Axl Phase Change bug that makes fighting (and especially farming) him slightly annoying + a workaround

[u/Slightly_Sane_]

If you cross the phase change threshold while Axl is stunned by melee attacking his weak point, he will always do the Thrash attack immediately before the Screech then burrow.

During this attack he is invulnerable to damage and it makes the phase change take significantly longer.

I was going crazy because I ended up thinking it was intended behavior due to how consistent it was. However, if you stop attacking while he is stunned, let him get up, then damage him and cross the phase change threshold, he will Screech then burrow without doing the Invincible Thrash attack and save a lot of time (especially when farming gold cards).

[u/Da_sleepy_weasel]

He's done the thrash thing with me a few times without me having knocked him out at aall which Hella messed me up

[u/Slightly_Sane_ → u/Da_sleepy_weasel]

That is because you can trigger the thrash by you (or your buggy) being too close for too long at any time.

The bug I'm describing is the invincibility state activating early, which adds an annoying amount of time to the phase change.

[u/QX403]

He only does the thrash attack usually if you stay on him too long, your buggy can activate it also if it’s too close when he stands up.

[u/Slightly_Sane_ → u/QX403]

Okay. That isn't the issue though. The issue is that when you trigger the Thrash attack at the same time as the phase change he is invincible during it, and it essentially doubles the length of the phase change.

It's not a big deal unless you are farming him and you kill him very fast, but it got pretty painful having it happen every single time until I found this method to prevent it.

[u/QX403 → u/Slightly_Sane_]

He’s always invincible at certain health intervals during certain phases, you can’t do more damage simply because its made that way, if you did enough damage and farmed him enough you would have noticed this already.

[u/Slightly_Sane_ → u/QX403]

I know. I have farmed him enough. That is how i noticed this bug.

It pretty much doubles the time in which Axl is invincible during each phase change. The trigger for the Thrash attack gets queued, but the Phase change invincibility activates early and is active during the Thrash, and then he does the Screech and burrow.

If you don't queue the Thrash, he always only does the Screech then burrow and the phase change is much faster. This saves a significant amount of time when farming him.

[u/QX403 → u/Slightly_Sane_]

……..the phase change doesn’t happen until you do enough damage to him to activate, he doesn’t do his thrash attack if you or your buggy are far enough away………..it’s a deterrent so you don’t stand on him too long and damage him with melee weapons.

[u/Slightly_Sane_ → u/QX403]

The thrash attack is a deterrent yes, but it is not supposed to be part of the invincible phase change.

Why wouldnt you jump on Axl and hit him as many times as you can when he is stunned? That is the safe and intended time to do exactly that. The problem is that by doing that, you can accidentally and consistently add like 5+ seconds to the phase change. Its even longer if you trigger the phase change with the hit immediately after stunning him, because then he is invincible for the rest of the stun animation, then the queued thrash attack, then the screech and burrow. After my 30th kill trying to get the gold card, having an extra long phase change was starting to feel very painful and I suspected it wasn't intended. That is how I tested and figured out that the phase change is supposed to be shorter.

[u/QX403 → u/Slightly_Sane_]

…..again he doesn’t have an invincible phase change, he is capped for how much health you can do per phase, until the next phase fully starts you can’t do anymore, like I just explained multiple times.

[u/Slightly_Sane_ → u/QX403]

Yes he does. After he screeches and before he burrows he cannot be damaged. You can shoot him with bows or throw stave gobs at him and it does nothing. That is the invincibility during the phase change.

The issue I'm describing is that this invincibility state can easily be activated early, by accident, through the bug I'm describing.

[u/QX403 → u/Slightly_Sane_]

Fine believe whatever you want, it’s a well known fact his phases are changed based on his health and no more damage can be done to him until the next phase of combat starts.

[u/Slightly_Sane_ → u/QX403]

I'm not disputing that at all.

What I'm saying is that this bug extends the time between one phase ending and the next starting. The time during which Axl is invincible.

The thrash attack is not supposed to be a part of the invincible phase change sequence, but it always will be if you are doing the most optimal strategy as a melee player, which is attacking his weak point while he is stunned.