You can do it!

It’s a bit long story. For short: “Don’t be afraid to do Challenge Mission”.

Long version: When I was a fresh 30, I joined a group to do Russian Consulate CM. Group disbanded after few speed wipe on …… our team. Then I completely ignored playing CM until recent 1.1 patch, because I can’t resist to those shiny gold HE.

Tuesday, right after 1.1 patch, I have done my first successful CM run which is carried by a group of ilvl 178, 171 and 168. I was ilvl 158 (only 4 HE equipped) at that time. I’m so pleased with the 4 HE drops. Wednesday, Massive decreased the HE drop in CM from 4 to 1. Side effect is, no CM on this day. Continued my journey in DZ, got few decent HE from loot, and used most of my mat to craft gears. My ilvl got jumped to 174.

Yesterday, I couldn’t wait to test my new setup. As a routine, I rushed through my hard dailies. Right after, I joined a team for Lexington CM. And this time, the team is better equipped too. Ilvl ranges from 171 to 178. However we got wiped at reception area, the first encounter after entering the building. Ilvl 178 player left. Three of us tried again, got wiped again. Ilvl 173 player left, leaving me and an ilvl 171 player. He is not that well equipped, especially for damage reduction/resistance and DPS. Should I leave as well? Two of us looked at each other for few seconds after the respawn. We both ran towards the stairs. Yes, we wanted to give it a try, maybe for fun. I wanted to payback, especially to those shotgunner :D.

We played extremely cautious. He focused on deploying support station, CC with seeker mine and avoiding dying. So I focused on DPS and not dying by using First Aid and Scanner. WE COMPLETED THE MISSION. Yes, the whole mission, not only the reception area. And yes, by only two newb to CM. We hided our ass in covers, took down enemy one by one and revived each other countless time. The reward is great. I’m not talking about the HE drop, it’s the tension, team work and enjoyment.

TL;DR, if you are fresh or not well equipped lvl 30, as many suggested, don’t be afraid to run CM. Many times, people will carry you through. More importantly, don’t give up after few wipes, you should learn from the failure, try your best to up your skill. Trust me, the experience you get definitely worth the time you spend.

PS. Massive, please add more PVE contents. Casual players like me can only play for few hours a day, and most of the time by myself. The fun in running PVE challenges outweigh what I experienced in DZ.