How are you supposed to do the crab fight in WPM as melee?

[Question2005]

Other than zerging it down with lots of DPS obviously.

As melee, the crab keeps knocking you away and keeps running over you from one side of the arena to the other. Theres a time limit due to the water rising. If you stand with your back to the walls, the crab still knocks you away and you get hit by the water jets to boot. Its very hard to do dps as melee with it constantly running over or away from you.

If the water level gets too high, anyone you res usually dies near instantly. Or they get hit by a random AOE/ran over.

Tried moving to the starting tunnel to find time to heal/res, didnt work because the crab had no problems following me there.

The entire fight seems to be anti-melee and is designed to be cheesed by ranged/casters standing on a rock who dont have to deal with any of the problems in the fight.

Yes, I know some of the rocks stay above the water line. Only works if you are ranged/casters as otherwise the crab will knock you off the rock constantly or just run over you. Or run away from you.

[noinfo]

Other than zerging it down with lots of DPS obviously.

As melee, the crab keeps knocking you away and keeps running over you from one side of the arena to the other. Theres a time limit due to the water rising. If you stand with your back to the walls, the crab still knocks you away and you get hit by the water jets to boot. Its very hard to do dps as melee with it constantly running over or away from you.

If the water level gets too high, anyone you res usually dies near instantly. Or they get hit by a random AOE/ran over.

Tried moving to the starting tunnel to find time to heal/res, didnt work because the crab had no problems following me there.

The entire fight seems to be anti-melee and is designed to be cheesed by ranged/casters standing on a rock who dont have to deal with any of the problems in the fight.

Yes, I know some of the rocks stay above the water line. Only works if you are ranged/casters as otherwise the crab will knock you off the rock constantly or just run over you. Or run away from you.

You say cheesed by ranged who seem to suffer as much there with deflected...

Its a dps race that room pure and simple.

[Enoach]

Well first off, you seem to have a misunderstanding about ranged combat in this situations. The crab has a chance to deflect ranged shots. So not every shot is a hit.

Yes this is a DPS race because the water fills the room. One tactic to help avoid being knocked across the room is to use the "Block" feature when the crab charges, another tactic is to play more like a successful bull fighter in that you are not there when the charge comes through.

If you find it is taking a bit to be able to stand up after being knocked down look to your Balance Skill, you may need to give that a boost.

If you find you are simply not doing enough damage, look to using a more specific weapon(s) for this combat that can do extra damage vs the Crab.

[Alled78]

Other than zerging it down with lots of DPS obviously.

As melee, the crab keeps knocking you away and keeps running over you from one side of the arena to the other. Theres a time limit due to the water rising. If you stand with your back to the walls, the crab still knocks you away and you get hit by the water jets to boot. Its very hard to do dps as melee with it constantly running over or away from you.

If the water level gets too high, anyone you res usually dies near instantly. Or they get hit by a random AOE/ran over.

Tried moving to the starting tunnel to find time to heal/res, didnt work because the crab had no problems following me there.

The entire fight seems to be anti-melee and is designed to be cheesed by ranged/casters standing on a rock who dont have to deal with any of the problems in the fight.

Yes, I know some of the rocks stay above the water line. Only works if you are ranged/casters as otherwise the crab will knock you off the rock constantly or just run over you. Or run away from you.

Thisis the real challenge of this quest.
I really like it to be a single boss fight more difficult than usual easyend boss

[Loromir]

If you find you are simply not doing enough damage, look to using a more specific weapon(s) for this combat that can do extra damage vs the Crab.

I may be wrong...but I think the crab is vulnerable to cold damage.

[HungarianRhapsody]

A weapon with lots and lots of vermin bane would also be handy...

[AbyssalMage]

Did they fix it so you can't fight the Crab at the point of where you drop down without being "boiled?" I know I have done r1's in the past where The Crab is pulled back to that area to avoid the "boiling water." Still was a pain.

And yes, The Crab has a chance to deflect missile/ranged attacks making it really annoying (I would guess 50% but I am sure someone who has ran it more than me can probably make a better educated guess).

[SpartanKiller13]

Other than zerging it down with lots of DPS obviously.

I've never had a problem DPSing it down? And I tend to build tankier vs DPS max lol. Having a charge/dash of some sort helps a lot so you can stay on it, but maybe bring a hire if you need more healing?

As far as ranged/mages, if you are out of close proximity for a short time the crab raises its arms, and becomes immune to damage (or close to it). I'd argue it's easier as a melee, at least then you're expecting to get hit.

[banjo174]

I wasn't aware that the crab fight was hard? I have no issues soloing it on epic r1 as a melee. Unless the OP is trying to solo it on a higher difficulty. In which case, I would tell him to get a group instead.

[Tyrande]

Other than zerging it down with lots of DPS obviously.[...]

Yes, I know some of the rocks stay above the water line. Only works if you are ranged/casters as otherwise the crab will knock you off the rock constantly or just run over you. Or run away from you.

Get a DPS group with ranged and casters like you said?

[TitusOvid]

I dance around the cap and save 3 action boosts for the fight. Works so far.

[hp1055cm]

The entire fight seems to be anti-melee and is designed to be cheesed by ranged/casters standing on a rock who dont have to deal with any of the problems in the fight.

More DPS always helps.
Don't take aggro if you can't handle it.
Bring more friends along with you who aren't prone to give up so easy.
Dodge/evasion may help some.
Balance helps some.
Harper pin, unstoppable and other effects help some.

Try a lesser difficulty setting. I assume your are running the epic version, which is slightly harder, but it helps the rest of us who aren't quite as omniscient to know some of the relevant details when offering advice. That is unless you prefer the general sarcastic type of advice.

The only cheese involved is pulling the crab back to the entrance if you are over-matched.

[bls904c2]

i have knock down immunity from a few places so dont know if it is from one of those or just blocking at the right time but i have no problems being knocked down in that fight. i am a agro tank thou.

i take the crab by the wall and i block when he spits water at you and when he charges.

when he charges he seems to glitch through me or runs by me to the other side either way, i turn around and attack him again.

unyielding sentinel has cores steadfast/ standing against the tide
warlock has his float thingy in enlightened spirit
druid has 4 legs good

but over all i think the crab is in the same crowd as dragons, giants, the hut (baba), driders silk line. just need to block for those. IMHO knock down immunity is really only good againts trip skill checks.

edit i was a agro tank with a intimi in 130's. intimi works and doesn't work at all it is more random agro to those near it.

it is a much easier fight having one person take the crab by the wall and everyone else ranging it from a safe distance but with that said i have been in a battle where all 6 of us is melee dps. it comes down to blocking at the right moment and staying by the walls where there is ground above the water rising.

[krimsonrane]

2 ways to solve the problem. Either have the DPS needed to take him down quick or don't solo it. Bring a few friends.

[droid327]

I may be wrong...but I think the crab is vulnerable to cold damage.

And cocktail sauce

[Brandwynn]

My Strategy has been keep moving and hit the suc- the monster fast and continuously. DPS is the key here. Yes I have soloed and ran with my wife. She shot and I ran in and did the damage with my Great Axe. We took the litt- the monster down. Was it an easy fight. No, but once you learn that keeping the monster moving where you want. It becomes a question of making every hit count and not hitting the walls to much. **Shrugs** Everyone has different play styles.

[Ralmeth]

There are no easy ways to fight the crab as a melee. He has his own pattern of where he runs / charges to, when he attacks, etc. If you had all day, you could work the pattern: jump in to attack while he's busy hitting the wall, get out of the way before his charge, etc, but you don't have that luxury as you want to kill him if you can before he lets the water in. As a result, the crab fight is a DPS race. I try to save all or most of my DPS boosts for that fight, and of course you want as good a DPS as you can get. In addition, when you get damaged or knocked down you need to get back into the fight ASAP, so it's helpful to either shield block before the crab charges and/or have a decent balance skill so you can get back up quickly. In addition, when you get damaged you need to get healed quickly so you can get back into melee range ASAP. I don't think it's a good idea to rely on a hireling in that fight to keep you healed because they will likely get killed, not heal you quickly enough, etc. So you're better off being able to heal yourself (ex. quickened cure spells), or bring friends to help you with the fight, or if nothing really works then perhaps lower the difficulty.

[leesun]

break the barriers to let the scalding water pour into the room

DD scroll out

let crab stay in boiling water for, assuming crab is 3/4 ton, around 12.5 hours

get to know your party members during cooking process

send warforged into boiling water to acquire crab

breakout the garlic kobold butter and breadsticks

[Lynnabel]

break the barriers to let the scalding water pour into the room

DD scroll out

let crab stay in boiling water for, assuming crab is 3/4 ton, around 12.5 hours

get to know your party members during cooking process

send warforged into boiling water to acquire crab

breakout the garlic kobold butter and breadsticks

Post of the year, pack it up everyone the forums are done

[Steelstar]

break the barriers to let the scalding water pour into the room

DD scroll out

let crab stay in boiling water for, assuming crab is 3/4 ton, around 12.5 hours

get to know your party members during cooking process

send warforged into boiling water to acquire crab

breakout the garlic kobold butter and breadsticks

*sends tell for party invite immediately*

[vms4ever]

Post of the year, pack it up everyone the forums are done

Is this included in tomorrow's patch?

[Talon_Moonshadow]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln8vnCYNm68

[Captain_Wizbang]

I solo'ed WPM when it came out on a tempest rngr w/ onyx panther & FVS hire. (Lvl 11 Elite)

I had glitterdust scrolls, a web wand, and solid fog clickies.

The Glitterdust works well, as the crabs will saves are low.

Stood on a rock, cast Entangle on top of each other, the glitterdust & fog, slowed it down enough for me to get it down relatively fast. The panther & hire took most of the aggro,



**edit** Adding this disclaimer for those of you actually thinking this is a legit tactic. ***

Giant crab, Red Name, lvl 12 w/ a lvl 18 panther............GLITTERDUST .....UUMMMMM

[Arctigis]

I solo'ed WPM when it came out on a tempest rngr w/ onyx panther & FVS hire. (Lvl 11 Elite)

I had glitterdust scrolls, a web wand, and solid fog clickies.

The Glitterdust works well, as the crabs will saves are low.

Stood on a rock, cast Entangle on top of each other, the glitterdust & fog, slowed it down enough for me to get it down relatively fast. The panther & hire took most of the aggro,

Crab is Red Named (even on Heroic) is it not?

[janave]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln8vnCYNm68

Still super trailer! :)

WPM is pretty well designed to promote a group effort, i see a lot of players posting for group for WPM even regular soloers, except the Vampire boss needs to be harder for ranged, and the Ogre harder for casters, then its pretty evenish for each playstyle.

[Saekee]

FYI in case in RL you are attacked by a giant crab, they run SIDEWAYS

edit: yes they can move forward but that would not be their 'charge'

[Lynnabel]

Crab is Red Named (even on Heroic) is it not?

Yes. None of the CC listed should actually affect it. If you find some CC is actually working on rednames, we'd appreciate you telling us :)

[banjo174]

Yes. None of the CC listed should actually affect it. If you find some CC is actually working on rednames, we'd appreciate you telling us :)

As if someone would tell you if something is making a fight easier, when its not supposed to :P . . .

[Lynnabel]

As if someone would tell you if something is making a fake easier, when its not supposed to :P . . .

Hey, I'm optimistic! :P worst case scenario here no one says anything and I'm right where I was before, best case scenario I get to pin down some bugs. Win/win.

[banjo174]

Hey, I'm optimistic! :P worst case scenario here no one says anything and I'm right where I was before, best case scenario I get to pin down some bugs. Win/win.

I suppose so. *gotta love when brain types the wrong word, and don't notice until someone responds*.

[Revolted]

Crab is Red Named (even on Heroic) is it not?

More than that. Ain't the panther ml 18? and who at that level won't take the aggro from the panther? I call BS.

[banjo174]

More than that. Ain't the panther ml 18? and who at that level won't take the aggro from the panther? I call BS.

Better question would be... Who at level 18 couldn't solo a level 11 quest *thinking*

[Captain_Wizbang]

Yes. None of the CC listed should actually affect it. If you find some CC is actually working on rednames, we'd appreciate you telling us :)


Sometimes a joke is just that, If anyone thinks for one second glitterdust would slow down a giant red named crab......

I wonder how many people went and tried it? :cool:

[Wipey]

It's dps check so blitz, tenser, boosts.
Don't get hit - Displace, Hood, Uncanny Dodge, Meld, Elaborate parry etc. Survive more hits - better prr, Thick Skin.
Debuff if possible - vulnerability, Jade strike, assassin trick, exposing strike, cracking attack, hunter mark, rebuke, LGS salt, prr debuff from Suffering or Taint the aura, destruction, sunder or whatever you have.

I don't know about heroic but any melee should be able to kill it alone on r1 or 2.

And "ranged or caster cheese" ? Just no, get more melee deeps - as is the solution to most "problems".

[banjo174]

It's dps check so blitz, tenser, boosts.
Don't get hit - Displace, Hood, Uncanny Dodge, Meld, Elaborate parry etc. Survive more hits - better prr, Thick Skin.
Debuff if possible - vulnerability, Jade strike, assassin trick, hunter mark, rebuke, LGS salt, prr debuff from Suffering or Taint the aura, destruction, sunder or whatever you have.

I don't know about heroic but any melee should be able to kill it alone on r1 or 2.

And "ranged or caster cheese" ? Just no, get more melee deeps - as is the solution to most "problems".

^^^^^

Definitely over kill. Any melee DPS should be able to kill this boss SOLO on R1 Both Heroic, and Epic... Granted, if you are doing it under level, or if you are trying to solo it above R1 and complaining about your inability to solo it. You need to get out. :P

[cdbd3rd]

Sometimes a joke is just that, If anyone thinks for one second glitterdust would slow down a giant red named crab......

I wonder how many people went and tried it? :cool:

Ya never know.

How often do you get to see a Stunned ooze?

https://i.imgur.com/XFbkQmh.jpg

:)

[banjo174]

Ya never know.

How often do you get to see a Stunned ooze?

https://i.imgur.com/XFbkQmh.jpg

:)

Whenever a shiradi is in the group... Nerve Venom... Or whenever a colors procs from past life...

[Captain_Wizbang]

Ya never know.

How often do you get to see a Stunned ooze?


:)

S&B stun builds do it all the time :cool:

CD, I thought more people would catch on to *glitterdust - Red Name* and get a kick out of it. :rolleyes: ...nope.

https://media.giphy.com/media/3ohs7KViF6rA4aan5u/giphy.gif

[Question2005]

Im pretty sure the druid knockdown immunity doesnt work against the crab. I was druid last life.

Yea if you have optimal gear you can DPS it down, I dont since monk requires lots of raid gear. Couldnt get sneak attack either since I had aggro.

Most of the entrance does get covered by boiling water exept for a small rock and the crab can follow you there with no problems, as I discovered.

Main issue in parties is that its just really annoying as melee. Ranged doesnt have to move, they can sit on a rock and keep shooting. Even if shots get deflected, its nowhere near as bad as having to chase the crab from one end to the other, getting knocked away/down and having to deal with the boiling water/jets. All of which are basically anti melee obstacles only.

I have seen the Crab sometimes get confused and keep turning in place...but I dont think theres a consistent way to get it to do that. Was wondering if there was a fight mechanic that i was missing...like having to smash sarcophagi in the Bloody Crypt. But apparently its just a brainless DPS race? Thats really dissapointing.

Speaking of annoying mobs...is there a trick to fighting Drek-tooth, the bugbear who keeps turning invulnerable every 6s or so? Cant even CC him as hes a red named....way too many red nameds in general IMHO. Only main bosses should be red nameds, random mini bosses that appear halfway through should be oranged named. I mean, thats the entire concept of a mini boss right?

[banjo174]

Im pretty sure the druid knockdown immunity doesnt work against the crab. I was druid last life.

What druid immunity to knock down? I wasn't aware that druids gained this immunity anywhere? Please point it out so I can be proven wrong.


Yea if you have optimal gear you can DPS it down, I dont since monk requires lots of raid gear. Couldnt get sneak attack either since I had aggro.

This isn't true... If you have invested points into bluff you can bluff the enemy for sneak attack damage. Also, you can use deception items for more sneak attack, there are a ton of deception items apart from raid gear.


Main issue in parties is that its just really annoying as melee. Ranged doesnt have to move, they can sit on a rock and keep shooting. Even if shots get deflected, its nowhere near as bad as having to chase the crab from one end to the other, getting knocked away/down and having to deal with the boiling water/jets. All of which are basically anti melee obstacles only.

Yes... Some boss fights have mechanics, I wish more boss fights would have mechanics, do we roll over and complain when a game actually makes you work for something? Sounds to me like you are playing the wrong class honestly.


I have seen the Crab sometimes get confused and keep turning in place...but I dont think theres a consistent way to get it to do that. Was wondering if there was a fight mechanic that i was missing...like having to smash sarcophagi in the Bloody Crypt. But apparently its just a brainless DPS race? Thats really dissapointing.

This usually happens on enemies that are being aggroed to two different sources. Usually when DPS is pretty equal between two players, the aggro will shift constantly, making the enemy turn back and forth.


Speaking of annoying mobs...is there a trick to fighting Drek-tooth, the bugbear who keeps turning invulnerable every 6s or so? Cant even CC him as hes a red named....way too many red nameds in general IMHO. Only main bosses should be red nameds, random mini bosses that appear halfway through should be oranged named. I mean, thats the entire concept of a mini boss right?

Well, to be fair. This is the final adventure of the adventure pack, each end of the tunnel has a crest that is a main objective, as well as loot, and a shrine. It is only natural that they are red names.




(Can't wait for you to start complaining about how archers and casters will run away from you trying to kill them :P)

[Eelpout]

Other than zerging it down with lots of DPS obviously.

As melee, the crab keeps knocking you away and keeps running over you from one side of the arena to the other. Theres a time limit due to the water rising. If you stand with your back to the walls, the crab still knocks you away and you get hit by the water jets to boot. Its very hard to do dps as melee with it constantly running over or away from you.

If the water level gets too high, anyone you res usually dies near instantly. Or they get hit by a random AOE/ran over.

Tried moving to the starting tunnel to find time to heal/res, didnt work because the crab had no problems following me there.

The entire fight seems to be anti-melee and is designed to be cheesed by ranged/casters standing on a rock who dont have to deal with any of the problems in the fight.

Yes, I know some of the rocks stay above the water line. Only works if you are ranged/casters as otherwise the crab will knock you off the rock constantly or just run over you. Or run away from you.

Even Maui and Moana had to DDoor out. So if even a Demigod can't beat a Decapod...You are SOL

Sorry. I have a 3 year old. Silly things amuse me.

[Revolted]

Im pretty sure the druid knockdown immunity doesnt work against the crab. I was druid last life.

Yea if you have optimal gear you can DPS it down, I dont since monk requires lots of raid gear. Couldnt get sneak attack either since I had aggro.

Most of the entrance does get covered by boiling water exept for a small rock and the crab can follow you there with no problems, as I discovered.

Main issue in parties is that its just really annoying as melee. Ranged doesnt have to move, they can sit on a rock and keep shooting. Even if shots get deflected, its nowhere near as bad as having to chase the crab from one end to the other, getting knocked away/down and having to deal with the boiling water/jets. All of which are basically anti melee obstacles only.

I have seen the Crab sometimes get confused and keep turning in place...but I dont think theres a consistent way to get it to do that. Was wondering if there was a fight mechanic that i was missing...like having to smash sarcophagi in the Bloody Crypt. But apparently its just a brainless DPS race? Thats really dissapointing.

Speaking of annoying mobs...is there a trick to fighting Drek-tooth, the bugbear who keeps turning invulnerable every 6s or so? Cant even CC him as hes a red named....way too many red nameds in general IMHO. Only main bosses should be red nameds, random mini bosses that appear halfway through should be oranged named. I mean, thats the entire concept of a mini boss right?

Ok let me try to answer this.
Four Legs Good works on MOST knockdown, it doesn't grant immunity to ALL knockdowns.

Now, following your logic that rangers don't need to move, but that the crab can get to you in the rock quite easily, how do you figure that the rangers won't need to move, or get tossed around when in the rock? More than that, it's usual that ranged toons have less HP/PRR than melees, so they'll die faster when the crab gets to them. It's not anti-melee obstacle, it's you having to figure how to get away from the jets. If you don't have enough dps to kill it fast, just try to keep away from being knocked into the jets, you can time crab charge.

It's hardly a brainless dps race, as you couldn't figure how to do it on your own ;) For example, most parties will have an hard time in there at r7+ (as you can never win that race), still many can do it, I did it some times, depending on the group.

Now think about the "too many red nameds" for a bit. If they were orange, you'd be telling it was unfair for melees, because casters can cc/instakill and rangeds would just keep it knocked down. Actually, red-names are implemented because there were many, before you, crying about the opposite, so they do it so melees (even the weakest of them) can feel usefull in any difficulty. The way to kill him, is to keep hitting him whenever he pops up.

Now mind you, this is a game, that has maaaany options on difficulty, for each quest. If you can't do the difficulty you tried, you do lower and get better so you can do higher! I can solo it on r3 at endgame without troubles, but I know that if I would try r5 I would probably fail, so I keep doing it until I feel I can solo an higher difficulty.

[blerkington]

I dance around the cap and save 3 action boosts for the fight. Works so far.

This has worked well for me too.

The crab turns slowly so running around it while attacking really reduces knockbacks. That makes for a less painful kill and means you aren't wasting your boosts, buffs and special attacks by being bumped away as you try to use them and then missing and wasting time getting back into position as they expire.

But if you're in a group with other melees make sure they're on board with this approach before using it. Otherwise you might just be making the fight harder and more dangerous for them.

On a side note, it's really weird to see ranged and caster playstyles being described as cheesing this encounter. That's how those builds are designed to play. Most of the annoying stuff melees experience in DDO when facing large enemies can be solved with aggro management and good positioning.

Thanks.

[Rubysblade]

so far the crab fight hasn't really been to tough I had a tough time on r7 but I play as a druid sword and board only took a bit to kill him bc I use creeping/greater creeping cold with the bow from baba for cold vulnerability for higher dps but I can see where it can get tough with the hot water hitting for so much and the crabs knock down effects probably best to stand on a rock and block with a shield when he charges that's what I do ;)

[Captain_Wizbang]

I guess I should post a serious reply.

I've only solo'ed WPM on my Vanguard S&B heroic leet at level. The crab wasn't my issue, the optional mud-men were however.

[Wipey]

For example, most parties will have an hard time in there at r7+ (as you can never win that race), still many can do it, I did it some times, depending on the group.
Having done 7 or 8 few times and r10 twice, four proper melees with hjealer ( and usually cc as 6th member so not that good deeps ) will win "the race" quite soundly.

And once again, this "easy caster and ranged party" myth perpetuated is rather comical for anyone familiar with the higher epic reaper play.

[Revolted]

Having done 7 or 8 few times and r10 twice, four proper melees with hjealer ( and usually cc as 6th member so not that good deeps ) will win "the race" quite soundly.

And once again, this "easy caster and ranged party" myth perpetuated is rather comical for anyone familiar with the higher epic reaper play.

True, my atempts were less stellar, but the party wasn't very well composed, too many warlocks!! Still have done some r8's. Never atempted r10 on that one, never had "that" party

[banjo174]

True, my atempts were less stellar, but the party wasn't very well composed, too many warlocks!! Still have done some r8's. Never atempted r10 on that one, never had "that" party

But warlocks are the bestomus :P

[leesun]

@OPif a swash, rogue, monk, barb try more balance and reflex save. if bruiser, go for more ac and prr. if tank, get stronger teammates. all around, get more dps.


Post of the year, pack it up everyone the forums are done

Stormreach has yet to be made great, again! Platinum is horribly inflated!!! Halflings are reprobates!!! There is still much use for the forums!! I know it, you know it, everyone knows it!


*sends tell for party invite immediately*

I lurk on the Cannith server. After I teach you a thing or two you'll evolve from a Steelstar to a Qusongitequasar.

[HuneyMunster]

Yes. None of the CC listed should actually affect it. If you find some CC is actually working on rednames, we'd appreciate you telling us :)

Though not CC, but does Fog Cloud concealment part still work on red names? The same applies to other concealment parts of clouds such as Solid Fog and Cloudkill?

[Alrik_Fassbauer]

A weapon with lots and lots of vermin bane would also be handy...

Like the one from the Anniversary Event ?

[Shadow_Jumper]

Halflings are reprobates!!!

I resemble this remark.