Global Agenda - Robotics PvE Tactics

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Updated Wed, Mar 03, 2010 by Stow

You don't have to be an aiming all-star to dominate in PvE in Global Agenda. Your targets move fairly predictably and like to come at you from the front at almost all times. On top of that, bosses are slow, lumbering, and generally don't move around a whole lot either. This all adds up to one badass class for those high- and max-security runs--the Robotics.

Why, you ask? Well, a turret is permanent, puts out very high damage, but is completely immobile. More importantly, the AI doesn't react to coming under fire from one like a player does. All of your deployables provide outstanding buffs to those nearby, making tough encounters doable. Perhaps the most important part all of these functions independently of you. You are free to fly, dodge, and fire as your robotic assistance puts up a barrage or keeps your Assault in the game.

Obvious bonuses aside, let us delve into the glory that is the Robotics class in PvE

Huge, durable Force Fields

. Yes, from day 1 you have one of the best skills to use on the battlefield against the Commonwealth. The AI, especially bosses, will rarely if ever charge a force wall or your boost. This can give you over 30 seconds of freedom for you and your friends to lay into your opponents. Force Wall essentially acts as a Perfect Target that you can fire out of against ranged targets and it is rarely taken down at level IV except by large barrages of fire. There are a couple things to keep in mind when using these to maximize their effectiveness

- Anyone can pass through, but you can limit entry by body-blocking Elite Assassins and anyone else who thinks they have permission to enter. Just be careful not to exit the field yourself and expose yourself to what is probably certain death.
- You cannot place a turret within your Boost Dome Forcefield. However, you can deploy your turret, immediately hit your boost, and construct it ignoring the outside world. If things go wrong, resetting your team's defenses might be otherwise impossible if you don't coordinate a mass deploy and put this up to ensure it has ample time to finish.
- Don't always use these to save yourself. They can be used to save others and create safe zones to signal your allies to move forward and reinforce that position.

Note the placement covering the right flank with the box. While rare, the AI will sometimes outflank your toys if you're not careful!

Turrets

. Ah yes, high damage per second and you don't have to lift a finger besides your robotic arm to get it done and killing things. The turret you choose is important, but not crucial to base your offense around. Remember you can switch at any given time in the dropship. If you're going for a more offensive rush of a run, the Personal Turret is likely your best choice; it has by far the fastest build time and shortest cooldown, ensuring your flanks are firmly covered by the 180 degree firing angle. Placing it behind walls and around corners can negate it's major weakness--a puny 65 foot range. The optimum turret for the final boss can depend on the terrain of the map and the general distances involved. Sometimes you'll want the Autocannon for its medium range and high fire rate, and sometimes you'll want the Rocket Turret to put down clusters of reinforcements from long range. There are some things to remember with turrets though :

- Don't put one up under fire. A stray shot will blow it up faster than you can press 3 to pull out your repair helper.
- You have to protect them carefully when Elite Assassins are sighted. Keeping them revealed is incredibly important as they usually panic and will not throw their devastating EMP Bomb. This will almost always destroy an area of deployables, and if it doesn't kill them or you, it will stun you as well and make you fodder for everything else.
- Placement is extremely important in boss fights. In high and maximum security you need to cover the enemy spawn points as well if possible, so your turret can help keep the enemy numbers low when the boss is not in range. This way, your turret is at least denying the enemy the ability to flank if the boss is not targetable. Destroying those pesky Alarm Responders as quickly as possible is what your little metal friend does best.

Buffing Deployables

. The power of these largely resides in their placement. They need to be accessible but not targetable. Healing Stations are almost always brought along, Power Stations can be useful with Assaults, and Sensors are rarely taken but can make for a very useful 1 point off-hand to buff to your turret and the vicinity. They're not impregnable though, and need to be guarded. However, there are a few tricks up our sleeves with these:

- The pulsing aura goes through walls and the range is not affected by this. This goes for Healing, Power Stations and Sensors alike. This makes a healing station behind a corner alcove a wonderful thing, and can keep people alive forever with a level 4 version and the appropriate skills.
- Sometimes you'll have enemies single out and target them. This is frustrating when it's a little robot you can't dispatch in time. This can be a wonderful wonderful thing if it's a boss though, as your deployables are generally off cooldown by the time they're targeted and destroyed in boss fights, and you just basically wasted several seconds of the boss's time which probably involves your whole team laying into it!
- Do not be afraid to drop these every time they are up as you advance in Max Security. Shit can go wrong way faster than you can get setup, and having a place to retreat to and regroup when unexpected boss problems arise can save the run.

The robotics is the undisputed master of PvE for fulfilling all roles necessary to win--healing, and raw damage. You might ask about a Tank, but tanking is a non-issue when the blows incoming can be evaded skillfully and not with a roll of the dice like virtually every MMORPG out there these days. Every max security group will have at least one, usually two, and a good one can make a seemingly impossible run plausible.

Coordinate your load-out with your fellow Robotics, as multiple stations of the same type are generally not very effective. The one major exception is Healing Stations. 3 Robotics can put up Healing Stations behind a wall and get healed for over 1000 hp a second. This is as close to invincibility as you'll get in this game. It's a wonderful feeling, and it's wonderful to be a Robotics assaulting the Commonwealth!

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