Something everybody should know about Vol Opt. >_>;

[Cloak]

Okay, since sooo many people seem to not know.. On the Mines boss Vol Opt, ignore the screens completely, and aim for the little statue/totem things. The screens are pointless and a waste of time, they take long to get rid of, and even if you do get rid of them it's not gonna get you to his second form in most cases. But getting rid of all the "totems" will automatically enter the 2nd form.

This is especially important for challenge mode and whatnot for getting a good time.

I've been playing Mines alot lately and notice hardly anyone knows/does this. So there. 'k bye.

[DeadlyLegato]

Well unless I was dreaming, in the DC version at least you could simply take out the screens and you wouldn't have to worry about the totems whatsoever. If you destroy screens it still does damage to Volt Opt either way. However they might have changed how much damage Volt Opt has to take in order to go into his second form. I did notice Volt Opt seems to have more hp in the GC version so who knows. So I think provided you can do a good amount of damage, specially with mech guns, the screens can be just as important as the totems and aren't necessarily a waste of time.

[Cloak]

Yeah, but to get rid of 1st form the fastest, totems are best. Especially in Ult where screens can take a lot of damage. And most people blindly shoot screens without touching the red totem, only to get killed in one hit from Gibarta or shocked by Gizonde. -_-;

[rena-ko]

in dc-version i noticed that offline you can go after the screens and form 1 will be gone after you took out the last one, however online i realized that not every hit at the screens go through and hits vol opt itself... in c-mode then chances seem very low to hit him through the screens.
i think they made it like c-mode in ep1&2, didnt they?

edit: thesaurus...

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: rena-ko on 2003-01-07 13:44 ]</font>

[KraZZt]

I don't mean to burst your bubble or anything, but Vol Opts first form has a set amount of hit points, and hitting the screens (since the totem poles are hidden at this time anyway) depletes his HP. I know this for sure because I took my lvl 90 character into Hard Mines and wiped away the screens with a red sword and got to the second stage without even destroying ANY of the little totems. And it can't really be a waste of time to hit the screens anyway since the little totems are under the surface at this time and can't be attacked...

Thus, destroying the screens are necessary, and kinda fun too I dunno why.

[TeamPhalanx]

There are two ways to beat the 1st form. The first is to reduce enough HP by destroying the screens/columns. This is a painstaking thing to do, since you have to destroy the lower 3 screen and cannot directly target the central screen - Targeting the central will destroy the entire thing, but you won't be able to take away enough HP.

The 2nd way is to destroy the 6 columns.

It's debatable which way is faster/more effective. If you're a FOrce/RAnger, it may be easier to go after the screens; HUnters will struggle to keep up since they have to run from screen to screen with a sword/partisan, so its probably better for them to target the 6 columns.

Personally, I just destroy everything (all screens, all columns). I just don't feel like waiting for Vol to move from screen to screen so the columns can appear. I destroy the screens so I can destroy the columns faster.

[watashiwa]

Vol Opt is a rehash of the Stage 2 Contra Boss. ;0;

[Reven]

Actually, in Normal, Hard and Very Hard, the totems are the way to go. In Ultimate, they take way to long and before I can destroy even one, I can get his second form just by shooting the screens a bunch of times. With a gun, you can hit the big screen, but rather go after the small ones, don't even get half the screens gone before he switches forms.
Another tip, I've found that using the weak shots does jsut about as much damage as strong shots, about to VP himself through the screens, about 95% of strong. And timing the shots right, he walks across the screen very slowly.

[Cloak]

I don't mean to burst your bubble or anything, but Vol Opts first form has a set amount of hit points,

I already know this, that's why I said "in most cases destroying all screens won't get you to form 2." It's just the HP is a lot, and the times my team did fight and destroy all screens, vol form 1 was still up and running. Had to kill 2+ more totems to enter 2nd form.

And even for those who don't want to do this in ult, or hard, etc. It's a common thing TA c-moders, or normal c-moders do to get through it faster.

[watashiwa]

Vol Opt's first form always dies when the totems are destroyed.

The fastest way to kill him in any difficulty mode is to just stand back, ignore the screens, and cast Gizonde on every totem pole at once when they come up. This even works in Ultimate mode, and quite fast I might add, especially with my FOmar. ;0;