i.e., Red Venom Cloud goes out and the battery still needs to be recharged before taking it to the Fan device).

• If Mass Target Lock is not cleansed in 30s via the Disruptor panel, Apex will hit the group with Bombardment and deal VERY heavy raid-wide damage. This can easily wipe the group. Healers should try to keep an eye on the battery runner or chat in voice comms to identify if the battery runner may be late. If so, keeping the entire group near max health can enable the team to get through Bombardment without a wipe, though make sure to call out for everyone to use defensives if Bomardment occurs.

DPS have an extremely easy time on this fight. DPS the Apex Vanguard, do not stand in Acid Blast yellow AoE puddles, and self-cleanse the Contagion DoT if possible. That's it.

Tired

The last mechanic to consider is Tired. In Story Mode, most players can handle up to around 30 or so stacks of Tired before the slow effect begins to seriously compromise getting devices activated on time. You gain +1 stack every 3s when carrying the battery and lose 1 stack every 4s when not carrying the battery. Thus, it is important to spend as little time running the battery as possible so you give time for stacks to drop off.

For the first 4 minutes after Darkness Overdrive, the battery runner should be able to get all Tired stacks removed as they accumulate. With 1 minute in between ability uses and only needing to recharge the battery once after Mass Target Lock @ 2:00 minutes, this allows plenty of time to let Tired drop off.

Once the timer drops to 30s between abilities, it will become difficult to fully cleanse stacks. I find watching the debuff bar is helpful. For example, it takes 5s to fully charge the battery at the power transformer. In that time, only 1 Tired stack will drop off. However, if I wait another 3s before grabbing the battery I can get another Tired stack to drop off then grab the battery and move on. The same strategy can be employed at each device station, making sure to let 2-3 stacks drop off before grabbing it and moving to the next station.

If Tired stacks reach >30, a swap is recommended with another player familiar with running the battery.

To help deal with Tired stacks, use any movement speed buffs (Force Speed, Transcendence, Hold the Line, etc.) BEFORE picking up the battery. You cannot activate any abilities while carrying the battery, but the effects of already activated movement abilities will continue to benefit you.

Darkness Overdrive

If Apex Vanguard reaches 15+ stacks of Darkness Overdrive, it may be advisable to plug the battery into the power transformer for 10-15s to let the Darkness Overdrive stacks fall off. They should drop off 1 stack per second. Try to time this when recharging the battery after a Mass Target Lock to both reduce Darkness Overdrive stacks on Apex and Tired stacks on you.

Detailed Strategy

Phase 1 - Apex Vanguard (100% - 93%)

The first phase is nearly identical to Story Mode. Contagion goes out for the first time in this phase and is much more dangerous in Hard Mode. See the Phase 2 discussion for strategy. Acid Blast goes out as normal and should be kited.

The Flare healer should immediately go pick up 3 flares as soon as the fight begins, but should not use a Flare during this phase as the lights are on.

Phase 1 Transition - Power Transformer

No change from Story Mode, DPS Apex through the Photogenesis cast then DPS the Power Transformer. When the battery is exposed, the battery runner should immediately grab the battery.

Phase 2 - Apex Vanguard (93% - 0%)

The vast majority of the fight will be in Phase 2. All of the mechanics in Story Mode are present and are significantly more dangerous, as well as several additional mechanics. Please note the commentary below is solely with respect to Hard Mode differences:

• Darkness Overdrive / Flares: Unlike in Story Mode where Darkness Overdrive can easily be healed through even at 20 stacks, in Hard Mode it must be actively managed. A designated flare healer should be picking up flares regularly from the flare station (NE on the map) and placing flares so that the tank can hold Apex inside the flare. The flares will keep Apex from gaining stacks of Darkness Overdrive while inside the flare AoE.

Strategies will vary by team, but the overall goal should be to keep Darkness Overdrive stacks as low as possible. Ideally stacks should stay around 1-3 if the tank and flare healer are very well coordinated. Then when the battery runner turns on the lights to recharge the battery, Apex should drop all those stacks.

• Stims (should be available around 30s after battery runner starts running battery): DPS should coordinate to pick up at least 2 stims from the Stim station. At least 2 DPS with 2 Stims each will be needed to break the Voltinator cast. I recommend 2 DPS going and getting at least 2 stims as soon as they are available. Each time Voltinator goes out, the other 2 DPS should go grab stims, so that the DPS alternate grabbing stims and using them during Voltinator.

A viable strategy if the battery runner can handle it is to have DPS grab more stims. Each pair of stims will enable a DPS to Overclock and effectively get an additional adrenal buff to DPS via the +100% critical chance buff. As long as at least 2 DPS save at least 2 stims for Voltinator, this is totally viable and can help shorten the encounter.

• Acid Blast (10-12s after pull, 1:00 after pull, then every 20s or so afterwards): Acid Blast functions similarly in Hard Mode. The yellow puddles hit harder in Hard Mode and the size of the puddles grows over time (i.e., by the end of the fight they will be nearly twice as large). With good timing, it is still easily possible to stack a second Acid Blast puddle to allow more time for kiting before a Wash is needed.

• Contagion (30s after pull, every 1:00 minute afterwards): Contagion is FAR more dangerous in Hard Mode. The DoT goes out almost exactly 1 minute apart, which lines up well for many classes cleanses (e.g., Guardian Endure Pain has 1 minute cooldown). Cleansing it places a green puddle on the ground that persists until the Wash station is used to cleanse both Acid Blasts and Contagion puddles. After cleansing it from yourself, stepping back into a green puddle or into the AoE of another player with Contagion will cause you to contract Contagion again.

Each time the Contagion goes out, the team needs to coordinate cleanses. One strategy is have the team all run into the Acid Blast puddle and cleanse. This drops the Contagion puddles in an area where no one should run into them, though results in some additional damage. Another strategy is to have some players drop the green puddles on the sides of the central pillar. Other strategies can work.

The key though is to make sure Contagion does NOT spread or the team will likely wipe. If someone gets Contagion again, they should immediately run away from the group to avoid spreading it further and either self-cleanse if possible or wait for a healer to cleanse them.

Lastly, it is critical the Contagion puddles NOT be dropped on any of the device stations or the battery transformer, so that the battery runner can access them without getting Contagion.

• Zone Defense (2:30 minutes after Darkness Overdrive, then every 5:30 minutes afterwards): Mechanic functions similarly in Hard Mode but deals more damage. This mechanic can usually be healed through. A good strategy for the main tank is to turn Apex in the opposite direction (facing back the way you came) during the cast, then afterwards immediately turn him back in the normal direction. This should hopefully cause everyone to get the same directional debuff and automatically be placed on the correct side to avoid damage.

• Voltinator: Voltinator will go out several times during the encounter. It will also include Blinding Spray and reduce accuracy by 100%. Ideally at least 2 DPS should have 2 stims each and hit those to get Overclocked and the +100% accuracy and critical chance. They then DPS the boss to break the Voltinator cast. During this time, the main tank and other DPS should go pick up at least 2 stims each (as Apex doesn't move or deal damage and they have 10% accuracy anyway).

• Acid Deluge: Acid Deluge will happen several times during the encounter and lead to around 4 Acid Blasts being placed in rapid succession. The tank either needs to hold them in place and pop a major defensive (i.e., Shadows can easily take the first two then hit Resilience to shield through the third and fourth), or can stack them in pairs, or can place them individually. Depending on much area is used, a Wash may be immediately needed.

• Last Ditch Effort: Enrage happens at 5%. It is very important to have defensives and/or flares available.

The main mechanics and associated strategy for the battery runner are as follows (in order of importance):

• Mass Target Lock (Disruptor station): Applies Mass Target Lock on all players. Must be cleansed via the Disruptor station (North on the map, see layout above). If not cleansed in 30s, Apex will do massive raid-wide damage by channeling Bombardment. The Disruptor station drains the battery of all charges and requires an immediate recharge at the Power Transformer.

• Red Venom Cloud (Vent station): Applies Red Venom DoT stacks to players every 2s. Must be cleansed via the Fan station (East on the map, see layout above). An immediate use is not required but delay will place greater and greater strain on healers. Most teams will begin to struggle to keep up with DoT damage round 8-10 stacks after 16-20s of Red Venom Cloud being active. The Fan station expends 2 charges from the battery.

• Darkness Overdrive (Flare station): Darkness Overdrive is hugely dangerous and cannot be tanked without flares. Flares are manufactured at the flare station (NE on the map, see layout above). Apart from responding to immediate threats from Mass Target Lock or Red Venom Cloud, the top priority of the battery runner is to keep flares being manufactured. The first flare put into production costs 1 battery charge and the others cost 2 each, so setting 3 flares into production will cost 5 battery charges and leave one left over for making stims or using the Disruptor station.

• Acid Blast (Wash station): Can only be cleansed by the Wash station (South on the map, see layout above). This is the lowest priority of the three stations and should be coordinated with the Tank and/or Ops leader as to when to utilize. If employing the strategy to only use the left side of the map (stacking puddles near each other away from the device stations), then the Wash station should be used every few minutes or so after Darkness Overdrive activates. Skilled tanks will require less frequent use of the Wash station. The Wash station consumes 2 battery charges.

• Voltinator (Stim station): The Voltinator reduces accuracy by 100% on all players when it goes out. The only way to deal damage to Apex to break the Voltinator cast is by using 2 stims to apply a +100% accuracy buff (thereby offsetting the 100% accuracy debuff) as well as +100% critical chance. The stims are produced at the Stim station (SE on the map, see layout above).

The station requires at least one battery charge to power but does not consume any charges. After plugging in the battery and activating the station, stims are produced one for every 2s up to a maximum inventory of 12. Players can keep picking up stims and it will keep manufacturing stims as long as it never reaches 12 in the tray.

Some teams will need very few stims based on their strategy and some will use quite a lot. I find the best strategy as a battery runner is to go immediately to the stim station after starting 3 flares and make 10-12 stims. That leaves enough for the battery runner to grab a few (for the movement speed boost) and 2 DPS to grab 2 each and a few extras. If the team is using few stims, then I only go back to the Stim station during Voltinator to make more stims when the DPS without stims come to grab some for the next Voltinator.

• Darkness Overdrive (Power Transformer): The Power Transformer is where you pick up the battery originally and is used to recharge the battery. Plugging in the battery takes approximately 10s plus a 1s cast to remove the battery. While the battery is plugged in, the lights will be on. This causes Apex to self-heal via Photogenesis and to drop stacks of Darkness Overdrive.

In most cases, the battery runner should leave the battery plugged in long enough to recharge fully and to remove all stacks of Darkness Overdrive. This helps the main tank significantly in case there is any downtime on flares, as above 5 stacks or so it can be very difficult to hold the boss without burning through defensives.

• Tired: Stacking debuff slows battery runner 1% per stack. The player gains 1 stack every 3s when carrying the battery and loses 1 stack every 4s when not carrying the battery. The battery runner should try to minimize time spent running the battery to let stacks drop off. See role discussion for more details.

The main tank holding Apex Vanguard has essentially the same job in Hard Mode for most of the fight. The main differences are:

• Stacking Acid Blast puddles is helpful if you can manage do so without taking too much damage. That helps the battery runner take more time in between washes to make more flares and stims.

• It is SUPER critical to keep Apex inside the flares at all times. The tank does not need to be in them but Apex does. Communicate with the healer holding flares. If Apex has 5+ stacks and is outside a flare, pop a defensive immediately as he will hit very hard.

• Call out well in advance for washes from the battery runner. They will usually need at least 30s advance notice due to the possible need to use a station, recharge the battery, hit another station then finally get to the wash station. Have an emergency plan in place in case they are a bit late to stack puddles or something.

• If possible, try to use the Voltinator downtime to grab a few stims. Two is nice but four is great. Having those available can be a lifesaver as clicking x2 stims will give you 12s of 100% defense chance.

• Either have defensives available or plan to move quickly for Acid Deluge. Apex will drop 4 Acid Blasts in quick succession. Shadows / Assassins can fairly easily drop all Acid Blasts in one place using Resilience / Shroud. All tanks can easily stack the puddles x2 twice. Regardless of strategy, know in advance what you will be doing and communicate with the battery runner if you need an early wash.

• Try to save defensives for Last Ditch Effort if possible. The 5% enrage goes fairly quickly for most teams, so keeping at least 2 defensives available is recommended. Each pair of stims counts as a defensive, though make sure if you have 4 stims that you use 2 immediately and then use regular defensives until it is safe to use again.

• (If necessary) Be prepared to swap with the battery runner due to Tired stacks. This may be necessary if the off-tank is running the battery and is not a Shadow / Assassin.

The Flare healer has the toughest job by way of needing to coordinate keeping heals on the group and picking up flares as soon as possible after they are done being produced at the flare station (NE on the map). That healer needs to communicate with the battery runner about (1) their available supply of flares (below 3 is a red flag); and (2) their timing for going to get more flares. Ideally, the battery runner will try to move towards the flare station at the same time as the flare healer, so they can start more flares in production as the current ones are picked up.

In terms of flare usage, good placement is critical to minimize stacks of Darkness Overdrive accumulated by Apex. Communicate with your main tank to get a good partnership going on boss kiting and flare placement. Be aware double clicking on the flare will place it directly on top of Apex, which may not be ideal if you are trying to "lead" Apex through a flare.

If Acid Blast puddles are being stacked or placed adjacent to each other on the West side of the room, placing a flare circle with Apex at one end can be very efficient. The flare circle is just wide enough that Apex can be relocated after Acid Blast from one end of the circle to the other. This is highly recommended to maximize uptime of the flares on Apex.

The main healer just needs to execute mechanics and heal their butts off. Save cooldowns for unexpected burst healing phases while the flare healer is grabbing flares. If enough stims are available, having a healer grab a supply of stims can be helpful to Overclock and get a big critical chance buff for burst healing (or someone with stims can use them on the main healer).

DPS need to execute mechanics and be effective in cleansing Contagion without spreading it. Beyond that, the only mechanic they need to follow closely is picking up and using stims for Voltinator. Two DPS need to pick up stims very early in the fight for the first Voltinator. When the first Voltinator happens, the two DPS each pop two stims to get Overclocked and then DPS Apex to break the Voltinator cast.

Depending on group strategy and experience, either the same two DPS can grab stims for each Voltinator or DPS can alternate. Alternating is more efficient, as the "off DPS" can grab stims during the Voltinator cast (when they are doing 0 DPS anyway due to the accuracy debuff). Then the DPS can swap roles so they alternate between DPSing during Voltinator with stims and the other group picking up stims during Voltinator.

If the battery runner can support producing lots of stims, having DPS pick up 4-6 stims in groups of two at a time can be super helpful. Each DPS can use x2 stims at least once in between each Voltinator and still be able to hit stims during Voltinator. The extra uptime on the 12s +100% critical chance buff can dramatically boost DPS and help shorten the encounter.

Saving 2 stims for each DPS during Last Ditch Effort enrage is also recommended to shorten that phase as much as possible.

Running the battery is much more intense in Hard Mode due to two additional stations to make Flares and Stims. There is significantly less downtime and so managing stacks of Tired are significantly more difficult and there is far more moment-to-moment decision making.

Who Should Run the Battery?

In most strategies the battery runner should be a tank or a DPS. I recommend a tank if possible as having a second tank available during the Last Ditch Effort mechanic, so that the death of the main tank will not lead to a wipe at low levels of health.

The optimal class to run the battery is definitely a Shadow / Assassin, followed closely by a Sage / Sorcerer. These classes have Force Speed, which is an AMAZING movement buff for running the battery in Hard Mode. Make sure to take any utilities reducing its cooldown, extending its duration and making the user immune to slows during its duration. It has a low cooldown so can be used for the vast majority of battery movements and despite its short duration can still be used while carrying the battery. This requires some skill to execute. As soon as you click the battery and begin the cast to pick it up, repeatedly click the Force Speed ability button on your mouse/keyboard. If done correctly, you should pick up the battery and get the entire Force Speed that should rapidly get you 75-80% of the way to the next battery station if it's on the same side of the room (and maybe 50% of the way if crossing the room from the Wash station to the Disruptor station).

If your group composition does not include a Shadow / Assassin tank that run the battery, I would recommend having a Sage / Sorcerer DPS be the next best choice. Most other classes will be unable to handle the battery solo for an entire pull. If your group does not have either a Shadow / Assassin tank or Sage / Sorcerer DPS, you should strongly consider having two players share the battery duty and swap as needed. Tanks can do this fairly easily, and DPS as well.

Any other classes should make sure to utilize speed buffs when carrying the battery. Hold the Line, Transcendence, etc., are all helpful. Sentinel / Marauder players should try to use Transcendence / Predation regularly even when not carrying the battery, as it can help speed up the teammate who is carrying the battery.

Battery Station Recap & Priority

Although discussed above, I would like to briefly recap the details for each battery, some thoughts around priority and a few tips:

• Disruptor / Radar Lock station (N on the map above): Consumes all battery charges to cleanse Mass Target Lock from all players. Must be cleansed within 30s of Mass Target Lock being applied to avoid Bombardment damage that will almost certainly wipe the group.

The Disruptor station takes top priority anytime Mass Target Lock goes out as it is the only mechanic that is a guaranteed wipe if not executed successfully. Only 1 charge is required to activate the station, so generally a battery recharge is not needed. If the battery is empty when Mass Target Lock goes out, only plug in the battery long enough to get 1-2 charges then take it out as the extra charge will be wasted anyway.

Depending on your position when Mass Target Lock goes out, in some cases you can make a brief pit stop along the way. If you are seconds away from activating a Wash to clear Acid Blast circles, it is fine to go ahead and hit it as long as you can go straight to the Disruptor station without needing a battery recharge. Similarly, if you are on your way to the Flare station it is normally fine to go ahead and get some flares into production. The same caveat applies to make sure you save at least one charge to activate the Disruptor station.

With regards to managing stacks of Tired, the most dangerous path is going to the Disruptor station from either the Wash or Stim stations. Those involve a long walk even using Force Speed or Transcendence and can lead to picking up 10 stacks of Tired in one go. I recommend using a Stim for extra movement speed any time you need to go from Wash or Stim to the Disruptor station.

Keep in mind that you will have to recharge the battery after Disruptor, so communicate with your team. The tank and flare healer will need to know so they can plan whether to keep using flares or temporarily stop flares due to the pending lights coming on and Darkness Overdrive stacks falling off.

• Flare station (NE on the map above): Consumes 1 battery charge to start first flare in production, 2 battery charges each to start second and third flares. Flares take 45 seconds to be produced. The lights on the panel well above the station (graphic in map above) change colors to denote status. Green means a flare is ready to be picked up. Brown means a flare is in production. Red means a flare slot is empty and ready to start a flare in production.

After Disruptor station, the Flare station takes second priority in most circumstances. Each flare lasts 20s to debuff Apex Vanguard to prevent accretion of Darkness Overdrive stacks. The flare station can produce up to 3 flares in 45s, which collectively provide 60s of cumulative coverage on Apex. Apex also has some periodic downtime during and immediately before/after battery recharge, as the lights coming on will cause him to drop stacks of Darkness Overdrive. All of this combines to mean that you need to have flares in production as often as possible but do have some safety margin.

I strongly recommend active and constant communication with your flare healer about (1) how many flares they have on their person; and (2) the timing for when they go to pick up more flares. Ideally you would like to go to the flare station with them so you can start new flares in production as soon as the fresh ones are picked up, or shortly thereafter. It is very tough

• Vent / Fan station (E on the map above): Consumes 2 battery charges to activate the fans to cleanse the Red Venom DoT from players. Players pick up 1 stack of the Red Venom DoT every 2s while Red Venom Cloud is active.

Many groups will find their healers begin to fall behind on healing around 8-10 stacks and deaths start to happen in the 15-20 range. This translates to a desired window of activating the Vent station within 16-20s of Red Venom Cloud going out and needing to hit it by 30s. This is true for other reasons, as frequently a Mass Target Lock will go out after 30s and put you further behind if you haven't cleansed Red Venom Cloud yet.

Do not panic if Red Venom Cloud goes out while you still need to charge the battery. If you move quickly, you can easily take the battery to recharge, take it out after recharge, and head to the Vent station and cleanse without any deaths. Just make sure to communicate if it will be a longer time until cleanse so they can hit defensives and/or medpacs as needed.

• Stim station (SE on the map above): Requires at least 1 battery charge to activate but does not consume any battery charges. Once activated by clicking the square panel on the front right console, 1 stim will be produced every 2 seconds in the tray on the front left console. Clicking the tray picks up one stim. The console will deactivate if it reaches a full tray of 12 stims and can be reactivated after picking up 1 or more stims and reclicking the square panel on the front right console.

The Stim station takes bottom priority for the battery carrier. As discussed below, you should be able to manufacture 10 or more stims early in the encounter and your group strategy may be fine with just that. Alternatively, you may want tanks, healers and DPS to all carry stims for movement speed (battery carrier), defense buff (tanks), breaking Voltinator (DPS) or just a useful cooldown (healers/DPS). If you need to keep making stims, it is a great way to use downtime when you need to drop stacks of Tired.

I highly encourage active use of the Stim station. Any time you are at the Vent or Wash stations and have 10 seconds or more to spare, plug it in and make 4-5 stims. The battery carrier can easily use 6-8 stims during a fight all on their own to help with movement. The tanks may want 2 each for the final 5% enrage. The DPS will need at least 4 per Voltinator to break the cast, and any extra stims for DPS and healers can be great due to the +100% critical chance buff.

The only time when stims are a priority are when DPS assigned to Voltinator have less than 2 stims each and insufficient stims are at the station to restock them. Otherwise, it is a help if you have time but can be avoided for any other station.

• Wash station (S on the map above): Consumes 2 battery charges to active power washers that cleanse the floor of any AoE puddles from Acid Blast or Contagion. The effect lingers for a few seconds and will cleanse Acid Blast or Contagion circles dropped within a very short time after activating the Wash.

The Wash station is lower priority than Disruptor to cleanse Mass Target Lock, Vent to cleanse Red Venom Cloud, or keeping an adequate number of flares in production. That said, you will need to wash the floors periodically and need to communicate with your tank. I highly suggest getting the main tank to give you a heads up when they get Acid Blast and have 2 spots left to drop them. That gives you around 30-40s until they are out of room, with some emergency time left if they stack 2 Acid Blasts. That should be plenty of time to deal with Mass Target Lock and/or Red Venom Cloud, recharge, then head to Wash quickly. In those scenarios, get the Wash done first then head to Flares if they are next as it is okay to delay Flares by 10s to get a wash done.

The only other comment is to be wary of Tired stacks. It will seem very common that you are heading from Wash to either Disruptor to cleanse Mass Target Lock or Flares. That can add up to a LOT of Tired stacks. Hit a stim if you have one to help or make a brief pit stop to recharge the battery first to break up the movement some, or ask for a Transcendence / Predation if its available.

Don't Get Exhausted - Handling Tired stacks

Managing Tired stacks is another mechanic that needs attention, especially if the battery runner is going solo for the entire fight. You pick up stacks of Tired significantly faster carrying the battery than they do when not carrying the battery. There will naturally be some downtime anytime you

1. Recharge the battery (should drop 2-3 stacks of Tired)

2. Produce stims (usually at least 2-3, can drop 6+ if you produce 12 or more stims)

3. Plug the battery into a device station (can drop 1-2 most times without major issues), or

4. Drop the battery on the ground or leave it plugged in to help DPS Apex

My thought process when carrying the battery is to try and go as quickly as possible when below 5 stacks of Tired. Any time I plug in the battery to a device, I make sure to let 1 stack drop off then go to the next one. I also do not pull the battery as soon as it recharges without waiting for more stacks to drop off. I try to use Force Speed as often as possible but will not wait for it if it's still on cooldown.

When I get into the 5-15 range, I try to be a little more deliberate about dropping stacks. Unless I am in danger territory (Mass Target Lock or Red Venom is active, tank needs a Wash badly, healer running low on flares), I will take an extra couple seconds at each station to drop a second stack of Tired. I also will wait to carry the battery each time until Force Speed is off cooldown. I will use a stim anytime I go from Wash or Stim to Disruptor station.

If you get into the 15+ range, I get much more pro-active to find times to drop stacks. I only carry the battery when Force Speed or a Stim is available to buff my speed. I also try to use those times to make Stims, as staying still for 15-20s to make stims is super helpful to get back down to a manageable load of Tired.

If you get more than 20 stacks, you will likely need a swap for someone else to carry the battery until you get back down to 5 or lower.

Keep in mind that the more stacks you have, the more you will pick up from each battery carry. Be as proactive as you can be to keep stacks very low and use movement abilities like Force Speed and stims liberally.

Initial Battery Running Path

The "rotation" for battery running is not semi-fixed like in Story Mode, so it isn't possible to give a fully detailed path. However, the opening few minutes of the fight are fixed and so are fairly easy to provide a fixed path to get you through the early stages of the fight.

Beginning when the Power Transformer is damaged (opening the access panel to reach the battery):

• Extract the battery from the transformer (have 6 charges)

• Go to Flare station and start x3 flares in production (uses 5 charges, have 1 left)

• Return to the transformer and recharge the battery (back to 6 charges)

Contagion usually goes out just before or during taking the battery to Stims. I usually take the battery to Stims, start production, then move away to cleanse. You may want to cleanse first, which is fine. Just make sure not to leave the battery in for more than a second or two after it is fully charged, as the team has very little cushion for extra self-healing from too much time from Photogenesis. If you carry Contagion while going to Stims, you may need some healing during or after cleansing.

• Go to Stim station and start Stims in production. Make sure to grab at least 2 (more if you have time to make 10+ stims). Keep making stims until Red Venom cloud goes out. (uses no charges, still have 6)

Batch of 3 flares usually finish production during this time. Make sure healer starts heading to pick up flares around the time Red Venom Cloud goes out.

• Go to Vent station and cleanse Red Venom Cloud (uses 2 charges, have 4 left)

• Go to Flare station and start x2 flares in production (uses 3 charges, have 1 left)

• Go to Disruptor station and use station after Mass Target Lock goes out (uses all charges, have 0 left)

• Go to Transformer to recharge battery (back up to 6 charges)

• Go to Wash station to cleanse Acid Blast and Contagion puddles on floor (uses 2 charges, have 4 left)

• Beyond this point it becomes tougher to predict a fixed path. At this point I would normally start a third Flare in production and try to make more Stims afterwards until either Red Venom or Mass Target Lock goes out. Then follow the overall priority discussed above (Disruptor > Flares = Vent > Wash > Stims).

Other Tips and Tricks

Be very communicative with your main tank and flare healer. You all need to be on the same page for when you plan to plug in the battery to recharge (means they can save a Flare), when a Wash is needed (you need to take the battery there within 30s or so) and when flares have been started / are ready / have been picked up.

I highly suggest calling out your movement order as much as possible. I will frequently say something along the lines of "I am headed to Disruptor for Target Lock, then will recharge, start 3 flares, recharge, then will Wash if possible before next Red Venom / Radar Lock then will make Stims until flares are ready." You don't need to be that detailed but the more aware you are and help your team to be, the more successful you will be.

MAKE SURE TO TAKE OUT THE BATTERY QUICKLY WHEN RECHARGING. Photogenesis heals very quickly and depending on your DPS you can run into enrage issues with Peak Performance stacks. Only ever let the battery stay plugged in if Apex Vanguard has lots of Darkness Overdrive stacks and you need to get them down to manageable levels.