Tips for Chimera Elders in the ink Laboratory?

[DirectOrder]

Right after finishing act 1, a portal to the secret ink laboratory opens up, and I am having a ton of problems with the chimera elders inside. I'm playing on Hard / Hardcore, and I've lost 3 characters in a row to these guys (1 hunter and 2 mechanics). I've felt like I've been pretty well geared each time, and have beaten the Perun mountain-top boss with ease each time. Then, minutes later, these chimera elders just RIP me apart....every time.

Any suggestions for me? And the portal to the ink laboratory is mandatory right? I'd skip this area if I could, but it seems like the only way forward....

So frustrated right now lol

[datguy13]

Watch for when they cast Curse. It will remove your ability to self-heal or be healed by other sources. You can tell if they landed one on you by a small ghost with a purple aura being over your character's head. When they do, run far away, and keep moving to kite them until it wears off. The poison spikes are also dangerous so make sure to have good Poison Resistance and leave yourself plenty of room to move between the spikes so you don't get hit. Other than that, they're just really tough opponents, so just stick with it and keep moving to beat them. Best of luck.

To answer your other question- yes, the area is basically mandatory in order to proceed with the main story. You should be able to avoid triggering one of the two Elder Chimera though (statue puzzle in the south map edge), so you can at least avoid one of them.

[DirectOrder]

Thanks for the tips! I get what you're saying about running away when they cast curse (didn't know about curse btw), but I kite the entire time anyway (usually play range chars)....not sure I can kite any more whether I'm cursed or not. I'll definately give it a try though.

This last time I was level 14 when I died to a chimera elder. Should I grind a bit first and maybe wait till I am 15 or 16? I guess I'll give that a try too.

Also, when I'm kiting, Katarina just seems to follow me around. Maybe I should put her on agressive rather than defensive? I know you'll probably say put her in ghost form, but her vengeful wrath (explosion on death) is the only way I've ever beaten one of these guys. I just want her to stay close to the dang thing instead of following me around while I run from it LOL

Thanks again for the help!

PS - How exactly do I avoid triggering one of them? :)

[Psojed]

Katarina will always follow you around. If you want companions that go away and attack your enemy on their own, get Ghostly Mirages, Mirror Images, Werewolf, Wisps, Mechanical summons or basically anything else that moves on their own except Katarina :)

I suggest that you play a "veteran character" on hardcore. Playing from level 1 is making the game a lot harder than playing from level 30, because the game is balanced for that "veteran" play.

However if you want to kill the chimera using Katarina's death explosion, put her on Aggresive and just stay near the Chimera. Once Katarina starts hitting it, the Chimera should turn on her. Until you deal damage to the Chimera of course.

[datguy13]

Originally posted by Denigrate:

Thanks for the tips! I get what you're saying about running away when they cast curse (didn't know about curse btw), but I kite the entire time anyway (usually play range chars)....not sure I can kite any more whether I'm cursed or not. I'll definately give it a try though.

This last time I was level 14 when I died to a chimera elder. Should I grind a bit first and maybe wait till I am 15 or 16? I guess I'll give that a try too.

Also, when I'm kiting, Katarina just seems to follow me around. Maybe I should put her on agressive rather than defensive? I know you'll probably say put her in ghost form, but her vengeful wrath (explosion on death) is the only way I've ever beaten one of these guys. I just want her to stay close to the dang thing instead of following me around while I run from it LOL

Thanks again for the help!

PS - How exactly do I avoid triggering one of them? :)

Katarina's "leash" is fairly tight, so she'll stay close no matter what mode she's in most of the time. Personally, I use her on Ranged/Attack My Target most often, but when using a glass cannon type character I set her for Melee/Attack Highest Health so that she's constantly gaining agggro on as many mobs as possible. The trick is to get in close enough so she aggros and attacks, after that she'll keep fighting on her own until all targets are dead. As an aside, I also make sure to keep her equipment as up-to-date as possible so she lasts longer when she does take damage.

It never hurts to over-level in a place where you're having trouble progressing. It might reduce the challenge a bit in later maps sometimes, but better that than getting stuck at a place and not being able to advance the game at all. So if you feel you might do better at higher level, then go for it. It will likely give you the edge you need in order to advance past the Chimera. It also gives you the opportunity to farm for some better or more focused equipment, so it's useful that way too. If I remember right, I typically do that map at L15-16 for Hunters, L14 for Arcane Mechanics, and around L15-17 with Thaumaturges myself when I'm testing the lower-level Story mode.

As for skipping a Chimera- there are three total Elder Chimera (Giant Yellow-colored Chimera) spawns in the map. The first, next to the statue is unavoidable. He spawns on a proximity trigger. The third, in the platform roon at the northeast end of the map is the one you summon for Katarina, and needs to be triggered to complete the map. The second one, at the southern end of the map, is the one you can skip. He is triggered by a successful environment puzzle where you have to line up five statues correctly on the edge of a platform. Just don't move the statues, and you can skip him.

I hope some of this advice helps, and again, best of luck!