Ok guys. With the help of a group, and over at least a dozen games today, I both completed this and have info that may help others. I promised everyone I’d share what we learned, so here goes.
First, you need to realize that this skill is just ridiculously buggy. Like… stupid buggy. And there are a lot of misconceptions of what needs to be done. I read a lot of posts, guides, and such, so I want to give you the definitive word on what factors do and do not apply. As of today, with the rigorous testing we did, I can guarantee the legitimacy of these factors.
- This can be done in both PvP and PvE
- You do not need to have ANY particular helix choices. We were able to get credit without even taking Alani’s Level 1 helix choice. I read a lot that you need to use the “Ride the Wave” helix choice - this is not true.
- The cast of Riptide does not need to heal friendly Battleborn - you can get credit with just the application of the default haste effect. I read a lot that you needed to actually heal at least one hit point on friendly Battleborn for it to count - this is not true.
- You cannot get credit at the beginning of a PvP stage, in the spawn room, UNTIL Nova’s countdown begins. All those people saying they got 3-4 stacks before, during, or while Nova is explaining the stage rules, I don’t know what to say other than we tried it a squintillion times in different circumstances and could not get credit UNTIL Nova says the number “3”. Since the cooldown in spawn is 4 seconds, unless your team stays in the room for some time after the doors open, you can get at most credit for 2 casts if you time it correctly.
- NPC Battleborn in PvE stages DO count. Specifically, Deande and Mellka in Heliophage. I’m not absolutely sure about Caldarius in Renegade, Mellka in Archive, and Boldur in Experiment, but I suspect they would count as well. Note that we didn’t try those.
- Having less than 5 friendly Battleborn walk in and out of the riptide effect to “count more than once”, we could not recreate. If it is possible under some weird circumstance, we didn’t come across that circumstance.
Ok. So, with those debunked … on to the bugs!
- The biggest bug - Riptide casts performed under essentially the same circumstance awarded credit sporadically at best. We found bugs that we were able to work around, but even still - four players standing shoulder to shoulder followed by Alani casting Riptide and walking into its effects seemed to work about 1/3 of the time.
- Casting Riptide on an uneven surface will not work. Sometimes you can even see the Riptide graphic effect stop short of a surface change, but other times, it will look normal, but due to the uneven terrain, it just won’t count. You want a flat area. Unfortunately, this means some (and perhaps all) 5-player activation pad locations are out of the question, since the pad itself is not the same surface as the ground it is sitting on.
- Even though the elevator floor at the start of Heliophage is a flat surface, it will not count while the elevator is moving. The floor in the Isic Magnus fight will not count, either. I’m sure there are many, many more specific places where it won’t work, but we obviously didn’t test every surface in the game. Basically, you want a flat, ground-level, unchanging surface that isn’t transparent.
So - what’s the best way to do it, assuming you want to actively pursue it instead of letting it come naturally on it’s own? First, realize that not all casts will count and that’s just the way it is right now. After you’ve prepared yourself for that -
In PvP: I recommend asking a group nicely to stand by the spawn room door in a PvP map and cast riptide as soon as Nova says “3” and then again as soon as the cooldown has expired. Since the cooldown is 4 seconds, you can get 2 casts if you time it perfectly, so long as someone doesn’t use a blink or dash spell immediately upon the doors opening to get outside the building in under one second. After the second cast, the doors will be open and team will likely scatter out of range.
In PvE: I recommend asking a group to stand together on a flat, ground-level floor with no texture changes, pads, shrubs, and such, and casting the spell there. If you don’t get credit after 3-4 casts, move on to a different floor texture.
In either case, you should cast the spell on your four teammates and immediately walk forward so that it affects you as well.
Also - it’s possible to just get credit during normal play without trying. The likelihood is low, but that’s how I got my first 12, while playing Alani naturally from level 1 to 14.
Hopefully this helps some people out!
FallenAigis (PSN)