[b]Warning: long post.[/b] Seeing the low success rate that is experienced by most fellow guardians when it comes to the final boss fight in Crota’s End hard mode, i decided to make a small (?) compendium of the most common causes for failure, and provide some hints on how to avoid or work around them For reference, I will be referring to the strategy that appears to be the most common – hunter bladedancer as sword carrier, central platform, ogre room. Also, I will refer to all members other than the Sword Carrier as the Damage Dealers. Without further ado: [b]Most popular causes to fail on the Crota fight on hard mode:[/b] [b]1. Crota takes too long to go down. 2. Sword carrier is killed by Crota before going down the first time 3. Sword carrier is killed by Crota inbetween sword strike rounds 4. Crota kills sword carrier even if he is invisible after blink striking 5. Crota’s shield won’t go down after he gets up. 6. Sword carrier is killed by knights (boomers) 7. Sword carrier is killed when trying to get away from Crota after the final sword strike round 8. Sword carrier is killed by thralls/boomers when going back to the central room 9. Damage dealer is killed by Crota when he’s on the right side. 10. Swordbearer hides too far right or left and messes up timing. 11. Someone on the fireteam dies to thralls when running toward the ogre room. 12. Ogres take too long to spawn and it messes up timing. 13. Someone dies to the first Ogre before he is killed. 14. Second Ogre takes too long to kill and it messes up timing. 15. Someone dies at the exit of the ogre room, or running back to the central platform. 16. Someone dies during the 3rd or 4th sword run because of thralls that hit you through the window. 17. Lag causes issues that mess up timing. 18. Someone randomly dies. 19. Sword disappears and it messes up timing. 20. Crota jumps down to kill the sword carrier.[/b] [b]1. Crota takes too long to go down.[/b] Its paramount that everyone has a decent rocket launcher with homing abilities. Equally important is that everyone shoots at approximately the same time. If you shoot consecutive rockets instead of a single barrage, his shield won’t be out nearly as fast, and you’ll mess up the timing. Everyone must be ready to shoot as soon as the sword carrier calls it out. [b]2. Sword carrier is killed by Crota before going down the first time[/b] See 1. The sword carrier needs to be confident that the rocket volley will take away his health so he can start his run at crota and begin smashing with the sword. Also, the sword carrier being the hunter, a good strategy is to crouch and go invisible while on the rock and before jumping up to the platform. This will give him enough time to call out the shots and wait to Crota to go down while invisible [b]3. Sword carrier is killed by Crota inbetween sword strike rounds[/b] Crota is only down for a few seconds. Expert sword carriers will sometimes be able to smash him 4 times before stepping back, but its risky nonetheless. For those that aren’t yet that comfortable with the sword, or if you want to avoid the risk, just hit 3 times before stepping back. Also, the sword carrier should drop the sword and blink strike Crota to go invisible before he stands up. [b]4. Crota kills sword carrier even if he is invisible after blink striking[/b] This will sometimes happen if the sword carrier gets too greedy with the smashes or if he activates blink strike too late as Crota will still “see” him in time. The sword carrier should try to hit Crota from behind as this will buy him a little more time, as Crota needs to stand up and turn around in order to see and hit him. Also, (unconfirmed theory) damage dealers should shoot Crota with their primaries as he’s standing up to attract his attention and further avoid the risk of this happening. [b]5. Crota’s shield won’t go down after he gets up.[/b] It’s important to notice that once Crota gets up, he will have and invincibility aura that lasts for about 5 seconds (you can see the red aura around him). Shooting him while he has this aura will be completely ineffective. Someone (preferably the sword carrier) should count down from 4 when he stands up (4, 3, 2, 1, shoot) so that a second volley of rockets hits at the right time and maximize the effect. [b]6. Sword carrier is killed by knights (boomers)[/b] This is a big risk as boomers in each tower can hit the sword carrier while he’s attacking Crota. There are 2 solutions: damage dealers can use their snipers to stagger the boomer knights (they can even kill one of them, just make sure that you don’t kill both); or one of the damage dealers – a Titan – jumps across to the platform on the same side that the sword carrier is using to go up, raises a bubble there and stays inside. This will attract the boomer fire toward him, and he can still step outside or jump in order to shoot rockets when called out. [b]7. Sword carrier is killed when trying to get away from Crota after the final sword strike round[/b] See 3 and 4. Only expert swordbearers should try to get in more than 3 hits before running away. Avoid jumping when running away – this will generally do more harm than good: a) Crota’s attack will hit even if you’re at the height of your jump; b) the arch trajectory of the jump will make your character model be in the “attack area” of Crota longer than if you just run and go down; and c) if you jump while not having enough momentum, you’ll actually be moving slower than running. Also, avoid using the sword to glide away from Crota if you’re close to him as the game will auto-lock and actually pull you toward him. [b]8. Sword carrier is killed by thralls/boomers when going back to the central room[/b] Once the sword bearer is out of Crota’s range, instead of running straight into the central room and risk taking damage from boomers or other enemies, he can jump again on the rocks, crouch to go invisible and get to the central room safely. [b]9. Damage dealer is killed by Crota when he’s on the right side[/b] After the first sword run, Crota will move right, so all damage dealers should go behind the pillar in their left while staying in the outside platform. Once everyone does, just crouch out of sight and DON’T MOVE. The sword carrier should be inside the room and will call out when Crota moves back into the middle. [b]10. Swordbearer hides too far right or left and messes up timing[/b] This happens way too often. My advice would be just to get as many shots in as possible before he decides to go for a walk. If he does, the sword carrier can try to go down and lure him into an open area but don’t take unnecessary risks. Use your super and go invisible if enemies get too close. Also, use your grenades before going invisible. This usually gets the swordbearer to move. [b]11. Someone on the fireteam dies to thralls when running toward the ogre room[/b] Also very common. When going into the room, try to find a clear path instead of jumping over thralls. Some might push you, some might explode, and you’ll die to the weakest enemies in the whole fight. Clear the path with grenades if you need to. Also, if there are any level 31s in the fireteam, they should go in first so they don’t risk having to run alongside the thralls that chase the first few guys. And, of course, as soon as you reach the ogre room, get on top of a doorway. [b]12. Ogres take too long to spawn and it messes up timing[/b] (Unconfirmed theory) Have someone shoot the thralls. This supposedly speeds up the spawning process. [b]13. Someone dies to the first Ogre before he is killed.[/b] As soon as the first ogre spawns, you need to go all out. This is the biggest risk than anyone other than the sword carrier will be taking. At least 1 rocket per person, and shower grenades and fire. If you do it right, he’s be dead before he can focus on anyone and shoot. [b]14. Second Ogre takes too long to kill and it messes up timing[/b] Not as big a risk, but still very important to take out quickly. If you still have a healthy amount of rockets, use them. Use snipers, grenades, gain angle by jumping, etc, but kill that guy as fast as you can. Also, have a titan get a ward of dawn with blessing of light inside the ogre room so you have a shield and not die immediately if you’re hit by his eye blast. [b]15. Someone dies at the exit of the ogre room, or running back to the central platform.[/b] When killing the second ogre and right after killing it, make sure you don’t stand too close to the doorway in the ogre room as the Gatekeeper will go in there and there will also be thralls. When running out, use the ward of dawn with blessing of light to get your shield up and not die immediately if you’re hit by boomer fire or a thrall. [b]16. Someone dies during the 3rd or 4th sword run because of thralls that hit you through the window.[/b] When you reach this point, thralls will spawn inside the room and may hit you through the glass. Be careful and stand on the ledge where there is no glass. Also you need to watch out for thralls coming from inside and towards you. [b]17. Lag causes issues that mess up timing[/b] If you’re experiencing lag issues, go to orbit and back into the raid. The most important connection is the one from the sword carrier so make him fireteam leader before doing this. [b]18. Someone randomly dies.[/b] Don’t panic! You’re not dead yet. Specially if you already made a couple of sword rounds. Just kill the oversoul and have a go with the remaining members. Its perfectly possible to kill with less than 5 guys. [b]19. Sword disappears and it messes up timing.[/b] Nothing you can do. Just readjust. That take will take longer than planned, but its still perfectly doable. [b]20. Crota jumps down to kill the sword carrier[/b] Laugh. And see 18. [b]Note: this is a work in progress. If you point out other situations, I’ll be more than happy to include them.[/b]