MSF: Dread The Darkness Live Blog – Mission #16

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MSF - Dread The Darkness Mission 16

Posted By: ljcool110 December 27, 2020

Dark Dimension III: Dread The Darkness is the ultimate endgame content in Marvel Strike Force, and I begin fighting the 16th and final mission after 10 days of fighting the 15th mission, hoping to finish by the end of the calendar year. Like the previous three, this mission requires City characters, and this again leaves me incredibly under-manned. While I have been working to boost my City roster of late, especially the Symbiote faction, this is a slow, slow grind for even the light Pay To Play (PTP) of MSF. Below I am going to live blog my daily attempts as I look to defeat the Dark Dimension and earn a 5-Red Star Ultimus.

 

My Dread The Darkness eligible City characters:

Here are the starting stats for my City characters fighting this mission.

  • Punisher – 128,109 power, Level 77, Gear 14 +1 piece, Abilities Levels 7-7-7-5 – 7 Stars, 6 Red Stars – Striker Level 5
  • Spider-Man (Symbiote) – 121,559 power, Level 77, Gear 14 +2 pieces, Abilities Levels 7-7-7-5 – 6 Stars, 6 Red Stars – Skirmisher Level 4
  • Jessica Jones – 119,090, Level 77, Gear 14 + 1 piece, Abilities Levels 7-7-7-5 – 6 Stars, 5 Red Stars – Healer Level 4

Next on my list for Gear 14 City characters is like Carnage, although only at 7-stars, 4-red stars, because I am not adding another Defender and because Venom is farther away on gear and both Anti-Venom and Scream are 4-stars. Of course the Superior Molecular Scan pieces are the barrier, but at least they are farmable now on Doom War 3. As I start this battle on December 14, Carnage sits at Gear 13 + 2 pieces.

 

 

Dread The Darkness – Mission 16

Ghost Rider (3.32m power), 27.1m total enemy health

12.14.20 – I am starting this battle off with about 45% health on Punisher, 50% on Jessica Jones and 90% on Spider-Man (Symbiote) thanks to the end of the last battle. 35 enemies greet me with Ghost Rider riding through my team and adding Bleed debuffs before I take a turn. The enemies include two I hate in this game mode – Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange. I target Doc Strange with SMS’s special, but other than a couple of basics I can do little else today as I am mowed over quickly. Apparently I did a little damage as 26.9m health remains across the 35 enemies on this board.

 

12.15.20 – Back for Day 2, although yesterday began with my characters below full health, and I start the focus on Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange, the annoying healer/revivers that I hate in this game mode. Punisher is the first to die, just after using his AoE, and both Rhinos taunt after I get SW into yellow health which, while predictable and expected, screws up my short-term plans. A Spider-Man (Symbiote) ultimate helps slow down the group, but the enemies still overwhelm me. A couple of basics from SMS and a punch to the face from JJ help me get SW back to yellow health before the end of the battle, but there is little else to note. Tomorrow I will start with 24.8m health to go across the 35 total enemies.

 

12.16.20 – Ready to receive another beatdown, I check in with my three at 368k once again. After the initial hit from Ghost Rider, Spider-Man (Symbiote) targets Scarlet Witch, dropping her to red health, but the enemies begin to target Jessica Jones and have her in red health before she takes a turn. JJ cleanses Punisher and SMS, which is followed by Punisher’s special which kills SW. 5 enemy attacks later and SMS is the only one left for me but his ultimate is up, so I target Doctor Strange to stun him and keep the chance of killing him off without a revive happening. This proves to be a futile attempt as Doctor Strange heals on his turn back to yellow, then I get bling on SMS and my next attack is worthless. That is all I can manage today in a disappointing finish. 23.8m health remains across 34 remaining enemies.

 

12.17.20 – Ghost Rider puts Offense and Defense Down on Punisher to start but Spider-Man (Symbiote) is my first attack and hits Doctor Strange and the surrounding enemies with his special. After taking some hits, Jessica Jones punches Doc Strange in the mouth and finishes him off leaving 33 enemies, 6 on-screen. Punisher follows with a basic on Mordo, the next weakest enemy, and after 3 attacks on SMS he gets to use his basic on Mordo to finish him off. Now 32 enemies remain and all but Rhino are in green health thanks to some small healing adding up for the bad guys. I use basics from JJ and Punisher on Elsa Bloodstone, then the enemies overwhelm my forces and today is over in a flash. 32 enemies remain with a total of 23.7m health.

 

12.18.20 – Yesterday saw me knock off two enemies and do barely any damage. Hopefully today goes better… After a Ghost Rider hit on Jessica Jones, my Spider-Man (Symbiote) is up with his ultimate, but both Rhino enemies have counter. I target Elsa Bloodstone with SMS to add the Vulnerable and stun her, and eat the counters from both Rhino enemies. JJ cleanses and Punisher uses his AoE, but the enemies gang up on him next, killing him. With SMS and JJ both in yellow, I have SMS up again with his ultimate and he again targets Bloodstone before JJ punches her face and finishes her off. I survive the next few attacks and have SMS using his special on Merc Lieutenant who is part of a 3-man group with one Rhino and Ghost Rider, so his special is perfect. The hit kills Mercenary Lieutenant and prompts the addition of 5 reinforcements. I am now down to 30 enemies, but 8 are on-screen as JJ kills the weaker Rhino. SMS gets a basic on the other Rhino before the battle is over, and Loki uses his stealth move just before they kill me off, so at least that is out of the way. 29 enemies and 21.6m health remain as I head into the weekend.

 

12.19.20 – Now level 78, Punisher is now 130k, Spider-Man (Symbiote) is 123k and Jessica Jones is 121k power. I also upgraded JJ’s Iso-8 to Level 5, so my threesome now checks in at 378k power.

To the battle, 29 enemies remain with 7 on-screen. After hits from Vulture and Ghost Rider, my SMS is up first and has his ultimate, so I am targeting Crossbones to try and corral him a bit. JJ finishes off the remaining Rhino from yesterday to bring us to 28 enemies and 6 on-screen, then Punisher targets Crossbones who is Vulnerable. JJ is the first to die, but SMS adds Vulnerable again to Crossbones and Punisher brings him to red health before SMS finishes him off. They land a Slow on SMS and take 8 straight turns, killing Punisher and spelling the end for me, but I get two more SMS basics in before I die. 27 enemies remain and 20.1m health for tomorrow.

 

12.20.20 – Back in at 378k power as I continue to build Carnage, he remains 2 pieces away from Gear 14. Vulture and Ghost Rider hit me first, but Spider-Man (Symbiote) is up with his ultimate and uses it on Elsa Bloodstone, instead of Scarlet Witch, as I try something new. I figure SW will get her heal in one way or another, so if I can limit their offense maybe that will keep me alive longer? We will see… The attacks put Loki in red health, and while Jessica Jones cleansed my team, Punisher’s AoE kills Loki as 26 enemies now remain. SMS uses his special targeting SW which places the Vulnerable on her and also hits Elsa and GR, then the enemies get a few attacks in around JJ and Punisher attacks, killing Punisher. SW heals, and JJ is dead next, while SMS gets two basics in, the second of which kills Scarlet Witch sooner than expected. However the debuffs mount on SMS and then Carnage finishes my day’s run with 25 enemies remaining and 18.1m health on them.

I decide to use my Dark Health packs to heal 2 of my 3 and 50 power cores to heal the other and I am back to it. 6 enemies are on-screen to start as Vulture and Ghost Rider hit me to start again but this time Carnage and Elsa get attacks in too. With Punisher and JJ already in red health I am not liking this start, but SMS uses his ultimate and targets Elsa again, stunning her and slowing all enemies down. However Shocker and the bad guys kill both JJ and Punisher without a single turn taken, and SMS has both Offense and Defense Down. SMS applies Bleed with his special, but 3 enemy attacks later he is dead and my effort and resources seem wasted. 25 enemies remain now at 17.9m health.

 

12.21.20 – Another day, another attack as I am back at 378k power once again. I start the battle and zone out, playing it like a Raid or Blitz battle with little to no strategic thinking and target Vulture first. By the time the enemies finish their attacks I have Spider-Man (Symbiote) with Bleed and 60% health while Punisher is 100% and Jessica Jones about 85%. As I evaluate the 6 enemies on-screen, Vulture is in red health, Elsa, GR and Carnage in yellow and both Shocker and Merc Lieutenant are green. I decide to have JJ cleanse which causes Punisher to shoot Vulture, removing him from the screen. Punisher is up with his AoE and targets Ghost Rider – I am bound to kill this guy eventually, right? GR has Defense Down, but the attack doesn’t seem to hit him very hard. I eat a few hits and have SMS ready to attack with his ultimate, which targets GR as I want to get rid of him. The attack, again, despite Defense Down, does not seem to do the damage expected, but does weaken ML and Carnage into red health, so JJ punches ML in the face and removes him. Now Punisher is up with his special and targets the stunned, Vulnerable Ghost Rider, weakening him and those around him, then SMS uses his special as well to do the same. The attack from SMS kills Carnage bringing us to 22 remaining enemies, but an Elsa Bloodstone and Rhino appear place 5 now on-screen. JJ and Punisher hit Shocker, killing him and more reinforcements arrive. Now 8 appear on-screen with just a stunned, weak GR and a yellow health Elsa Bloodstone remaining from the last batch. SMS gets a basic in as the match goes lopsided, but gets a final basic attack in that kills Ghost Rider, just before I die to end the day’s attack. I believe I have it down to 20 enemies remaining with a total health stat sitting at 15.5m.

 

12.22.20 – Back for another battle, I face 7 enemies to start including a single leftover, a yellow-health Elsa Bloodstone who I target immediately with Spider-Man (Symbiote)’s special. I take several hits and Loki stealths the team, but Bloodstone is visible when Jessica Jones takes her turn and she removes Else from the battle, taking us to 19 enemies left. Punisher shoots Doctor Strange and I somehow have all 3 alive when SMS is up again, as he uses his ultimate targeting the taunting Rhino. Punisher and SMS team up on Rhino, keeping Vulnerable on him, then Punisher’s AoE damages the enemies and the bonus attack kills Rhine. Doc Strange revives Elsa Bloodstone and then it takes 7 consecutive hits to kill SMS and end my day. 19 enemies and 13.2m health remains.

 

12.23.20 – Now just a few pieces of gear away from adding Carnage to this team, my threesome is back and facing 19 enemies. I start by targeting Doctor Strange and add Vulnerable to him, but Loki confuses my team and Punisher is dead. I take a few more hits and JJ punches the Doc into red health. Spider-Man (Symbiote) is up with his ultimate and targets Carnage, the next lowest health enemy who happens to have Defense Down, but this does not kill the Doc. I take 5 straight attacks, all on SMS, before JJ kills Doctor Strange. 4 more attacks on SMS kill him before JJ gets a final basic in to finish the attack today. 18 enemies and 12.3m health remains.

 

12.24.20 – Fighting on Christmas Eve, I am still just a few pieces of gear away from adding Carnage. Specifically I need 11 Superior Molecular Scan pieces and 5 Superior Marrow Extract pieces to have him join the team, likely this weekend. I did add another piece of gear to Punisher this morning to add to his Defense and survivability which brings my overall team power 379k power.

To the battle, 18 enemies remain and after Vulture hits me Loki adds stealth and summons some friends, before 6-8 enemy attacks before I can hit back. I tested this out 4 times and hated every start, so I used Spider-Man (Symbiote) to attack by himself, waste the Loki stealth, and then use Dark Health to heal him so that I do not waste a day.

Now to the real battle, 6 of the 18 remaining enemies are on-screen and the start of the battle is a mess. After a restart I at least have all 3 alive when SMS gets his first turn this time, so I am running with it. SMS uses his special on Carnage, adding Bleed to 4 of the 6 enemies, then Jessica Jones cleanses and Punisher’s special kills Carnage. SMS eats several hits and then they kill JJ, and with Punisher in red health and SMS in yellow, SMS gets to use his ultimate. I target Vulture since he was about to take a turn, and the attack kills Loki bringing us to 16 enemies remaining. Yet another Elsa Bloodstone arrives with a Rhino and Shocker as now 7 enemies are on-screen. Punisher targets the Vulnerable Vulture and gets him to red health, then SMS, who has healed back to full health, uses a special on a foursome grouped together of 3 Elsas and Shocker to add Bleed. Punisher dies on the next attacks and while SMS dies a few hits later, the Bleed helps reduce some health as I end today with 16 enemies and 10.5m health remaining.

 

12.25.20 – Fighting on Christmas Day just before bed, I start with 6 of 16 enemies on-screen and 2 in red health – 1 of the 4 Elsa Bloodstones and Vulture. I am able to take them both out fast before reinforcements arrive, and then focus in on another Elsa, killing her shortly after to bring it to 13 enemies left. With 7 of the 13 enemies on-screen, I land Spider-Man (Symbiote)’s ultimate which damages and stuns the group, but they kill both Punisher and Jessica Jones leaving just SMS. Once it gets down to 1 vs. 7 I am not match for these foes and die in the next barrage of attacks leaving 13 enemies and 8.7m health.

 

My (updated) Dread The Darkness eligible City characters:

Here are the starting stats for my City characters fighting this mission.

  • Punisher – 132,330 power, Level 78, Gear 14 +2 pieces, Abilities Level 7-7-7-5 – 7 Stars, 6 Red Stars – Striker Level 5
  • Spider-Man (Symbiote) – 125,778 power, Level 78, Gear 14 +2 pieces, Abilities Level 7-7-7-5 – 6 Stars, 6 Red Stars – Striker Level 4
  • Jessica Jones – 123,607, Level 78, Gear 14 + 1 piece, Abilities Level 7-7-7-5 – 6 Stars, 5 Red Stars – Healer Level 5
  • Carnage – 110,530, Level 78, Gear 14 – Abilities Level 7-7-7-5 – 6 Stars, 4 Red Stars – Skirmisher Level 4

12.26.20 – I have finally added a 4th member to my team as Carnage checks in at Gear 14 (stats above). I start this battle a few times to test out the Iso-8 classes, as having Carnage in the group may cause a need to change Spider-Man (Symbiote) back to a Striker since I changed him to a Skirmisher for this game mode. Given the Speed of both characters I decide to make the switch, which has been reflected above.

My team checks in at 491k power as I start with 7 enemies on-screen including 2 in yellow health – one of the Elsa Bloodstone enemies and Shocker. Carnage and SMS gang up on the weaker Elsa and have her in red health before 5 enemy attacks weaken Punisher, but Jessica Jones and Punisher finish Elsa off. Crossbones follows by exploding, then Carnage hits is opposite number and SMS takes advantage of the Vulnerable status effect and gets the double tap. Punisher take a couple more hits and is in red health with JJ yellow, but Carnage continues to show his value and Speed hitting Shocker just before SMS uses his ultimate to kill Shocker and Stun the Mercenary Lieutenant. Now down to 11 enemies left, 3 reinforcements arrive in Loki, Mordo and another Elsa, placing 8 enemies on-screen again and JJ gives energy to my team. Punisher, looking for one good attack before he gets killed off, hits the Merc Lieutenant with a special which allows Carnage to finish him off, then SMS drops a special attack on the bad guy Carnage before the enemies kill off JJ and Punisher. Carnage kills the enemy Carnage dropping the enemy count to 9 and leaving 6 on-screen, then SMS brings the newly-added Loki to yellow health. The enemies then gang up on SMS, who had heal block from Mordo’s AoE. Carnage gets a basic in, but the 1 vs. 6 odds are too great for Carnage to overcome. I end the battle with 9 enemies left and 5.046m health remaining.

 

12.27.20 – With just 5.0m health left I will be finishing this mission and the entire Dark Dimension III with this foursome as no other City characters are close to Gear 14. It comes down to when I will be able to do so, but before the end of 2020 is the goal.

To the battle, my team which is now 492k power is facing 8 on-screen enemies as we come to the home stretch. Carnage places Vulnerable on the weaker of the two remaining Elsa Bloodstone enemies and Spider-Man (Symbiote) is up next with his ultimate. Now a Striker, he follows with the bonus attack on Elsa bringing her to red health while only Loki joins her in such a low health state. Rhino and Crossbones are both yellow and the other 4 are all green. Hits from Jessica Jones and Punisher finish off the weaker Elsa and we’re down to 8 enemies remaining. Now I target Loki and a special from SMS has him close to done, so Carnage uses his special to finish him off and add Bleed to the adjacent enemies. Now there are just 7 enemies remaining with Crossbones in red and Rhino and Else in yellow. Carnage hits Crossbones and adds Vulnerable and SMS uses the double-tap too finish him off – down to 6 remaining as Vulture joins the team placing all 6 on-screen. I place some hits on Rhino and he is just a hit or two away from being done, but the enemies gang up on Punisher and kill him. Now 3 vs. 6, JJ cleanses and SMS uses his ultimate to kill Rhino and slow the rest of the enemies. 5 enemies remain and Carnage uses his special on Mordo, who was in red health with 3 debuffs, and finishes him off to bring us to 4. SMS targets Vulture b/c he is in the middle of the 4 remaining enemies, applying Bleed, as JJ is killed by Ghost Rider. The enemy on the left of this group dies from the Bleed effect, then Carnage is up and uses his second special on Ghost Rider to add 3 Bleeds and a Vulnerable. SMS targets GR nd chains the attack, killing Elsa and it is now a 2 vs. 2 battle. We trade attacks with Carnage constantly keeping Vulnerable on the enemies and SMS getting double attacks before Vulture taps out leaving my two Spider-Verse characters against an outmatched Ghost Rider. Carnage uses his special in the end to finish off GR and the win is in the books. A TON of gear plus 250k gold, 5k Elite 5-red star credits and more are the reward.

 

 

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