I love to run Vanguard Tiger Strikes. I do them for the same reason most other people do, they are a fun way to gather experience and get a TON of loot. This also means that I like to do these strikes quickly and efficiently. Most people I meet do this too, but every once in a while I run into players that seem to really struggle with this and this guide is to help them.
Who this guide is for:
This guide is for players who are level 28, 29 and 30 and are looking for tips to run Tiger strikes more efficiently. Maybe you haven’t spent much time in them or you find yourself being frustrated by how long they are taking. If you are a lower level, I don’t recommend some of the strategies in this guide. They may lead to your death. I do have some good general tips in here too though so give it a read.
Overall goal:
To run Tiger strikes as efficiently and quickly as possible. The main reward for these strikes is at the end, so we want to get there and finish them fast.
General Tips:
If it doesn’t need to be killed don’t go out of your way to kill it
- There are many points during strikes where you will find enemies that you simply don’t need to kill; usually this is at the beginning of strikes. Just get on your sparrow (if you can) and just blaze past it. This means when you spawn for the Nexus strike PLEASE don’t spend minutes killing all of the low level dregs and goblins in the area, just run past.
- There are a couple strikes where you can take this to the extreme and just sparrow past almost everything. This can make it go fast but be wary of leaving people behind. It may cost you more time in the end.
Keep moving forward
- This kinda goes along with the last one. But it applies to all aspects. This is not a time to explore new areas or inspect weapons. Keep the pace up and get from one area to another as fast as you can. If you need to change loadouts do it while a door is opening or when Dinklebot is doing whatever he does.
- This also applies when fighting through zones of enemies. Don’t stand in the back and snipe. You are high enough level to get close and personal and clear enemies out fast.
DO NOT CHEESE THE BOSSES
- The purposes of these strikes are to do them quickly cheesing bosses usually significantly reduces the amount of damage you can do and it will take that much longer. I have seen level 29’s and 30’s hiding under the platform fighting the Archon priest or hiding behind boxes for Ta’aurc and it is ridiculous! This isn’t the nightfall there is no need for that.
- During boss fights all three players should be focusing on shooting the boss as much as possible. Almost every boss will go down surprisingly quickly if you just focus on them and not on finding that perfect hiding place.
- Only clear minor enemies when needed. If they are not shooting at you or a member of your fireteam then save you’re ammo for the boss.
Use your super!
- The more you use your super more your fireteam members can use their super and the more you can use your super and so on and so forth.
- If a defender lays down a bubble go get in it!! It is most likely Weapons of Light which means you do up to 35% more damage which means you can kill bosses 35% faster. I can’t tell you how many times I have laid down a bubble only to have my team mates stare at it and continue shooting just feet away from it. GET IN MY BUBBLE!
Know the strike
- If you start doing these strikes enough you will start to know where certain enemies spawn, boss behavior and optimal routes. Use this knowledge to your advantage with a well-timed super, grenade or just position yourself to get a lot of kills. This will vastly speed up some sections.
Vanguard Tiger Strike Specific Tips:
Devils’ Lair – Sepiks Prime
- As soon as the strike starts get on that sparrow and ride! You can ride your sparrow all the way to the room with the three waves. You do not need to stop for the fallen/hive battle going in the hall before that.
- For the three waves: Memorize where things spawn and kill them when they spawn before they spread out. I like to stand on the railing above Dinklebot with a scout rifle. I can clear most waves with headshots as they come out the doors. Don’t have all three people up there though as the captains like to hide.
- For the walker: Don’t hang in the back. Don’t stand in the middle and dodge his shots. What you want to do is have people on both sides of him in the rooms/hall on his right and the left. Just focus fire on him and he’ll die VERY fast. If you have people on opposite sides of him you will always have someone who has a clear shot. made a suggestion of another good walker strategy: If everyone focuses on one leg at a time they will break so fast the walker will have little time to shoot anyone! This may be hard to coordinate with strangers though.
- Sepiks Prime is ridiculously easy. Just stand near where you walk in and shoot him in the eye constantly. No need to run and jump around like an idiot. Snipers are good. Heavy weapons are good. If the enemies that spawn bother you, just shoot them quickly. Also, make sure to move if Sepiks teleports on top of your head.
The Summoning Pits – Phogoth
- Get on that sparrow! This time you can ride it all the way to the room with the three waves if you want!
- The three waves: This part goes by extremely quickly if you know where things spawn. The first wave is thralls to the top left. Throw a well-timed grenade and you can kill most of the wave. Next are knights from the same door. If you have your super use it here or just have all three people quickly kill the knights. The next wave starts with a bunch of acolytes coming out if the top right door. The stream out so a good grenade or a heavy machine gun can mow them down as they come out. If you do well, you can stay here and not be overwhelmed. Usually by the third wave things are everywhere so just shoot enemies in your way and focus down the wizards. They spawn in the back.
- Phogoth: This is the number one worst strike to cheese. And this is also probably one of the quickest bosses if you do it right (most people don’t). Follow my instructions exactly and you will be golden. 1) When the door opens clear all enemies in the main room and DO NOT SHOOT PHOGOTH this will only take a few seconds. 2) Run to the back left of the main room where the rocks are. You want to stay in this area for the entire fight. Do not jump on the platforms. 3) STAY PUT and shoot ONLY Phogoth and the thralls that run at you from the first drop ship. DO NOT shoot the knights or acolytes and DO NOT move from the area with the little rock. If you do this properly no more dropships will come, no wizards will spawn. This will allow you to focus solely on Phogoth and he will go down quickly. Of course most of the time you will be with someone who will stay in the first room or who kills the knights so tons of enemies will spawn. Just kill them as best you can and try to focus on Phogoth.
Winters Run – Archon Priest
- Once again get on that sparrow and ride ‘till you cant.
- This strike has a lot of enemies you can just skip, but in some cases it is almost as fast to kill them due to hobgoblins that can potentially kill you. In the first area with enemies I usually kill them, but move forward as you do so you don’t lose a bunch of time. At the end of this section you can also skip the little spiral tunnel by jumping on the balcony if you want to save a few seconds.
- For the three waves: Just kill things as fast as you can. Know when and where the hobgoblins spawn and snipe them quick.
- The pike section: Grab a pike if you want. All of the enemies from here to the final boss can be skipped, but I recommend killing the two Hydras because dying is a possibility and dying slows you down. Just snipe them and they’ll go down quickly.
- The Archon Priest: From the second he steps out of his fridge to the second he dies just shoot his gigantic head. Snipers are perfect here as he staggers like crazy when crit. Don’t hide under the platform, just focus him down and kill the extra enemies as needed. He is a bullet sponge but will go down relatively quickly.
The Nexus – Sekrion
- No sparrow! This is the section that I see people get distracted by the enemies. I know they are tempting, but please just move to the next section!
- The three servitors: Try to memorize where the servitors and enemies spawn. If you do this, a well-placed super can removed tons of enemies quickly. Just focus the servitors to kill them quickly.
- The Nexus: Once again don’t cheese this boss!!! Don’t hide up in the hallway and don’t hide on some obscure pillar or in some hole. Just shoot Sekrion in the eye with your highest damage guns and clear the other enemies as soon as they spawn. A great spot to stand here is in the lowest areas where you can crouch behind a step and shoot him constantly because his shots will hit the step ahead of you and miss you.
Cerberus Vae III – Valus Ta’aurc
- You know the drill by now! Get on that sparrow and ride!!! Except this one has a Dinklebutton you need to push first. On this one you can actually ride your sparrow all the way to the three generals section. I find this is not a good idea because it usually blows up in the first room with a bunch of enemies. This room can still be skipped and I recommend skipping it just because Cabal take so long to kill. Just jump around everything and get to the door in the back left. It will open.
- Three generals: Don’t get on an interceptor unless you intend to splatter everything. Just pull out your sniper here it is faster. When the tank comes, use snipers and shoot it. Make sure to shoot when it is still in the air for extra speediness.
- Valus Ta’aurc is a pain in the butt because he dishes out a bunch of damage and has a mini-head. Luckily he goes full retarded when he is on low health. Once again, the key here is just to focus on shooting his head as much as possible. One good strategy for this is to stand on the upper platforms. If you stand far enough back (until you can’t see his gun) his machine gun will not hit you but you still have a clear shot at is head…just watch out for rockets. Once he starts chasing you, lure him to a spot where his rockets just hit the ceiling so you can just focus on his beady little head. Also make sure you entire team is spread out, but on the same side of the map. This way your whole team can always see his head but his fire is still divided.
• Dust Palace Strike – Psion Flayers – PS exclusive
- This strike is pretty straight forward and involves a lot of chasing down Psions.
- Most rooms in this strike are cleared when you finally find and kill the yellow health bar Psion. So try and memorize where they spawn to expedite their deaths.
- The Flayers: They Flayers are also a big pain just because there are three of them. I have found the most effective way to do them is to just be methodical. First clear the room. Next, focus on one Psion. Once it is dead clear the enemies that spawn and focus on the next Psion and so on and so forth. You entire team should have their full attention on one Psion at a time just to make sure their shields never recharge.
- To kill them really quickly it is possible to knock them off the edge with rockets, but it wouldn’t rely on this method.
Hopefully you enjoyed our Vanguard Tiger Strikes Guide, stay tune for more Free Tips from your favorite games here at Sports Gamers Online.