Successfully doing a hard / nightfall strike (particually if under strength or solo)

The other night, I tried to play a heroic strike on a higher level than the character I wanted to play it with had reached. This is roughly equivalent to playing a strike on level 28 or a nightfall strike with a character of the appropriate level. Most of all it means that a melee attack from any mob will kill you instantly, without leaving you a chance to fight back or flee. From that experience, I have drawn a few conclusions (which may be obvious to some, but apparently not to everybody), and would like to lay them down here in the hope they might be useful for some or the other player. [b]Be Cautious[/b] First of all, do not play overly confident and aggressive. Find a good position where the mobs have only one attack route at you (tunnel, corridor, some corner like the elevated grating behind the stacked containers in the first stage of the Sepiks Prime strike). When taking damage, hide in cover and recover. Do not melee attack mini bosses (like e.g. the captains in the Sepiks Prime strike) unless they are as good as dead, because that will usually lead to your death instead of theirs. [b]Play Thoughtfully[/b] With the heroic modifier (well, I think it's this one that causes it), dead players need to be revived by their team mates. They will not be placed back in the battle after a certain amount of time has passed. If this happens, do not play the hero and try to revive them by all means, because that will easily end with your own death, and subsequently you will need to replay the entire stage of the strike. Clear out the current wave of mobs until only one or two weaker mobs are left, then dash for your dead team mate and revive him. Do not kill all mobs first, or the next mob wave may spawn on you right when you're trying to revive your team mate and are most vulnerable. [b]Find A Safe Position[/b] When soloing, instead of hiding in some cover of the current strike stage's battle area, try to dash for its entry. Mobs will not leave the battle area, meaning you are having a safe harbor to replenish your shields there. For the first stage of the Sepiks Prime strike, that would be the stairs leading to the battle area. An even better place there specifically is the tunnel at the area's right side with the greenishly glowing crystals. [b]Keep A Trump Up Your Sleeve[/b] Keep your super attack and grenades for the occasions where things really heat up to quickly clear out or at least repel a lot of mobs to give you some time to breathe and flee or take the remaining ones out with your regular weapons. A rocket launcher can come really handy to deal with bigger numbers and/or stronger mobs. Be careful with it though and only use it if the distance is great enough. For teleporting mobs, do not aim right at them, but at the ground near them and have the blast damage work on them. [b]Spread Out[/b] This leads to the next consideration: Do not stick together. This will make all mobs concentrate their fire and attacks on you. Since you are in close vicinity, area attacks (rockets, grenades) will automatically affect several players. You are also prone to be in each other's way there. Instead, split up and head for different advantageous positions. For the first stage of the Sepiks Prime strike, that would e.g. be the entrance stairs, the tunnel with the green crystals, and the elevated grated platform behind the stacked containers. That way, you can split the mobs' attention, distract them by coming out and opening fire if your team mates get under heavy pressure, and take potshots at mobs that are attacking the other players. [b]Prioritize And Focus Fire[/b] Concentrate your fire on the most dangerous enemies to take these out first. Such enemies are those who can launch long distance attacks. I consider snipers to be the most dangerous threats, as these can kill you with two shots (one if your shields aren't full). Enemies hurling bigger grenades at you are on that list, too (e.g. knights, minotaurs). The standard grenades aren't much of an issue, as they have as good as no blast radius. You need to decide which to concentrate on depending on your situation: If you cannot evade the grenades, kill the mobs hurling them at you first and keep moving around while you do to make a difficult target for any snipers aiming at you. Otherwise, take out the snipers first. [b]Chose The Proper Weapon[/b] To fight snipers, a sniper rifle comes in handy. To get rid of mini bosses (like the captains in the Sepiks Prime strike), a heavy machine gun is invaluable. Equip these weapons when needed, and most of all, keep them loaded for when you need them. Do not waste them on other targets unless you are really forced to do so to survive. [b]Knowledge[/b] As you play a strike more often, you should learn which mobs appear, when they appear, where they move and how they attack. Remember when stealth melee ninjas appear. Know when snipers show up and where they move. Most of all, be patient and cautious! That will help you finishing a strike quickly more than anything else.