I'm doing the first projectile rift that CID sends you on (the one where you have to throw the balls at the towers) and I just cannot do it. I've tried dozens of times and I just can't beat it. I know I must be doing something wrong, but the game isn't communicating that to me at all. I have greatly reduced explosive and fire damage, so I'm not taking as much from each hit, but I feel like the balls are exploding on me before they even reach the platform. And a number of times, I'll be hit by one ball, and then several directly after as I'm recovering.

I don't understand how I'm supposed to effectively dodge the balls, or if there's a strategy I'm missing? I've tired standing in one place and being methodical, I've tried jumping around and being a spaz, and everything in between. I really want to beat this fucking rift and get it out of the way, it's the only thing that's gating my progress so far.

Ignore the balls being shot up by the launchers when you are being shot at and instead catch the balls being shot at you by the targets. If there are multiple being shot at you, throw the caught balls as quickly as you can.

Huh.

You grab the balls as they are heading towards you and throw them at the towers. If they have reached you, it's too late, they will explode. They're shooting you, you need to grab them and throw them back. The balls should never get close enough to you to explode.

Are you color blind? If they aren't of the same color, they don't do any damage.

@sgtsphynx: I do ignore the ones that are launched up from the tubes, I only concentrate on the ones shot from the tower. However, when I get to the final placement (the one with almost a dozen towers), I always get hit by the balls that are coming from off-screen. I've gotten it down to where I can get to the final towers with minimal trouble, but I've just been banging my head against it every time I try.

@deegee: Well yeah. I get the objective of the rift, I just can't destroy the final run of towers. I'd love for them not to get close enough to explode, I really would.

@mooseymcman: Not colour blind, just bad at video games apparently? they just come in too fast for me to do anything. It wouldn't be so bad if they actually had to hit me to explode and do damage, but it seems like they explode when they get near the platform, not on contact with my character.

Just throw em' in the general direction of a target as long as it explodes near it you'll do damage. You don't have to be really accurate.

I haven't retried the mission yet myself, but something I noticed was that I seemed to get hit by projectiles from the towers - even though I was looking straight at the towers. They seemed to come at me from off screen because there's no way I could have missed them. ... Or maybe I'm horribly blind.

the balls that you throw at the towers rebound back to you. once i noticed this i didnt get hit again

Whatever you do i repeat, 'do not eat the balls'

Doing all the insurance fraud activities first to get the no ragdoll from explosions upgrade (requires at least all silver medals I think) really helps a lot.

It also helps to back up a little once you activate the current of targets so you don't get blindsighted as much.

what this duder said.

No shit? I beat all those challenges and never noticed that bit. Maybe I can go back and get golds there with this knowledge.

Also...if you're low on life, retreat further back in the zone for your health to regen and you can chip away at the final tower. If there's a deluge headed your way it's alright to catch/throw quick as hell without really aiming just to keep them from exploding and for you to get your bearings again.

When it gets hectic, just throw the balls away, don't even bother aiming. You might hit something, you might not, but either way you saved yourself health.

I hate this section of the game. Probably the only activity they have you do (besides hacking) that isn't fun.

Once you step onto the area to trigger that set of towers you can jump onto one of the adjacent platforms. All the balls it is shooting hit where you are supposed to stand and you can just stand back and grab the ones it is shooting at you without being hit by the ones that you miss.

God I hated that. The difficult is actually Hard for that first one (in the easier ones the bombs don't explode when they come back).

Okay, got it on my first try today.

When I bought the explosive damage reduction, I was mid-activity, so it may not have triggered until I rage-quit and shit my pants. My health also didn't seem to be regenerating, so that may have just been a bug and also a pain in the ass.

Also I didn't know that the rebounded ones explode in your face. That would have been super handy to know. Thanks, Obama.

Anyways, fuck those rifts. And related, the telekinesis rift that Shaundi sent me on way way easier and I got gold without even getting hit. It's just the first one CID sends you on that sucks, apparently.

Yeah i struggled with that one aswell on hardcore, get as many destroyed as you can as soon as your taking critical damage just back off far away and let your health regain then go back in, rinse and repeat! Done! GL!