Tuesday, November 20, 2012

lolPUP - Wait... what? (PUP in ballista)

I'd like to say right off the bat that lolPUP outside of ballista, for whatever you think your reason may be, does not apply inside matches. PUP is really useful with the right attachments and understanding of the job's role in conjunction with your teammates.

A PUP general role in ballista is mitigating damage done to the team. Given PUP is already versatile with the different attachments and frames, the two most important attachments are Strobe for Provoke and Flashbulb for Flash no matter which frame you choose. 

An automaton's provoke is very accurate (go ahead and ask Cuzenu about Tsu - my auto -'s favorite person). I've only been in a few matches where my auto's provoke would miss but that happens rarely. Another plus is, autos are very consistent with their voking as long as you keep a fire maneuver up. Same goes with Flashbulb. 

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The set up from a recent match:

My Team:
PUP/WAR
SAM/RNG
DRK/SAM

Other Team:
DRG/SAM
COR/NIN
WAR/DNC (meant to sub SAM, but was too late to leave)

Naturally, the other team's targets were my team's DRK and SAM because they're able to dish out crippling numbers. My preference is the Sharpshot (RNG) frame, but I've seen the RDM frame used for Phalanx/Stoneskin/enfeebles and the BLM frame for drain/aspirs/low HP nukes. Anyway, DRG COR and WAR tend to hit hard, and if played well, can put your team at a huge disadvantage. PUP however, can divert damage with Strobe by letting your puppet take the damage instead of your teammate, while Flashbulb can reduce damage by, uh, blinding people. 

Tsu's Notable Attachments:
Strobe - Voke
Flashbulb - Flash
Barrage Turbine - Barrage
Replicator - Blink when HP is low enough
Disruptor - Dispel 
Auto-Repair Kit II - Regen + max HP increase

The three maneuvers I usually keep up are fire, light, and wind. 

Strobe: A very accurate provoke prevents the target from using job abilities or casting spells on others or him/herself. If a heavy DD is planning on executing a WS, I could severely delay it with Tsu's provoke, allowing the WS to be wasted/absorbed by Tsu. I don't worry too much about Tsu dying, because I can Deactivate to avoid feeding the other team quick GB. Deux Ex Automata allows me to call Tsu back within a minute, albeit the low initial HP which hasn't been a problem anyway. 

Flashlight: Just annoying. Cuts down damage by "miss" in normal and WS attacks. 

Barrage Turbine: Easy TP that makes up from not using Capacitor for a "Meditate" using Fire Maneuvers. I like having fire maneuvers up all the time. :< Does decent damage and managed to get an opposing team's PUP who tried to touch Tsu. 

Replicator: Comes in handy when auto's HP is low, especially when sending auto on any target after Deux Ex Automata. An unsuspecting Sidewinder was sent at Tsu to "finish him off," but absorbed by the shadow.

Disruptor: Since I keep fire, light, and wind maneuvers up most of the time, I rarely ever use this unless something really needs to be dispelled. 

Auto-Repair Kit II: An extra max HP boost and hefty Regen even with one light maneuver up. 

One of the best things about PUP is being able to /quarry while your auto harasses and pokes at the other team. Your auto will also stay in combat unless you try scoring at a Rook. Many times while trying to score, someone will /check me and try to chase me down and interrupt my throws. To take care of those pests, Tsu just vokes them off for me. 

My favorite targets happen to be SAM/RNG. Strobe to waste Sidewinders with oddly high auto evasion, mess up Seigan/Hasso/Third Eye/Barrage/Sharpshot, Disruptor to Dispel Seigan and mess up timing, and Flashbulb to troll some more.

I'll end this post with "PLEASE USE A STROBE AND FLASHBULB WHEN YOU'RE PLAYING ON PUP." Just those two attachments add so much to the job's potential, not equipping them already puts you at a disadvantage. 









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