[PP - F3] Making Headway -- F12 Boss Raid Meeting (PM for Invite)

[Rebekah 0]

After listening to them discuss important information about teams in general, Rebekah realized that another emerging issue had began to appear after the discussion. "While that may be true that there were multiple unique items dropped in the last raid, it may just be a statistical outlier, or it was part of a new update and rules. There used to be only 1 last hit unique item dropped per floor raid, and the last one was the first to drop multiple weapons for any floor."

Furthermore, she also knew to add in this main point, "Before we get too carried away on uniques, I want to bring up an important point. Similarly to the past raid, we cannot effectively assign teams until we have a rough idea of who will be attending the raid. We can decide today how to divide roles inside each team. But, realistically speaking, we will take the best available players. Even if that means we pick up a damage dealer into a off-tank role, rather than bring a level 10 tank with marginally better mitigation."

The group was talking about how in an idealized world, what would be best, but there was also a thing such as reality. In this death game, trust is something that is hard to build, but easy to break. The unique discussion was more on the lines of equality vs fairness, where equality does not equal fairness.

Edited October 14, 2015 by Rebekah

[Mack 0]

Mack listened silently as people began to go back and forth on strategy while Chewie continued to try and catch Takao's familiar to try and eat the lizard creature. "I assume that everyone here will be coming on the raid with the possible exception of Hirru, no offense intended," Mack rumbled at last, his deep voice cutting through the group. To his way of thinking, this meeting seemed to be edging ever farther away from the goal of figuring out the boss fight.

"With that in mind, we have enough players and information to formulate a basic strategy. We will need four of the biggest AOE, with one or two AOE back-ups, to hit dregs and boss in a three to one ratio. The biggest stun attack should be one of the first ones in to stun the boss, that's either Takao or myself I think, with one backing up the other if they miss and defaulting to an AOE attack if the first stun succeeds. Three tanks to alternate with one another as needed with the logical choices being Nikki, Calrex, and Tristan. Finally, two healers to focus primarily on the tanks, Persephone and Piera would fit this role. Between one big stunner and a ton of AOE we should be able to drop this boss and the dregs in a single round of combat. Total team size should be around twelve."

"We also need to consider the possibility of swamp gas based effects ranging from damage and paralysis to low-light or no light situations. Therefore, antidote items and light generating items should be considered for at ready. Of course, healing items, energy boosts, and damage multipiers are also needed. Finally, we need to settle on a battle leader and though I intend no disrespect to Takao who found the room and called the meeting, I would nominate Zelrius since he is unlikely to be tanking and therefore more likely to be able to focus on the big picture of the battle than, for example one of the tanks. He also has more experience in boss raids than most of the rest of us and his leadership on Floor 11 resulted in a very smooth operation with minimal danger and no casualties." Mack crossed his arms and looked around the table at everyone, waiting for input to come in since he'd just voiced his opinions on everything.

[Teayre 0]

The young red head watched quietly from Calrex’s lap as more people poured into the shop, all of whom she recognised. Listening intently to the conversation Teayre reached down and gently squeezed Calrex’s hand. Nodding as Takao began to reel of his information about the boss. “That matches up more or less with what we saw… There’s the health stats of the boss and the adds as well. I wonder how we should progress…” Continuing to listen it was her fiancée who spoke up next, Teayre’s brow furrowed as she thought about the issues with mobility, which was her primary method of avoiding attacks.

As several of the other members of the meeting fed their ideas in, Teayre’s hand snaked its way up and began to twirl Calrex’s hair around her fingers as she pursed her lips. “I wonder…” she mused as Mack mentioned Zelrius as the raid leader Teayre stood up her hand slipping free from Calrex’s hair. “Whilst I agree with the points you are making Mack, I’d like to remind people who abandoned the plan from the very start at the last raid? Whilst I agree adapting is definitely the way to go there needs to be communication and -some- attempt to follow the plan.”

Stepping around the chair Calrex was sat on to lean on the back of the empty chair next to him she places a hand on his shoulder as she takes a deep breath. “That being said if Zelrius will be willing to communicate as opposed to rushing of on his own, I’ll withdraw my objection to your suggestion. Following that in terms of the aoe and stunning I might be one of the better options for that. Whilst the aoe damage I deal isn’t top tier I can also stun at the same time as dealing a fair amount. That goes for any katana user who is over level nineteen and achieved rank four.”  

The red haired girl pauses again, “Judging from what everyone has already said. This would be my idea. We have two tanks go in first and pick up aggro. Followed by some aoers and stunners to take the dregs out and deal some initial damage on the boss. After that another tank goes in to provide back up hate, finally the point damage dealers mop up the boss. That should cover most situations. Healers will be scattered throughout the raid ideally backing up the tanks.” As she finished speaking Teayre sank down into her chair her hand reaching for Calrex's as her eyes gazed piercingly around the room.

[Azide 0]

The red-haired girl rose to speak, and although that in of and itself was nothing special for a raid meeting, his ears perked at the sound of her words. As she rebuffed Mack's praise of a certain player in their midsts, he lifted his head, glancing at the boyish swordsman out of the corner of his eye. It was rather difficult to glean anything from the commandant's expression, considering the ridiculous thing on his head that he'd claimed as a helmet, but he couldn't help but wonder what the man might be thinking at the moment. Azide himself had always suspected pride as the motivating factor behind Azure's absence during the tenth floor raid. Would Zelrius be too proud to take their criticism? Would he slap down a hasty declaration of non-participation before storming out of the room?

His fingers rolled softly against the table in arpeggio as he awaited the end of the girl's musings. When the time came, he appreciated in retrospect her more position and order focused approach, rather than resorting to the buzzword of teams. But for the time being, he turned his eyes to Mack, who looked just a little too big for his chair. With a furrowed brow, he answered the man, "While I'm sure we all loved that party in the Fields of High Crossing, I can't say that I was in love with the Buccaneer's leadership back there on floor eleven." Azide turned both hands over, so that his palms now faced the ceiling. Lifting them from the table, he continued, "Let's remember to give ourselves some credit, shall we? And while we're at it, we should probably thank those dregs for attacking Tristan Delaney instead of almost anybody else when we'd first entered the cathedral, because otherwise somebody would have died right there and then. Or perhaps we can give our thanks to the Forsaken Crusader, who instead of attacking us in its first move, decided to go on the defensive. Because for some strange reason, Tristan Delaney was placed on the second team instead of the first, leaving all us without that wonderful sixty mitigation completely open at the time."

He paused for a much-needed breath, releasing it slowly in the form of a sigh. His eyes fluttered open as the last of the air left his lungs. "But to be fair, I myself had not considered the possibility of either the dregs or the boss attacking first, so I'd like to remedy this with a solution inspired by the Crowned Lion herself," he said gesturing to the blonde-haired girl across the roundtable. "If there's anything that we have in abundance, it's alchemists. So I figure that it would not be unreasonable to ask that any capable alchemists out there focus on producing as many safeguarding potions as possible, with crystals as a secondary goal. Those of us made out of paper and cardboard may enter the battlefield with peace of mind, and leave the tanking to those who can actually take a punch."

Applying safeguard as a precaution would allow for them to completely negate a single hit, reducing the risk of being picked off before the tanks could do their job. Perhaps he himself would whip up a potion or two, provided he found the will to hunt down a handful of materials beforehand.

[Zelrius 0]

(Holy christ this is a lot to Reply to. Sorry for not replying, have had a bunch of [censored] going on)

Zelrius had sat in thought and had not spoke, simply letting his cloak just hang over him and not making a move. The boy didn't speak, simply because he was intrigued by the non-Azure chaired Meeting. Takao had seemed to be doing well and the conversations he was holding were well-rounded and seemed to be on topic. To be quite honest, the Commandant had chaired so many of these meetings that he just assumed everyone else was bad at it, such was his arrogance however.  It was following Ariel's comment and glance toward him and Rebekah the boy chuckled to himself quite nosily. I can't help being a god of damage. He thought to himself and didn't say.

It was upon bringing up Uniques that Zelrius looked to Takao and simply gazed for a moment. He glanced to Rebekah and had wondered if she had the Twinfire on her and then back to Takao. It is true, Azure had all the uniques, with the exception Mari whom was no where to be seen. For a moment, that boy was mad that Takao would even make a request like that. They had earned all those uniques fair and square. Calming himself down with a breath, Zelrius offered a condition to him. Zelrius spoke his first words of the meeting. "I agree to give a to the second best given that I don't need anymore than I have. Though know Tristan isn't fully geared out and if he earns it, I am not going to force him to give any away quite yet, though Tristan is a sensible person and I am sure would share if you asked him. My one condition upon doing so for myself: If I earn the Unique, I get to decide whether to give away an Older one, or the new one. Deal?" Zelrius smirked. Knowing that either Takao accepted this condition or Zelrius hoarded uniques. The boy wasn't an honestly cruel and mean person, but the last thing he wanted to do was give away Uniques to people who didn't earn it. 

He listened as Mack and some others of the group had a bit of a squibble over "Leader". With a slight laugh Zelrius spoke back. "I personally do not mind Takao heading this one. Though I have the experience and victories to prove it, I am fine with giving someone else a fair chance." A Stop to grin at Teayre's Comments "Might I remind you that while I abandoned the plan, every single thing you guys have said about the plan thus far matches that exact plan used for the Forsaken Crusader, with the exception of not having a direct Dreg group this time around. As you've said: Two Dreg killers, each kills a few Dregs and hits the boss with a big Sword Art. That is exactly what Mack and I did last time around, no? As for communication and Following: I agree my communication was lacking, nonetheless the Plan was still perfectly followed and the Boss fight was significantly shortened because of it. I still hit my Dregs, and dealt a great blow to the boss. Perhaps there is some underlying reason that I am not seeing to why you really don't want me leading this one?" His arrogant smile only grew wider with these comments. None of this phased him, not even a little. It was quite entertaining how ready everyone seemed to bash him.

"Delaney was on Team 2 FOR the Boss. You forget, Azide, that Nikki was on Team one. Her mitigation had almost matched Tristan's and her job was to pull the Dregs away from you guys. So you were not left Mitigation-less, at all. Each team had someone with considerable Hp and/or Mitigation. Also if you don't remember: I did get a metric ton of Alchemy items last time around. Or perhaps you spaced that?" Though knowing now was not the time, Zelrius had aimed to provoke a verbal battle with Azide, just to see his response.

"All that aside, I agree with the proposed plan. Split up Dreg people, Evenly distribute tanks, and have damage dealers hit the boss. Hm, funny. Almost sounds exactly like the plan we've been using since the Medusa fight on Floor 7? In fact, I am fairly certain it is, Since I helped planned all of that. But, that's none of my business." At this point he was purposefully pointing these little facts out, just to prove that there was nothing wrong with what he did in the last fight. The golden haired Commandant was certain there was some other reason they were mad at him that they refused to admit. One single word whispered in his mind before he got lost in his thoughts once more: Uniques. 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Ariel's eyes widened a bit as Rebekah worded out what was on her mind...'As expected from Senpai' she thought, quietly listening how a battle plan was slowly forming. Looking next at Lowenthal, she couldn't help but smile "IDK where you'd been but most of us used at least one stats increasing item or two before storming in. In my case all the damage and extra health was there for show as they disappear as soon as I rushed towards the steps to the 12th floor, once the boss died. and it has scars ALL OVER his body, the ones on its face  And as for a way of attacking that alligator could easily use its tail, the armored wings or even his whole body to squish us... the 3 of us weren't that eager to check you see."

Unavoidably the topic diverted to Uniques where Takao made Zelrius a proposition that she was sure he would decline..but offered a sensible counteroffer. Seems that the boy had get go a bit of that Azure pride she knew he had, but still the matter of leadership shifted towards him for some reason. Then Ariel hold up a hand with two fingers, a very school like gesture that fit the place as most of them were seated while Takao was assuming a teacher/mediator role."Its been custom that the one that discovers the room and his guild leads the raid. due to Oikawa's hiatus, Zelrius took it upon himself instead of distributing the remaining council members in a team effort." she stopped and gazed at the person in question. "I oppose Mack's suggestion and say that Takao leads us, as he earned his right to do so. If he concedes it to somebody else, that be it but that is for him to decide, not us to vote upon. In the previous meetings there was a clear line on who organized the raids and who were just participating. Take example lasts 2 raids, Mari organized the meeting then lead the small party and delivered... then all Azure commandants attended their meeting while the rest of the guilds had only 2 representatives and delivered as well. So I say we keep to the script. We are here to talk about this floor's boss raid planning not what happened in the previous one. " she then turned towards Takao and showed him a smile: "I know you're trying to be the good guy but don't go giving away something that you worked for... it will make our own struggle a bit pointless if you do so. Now let's focus on the actual planning.A list of probable attendants would help in that direction." she said while stealing a glance at the other members of the 2nd scouting party, a certain crimson maiden and a ultramarine knight.

"Also I agree with Rebekah and I'm willing to act as a stand in tank if there aren't enough, already've been given that role once.... I'll manage to get 'Howl' before the actual fight starts if needed." With that she put her hand under her chin and wracked her brains to find out if she passed something. She remembered her nickname being mentioned by Azide and lightly chuckled: 'somehow that idea found its way here what were the odds?.... as expected from Azide' she thought, seeing a glimpse of the old Azide, tactician and guildmaster of S1. 

Edited October 16, 2015 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Lowenthal 0]

Lowenthal leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms behind his head. "For christ's sake Zel, we get it. You had an idea that worked, and now every iteration of it is now a 'copycat' and a playoff of you 'oh so original idea'." Lowenthal said, fed up with Zel's arrogance. "Next thing you know he's going to start complaining about people who use curved sword because 'he had them first'. Your narcissistic attitude is getting to be pretty damn annoying. Hell I don't even know what's worse half the time. You complaining, or Mack talking about his damn guild. To be frank, I'm sick of it." Lowenthal said, placing the feet of his chair back onto the ground. Lowenthal let out a sigh. "I apologize. Let's do what Ariel said, and get back to the planning of this floor's boss fight." Lowenthal said, placing his elbows on the table. "As for attendants, I know myself will be there, and although Jomei isn't here he'll be there for the boss fight." Lowenthal said, calming down from his tirade.

[Takao 0]

"That's fine. I honestly don't care who gets what, as long as there's some kind of distribution. It'd be bad if we got to a point where we were being carried and only progressing as a result of the uniques, and then something bad happened to you and the rest of us got screwed over. I mean, with the implentation of AoE skills, there's no guarantee that our tanks will be able to soften all of the blows... and on top of that, we already have field bosses that ignore normal hate rules. It just seems like a bad idea to have all of our eggs in one basket. At least, it does to me." said Takao, finally taking a breath as he finished speaking. His words carried a genuine tone to them, he truly didn't care who got a unique or what it was. His only care was that they had options if the worst were to happen. Emerald hued eyes took note of the smirk that followed Zelrius's ultimatum under the thinly veiled guise of a counter proposal, but shrugged it off. He could think himself superior all he wanted for all Takao cared, because in the end he was still stuck in a game of death, just like everybody else.

His gaze then came to rest on Lowenthal as he spoke up, and a deep frown became nestled in place of the thin line that had been his expression. "Alright, that's enough." Takao spoke up, his voice carrying a firmness with it that seemed a bit unusual for anybody more accustomed to his typical chipper tone. "This isn't the place for you guys to start throwing around insults like children and waste everybody else's time. If the next words that come out of anybody's mouth aren't going to be productive to the boss fight, do everybody a favour and shut up and leave." Expressive eyebrows were furrowed slightly, and a more annoyed expression set in on his face. He huffed out a breath and turned his attention back to Zelrius.

"At the moment, everybody here has the same amount of experience when it comes to boss fights under the new combat system... more or less." he said, not wanting to draw much attention to how few players in the last raid party had actually been presented with the opportunity to strike the boss, and wanting to draw even less attention to the fact that he'd been one of the few. "-But you still have a lot of experience with them in general. I have a good picture of the boss room layout and the boss itself too, so I wouldn't mind working with you to make a few battle plans. We won't be able to finalize anything until the actual party is formed, but we can have some kind of framework done ahead of time at least. In the mean time, I'd recommend that everybody get the "Survival" skill if they don't already have it. I have a feeling it might end up playing a big part in these boss fights."

[Calrex 0]

With the way the conversation progressed Calrex gave a nod, although he did make note of Teayre's remark on the past fight. What transpired after that almost made him want to give a sigh, get to his feet, say, "Let me know what the plan is. I've got more important things to do," and promptly take his leave. The conversation seemed to have started turning from a strategy meeting to a complaint-fest, something that at the moment he had no time or mental capacity he could waste on. Every minute spent bickering was time he could be using to get stronger in preparation.

Luckily it seemed that things were going to be set on track as Takao spoke, voicing his thoughts that anyone who didn't have productive words for the meeting should leave. He gave a nod while he hand continued to grasp Teayre's, "I know that a good amount of us were unsatisfied with the way the last fight went, but being bitter now isn't going to solve anything. If you're worried about not getting a unique, you're going to need to take a reality check and put those desires on the back shelf. Annoyed about someone's attitude, stuff it, there's no place for bickering when in combat. If you don't want to interact with them, don't."

Deciding once again that it was his turn to speak. He, Ariel, and Teayre had also done some scouting of the boss, as which he felt he needed to assist with guiding the discussion, "I agree with having Takao head this raid, as well as stressing the Survival skill. If you don't have it, it's a fairly easy quest with a powerful skill gained from it. In the last fight the incense within the room gave an environmental effect which could be partially cancelled out by the skill. There's no telling if something similar might exist in the next battle as well. In terms of armament, it would be safe to say we should stick with similar gear from before: Focused on high damage, mitigation, and inflicting the Paralyze effect. If you happen to have any consumables you can have ready before the start of the fight that can boost those even further, bring them as well."

With that he finished with one last bit, looking over at Takao and Zelrius, "If anyone has been on the last quest that was released, Lord of the Seas, you might be aware how hard that field boss hits. We should probably assume that can be the minimum base damage the boss or dregs can deal."

[Teayre 0]

As several comments flew around the room a couple of them following up her comment about Zelrius’ leadership. Her ears perked up as the blonde commandant of the Azure Brigade spoke. Taking her hand from Calrex’s Teayre leans on the table interlocking her hands with each other. “Zelrius, you have my apologies then. My interpretations of the battle tactics were wrong, I had presumed that the dreg teams would have been solely focused on the extra adds. I will then commend you on following the said plan and withdraw my comment about lack of communication due to my own misunderstanding.” Taking a deep breath Teayre leans back as Lowenthal spoke up, her hand slipping back into Calrex’s. Her eyes narrowed when Lowenthal laid into Zelrius more, silently sighing Teayre looked around and that was when Takao began to speak.

 

Nodding at Takao for his comment with the boss fight Teayre patiently waits turning to look at her fiancée as he contributes to the discussion. As he mentions the Lord of the Seas, Teayre grimaces slightly before voicing her next opinion. “In terms of who the loot goes to, that’s up to the system and then the players who receive the loot from there. Although I do think you’re right Takao, we can’t justify the exact tactics until we know definitely who is going. With that said I think if we use the tactics discussed so far, let Takao lead as he did discover the boss room first and from there once the group is made sort out the exact details of the plan when we know who we have got.”

Pausing for a moment the red haired girl drums the fingers on the table, "In terms of buffs for the boss fight, if I people are okay to help provide me with materials. I am willing to prioritise making overhealths for the entire group. This will help ease the load from the Alchemists such as Piera and Zandra." Teayre finally leaned back and the rested her crimson head on Calrex’s shoulder closing her eyes, her breathing slowing slightly.

 

Edited October 18, 2015 by Teayre

[Azide 0]

As usual, the desire to be right boiled away in his lungs, but he held his tongue and let the feeling simmer in his chest. Clearly, the point had not made it past Zelrius' ego- that health and mitigation slapped onto a couple of players on each team did not make for an adequate defense, or that it would be incredibly stupid and careless not to have at least two tanks positioned first. He could have gone on listing various grievances in his head, but right now, he didn't care for the extra aggravation. Whatever was decided, he was glad to see that others had agreed with the idea of having their main tanks leading the charge.

"Once again," said Azide, making a conscious effort to level his tone, "I'm going to advocate for the use of safeguard potions. For those who don't know, the alchemist-exclusive enhancement completely nullifies the damage from the next attack landed on its user. At this point, I think it's fair to say that any attack which hits the majority of us would do a fair bit more than the twenty-five health you might gain from an overhealth item. Not to say that you couldn't make and use both, but I'd like to point out that it was the enemy who moved first last time around, and not one of us." He recalled the moment when Nikki had opened the colossal doors of the cathedral, only for the dregs to coincidentally launch a collective assault on the party's most heavily armored member. "If history doesn't repeat itself on the twelfth floor, it won't be Tristan that takes that first strike; think of safeguard as insurance for those of you who would like to avoid leaving your lives up to pure chance."

[Takao 0]

"Alright then," said Takao, nodding to himself in acknowledgement of his quick defusal of the situation that was otherwise likely to have diverted them from the topic at hand. The others voices a few of their opinions, or reiterated suggestions that appeared to be glanced over. "Safeguard items sound like a good idea. I have materials to spare as well, so I can help you out with that Teayre. With the size of our current group, I don't think we'll be needing energy items anytime soon. Our damage output should be good enough to take it down before we're all out of energy, but I'll still have plenty of 'em just in case. When we have a list of participants a plan can be made, so you guys should have plenty of time to get the items you need. But for now, I think that'll wrap us up."

- -

Thread Closed.

1 SP and 40 col awarded to the following participants:

Takao
Calrex
Ariel
Teayre
Mack
Hirru
Rebekah
Azide
Zelrius
Lowenthal