Annihilation Droid XRR-3

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About

The Annihilation Droid XRR-3, or the Silentior, is the first boss in the Eternity Vault operation. As the operation’s only true DPS check, your team will want to assemble before venturing up the hill where the Annihilation Droid spawns.

Prior to engaging the boss, your team will need to down two Perimeter Defense Cannons flanking its spawn position. Either attack the cannons from range or, more easily, burst the canisters at the base of their towers with AoE attacks to take them down quickly.

You have a short period afterward before the Annihilation Droid will spawn, so vacate the area between the door and turrets to avoid an early pull.

Group Composition

Recommended: We recommend 1 tank, 2 healers and 5 DPS for this encounter. There is no tank swap needed.

I’m Crazy, So Why Not? 1 tank, 1 healer and 6 DPS. Subbing out the tank for a DPS with strong defensives is possible, but not recommended due to the damage of the Annihilation Droid’s attacks.

Recommended: 1 tank, 3 healers (4 if newer to the group) and the rest DPS.

I’m Crazy, So Why Not? Run 1 tank and 2 healers if needed. Note that the healers will need to have strong AoE capabilities to out heal the Missile Salvo AoE attacks.

Recommended: Run 1 tank, 2 healers and 5 DPS. Just like in story mode, a tank swap is not necessary. However, if running with a newer tank, you may want to have a traditional group setup. Five DPS otherwise help with the tighter DPS check.

I’m Crazy, So Why Not? Run 1 tank and 1 healer. The healer will want to save energy cooldowns for Missile Salvo.

Recommended: Run 1 tank and 3-4 healers.

I’m Crazy, So Why Not? Drop to 2 healers if they are experienced, but be aware this can lead to issues if the fight extends for any period of time; a group with a strong healing team can often survive pretty far into enrage, as well as keep a group alive during AoE attacks.

Unique Rewards

The Annihilation Droid XRR-3 has 4 achievements related to completing the encounter: 8 and 16 story, and 8 and 16 veteran. You can find the achievement under Operations > Epic Enemies. Archived achievements for this operation include 8 and 16 person nightmare mode, though this operation difficulty was eliminated in early updates due to a lack of variation in mechanics.

A weekly mission called [WEEKLY] The Eternity Vault is available at any operations terminal. This operation is also accessible for groups of 8 in story mode through group finder. The one-time mission for this operation can be picked up just outside the entrance on either the Ziost Shadow (Imperial) or Gav Daragon (Republic) fleet vanguard vessels. It requires Soa, the last boss, to be defeated in order to complete it.

Belsavis and Rakata-themed decorations have a small chance to drop from the boss and any adds in the operation, such as mind traps.

This boss does not offer any unique or rare drops outside of basic Rakata-themed decorations.

Tactics

Make sure to kill all tauntauns in the starting area prior to proceeding past the first boss for good luck.

Next, clear the defense cannons by either attacking the cannons themselves or the canisters at their base.

Finally, abilities start occurring in this encounter based on boss health percentage.

  • Start (100 – 94%): Basic attacks and tank knockback
  • Phase 1 (94 – 76%): Missile Salvos start
  • Phase 2 (76 – 43%): Groundfire / Storm Protocols start
  • Phase 3 (43 – 10%): AoE stuns start
  • Phase 4 (10 – 2.5%): Soft enrage, continuous Missile Salvo
  • Boss’s death sequence begins at 2.5% health.

Every so often, the main tank will be stunned, knocked back, and will lose threat on the boss. This is a scripted threat drop, and as such, you will need to get back in range of the boss and taunt immediately.

For all modes, tanks can hold the boss at an angle such that when flung backward by Overwhelming Strike, you hit the corner of the wall; this will keep you in range of a taunt at all times. If you face the boss toward the door, you will be knocked very far out of range. If anyone is standing with you, they will also be knocked back.

For Guardian/Juggernaut and Vanguard/Powertech tanks, you can use your leap mid-throw to return to the boss immediately. Shadow/Assassin tanks will want to use either Force Speed or Phantom Stride once they’ve landed.If you are slow returning, the follow-up Cannonade attack will target another player and deal significant damage. Holding the boss facing away from the group also ensures that you know whether it’s on you at any given point.

A random rocket will attack a random player for moderate weapon damage. It will also damage anyone standing close to them. Since this is easy to heal through, it’s a non issue. This attack applies an invisible debuff that will prevent that player from being targeted by this attack consecutively. You can tell when you’re the target because a red reticule will appear over your character and you may be tossed around.

If Cannonade goes on any of the DPS, said DPS will want to use a defensive to moderate the weapon damage from the initial hit and subsequent 5 second Burning force/tech debuff. Cannonade is an attack that is primarily centered on the tank, but can occur after a tank experiences a knockback and threat drop. If that occurs, the boss will turn around and lock onto a player, and then fire. This can be avoided if the tank taunts in time. In veteran mode, this can be a one-shot if the class/player in question has subpar gear or no rotational defensive buffs.

The only difference between modes and group sizes is how much either attack hits for. Avoid stacking to mitigate some damage.

Every so often, the Annihilation Droid will use Shockwave, which is a 3 second point blank AoE stun that affects all players within 20 meters. It is typically prefaced by the dialogue line of: “Proximity violation.”

If stunned, you will be knocked back by a 360 degree spin. In most cases, it is possible to position yourself so your travel is interrupted by a physical object, such as the defense cannon turret. If you do not have anything to be thrown into, you will be tossed far out of range. 

This attack is typically followed by a Missile Salvo, so the group will want to get back to the boss as quickly as possible. You can save your gap closers and speed boosts for your return, even if you lose out on minor rotational damage.

Every 90 seconds, the Annihilation Droid will use Missile Salvo, often preceded by the audio cue: “I haver been armed with twenty four distinct weapons technologies.” 

You’ll have a visual indicator that this is happening because the boss will stop all other attacks and crouch. Missile Salvo lasts for 20 seconds and hits for damage every 1.5 seconds.

You have two ways to handle this attack: it requires line of sight so you can either hide behind the Defense Cannon pillar or, more easily, have everyone group up under the boss to maintain DPS uptime and just AoE heal through it. Once the attack has completed, all players should regain their prior locations (ranged and healers at 25+ meters, etcetera).

If gunslingers or snipers have entrench available, they can stay crouched and continue attacking the boss.

Storm Protocol, or Groundfire, is typically announced with a verbal cue: “Enemy tactics analyzed. Engaging STORM PROTOCOLS.”

A red circle will appear under a player’s feet and, 3.5 seconds later, a missile will land on them should they not step out. If the player is in cover, it will knock them down and out of cover. Any player has a chance to drop a series (anywhere from one to four) of these small red circles during Storm Protocol.

The Annihilation Droid enters a soft enrage phase at 10% health. At this point, it will crouch and do a continuous Missile Salvo until defeated. Father under the boss to maximize AoE healing, use defensives and, if raid buffs are up, hit them immediately.

If you do not enter the soft enrage phase and instead surpass the enrage timer, the boss will continue to attack normally, though with each attack dealing 200% more damage. You can still defeat the boss at this point if the tank can hold its attention, and if there is enough healing available, but be aware that even while enraged, you will enter the “soft enrage” period of a continuous Missile Salvo, and it will do far more damage.

Diagram of the Annihilation Droid XRR-3 encounter

Veteran Mode Changes

The only difference between story and veteran mode is the amount of health the boss has, the damage the boss does, and the damage required to beat the enrage timer.

Role Tips

What you should know if you’re playing a Tank, DPS or Healer in this fight.

  • Face the boss away from the group. His strongest attacks include a knockback (Overwhelming Strike), damage over time ability and a stun. Facing away from the group will not only reduce the number of players tagged with knockback, but provide a visible indicator when the tank has lost boss attention after a threat drop.
  • Taunt after you are knocked back because Overwhelming Strike is a threat drop. You can taunt on your way back to the boss, while you are flying back (you can use abilities half-way through the knock back), or as soon as you are back in range if you were knocked too far away.
  • Stand at an angle so you hit the outer corner of the door. This allows most gap closing abilities to be used mid-knockback, or if on cooldown, allows an immediate taunt as the knockback is a threat drop.
  • Use a defensive if you enter the soft enrage at 10% or if you encounter the hard enrage due to low DPS. Note that after Shockwave (AoE stun) and Overwhelming Strike, all players in range will need healing so attempting to help healers by running defensives during heavy AoE healing periods is always a plus.
  • If ranged, stand back from the boss and keep at least a 20 meter buffer between you and your target. The Annihilation Droid does a periodic area stun and knockback on a set timer. Anyone within that 20 meter radius is affected by it. It doesn’t always include a knockback, but the stun itself does damage to all affected. Standing back will reduce your damage taken as well as ensure you can keep maximum uptime on the boss.
  • If melee, save your gap closers for the times that you are knocked away from the boss. If used rotationally, ensure your secondary movement ability (i.e. force speed, roll, or similar) is available to rejoin the group, as the knockback (Overwhelming Swipe) is often followed by a hail of missiles (and you therefore need to stand under the boss). If knocked all the way back, you will land 45 meters away. If you place yourself strategically so you get knocked back into the turret platforms, you can cut your return time by two thirds.
  • If targeted by the boss, use a defensive. There are periodic threat drops and if the tank is late on a taunt or out of range, you will be hit with the Droid’s Cannonade ability, which does a large hit and applies a Burning debuff that ticks for quite a bit of damage.
  • Stay out of melee range at all times and avoid being within the 20 meter AoE range of the boss. Standing back allows you to avoid excess stuns, knockbacks and damage that would impair your ability to heal a group during spike periods.
  • Prioritize AoE heals during the periods the boss does AoE attacks. Single-target on the tank during Missile Salvo is not ideal, as they are more likely to defend and shield attacks than the average DPS is likely to dodge them. Use as many AoE heals as you can, stack defensives on your fellow players, and ensure that while your AoEs are ticking you target any low DPS during those periods with single-target heals.
  • Predict tank damage taken by watching the pattern of knockbacks. When the tank is knocked back, they are likely to be temporarily out of your range. Therefore it’s your priority to keep them topped up so any follow-up damage doesn’t take them out of the equation.
  • Predict DPS damage taken simply by knowing that every knockback on the tank functions as a threat drop. If the tank does not taunt back in time, Cannonade will be used on a DPS (typically the next highest threat) and will leave behind a painful Burning debuff that ticks for additional damage over time. If that occurs, keep a watch on that player until the debuff expires.

Damage Profile

  • Skill Name: Cannonade (and Burning debuff)
  • Damage Type: Initial Hit: Weapon Damage. Debuff: Force/Tech > Kinetic.
  • Frequency: Up to every 6 seconds. This is an instant attack that requires line of sight.
  • Damage Spread: This attack has the potential to be an AoE and leaves behind a 5 second debuff that ticks for significant damage in veteran mode. Ideally it only goes on the tank, but may go to a DPS if the boss is not picked up quick enough after a threat drop.
  • How to Defend: Use self-heals, general DR, absorb shields, etc. Healers should pay attention to where the boss is pointing, as should tanks, and to the Annihilation Droid’s target of target frame.
  • Skill Name: Overwhelming Swipe
  • Damage Type: Force/Tech > Kinetic
  • Frequency: There are two instances of this skill: one that affects the tank, and one that affects the group. For the tank, they will get knocked back every 20 seconds or so. For the group, they are typically knocked back every 30 seconds. The skill, in both cases, has a 1 second cast.
  • Damage Spread: The tank or everyone within 25 meters from the center of the boss will be knocked back. Typically comes after a Shockwave. Also typically leads into a Missile Salvo. This includes a threat drop.
  • How to Defend: Save your gap closing skills to regain the distance between you and the boss. If the group is knocked back, plan for a Missile Salvo shortly after. If the tank is knocked back, taunt the boss immediately as this is a threat drop.
  • Skill Name: Shockwave
  • Damage Type: Force/Tech > Kinetic
  • Frequency: Up to every 30 seconds, with a 1 second cast
  • Damage Spread: This point-blank AoE attack stuns and deals moderate damage to everyone within x meters for 3 seconds. Stunned players are vulnerable to being knocked back.
  • How to Defend: Use moderate defensives and if a ranged player or healer, stand outside the radius of the attack. Melee DPS and the tank are liable to never be able to avoid the stun itself.
  • Skill Name: Missile Salvo
  • Damage Type: Weapon Damage
  • Frequency: Occurs up to every 90 seconds
  • Damage Spread: AoE attack to players within 70 meters of the boss. It can be line of sighted if required, though this is not recommended if group is struggling with the DPS check.
  • How to Defend: Either group up under the boss, use defensives and heal through it or line of sight behind the defense cannon pillars.
  • Skill Name: Storm Protocol/Groundfire
  • Damage Type: Force/Tech > Kinetic
  • Frequency: Can occur up to every 40 seconds. When triggered, red circles will appear under a character’s foot and 3.5 seconds later, a missile will land in that spot.
  • Damage Spread: When triggered, red circles will appear up to every 3.5 seconds. Standing in or within melee range of the center of it will deal AoE damage.
  • How to Defend: Simply step out of the circle and avoid stacking up.
  • Skill Name: Rocket Burst (Random Rocket)
  • Damage Type: Weapon Damage
  • Frequency: Up to every 6 seconds
  • Damage Spread: This targets a random group member and deals weapon damage to them and anyone standing within melee range.
  • How to Defend: If you have a red reticule on your player’s chest, expect to be targeted by this attack shortly thereafter.

Additional Resources

Find More Ops Guides At

  • Merlyn SWTOR Guides
  • Swtorista
  • MMOBits
  • Vulkk
Authored by Erani
Authored by Erani

Hi, I’m Erani. I’m just a random gamer with an out of control fiery grophet collection. With the help of some amazing friends, I seek to make SWTOR content more accessible. Here’s to gamers of all shapes, sizes and creeds kicking butt.

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