Annihilation Droid XRR-3

Overview

Summary

Enrage Timer: 7:00 minutes

Annihilation Droid XRR-3 is the first boss in the Eternity Vault operation in SWTOR. It is a very straightforward boss encounter with several stun/knockback mechanics, a large recurring sustained AoE damage phase, and a movement phase where players must step out of red circles to avoid damage. It concludes with a burn phase accompanied by continuous sustained AoE damage.

The encounter has the highest DPS requirement of the operation and so it serves as a DPS check for operation teams. That said, the DPS requirement is the lowest of any operation in SWTOR so is rarely an issue in story mode and is a fairly easy check even in hard mode. The fight is very easy to tank. Healing the fight is typically very easy except for some sustained AoE healing necessary in the final burn phase.

Video Guide

Layout

Detailed Walkthrough

Key Mechanics

Shockwave

Boss stuns all players within approximately 20m. Is immediately followed by Overwhelming Swipe.

Overwhelming Swipe

Boss performs a 360 degree knockback to players that knocks them back approximately 45m. Follows Shockwave and is immediately followed by Missile Salvo.

Missile Salvo

Boss hunkers down and fires missiles at the team for 25 seconds dealing AoE damage.

Lock On

Boss targets random player (red target reticule) and fires a missile doing single-target damage and knockback.

Storm Protocol

Boss begins targeting random players with red target reticules, which will do damage after few seconds. Players should move out of red circles to avoid damage.

Overwhelming Strike

Boss knocks back the player with aggro approximately 45m. It is a conal effect so nearby players can be knocked back as well. Following knockback, boss drops aggro and then targets next highest threat player with Cannonade.

Cannonade

DoT effect placed on player with aggro following Overwhelming Strike. Unless taunted back very quickly by the tank, will typically be applied to a DPS player.

Soft Enrage

When boss reaches ~9-10% health, it will execute a Shockwave / Overwhelming Strike combination then will perform a continuous Missile Salvo that persists until the boss is defeated.

Strategy

Annihilation Droid XRR-3 is a very simple boss with predictable mechanics. The overall goals of the group are as follows:

Tank should face the boss towards the door (preferably towards a column so when knocked back they can get back in range to re-taunt faster). Re-taunt anytime the boss swaps aggro to another player.
Ranged DPS and healers should be at least 20m from the boss to avoid the stun and knockback from Shockwave / Overwhelming Swipe.
During Missile Salvo, the entire team should group up under the boss. This does not mitigate any damage but enables powerful sustained AoE healing and various group mitigation abilities (e.g., gunslinger ballistic shield, vanguard sonic rebounder, etc.).
All players should be careful to step out of red circles during Storm Protocol.
When boss enters soft enrage / burn phase around 10%, the team should group up under the boss and cycle through defensives to stay alive until the boss is defeated.

Role Discussion

Tanks

Face boss towards the vault entrance and away from the team. If possible, try to angle yourself towards the columns on each side of the door.

Anytime you are punted by Overwhelming Strike, taunt immediately as the boss will drop aggro. If you are out of taunt range, run back in quickly. If you are knocked back into the columns beside the door, you may be able to stay within taunt range after the knockback.

Tanks should follow the same mechanics as the group for Missile Salvo (run under the boss for AoE healing) and Storm Protocol (avoid red circles).

Healers

Stay at least 20m away from the boss at all times except during Missile Salvo. Doing so will ensure you do not get stunned and knocked back by Shockwave and Overwhelming Swipe, thereby losing valuable healing time. Healers should group with the team under the boss during Missile Salvo for AoE healing.

The tank will need sustained healing though should take relatively low damage. Players targeted by Cannonade and/or Lock On will need burst healing. Even in story mode, a player who receives the Cannonade DoT and then is targeted by Lock On can be nearly one shot without immediate strong burst healing.

Players who do not get out of red circles quickly during Storm Protocol may need burst healing. The circles deal minimal damage in story mode but in hard mode can make healing very challenging in players move slowly.

If the team executes mechanics smoothly, the only semi-stressful healing will be during Missile Salvo phases and the soft enrage Missile Salvo at the end. Try to prepare in advance of these phases by applying bubbles, HoTs and probes to maximize group healing. If possible, try to save healing cooldowns and adrenals for the soft enrage phase.

DPS

Ranged DPS should stay at least 20m away from the boss at all times except during Missile Salvo. This will ensure they do not get stunned and knocked back by Shockwave and Overwhelming Swipe. All DPS should group with the team under the boss during Missile Salvo for AoE healing.

Melee DPS should be prepared to take damage and be stunned / knocked back periodically. The stun deals relatively high damage while the knockback does minimal damage. As such, try to identify the Shockwave cast and hit a low-cooldown defensive ability beforehand to mitigate the damage. Melee DPS with leaps can typically leap during the knockback animation and leap directly back to the boss. Otherwise, players will need to run back into range of the boss.

Melee DPS need to be especially careful during Storm Protocol to avoid standing in red circles. If the group has a lot of Melee DPS, there may be a lot of red circles nearby that can be difficult to see amongst the boss and DPS ability animations.

Hard Mode Strategy

XRR-3 presents the primary DPS check for Eternity Vault in Hard Mode, although it is not a difficult check compared to any other operations in Hard Mode. Damage on the tank is increased though not significantly. The primary mechanics that are more challenging are:

Storm Protocol (red circles) does high damage if players stand in them and will kill players despite any healing if they stand in stacking circles.
Pre-fight, the turrets do significantly more damage and will immediately kill a healer if the tank or DPS do not pick up aggro on both turrets.
Cannonade (DoT applied by boss) ticks very hard on DPS players. Healers should identify the affected player and keep them topped off otherwise they will likely be one-shot if targeted by Lock On.
Lock On deals sizable and unavoidable single target damage, so healers should be proactive in topping off that player.
Missile Salvo does significant AoE damage and is the most challenging healing mechanic in the Eternity Vault operation.
Mechanics for DPS are very simple in this fight (avoid red circles, group up under Boss during Missile Salvo), primary focus is on high damage output as this fight represents the primary DPS check for the operation.

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