Delivery of the Dead - what dead?

jonsills

So my Night Avenger, the Dork Knight, went into the Queen City arc. All was going swimmingly (love Ricochet Shot and Shadow Strike!), when it all came to a screeching halt.

The mission "Delivery of the Dead" requires that you open Suspicious Crates, then defeat the zombies that come out until you've slain 15 of them. Except that when I slashed the crates open, nothing emerged. It's hard to slay zombies that aren't there...

I filed a ticket, of course, but I was wondering if anyone else had been having this issue.

flyingfinn

Seen few people saying same thing in Zone. Empty crates, no zombies.
Thrown objects vanish, zombies gone from their crates, nemesis minions dissappearing etc...
The Langoliers are here!!!.....

jorifice1

Same thing happened to me. I disabled "Sneak" and it worked fine. They did not spawn while I was stealthed.

mijjestic

But...they must be somewhere...could be anywhere!

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUN!

*cut to scene of hordes of them @ Cryptic building, holding picket signs saying 'Toothless Zombies Can't Bite! WE NEED DENTAL CARE!' and the like*

nextnametaken

Was a thread about this a week ago. Can't use AOE, can't use an energy builder, some other nonsense.

Basically this mission is broken.

jonsills

Okay, I had to make sure my Stealth was off before attacking a box. (Still allowed to be Stealthed when fighting the Dogz, though.) One other note - I seem to recall that the last few times I ran this arc (one of my favorites), there would always be at least two zombies per box, sometimes more. Now, some of the boxes are empty, even though they were jumping around before you attacked.

However, upshot is that I made it past that part. Interestingly, Deadman Walkin' was the first boss I'd run into that I couldn't one-shot with Shadow Strike; it only took him down to about half his HP. (I was never able to maintain Stealth when trying to Shadow Strike the boss in Alerts - something about all the AoE spam, especially from the boss and his associates, kept dropping my cloak.)

senzsun

I did it without changing anything special, just using my basic single target blade attack.
But I have to say it's easily worst mission I've come across so far. I don't expect every crate to contain zombies but it must have been something like one in ten that actually had any. I lost count of how many I opened to get the 15 zombies but it took over 45 minutes.
I wouldn't have minded so much if you didn't have to kill two or three Dogz for every case opened. I was tearing my hair out by the end!

nextnametaken

Thats because it is broken.

I went in with a mind and every crate I used my 'mental energy builder' on, broke open full of zombies like a voodoo pinata.

If you put your mind to it...

hydlyde

I'm not sure if they changed it recently but I was having a similar issue and finally figured out you have to target the "suspicious crates" - mine were bouncing all around for some reason. Hope that helps.

jonsills

Yeah, it's broken again. Disarm (a Behemoth) and Detroit Iron (an Invincible) have been pounding Suspicious Crates for days. Disarm took down enough Dogz to get the Dogzcatcher perk. And not a single zombie was given any of those days. Detroit Iron went back to Canada. Disarm's still hanging out in Vibora Bay, on the off-chance I hear back from the bug ticket I filed...

serendipitynow

try using your energy builder on the suspicious crates, aoes or fast high damage and the zombies poof before they spawn.

jonsills

serendipitynow wrote: »

try using your energy builder on the suspicious crates, aoes or fast high damage and the zombies poof before they spawn.

That's what I've been doing. No joy. Hit the boxes between the buildings, the ones out on the docks - I'm starting to suspect that the bokor went and hid them in the normal crates this time, instead of the Suspicious ones!

serendipitynow

wonder if some recept patch totally broke it now then, I know it was still tricky when i last did it about a month ago, got no zombies for over 30 minutes then started getting them and finished it soon after (when they pop they usually pop 2-4 a crate)

hushiforum

I'm having trouble with this mission too, though in the recent past I used to be able to go through it with no problem. The zombies simply do not spawn, or at least not reliably. I tried dropping the mission and picking it up again, and it doesn't work. They simply don't spawn. The best I got was about 6 zombies that did spawn, and then nothing from any other crate.

Also for some reason my forum account is now treated as if I'm a level newbie despite the fact I've been subscribed and active here for years? Thanks, PW.

jonsills

<Professor Farnsworth> Good news, everyone! </Farnsworth>

The problem would appear to be a memory-leak issue - I tried the mission after this morning's server reset, and the zombies are back. So Detroit Iron, at least, was finally able to complete the Queen City arc...

kallethen

I was gonna say, I know I did this mission a week or so ago with no trouble. Glad to hear the problem was temporary.

vakster

The bug is back. I ran this several weeks ago and while it took awhile, it worked OK. Trying it over the last couple of days, I have swept the entire area several times, over 3 days, and have likely doubled the number of Dogz needed for the perk - no zombies at all, no joy. I sent in a bug ticket; I'll try a "mission help" ticket next.

The annoying part isn't the time sink, it's the fact that the entire arc comes to a screeching halt because of it.

crosschan

Padre ran this mission night before last and I noticed his EB meant no zombies. The strange bit is that thunderclap means no zombies as well....kinda. What I mean is that thunderclap is hitting the zombies despite them not being there(or being there visible to us, I believe they're beneath the ground) and after the stun fades they clip up to the ground instantly and attack.

This leads me to the theory that the coffins are the problem and that the zombies are actually there the entire time, just with a broken triggering mechanism.

....or I'm completely wrong. I'm just listing my experience and hoping it helps someone. :biggrin:

thebrainstem

Ran this mission a few days ago, and it took ages - most boxes broken lead to no zombies, but every once in a while I'd get a box that would spawn three or four zombies.

I think a lot of the issue with this mission is that the flow is so messed up - if a box is wiggling, it ought to have a zombie in. It's wiggling for a reason!

Even having each wiggling box spawn one zombie would be better than these long stretches of nothing.

bioshrike

I've contacted support about this issue, and what I was told was to use a single target attack that does not impart a DoT of some sort. Try using something that fits that criteria and let us know.

senzsun

bioshrike wrote: »

I've contacted support about this issue, and what I was told was to use a single target attack that does not impart a DoT of some sort.

This is interesting. I posted earlier in this topic after doing the mission for the first time. Since then I've done it with at least four alts and had no special problem. The last time I did it, using a single target psychic power to break open the crates, every single one had zombies inside. This concurs with what the post after mine says. http://co-forum.perfectworld.com/showpost.php?p=2591511&postcount=8

Now, the first time I did it, when it took forever, I was using Reaper's Caress, which is a bleed attack. And as far as I can recall, that's the only time I've used any DOT on the crates.

jonsills

bioshrike wrote: »

I've contacted support about this issue, and what I was told was to use a single target attack that does not impart a DoT of some sort. Try using something that fits that criteria and let us know.

Okay, can you find out what DoT or AoE is associated with a Behemoth's energy builder? Because the last one I tried this with, Strongarm, never found a single zombie after two days of trying.

I'm hoping this has been cleared up - I've got Red Green, an Inventor, in Queen City now, and I'd hate to have to disable my Attack Toys for the mission...

koriel8

Zombies do not spawn when I use Wrist Bolter. They do spawn when I use Power Gauntlet.

jagamma01

I got zombies consistently using Haymaker and Rocket Launcher on my Might and Munitions toons, respectively. I'll have to double-check for my Gadgeteer and Inferno toons, though.

ipsissimusaleph

I've submitted tickets on this a couple of times now as have encountered the same issue with 4 different toons (1 FF + 3AT).

The FF got to 14 of 15 zombies in half an hour of play or less, then an hour of nothing in any crate before the final one (3 actually) dropped.

1st AT (Behemoth) to go in I got to 15 zombies no sweat at all.

2nd AT I saw someone else get some zombies a couple of times, but 3 and a half hours of nothing more than a glimpse for me

3rd AT, another Behemoth, was in last week and spent 2 hours with nothing one night, and another hour with noting the next am. Behemoth. So prob is def NOT stealth.

I've also submitted a ticket in D of the D about one crate (2nd AT saw this) that initially gave me 4 zombies, but then they evaporated on me when I tried to tab-target them. Same sort of deal as with nem minions if you don't target them fast enough.

Sent in a ticket on it and mentioned the empty crates thing in case there's a connection. (Yes man, there is a connection: they're connected by the fact they're both things happening in a mission that's broke.)

Thing is, you try doing it with one toon and it works -eventually- then you try with another and you get nothing and then a third gets something.. as we say in my neck of the woods, "Whit???" No apparent pattern...

thunderchild99

roomsweeper seems to consistantly product zombies for my behemoth. With my energy builder or defensive combo I got nothing.

kallethen

thunderchild99 wrote: »

roomsweeper seems to consistantly product zombies for my behemoth. With my energy builder or defensive combo I got nothing.

It seems like the zombies appear if you destroy the crate with only one hit. If you hit the crates more than once, no zombies.

At least that's how it was in my last playthrough.

kalincia

Now, I'd done this a couple of times and never had a problem. Then I did it on a new character and they just weren't dropping. After coming here and doing some testing, I figured my problem.

All my attacks were doing too much damage. Most of my previous characters were tanks or healers, but this was my first DPS build character doing this quest.

Now, on this character I'd been trying to get all the Perks, so I was making sure I did every quest, so I was slightly higher level than one would normally be (level 28 for a level 22 quest). Also, my energy builder was rank 2 because I needed the extra energy.

I found what I had to do was turn off damage buffs like Concentration, target a box, and turn my energy builder on then immediately off again. I then had to wait around a second, then repeat. If that second strike didn't destroy the box, then I got zombies. Failing to wait or doing enough damage to destroy the box outright in the second strike never netted me any zombies.

So now after running around for half an hour getting nowhere, I had it done in just a few minutes. Halfway through I figured to change my stance to support for 10% less damage which seemed to make it even easier.

Clearly from other posts other people are seeing the exact opposite of my experience, so your mileage clear does vary. My suggestion would be to try different powers and see what happens.

fr0gurt

thunderchild99 wrote: »

roomsweeper seems to consistantly product zombies for my behemoth. With my energy builder or defensive combo I got nothing.

Roomsweeper also gets consistent results for me as well, to the point that I retcon it in if one of my heroes is having trouble. Also got good results with Crushing Wave.

My archer and single blade heroes had problems, so I used the Roomsweeper method with them with success.

With a munitions user, I found that SMG Burst works if you are targeting something else and catching the crate in the AoE.

senzsun

Further update from me:

I made a beast character. By the time I got to Queen City, I had bestial fury (EB, non-bleed), shred (ST combo melee bleeder), bite (ST melee bleeder), and frenzy (AOE combo melee non-bleed) as my attacks. I tried three or four of each of these on the crates and not a zombie in sight.
Fortunately I'd kept a power slot spare, so I temporarily used it for Eruption (heavy weapon ST melee) and hey presto, zombies every time.

Avoid DOT, avoid AOE, and avoid EB seems to be the way.

revanantmorituri

Logging out of my character and back in between crates got it to 1 in 3 crates spawning for my mystic FF pet master. Sadly, her personal attacks at the time were the energy builder (Eldritch Bolts), an AOE (Skarn's Bane), and another AOE (Sigils of the Primal Storm). Getting the army of velociraptors to attack the boxes was just an exercise in futility.

senzsun

I've done the mission yet again, with an infernal this time.

1st crate: 4 zombies, killed them all, but the kills didn't register.
Next 10 crates, not a zombie in sight, so retconned to get eruption (heavy weapon) skill, went back, and completed the 15 zombies in about two minutes. I broke the crates with eruption then used epidemic to wipe the critters out.

sarahlonny

I was on a FF character (she uses swords and some spells), and had no end of trouble getting the crates to spawn anything. I must've taken out about 30+. I also noticed the Dogz in the area have a much larger aggro range than they did the last time I was there (which was about a week or so ago). They'd spot me from behind walls, from across the street, and generally irk me, mostly because I was already annoyed about the crates.
Also, one on the docks often spawns on top of another, which is bizarre.
I think I've taken three characters there over the last month, and it'd been different each time.

I pretty much always have melee characters, so that's not the difference, and none of the recent ones have had stealth when they went there, so that's not it either. I tried messing about with abilities that could one-shot the crates Vs. the builder, and that made no difference either.
In fact I think my Heavy Weapons character managed to do this quest much faster with simply running up to them and using her fiery ground thingy ability.

Personally, I hate any kind of random mission that requires you to 'find' something in a hidden item, or pile or whatever. Hated it in WoW and the stupid number of missions like it (those spider webs in Howling Fjord, and the mission in Icecrown, the one in the area above the Borean Tundra where you're trying to find living villagers, as well as a few other examples scattered about) and in CO it's these crates and that stupid snow one in Canada (I avoid the desert because I prefer the snow to the brown). Sometimes you get lucky and don't have to spend long on them, and other times it feels like you're at it for an age.

Honestly these 'needle in a haystack' missions are probably only slightly behind escort missions in their ability to irritate.

fuldaede84

I completed this mission by using a fully charged uppercut on the coffins. Apperently, 1-shotting them seems to work.

musher

A bit of info from Age's experience:
Shoulder Launcher 1-hit kill + overkill damage = no zombies.
Wrist Bolter attack point-blank = after first attack crate shifts outside targeting arc. After reaquisition of target...no zombies.
Wrist Bolter attack from several feet = Aaaah! Zombies! Run for your...wait a second, I'm here looking for them in the first place! *pew-pew-pew*

guyhumual

Seems this is still broken. I just opened 12 crates with only four zombies in the first crate.

I should add that I'm using the night warrior passive, with boomerang toss and ricochet throw as my attacks. Destroying the crate in one hit or multiple hits doesn't seem to change anything. Being in stealth or not doesn't seem to change anything. There's no rhyme or reason for it.

roughbearmattach

I have done that mission a couple times in the past couple months, with no problem at all.

Maybe the problem has to do with AoE attacks, ricochet throw, or something like that. I destroyed each crate individually, using Fire Strike.

guyhumual

Boomerang toss is a single attack, and as is Shadow Strike, I've been at it for three hours off and on over three days now, busting countless crates, and the only luck I've had with zombies is with the ricochet shot. I'm up to 10 zombies BTW, course the last three didn't count for some reason. Usually the first crate I bust has three or four zombies in it and then I'll get nothing after that, often though the first crate I bust also has nothing in it. I've been on 10 zombies for a while now.

jaguar40

Hmmm sounds like some is wonky with that mission for sure.

I dont have stealth on any toon so that isnt a factor.

Used only energy builder no luck
One shotting-no luck.
aoe non-aoe DoT-no luck

the most recent toon, went through over 25 boxes using only the energy builder andn ot a single zombie.


And yeah on this same recent toon, on the first day the nemesis mobs spawned often but immediately disappear. The second day no spawns at all. Third day only one spawn, which also immediately dissappeared. 4th day two spawns, also immediately dissappeared. 5th day no spawns.

Decided to nto even bother with Queen City are or any defeat crated zombie missions until they fix it. No point in doing the Queen city arc to get stopped dead in progress on a wild goose chase on zombies that isnt there. Then there is one similar mission in Vibora Bay upper level I just started to skip it. Queen City another good arc deadened by a long time bug that continues to be ignored.

senzsun

Latest update (must be the 10th or 11th time I've done this mission).
This time, straight shooting with two-gun mojo, every crate but two contained the goods.
That's single-target piercing damage with no secondary effects. The simpler the attack the better it would seem.

nextnametaken

I found full blast worked 90% of the time.
No energy builder, no taps, no AoE, just build up and blow it away.

Good times.

chaelk

yes I know its an old thread. The bug is stiull there.


NPG works, I got 3 or 4 zombies per crate.

with only eb, aoe and Dot powers. I couldn't use anything else

secondalk

This is a horribly designed mission.

Sadly, it sort of sets the tone for everything else in Vibora Bay. Which is unfortunate. That area has some of the best and some of the worst content in the game.

senzsun

I did it with archery this time. "Straight Shot", fully charged: rains zombies.

In other words, single hit, non-EB, non-DOT yet again.

nextnametaken

Zombie kills get you a perk and the perk gets you some kind of zombie summon, I think.

They prevented high level players from farming the zone and ruining it
for the 20s its intended for by negating AoE attacks like Epidemic from being
used to blast boxes and spawn zombies.

Maybe.

flamingbunnyman

nextnametaken wrote: »

Zombie kills get you a perk and the perk gets you some kind of zombie summon, I think.

They prevented high level players from farming the zone and ruining it
for the 20s its intended for by negating AoE attacks like Epidemic from being
used to blast boxes and spawn zombies.

Maybe.

Evil Spirits get you a cape and a head. No devices.

nextnametaken

Its a random drop from the undead Skull of the necromancer

flamingbunnyman

OK. You said "perk", so that's what I was looking for.

People actually farm those temporary summon powers? I consider them vendor trash; they take up too much room for such a limited pet. If there was a permanent pet attached to one of the perks, I'd be all over it.

aaronkorr

Not noticed anyone suggesting it but breaking them open while in combat seemed to do the trick the last time I did the mission. Didn't matter what power I used so long as I was still being attacked at the time.

toooldforthis

aaronkorr wrote: »

Not noticed anyone suggesting it but breaking them open while in combat seemed to do the trick the last time I did the mission. Didn't matter what power I used so long as I was still being attacked at the time.

Just ran this today, and couldn't duplicate this - was being attacked by Dogz, AOE'd them, broke open the crates, and no zombies.

Single target attacks worked fine to open the crates, and fortunately as there were 3-5 zombies per each crate was very quick to finish.

bughouse

Just finished this mission today with a munitions character. No zombies after 10 boxes or so, but every box afterward had zombies in it. Only difference was that the full boxes were broken open with Lead Tempest instead of directly attacking them. Last time I did this mission, every box was full regardless of the attack or combat state, but that was a couple weeks ago.