Prison of Elders favored Guardian composition(s)(*):
1. Defender Titan, Sunsinger Warlock x2 with Fireborn(self-resurrection).
This composition relies heavily on defense and excellent positioning. On the off chance you get caught OUT of position, raise that Titan Bubble. And if people start dropping, ONLY ONE Warlock activates their Fireborn at a time. Yes, this means that the Warlocks will ONLY be activating their super's from Beyond the Grave to ensure a full-party wipe is never an option. This composition also requires great communication and a good amount of sticking together when separation of the Fireteam isn't necessary. If you're somewhere alone without the need to be, you're playing this composition wrong.
2. Same composition -1 Sunsinger(replace with Gunslinger Hunter) - Same basic principle, stick close and pop bubbles/self-reses ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. Your super is an incredibly important part of the composition and a badly timed one could mean the difference between life and death. This composition is slightly different in that it focuses mainly on the Hunter's(mainly) and Warlock's(secondly, when self-res'ed Radiance is active) ability to generate massive amounts of Orbs. This composition also assumes you all have a piece of gear that allows you to Regen health when you pick up an orb to maximize your potential as a team. It's also useful when the "Exposed" modifier is active(**).
That's basically all I see as far as optimal comps so far.
Gear: Gjallarhorns for quick extermination of VIP's(Critical Objectives), Red Death's for "Exposed" modifier bypasses, also Health for Orb gear.
EDIT: Be ADAPTIVE, this is a staple of survival. PoE is mainly designed for those who can react quickly and play as offensively as they can DEFENSIVELY. It IS, after all, a Wave mode game-type. With that being said, think about things, like if you're going up against a multitude of Hive Thrall waves, a Bad Juju(with its ability to instantly replenish its magazine with each kill) might be a great choice in such a situation. Arc weapons are good against Hive Knights/Fallen Captains, but aren't effective against Hive Wizards(excluding Omnigul), so adjust as you see the need to. The possibility/need for adaptation is manifold, if not a myriad, so try to remember, you've got to keep those Aces in the hole for when you really need them.
Common Questions I can hear already:
Q. Why no Strikers/Bladedancers?
A. Because it's not smart. Both the Striker & Bladedancer Supers require you to get up close to the enemy, particularly large groups of them to maximize your potential for kills/orb generation. Despite that you take reduced damage (AND can regen health per kill with the Bladedancer's Hunger perk), you're still an exposed little nerve once your Supercharge has been expended, and with how many enemies we're seeing & the fact that you'll be seeing a LOT of majors & ultras according to the broadcast, I'd rather just keep my health topped off as often as possible WHEN possible without dropping myself almost literally into the snake pit. Play smart, not hard.
Q. Elemental Weapons?
A. They're useful, I'd keep your best on you at all times during the PoE's run-throughs you do on the off-chance you come across Burn modifiers, which have already shown themselves this far along in the broadcast. Also be sure to have a good rotation of optimal weapon load-outs with you at all times(If you're running with a full load-out of short-range weapons, you're effectively useless at larger ranges, and this makes you an easy target for flanks/en masse attacks). If you got a weapon for every range, you're ideally useful at all ranges. Pick them off before they get to you, if they get to you blow them up, etc. You get the point, play smart.
Q. Different comps, heavy on Titans/Hunters?
A. No. If you think a massive amount of Squishy Bladedancers/Gunsingers/Strikers/Bubble Titans is ideal, i'll pray for you. I can't see a group without a Fireborn Warlock, or a Titan Bubble. That being said, the most optimal way to go would be forgo another Titan(because another Bubble just doesn't sound appealing, and a Striker is just meh), and aim for either another WL or Hunter. That being said, Bladedancer just isn't an option for me, and that leaves either a Gunslinger Hunter or either of the two remaining Sub-classes of Warlocks. With the utility provided by a Sunsinger in ALL PvE situations, Voidwalkers don't hold a place here, and as a matter of fact Deej demonstrated that for a while as he was in Voidwalker for a bit. So that leaves only room for another Sunsinger Warlock or a Gunslinger. Ergo, only two optimal comps in my opinion. Mind you, the keyword here is OPTIMAL, sure it SHOULD be possible without these comps, and including the classes/subclasses I've ignored. Matter of fact I don't doubt people will use the kind of comps I DON'T find optimal and beat the Prison of Elders, but again, I'm going for what's optimal here. Optimal to me means you're going to be as useful to your team as possible while MINIMIZING your chance for death.
Anywho, any questions comments or concerns, I'll be checking back with the post here and there especially after HoW's release to see how this plays out and whether my views on "optimal" are well founded.
Hope you guys found it enjoyable! And if you'd like to check out (another) new streamer, I stream everyday! @ Twitch.tv/dodgelessplays21
* - These are just my opinions here, and are my best attempts to guess-timate a great comp through what I can gather from the currently live broadcast reveal of Prison of the Elders. Subject to change before release date. Watch it here: http://www.twitch.tv/bungie
** - ASSUMING it bypasses Exposed's modifier to prevent shield Regen. If your shield doesn't Regen with a Red Death kill /Orb pick-ups while the "Exposed" modifier is active, then you're effectively screwed. At least this means you can pop a different primary/exotic here now!)
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I plan on running blade dancer with hungering blade so I ca keep myself alive and clean up trash mobs. my friend will be a defender, and my other will be a sunsinger. the sunsinger and I will have thunderlord so we can dispose trash mobs fast, and do decent damage to bosses/ vip. the Titan will use gjallarhorn. we will move as a pack
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Here is my projected titan spec post from the class forum ----------- Here is a spec I use in PvE that works great with focus on orb generation for the team. From what I took from the bungie stream, all activity seems wave based with sub-objectives built in. Defender perks needed: Iron Harvest, Gift of the Void, and Gift of Light. The other subclass perks are up to you. Primary and Secondary weapons are up to you and the situation. Heavy is Gjallarhorn (if possible for you). If you don't have it, I would run a Machine gun if situation dictates. Even before the 5 orbs(initial 2 and 3 once bubble takes enough damage) you will make with your super; you will make a ton of orbs with heavy kills and with your force barrier melee kills on the weaker enemies. Personally, I will either be running my IB Helmet w/ Ruin Wings, or Helm of Saint-14. If you don't have either, use a helmet that gives you increased super energy from non-guardian kills/minions of the darkness. Bad Juju users will benefit from faster super generation, but I prefer Gjallarhorn for my exotic. I will be keeping it [Bad Juju] in my inventory though, never know when it might come in handy. With that being said, I feel that helm [Saint-14] will be very useful combined with Armor of Light, during periods of heavy waves rushing your team. Especially if you are the last one standing and need to revive teammates. edit: If you have the crest, the extra orb generation will only work with your super, not with the force barrier or heavy kills. also note, Iron Harvest gives you a chance at creating an orb with a heavy kill, it's not 100%, but from my experience orbs generate often. edit: With my Titan, and my two other classes, I plan to take all my useful burn weapons with me and you should too. Good luck out there.