User:Triburos/Loki Decoy Guide

Overview
Loki's Decoy ability seems to have taken a backseat to his Invisibility. Which is understandable, Invisibility has more uses and it's certainly one of Loki's best perks. However, Decoy deserves to be used better. Many write Decoy off as being ineffective in end-game missions due to it's lack of shields and health. This guide is going to go over some examples of where you should place your Decoy on certain maps when it comes to these high level areas. But before we get into those examples, I first want to list off some things to always keep in mind when using this ability. I will be adding more examples in the future as I get around to it. But until then, these tips will help you find your own!

Rules of Thumb
Here's some things you should keep in mind whilst using Decoy.


 * The Decoy will regenerate both shields and health. But don't count on this to keep it alive.
 * It can be placed almost anywhere, even places you or your team cannot get to. In other works, it can be placed in the tightest of cracks. This will be extremely important to keep in mind, as it will be what you base your entire positioning of Decoy around.
 * The Decoy has a tendancy to fall through certain objects. It won't fall through everything, but it will fall through a select few props and parts of the map. Finding these spots on Defense and Mobile Defense missions are critical, as it allows your Decoy to do it's job while also not being in risk of any danger.
 * With a maxed Continuity and Constitution mod, Decoy should last about 40 seconds. Invisibility should be lasting about 20 seconds. Since a properly modded Loki can pop his abilities at almost any given time, it's a good idea to pop an Invisibility either before or just after placing a Decoy. This will let you know that you've spent about 20 seconds of the 40 seconds the Decoy has left, giving you a good idea for when it'll need to be replaced.
 * The Decoy's aggro generation will over-take the aggro generation of defense items. This makes it extremely helpful for keeping heat off of a defense item. However, please keep in mind that even the Decoy's aggro can be over taken if a mob gets too close to the defense item before being able to get close to the Decoy. It will start shooting at the cyropod or terminal in these cases. For these reasons...
 * Try to keep your Decoy as close to the item you wish to protect as possible, but not too close that it has any potential cross-fire striking the object.
 * Ranged enemies will generally not attack the Decoy if they can't see it. They will however, pay attention to it. It seems that ranged enemies - most commonly Grineer and Corpus - will simply stare at the area the Decoy is in if they can't get line of site. In these cases, it's alright to have the Decoy relatively close to a defense object, as long as they don't switch their aggro. On that note;
 * Infested and other melee enemies will redirect their aggro after two seconds of being as close to the Decoy as possible without being able to get a hit in. Keep this in mind when fighting Infested or dealing with melee Grineer or Corpus units.
 * Last but not least: These places are not guarenteed to do all the work for you. You will have to kill anyone that happens to slip by the Decoy's aggro range, or ones that stumble too close to a cyropod or terminal. Do NOT simply walk away from your post just because you have a Decoy placed. Even if your team is holding strong, that is no excuse.

Examples of Good Decoy Placement
In some of these images, you won't be able to see the Decoy it's self. As such, my crosshair will show you where I put the Decoy exactly.

Mission: Kiste

Location: In-between stairs leading up to the Terminals.

This is an example of a good Decoy placement. Since it can be placed in such small spaces, it gains the advantage of being surrounded by the enviorment around it. In this case; the Decoy is protected from all angles of enemy attacks, except from directly above. The only downside to this placement is that the gap is relatively big when it comes to other placements. But it makes up for it by being protected so efficently. If you'd like though, there are two gaps inbetween of cases of stairs, and the main portion that's sticking out between the two sets of stairs that the Decoy is located in this picture.

Mission: Kiste

Location: Underneath the tram of the Cyropod.

This is a good one. Since Loki has some good spots for Decoy on the first parts of Kiste, why not for the last part? When your team summons the cyropod, run off to the tram's tracks and you'll be able to place your Decoy under the tram. This is an extremely useful spot, as it will cause most mobs to simply stare at the ground until the Decoy expires. Just make sure you don't place it on the middle rail of the tram, as your Decoy's head will stick out of the floor.

As always, keep it somewhat close to the pod, but not too close. Also, be mindful of enemies coming in from that gap north west of the cyropod between the giant crate and bit of wall. Especially flamethrower units, as they will tear your cyropod to shreads. They will most likely swap their aggro from your Decoy to the pod once they get too close due to it being placed south of the pod, as they'll be coming in from the north. I've failed many a Kiste mission for not paying attention to units coming in from the north. But, this placement will pretty much take care of any Grineer coming from the left or right. This will drastically decrease the workload for you and your team when it comes to defending. But there is one downside; due to a glitch, enemies (and players) will sometimes fall directly through the platform, resulting in them having clear shots at your Decoy. When this happens, your cyropod can end up in deep trouble. However, it is a bug, so I'm expecting to be fixed soon.

Mission: Tower III Defense

Location: On both side of the walls directly West and East of the Cyropod.

This is one example of a Decoy placement that is completely surrounded from all sides, protecting it from pretty much all enemy fire. Placing the Decoy where i'm aiming will cause it to fall through this portion of all, and as you can see; it's completely protected. The great thing about this placement is that it's relatively close to the cyropod. All the trash mobs tend to stay away from the pod and take cover from a distance, so the Decoy will keep the vast majority of trashies from shooting on something important, such as the Cyropod it's self, or just your team mates in general. Plus, it gives your Frosts some breathing room.

This works for pretty much the entire mission. But keep in mind that the big guys (Ancients, Fusion Moas, Heavy Grineer) tend to get much closer to the pod, and thus put it in danger. So as I mentioned in the Rules of Thumb, don't expect this to completely carry you. It will take a huge load off of your team's work, but you're going to need to pay attention to the Cyropod and take down any biggies from a distance, or with a strong melee paired with Invisibility. But this means that those trash mobs aren't distracting your team atleast.

--Will Add More Later!--