We could enlist a couple of ringers but that would be more reprehensible than putting it aside. We wanted to finish it together like in Wrath of the Machine.

I'd be happy to walk you through some encounter strategies sometime in a xbox live chat if you'd like - we could even visit the first encounter in the Leviathan (which is Gauntlet this week). No ringers for the the raid itself (since it'd still be up to you to execute with your group), but perhaps info and strategy from some of us might help?

-Chappy

Thank you for the offer. We watch videos as we progress. Even with media guidance and a member with more extended experience, we have come to agree it is an age related problem. Not that even older people couldn't succeed where we have failed. I figure, you can't throw just any 'old' people together for a Raid team. They all have to be at the top of their game.

If I played with a group that told themselves that every week, I'd come to believe it, too.

Honestly, DEEP, you'd be foolish not to take Chappy up on his offer. He plays the raids more than anyone I know and can explain them better, too. I try to learn from watching videos, too, but I've yet to find another resource that consistently does what Chappy does, which is present strategies that make the raid safer and easier, not just faster.

I know you've characterized comments in response to you as negative when you express the opinion that you "find the raid is too difficult." (It's rarely stated that mildly, but no matter.) What I've criticized and what I'm put off by now is your fatalism about it. You're a member in good standing here, and there are plenty of people willing to coach you, but you don't ask for help. The best person here who could help offers it, and you dismiss him. SMH.

I mean, what could it harm?

Thank you for the offer. We watch videos as we progress. Even with media guidance and a member with more extended experience, we have come to agree it is an age related problem. Not that even older people couldn't succeed where we have failed. I figure, you can't throw just any 'old' people together for a Raid team. They all have to be at the top of their game.

No worries; good luck on your next run!

Forgive me, I can't resist being a sherpa :)

I still recommend the 2-teams-of-three approach to the gauntlet. There may be more moving parts, but each individual person is has less to do.

[I don't think I've written up the following strategy for ad clears before, but the team shot opportunities below make staying alive much easier - it wasn't until I started doing this that the Prestige Gauntlet started working]

During the initial ad clear, the 3-man dog team should group up right below the dog triangles, and the 3-man cup team should group up below the cup triangles. Ideally each team has a Stormcaller that can put down a healing rift with arc souls. One person should focus on the right side ad door, and one person should focus on the left side ad door, killing enemies as they spawn. The third should swap between the doors, helping to team-shot. After 3-4 waves, the ads will stop spawning – the entire team of three should run to the next quadrant of the room (dogs move to sun, cup moves to axes). It helps if one person on each team calls out ""dog shift/cup shift" to coordinate the movement. There will already be 6-8 enemies in the next quadrant, but a single roaming super can clean all of them up quickly (three people in the team and three running cycles = everyone can use a super once). There will be one wave of 2-3 ads before the yellow bar spawns. Team-shot the yellow bar. Rockets, sword, grenade launcher, whatever works to drop him quick. Immediately run back to Dog/Cup, as the other yellow bar spawned there. The runners should get ready to run, the remaining two should team shot the 2nd yellow bar and then get into their first positions.

The runner should call out the *team* name and the energy location at each barrier, not the symbol above the barrier (e.g. “dog, mid” – even if you’re looking at the axes barrier). The runner doesn’t need to pass through the gap where the psionic energy was located, but they do need to get close enough to replenish their energy. The runner’s thought process should be:

1. Call out “ready” before picking up energy to enter gauntlet
2. Pick up energy close to when the other runner does and before the invisible timer expires
3. Wait for the countdown until the shield drops
4. Begin running to next barrier
5. Look ahead, call out “[team name], [high/mid/low]”
6. Avoid holes in the floor (especially if coming from a high opening)
7. Pick up new energy when barrier falls
8. Pass through an opening
9. Goto step 4

The melee person should wait on the ground between the triangles and the platform. When the call out is made, they should shoot the upper triangle (avoiding the one that was called), and then wait for the runner to pass through the barrier. When they do, a psion spawns that must be meleed. As soon as that happens, the melee person should run to the next quadrant to repeat the process. Assuming a fast runner, the melee person might need to shoot the triangle before they get to where the psion spawns. It’s OK to stop and take that shot before moving into position for the melee (that’s why they get the upper triangle – it’s easier for the melee person to hit from a distance with no cover blocking it). Rinse and repeat 4x. The melee person’s thought process should be:

1. shoot upper triangle (until it goes green)
2. get in position to punch psion when he appears
3. melee psion
4. run to next quadrant
5. Goto step 1

The platform person has an easier job – put your weakest guardians here. They just need to stand on the platform in front of the triangles and shoot the lower triangle (also avoiding the one that was called). As soon as the triangles go green, they should hop off and run to the next quadrant and get on that platform to repeat the process. The platform person’s thought process should be:

1. get on platform
2. shoot lower triangle (until it goes green)
3. run to next quadrant
4. goto step 1

Just as each runner is moving clockwise around the room, his team members are doing the same. One team moves from dogs> sun> cup> axes, and the other moves from cup> axes> dog> sun.

After three running cycles, the entire 6 man fire team will need to pick up energy from the center of the room and run the gauntlet. Since there are not enough energy balls in the gauntlet for everyone to refresh theirs at every barrier, you should alternate by teams. The dog team should not pick up energy at the first, third, and 5th barrier. The cup team should not pick up energy at the second and fourth barrier. If someone falls drastically behind, there will be an extra energy ball available at each barrier. Dog team – “skip the 5th barrier” means jump over the energy balls at the finish line and fly over the finish line – you’ll be teleported out and will probably need to dunk your energy before getting any revives. Cup team – since you’ve got a fresh energy stock at the finish line, you should prioritize revives before dunking. To all runners in the final cycle - the floor panels begin to drop the moment the first guardian picks up energy at the second barrier. If you’re not in front, watch ahead of you and be ready to jump when the person in front gets to that barrier.