make your sword bearer host. Just read this on reddit. I feel stupid for not thinking of this.

If the sword bearer is host, you will have less chance of crota kneeling late, or getting up early. i guess it would fix health/shield regen problems too.

This works in theory, but not practice.

The only way to guarantee that someone pulls network host is to join their game in progress. Destiny re-evaluates and can re-assign host every time a new instance is loaded/reloaded (Ex. After a wipe)

This isn't feasible in hard-mode, because when you join in on a hard raid instance in progress, you are dead and cannot be revived.

If the sword bearer is host, you will have less chance of crota kneeling late, or getting up early. i guess it would fix health/shield regen problems too.

So the PS4 crew beat Crota last night. We used a hybrid method combining the center window strategy with the "right tower during ogres" strategy.

A few points about the experience:

* We were very lucky in terms of avoiding any bugs. Nothing crazy or unpredictable happened.
* Without getting wiped by random bugs, this encounter is in fact a lot of fun.
* Every time we wiped, it felt like it was our fault. When we succeeded, it felt like we had won (rather than simply lucking our way through)

As a reward, I got the Scout Rifle. So far, I'm liking it a lot. Might even replace Fatebringer as my go-to primary.

My takeaway from last night is that the Crota hard mode fight CAN be a great amount of fun. If Bungie can eliminate at least some of the bugs from the encounter, it will make a big difference.

Your old strategy involving 3 downs might still be feasible if we are feeling risky and you have me as a blade dancer and a sword carrier. It is much much easier to get 4 smashes in when you can wait next to Crota invisible, so you can have some wiggle room, or at least always get 3.

Franky Cyber is amazing for doing it without stealth!

As a fellow hunter, I was curious to see you had Mask of the Third man, but didn't use it. I know it has a boost to melee speed, which would seem to make it ideal as the sword bearer against Crota. Its the main reason I want to get this helmet. I'm curious why you choose to use the other helmet instead.

Also, nice job not freaking out on your last sword run in that video when the gatekeeper came out of nowhere and got that hit on you.

Mask of the third man is great because you regen health on orbs… BUT mine tops out at 30 light as I got it before the DLC. So wearing it would make me a level 31. That's why I put it on to pick up orbs, then take it right back off gain. Believe me, if Xur sells the helmet or the upgrade I am buying it immediately.

A few points about the experience:

* We were very lucky in terms of avoiding any bugs. Nothing crazy or unpredictable happened.
* Without getting wiped by random bugs, this encounter is in fact a lot of fun.
* Every time we wiped, it felt like it was our fault. When we succeeded, it felt like we had won (rather than simply lucking our way through)

As a reward, I got the Scout Rifle. So far, I'm liking it a lot. Might even replace Fatebringer as my go-to primary.

My takeaway from last night is that the Crota hard mode fight CAN be a great amount of fun. If Bungie can eliminate at least some of the bugs from the encounter, it will make a big difference.

Also, nice job not freaking out on your last sword run in that video when the gatekeeper came out of nowhere and got that hit on you.

Worth noting that you can quite comfortable just get 3 R2s in each time. You'll still have enough time to kill him after enrage. Safer your way though

I'll upload a video, but guys this strat has much much more room for error. Munky was right!

http://youtu.be/R7y8rdBZOfU

It's the same, using the middle except that you only down Crota twice.

After the second round of swords, run under the right tower. Get on top of a door, and kill the first ogre. Then snipe the second.

Go back up and wait in the crystal room. We waited until he rotated back mid a second time to be safe.

Then do another round of the sword, and you have him.

I was the sword bearer, and here are my tips if you are a hunter:

All the various ways to go invisible have separate cooldowns. So, I supered and used vanish before picking up the sword, which was enough time to be invisible until you attack Crota the first time. Then blink strike to go invisible again. After that, run under the tower, crouch to go invisible, then run back up to the crystal room.

If you use R2, it is 14 hits to enrage. That means you want to do 13 hits in two rounds. So that's 3 x 3 and 1 x 4 which is not to difficult. Just be sure to count.

I'll upload a video, but guys this strat has much much more room for error. Munky was right!

It does feel like the hardest part is the things that happen, if not at random, not as a result of anything we do or do not do.

This is what makes it so damn frustrating and disheartening. I feel like our failures are not because we are not executing -- it's just kind of a crapshoot whether things (mostly outside our control) will go off without a hitch.

I imagine Bungie's working on them, and hopefully can make some progress.

At this point we're at max level, with no room for further progress, and some of the best guns in the game. And it's still a nightmare.

Looks like it's as follows in terms of damage:

1. 5x Smash
2. 2x Combo + 1 Smash
3. 4x Smash
4. 1x Combo + 2 Smash
5. 2x Combo
6. 3x Smash

Cyber, it looks like doing 2 combos is better than 3 smashes. It should be easier as well as deal more damage!

I love Raids in Destiny; I love the challenge, the frustration, and the ultimate feeling of empowerment that comes from mastering such difficult encounters. I'm looking forward to beating Crota's End on hard mode for the personal sense of accomplishment. But Speedracer said something during the Crota battle last night that stuck with me:

"I don't know if we can run this weekly".

One day we will. Strategies get better, and in March we'll be able to hit 34. Even so, Korny seems to imply that he's found an easier way to do it.

Look at it like a challenge. Remember when I said the Vault of Glass would be super mega hard to even finish?

If you go R1 R1 R2 quickly, you won't smash, but continue the combo. This is bad.

Actually, a pair of uppercut combos does more damage than 3 smashes. The ideal way to go is 2xUppercut Combo plus 1 smash per down. If you do this you can kill him in 4 downs - 2 swords.

No need for triple downs (and if you do triple down, more margin for error), and the enrage timer starts on the last down, but he dies before he can even stand up - no timing issues with the Oversoul.

Yeah, that - and by being "properly" leveled against Crota it won't take 18 "R2s" to get him down - meaning we'll have a little more margin for error (and even a little extra margin for error in this encounter will make a huge difference).

I think I found out why the combo was doing so little damage.

If you go R1 R1 R2 quickly, you won't smash, but continue the combo. This is bad. You have to go R1 R1 -- R2. Wait just a fraction of a second. Then you get slash slash smash, and then keep smashing and you do tons of damage.

If Cyber (or I, lol) can get this down, then our first method will have much more room for error. I would like to try Korny's safe method however, as it is probably better.