Dome Defense Raids (referred to as DDRs in-game) are 10-man defense missions similar to Sonoran Defense Raids added in version 1.4. In a Dome Defense Raid, you and your team are dispatched to defend Dome 43 from the waves of attacking Recursive Colony forces.
Overview[]
The Recursive Colony's expansion has become an increasing threat to Dome City and the Sonoran region. There are new reports of robotic hordes attacking the domes on the furthest reaches of the desert, and Bancroft has issued a call to arms to defend Dome City's territory. In it, Agents defend Dome City from the Recursive Colony alongside Dalton Bancroft. Recommended for highly coordinated premade teams. Similarly to Sonoran Raids, Dome Defense Raids are only available during "Raid Times" which last for 10 minutes, roughly every 90 minutes. Unlike Sonoran Raids, Dome Defense Raids require a premade team of 10 agents at or above level 40 to queue.
Global Agenda - Defend the Dome
Waves[]
A Dome Defense Raid consists of five waves. Like in the Pentarch Sonoran Raid map, the Agents will have to defend a new location each wave. players spawn at Hawk's Armor, then defend Bancroft as he launches strategic EMP strikes from various locations, beginning with the northern window, then the Technological Sector, the door to the Sonoran Desert, and finally in the center of the dome.
Enemies[]
Most of the enemies found in Dome Defense Raids are also found in Sonoran Raids, such as Colony Drones, Snipers, Guardians, and Hunter Spiders. Others are also found in the Sonoran Desert, such as TICS and Wasps. Also found are Colony Soldiers (similar to those in Medium Security) and Healing Drones.
NPC list[]
The following are the NPCs which currently appear in Dome Defense Raids.
Common Forces[]
Colony Drone - simple Recursive drone equipped with an assault rifle. Very plentiful during waves and spawn in large numbers, usually accompanied by several other enemy types.
Colony Ant - four-legged support unit, capable of unleashing a barrage of grenades. Similar in appearence and behavior to Support Balistas.
Colony Drone Mk. 2 - humanoid mech equipped with a sniper rifle. Slows victims that it hits. Laser from rifle is visible from long distances. Similar to the Colony Drone Mk. 2's in the ruins of New Yuma.
Colony Soldier - Upgraded version of the Colony Drone, with greatly increased health. Will deploy a Colony Forcefield that blocks player's fire, has limited health, and dissipates shortly after the Soldier's death.
Colony Tick - Small, arachnidic kamikaze bots that charge towards the nearest player and explode on contact for light damage. Generally attack in large groups of 10 or more.
Colony Wasp - Small flying drone that fires short bursts of ranged fire from above. These spawn periodically in groups in the first wave, but can also be summoned by the Dismantler.
Healing Drone - Flying drone that follows a specific target and pocket heals it. They do not spawn normally, but accompany each Juggernaught and smaller versions can be summoned by the Dismantler when it is below half health. They are generally very loyal to their target, and will only heal another if they are in close proximity or their previous target was destroyed.
Mini-bosses[]
Hunter Spider - quadrupedal mech capable of dragging agents away using a tractor beam. Has powerful melee attacks, as well as an autocannon which deals damage quickly. Similar to the Widow's experienced in Spec Ops.
Colony Guardian - floating mech that fires a barrage of long-range energy blasts capable of doing significant AOE damage. Prioritises robo turrets and stations. Similar in appearence to Support Guardian (and Recursive Overseer).
Juggernaught - Gigantic mech with a variety of attacks, including basic guns, a 3 burst AoE cannon, a melee swipe that knocks back and heavily damages players, an AoE attack where he pounds his cannon into the ground, stunning nearby players, and an extremely powerful AoE cannon that fires an energy field similar to that of the Dune Commander. The Juggernaught will mark his target with a purple laser, and is always accompanied by a multitude of Healing Drones. Ava Lockhart will announce his arrival, which is once in the second wave, twice in the third wave, and three times in the fourth wave.
Boss[]
Colony Dismantler- Enormous hovering cybernetic tripod with AoE and melee attacks, including a swipe, a rocket barrage, and a laser. Every so often, the Dismantler will point its laser at Bancroft, referred to as the "Main Laser". He will deploy a personal shield, but the players will need to block or outheal the damage for him to survive. While firing this laser, the Dismantler is more vulnerable, so agents generally focus fire it during this time. This laser will also be fired at a random nearby player, even if they do not have "agro" on the boss. From time to time, the Dismantler will also summon multiple Wasps to its defense, or Healing Drones if its health is below half. After a time, it will go into "Rampage Mode" and do increased damage to all players and Bancroft.
Allies[]
Dome Guard - Five guards from Dome City that are present from the beginning of a Dome Defense Raid. They will assist in shooting nearby recursives and behave similar to Androids, However they will not retreat from danger and can die easily.
Dalton Bancroft - In the Dome Defense Raid, Dalton Bancroft is the objective the players must defend. He has much lower health than the power cores from Sonoran Raids, and can be healed by Medics or Robotic Healing Stations. Also unlike the power cores, Dalton will assist the players by notifying them when he is in danger, and will occasionally open fire with his blaster. Around every 50 seconds Bancroft will give nearby players a strong buff increasing their maximum health and power. This buff lasts for 50 seconds and can be very helpful.
Tactics[]
The most widely used tactic in DDR is "tanking the boss" and, since DDR teams must be pre-made, is the tactic most DDR teams are build around. The tactic requires:
- 1 Assault with a minigun, referred to as the Main Tank (MT)
- 1 Medic with a beam healgun, referred to as the Main Healer (MH)
- 2 Robos with Power Stations
Note: For ease of communication, all other Assaults in the team not playing the Main Tank role are referred to as "Off Tanks" (OT) and all other Medics not playing the Main Healer role are referred to as "Off Healers" (OH).
At the end of the 4th wave, after the 3rd Juggernaught has been killed and before the Dismantler arrives, the two Robotics will need to reposition their Power Stations. One - referred to as the "Medic Power Station" - should be placed by the crates near the middle of the room, preferably on the side facing Bancroft. The other - referred to as the "Tank Power Station" - should be placed at the foot of the West stairs, positioned against the South side wall.
On the arrival of the Dismantler in the 5th (boss) wave, only the Main Tank should attack in order to draw aggro. Once the Dismantler is attacking the Main Tank, the Main Tank then retreats to the South West corner of the room. When positioned correctly, the effects of the "Tank Power Station" should reach the Main Tank, positioned on the other side of the wall. The Main Healer should focus on keeping the Main Tank alive for the duration of the fight. The Main Healer can also heal any players blocking the laser from hitting Bancroft, since the Main Tank is taking little damage during this time.
As the Main Healer will be facing the boss for nearly the entire duration of the fight, it is customary for the Main Healer to make the callouts over VOIP for the Main Laser, Random Lasers, as well as stray rocket barrages, and prompting Recons need to use their Shatterbombs when Healing Drones are summoned. They should also be aware that they are the most likely target of Random Lasers and be wary of this.
During the fight, unless one is sufficiently experienced enough to know otherwise, only the Main Tank should be attacking the Dismantler. During the Main Laser, the Main Healer should making the callout over VOIP and use their Frenzy Wave, and everyone may and should now attack the the Dismantler. As soon as the Dismantler comes out of its "stunned" state, the team should return to its usual set up of having only the Main Tank attacking the boss to draw/keep aggro while everyone else deals with the rest of the Colony forces.
Variations on this tactic are few, but do exist. Examples include using a turret to tank the boss with two Robotics healing it, or drawing the boss out of the central room and setting up in another part of the Dome so that the "Main Laser" is not encountered during the fight.
Strategy[]
Unlike Sonoran Raids, Dome Defense Raids require a pre-made team of 10 and can be difficult without organization.
Team Compositions[]
While any composition of players is applicable, teams generally tend to made up of the following:
- 2-3 Assaults
- 1-3 Medics
- 2-3 Robos
- 2-3 Recons
While the most widely used "standard" team build is 2 Assaults, 2 Medics, 3 Robos and 3 Recons, the most important factor of any team is the experience and knowledge of individual team members. Even highly unorthodox teams (e.g. 10 Robos or 10 Medics, etc.) have been successful when every member of the team knows what they're doing and knows how to do it well. As a result, it is common to see team builders who will only invite players who have already unlocked the Gatekeeper's Visor flair as proof of their experience and past successes, and to see players advertising themselves in the /LFG channel as having visors for the same reason.
Assault[]
The role of the Assault in Dome Defense Raids is generally to take the front line in controlling the multitude of Recursives headed towards Bancroft. They also are responsible for tanking damage, keeping aggro, and destroying Colony Guardians before they can do major damage to Robotics setups. The Main Tank should be fully or close to fully Tank specced and equiped for such. Off Tanks may take whatever they are comfortable with; AOE Assaults are not encouraged and are normally only used in teams with three Assaults. It is helpful for the Off Tank to be Tank specced in case the Main Tank dies in order to keep the Dismantler's aggro until the Main Tank returns.
Medic[]
In Dome Defense Raids, Medics provide healing to the front line of defense, generally the Assaults, and assist them in tanking damage from the encroaching colony forces. The Main Healer should bring either a Biofeedback Beam or a Boost Beam and be fully heal specced. Off Healers are generally expected to be using a nanite healgun and specced for this. In single Medic teams, the Medic will usually use a nanite healgun for the first 4 waves and then quickly switch for a beam heal gun before the Dismantler arrives.
While Medics have a vast range of off-hands, only a small number are generally accepted in DDRs. Most, if not all, Medics will bring a Frenzy Wave to assist in killing Juggernaughts and the Dismantler - standard practice is for the Main Healer to activate their Frenzy first and any other Medics to follow once it has worn out in order to keep the Frenzy buff up as long as possible. Triage Wave is highly recommended for its instant healing; Healing Wave is a viable substitute if Triage Wave is unavailable. Since most other Medic off-hands are of little use in DDR, Protection Wave is also commonly taken as the third and final off-hand. Some Medics will bring Healing Wave or Healing Grenade rather than Protection Wave, especially in single Medic teams.
(Note: If any Medic in the team is using a nanite healgun, Healing Grenades should not be using in a DDR as its HoT effect will cancel out any of the HoT done by the healgun.)
Poison Medics and offensive off-hands are generally frowned upon in Raids and are only realistically applicable when the team already has one other Medic taking the Main Healer role (see "Tactics" above). The role of the Poison Medic is not to kill or to deal damage, but take advantage of the fact that drones are rendered useless and harmless when poisoned by using their off-hands to poison as many drones as possible, allowing the Assaults, Robos and Recons to focus their attentions on more serious threats, such as Spiders and Guardians.
Robotics[]
The Robotics' role in Dome Defense Raids is to use turrets to defend key locations, and keep a variety of stations around Bancroft.
Most teams include three Robos. In three Robo teams, two of the three will normally bring Auto Cannons, a Power Station and a Medical Station. The third Robo, sometimes referred to as the Sensor Robo, will bring a Personal Turret, Power Station and a Sensor. Whenever possible, the Sensor should be XXX, but if one is not available then an XX will be sufficient. The sensor in DDR teams is common simply referred to as "xxx" or "xx".
Some teams will have a Robo bring a Grizzly drone instead of a second healing station or third power station, to provide additional debuff to Juggernaughts and the Dismantler. During Juggernaughts, Robotics are expected to put up Dome Shields or Vandal Robots to block/tank the damage from them. Although Vandels will survive longer than Dome Shield, they are also trickier to place in the correct position. Because of this, they are normally only used by Robos already experienced in DDR and knowledge of where they should be placed.
During the Boss wave, two Robotics are required to set up their power stations for the Main Tank and Main Healer (see "Tactics" above). Dome shields (preferable) and Personal Vandals are used to defend Dalton Bancroft from the Dismantler's Main Laser.
Recon[]
In Dome Defense Raids, Recons are the primary damage dealers, and help control enemies coming from specific locations. Generally, Recons stay close to Robotics stations to deal more damage to the encroaching Recursive forces. Deconstructor offhands are vital and usually placed in strategic locations to destroy Colony Ticks or small numbers of Colony Drones. During Juggernaught attacks, Recons are responsible for placing coordinated bomb attacks to quickly destroy the Healing Drones that accompany it and begin damaging the Juggernaught. During the boss wave, a bombs are also used to destroy the waves of Wasps and Healing Drones that the Dismantler periodically summons.
Most teams will include two Recons and at least one will a Venom Bomb offhand. The standard, coordinated bomb attack will first involve the Venom Bomb in order to debuff the enemies so that all subsequent attacks cause more damage. Immediately after, the Recons will use their Shatter Bomb morale boost. As two Shatter Bombs are required to kill Healing Drones, if the team has a third Recon, they have the option of either Recon morale boost: a third Shatter Bomb will inflict additional heavy damage upon the Dreadnaught or Dismantler, while using the Sensor morale boost will greatly increase the damage done by the whole team for a short duration, including the bombs of the other two Recons.