Digistruct Peak by level walkthrough thread

Handsome_Dad · April 12, 2017, 4:03pm

The purpose of this thread is to show the landscape and spawn types of each level and stage of Digistruct Peak. I will be using Maya with OP8 gear for most of the walkthrough, as the purpose of this is to show the area and discuss general tips, rather than modeling how to beat everything with a specific class.

@Prismatic has created links to jump to the posts for each level. Those will be listed at the bottom of this first post.

Helpful link for elements in the Peak, courtesy of @Jefe:

Elements on the Peak

On the subject of re-gearing… This comes up a LOT. Here’s the quick & dirty: you want very good gear, but most classes don’t need mission reward gear. You can get by on farmables pretty well through the first bunch of runs. I’d suggest doing so until you’re getting ready to unlock OP6, then go for your Lady Fist, Fibber, Pimpernel, or SandHawk. The common thread with those is that most are used with the Bee shield. As such, you can keep your OP5 versions of the guns, upgrade your Bee, and be fine until resetting at OP8 to get your final versions.

Specific, easy to farm, very useful gear, listed with best source:

Legendary Soldier, Siren, Berzerker, Hunter, Psycho, Mechromancer-- loot train
Grog Nozzle (not farmable, but so easy) – mission gun from “the beard makes the man” in Tiny Tina DLC. Get it. Do not turn in the mission.
Hammer Buster – McNally in the Dust
Hornet – Knuckledragger
Lyuda – Gettle in the Dust
Maggie – Mick Zaford in the Dust
Slagga-- Hector Todunk in the Dust
Corrosive Bone of the Ancients – legendary loot midgets at Wildlife Exploitation Preserve (also shock)
Bee shield (for Dukino’s Mom and Saturns in higher level runs) – treants in the Forest
Unkempt Harold – Torgue vendors all over the Torgue DLC. If necessary, you can farm tokens in NVHM or TVHM to spend on-level. Personal opinion: DPUH is overrated for most classes. I prefer HUH (Hard Unkempt Harold)
Antagonist shield – from the Seraph vendor at Flamerock refuge. Get crystals from Pyro Pete or Hyperius.

Frankly, that list is good enough to easily get most classes by through unlocking OP5.

Links to class specific threads for tips against specific spawns:

Axton: Axton's Digistruct Peak, area specific strategies

Maya: Maya's Digistruct Peak, Area Specific tactics

Gun Zero: Zero's Digistruct Peak, area specific strategies

Melee Zero: Melee Zer0....You Still 0ut There?

Gaige: Infinite Gaige vs The Peak

Kreig: Krieg and Digistruct Peak and Tips on Krieg and Digistruct Peak

Addendum:

This is a clip showing what to do at the end of each run. Go to the elevator. Hit the Eridium chest switches, if you’d like (they appear throughout the Peak, as well). Turn in at Tannis. Log out. Opt back in, but increase your OP level before entering. Then go back to Tannis and accept the mission for the next stage.

HD

Links to specific levels:

Thank you

Handsome_Dad · April 12, 2017, 5:25pm

OP0 run to unlock OP1.

This run is kind of an appetizer for the road ahead. It isn’t especially difficult, but it will give you a preview of some important things. You’ll get a chance to learn some of the spawn points, which will help as nastier enemies start showing up in those locations. You’ll get an introduction to the trash enemies who’ll be space fillers in later runs.

Most importantly, you will get to see the landscape of the first half of the course, before you have to start facing tough challenges in them. Take advantage of this. Pay attention to what is spawning in, and where. Don’t commit resources before knowing what is coming. If you drop a turret in a bad space, PL the wrong enemy, etc, you may wind up overrun by a Rabid skag or pummeled by a Blaster Nomad. Even on this run.

With that out of the way, here are the stages.

Stage 1:

This stage may as well be called, “Intro to skags”. It is not difficult. Don’t press too far forward. Giving things space will allow you to see what is coming and react appropriately.

Stage 2:

More skags at the start. By now, you should be working on the habit of checking for Rabid skags. Those will be one of the most dangerous enemies in the Peak, and you will see them from the very first run, through the last. As you get farther into this stage, you’ll get weak bandits. At the end, your first meeting with Digistruct Super Badass Slag Skags-- two of them. Get used to it. You’ll see them paired frequently in the days ahead. As with all skags, shoot them in the mouth. If you can’t (Krieg, Gaige), explosive works fine. Just DON’T try to slag them.

Stage 3:

Your first of many interesting challenges in this area… TWO spider tanks! As soon as you kill one, trash starts spawning in to join it. This is your first look at mid-fight, triggered spawns in the Peak. Spider tanks are big and slow. Chain Reaction or B0re users, aim for the ‘neck’. The trash here dies easily. Solving this with most classes isn’t bad. Krieg was the only class I had to really problem solve here, and I wound up using Storm Front to build stacks, then Baby Maker chucking one tank, Harold (with Bloodbath up) to kill the second tank.

The only threat here is being ground down by tank + ____. Once the tanks go, it’s clean up.

Stage 4:

This is an easy level for this room. Note that the gate to the previous area does not shut behind you when you enter. That remains true of this area at every level. You can pull back into the previous area as needed, which is very useful later on.

This area is easy at OP0, but you can be killed if you get caught in a bad spot when the twin Blaster Nomads spawn in. They’ll appear on the steps after a few trash enemies are cleared. Keep your head on a swivel, and pay attention to what is spawning in. Blaster Nomads hit like a truck, but die easily. They are slow. Listen to their wind up. They make a distinctive noise when they’re unloading, then it will stop and you’ll have a window of time to beat them up. This is important later. You’ll see more of these.

Stage 5:

My favorite area in the Peak! This map is split into two areas, which I refer to as Garden side and Main area. You will notice right away that most of the spawn points are in Main area. My general advice is to get into Garden side and own that space. That will give you time and cover. Enemies will have to go through a bottleneck to get to you. You’ll also be surrounded by ammo crates.

At this level, it’s mostly bandits. The surprise is a spider tank spawning in the middle of Main area after a few waves of trash.

Stage 6:

Here is where it gets… cute. This area can kill you. It’s a narrow space, with a cliff, and Rabid skags will show up here. Pay very close attention to those spawn ins, and prioritize killing Rabid skags. Have a plan for them. Do not press too far forward, or they’ll be on top of you immediately.

Also note the spawn points on the bridge above. Those can be irritating. The real threat is Rabid skags.

Also, Rabid skags can kill you.

Plus, Rabid skags.

Get the point?

Stage 7:

This is kind of a two part stage. You get the area leading to the colesseum, then the colesseum itself.

On the way up, you’ll get trash to start. At the steps, you’ll get two Blaster Nomads-- one at the bottom of the steps, one on the bridge.

Then…

First look at the Assassins area! It’s an easy one. You’ll get trash. When the last of the trash does, you get the Assassins, one at a time, starting at Reeth and going counter clockwise. The order is Reeth, Rouf, Wott, Oney. In order of how dangerous they are, I’d say Reeth, Rouf, Oney, Wott. In other words, it gets easier after Rouf. You have a lot of time and space to work with as you fight the Assassins at this level. It gets far worse in here later.

HD

Handsome_Dad · April 12, 2017, 6:36pm

OP1 run to unlock OP2

Stage 1:

Intro to fire ants, loaders, and surveyors. This stage isn’t especially deadly, but it can be grueling. You’ll get an assortment of spider ants to start, then loaders. You may catch a Surveyor spawn here. The worst possibility is a double Centurion spawn, which I got in the recording. Don’t slag Centurions. Use explosive, or bang their crit spots (abdomen, below armor plate).

Finally, double spider ant emperor spawn. They’re the same guys you see in the Dust. Not as bad as those Centurions.

Stage 2:

This area is full of trash-medium loaders and spider ants. No big deal. The switch up here is that you’ll start getting more surveyors.

End spawn is a teaser for eventual double Scorches. It’s two Emperors again, but with 2 surveyors to start, then two more spawning in as the first two die.

Stage 3:

Intro to Scorch.

Very easy area. There are an ammo vendor, 4 ammo crates, 2 Jack stand ups, and an Eridium chest switch right before you drop in, not to mention all of the ammo crates you could backtrack to in stage 2, so you’re failing hard at gaming if you drop in with less than full ammunition.

This stage is a bunch of trash spider ants, with a single Scorch making an appearance toward the end. Very easy.

Stage 4:

Loaders and surveyors. No big surprises here, other than maybe the Ultimate Badass Loader toward the end. General advice: you can backtrack into the previous area to isolate the surveyors. I use that a lot in later runs. The loaders are slow, so you’ll have a lot of time to pick off the surveyors safely. Stage 4 spawns will also not pop while you’re in the stage 3 area, so you can sort of control how many enemies you’re facing.

Stage 5:

Trash loaders, then a UBA loader. Pretty easy. No other explanation needed.

Stage 6:

Spider ants, loaders, surveyors. Generally easy, unless you catch a weird assortment. Centurions are obnoxious in here. You may not get those, though. I had an easy selection recording the walkthrough.

Stage 7:

On the way, multiple EXP Loaders followed by standard loader types at the bridge. The EXP loader blitz can catch you if you’re not paying attention.

In the colesseum, you start with trash, then get the Assassins in pairs. First pair: Oney and Rouf. Oney is big and slow. You can negate almost all of his danger by blocking line of sight, which is easy to do with him. Rouf, on the other hand, will jump around like House of Pain, and he can put you down if you’re focused on Oney. I’d suggest killing Rouf first. This allows you time so that you can get yourself positioned where you’d like to be for the next pair.

Reeth and Wott. Wott is a creampuff. Reeth is the nastiest of the Assassins. You can either blitz Wott to isolate Reeth, or focus on Reeth first. Just don’t chase Wott for too long with Reeth up.

HD

Handsome_Dad · April 12, 2017, 7:59pm

OP2 run to unlock OP3.

This one will be a little different. I’m going to use the recordings from when I unlocked OP3 as Krieg. That’s the only pre-OP8 run I’ve recorded at-level, in full.

Stage 1:

Soooooo muuuuuuchh cluuuutttteeerrrr. This stage is busy. To me, this is the level where it really starts to give a sense of what the later levels may be like. There will be a lot coming at you, so you’ll have to check your mini map and spawn ins faster than before. There will be surveyors flying around, fire ants playing peakaboo, Centurions trying to throw you around, etc.

The cap off is a BAR-TNK.

Stage 2:

Right out of the gate, you’re going to get trash with another spider tank. My advice is to stay on high ground, making the trash come up to you. The tank is slow, and the bluff will block most of what it throws at you. Spider tanks can’t jump, so it will route the long way, circling wide to your left as you face forward from the gate. You’ll have time to kill the trash, isolating the tank.

You will then get ambushed in the short valley. Centurions are common here.

Then, even MORE enemies toward the gate to stage 3. After clearing those…

MORE enemies! Surveyors, double SBA slag skags, and more, at one time.

The recording from this area is 7:19. That is a lot of ammunition expended. If you lean too hard on one ammunition type, you are likely to run dry here. Pro tip: designate a weapon for use only against certain enemy types. In this run, I only used Baby Maker chicks sparingly, since I wanted to have that ready when needed.

Stage 3:

As soon as you drop in, you’ll get a Scorch. After that, it’s just trash. Not too bad.

Stage 4:

Remember when I commented on pulling to the stage 2 area for this stage? Good idea here. Expect a Super Badass Surveyor early, as well as standard surveyors and ground enemies. I played it loose in the recording and almost lost. It is very easy to get overwhelmed by light damage if you push it here.

After the first wave, you’ll get another. If you’re paying close attention, you’ll note that I had an SBA Surveyor in the first wave, then two more at once in the next wave. Again, do not hesitate to pull back to the previous area.

Stage 5:

Lots of bandits, right away. Mid-wave spawn ins. Pretty busy pace. Control the Garden side, as always. Watch out for RPG loaders and SBA surveyors. They infest this area. Toward the end, a single Bonehead spawns in. His biggest threat are Lobbed grenades. They can and will bank off walls and threaten around slight corners.

This area can kill you easily if you get caught in a bad space. The Garden side is definitely the best side to work.

Stage 6:

This is the nastiest stage of this run, in my opinion. Immediate double spider tanks, with surveyors (I rolled a standard plus an SBA!), aaannnnddd ground enemies. The spider tanks’ lack of speed is mostly irrelevant in this small space. Have a plan to kill the surveyors ASAP so you can use cover against the tanks.

My specific plan for the tanks in this recording was to try to set up a big Bloodsplosion to save ammunition, so I let them get closer than I would recommend with any other class. As Maya, Axton, or Zero, I have always tried to get them before they got anywhere near me. Thought Lock or Gemini trivialize this area.

…but it ain’t over when that ugly first wave goes down. There will be more coming. Keep your eyes on the mini map, and check the spawns quickly.

Stage 7:

Entry area will be crowded. Expect EXP loaders and bandits. It will be brief, but it can catch you if you’re unprepared.

Make use of ammunition crates here!

Colesseum gets ugly here. Easy trash to start. After that, Rouf and Oney plus surveyors! The surveyors here are obnoxious. They’ll path in and out of the Colesseum, peppering you as they pass. They may bug out so that you can’t complete the run (they sometimes park inside walls). You’ll probably want to kill Rouf first, then work on Oney. Or Rouf, surveyors, then Oney.

Next up, the stuff dreams are made of. Very, very bad dreams. Reeth, Wott, 2 surveyors. This part can be brutal. I’m on the fence as to whether it’s best to burn down Wott first, or focus on Reeth. Reeth is absolutely deadly. The other three enemies just keep your shield broken for him.

HD

shure · April 12, 2017, 8:29pm

Excellent article, man, hats off to you for the work you’ve put in.

I just have one question: is area 6, do you think I should focus on the rabid skags first…?

Handsome_Dad · April 12, 2017, 8:41pm

Any time Rabid skags are on the map, I treat them as Priority number one. Even if they’re attacking a turret, DT, etc.

shure · April 12, 2017, 9:05pm

sorry, I was just being cheeky. I got that from the number of times you mentioned rabid skags, especially in stage 6!

shure · April 12, 2017, 9:06pm

meant what I said about the amount of work, though. I’m always in awe at the amount of effort people like you put in these things to help others with the game

Handsome_Dad · April 12, 2017, 9:09pm

I replied after a set of weighted pull-ups at the gym. I couldn’t read the playfulness over the sound of my body shrieking at me. My bad!

Handsome_Dad · April 12, 2017, 9:12pm

I’m a believer in paying it forward. Derch, Demonite, johnrr, and a bunch of others helped me a lot with what they did. I’m looking forward to contributing earlier in the cycle of BL3!

Carlton_Slayer · April 12, 2017, 9:55pm

Don’t forget to mention using the drain pipe in the Assassins area as a respite spot, especially if you’re getting chewed up or you need time for your grenades to recharge (no one plays the Peak w/o a Tiny Tina grenade com, do they?). Not 100% safe as Oney and Reeth- in my experience- like to stand there and pepper you with grenades (Reeth also loves jumping to the top of the opening there to attack you)…

Handsome_Dad · April 12, 2017, 10:37pm

That is a very helpful callout, because I don’t actually use it. I’d have definitely forgotten to point it out, at least until the turret spawn.

Worblehat · April 13, 2017, 2:50am

Thanks, this is very helpful! A question and some comments:

Why not? Obviously there’s no need to, but since Ruin applies slag, that would imply that Maya shouldn’t phaselock them… Looks like you did exactly what I did, PL, pimp the first, pimp the second, so I guess phaselocking can’t be too harmful, whatever the slag interaction may be. I’m guessing the same applies to the centurions in OP1 since you phaselocked them with no issues.

Stage 3 - the “trash” doesn’t die easily if it’s a pair of rabid skags, which it was both times I did the OP0 run (and they were the reason it took a second attempt… ) My experience was that spawn being spider-tank-trash with rabid skag spawns popping up behind you.

The OP1 Stage 7 assassin pairs seem to be random. Oney was in the second pair when I did it, though I don’t recall who his partner was.

I’ll be taking Maya on her OP2 run soon-ish, this weekend at the latest.

Handsome_Dad · April 13, 2017, 3:41am

PL is no problem because of Wreck, Ruin, Cloudkill, and Helios. I haven’t tested it, but I’m reasonably certain that slag heals Centurions to some extent, or ramps up their regen.

As for the Assassin pairs, I’ve only seen Reeth + Wott and Rouf + Oney, except where killing one spawns in a second pair, or when you get to 4x Assassins. Are you sure you had Oney with any other than Rouf?

Jefe · April 13, 2017, 3:49am

This is very interesting - I’ve not come across this before. Presumably this goes for the slag skags too? Testing time!

Worblehat · April 13, 2017, 3:51am

Got it, I figured it was some interaction like that. So Axton’s turret(s) is/are probably OK too, since Battlefront plus the aggro relief should more than offset whatever slag healing their shots do.

Oney may well have been with Rouf. Whoever it was spawned closer to where I was, so that one got PLed and killed first (as a Peak noob I’ve been using the “kill the closest one” targeting algorithm since I didn’t know the danger priority order until reading this thread ). But he was definitely in the second pair that spawned. So if the assassin partners are fixed, I guess that means the randomness is just in which of the two pairs goes first.

Handsome_Dad · April 13, 2017, 4:48am

OP3 run to unlock OP4:

Stage 1:

First thing you’ll see is a Constructor. Pretty easy without trash running at you. After that, it’s an assortment of bandits and spider ants, culminating in a Constructor v3.0 plus trash at the gate to stage 2. It is possible to get overrun here. Krieg was the only class I had a rough time with here, of the 5 I’ve run it with (all except Gaige), as the rest of the classes have ways to create space or are Sal. Shouldn’t be bad.

Stage 2:

Upon entry, 4 Bandit types will spawn below the bluff. Once you kill them and head into the valley section, a buuuuunch of midgets start spawning in and rushing you. They’re easy. Krieg will love the Bloodsplosion chain. Everyone else will mow them down.

As you round the corner toward the gate, you’ll get another Constructor with a mess of trash. Trash will continue spawning in for a bit after that. As long as you don’t let the Constructor stay up too long, you should be good to go.

Stage 3:

Bandit waves, then double Scorches. This is an area where some people begin to struggle. If you don’t have a specific plan for the Scorches, you can run into trouble here. I’ve heard of a lot of people running out of ammunition trying to kill them. Shock and crits are generally the way to go.

Stage 4:

From this run on, this is the Black Queen area. When you move in, trash starts spawning in aggressively. There will be a few coming at you at a time for awhile, including possible Centurions. I recommend making use of the stage 3 area to separate them and to limit the volume of incoming damage.

After a fair bit of trash, a single Black Queen spawns in. Her big nasty move is a web attack. It obscures your vision, slows you, and hurts pretty bad. After a little, she’ll make babies who’ll chase you around and be irritating. It is very easy to get overwhelmed here.

Stage 5:

Now it’s a party! When you enter this stage, you’ll get Bandit spawn ins, 2 Boneheads, and a train with turrets on it will appear on top of the wall between Main and Garden side. Only one enemy will initially spawn at Garden side. I suggest going into that side, as before. There are two structures there which can be used for cover-- a small hut next to the garden, and a larger one on the opposite end of the space. I favor using the large hut for cover, but either works. Only one turret can hit you while you’re behind the hut, so I like to take that one out as soon as possible. If you get quick control of that space and pay attention to your mini map, you’re usually good to go. After the first 2 Boneheads are down, a third will spawn in Main area. No other big nasty late surprises.

Stage 6:

Upon drop in, you’ll be greeted by a Constructor v3.0 and trash. Depending on the particular trash spawns, you may either have a very easy time, or a rough ride. As always with Constructors, a key is making sure it doesn’t stay up too long. If it floods the field and goes on the offensive, it can be ugly.

Stage 7:

Entry spawn will be a lone Constructor v3.0 on the bridge. Very easy without the clutter. Get on it quick, you’re good to go.

Colesseum spawn will be Reeth + Wott immediately. No trash this time. Instead, killing one of these two triggers Rouf + Oney spawning in. KILL REETH FIRST. If you burn down Wott first, you’ll be left with the 3 Assassins who are actually dangerous, at the same time.

This is one of the areas where people frequently die. Killing Reeth immediately can smooth it out tremendously.

Stage 8:

That’s right. You’re not done, yet! This is the first level at which the future home of Saturn(s) opens up, adding 3 more stages than previous runs have had.

First spawn ins will be… bait, really. You’ll get trash bandits to start, spawning far back. When you start killing them off, 2 spider tanks spawn in. When those drop, a third will spawn. You may play hit & run in the low area, or slow play it by kiting everything back up to high ground so that you can plink away at the spider tanks.

Stage 9:

This one can be dangerous. You’ll get a Constructor v3.0 and aggressive enemies, right away. Think double Centurions and more. It can be tricky keeping the Constructor under control, depending on your class.

Note that the gate to stage 8 does close behind you, but the gate into stage 9 does not. This allows you a narrow space to retreat to. Pulling to the gate works great against nearly everything you’ll ever see in this area. The lone exception will be Rabid Skags, of course.

After the Constructor, there will be more clutter, but no big nasty surprises. You should cruise after the initial wave.

Stage 10:

This area is deceptively dangerous, but this level isn’t so bad. You’ll enter into a low area, with some constructs in a medium sized space. At the far end of that is a narrow path up to a smallish high ground area. Note that there are an ammo vendor and 3 ammo crates up there.

When you first drop in, two badass Bandit types spawn in at the top of the path to high ground. I recommend trying to take that high ground. That will probably mean rushing the badasses. Once they’re down, a spider tank and more bandits start spawning in that low area. If you’ve stayed in that space, it is easy to get surrounded or ground down. If you took the high ground, you can just about sleepwalk through it.

HD

Handsome_Dad · April 13, 2017, 5:03am

Axton’s turret(s) are definitely ok. They are great against Centurions. Huge help for getting side or rear angles for crits!

Carlton_Slayer · April 13, 2017, 12:43pm

For the double Scorches with surveyors my tactic is to run back to the previous area with the surveyors tailing me. When the Scorches are out of sight I kill the surveyors, as they have a nasty habit of healing any nearly dead Scorch (no doubt this is the first occasion where most folks can practice their favorite swear words ). Once the surveyors are out of the picture I tackle the Scorches…

Jefe · April 13, 2017, 2:28pm

Also kiting the Scorches back to the archway at the beginning of the section to bottleneck them.

Edit : as a general note, the archways/gates are great places to concentrate fire with skills like B0re, Chain Reaction and Nth Degree ; and guns like the Pimpernel, Flakker and Conference Call. Especially when kiting the Queens and their offspring (and other spiderants) back to bottleneck them in the archway, child pellets will have a far better chance of hitting again.