[F11-OP] Making a rock solid plan <19th Boss Meeting Thread>

[Baldur 0]

Baldur, who was still standing, leaned forward on the table after he had listened to and considered what everyone had said. They were all on the clear and correct path. They were truely becoming what the people of Aincrad needed to escape. Perhaps now was the time to present a more grandiose plan for the frontline. Taking a breath, Baldur looked around the table at everyone, gauging what he knew of everyone here.

"I agree with what everyone has said. We need to cultivate our ranks carefully, and not risk anyone's life unnecessarily. Attacking these raids without giving them cautious respect has led to where we are now. Each time we lost respect for the lives we risk by proceeding recklessly, we've ended up losing people. We got lucky with Malethis, but there were still many people who came to the fight unprepared."

Baldur reached over and patted Itzal on the shoulder proudly.

"Itzal and his guild will be a great addition to the Frontlines, whenever they decide they are ready to join us, but at the moment, we're at a critical number due to tanks. I don't know if Oikawa will be able to join us for this fight, which means we could absorb 2 people into our group. How many people will the Knights be able to field for this boss raid?"

"To the point of supplies, I completely agree. Coming to the boss room without a reasonable complement of consumables is dangerous."

He looked around at everyone gathered, but he didn't feel prepared. They weren't ready, and he didn't have the words or framework to explain.

"We know what we're up against, so the prudent thing to do now is to prepare to the best of our ability. Doing it now will only help us out further on the next boss fight as well. Once Tier 3 gear is available on the 20th floor, our challenge may step up as well. My suggestion would be for people to work with their raid groups to gather supplies for the raid. Generous players like Itzal, who may want to help, but don't feel ready, could be organized into the groups they eventually will join the raid with. Then they get used to working as a unit, and any extra materials they feel willing to donate can go towards healing items, and getting tanks ready."

Swiping with his hand, he called up his inventory and glanced at it, then dismissed it with another wave of his hand.

"I worked very hard to get a full compliment of everything. A full stack of both self and party heal crystals, as as many safeguard potions. While I don't think everyone needs to be there, everyone should definitely at least have a couple of each. Not only are these to keep yourself safe, but your friends as well."

Baldur turned to face Macradon. As the one who found the boss, tradition dictated that he would be the leader of this charge.

"Macradon, ultimately this is your victory. How do you feel about delaying the boss, for a set period of time, to allow everyone to further gear up and prepare for the boss fight that is to come, and whatever challenges we may face on floor 20."

[Heathcliff 0]

A very prudent plan.

The voice of the Commander Heathcliff followed closely on the heels of the inner doors opening. He strode into the room, confident and standing tall. Macradon had performed above expectation. He should remember to praise the Captain of the Vanguard later. He had pulled the leadership of the frontline back into the hands of the Knights, and once again their involvement would key. The commander walked over he sat down in the chair that Macradon had saved for him, sparing only a sideways glance for the blond sitting in the Vice Commander's seat. Leaning forward he steepled his fingers on the planning table, his bright red casual clothes and long red coat where a shock of solid color in an otherwise multi-hued room.

There is a question of momentum to consider as well. We cannot let the front become stagnant, and each week we are in here is precious time lost to all those who don't know what it is we do every day. A lack of progress could have the unintended consequence of losing moral, perhaps not for the front line, but for all those who huddle in fear on the first floor and rely on us to set them free.

His eyes surveyed the effect his words had upon those gathered to see how they would react. It was very easy to forget that there was a timer invisibly ticking in the other world, and every day that they were in here the death count grew. Not as much as in the first few weeks, but there were always those who died to complacency... and player killers. Many of whom forgot what their lives were like before they came to the floating castle.

The... Samurai He smirked slightly at the man's appearance. Is correct however. Healthcliff leaned back in his chair and turned his head to look at Macradon.

This is your responsibility. We shall proceed as you see fit. Macradon had made him very proud, he would watch where this would lead. His silver eyes also took a moment to glance over at the presence of Opal, and the smile he wore on his face faded slightly. She was clever, managing to kill someone for her own reasons and maintain her green crystal. She also seemed to be more cooperative this time around than what he had heard from the last meeting.

Three guilds were now represented here. His Knights, the so-called Spectrum Coalition, and the up-and-coming guild Celestial Ascendants. They had come a long way in a short time. He would have to keep his eye on them and see if they could continue to rise.

[Khrysaor 0]

Khrysaor was sleeping within his shop on the 8th floor. when an incessant beep could be heard around him. Since, Khrysaor was a pretty heavy sleeper especially when he felt safe, he did not stir from his slumber for another half and hour. As he slowly woke from his nap, he noticed a small sound indicating a Aincrad-wide PM was sent out. While, wiping the crud away from his bleary eyes, he opened up the mail window, and read through the small message that was sent to him.

Once he finished reading the passage, he opened his eyes in surprise and thought, 'Wow, they already found the next boss room and now they seem to be holding another one of the boss meetings. I don't really feel like missing the meeting this time, unlike the last time when I was held up and could not attend.' He looked at when the message was sent and then at the digital clock at the corner, and whispered, "Do I still have time, almost half the meeting should be done by now. I better hurry if I want some more experience into sitting in on one of these meetings."

With that thought, Khrysaor quickly got ready and ran out of his shop, heading straight for the teleportation gates. As he got to the gates  he stepped into the glowing blue light, when he suddenly remembered he had no clue where to go, so he went back to the message noted down that it was at the KoB Guild Hall. Khrysaor closed down the menu and stated, "Teleport-Floor 11, Taft." and he disappeared in a swirl of bluish white light.

A second after he disappeared on the 8th floor from Florenthia, Khrysaor reappeared onto the 11th floor and straight into the center of Taft. He not wanting to waste time looking around followed the point on his map that indicated the location of the KoB Guild Hall.

He opened the doors to the meeting place slowly and silently not wanting to disrupt the players that most likely were already in a deep debate on how to topple the next boss. He closed the doors as silently as he opened them up and turned around to face the room of players and he could see everyone was deeply engrossed in the conversation. Not wanting to be more of a bother, he nodded his head, and said, "Excuse me for disturbing your meeting, but I just wanted to observe."

With that he slowly made his way to a empty chair on the side and silently sat on it, to watch and gleam the information he was going to learn from the meeting. Khrysaor got his first chance to look at all the players in the room, before when he entered he had been slightly nervous so he could not properly see who were in the room. Some he recognized from meetings that were held before, while there were still a few new faces he could not recognize.

[Kasier 0]

Kasier smiled when Itzal stood up and announced that he will not be attending the floor boss fight because of his low mitigation and low damage output. She was quite relieved actually but also regretful at the same time. Indeed, she didn't know how much influence she had had on Itzal'd decision of retreating from the frontlines this time but she truly hoped that whatever decision he had made was for himself and for himself only. She didn't want anyone to influence his decision and his life, and she shall stand by that even if his life was on the line. Still, she couldn't help but take a sigh of relieve that Itzal will be safe this time around having revoked his decision of participation. Kasier watched as a man, unknown to her stood up and patted Itzal on the back. Quite popular. She thought, as expected of someone like my boyfriend. She finished. After the floor raid meeting, perhaps she will just stay with Itzal for the rest of the day. She had been thinking of moving in with Itzal for a while now, since she really had no purpose of staying in her shop. However, she didn't want to trouble Itzal too much if he was busy. She will simply ask to move in on a later date, when their relationship had become even closer.

Still, Kasier can't just think about Itzal the whole time. There were other things in Aincrad that she can try out such as food and games. Sure, this game had slowed down quite a bit but there were still things of interest to achieve, skills to invest in and items to buy. As Kasier daydreamed, she soon watched as a man of absolute power and elegance came out and began to speak. Although Kasier didn't know who the man was, it was very obvious that he was powerful and held some sort of position judging from the way he spoke. That's the same way that I try to speak to others... Except I don't really have the same effect. She thought and immediately after the man spoke, another man entered, much weaker in appearance stated that he would simply spectate but honestly, in Kasier's opinion, he should've just sat down. She would've never wanted the attention in front of all these people, not the slightest chance.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"  ...pure and unrestrained damage...  " Opal's words caught the blonde's attention as she was discussing with Kasier. She then listened to them going the 'cautious way' about raids and the uncertainties of the lower level guild representatives. She showed a grin to the KoTB guild leader as she maybe sat on his seat but didn't bothered to move instead, she was ready to offer her opinion.

"Different people, same story..." muttered the blonde, just loud enough to be heard by the people who bothered to listen to others. "What a surprise we're missing tanks, its been so ever since I attended my first meeting for the 11th floor. Sadly, my participation as well of the rest of my guild members at the time, to the 10th boss fight had been denied by... let's say azure pride." she made yet another pause, trying not to remember that particular time period.

"At the time there was the all mighty Tristan, which by now Calrex has already surpassed... and even guild master Heathcliff graces us with his presence as of late, despite being nothing more than a name.. a ghost, before the last couple of raids." no animosity in her tone as she stayed true to her nature and expressed herself.... but she got a bit sidetracked in preaching about past, so the blonde scratched the back of her head while raising her free hand midair in a weird motion and continued:

".... my point is that current front liners shouldn't be taken as the 'minimum accepted levels' to participate in boss raids. At level 50+ we're seriously over leveled for boss fighting; stupidity, pride and other players being a more major threat to us than the actual boss. My idea of the minimum level for joining a boss fight, based on the last 9 boss raids I participated in, should be calculated by this not so accurate formula: current top floor number plus ~10 (almost ten) . That said, I think any players above 28-29 should join in this time despite their build choice. Even coming with nothing more than some healing items in their inventory without any need to gain the boss' hate or deal major damage, would be a great addition to the current front line forces." 

Having said what was on her mind, the blonde sat back on the chair and watched people reacting to her words while she petted the lioness by her side. "As much as I'd like to get to it right away, re-supplying is a must if I wanna go again at max damage. As a solo player, is quite difficult to get the required items and I can't always abuse Takao's kindness. Geez, capable cooks are really hard to get by these days. And one last thing that most likely other people mentioned already: Safeguards, mitigation and healing potions are a must." As usual, she went on ranting but hopefully the intended players got her message.

 

 

[Hakai 0]

Hakai listened closely as more and more people spoke. Some of the stuff seemed very relevant, while the rest just seemed a bit misplaced. Yeah, the frontlines needed more people, but this wasnt a meeting about beefing up the frontliners ranks, it was a meeting about the boss fight. She just wanted to hear the strategy so that she could plan. She still wasnt completely set for the fight anyway, so the sooner this meeting finished the better for her. She looked up as she heard someone say something about how they just wanted to observe. She stared at them. If they hadnt wanted to draw attention to themselves they had really failed. Coming in in the middle of an open meeting was one thing, but coming in and interrupting the flow of events was another. She shrugged inwardly. That was probably just her. She preferred to stick to the corners and gather information. She wasnt really all that inclined to make necessary comments. She smiled as a blonde haired woman said that she felt as though anyone around level twenty eight or so should join in, even if only to provide extra storage for potions. She hoped to be at least level thirty three by the time the boss fight started, so she should be completely fine for this fight.

[Itzal 0]

Itzal had taken his seat before anyone else spoke.  His body stiffened when he felt a hand touch his shoulder but relaxed pretty quickly, wondering why the player felt the need to do something like that in the middle of a meeting, with everyone watching.  It was a bit hard to avoid a tiny blush but he managed it.  Itzal nodded at Baldur's words.  He had recently found out that the eleventh floor had a good material boost if you were lucky, so he'd probably move all of his gathering to this floor.  When Itzal heard that Macrodon was to lead because he had found the boss room he frowned as he contemplated this fact.  Itzal felt that whoever was going to lead, should be the player best suited for the job, not whoever found the boss room first.  Itzal was a good tactician and strategist, and could come up with a back up plan within moments during the heat of a battle, but he was no leader.  He was more of an advisor or strategist.  He wasn't sure what Macrodon was like, and perhaps that was something that made him a little uneasy as well.  He'd need to talk with @Calrex about this.  Maybe he would agree with Itzal.  Then the doors opened and a very commanding voice echoed.  Itzal turned to see who it was and judging by his posture, tone and gear, he was assuming this was the leader of the knights of the blood oath...  Well, Itzal was both impressed and a little upset at the man's appearance.  It seemed to him that this player had pride written all over him.  Everything about him screamed it.  This made him uncomfortable but this wasn't his guild, and he wasn't someone to point fingers.  When the man took his seat and talked about the deadline Itzal nodded slowly but still disagreed to a certain point.  And the way he smirked at Baldur...  He gave a soft cough and raised his hand, hoping he didn't sound like an idiot.  "While I agree we need to clear the game ASAP, as well as keep the moral of players high, we also need to be cautious.  Too many times have players just charged in, thinking they were ready for anything, or thinking there wasn't enough time, and ended up getting slaughtered by what they were unprepared to do.  While we can hurry the preparing stage, I don't think it wise to just rush to the boss until everyone has the right equipment."  And with that he fell silent.  It was a balance:  A balance of urgency and caution that he was suggesting.  He caught something from Kasier and it seemed she was a little more comfortable than before.  Was it because he was stepping back from the raid this round?  He allowed a soft smile as he knew their connection was pretty strong already.  When a new player walked in he mentioned how he was here to observe and then proceeded to simply stand by the side, the very thing Itzal ended up deciding wasn't a wise decision.  Well, he guessed that it was time to see whether his decision was a good one or not.

[Bhairyuu 0]

Bhairyuu had been exploring that same old creepy castle he had found in one of the back alleyways of the <<Town of Beginnings>> when he noticed the PM icon light up with a small red colored number 1 notation, so he had stopped and took a break to read through the message. Once he did, he noticed it was about the upcoming boss fight and so he examined it in more detail, thinking

"Hmm, well now...seems like they've found the next boss room...but should I make the troublesome effort of going all the way to the KoB headquarters to sit in on this meeting?...Hmm...I guess I should...after all, it would  be even more of a royal pain to not have experience with these sorts of meetings..."

With that, he exited the castle and then ran off to towards the teleport gate of the <<Town of Beginnings>> as quickly as his feet could carry him. Once there he spoke aloud

"Teleport! Floor 11, Taft!!"

No sooner than he had spoken those words, Bhairyuu disappeared in a flash of bluish-white light and with a split second had reappeared at the corresponding teleport gate in the safezone of Floor 11, Taft. He set off as soon as he landed since he didn't want to waste any time. After an almost all-out sprint, Bhairyuu arrived at the KoB guild hall and after identifying himself to the guards, he headed inside as quietly as he could and took a seat at the back but at a spot where he could hear the leaders of the meeting clearly. Then, he trained all his senses onto said leaders since he wanted to take in all the details he could about the meeting...at least what was left of it anyway.

Edited November 11, 2016 by Bhairyuu

[Macradon 0]

The discussion had really begun enrolling, and everyone came in with their input. Macradon would agree that th straight forward spearhead was not the best of ideas, as seen of the 14th floors disaster. More planning had to be done than just those few minutes of 'Here's a monster, let's hit it until it dies'. "Aye, you're right" Macradon would say in response to what Opal said, even though it didn't feel that great to agree with her, they had to be professionals here today. "I'm quite fond of the idea for us to stock up on potions and crystals and meet once again in a weeks time or two. Through this time we will have had more time to think about strategies and more time for our crafters to do their job and get the consumables going. I'm quite sure that everyone in this room, as well as those who couldn't attend, will be overjoyed just that we clear the 19th floor, so I think we should at least give everyone time to get ready" Macradon would say, agreeing to what the majority of the attendants would say. The discussion had gone a lineal way, which is great. Not too much fuss about anything. 

In a short span of time, many people had arrived at the boss meeting, which was ideal. "I want our prep time to be 11 days in total. 11 days is the time between a week and two weeks. It is my thought that this time would be ideal for not only crafters to make potions and crystals, but also for frontliners to get the equipment they want for the boss raid. If people are in need of a Blacksmith, I will stand in and help those in need of equipment like other weapons for the sake of our speculation of the colossus not being much effected by status effects" Macradon would say. He would have his shop open for frontliners to jump in if they wanted a new weapon for the upcoming boss fight, as he knew some of them only had weapons with status effects, Macradon was one of those who had a weapon with status effect, but as is wasn't just fully status effect, he would be able to keep it for now.

Due to inactivity, thread is complete.
All participants receive 2 SP for 2 pages.
As well as 53 Col for 2 pages.

Edited November 14, 2016 by Macradon