[E3][PP-F21] <<Nature's Treasure>> A Thorny Meeting

[Shield 0]

Quest

Spoiler

Floor 1, 11, or 21
<<Nature's Treasure>>
Recommended Level: Any | Party Limit: None
Repeatable: Yes
Credit: @Itzal

Rewards:

• The Materials Gathered

Summary:

Marking the beginning of each tier (Floors 1, 11, 21, etc.), these levels of Aincrad in particular each seem to have various locations among the floors that are bursting at the seams with crafting materials. They are easier to find than other hunting grounds on comparable floors, with short respawn rates to make them the best locations to hunt for materials.

If the floor is vegetated, players can find a <<Garden>>. If there are a lot of buildings on the floor, players can find a <<Courtyard>>. If the floor is underground, players can find a <<Cavern>>. Many NPCs give away these farming locations, telling players about this amazing opportunity of extra materials, whether it be from plentiful monster drops or from the safer areas outside of town that make for easy, peaceful fishing and gathering.

Searching:  LD rolls of 11-14 give 1 material.  LD rolls of 15+ give 2 materials.  Gatherer skill is added to this roll as well.

Fishing:  Monsters and bosses never spawn.  Fishing receives no bonus materials.  CD 12s require a LD of 15+ (modifiers allowed) to fish up a treasure chest.  If 1-14, players receive 4 materials.

Treasure Chests:  LD of 1-3 does not result in a mimic, but drops (Floor * 25) col and one material.

Looting Mobs: Mobs that satisfy the loot minimum always drop (HP * 4) col and 1 material as default drops.

Requirements:

• At least one [1] Page (20 or more posts)
• Mobs MUST meet or exceed the loot minimum parameter.

Event

Spoiler

Event will run until April 22, 2020

The Easter Bunny has scattered Chocolate Eggs all around Aincrad. Eg, Egg, n Eggy - three children of dubious morals and ravenous sweet-tooths (teeth? teeths?) - need your help to find as many Chocolate Eggs as possible! Chocolate Eggs may be found by hunting mobs, gathering materials, or even fishing! Bring enough to Eg, Egg, and Eggy in exchange for amazing prizes!

Chocolate Eggs may be found via looting slain mobs on a LD9+
CD1-3: 2 Eggs
CD4-6: 3 Eggs
CD7-9: 5 Eggs
CD10-12: 6 Eggs
Chocolate Eggs may be found via gathering on a LD6+
CD1-3: 1 Egg
CD4-6: 2 Eggs
CD7-9: 3 Eggs
CD11-12: 4 Eggs
If gathering with Full Energy:
CD1-3: 2 Eggs
CD4-6: 3 Eggs
CD7-9: 5 Eggs
CD10-12: 6 Eggs
Chocolate Eggs may be found via fishing on a CD3+
LD1-5: 2 Eggs
LD6-10: 4 Eggs
LD11-15: 6 Eggs
LD16-20: 8 Eggs
Chocolate Eggs are a bonus drop and will be obtained in addition to any other items.

Rewards
 

Tier x Material (Limit 100)	1 Egg
Specified Unidentified Equipment	5 Eggs
Reroll Ticket - Reidentify a single slot on a single piece of gear at a merchant. (Limit 3)	25 Eggs
Easter Bunny's Favor - Reidentify a single slot on a piece of gear at a Merchant using only their Unique Enhancement table. (Limit 1)	50 Eggs
Bunny Stamp - Increase the Rarity of a single item up to Demonic, selecting a normal Enhancement in the process (Limit 1)	150 Eggs
Special Dungeon Map	100 Eggs

Note: Players may only participate in the event with a single character. Alts are banned from this event. If caught using an alt, you forfeit all rewards from the event.

 

Special Dungeon

Purchasing the Special Dungeon Map unlocks the Special Dungeon <<Easter Bunny’s Chocolate Factory>>. Inside the Chocolate Factory, you will be pitted up against enemies of the same tier as the one who initially used the map. So, a Tier 3 Player spawning the dungeon would create a Tier 3 version of the dungeon. The Special Dungeon must be undertaken with at least one other player, with a maximum number of players being 4. Players may pool their eggs together to purchase a Special Dungeon Map, but in all other cases Eggs are bound to the player.

Within the Special Dungeon, players will fight Unique Mobs and roll on a Unique Drop Table. Note: Players may only enter the special dungeon once.

Encounter 1: The Caramel Warren
Frosted Bunny: 150/400/650 HP | 50/125/250 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 25/35/50 MIT
While the Frosted Bunny is alive, all of the other members of the Warren heal for 10% of their maximum health every rotation.
Toffee Bunny: 275/600/1000 HP | 25/75/150 DMG | 2 ACC | 0 EVA | 35/80/125 MIT
While the Toffee Bunny is alive, no other member of the Warren can be attacked, including via AoE.
Red-Hot Bunny: 150/400/650 HP | 75/150/400 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 25/35/50 MIT
The Red-Hot Bunny applies a Burn debuff on a BD7+, inflicting 20/50/60 Unmitigatable DMG every round to the target.
Dark Chocolate Bunny: 150/400/650 HP | 75/150/400 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 0 MIT | Stealth Rating: 13+
Every 2 Turns, the Dark Chocolate Bunny enters stealth. Attacks from stealth strike all members of the party.

Rewards
2 SP
Each member of the party rolls for Loot
LD1-8: Frosted Necklace: Tier x Perfect Trinket - Life Mending, Recovery, Recovery
LD9-15: Toffee Armor: Tier x Perfect Heavy Armor - Bloodclot, Thorns, Thorns
LD16-19: Red Hot Weapon: Tier x Perfect Weapon - Burn, Burn, Bleed
LD20: Dark Chocolate Rabbit’s Foot - Change one weapon/armor type to a different one of your choosing

Encounter 2: The Way-Too-Big Peep
The Giant Peep: 700/1000/2000 HP | 10/25/30 DMG | 3 ACC | 0 EVA | 50/100/150 MIT
Ability: Every three turns, the Peep splits into smaller Peeps. Players then have the opportunity to play Chubby Bunny with the peeps by rolling a CD. The CD corresponds to the number of Peeps one can shove down their gullet and still speak. After the Chubby Bunny phase, the Giant Peep reforms and players gain bonuses equal to the amount of Peeps they ingested.
1-3 Peeps - Phase
4-6 Peeps - Apply Burn on a BD8
7-9 Peeps - Holy Proc on the player’s next Critical.
10-12 Peeps - Next successful attack procs double Fallen.

Rewards
3 SP
20000 Col
30 Tiered Materials
<<Peep's Tears (it's basically sugar water)>>: Grants a +1 CD Bonus for Familiar Training
Each member of the party rolls for Loot
LD1-8 Double Col and Material Rewards
LD9-17 The Big Peep - Demonic Consumable: Overhealth, Overhealth, Overhealth, Overhealth
LD18-19 The Bigger Peep - An item that turns your familiar into a tiny version of the Giant Peep
LD20 The Biggest Peep - Tier x Perfect Trinket: Holy Blessing, Recovery, Recovery

Encounter 3: The Easter Bunny’s Second Cousin (twice removed)
Sebastian 500/1000/2000 HP | 75/200/350 DMG | 2 ACC | 2 EVA | 25/50/75 MIT 
Ability: D-D-Drop the Egg - Every three turns, Sebastian drops a massive egg onto the battlefield (100/250/500 HP | 50/100/150 MIT). If not successfully destroyed, the entire party suffers 75/150/250 Unmitigatable damage and become struck by the funk, causing them to lose their next turn to Sebastian’s sick beats.

Rewards
5 SP
LD1-6:  Bass Cannon - Unidentified Demonic Weapon
LD7-12: Dope Shades - Unidentified Demonic Trinket
LD13-19: Sick Jacket - Unidentified Demonic Shield/Armor
LD20: The Ultimate Chocolate Egg - Crack this bad boy open for an amazing surprise. That surprise is a Quad Fall- I mean literally all of the above.

Loot Tables

Spoiler

Fishing

• CD 1: Fished up a boss monster!
• CD 2-3: Fished up a monster with loot minimum stats
• CD 4: Nothing seems to be biting...
• CD 5-6: 1 Material fished up!
• CD 7-8: 2 Materials fished up!
• CD 9-10: 3 Materials fished up!
• CD 11: 4 Materials fished up!
• CD 12: Treasure Chest fished up!

Chest

• [1-3] = A <<Mimic>>
• [4-7] = 1200 Col, 2 materials, 2 uncommon consumables
• [8-11] = 1800 Col, 3 materials, 2 rare consumables
• [12-15] = 2400 Col, 5 materials, rare weapon, 2 rare consumables
• [16-20] = 3600 Col, 8 materials, perfect armor/shield, 2 rare consumables
• [21-23] = 4800 Col, 10 materials, 2 perfect weapon, perfect consumable
• [24-25] = 6000 Col, 12 materials, perfect weapon, perfect armor/shield, 2 perfect consumables

Shield

Spoiler

» Shield, The Immovable Object

• Modified HP:
• Modified EN:
• Modified MIT:
• Modified ACC:
• Modified DMG:
• Modified EVA:
• Battle Heal:
• Search:
• Temp Buff:
• Temp Buff:
• Temp Buff:

» Base Stats

• Base HP: 1710
• Base EN: 162
• Base MIT: 169
• Base ACC: 0
• Base DMG: 2
• Base EVA: -1
• Battle Heal: 85 HP
• Search: +5

» Items Equipped:

• Seeking Aura - +3 Search
• Raw Passion - +3 Prosperity
• Hammerspace Backpack (HB) +1 BR item (allows stacks up to 7)

» Battle-Ready Inventory:

• Golden  Keys ^x7 | Unique Item | +2 Search on Chests
• Golden  Keys ^x3 | Unique Item | +2 Search on Chests
• Basic Teleportation Crystal ^x4 | Good Item | Teleports player to the Town of Beginnings
• Safeguard Potion ^x3 | Perfect Tier 1 | Safeguard
   

» Skills:

• Searching | 5 Ranks | +5 Bonus to LD, +0 to Stealth Detect
• Battle Healing | 5 Ranks | While in combat, recover 1% per rank (85HP) at the beginning of your turn
• First Aid | 5 Ranks | +4% HP per rank (+20% HP) on Post Action
• Picking | Purchased | +3 LD when opening chests
• Heavy Armor | 5 Rank | +35 Mitigation
• Energize | Purchased |  Restore 8 EN to target
• Block | 5 Ranks | +25 Mitigation
• Howl | Purchased | +2 Hate against each opponent (up to 4)
• Fighting Spirit | Purchased | +1 Hate when using Howl or Focused Howl
• Parry | Purchased | 3 Turn Cooldown | 5 Energy | Reduces incoming damage by 50%
• Fishing | Purchased | Fish for equipment and gain prestige among old men

» Extra Skills:

• Concentration | No Ranks | Gain +1 BD for a single attack | 5 Turn Cooldown
• Familiar Mastery: Healer |  3 Ranks | +135 HP (Does not require post action)
• Martial Arts | 1 Rank | +1 Base Damage per slot with Unarmed Weapons
• Meditation | Purchased | Recover an additional 15 EN on Post Action | 3 Turn Cooldown
• Survival | Purchased |  Increases out of combat health regen to (15xTier) 45 per post

» Mods:

• Athletics: +1 DMG +30 HP
• Focused Howl: +4 Hate against single target on Post Action
• Dismantling: +2 LD when opening chests
• Stone Wall: +Gain 10 MIT and 45 HP from heavy armor. Reduces DOT by 25%. -1 to Evasion.
• Justified Riposte: A successful Parry also stuns the target for 1 turn. | 3 Turn Cool Down
• Vengeful Riposte: A successful Parry returns 50% of DMG back to your opponent - mitigatable. | 3 Turn Cool Down

Roll

Spoiler

 ID# 139081 results: Craft: 3 [Monster Fish] Loot: 9+8=17 [8 Eggs found]

Total Loot

Eggs: 8

The last venture in fishing had been beneficial, and now that he had time to peruse the gains from the Easter Egg Hunt, there was no way Shield was going to pass up the rewards. He had scarcely dropped off his haul from the first fishing trip before turning right back around and beginning the hunt all over again. He laid out his tackle on the shore and baited his hook, winding up and casting for the deepest parts of the water. Settling himself on his favorite sitting stone, he waited, occasionally reeling his line a little. In the real world, it simulated the motion of a living thing. In the game, it likely accomplished very little.

Shield felt his line jerk, and he stood, hauling hard against the line. Strangely, it came up very easily, and at the end of his line was a small woven net full of foil-wrapped chocolate eggs. Usually, there would also be a fish, but apparently, the random number generator was feeling generous despite no fish being caught. It was no small haul either. He stashed them happily, eager to cash in his finds at the end. For now, he returned to the pool in front of him, throwing out his line once again.

Though he was not eager to encounter other players soon after his hiatus, it was more or less inevitable given the ongoing hunt for eggs. Still, as long as it was not a player he knew from the front lines - and in particular a few players for whom he had not yet let his animosity completely subside - it would not be unwelcome, he supposed.

It would have happened eventually even without the event. It's not a big deal.

@Zajcica

Edited April 1, 2020 by Shield

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki walked though the dirty caverns of floor twenty-one inspecting her hud as she usually does, not paying attention to most of her surroundings. Hippogriff floated around her since it was finally getting used to it's wings after hatching just recently. It squawked as it flew around her, she had learned how to drown it out at this point. This was definitely the floor for Tier three materials where she could take on the Nature's Treasure quest. No reason to wait until she was tier three to collect the materials. She could use them in trades likely too.

Drowned out in doings, she didn't hear the incessant squawking of Hippogriff until she was on the ground. She had tripped on some fishing equipment laid out by another person who currently was fishing. She scrambled up to sit up and fix it the best she could.

"Ah! S-Sumimasen! G-Gomen, Gomen! I didn't mean to I wasn't looking where I was going! I didn't mean to ruin your fishing." Much to his surprise, Yuki seemed  to quickly replace the equipment for him without any help. She must be familiar with fishing. Hippogriff landed and relaxed on the girls head.

@Shield

Materials Found: 2
Eggs Found: 3

Total Materials: 2
Total Eggs: 3

Edited April 1, 2020 by Zajcica

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 139095 results: Craft: 9 [3 Materials found] Loot: 12+8=20 [8 Eggs found]

Total Loot

Eggs: 16
Materials: 3

Shield was surprised by the disturbance, but he managed not to get hit by any flying limbs or tackle. He did not know the player that he could recall, and as a safety precaution he checked over his fishing gear to make sure all was accounted for. He checked the last few items off in his head as he addressed the other player.

"Are you okay?" he inquired in his deep baritone voice. "A little occupied looking for eggs?" He was not typically the type to make small talk, but he had spent so much time fishing that there didn't seem a reason not to at least acknowledge the newcomer. As he did so, his bobber vanished once again below the surface, and his line went taut. The whine of his reel sounded out over the ambient noise of the cavern, and be began fighting the fish back to shore. Much like the others so far, this one was made of gummy candy as well, and trough its translucent body, Shield could see another clutch of the same chocolate eggs he had been finding since the event began.

"Odd things," he wondered aloud, dismissing the catch into his inventory. With another flick, he cast his line out into the water again.

Edited April 1, 2020 by Shield

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki was easily embarrassed by most things, but it didn't really help that she could be an air-headed klutz as well. The girl picked herself up off the ground and dusted herself off. The man had a much deeper voice than she had expected. His reel countered the silence off the cavern, kind of the same way Hippogriff does with his annoying squawking.

"I-I'm fine," The girl started, "I was about to start looking for eggs and materials, yes. I thought it would be a good idea to do some material gathering on this high of a floor so I can be ready to craft tier three items." Shield's eyes seemed like they were sizing her up. It was easy to tell he was probably wondering what level she was. With a slight bow and a smile, Yuki spoke again.

"My name is Yuki, aspiring front line tank and nearly grandmaster cook. I am currently level 16, yoroshikune!" The griffin flying with her squawked in offense being forgot. "Oh, right! This is my new partner Hippogriff. He's happy to meet you too."

@Shield

LD: 16+3=19
Materials Found: 2
Eggs Found: 5

Total Materials: 4
Total Eggs: 8

Edited April 2, 2020 by Zajcica

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 139212 results: Craft: 2 [0 Materials found] Loot: 3

Total Loot

Eggs: 16
Materials: 3

There was a long moment where Shield debated whether or not to introduce himself properly. On the one hand, it would be extremely rude not to, and that was never his intention. However, at the same time, he couldn't be sure if she would be able to recognize his name. Although the lure of optimization items had drawn him out of his reclusive habits of the previous years, he was not entirely sure he wanted news of his emergence to filter back to the front lines. In the end though, the former concern won out.

"I'm Shield," he said, giving a slight nod of acknowledgement before turning his eyes back to the bobber that danced lightly on the surface of the water. Unfortunately, that was all it seemed to be doing for the time being, so he turned his focus back onto the new arrival. "It's a little bit alarming to see lower leveled players up this high in Aincrad, especially alone. Still, it's safer for a tank than it is a glass cannon DPS. I'm assuming you have teleportation crystals in case of an emergency?" Shield was hardly well groomed, but fortunately, SAO's image generation hadn't updated since the game's inception, and thus his facial hair had not grown or altered to reflect his lack of initiative to shave or attend to his appearance during his isolation. "It's good that there are players with ambitions to tank on the front lines. Word is they're missing some tanks and healers up there." What he said was true, and he had indeed heard such news. He was not eager to admit that his own actions had contributed to the problem.

It occurred to him that Yuki had also introduced her familiar, and figured as long as he had already introduced himself, it couldn't hurt to follow suit on that as well. He extended his right hand, which might have looked like a handshake at first, but as he did so, a vibrantly colored serpent protruded her head from his sleeve and tasted the air between the players with a flick of her tongue. "This is Lilith, by the way."

Edited April 2, 2020 by Shield

[Zajcica 0]

The girl collected a batch of eggs off to the side before Shield introduced himself, then sat back on her knees next to him watching the lure bob in the water. He mentioned a teleportation crystal, and Yuki got a bit nervous. She hadn't gotten the chance to buy one yet, though it was a good point that now was probably a good time to get one.

"Eh-hem, well, I haven't quite taken the time to collect a teleportation crystal just yet. Though, being a tank, I understand how the aggro-mechanics of SAO work. As long as I keep my distance from mobs and don't accept any dangerous quests, I won't be attacked by anything. I actually live just up a floor and also run my shop up there. While I'm leveling to reach the front lines, I also want to supply them with food."

The little snake slithered out of Shield's sleeve, and it would have freaked her out if they were in the real world, but it thankfully it wasn't as scary as somethings were here in Aincrad. She smiled at Shield and watched lure bob around again.

"I need to invest in the fishing skill. My dad taught me a little about fishing, seems reasonable that I should use that knowledge to my advantage here."

@Shield

LD: 20+3=23
Materials Found: 2
Eggs Found: 6

Total Materials: 6
Total Eggs: 14

Edited April 2, 2020 by Zajcica

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 139249 results: Craft: 6 [1 Material found] Loot: 10+8=18 [8 Eggs found]

Total Loot

Eggs: 24
Materials: 4

A slight grimace came across Shield's features at the mention of not having acquired a Teleportation Crystal yet. "It's undue risk," he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Knowledge of the mechanics is good, but even careful players sometimes end up in places they don't want to be. Aincrad can be tricky. Just... do me a favor," he went on, giving a sidelong glance to the newly met tank, "before you ever step foot into a labyrinth or an upper level dungeon, make sure you have a crystal, and preferably more than one if you're with a party. Knowledge of mechanics doesn't do you any good if you get into a combat you weren't prepared for. Escape from a fight isn't guaranteed without a crystal."

At that moment, Shield's bobber twitched and then immediately vanished below the surface of the water. Shield stood up a little straighter and gave his line a tug, setting the hook in his catch before bending his pole backward and reeling hard. It was not a difficult fight. The fish on the end of the line struggled, but it was not strong enough to slow the inevitable march towards the shore. With a whiz of the line and a heavy plop, the fish landed on the shore, its bright orange gummy candy body flopping around on the damp stone of the cavern. Shield recovered it, picking it up by the line and inspecting the healthy clutch of eggs in its belly before dismissing it into his inventory with the others.

Edited April 2, 2020 by Shield

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki looked at the fish that seemed to be modified to look like those American candies! That was adorable! What were those candies called again? Polish Fish? Something like that. She clasped her hands together when she saw the fish and smiled.

"That's adorable! I didn't know they changed the design on the fish to compliment Easter!" After she got that out, she got a look from Shield like he wanted an answer for his previous comment.

"R-Right, don't worry I will. I guess it would be safe for me to stay here while I do my searching then so I don't worry anyone. I have couple high level friends, so if I got into a dungeon I'll have friends who can help." She smiled at Shield happily. The eggs that she had scooped up earlier finally respawned in a different batch. She quickly scooped them up and moved them to her inventory and sat where she was until they would respawn again.

LD: 20+3=23
Materials Found: 0
Eggs Found: 3

Total Materials: 6
Total Eggs: 17

 

Edited April 2, 2020 by Zajcica

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 139275 results: Craft: 5 [1 Material found] Loot: 6+8=14 [6 Eggs found]

Total Loot

Eggs: 30
Materials: 5

"It is always good to have friends," Shield said, affirming her thoughts on the matter. "Players are strongest when they work together. That said, if there is a build around here that can solo, it's a good tank." He reeled in his line and cast out once again, aiming for a further, and hopefully deeper part of the lake. In all of their talk, she had not given any indication that she knew who he was, which honestly came as a relief. At one time, he had been fairly well known, but that was years ago, and he wasn't much eager for the attention at the moment so soon after returning.

"Are you a member of a guild?" Shield asked, curious about what Yuki had said regarding stronger friends. During his stay with the Celestial Ascendants, he had enjoyed much of the luxury of the safety that came with numbers. On the other hand, during its fall, he had also seen what numbers could to to harm as well.

His line went taut, and another fish began its fight for survial. Shield had spent far too many hours angling on the upper floors to allow this one to escape him though, and with one final jerk, it was freed from the water and surrendered itself to be collected. Shield was pleased. His egg count so far was on target with how well his last trip had gone.

Edited April 12, 2020 by Shield

[Zajcica 0]

The paladin pulled in the next bunch of eggs up and into her inventory as they spawned right next to her seat. It was kind of boring to farm this way, but at least she had a friend to speak to while she did this though. Shield brought up what her current guild was. If he had asked her last week, she would have said none.

"Well, I just recently joined Aincrad Trading Post because they have amazing benefits for a crafter. However, I had a bit of cute dream of becoming strong enough to lead my own guild. Though I don't really know anyone who would want to join and I can't just make a guild with myself. Maybe I'll just end up joining a higher up guild and be content there. I hope I can be stronger and maybe lead people later in my Aincrad career. I wanted to be an icon for lower level players to grow strong and do something about this stupid virtual prison in their own way. The girl sighed quietly. "I'm such a air-head sometimes I guess.."

LD: 12+3=15
Materials Found: 2
Eggs Found: 5

Total Materials: 8
Total Eggs: 22

 

Edited April 2, 2020 by Zajcica

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

 ID# 139280 results: Craft: 7 [2 Materials found] Loot: 13+8=21 [8 Eggs found]

Total Loot

Eggs: 38
Materials: 7

"Seems silly to insult yourself over that," Shield said matter-of-factly. "That's the aim of most front-liner guilds. Would you have called those leaders air-heads for wanting to start something like that?" He cast out his line again, watching it land out in the black depths of the fishing hole. "That's like saying it makes someone an air-head for wanting to get out and go home. The only thing that will determine whether your ambitions are foolish or not is if you aren't willing to put the work into making them happen."

Shield's eyes watched as his bobber vanished once again, and he pulled back hard, reeling quickly. There was some fight in this fish, but not enough to slow the tank down much as he drew it closer to shore. With a splish, the fish crested the water and was pulled out onto the bank, where it flopped for a moment before registering that it was defeated, and diminished into a collectible set of items. "You go ahead and make your guild. If it's important to you, you'll make it happen, and people will recognize your drive and get behind you. Won't know if it's meant to be until you do it."

Edited April 12, 2020 by Shield

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki looked at the ground embarrassed. It really did seem like a foolish thing to think about it like that. If she did end up making a guild, there was only two out comes: The first one being that it fails and everyone involved goes their separate ways on the matter; or, the second on being that it became a strong guild that Yuki enjoyed being the leader of. She smiled again and looked back at Shield. 

"Thanks Shield, that really cleared the clouded judgement I had about starting a guild. I will do my best to make a guild that can do something for other players, even if we don't make it to the top of the top." The girl shifted quietly in her position to make herself more comfortable. It was unexpected to meet others up this high, but she was glad to meet a new friend. "What about you, do you have a guild that you're apart of? Friends whom you care for here in Aincrad?" It felt awkward to ask that, but he had asked the same thing to her, so hopefully it was okay.

LD: 2+3=5
Nothing Found

Total Materials: 8
Total Eggs: 22

Edited April 2, 2020 by Zajcica

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 139293 results: Craft: 3 [0 Materials found] Loot: 8+8=16 [8 Eggs found]

Total Loot

Eggs: 46
Materials: 7

Shield stiffened slightly at the question. He didn't know quite how to answer it without casting a shadow on the conversation, but he figured the truth, or at least part of it, was kinder than sugar-coating it. "I had a guild a while back," he said, keeping his tone conversational. "We didn't last, but it was good while we had each other. That was the Celestial Ascendants. They were a guild dedicated to raising up low level players to get them onto the front lines. Honestly, I did a better job on my own of leveling. I had a hard time finding players that wanted to grind as much as I was trying to. But there was a conflict with another guild - one that I wasn't aware of, and things fell apart."

Reeling his line back in, he found yet another bag of eggs with no fish attached. It was always an odd feeling. Usually in the past, he had always either caught fish or chests, but the mechanics were different enough that fish and their size and number of usable materials from them did not correlate practically at all with the number of eggs to be found. "As far as friends, yes, I have a few. I lost touch with most of them for a while, but... I'm starting to run into them here and there."

Edited April 12, 2020 by Shield

[Zajcica 0]

The paladin was quiet for a moment while he explained his experience with his old guild. She was starting to believe that Shield was the same as Life. They started playing the game but something or another made them stray away from the fight and went into seclusion. She didn't really know what to say, but something did come to mind to try and soothe him.

"Well, if you want, you can always join my guild when I make it! We could have the same goal as you're old guild, because if I was your guild existed when I started my leveling in Aincrad last month." Her smile grew even brighter in an attempt to console him. "I also love meeting new friends so if you wanna add me to your friends list..."

The menu opened up in front of her, she scrolled down to her friends list and soon the message appeared in front of Shield.

-Zajcica wants to add you to their friends list-

LD: 13+3=16
Materials found: 2
Eggs Found: 3

Total Materials: 10
Total Eggs: 25

Edited April 2, 2020 by Zajcica

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 139299 results: Craft: 12 + Loot: 7+8=15 [Chest found] [Multipurpose housing bonus used] 15+1=16 [8 Eggs found]

Total Loot

Eggs: 54
Materials: 7

Shield hesitated for a moment at the invitation, but he remembered that character stats and level weren't visible from the normal display. That information is only visible if you peek at someone else's HUD. She had mentioned her level, and he didn't want her to feel like he might see her accomplishments as insignificant. Instead, all she could see was his name and that he was not in a guild. Even so, he did tap accept her friend request. "Well, I appreciate the offer on your guild," Shield said, trying to decide how much to dig into his current ambitions. "But I'm afraid if I were to join anyone, it would be a group with different goals. Your guild is absolutely needed, but... in addition to being short members, the front lines are very much disorganized and torn. They don't have enough tanks, and there's honestly only one full healer. They need people, and badly."

Reeling in his line, Shield's fingers stopped, unable to turn the crank further on their own. He gripped more tightly and cranked harder. Something big and stationary was on the end of his hook. "Oh boy... looks like I found a chest." With his whole body, Shield pulled against his line, dragging the chest along the bottom of the lake until it slowly rose from the surface.

Edited April 12, 2020 by Shield

[Zajcica 0]

Yuki seemed unbothered by Shield's decision to decline her offer to join the guild. She expected him to say no anyway, being much higher level than her. He was probably busy with many other things than that. Her smile continued as she spoke.

"No worries, I'll do my best to prove that I can lead a guild and help lower players!" The sound of Shield standing up and reeling the rod back to pull in the chest startled her a bit. The treasure chest seemed to glow when it came out of the water, she hadn't actually seen one yet. "Oh! This is the first treasure chest I've ever seen! They're supposed to have really good stuff in them right? Are you going to open it now?" She asked a little more excitedly than she probably meant to.

In the corner of her eye, she notice the spawn of eggs that had suddenly appeared next to her and put them into her inventory.

LD: 15+3=18
Materials found: 2
Eggs Found: 3

Total Materials: 12
Total Eggs: 28

Edited April 2, 2020 by Zajcica

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 139333 results: Loot: 1+7=8

[8-11] = 1,575 Col, 3 materials, 2 rare consumables

Total Loot

Eggs: 54
Materials: 10
Col: 1,000
Rare Consumables: [139333a] [139333b]

Shield knelt down beside the chest and took out his ring of keys. Holding them up to the lock, the one between his fingers vanished, leaving a small trail of golden glittering dust to trickle down through the air with a faint tinkling like the clink of a handful of coins. The lid of the chest popped open an inch or two and a menu appeared in front of it with the chest's contents outlined. It was a short list. Shield sighed. "Some do, but not this one. I'll keep the Mats, plus the money to compensate me for the cost of the key, but the rest of the Col and the consumables I won't have much need for. You're welcome to them."

Without waiting for a reply, he set up a transfer window, muttering under his breath about how the chests never seemed to have any eggs. As the contents of the chest were emptied, the container's durability was depleted, and it burst into pale blue polygons. "Don't worry about it. If it's not a perfect consumable, I don't have much use for it. They're more of a hassle to keep track of at this point." He straightened back up to his full height and made his way to the broken stalagmite that he had taken to using as a stool and cast out once again into the dark waters.

[-575 Col, -2 Rare T3 Consumables]

Edited April 13, 2020 by Shield

[Zajcica 0]

Every fiber of her wanted to stay polite and let him have his reward, but it was pretty obvious that he wanted to help her out. The menu popped open for trade, Yuki looked through it. Inside was a lump of col, likely close to 1000 units, and two unidentified potions. Looks like she'd be taking another trip to Ceres. It didn't take a lot to identify and she was pretty short on consumables herself. The girl browsed through her menu and transferred the items and money to her inventory. The chest then burst into blue digital smoke.

"Um..Hey, Shield. I have recently found myself..." She winced trying to think of a nice way to put it. "Being absolutely bad at combat. What can I do to improve my own combat? Not like 'oh you're a tank so you should party with friends' I've heard all of that already, but I've honestly done nothing to support my friends when I fight with them."

LD: 15+3=18
Materials found: 0
Eggs Found: 2

Total Materials: 12
Total Eggs: 30

Edited April 13, 2020 by Zajcica

[Shield 0]

Spoiler

ID# 139473 results: Craft: 6 [1 Material found] Loot: 13+8=21 [8 Eggs found]

Total Loot

Eggs: 62
Materials: 11
Col: 1,000

Shield cast out his line and mulled over that question. "That is a big question, because tanking in SAO is a unique position. It depends a lot on what flavor of tank you are." He held up a hand in a half shrug. "Most tanks try to make the most of offense and defense, drawing enemy fire with a howl and then putting as much hurt on the opponent as they can. Some prefer to be more support. At that point, your job is to draw fire and make sure your passive build punishes the enemy - a healthy dose of thorns or more unique defenses if you can find them," he went on. His fist knocked against his own chestplate. "That's where I fall," he said, returning his hand to his pole just as he felt a tug at the end.

He stood and fought his newest catch back to shore, pulling it free and stashing it in his inventory with the others. "From there, you're not really using your skills on the offense, so you either use them to do more bursty buffing - that's using mods like sharpness to make the DPS hit harder and shorten the length of the battle - or you play the long game and work to keep your allies up during longer combat - that means using first aid if they take splash damage or using Energize to keep them topped off and dealing max damage for as long as possible." He returned to his seat, picking out a good spot to make his next cast. "Other than that... you'll have to ask more specific questions."

Edited April 12, 2020 by Shield

[Zajcica 0]

Sitting quietly next to Shield, Yuki scooped up the next batch of respawning eggs. A bountiful harvest of eggs this time. She was going to hit her goal easily if she kept this up. When Shield finished his explanation, she sat for a moment, thinking about what she should do to multiclass. She had wanted to do support originally, but she had taken a liking being a tank player. You could protect your friends before they got hurt, unlike in a support class.

"Well, I've been attempting to fight alone to practice my combat skills, but I always end up close to dying before someone jumps out of nowhere and saves me. I'm tired of relying on others to keep my alive... I want to be strong enough to pull my own weight and not worry others." Yuki explained looking down at the ground. "I recently survived a field boss with 6 hp remaining on floor 5 because someone was watching my battle from a distance and they saved me before I died... If I could just be stronger I wouldn't need that kind of help."

LD: 14+3=17
Materials found: 2
Eggs Found: 6

Total Materials: 14
Total Eggs: 36

Edited April 13, 2020 by Zajcica