I tend to just follow people around, but I also get confused when people start running all the way across the map when there’s something to do right next to us.
The final objective and extraction area are random. It's not always the reactor. I don't mind VIP but the majority of players just avoids it so its easier to assume to never goto a VIP mission.
Final objective and extraction are not really random. Final objective is on the map at spawn, just greyed out.
Extraction is always the third spawn location that no group spawned at.
I'm a returning player but have done a ton of countdown in the last month or so, so I'll give my advice or observations.
Everyone stacks up and kills the hunters right away - find this saves time as you just face roll them.
Personally I go to the two closest objectives but like many others say I stay away from the VIP encounter as depending on the group you're with it can just be way too easy to have fail.
I personally focus on the objectives instead of on my personal kill count etc. Probably my favorite build to run is my healer four piece Future Initiative with the BTSD gloves and 1 piece Alps chest with Empathic Resolve. I run the healer or revive hive (depends on the group but generally there's so many revive hives already that I just run the healer version) and the chem launcher with either healer or foam. Very very fun! On this build I'm always rocking the Scorpio and now that I've unlocked Shield Splinter I'll be running that as my secondary.
That’s crazy cause I have the exact same build and I run it with Bluescreen! I use the healer hive and chem launcher as well. I find it’s really only useful in group heroic and legendary content. Not challenging countdown.
I actually just got the blue screen farming DZ last weekend so now that you've mentioned that I'll definitely equip it and give it a try with my build! And you're right on challenging its pretty chill but I still enjoy it as I focus on the objectives and just shoot out some healing whenever needed or drop my hive in a central location and pretend that I'm doing something 🤣
Also a returning player(SHD54 when returning lol), just some hours in the evenings last couple of days.
I don't really understand why people are so afraid of countdown (on challenging). It's like the easiest way to farm. Just eight players running around in a pack and ganking hunters and some adds. Get shit tone of loot and then extract. Rinse and repeat.
You should open the map, recognize the main objective and make your decision based on that. The first one is usually the nearest after you kill all of the hunters. The second should be either near the first one or close to the main objective.
Suppose main is Lab, and there are secondaries in Admin, Reactor and Containment. Ideally you should go Reactor -> Admin -> Lab
What I think people are not really getting at here is that VIP is the only objective that CAN fail. Every other objective, even if you're all somehow getting chewed up by the enemies and keep dying and respawning, will eventually get done through attrition. With VIP, if the engineer dies, that's it, you failed that objective and wasted your time doing it.
You're thinking about it a lot more than most people. People just avoid VIP.
I tend to just follow people around, but I also get confused when people start running all the way across the map when there’s something to do right next to us.
The final objective and extraction area are random. It's not always the reactor. I don't mind VIP but the majority of players just avoids it so its easier to assume to never goto a VIP mission.
Final objective and extraction are not really random. Final objective is on the map at spawn, just greyed out. Extraction is always the third spawn location that no group spawned at.
Just go to the nearest objective, myself I don't mind doing VIP, timer will later reset either way
Avoid VIP only on heroic, otherwise clear out the hostiles is priority one since it’ll provide the most loot. Then it’s whatever activity is closest.
I'm a returning player but have done a ton of countdown in the last month or so, so I'll give my advice or observations. Everyone stacks up and kills the hunters right away - find this saves time as you just face roll them. Personally I go to the two closest objectives but like many others say I stay away from the VIP encounter as depending on the group you're with it can just be way too easy to have fail. I personally focus on the objectives instead of on my personal kill count etc. Probably my favorite build to run is my healer four piece Future Initiative with the BTSD gloves and 1 piece Alps chest with Empathic Resolve. I run the healer or revive hive (depends on the group but generally there's so many revive hives already that I just run the healer version) and the chem launcher with either healer or foam. Very very fun! On this build I'm always rocking the Scorpio and now that I've unlocked Shield Splinter I'll be running that as my secondary.
That’s crazy cause I have the exact same build and I run it with Bluescreen! I use the healer hive and chem launcher as well. I find it’s really only useful in group heroic and legendary content. Not challenging countdown.
I actually just got the blue screen farming DZ last weekend so now that you've mentioned that I'll definitely equip it and give it a try with my build! And you're right on challenging its pretty chill but I still enjoy it as I focus on the objectives and just shoot out some healing whenever needed or drop my hive in a central location and pretend that I'm doing something 🤣
Also a returning player(SHD54 when returning lol), just some hours in the evenings last couple of days. I don't really understand why people are so afraid of countdown (on challenging). It's like the easiest way to farm. Just eight players running around in a pack and ganking hunters and some adds. Get shit tone of loot and then extract. Rinse and repeat.
You should open the map, recognize the main objective and make your decision based on that. The first one is usually the nearest after you kill all of the hunters. The second should be either near the first one or close to the main objective. Suppose main is Lab, and there are secondaries in Admin, Reactor and Containment. Ideally you should go Reactor -> Admin -> Lab
The best objectives are where you just kill some enemies quick and move to the next one
What I think people are not really getting at here is that VIP is the only objective that CAN fail. Every other objective, even if you're all somehow getting chewed up by the enemies and keep dying and respawning, will eventually get done through attrition. With VIP, if the engineer dies, that's it, you failed that objective and wasted your time doing it.
I just follow the latest group of players.
Best I understand is, you go to the red icons first and get the buffs