Opeth's tips for unwashed Papulatus soloing

Note: This guide assumes you're level 120+ and/or capable of keeping Pap cornered, but have lousy HP.



As you can see, I suffer from erectile dysfunction in the HP department. (I have washed a little, but clearly not enough to survive a bomb explosion.) It's rather depressing that at 141 I still can't tank bombs. But this doesn't stop me from soloing Pap efficiently whenever I feel like it. So if you know you're strong enough, but still worried about dying, then keep reading.

Just so you can get a feeling for how strong you have to be, I'll show you my damage range with a Warrior Elixir:



It has seen better days, but it gets the job done. I can KB Pap about 90% of the time. I assume you can keep Pap KB'd with 3.5k range at the least. Though, keep in mind my SE is at level 20.

Here's some things about Pap you should know about:

-At about 95% HP is when he'll start healing/summoning Bombs.
-Pap can only summon 4 at a time, and 50 on the screen at one time.
-Bombs will only spawn on the top or bottom. Never on both.
-Bomb explosions are Weapon Attack. So Pain Relievers from Omega Sector will help bring down the damage in case your HP is close enough to survive.
-After healing, Pap has about 1 second of invincibility. Keep this in mind before you go wasting Snipe.
-Pap can, and has double-casted before. It's hard to explain, but I know it wasn't lag. First he used the Lightning skill, then immediately after summoned bombs. It caught me off guard, almost killing me. So keep your eyes peeled.
-Keep your sounds on! When avoiding bombs you won't always be able to see Pap. Keeping your sounds on will help you notice when bombs are being summoned off screen so you don't accidentally run into them while getting back into position.

Now for the most important part of any unwashed Papulatus solo...
BOMB DODGING

 Spoiler

Looking at that image that I have provided for you, the red circle is where you should be standing at all times. While standing there and keeping Pap KB'd up against the wall his Stun or Dispel can't reach you. The green circle represents your "Danger Zone." After Pap summons bombs, they'll spawn as far back as the edge of the circle. Which could pose troublesome if you don't run away in time. The key is to run away as soon as you see the summoning animation. When I mean run, I mean RUN. Don't jump either. Jumping can cause you to set off a bomb prematurely and thus pwning you when you land. However just running allows for bomb bump damage and lovely temporary invincibility. It helps to have a mount in this situation, but don't stay on it too long as you can't use pots on them. After 50 bombs have been summoned on top, the rest is easy until second form.

Tip from Aids:
If you are able to knock back Pap consistently during the first form, I have a very useful technique. As you pin Pap in a corner of your pleasing, once he hides, you run/hog over to the opposite side and place Puppet. Quickly run back and continue pinning. What this does is it allows you to continuously shoot Pap and it "disables" his ability to hide / use magic which allows more time shooting and less time waiting. Make sure the Puppet is as far as possible and it will only be beneficial if you can knock back repeatedly. Test it out and stay a safe distance but make sure to re-Puppet after it expires while Pap hides again. Only do this while bombs are maxed, or else you're going to have problems.

What should happen if Pap breaks free or you're not able to constantly KB:

Before 4th job came around I was around 132 when I first successfully soloed Pap. Back then, Pap walked all over you. Unless you had a bunch of Onyx Apples on you, you were at the mercy of Pap and his bombs. If you're unable to keep Pap up against the wall, your best bet is to keep your distance. Never let him get close enough to stun you. If you should get cornered against the wall, quickly run through him or pray he uses 1/1 and hides in his Clock. As always, utilize your Puppet. It's your best friend. Whenever Pap hides in his Clock, run as close as you can and Puppet behind him. While Pap is focused on your Puppet he actually spawns bombs further away from you. Really not much I can say about this. Just gauge your distance, and use the same bomb dodging techniques I explained previously.

Killing Second form:

Might as well cover this too. As soon as you kill the first form, Strafe the second form and immediately turn behind you and Puppet. Now that you have Pap locked in your clutches, it's smooth sailing. Unless you f'uck up and get pinned. Then you're in trouble.

 Spoiler

It helps to keep an eye on how much damage your Puppet is taking so you can back off and prepare your next Puppet. Pap does around 300 to 2,400 damage to a Puppet, so pay attention. As soon as your Puppet dies, Strafe Pap one last time, and turn around and Puppet behind you again, and duck to let Pap float over you, then begin your assault again. Don't try to outrun him, he's faster than you. If you fail to keep Pap locked one of two things will happen:

He'll pin you which could very easily end your solo right then and there.
He'll float up to the top and hover around the platforms.

Worst case scenario is when you get pinned. Only advice I can give when that happens is to stay calm, and wait for him to drift off far enough for you to escape. When you do find your chance to escape, jump cast Puppet as soon as you can, and duck. With enough patience and dexterity (lol) you'll eventually emerge the victor. With a bunch of free pots, mesos and the ever annoying Ice Demon 30 (Brandish pls) you should have actually profited.

Well, if you've even bothered reading this far, then you must be interested in soloing Pap. So, good luck and stay calm.

Oh yeah, cleaning up is fun too.

 Spoiler

Very good guide. I'll be sure to point some people at it. Perhaps, though, you should have covered what to do if you can't KB pap constantly? I suspect that most of the people who can't tank a hit can't KB him either. I mean, I saw your giant red text at the top, but it could feel like a more complete guide with that as a sidenote.

Hmm. Good point. I'll edit in a quick part about Pap roaming around.

Thanks for the suggestion.

This is a very nice guide~
I have sacrificed some AP and put it into HP.
(from the Bloodmaster thread on sw.net)
I can now survive a bomb explosion 98% of the time~
Also about the "invincible" issue, I learned the hard way F3. *Lv1 Snipe*

The other day, I was papping with my Bishop BF, and he died before the 2nd form, so I soloed the rest. Then when the 2nd form emerged, I was "pinned." My reaction wasn't fast enough and It touched me for 5k T_T. Oh well~

Nice guide, Mark. Too bad you couldn't contribute stuff like this to Sleepywood (lol).

I've got a friend who hasn't found a good pap drop in over 100 solos. Damn he sucks.

"RUN THE pineapple AWAY WHEN YOU SEE THIS. F5"

I lol'd so hard. Awesome guide.

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

I've got a friend who hasn't found a good pap drop in over 100 solos. Damn he sucks.

It's true. I'm incredibly unlucky.

Nice guide, Mark. Too bad you couldn't contribute stuff like this to Sleepywood (lol).

I've got a friend who hasn't found a good pap drop in over 100 solos. Damn he sucks.

Any Papulatus fight involving me = Infinity 20 Dropping T__T

Isn't that what you got from pap like two days ago, Mark. LOL.
You and Kevo could become very good unlucky papping buddies.

When you do find your chance to escape, jump cast Puppet as soon as you can, and duck. With enough patience and dexterity (lol) you'll eventually emerge the victor.

You can't jump while holding down anymore. That means you have to stand up for a split second to jump cast.

You can't jump while holding down anymore. That means you have to stand up for a split second to jump cast.

Well...yeah. Anyone in their right mind who is pinned by Pap isn't going to stand in place when they get a chance to move.

Thrust is a godsend if you get pinned by 2nd form. I remember one time I was literally as far in the corner as I could be and he was hovering over me. I waited for like 5 minutes before he gave me enough room to move right a few pixels. Repeat that like 10 more times. Eventually he was far enough left of me so I ran like mad, jump-casted puppet, and finished him. I'm pretty sure that I couldn't have gotten out of there without Thrust + Patience.

On a sidenote, Thrust as also saved my life at Tengu, Anego, and Bodyguard A.

As far as jump-casting puppet goes though, I wouldn't do it unless you're sure you can do it in a pinch. Nothing would be worse than trying to jump-cast puppet but instead casting puppet in place while 2nd form is breathing down your neck. I suggest practice (and/or a better keyboard if you're inconsistent).

Yeah, I'm a Thrust supporter myself. I have level 15 Thrust and I don't regret it.

Thing about Puppet is after you get a chance to run, Pap is most likely going to be right on top of you. Jump casting is the only way to get out of that situation from my past experiences. Whenever I fail to jump cast I seem to just jump in the air instead of standing in place and casting Puppet. I don't know if people regularly have problems and do the opposite.

This thread has given me some hope.

Well, I was planning to follow the Blood Master Build on Sleepywood Forums to
have enough HP for Papulatus but this thread is giving me second thoughts.

So it would probably be a good idea to stop dumping points and just get the
necessary damage range to pin Pap to the wall, right?

Also, another question I have is, would "running the pineapple away" using the plain
old 100% speed be OK?

This thread has given me some hope.

Well, I was planning to follow the Blood Master Build on Sleepywood Forums to
have enough HP for Papulatus but this thread is giving me second thoughts.

So it would probably be a good idea to stop dumping points and just get the
necessary damage range to pin Pap to the wall, right?

Also, another question I have is, would "running the pineapple away" using the plain
old 100% speed be OK?

Note that Ive never solo'd pap (never really tried) but I will say this: You should almost never have 100% speed. You should have a few odd points of speed here and there from 10/30% scrolls working on shoes/overalls (lets say 5?) and throw on a speed pill and you're at 115ish already. I would say speed and jump should help in avoiding bombs but its not necessary.

Note that Ive never solo'd pap (never really tried) but I will say this: You should almost never have 100% speed. You should have a few odd points of speed here and there from 10/30% scrolls working on shoes/overalls (lets say 5?) and throw on a speed pill and you're at 115ish already. I would say speed and jump should help in avoiding bombs but its not necessary.

I found that having a fair bit of speed and jump can save you from bombs. With just enough jump you can completely evade the explosion by just jumping. It is risky, but it has saved me numerous times.

I found that having a fair bit of speed and jump can save you from bombs. With just enough jump you can completely evade the explosion by just jumping. It is risky, but it has saved me numerous times.

Yeah, I can vouch for this. Before I sold my old shoes to my lovely girlfriend, I had 17 Jump under my belt. If I jumped at the right moment I could clear an explosion entirely. It was nice to have, but I sadly don't own the shoes anymore. I also have 37 passive speed...so I am pretty evasive in my own rights.

Im a Marksman myself and I always escape the 2nd body. All you have to do is wait for pap to move the oppisite direction of the direction you are heading for. Right when you get the chance use ur hog and then run far, but not all the way to the corner. Cancel out hog and puppet as fast as possible(I usually have 1-2 seconds to spare) and duck so it can go over you. This must be must easier with silver mane because this works for me and I have normal hog.

This does not work if you are too far into the corner because pap cannot move the direction you want him to move if there is a wall in front of him.

If you are able to knockback pap without apples or even with apples, during the first form, I have a very useful technique. As you pin pap in a corner of your pleasing, once he hides, you run/hog over to the opposite side and place puppet. Quickly run back and continue pinning. What this does is it allows you to continuously shoot pap and it "disables" his ability to hide which allows more time shooting and less time waiting. Make sure the puppet is as far as possible and it will only be beneficial if you can knockback repeatedly. Also, I don't think it works if you're duoing pap either. However, it saves alot of time on those apples for a quicker solo. Test it out and stay a safe distance but make sure to re-puppet after it expires while pap hides again. Oh, and one last thing....I use the front piece of the structure (circled green in the guide) to measure how far away I should be so you dont get dispelled or stunned. Good luck on your solos.

Ooooh, nice technique. I haven't thought of using Puppet like that. Do you mind if I throw your part into the guide?