Finalizer tactics near endgame

MasterSeedy

So, I'm working with someone who is more-or-less endgame. They don't have any GLs, but are working hard on SLKR and aren't that far away. Part of the overall strategy is to improve in Fleet Arena at the same time as improving in Squad. Now, Squad arena improvement won't really arrive until achieving SLKR, but SLKR doesn't have a ship and to maximize fleet improvement, we're thinking just use Finalizer since all pilots will be relic'd anyway & they're a long way from either Mal or Nego. (They have all the ships & pilots for Nego, but none are relic'd save Kenobi himself, and Nego is only 6* so they're going to lose on speed in mirror matches & don't hit hard enough to take out the high-defense Hyenas going up against Mal.)

They're hanging in pretty well between #20 & #50, but I'm hoping to help them do better than that. I know Finalizer doesn't even have a complete fleet at this point, so expecting a first place finish is unrealistic, but getting top 20 every day, top 10 a couple times per week, & maxing out #3-#5 about 1 day out of 8-10 or so would be a major win.

My question, since I don't use Finalizer in Fleet Arena & don't have the high-relic pilots to try (I only use it against secondary fleets in GAC with 3x low relic, 1x g12, & 2xg11 FO pilots right now), is what should I advise this person on non-FO ships to complement the basic FO fleet, and what are the optimal strategies vs. Nego & Mal?

We've both watched a few videos, but they aren't breaking through to low teens/top ten. Without a complete FO fleet, maybe it's not possible, but some people are getting some wins against Arena-worthy Mals & Negos, and I want to give this person the best advice I possibly can.

Anyone use Finalizer often enough to have some helpful thoughts?

ManInWhite

I already have SLKR unlocked, but I'm still using Finalizer while working on Nego fleet. I can beat maxed Mals and non-maxed Negos relatively easy.
Of course, the optimal starting line-up would be TIE Silencer, FOSFTF and KRCS. Reinforcements are FOTF, a cleansing ship and HT.

Strategy against Mal: the most common starting line-ups include Sun Fac, Hyena and Vulture. First, use Extinguish Hope on Sun Fac to deny him TM gain. Now one will be stuck behind the taunt, but it is better than getting constantly stunned. Then try to take out Hyena as fast as possible to prevent getting mass-assisted. Use KRCS to feed TM to either Silencer or the entire team, depending on the situation. If they have applied Buzz Droids, use a cleansing ship (Gauntlet or Plo Koon's Starfighter, the latter is preferable due to additional health regen and TM gain). Then, if Geo Spy is called in, take him out ASAP with Silencer's Overwhelming Advantage, as he can mass-assist and enter Stealth, thus forcing to go after summoned Vultures, resulting in Mal getting extra TM.

Strategy against Nego: to be honest, I hadn't had much success against Anakin, HT and Ahsoka line-ups, especially when maxed out with a 7* Nego. But as the Nego fleets in question are non-maxed out, this strategy could work: use Extinguish Hope on Anakin, stun HT, apply AB on HT with KRCS and try to kill or AB Ahsoka with FOSFTF calling Silencer to assist. This could be tricky, because if she or any other third ship survives, Nego will most likely regen health and grant Unending Loyalty to GR allies. If Nego does AoE Daze, call in your cleanser. If everyone is Dazed, either do basics with KRCS to gain Prot Up or AB an enemy, depending on the situation. By that time, Anakin's Unending Loyalty should wear off, so use that window to kill him. Be warned: if the opponent has either Clone Sergeant's ARC-170 or BTL-B Y-Wing, take them out before Anakin's Unending Loyalty wears off, as Y-Wing will taunt. So will ARC-170 if he has protection, so be sure not to deal too much damage to avoid him losing protection, or oneshot him instead. If needed, apply Extinguish Hope either on HT or Umbaran Starfighter, but only after Anakin has been dealt with.

In both cases, if there are no debuffs on your ships, call FOTF to apply Target Lock and deal extra damage. Useful in those situations when an enemy ship has Critical Hit Immunity (not in the case of Hyena, try not to apply Target Lock on it in any way possible)

Hope this helps.

Hortus

The possibility of getting into top-10 entirely depends on your fleet shard activity. On active shard you WILL fall low no matter what (unless you have established place in the shard chat). Finalizer on defense is just too easy target to ignore it.

Starting lineup - Kylos + FOSFTF. Bossk, Cassian and Plo is what I use in reinforcements, the reasons for each is pretty obvious. Fourth slot doesn't really matter much unless you can think out some utility ship which can be better than above in some situations - I can't.

The general strategy against Negotiator is to put Anakin in low health (but NOT trigger Unending Loyalty) and force Negotiator to use Republic Protection as first move while preventing tanks from taunt (stuns, FOSFTF ability block, dispel from Kylo shuttle). Then trigger Unending Loyalty on Anakin and use Cassian as first reinforcement to pull it out of stealth and kill. After that just pick the rest of ships one by one, the exact order depends on situation, there are just too many variables. Important note - Plo ship is the top priority after Anakin, enemy fleet will be basically invulnerable if Plo left uncheked.

If you triggered Unending loyalty on Anakin prematurely, he got it again from Republic Protection and you can't kill him straight out with Cassian then use Bossk as reinforcement instead. It will allow you to survive Mobilize (with some luck you even can keep Bossk alive) and continue to fight.

Use Plo reinforcement as answer to Mobilize. Having him at high gear level isn't required but helps because Plo is basically your offtank - AI puts him high in the priority list, also he have taunt which can be used on himself.

Can't say anything useful about Malevolence, I don't have high success rate against it (looks like my experience is somewhat reverse to poster above ).

TarlaBille

I use the 4 FO ships with HT, Ahsoka and HMF and get #1 regularly. I can beat Negotiator but have trouble with Malevolence.

Hortus has the right strat for Nego. Gotta get Anakin to low health so that you don't get dazed, then take care of the tanks while waiting for Unending Loyalty to ...end. I haven't tried Cassian or Plo because they're both low gear. But to be honest HMF doesn't do much other than foresight Silencer so swapping it out for one of those 2 might work for me.

MasterSeedy

Plo's one job is to use his reinforcement ability. Cassian is pretty much the same, only you want to use the reinforcement ability then immediately uses his special that calls an assist to call your highest damage dealer. Either way they're both done immediately after you bring them out.

All of which is to say, low gear doesn't matter much for either of them.

But since we're on the topic: What is your reinforcement order with the ships that you use? And why do you choose them? I assume Ahsoka is about the retribution? HT is obvious. What else should we know about how those battles play out & your reasons for your choices?

TarlaBille

I found a much greater success rate once I geared up FOTP (to Relic 3 for SLKR) and put him in as my first reinforcement. He can do 50k+ on HT with his special and gives Finalizer 30% TM. If you send HT out first he'll often get hit with Buff Immunity and die quick.

I usually use Ahsoka 2nd to clear a taunt and then get a big hit from her special. While I like that she can take a few hits and retribution is nice, I see that she could be easily swapped for Cassian. Sometimes I send out HT 2nd, I think that's usually if they still have 2 tanks on the board.

Battles usually go:
Ult on Anakin
Silencer stuns their tank to stop taunt
SFTP calls Silencer to stun Anakin and knock him below 50% health (or often proc UL)
Shuttle hands back to silencer
Silencer uses special on tank, or if Ahsoka is in the starting lineup I might try and kill her

If you managed to knock Anakin below 50% then Negotiator will use UL. If not he'll use Daze and you're in trouble.

Either way bring in FOTP to get a big hit on the tank. Make sure you select the unit you want Target Locked before calling the reinforcement.

From here you're using Shuttle's special on itself to give everyone else TM. Take big hits on the tanks and try and control everyone else with stun. The TIEs won't last long but try and keep them healed by critting with them.

For Finalizer's 3rd turn I usually call Silencer to give him Crit Up.

Kill Anakin as fast as you can. Learn how much damage Ravage can do because it can be a great finisher if Anakin is stuck behind a tank. If Ahsoka/Cassian can get by taunt and kill off Anakin call them in 2nd.

If they call Plo you want to kill or stun him quick, Crit Immunity will ruin your day.

Hortus

MasterSeedy wrote: »

Plo's one job is to use his reinforcement ability. Cassian is pretty much the same, only you want to use the reinforcement ability then immediately uses his special that calls an assist to call your highest damage dealer. Either way they're both done immediately after you bring them out.

Well, it's not entirely true. As I said, Plo can be offtank for several turns. And Cassian have cleanse+stealth ability which can be lifesaver if he survives long enough to actually use it when Silencer is dazed.

But since we're on the topic: What is your reinforcement order with the ships that you use? And why do you choose them? I assume Ahsoka is about the retribution? HT is obvious. What else should we know about how those battles play out & your reasons for your choices?

Since the fight may flow in several very different ways there is no strict order. For first reinforcement:

Anakin in stealth without UL, enemy Bossk not tauning or taunting without Breach, Sarge not taunting -> Cassian. That's what I'm trying to achieve.
Anakin has ULor protected by undispellable taunt, your ships aren't dazed - Bossk
Anakin has UL or protected by undispellable taunt, your ships are dazed - Plo

Second and later are even more situational. The rule of thumb is pretty obvious - if your ships are dazed use Plo, if your ships are in really bad shape or need immediate protection use Plo or Bossk, if your ships are good and you aren't expect Mobilize as next enemy move use attacker. Using basic and call Silencer to assist may be also the option instead of 3 or 4 reinforcements. By this time Silencer hits so hard that calling additional ship is less important than another attack from Silencer. Especially if you are close to timeout - it may be major issue against Negotiator.