Stormcaller and Firebrand

[Twyst]

Taken from: http://mmo-mechanics.com/swtor/forums/Thread-EC-Firebrand-and-Stormcaller-Story-Mode

Stats:
HP 8m:
Stormcaller : 628,955
Firebrand : 628,955
Enrage Timer: 6 Minutes

Boss Description:
Firebrand and Stormcaller are two tanks who you must fight simultaneously. They are unable to be re-positioned, but their turret will follow whoever has aggro.

Fight Information:
I will refer to players as tanks and the enemy tanks as bosses, to avoid confusion.

This fight consists of two bosses - Firebrand and Stormcaller. Firebrand will be on the left, and Stormcaller on the right as you zone in. They can not be moved, although their turrets will rotate to follow whoever has aggro.

The fight is fairly simple, although it does require some heads-up play and quick movement. The raid should be split into two groups - left and right. Each group should contain 1 tank, 1 heal, and 2 dps in 8m, or the appropriate amount for 16m. It is best to put two melee on stormcaller to soak the DD debuff.

When the fight starts, each tank should engage their boss, one of the left, one on the fight. Immediately Red reticules will fill up the majority of the free space on the ground. Players should move out of the way, and DPS the bosses. The bosses also both have a frontal AoE which should be directed away from any players.

As the fight progresses, Stormcaller will cast a move called "double destruction". When it's cast, two DPS need to run between stormcaller and the tank, absorbing the DD debuff, and then quickly move out of the way. If a player has the debuff, and tries to make themselves immune to it, they will instantly die. After the first DD, and throughout the fight, Firebrand will put an "incinerate armor" debuff on his tank, and at this point both tanks need to swap.

Throughout the fight firebrand will also continue to occasionally fill the ground with reticles that players have to move out of, as well as do a frontal AoE with a wide angle and large range, so the tank should always face him away from where the raid is standing. Stormcaller will drop lighting generators on the ground, which essentially function as giant stationary lighting orbs. Players need to move out of them quickly as possible. Stormcaller will also do a frontal AoE.

While all this is going on, there are two more mechanics that come into play on this fight. At certain %s throughout the fight (80, 60, etc) a voice/prompt will say "Activating defensive systems" and 6 adds, 3 on each side, will spawn with a shield over their head. This is where the groups come into play, and each group (healers, melee, and ranged) should run under the shield and burn down the adds. Players should start running as soon as the shields come up, because shortly after the defensive systems are activated there will be another prompt saying "Activating Offensive Systems" and players will receive a Mortar Fire debuff. If players are under the shields they will take no damage, and if they're not they will likely die.

Firebrand's tank should be able to stand in the shield with his group, however Stormcaller will be placing the lighting spires on the ground, and that tank won't be able to stack with his group. Once the mortar phase is done everyone should run back to the middle (And finish killing the adds if they haven't). Stormcaller's tank will be taking some serious hits in this phase, and so healer assignments should be planned accordingly.

The fight ends when both bosses are dead. When a boss gets killed the other gets a soft enrage so both bosses should be brought down within a few seconds of each other.

*Note on tank swaps: In Story mode it seems as if it's possible to ignore both the DD mechanic and Incinerate armor mechanic completely, and power through the fight without tank swaps or DPS picking up the DD. This is not the case in harder modes though, so proper execution for practice is still recommended.


Strategies:
While it's possible to keep the ranged/healers on the ground, we found it ideal to put everyone except one person on the tanks. As a sorcerer healer I did this, although any ranged is capable.

The reason for this strat is that the yellow circles and lightning orbs that are placed on the ground reduce dps, do damage, and require movement. By watching the tank you can see when the lighting orbs will land and be out of the way before they even do. The yellow circles can be moved out of. By having one person on the ground you essentially negate all damage in this fight except from the tank/DD. Of course, whoever is on the ground has a significant heal/dps loss, but we've found it's worth the heal loss to prevent the overall damage done in the raid. An operative healer of course would be ideal for this strat.

Tips:
- Tip - Don't aoe the adds down as you'll damage the shield generator which will in turn leave you vulnerable to Mortar damage.

Videos:
8m Healer Perspective:

8m Melee Perspective:

8m Tank Perspective:

[Twyst]

I include an 8M HM takedown from the Aeon guild on our server. I included this just to show that with correctly handled mechanics there is actually less damage going out in HM compared to what we took last night in storymode.

The Stormcaller side has this pretty much easy mode now. I find it trivial to keep everyone topped up.
I am only under pressure if Imhotep drops the blue circles on the platform itself, or Vargen Does Something Silly TM whilst having the double damage debuff.
In the last go, I took a more central position and was able to pop a few heals on Lurek as well.

So my question is this - what is the Firebrand side dying from so consistenly?
We've now had two nights on this boss with almost ZERO progress in Story Mode.

[JanuZ]

I am not sure what the healing problem was on our side except for me not seeing the blue reticules. But I could generally get out of it without taking too much damage when I didn't see it. When I started healing it wasn't really a problem until the shield phase. The DPS up til then was about even with the other side but we were having problems killing the adds fast enough. Because of this KKND and Aitarria were staying where the shield is and that kills them very fast since it is harder to get around blue reticules and a chance that they take the frontal cone damage.

[Twyst]

The DPS up til then was about even with the other side but we were having problems killing the adds fast enough

I recall you saying that your shield was taking hits also. Is anyone aoe'ing or tab-target dotting? Maybe it's better to have a focused kill order - say left to right as you look at them from the boss.
For reference we only have Krek and Varg DPsing ours down. I always try and CC what they are not fighting though. My stun will always be up and I can AoE mezz every other phase which really helps healing.
Depending on my energy levels I can normally manage a DoT, BackStab and Shiv as well to help out also. Have to be careful though as Imhotep normally needs 2xKP + infusion on phase change, although he was getting better at avoiding the blue for more we tried. On the last few goes we were actually standing around waiting for this phase to end to get back on the boss.

Because of this KKND and Aitarria were staying where the shield is and that kills them very fast since it is harder to get around blue reticules and a chance that they take the frontal cone damage.

We can fix that by Lurek keeping him facing forward until you're clear yes?
And where are you at this point? Standing with them also, or positioned elsewhere?

[KKND]

Also the adds needs to be killed fast, and at some i dont recived any healing.when lurek gets down im the next in line to be killed.

[JanuZ]

I moved to my location as fast as possible. And yes we had the shield go down early once but that seemed to be a one time thing. If we are having DPS problems on the adds I think KKND should move to the boss as soon as the Artillery fire ends and Ranged can finish the last add. I wasn't DPSing at all since I have to save my force when I can on this fight.

[Vargen]

The adds weren't really a problem on our side. I dunno if we just cc'ed them more while killing them or healing was just an issue on the left. I used stun + knock down and  Krek'la used force choke.

My biggest issue was finding a position to be able to use maul and easily be able to move to absorb the DD. I know, horrible right?

[Twyst]

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=415564&page=4

Graphical display bugs that affected Teni at least.

[voyak]

Another one from DarthHater.com - pasted this for round up of HM tactics.

Guide: Firebrand & Stormcaller Tanks - Denova

Explosive Conflict is a challenging Operation oriented toward teams of well-prepared players. Darth Hater has already released a guide on defeating Toth and Zorn, Explosive Conflict’s first pair of bosses. We now turn our attention to the Operation’s second boss encounter, the warmachines Firebrand & Stormcaller. These vehicular monstrosities may be technologically superior to your Operations group, but with the right strategy and a little teamwork you’re sure to triumph. Hit the jump to learn how to put these two buckets of bolts in the garage â€" permanently.
For this strategy, we recommend using two tanks (one for each boss), two healers (one per side), and four DPS. For the sixteen-man version of the encounter, we recommend using two tanks, four healers and ten DPS.
Set Up

Much like the encounter with Toth & Zorn, you will need to split your Operations group into two separate halves, one for each side of the encounter. One group will move to the left to deal with Firebrand, and the other group will take Stormcaller on the right. To prevent confusion, we recommend marking each tank with an appropriate target symbol. This is mostly to help your tanks, but it is also a good idea for general awareness. Given the bosses’ elemental names, our Operations group used the lightning bolt to indicate Stormcaller and the fire symbol to mark Firebrand.
We also recommend that both groups position themselves alongside the tanks prior to engaging the encounter. You need not worry about accidentally pulling, as the warmachines will not trigger unless you attack them or jump directly onto them.


As the fight commences, each boss will have a semi-unique “Phase One” and a shared “Phase Two,” which is triggered at specific HP percentages. This guide will first cover each boss’s Phase One, then explain the shared second phase.
Firebrand

Once the encounter begins, the group assigned to Firebrand should move in and begin to attack the boss lightly, making sure to give your Operations group’s tank time to develop hate. Be aware that immediately after being engaged, Firebrand will use an ability called Mortar Barrage. This will place large red circles all over the encounter area, and ranged players not standing on the boss should attempt to dodge these attacks.



During Phase One, most of your players will want to clamber on-board Firebrand’s hull, with the noteworthy exception of several ranged players. Standing on Firebrand grants a buff called “Magnetically Stabilized,” which makes players less likely to be selected by the warmachine’s “Targeted” and “Electrical Disturbance” abilities. Both of these abilities target a player with a damaging AoE attack. To prevent collateral damage, it is prudent to keep at least one ranged player off of Firebrand. This ensures he does not receive the “Magnetically Stabilized” buff, which will increase the likelihood that he will be the target of “Targeted” and “Electrical Disturbance.” Ultimately, this decreases the chance that the group clustered on Firebrand will be caught in an AoE’s splash damage.



“Targeted” will place a large yellow beacon on the affected player. After approximately 5 seconds the pillar will fall off of the player and leave a target on the ground. The Targeted area will them be bombarded by a salvo of missiles, so be sure the ranged character drops this somewhere well away from your group. On the other hand, “Electrical Disturbance” drops a spire on the ground that constantly pulses with electricity. Make sure that players are aware of this and quickly move out of its area of affect.



The last important ability specific to Firebrand is “Incinerate Armor.” This places a debuff on the target that removes all armor for 15 seconds, making the affected player incredibly vulnerable to damage for the duration. When this occurs, the the player tanking Firebrand should switch with the Stormcaller tank. This will distribute the debuff and prevent the untimely death of your tanks.
The placement and mobility of your group’s ranged characters are clearly important, but so is the placement of the team members standing atop Firebrand. The front of the warmachine is a giant turret, and you will be cleaved if you are standing in front of it. Standing off to the side will allow you to remain on the tank while avoiding the cleave. With a little work, your tanks will be able to face the boss turret’s outward, allowing your healer to still reach the player tank without risking being cleaved.
Stormcaller Tank

Much like the Firebrand group, the Stormcaller group should move in and stand on top of the boss, save for a ranged player that will be selected for “Targeted” and “Electrical Disturbance” abilities.
The most notable unique ability that Stormcaller will use during this phase is “Double Destruction.” This ability applies a DoT that doubles the damage Stormcaller deals to the affected players. Worse yet, if this ability affects only a single player, that player will be stunned and tossed into the air, likely dying as a result. To avoid this, we recommend that you use two players to absorb the ability. There are a variety of ways to distribute this DoT, but my Operations Group found it most effective to have two players stand to one side of the turret. During the channel for “Double Destruction,” the group’s tank should turn Stormcaller’s turret such that that the two players who will be eating the debuff are closer to the boss than the player tank.



When the “Double Destruction” debuff is shared in this fashion, it applies a “Single Destruction” debuff that will turn into “Double Destruction” after a few seconds. This will cause damage over time, but it should be easily managed with light heals. Because Double Destruction doubles the amount of damage received, affected players should try and avoid taking any damage for the duration of the DoT.
Shared Phase Two

As previously mentioned, Phase Two is a phase shared by both tanks. This phase is triggered once either boss hits 80% health, and at every 20% subsequently after that. The second phase occurs only once per 20%, ensuring that the bosses cannot each trigger a separate Phase Two.
The start of this phase is indicated by the announcement “Repulsion Systems armed and ready!” Both warmachines then gain a buff called “Defensive Systems.” This buff makes each tank virtually immune to damage and will knock back any player that approaches them.
A few seconds after “Defensive Systems” is cast, each tank will perform a knockback to anyone within their vicinity. Once this is cast, two shields will appear, one on each side of the encounter area. In Story mode, these shields are always guaranteed to spawn off to the side of each tank. In Hard mode, the shields can spawn all around the arena. In the sixteen-man version of this encounter, two shields will spawn on each side, for a total of four shields. Players must immediately move under this shield to avoid damage from Mortar Volley, which Firebrand begins to repeatedly cast. Damage is received from this attack every three seconds, and will hit eight times in total. This deals considerable damage to anyone caught in it, but the shield provides full protection.



During this phase, the only player who should not be under the shields is the player tanking Stormcaller. Then ensures that the tank will be the target of Stormcaller’s “Electrical Disturbance” ability, which prevents the Electrical Disturbance spires from being dropped on those seeking shelter under a shield. The tank will need to stay mobile during this period, so we recommend that the player tanking Stormcaller save his cooldowns for this phase. The Stormcaller tank will also need heavy heals during this time, and he should be mindful of staying in range of the healer assigned to him.
Under each shield you will find a few Trandoshans and a Shield Generator. DPS should focus on killing the Trandoshans, taking great care to single target the Trandoshans andnot hit the generator. The Shield Generator is the only thing preventing those under it from taking damage from the bombardment raging outside. If it goes down you will likely face a number of deaths. Once the Trandoshans have been killed, players should wait for the Defensive Systems buff to expire. They can then return to their respective bosses, taking care to avoid Mortar Barrage (the large red circles) on the way back to the boss.
After that, this encounter is just a matter of alternating Phase One and Phase Two every 20%. Players should take care to DPS each tank as evenly as possible, as a powerful linked enrage buff is triggered by the first machine’s destruction.

Defeating these bosses will bring you one step closer to reclaiming this planet for you respective faction, so good luck!

[Twyst]

Found a pro tip for stormcaller which I'll be using next time - when the boss casts double destruction, the tank (ie me) rotates the boss to face the dps rather than the dps moving infront of the boss. This will mean even more DPS uptime on Stormcaller which is a problem for us atm and hopefully this simple change will tip the scales more in our favour!

[BrotherTobious]

Sounds like a great idea nice find mate