Guide to "The Lifeguards Have Given Up"

Battleborn Alani
#1

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 Iā€™d share what we learned, so here goes.

First, you need to realize that this skill is just ridiculously buggy. Likeā€¦ 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 Alaniā€™s Level 1 helix choice. I read a lot that you need to use the ā€œRide the Waveā€ 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 Novaā€™s countdown begins. All those people saying they got 3-4 stacks before, during, or while Nova is explaining the stage rules, I donā€™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 ā€œ3ā€. 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. Iā€™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 didnā€™t try those.
  • Having less than 5 friendly Battleborn walk in and out of the riptide effect to ā€œcount more than onceā€, we could not recreate. If it is possible under some weird circumstance, we didnā€™t come across that circumstance.

Ok. So, with those debunked ā€¦ 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 wonā€™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. Iā€™m sure there are many, many more specific places where it wonā€™t work, but we obviously didnā€™t test every surface in the game. Basically, you want a flat, ground-level, unchanging surface that isnā€™t transparent.

So - whatā€™s the best way to do it, assuming you want to actively pursue it instead of letting it come naturally on itā€™s own? First, realize that not all casts will count and thatā€™s just the way it is right now. After youā€™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 ā€œ3ā€ 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 doesnā€™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 donā€™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 - itā€™s possible to just get credit during normal play without trying. The likelihood is low, but thatā€™s how I got my first 12, while playing Alani naturally from level 1 to 14.

Hopefully this helps some people out!

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Alani main issue to this day (14/09/2016)
#2

Thanks for posting this mate - appreciate it!

Sitting on 21/25 for this and itching to get it done and out of the way :slight_smile:

#3

Nice job at debunking the myths around that challenge. :thumbsup:

/Edit: I just got the last 5 today and finished the challenge. My progress drastically improved by playing Overgrowth, I suspect due to choke point battles. Overall, I believe this challenge is easier to complete in PvP. Which makes sense, as there are more players running around.

#4

Bookmarked. I already have the challenge, but I have a few friends who are looking to complete it as well and thisā€™ll help them.

#5

This is awesome! Kitru is gonna be here soon :wink:

#6

if anyone wants to come on helo with me to finish i am on ps4 i have two controllers :kissing_smiling_eyes: FallenAigis (PSN)

#7

RatinFratsin dangIt! On Steam or I would be there. :wink:

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#8

At the start of a meltdown game I always used riptide for the haste ability. Is this a good way to get that lore?

#9

Thatā€™s how I explained it in the post above, yes. You should have a fairly east time getting at least one successful cast per map if you ask all your teammates to stand by the door in the spawning room in a PvP match (maps with single doors work best), and then as soon as Nova begins her countdown (saying ā€œ3ā€ ā€¦ ā€œ2ā€ ā€¦ etc.), cast the spell on your four teammates, and immediately walk forward so that you get the effect as well.

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#10

This is how I have been doing this one aswell

#11

Thanks for the info, this has been one thatā€™s bugged me. Managed to get one by complete chance.
biggest issue I have is trying to get the party to group up, especially when no-one else is using mics. too many people who donā€™t listen, or are just rushing off to towards the objective.

#12

Tried this in Archive. 5 of us + Melka. Was doing it for 15 minutes. Not a single one counted -_-ā€¦

#13

I just managed to get one in a 4 player run of saboteurā€¦no idea how.

#14

A post was split to a new topic: Looking for assistance

#15

For some reason, I remember NPC battleborn in story missions counting towards the five player total. (e.g. melka and deande on archive and heliophage).

#16

That could have been terrain type. In Archive, if youā€™re trying it at the part where Mellka is dumping the cookbooks and poetry into the data ā€¦ minion ā€¦ thingies, then it could be because of the ground slope - that area is in a depression with sloped ground all around it. Iā€™m quite certain that uneven terrain is problematic. I donā€™t know why, exactly - it could be that the riptide effect isnā€™t being applied to ground / terrain on a higher or lower plain, it could be that the graphic and effect diverge on changing terrain heights ā€¦ I donā€™t know - but I do know that I, too, couldnā€™t get it to work on that type of terrain.

If you donā€™t get credit after a few casts on a specific terrain type, move around. Try to find a terrain that does work. You want something as flat as possible, on ground level, without obstruction or interference by different objects like grass or boxes. Also, donā€™t forget to walk forward after casting the spell so that your character gets counted.

One thing you can try - if you take the Helix option that heals those standing in the Riptide, you and any other character standing in the riptide should see a little green heart in the bottom left of your screen while youā€™re under the effect. Take a poll of your team - is everyone seeing the green heart?

Even when I found a spot that does work, I was getting credit for 1/3 or 1/4 of the casts, on average, performed under the exact same circumstances. For me, this was worse in PvE than in PvP. If I were to break it down, Iā€™d say that 1/2 to 1/3 of PvP casts worked, while 1/4 to 1/8 of PvE casts worked.

Donā€™t give up! It can be done. But donā€™t bang your head against the wall for long periods when itā€™s not working - if you donā€™t get credit after 3, 4, 5 casts or so, try different terrains, missions, characters, and so on. If you find a specific terrain that just doesnā€™t work, period, post here and I will add it to my list. I know that, for instance, the elevator in Heliophage and the final Isic Magnus boss chamber just donā€™t work - period, and because of that, Iā€™m almost positive that there are others. Good luck!

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#17

Yup, I saw this as well and itā€™s noted in the guide above. I was able to get credit in Heliophage with a 4-person team, while including the Mellka and Deande NPCs in the cast. Itā€™s much easier to aim after the initial fight, but it seemed to work more often under fighting conditions. Itā€™s anecdotal, but strange nonetheless.

As far as the other NPCs (Caldarius in Renegade, Mellka in Archive, and Boldur in Experiment), we didnā€™t test them explicitly. Iā€™d expect it to be all or nothing, and since Iā€™m sure it works in Heliophage, Iā€™d wager it works in the other missions. I would be very surprised if some NPCs / Missions donā€™t count while others do, but if anyone has empirical evidence to the contrary, Iā€™d like to hear about it.

#18

Did you see the notification window pop up mid-game, or did you notice it only after the game ended?

If you got the pop-up - do you remember what part of the mission / map you were in? And which other Battleborn you were playing with?

Iā€™ve heard speculation that a Deande clone might count, but Iā€™ve got no concrete evidence there. Iā€™ve also heard, and also without concrete evidence, that you can sometimes get a lore / achievement pop-up that should have been shown during an earlier mission (the one where you actually earned the lore / achievement). I tend not to believe these claims unless I see them myself, or someone whom I trust implicitly relays the info, but that doesnā€™t mean theyā€™re not real.

#19

No pop-up, just noticed at the end. So no idea what part of the map.

Had a pendles, isic and benedictā€¦only thing I can thing is that maybe nova counts

#20

Actually the pendles disconnected so was only ever three man!