Originally Posted by Tom The Cat
A lot of what I list here is also covered (probably better) in other guides. However, it's from my own experience, and you might find a few useful things in it.
Before you go, be sure that you have up-close stunning down pat, from both the back and the front. A lot of soloers neglect the front-stunning. They hammer the VP to the edge, then find out that they can't stun him from the back anymore. The gear shower is annoying, but it has to be dealt with during a solo.
Attached is a picture that gives you a rough idea of where to stand and what to do. You want to stand at the green dots marked "best".
You need to be able to do up-close stunning perfectly, especially the constant-pieing and dodging, because the VP only has one target during a solo being you. As a result, he's going to be aiming his gear-attacks at the soloer all of the time: you in this case. Unfortunately, he'll be doing this much of the time while you're aiming a pie at the open hatch. For this reason, you want to perfect the techique of pieing nonstop at the hatch, aborting the pie throw only if he targets you with a gear attack or if he does a gear shower (if you're standing in the right place, the hatch-gears won't hit you). The idea of nonstop pieing is that you'll occasionally be in the middle of a throw when the hatch door opens, and you'll save a split second this way over waiting for the door to open before starting to throw. You'll need these split second savings, since the VP will be targeting you OFTEN. What I recommend is going on a few practice runs (perhaps with the CCG) and practicing up-close stunning (with nonstop pieing) from the front left tread whenever the VP is on a flat surface. That way, you'll get experience dodging both direct gear attacks and gear showers.
As for gags, you won't be able to use any Toonup gags, so don't take any with you. Stock up on your Level 5 and 6 Throw, Level 6 Squirt, Levels 5, and 6 Lures, and Level 5 and 6 Drop, and Level 6 Sound. Fill out your gags with the next strongest things you have. Be sure that you have all of your Level 7 gags (you don't need the High Dive, since it's of no use). Especially important is the Wedding Cake, but the Geyser, Opera Voice, and Presentation can also be useful.
You'll want to stock at least 500 worth of toonup unites and SOS cards, and much more is better. There's nothing wrong with having over 1,000 laff in Toonup unites and SOS cards. Of those, most should be unites (and all in unites is better), and most of the unites should be 40 or larger. I'm well aware that a good solo VP run may only require about 300 in toonups. The reason you want to take more is so that you don't feel pressured if things start to go bad. If you don't need, them, then you'll have them for other times. SOS Toonup cards (example, Flippy and Daffy Don) are okay, but they also take one turn during battle, and of course they can't be used during the Pie Fight. Unites can be used anytime.
For non-toonup unites, you should have at least two Restock All's (three or four are better). You can also use other restock unites, such as Restock Throw and Restock Squirt, but be aware that these can fill up your pouch with virtually useless lower-level gags. Again, if you don't need the extra unites, they'll be there for other times, and having ample supplies will remove some of the pressure that can be felt from running low.
For SOS cards, A Professor Pete (restock all) is useful if you don't have a lot of Restock All unites. I wouldn't bother with any other restock cards unless you absolutely need to use them. Barnacle Bessie (170 damage drop) cards are the most useful of the attack cards, as each will (if it hits) take out all cogs up to Level 11. This can be very handy if you're in a tight spot. Having three or more of these will help. Franz Neckvein (100 damage drop) cards can also be useful for up to Level 8 cogs. Any of the "Cogs Miss" cards may be of some use if you know that many/all of the cogs are coming unlured. Clerk Clara (180 trap damage) cards are powerful, but you have to take damage from the cogs before you can use a lure on them. Lil Oldman (five-star lure) may be of use if you're running low on lures, but they don't really do much better than Hyno-Goggles do, as far as I'm concerned.
For the cog battles, one technique you should use, if you can, is to leave the smalll cogs (say, level 4 and lower) alone until the end. Lure them or let them hit you, as you concentrate on the bigger cogs. It's better to face one Level 10 at a time, while two Level 1's and a Level 3 do minimal damage to you; rather than face four level 10's.
Don't try to keep everything lured all of the time. It won't work, since available cogs will be appearing whenever a slot opens for them. If three or four cogs are unlured, you probably want to lure them; otherwise, go about your business of destroying the cogs and using Toonup unites when needed.
For the Pie Fight itself, you might have an easier time of soloing if you use the "far away" perspective that's right after the one that shows your toon from the side/front. This will give you a better look at the VP's head and upper body, which will whirl to face you right before the direct gear attack, and which will rotate/whirl twice quickly before the gear showers start.
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Advice from experienced VP soloers please!
04-30-2008, 06:24 AM
How many cogs in a vp battle?
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Linear Mode
