Is there a secret to Wardens I'm just not getting?

[wwwJam]

Wardens up through Hazard 3 aren't too big of a deal. The flow of bugs can be stemmed and you can get in there and make them drop the shield and move and/or kill them quickly. But starting in Hazard 4, and especially Hazard 5, the influx of bugs starts to be higher than you can really deal with. Kiting the bugs out from the shield doesn't help because more bugs just take their place as they funnel out of the protective area. They also aren't exactly much slower than the other glyphids, so if you try to kite the whole swarm away, they're not far behind, buying you only a few seconds of killing.

Is that just something I have to live with on H5 in Azure Weald? Eventually I just can't kill 80% of a swarm because I'm unable to interrupt the Wardens? They waltz in already surrounded by bugs, I'm physically blocked from hitting them, let alone killing them. I can't just walk in there, I'd get chewed alive. So what am I supposed to do? It just becomes a walking wall of indestructible bugs and I end up severely underleveled.

Am I just missing something super obvious about them? I just cannot make any headway on H5 in Azure Weald because of them and that doesn't feel right.

[Seb]

Walk on tranpoline, then dive on them while screaming For Karl ! (if you can get them away from group for a sec)

[InterWill]

I don’t think you’re missing anything obvious.

It helps to hunt them down as they spawn, so you don’t end up with a lot of them alive at once.

You sound like you’re on the right track. Along with the small exploders, they are probably the enemies that force you to change up your tactics the most.

[Marcus]

Krakatoa

[Wheredoyoukeepthechocolate?]

If possible, hunt them down aggressively and early. If you see a warden isolated at any point, there's a decent chance that the best play is to drop whatever you're doing to go kill it. Wardens can't shield themselves, so AOE weapons or weapons with high piercing can help take them out if a ball of bugs forms. Wardens can give each other the 90% (I think it's 90%) damage reduction so keeping them from overlapping is super important.

You probably already know this, but the damage reduction lingers for a couple second even after bugs leave the field. If you have a large ball of enemies being protected by one or more wardens, your best bet is probably to slowing kite the enemies in one direction. The goal is to go just fast enough that the warden never stops to set up the damage reduction field, but fast enough that you're not outrunning the enemies. Finding the right speed is tricky, but once you do, the wardens aren't too bad. If you have AOE turrets that can be dropped into the swarm, this strategy is especially effective.

If you fly over any part of a warden's field while in the air from a jump pad, it will cause the warden to deactivate and move away. This can sometimes shut one down in situations where it would have otherwise been impossible to reach it. Mobility is key to isolating wardens and taking them out. Often, just circling around a ball of enemies to target the wardens in the back is effective enough.

Wardens are tough, but you've got this. Rock and stone!

[Seb]

No really, walk on trampoline and dive on them, its a one shot.

[wwwJam]

Originally posted by Seb:

No really, walk on trampoline and dive on them, its a one shot.

It actually deals no damage at all, and doesn't even knock them back like it does other smaller bugs.
Trampoline landings only kill loot bugs.

Originally posted by Wheredoyoukeepthechocolate?:

If you fly over any part of a warden's field while in the air from a jump pad, it will cause the warden to deactivate and move away. This can sometimes shut one down in situations where it would have otherwise been impossible to reach it.

This does sound like the best approach. Even if trampolines aren't always conveniently placed, it's still a lot better than nothing. Appreciate the advice.

[Marcus]

From my experience...

Possible tricks againts them(may or may not be true):
1. They reduce dmg only from projectiles => anything that is not projectile(beams, explosions) deal normal dmg
2. they reduce dmg from outside sources, anything attacking them inside deal normal dmg(turrets etc.)
3. they dont reduce indirect dmg(elemental stacks, stacks effects and dmg over time)
4. Higher penetration reduce their effectivness

Actual trick:
1. Get good movespeed(most maps are quite big), walk in big circle on map and have "free" hits on anything behind you(since they keep follow you, they have no time to deploy), with this any weapon "works"

[CopperBack]

I just ran away/kite, if possible, kill. Most likely charge forward to disengage the shield and retreat.... biggest issue with high end is just having enough force to punch through enemies faster than they can regroup.

Sometimes you need lots of bullets or lots of area coverage. Wardens are like the spitters cowards in the back you often cant deal with.

[ZeppMan217]

I wish landing on bugs did damage to them and pushed them away from you. Jump boots suck for the same reason.

[Wheredoyoukeepthechocolate?]

Originally posted by Marcus:

From my experience...

Possible tricks againts them(may or may not be true):
1. They reduce dmg only from projectiles => anything that is not projectile(beams, explosions) deal normal dmg
2. they reduce dmg from outside sources, anything attacking them inside deal normal dmg(turrets etc.)
3. they dont reduce indirect dmg(elemental stacks, stacks effects and dmg over time)
4. Higher penetration reduce their effectivness

Actual trick:
1. Get good movespeed(most maps are quite big), walk in big circle on map and have "free" hits on anything behind you(since they keep follow you, they have no time to deploy), with this any weapon "works"

Damage over time from elemental effects used to be unaffected by the warden's shield, but they changed that in the most recent hotfix.

[0815noob]

Needless to say that you should kill them on sight. Since that is often not possible, avoid them and try to slowly burn them down. When I won Azure 5 I usually did not manage to get rid of them all. Instead I ran big circles and killed what I had to. Movespeed is the key in Azure imho.