Previous Thread: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/30427495/Archive:http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Joker%20QuestEquipment FAQ:http://pastebin.com/AbyvaQzyPlayer List:http://pastebin.com/rRSM6LgWEpisode Guide (All credit to Watashiwa):http://pastebin.com/DNGtTt04Twitter: https://twitter.com/JokerQuestOPRecap: You are ANON, the RED JOKER. In our last instalment, you encountered KRAKEN, during the final phase of your assault on the Smiler base.
>>30494103My only regret is that killing him won't actually kill him. The smilers have way too many get out of death cards in their deck.
>>30494103Okay guys, thinking caps onHow the fuck do we pull out of this one?
>>30494246Simple.We.Fire.EVERYTHING.
>>30494246Tachyon Disintegration
>>30494279OP, would the disintegration beam reach this far underground?
>>30494103QuestionHow far down does the Tachyon Disintegrator penetrate? There was some discussion the other day about using it, but people weren't sure if it can reach this room.
>>30494103Don't forget twitter, JokerBoss.>>30494246First off, we do another Verbatim to get him to release his prey.
>>30494217>>30494246>>30494264>>30494279(Gentlemen: My apologies for the delay. I was updating the Squad Guide with entries for your current squad.)>>30494289>>30494286(You're uncertain - But there's a good chance.)SQUAD GUIDE:http://pastebin.com/aQL0DUx4UPDATES:- Squad Guide updated with entries for AGITE STRIKER, JET LANCER and IVORY ZOUAVE. - Equipment Guide updated with entry for HAILFIRE CHAINGUN.- Slight change to IMMOLATOR and HAILFIRE CHAINGUN's rules.
>>30494322JokerOP,Squad status please. Their damage and what not.
>>30494322There's a good chance?Then let's do it. Just gotta build up a tiny bit more meter
Evening OP. A holstering rule? Interesting.I love the Chaingun's Cobalt Booster mode. That's stupidly cool, and proof that all guns are better in Red Joker's hands.>>30494355I want Kraken's essence signature if at all possible. Imagine what the Grinder would make of him. The Distintegrator obliterates Essence.
>>30494387Perhaps we should immolate Kraken? Use the cobalt boostered version. Set him on fire.Then maybe we run far far away.L4D Tank strategy.
>>30494387I don't think we can really afford to pull our punches in hopes of a greater reward. We need to remove the danger ASAP, regardless of the mid/long term designs.
>>30494387I was thinking we let the Nihl eat some of his HP to help us regen and gain meter quick when we eventually get into melee.
>>30494438The problem is that the the killsat takes time to fire, and time is not exactly something we have right now.
>>30494464Argus reduces the time for it to fire. It's a moot point right now as we're danger close to the colony lasers impact site.
Well, no matter what we end up doing there's still possessed Rook. And Zoauve, not that I expect him to survive.>>30494439Have to hold him for that. He's much stronger than Joker and has extra limbs.
>>30494439We're fucked if we get into melee
>>30494514The secret heart of the Smiler base. A spiked collar, clamped around the great column of the Manifold Tower: A colosseum in miniature - Vast, smooth and curves, with no straight lines of hard edges...Like inner spaces of a great conch shell, striations like tubes of blood vessels braiding across the surfaces - A cancer, growing outwards from the great device at the very heart, where Manifold technology meets the organic arch of recent, alien additions. At this very moment, the chamber is an arena in truth - A laser-point of battle, flaring at the focus of the vast emptiness of the great cavern that borders it, above a churning sea of ink-black oil. Kraken's fury is unstinting. On your knees, as your spine finishes knitting itself back together, all you get are the vaguest impressions: Ivory Zouave, thrashing in the grasp of Kraken's spiked tendrils - His platinum faceplate crushing inwards as an awful pressure is applied, his right arm fuming with smoke and sparks as another tendril wrenches it right out of the socket...-Slowly. Distortion Haze is down, retching, crumpled on his side. His deadly arm is missing, from the shoulder down; One hand clamped over the ragged stump, fingers clenching down with blank shock - He's not in pain, not truly, but his mind tells him he *should* be...The crushing sense of amputation blotting out all thought. "Shuya...Shuya, for *god's sake*-"Rook moves with the jerky, twitching grace of a half-crushed insect. Black oil bubbles out from his mouth grille, as he makes a low, animal sound - He has one hand on his Tachyon Zauber, his other drawing his short, stabbing blade; Equidistance between you and Haze, his head wrenching from side-to-side like a dog with nightmares- He's fighting it. You can see the sick tremors of the internal battle course through him, the conflict writ large in every fibre of his being...As slowly, unwillingly, the low hum of his weapons cut through the chaos of battle-(Continued)
>>30494514>have to hold him>has extra limbsWe eat the limbs then. Gotta use it anyway to consume any infectious spores he decides to launch at us.>>30494550We're already fucked. At 100%. I don't see us coming out of this alive unless we nuke him from spess.Or use our SysAdmin privilege to pick up Haze's arm and launch his remaining WMP at Kraken...That's a thought.
>>30494587The main idea here is to nuke him from space.Being in melee when that happens is a bad idea.
>>30494562Order Argite to hold him down with her tentacles.It's not working against Kraken but against Rook, it should
Wasn't the plan to consume part of the tentacles inside Rook, like what we did to ourselves when we first fough Alura?
>>30494587He's got several tentacles, Joker would lock his wrist on one and the others would send him flying.Really wish people hadn't tried Barrier last time, we would have had a lot more Cobalt power to work with.>>30494587Using the Haze missile would kill everyone in the room, Joker included.
>>30494612It still comes down to diminishing returns. We're launching our Thor platform's weapon through god only knows how many hundreds of feet of shit above our heads to reach us down here. We just don't know if it'll still have enough kinetic/thermal energy left after it finishes its journey to even tickle The BETA Wrangler.
>>30494706It's not a kinetic/thermal weapon.It's a pillar of temporal displacement. I really can't see any matter giving it pause because it doesn't really interact with armour.
>>30494736Personally, I don't want to see what happens when we hit a Manifold Tower with a tachyon beam.
>>30494756Cobalt Immolator the fucker. We're gonna have fried squid tonight!
>>30494756Boosted Immolator.Just gotta build up to 75% meter. Gotta focus.
(Minor spelling corrections.)"Oh *shit*-"Meridian Hand's words are strangled, as he rakes Kraken with hailing fire from his Pulse Carbines - It tears into the white player from the side, flaming and freezing bullets stippling the narrow distance with a hail of tracers; Next to him, Jet Lancer is firing his Ion Blaster, darts of hard white light leaving scorched grooves on Kraken's carapace- Neither slows him. He gestures at them, with his free hand. A boiling swarm arises from his arm, their insect drone filling the air like a cloud of angry bees: It engulfs them both, as they stagger and try to fight it off - Swept to the ground, their forms mere struggling silhouettes in a seething half-dome of consuming parasites...>>30494616Kraken's about to bring his great axe to bear - But coils of seething plasma boil forth from Agite Striker's form, straight lines of glowing light that tangle around his arm, wrenching it back; Her feet scuff against the ebony floor, her scarlet form trembling with the immense effort of holding him back-"Joker, *do something-*"Striker's voice is shrill with strain, with growing panic - Even as Bombard Valkyrie's missile racks click empty, as the depleted chambers of her hand mortar cycle...-They've got his attention. Kraken isn't looking at you, any longer. He's looking at them.Somehow - Though his featureless helmet registers no emotion, locked into the ridged mask of a deep-sea leviathan - you know that he's narrowing his eyes. HP: 121.6%COBALT BOOSTER: 68%ASSAULT SHROUD: 0%METER: 62%
>>30494803DOUBLE LONGINUS RAILGUNALPHA STRIKE HIM WHEN WE CAN MOVE
>>30494803We need to take this fight away from here.JokerOP, can you describe the immediate area?
>>30494803Immolate
>>30494803Cobalt Boosted Immolator!>>30494816Railgun is not as effective at close range, and Kraken isn't even armored, so firing armor piercing shit at him is not going to do us any good.
>>30494816Nah, that's armour piercing.Kraken isn't heavily armoured, he's just really fucking bulky.
>>30494803So hes not looking at us.I say we Cobalt boost our scrander, let the afterburners kick in as we Tempest Crash into Kraken.That should be enough to dislodge Ivory so that he doesn't die.
>>30494828(The immediate area is a large, circular chamber: It's mostly free of obstructions, except for the great shape of the central console at the very core. Bombard Valkyrie has inflicted some superficial damage to it via her missile bombardment.)
>>30494756>>30494803If we have interceptors out, dock them. We want meter quick. Immolator to secondary firing mode. Start plugging him in the back with promethean fire. Burn him from the inside. Switch to our vulcan in our off-hand and start peppering him. Evade with the jetpack. WHen he starts to focus us, switch to our kiteshield to fend off his tentacles.
>>30494844>>30494851GUYS, he still have Ivory hostage unless you want to kill him
>>30494706Haha. Wrong terminology there. Diminishing returns is an economic principle, meaning the more of something good that you get or use, the less benefit you receive from it. You're looking for efficiency loss. Because we're so far underground, the beam will be weakened.>>30494736Not quite. Tachyons are theoretical particles--really fucking weird ones at that. They travel faster than light for one. They would still interact with matter in a few proscribed ways though.>>30494803How amusing, I even said the surprise round wouldn't do anything."Kraken. Exec_Dictum: Release.""Striker. Amputate Rook's limbs. I'll deal with him later. The rest of you move to support those outside. Kraken and I have unfinished business.""Stage: The Black Manifold. Red Joker versus Kraken. Those are the proper forms, yes? You shouldn't have run Kraken. I had to come looking for you.">>30494816God no. We're in close quarters, it won't be effective.
>>30494851>>30494816>>30494871The railgun has the capability to supercavitate fleshbags for massive damage IF WE HIT. Keep that in mind when we get range on him.
>>30494803>>30494773>>30494796We don't want to Cobalt Boost the Immolator until we've cleared out Kraken's swarms with non-boosted fire. Functioning like napalm instead of a flamethrower isn't at all useful when we're trying to clear the swarms off of allies that would be harmed if it stuck.I'd be interested in trying the Immolator in secondary-fire mode also. Slight armor penetration plus increased chance of internal damage is probably quite useful against a semi-biological target.How long does it take to switch between primary and secondary firing modes, anyhow?Optimally, we'd dislodge Kraken from Zouave, then address the Swarms before they do too much to our allies, then go back to Kraken himself since he will likely have finished breaking free from Striker's makeshift restraints by that point and will need more immediate attention.
>>30494902Vetoing Dictum. He's ready for it, it's not going to work again.
>>30494925That's the best part: He's not. He's focusing on the others now.
>>30494902How do you weaken complete erasure.That's like saying 'slightly less killed'. It's a binary state.
>>30494844>>30494851No immolator yet, not until we get Ivory clear
>>30494902Okay, gonna agree with this. Dictum him to release Ivory, and then immolate.Build up to Tachyon Disintegrate him.
Why not cobalt boost a charge with the Crisis Arm, then follow up with a point-blank cobalt'd Immolator blast. Then while he's on fire, hit him with as much Fusion Annihilator as we can.
>Kraken has IvoryDo we try to get him free or treat him as dead?Save him/DisregardOptions to save him:1) Dictum2) Tempest Crash to stun him and drop Ivory (Also possibly deal massive damage)
>>30494937Forget ivory, god damn it. We need to set this bastard on fire, and now.
>>30494976Switch it to the secondary firing mode. We burn him from the inside.
>>30494976Naw broTeamkilling isn't cool.
>>30494975>Save Him>2) Tempest Crash to stun him and drop Ivory (Also possibly deal massive damage)
>>30494975>>30495011Blow tempest crash later. Not right at the start of this brawl. We have booster for dictum.
>>30494803>Striker's voice is shrill with strain, with growing panic - Even as Bombard Valkyrie's missile racks click empty, as the depleted chambers of her hand mortar cycle...>>-They've got his attention.So we know he's going to try and address these two next; I feel like before he closes the distance, we could get some good use out of a Cobalt Boosted Secondary-fire Immolator shot.It probably damages Zouave again, but the detonation should clear him from Kraken at the same time, keeps him from closing on Striker and Valkyrie, and may even ignite the swarms on Lancer and Hand in the process, depending on proximity.
>>30494888(Your two remaining Interceptors are currently docked: You have EXEC_BARRIER active, however.)>>30494773>>30494796>>30494844>>30494851The Immolator sketches itself into existence, as your left-arm Vulcans activate: You swing the double-barreled weapon up, the pilot light flickering with pellucid blue flame- You squeeze the trigger, and a gout of chemical fire spears forth in a roaring torrent. With one arm ensnared by Agite Striker's plasma tendrils, Kraken can't move fast enough to defend himself- His tentacles, however, can. Ivory Zouave howls, a high, bubbling shriek as he's engulfed in boiling flame: His armour buckling as your Vulcan shots smash into his damaged plate. Fire snakes along Kraken's limbs, and they recoil, explosively - Even as you stop firing, the Immolator's selector switching to secondary fire mode...-And then he hurls Zouave's flaming husk at you.(Continued)
>>30495040Great job guys for wanting to use the immolators AOE.
>>30494934Because it's not erasure, it's disjunction: Throwing the body out of alignment with the space-time continuum. If it hits anything on the way down, like one of the Correctors flying overhead, that thing will be what the charge gets spent on.>>30494975>>30495011Dude: Lightning bolt. Which of the two entities in Kraken's direction is made of metal?>>30495040The only thing I can do here is shake my head and sigh.>>30495060Kraken would have done the same thing.
>>30495040IDIOTS.
>>30495060He would have shielded himself against anything we fired regardless. At least the immolator has a slightly lesser chance of killing him outright.
>>30495079Wait a second. What if.Now, what if.What if we had a way to make Kraken drop Zoauve?Oh wait.
>>30495040Welp
>>30495066>>30495079>same thingOh hey, we had that thing to make him release our bro. But the other players wanted to waste booster on the immolator.
You know, we really need to remember to VETO the stupid ideas and not just ignore them.
>>30495091I don't think the AoE Immolator was a good idea either, but Zouave was in rough enough shape that I'm not sure burning 60% Booster just to ATTEMPT to make Kraken drop him would have been at all a practical use of resources.
>>30495079Well why do you think we were trying to find a way to get Kraken to drop him.
>>30495040JokerOP, how do we extinguish the blue flames?Can we command it off?
>>30495079>>30495114>implying dictum would work a second time>when it's explicitly stated it has diminishing returns>on a player with high system accessYeah, sure, Keep saying that.
>>30495114Much as it pains me to say it, the namefag is the one who called for Dictum.>>30495122He wasn't focused on us anymore. It would have worked.
>>30495141Turn off fire? Are you retarded?
>>30495115Yeah, no kidding. >>30495143He was actively focusing on the small fry. It would have made him pause at minimal.>>30495146There were a few other people who called for it as well.
>>30495141(Your Carnifex isn't currently active; CALCITE ARROW knocked you out of it. If you want to extinguish the blue flames/activate it without using the enhanced mode, just state the appropriate action.)>>30495040Your Tempest Scrander flares at your back, turbines humming with cohered power - But the damage to your armour's spinal column has just sealed itself, and your limbs move slowly - too slowly. Zouave's body slams into you, just as his jump pack explodes. Searing blue flame boils outwards in every direction, lethal sharpnel zinging off your armour as you're hurled off your feet - You hit the ground and *skid*, wisps of smoke rising from the joints of your armour- "*NO*-!" Agite's voice rises in a shriek of pure, unalloyed horror, as Zouave's scorched form breaks in half- Just a moment of distraction.Just enough. Kraken wrenches her off-balance, dense muscle tensing beneath his off-white armour of the deeps, and pulls her close. The coiling tendrils of plasma go slack: His axe cracks down into the top of her crested helmet like an augur, the great cleaving blade ripping right through the polished scarlet. It crumples her into the ground, crackling sparks cising across the pitch-black edge: It shears through the endosteel skeleton of her armour, and ruptures the splintered ends of them out through her dearticulating plate. Her rent helmet sparks and crackles, before one great hoof of dense bone splinters it underfoot. (Continued)
>>30495155I dont know!There might be a method to extinguish it with some of the abilities our squad has. I at least want to ask instead of doing nothing and let Ivory die due to kill it with fire.
>>30495177Yep, I guess it was a mistake to trust Scrub Squad to handle anything.
>>30495177Excellent. We have team killed one and caused the death of another.
>>30495177Wow.Those of you who called for the Immolator? You're invited to leave the quest. Not that it matters, it's looking more and more like a game over.OP, in your next quest, can I please ask that you ignore obviously stupid moves? This goes for the Cybele thing too.
>>30495177Next time you guys want blood.THINK.
>>30495146Even if it was 100% guaranteed to work (which it REALLY wasn't; all it takes for someone to have been considered 'on guard' for Dictum is for them to have been targeted by it earlier in the same encounter, not to mention Kraken also has high enough system access to use codebursts.) it doesn't mean it's a good tactical move.>>30495177This is WAY worse for us than Zouave going down, since Agite was at least still combat-capable.
>>30495221It was mainly the ones baying for the cobalt boosted immolator at the start of the voting. As someone stated further up, we gotta veto the stupid ideas.
>>30495234It was still a better tactical move than this.
>>30495248Some of us did.Not enough did.And slowly too since we were considering our options.
>>30495248It also didn't help that JQOP counted the responses to the deleted post as well. It probably artificially inflated the vote count.
>>30495221>OP, in your next quest, can I please ask that you ignore obviously stupid moves? This goes for the Cybele thing too.We can't.The best we can do is ask Joker to confirm our actions first before he starts writing.
>>30495177>All these people bitching and moaning about the cannon fodder dying.>Don't even hold a candle to Kraken.>Probably would've gotten killed despite our best efforts anyways.
>>30495225>expecting 4chan to thinkYou're adorable like small Chechen boy
Also not even half an hour between decision times. That ain't shit.
>>30495177"Joker-" Distortion Haze's voice is a crackling gasp - Palladium Rook lurches towards him, blades in hand. Rook's trying to say something, but all that comes out is static; The black oil is gouting out him, bleeding from his joints, an awful pressure forcing him onwards as his armour begins to deform from within-"Joker, *stop him*-"You force yourself to one knee. Power throbs in your limbs, in the suddenly warming, suddenly active flex of the myomer muscles in your armour's inner skin. Tiny tongues of flame flickers against your cuirass, as the burning embers of Ivory Zouave's death scatter from you - Your internal reactor pulsing with cold strength, as swirling motes of emerald essence sink into your crimson form. -Game on.RED JOKER LEVEL UP.[ ] FORCE- [ ] WEAPON TIER UNLOCK (2.5)- [ ] PRIMARY WEAPON UNLOCK - RANGED- [ ] PRIMARY WEAPON UNLOCK - MELEE- [ ] CODEBURST UNLOCK- [ ] WEAPON UPGRADE - PLASMA VULCAN- [ ] WEAPON UPGRADE - NOVA CANNON[ ] FRAME UPGRADE - [ ] COBALT BOOSTER- [ ] CHARGING ELEMENTS[ ] METER (FASTER METER GAIN)- [ ] METER ACCELERATOR II- [ ] METER BOOST[ ] GUARD (DEFENSIVE UPGRADE)- [ ] IMPACT REINFORCEMENT- [ ] ABILITY UNLOCK[ ] SURVIVE (VITALITY UP)[ ] EVOL- [ ] ABILITY UNLOCK- [ ] INTERCEPTOR SYSTEM UPGRADE[ ] ROULETTE (RANDOM RELIC)- [ ] WEAPON- [ ] DEF.- [ ] UTILITY[ ] LIMITER ATTUNEMENT II[ ] RELIC UPGRADE - ASSAULT SHROUD[ ] RELIC UPGRADE - TEMPEST SCRANDER[ ] RELIC UPGRADE - CARNIFEX[ ] RELIC UPGRADE - SINISTRAL [ ] RELIC UPGRADE - IMMOLATOR[ ] RELIC UPGRADE - HAILFIRE CHAINGUNHP: 116.1%COBALT BOOSTER: 45%ASSAULT SHROUD: 0%METER: 69%YOU HAVE CONTROL
>>30495303Yes.But at least they'll have done some damage and not died like a bitch.
>>30495303The cannon fodder are currently holding back kraken's minions so we can have this fight.
>>30495293Or give us more time to think and talk. OP's posting MUCH faster than usual.
>>30495321>[ ] WEAPON TIER UNLOCK (2.5)This also upgrades all our Meter Weapons too right?
>>30495321>leveling up from IvoryFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...Goddammit... I didn't ask for this...>[ ] COBALT BOOSTERIvory, Argite. There'll be flowers on your graves today.
>>30495321>We leveled up by teamkilling Zouave.Ahahahahahaa.What did we agree to upgrade last time? An extra charging element?
>>30495321Woah, already? Are we going for the charging elements or more meter this time?
>>30495336Yea.JOKEROP.SLOWER PLEASE. This is a big battle and time to think would be appreciated.
>>30495321>teamkilling leveled usOh my god I can't stop laughing at the absurdity.
>>30495342(Yes; However, be aware that - As you've favoured FORCE - you've 'maxed out' most of your Meter Weapons. This one will mostly unlock the new tier.)
>>30495321We need to stop rook before he fucking murders his best friend. Tackle him and use EXEC_Consume on him, to consume the evil out of him.
>>30495321>>30495375What;s the difference between PRIMARY WEAPON UNLOCK - RANGED and unlocking tier 2,5?
>>30495356>>30495357Limiter Attunement, I thought. Of course that was before we knew we'd be in a life or death battle against Kraken with people dropping like flies.It should probably be Survive or Guard. Something immediately useful.>>30495375"Most"? That's interesting.
>>30495407(The former's your Primary Weapons - Like your Vulcans and so on. Weapons that can be fired freely without a reliance on Meter.Tier 2.5 refers to Meter-using weapons, such as your Triskelion Launchers, your Railgun and so on.)
>>30495413Booster, We'll need alot out of it.
>>30495321Fuck. Let's go with CHARGING ELEMENTS. Since we don't get a free refill each time we level up, CHARGING ELEMENTS seems to be the most useful of the lot.
>>30495407It's the difference between a new weapon and a new superweapon with stringent conditions on its use, and probably a serious drawback.>>30495449Level ups don't heal. The larger pool of booster energy will come into effect in the next battle, not this one.
>>30495321Cobalt booster
>>30495440>(The former's your Primary Weapons - Like your Vulcans and so on. Weapons that can be fired freely without a reliance on Meter.>Tier 2.5 refers to Meter-using weapons, such as your Triskelion Launchers, your Railgun and so on.)Then let's go with Tier 2,5. GOTTA GET THAT WEAPON AFTER THE BLACK HOLE GUN.
>>30495475It also comes with recharge.I'm hoping it drops the recharge time from one turn wait to 0 turn wait.The recharge rate will also increase.
>>30495321"Get the fuck out of here! Now! Reinforce the line! I'll hold him!"TIme to challenge him to that duel Wata suggested earlier.
>>30495475> Level ups don't heal. The larger pool of booster energy will come into effect in the next battle, not this one.(He's right on this one. A Booster upgrade will increase your Booster's Capacity, and any other upgrades will apply immediately - You won't, however, get a free 'refill' of your Cobalt Booster.)
>>30495321Weapon tierWe need something, anything, that can give us a trump card to use.
>>30495413Eh, charging elements would grant us more survivability right off the bat with the kiteshield. Depending where they appear of course
>>30495513I vote for additional charging elements, myself. We already have a trump card, we just can't use it! With additional charging elements, we can use the Chaingun and the Tau Gun at once!
>>30495321> [X] PRIMARY WEAPON UNLOCK - MELEEI'm feeling lucky.
>>30495248The issue isn't to do with not having the presence of mind to 'veto' bad plans. Being encouraged to veto unproductive plans rather than putting forward or seconding productive ones just muddies the waters. If it's necessary because of the way JQOP takes votes I guess it's better than nothing, but having to count votes both for AND against a given plan just makes it harder to distinguish what we actually want to do.It's mostly a problem of timing; four people said "Boost Immolator" before there was any discussion, and the way JQOP handles writing there is rarely a call for confirmation of plans even if there has been discussion in the interim.Asking for confirmation for every choice would make things drag on, and USUALLY it's not so much of an issue because JQOP tends to amalgamate peoples' responses into different phases of a single post. Typically it keeps things moving at a reasonable pace, and people are generally happier for it. It only becomes an issue when people believe something went awry as a result.>>30495321I'd look at something in the GUARD tree; we're already pretty well-equipped offensively, and it couldn't hurt to have something to help keep us alive to use our offensive prowess.Especially given the situation we're in now.
(Gentlemen: I'll give things about ten more minutes before I lock in your options. Feel free to include that actions you'll be taking this round, as well.)
>>30495321>[ ] GUARD (DEFENSIVE UPGRADE)>- [ ] IMPACT REINFORCEMENT>- [X] ABILITY UNLOCK
>>30495531I think charging elements might not be too useful.He'll be closing in for close combat so one hand will probably be wielding our crisis arm while one is using a gun.Its not like we'll gain a third arm to wield something else.
>>30495532That's the least useful option at present. Let's go with charging elements for now. >>30495558But with it, we can have the Sinistral at full force all the time, and still have weapons in our hands while doing it. Holy shit, Kraken is pretty badass.
How about even more meter.So we can gain it faster and use part of it to heal up.
>>30495558The main advantage to the charging elements is we can one hand a two hander. Maybe. Bigger guns means more meter gained.Or we might get lucky and it spawns somewhere on our back so we can fire a weapon hands free.
>>30495548JokerOP, are the sinistral mount and the mount for the crisis arm on the same arm?Or can the sinistral's mount be swapped about to either arm?
>>30495549I'm gonna agree with this, we have plenty of offensive capabilities but very few defensive ones.
I'm still voting for more weapon tiers. Sorry, but I really want to it even if it might not give us a useful weapons for now.
>>30495614kiteshield off-hand.crisis/nihl main hand.
>>30495646So it can work...Main hand:Crisis ArmOff Hand:Sinistral + Gun.
>>30495614(The Sinistral - And the emitter for the Argus System - are on your left arm. Your Crisis Arm and your Helix Gauntlet are on the right. You can swap it to either arm, if you like, but it'll take some time.)
>>30495321I'm going to second picking up something from Guard. We can't keep relying on Cybele's emblem to keep us up.
>>30495321Turn off EXEC_BARRIER already, the upkeep is eating at us. >>30495400Seconding this for now.
>>30495681Guard- Ability Unlock; nothing like a crisis to develop something necessary and useful.
weapon tier 111cobalt booster 111charging elements 111primary melee unlock 1guard ability unlock 1111meter 1Looks like guard is winning out by 1 so far.
>>30495321>- [ ] CHARGING ELEMENTSUse the sinstral lvl 2, chop off Rook's hands. Just the hands, not the arms. That'll reduce the damage to him and put him out of action.
>>30495513>>30495636Relying on trump cards is what got us in to this mess. We're not reaching 100 this battle, so the weapon tier isn't useful.>>30495598I don't think so. Multiple small hits are a more efficient means of building meter than a single large hit in the same timeframe, because there's just more of them.>>30495681>>30495714Too much of a black box. It could be anything--a system of chaffs and flares, for example.>>30495548I get that you're trying to move things along, but would it have killed you to give us a bit more time to talk things out earlier? I can guarantee votes would have changed if you had.We should pick up another level of impact reinforcement. The ability to not die is what we need most right now, and it provides the surest way of doing so.Cobalt Boost the Sinistral. Destroy Rook's Zauber and amputate his arms. Have all allied players clear the area. Kraken and us 1 on 1.Also, turn off Barrier already. He'll hit us the second it goes down, but it's better than the constant drain.
>>30495735Its 3 for guard, 2 are from the same person
weapon tier 111cobalt booster 111charging elements 1111primary melee unlock 1guard ability unlock 1111meter 1We need a tie-breaker.
>>30495400This seems reasonable; we were CONSUMING Alura when he came to the first time we met him, and assuming whatever flipped his switch was implanted by her, we should be able to get it out of him the same way.A little worried it'll be indiscriminate, but it's really the best plan to neutralize him in a way that keeps him combat-capable once it's dealt with.An interesting note from when we first met Rook:> If you could see his face, it'd have gone sallow. "Then - They were *all over us*. Hundreds of them, eating at the roots of the world; They came out of the *walls*. So many...">Rook's voice drifts in and out. A blurt of white noise buzzes from his throat.>"The...white one was with them. And that bitch, that awful bitch, she said-">The green light flickers in his helm: "'I can use them.'"Not sure if this was meant as in use them (for food), or if this was foreshadowing Rook becoming a parasite-infested sleeper agent, but hey.
>>30495757I'll second armor. Not dying is high on the list of things I'd like to see happen in the quest.
>>30495764I'll throw a vote for Guard then.I don't care either way, but Guard might help in this situation and Charging Elements probably wont.
>>30495781(Gentlemen: It appears that we'll be going with GUARD - Ability Unlock. I'll be writing the next segment now.)
>>30495761I didn't read the entirety of each post. Only looked for the keywords I guess you could say. So yeah.weapon tier 111cobalt booster 111charging elements 1111primary melee unlock 1guard ability unlock 111meter 1In that case, the tally that I've gathered so far.
Hey JOP, how much of an effectiveness hit would our maser bombardment take if we fired it down here? It's radiation goes through pretty much anything doesn't it?
>>30495777I always assumed it was for food, but this is almost certainly what she meant. She melted Rook's friends and used their Essence to infect Rook with a kind of cordyceps.
>>30495795yaymystery boxfuck
>>30495795Ah a mystery. What will the roulette wheel land on?>>30495829It's dragon dildos
>>30495797>I didn't read the entirety of each post. Only looked for the keywordsThis right here is why we're in this situation. Not saying you're one of the anons who did it here, but people racing to post without actually reading what's going on is always what's tripped us up in this quest, from interacting with Natsumi to the fucking rifle bits, to the disaster of a fight with Ixion, to Cybele, to this.Read and think. It's not hard.
>>30495829I can't say I'm not a little antsy about going with Ability Unlock rather than something that's guaranteed to be a passive defense boost. We've got more than enough stuff that we're clamoring to use our meter on as it is.But if it turns out to be a meterless ability of some sort, it's probably going to be nice.mystery box pls be kind
>>30495907IT'S DRAGON DILDOS. WE'RE FUCKED. LITERALLY.
>>30495927Anon, Dragon Dildos are obviously an OFFENSIVE boost.fuck, armored cloacas or something? i dunno. This is stupid. We're both stupid.
>>30495899This works on both sides too.I'm >>30494616 and my post said to hold rook down since she had the tentacles.I thought the scene was cool so i didn't say anything but after the team kill...I regret.
inb4 defensive bits and threads of rage
> [X] GUARD (DEFENSIVE UPGRADE)> [X] ABILITY UNLOCK>>30495400>>30495777>>30495711Your barrier winks out - The rotating hexagonal tiles of defensive code fading, as your Tempest Scrander roars to life; You cross the narrow distance in a bounding leap, red particles fuming in your wake - Surging towards Palladium Rook, without even registering your upgrade...-He turns. His reflexes are spiked by the thing that puppeteers him, that forces him to move against his will. Rook grunts, a pained gasp of surprise - But his Tachyon Zauber swings across in a cleaving arc- As the blade carves through the air towards you, it *slows*. The slashing track it leaves through the air distorts, smearing the blazing edge into a wave of rippling tachyon flame; Even as the Crisis Arm shimmers into existence, just for an instant, the blade colliding with the superdense metal in a wash of crackling energies. > INERTIA FIELD UNLOCKED.> Derived from suspensor technology, the INERTIA SUPPRESSION FIELD generates a short-lived, close-range field of gravimetric force, sapping the kinetic energy of incoming attacks: Effectively slowing them, giving you a greater interval to respond. > This functions equally against melee weapons and ranged projectiles...But the effect does not apply to predominantly energy attacks. (tl;dr - The Inertia Field increases your evasion abilities, by slowing incoming attacks.)(Continued)
>>30495951>>30495951Silly anon. Dragon Dildos are a multipurpose tool. They can be used to defend and attack!
>>30496005That is useful.
>>30496005Ok, this is pretty cool.
>>30496005So it wasn't dragon dildos? We're saved! Maybe.What's the meter cost?
>>30496005DICE GODS BE PRAISED.This ability is actually useful.
>>30495960That should have been fine. Rook isn't Kraken. Probably would have kicked Striker around though.>>30496005Okay, that's really cool. But should it apply at all? The Zauber is an energy weapon, isn't it?
>>30496005THE BOX PREVAILEDALWAYS BET ON THE BOX
>>30496036I think it's a new inherent function for our Crisis Arm, like the Sinistral's functions.
>>30496050> The Zauber is an energy weapon, isn't it?The arm holding it isn't though.
>>30496050>Okay, that's really cool. But should it apply at all? The Zauber is an energy weapon, isn't it?Pretty sure it does energy damage, but the fact that it's propelled predominantly by kinetic force (of a swinging arm, and the energy cutting edge is presumably stuck attached to the non-energy physical form of the weapon itself), the field slows it down just fine.It's full-energy PROJECTILES we mostly have to worry about, I'd imagine.
>>30496079>>30496095The blade is what's described as slowing down though, not the arm behind it.
>>30496050(It's more of a power weapon: It's a sword with a charged edge, and doesn't rely solely on a tachyon field. If he'd released a tachyon wave, however, you'd be right in that the Inertia Field wouldn't apply.)>>30496005The blade rebounds, a deep gouge scorched into the Crisis Arm's matte-grey surface. Crackling talons of light extrude from your Helix Gauntlet, as the Crisis Arm fades - Before Rook can swing again, the talons drive deep through his cuirass, impaling him on blades of ghost-light. They pass through him like smoke - He spasms, fitful violet light seething within his helm, frozen in mid-swing......As you trigger EXEC_CONSUME. A howl boils out from within Rook, as he convulses - You can feel something moving *inside* him, something hooked into the very fibres of his armour: Something barbed and squamous, a black tumour within him shuddering with the awful pulse of a secondary heart...It thrashes, when you close your talons around it.And *squeeze*.(Continued)
>>30496112Isnt it a physical blade that channels the energy?
>>30496112Well, yes. Because eyes on and tracking the weapon.
>>30496095I just noticed this quest, but....what?what the hell happened to all our planning at the end of last thread?Guys, we need to stop Alura from leading Phantom Edge through the portal.Kraken is the DISTRACTION.Bits out, argus on, send the bits after AluraAlso, missile the fuck out of her, since we can curve those around the players. Its not like we're short meter
>>30496142They already escaped. It's just us and Kraken now.
>>30496142Palladium nearly cutting our spine in half kinda put a dampener on our plans.
>>30496129>>30496130Ah, that's what I wasn't catching.Nice to see I was right about Consume. Wish we'd done that instead of the Immolator.>>30496142You're a bit late, she left before Kraken went on the attack.
>>30496142The portal has already closed, anon.
>>30496129That's metal as all fuck
>>30496142They escaped when Rook stabbed our Spine.
>>30496129>Joker ripping the cancer out of Rook's chest with his clawed handOh man
>>30496129Oh my god I just got here and this is literally the first thing we've done that makes any fucking sense.Who thought the fucking Immolator was a good idea? Fucking read the last thread all we needed to do was hit Kraken with fucking everything we have. Alura and Phantom Edge are gone, it's not like we're going to have another fight after this one. JQOP for the love of fuck can we PLEASE start hitting Kraken with the heavy guns after this? The Immolator thing completely overrode several threads of consensus.
>>30496174>>30496168>>30496164>>30496155Fuck.Well, I have an idea for dealing with Kraken.We take him alive.We do what the white joker taught us to do, hack off his limbs, sutre the remaining essence leaks, rip off his Smiler Emblem that lets him be recalled back to them(the same one bomberman was pissed they refused to use on him), and drag his lumpy torso back to the hollow sun for questioning.Two things:Exec_Reap the heck out of him andThrow him DIRECTLY into the Grinder once we're done with him.Prevent that core essence from ever getting back to the smilers. Kraken's too much of a threat to risk coming back later
>>30496202Reminds me of that one Exalted/ME crossover where Shepard punches the Kepral right out of Thane.
>>30496223At least we levelled up from murdering our own teammate.It wasn't a completely useless move.
>>30496223>JQOP for the love of fuck can we PLEASE start hitting Kraken with the heavy guns after this? The Immolator thing completely overrode several threads of consensus.Yes.
>>30496244I never asked for this level up
>>30496233JESUS CHRIST ITS STUPID FUCKING POSTERS LIKE YOU THAT ARE GETTING US INTO THIS SHIT. WE DON'T TAKE SOMEONE WHO HAS CONSISTENTLY PROVEN TO BE ABLE TO KICK OUR ASS ALIVE.WE ALPHA STRIKE HIM AND ERASE HIM FROM THE RED WORLD.
>>30496233Have you somehow not clued in to the hints that this could be game over if we keep fucking up?This is a terrible idea.
>>30496244We still would have levelled up from killing our own teammate if we Railguned right through him and into Kraken
I can't stop fucking laughing at us getting a levelup from teamkilling Zoauve.
>>30496223>Who thought the fucking Immolator was a good idea?Anon, of course. It's "new toy syndrome". The solution to every problem is whatever came into their possession most recently--even when it's completely inappropriate to the situation at hand. I would blame the Legend of Zelda, but that kind of thinking's been around much longer than 1986.>>30496233>white jokerAnon, I think you've completely misunderstood something: That was Vertigo Trisagion. Vertigo Trisagion is NOT the White Joker. He also had a skillset that gave him the ability to manipulate Essence and Player-flesh, which we do not know the first thing about.That's an idiotic move and entirely not in our power to pursue.>>30496244Don't try to justify it, even as a joke. It was a terrible move on every count.
>>30496325You don't know that. The railgun might have been so fast Kraken wouldn't have had time to bring the dude to bear.
>>30496129"Shuya-"Uncomprehending, Haze looks up, horrified - Even as seething black oil begins to flow across Rook's twitching form: But instead of dripping down, it flows *forward*, thickening across his chest - Then it separates itself from him altogether, pooling into a floating sphere like mercury in free fall. It fights you. It fights to stay in him, as the barbed hooks that link it to his nervous system snap one by one; But you're inexorable, your focus narrowing to that single burning point- The blackness bleeds out of him, until the liquid ball hovering before you is a writhing thing the size of your doubled fists...A tumour, a diseased organ your claws rend right through, scissoring it apart, black oil splattering to the chamber floor, where it melds with the glassy ebon substance underfoot. Rook collapses, without a word - Without a sound - like a puppet with strings cut. >>30495500"Shu - Rook! - Don't be dead, don't be dead, *please* don't be dead-"Haze tries to stand - He claws his way forward, on his belly, like a worm; But something of the urgency in your voice gets through to him. He must be gibbering, silently...His remaining hand hooks against Rook's shoulder, as he begins to drag him back- ...And then you hear the *whoosh* of missiles launching, as Bombard Valkyrie's hasty barrage slams into Kraken. The range is too short for most of the rockets to arm: They slam into him, crushed by their own impact, propellant spraying - The ones that *do* explode pepper him with sharpnel, slashing shallow cuts into his white carapace- "I'm not-" Valkyrie's voice is a wavering tremor - Even as Kraken takes a single step forward, over the crushed, trampled mess of Agite Striker's form. "-I'm not *afraid* of you-"(Continued)
>>30496329You've said so twice already.
>>30496277>WE ALPHA STRIKE HIM AND ERASE HIM FROM THE RED WORLD.Coolit.Phantom edge is gone, alura is gone. Its literally us vs krakenwe can take him 1v1, and we have TEAMMATEsAdditionally: Nuking the shit out of Bardiel worked so well in the past, right?Its not like he came back from the dead to shoot us as Scourge at all.If we want to remove kraken from the smilers, erase him as you say, we need to beat him, go for targeted component destruction so he can't codeburst later, and drag his ass out alive.Otherwise? He'll just come back again later. Fuck that. Fuck his shit forever.Don't consume him either, cuz pazuzu will just pull his essence out of the other end of the nihl sphere.
>>30496351so what your saying is that the immolator was the worse choice from every conceivable angle
>>30496358That's my first post in this thread.
>>30496354Oh god, please don't die, valk.
>>30496351Might have? it fires hyper sonic slugs, theres no way in hell he could have moved so fast in such a short space.
>>30496351Railgun takes time to deploy.
>>30496354CHALLENGE HIM TO THE FUCKING DUAL BEFORE WE LOSE ANYMORE.We're taking Leadership penalties damnit. Already at a -4 from whatever we started at.
>>30496354QUICK SHOOT KRAKEN TO DISTRUCT HIM
>>30496351none of our guns get drawn instantly
>>30496379Telling the Big Bad Wolf you're not afraid of him is like one step removed from having three days until retirement.I'd like it if she lived also--more backup is always good--but she's really trying her hardest to sell her redshirt status.
>>30496423>redshirtPlease. We're the only ones left alive in red.Oh shit.
>>30496369You have no basis for anything in there. We don't know how Bardiel keeps coming back. We have NEVER been able to take Kraken 1v1. We NEED teammates. >>30496410Yeah, because he's going to listen to that. Veto. No talking. Nothing but shooting. Ignore Haze and Rook and let them have their little fucking yaoi moment. If anything smack Haze and get him shooting Kraken. Save Valkyrie because we need as many people shooting Kraken as possible.
>>30496444Actually we did.Remember that brawl with him amano-amano?
I've just got to say, so far this thread has been an absolute disappointment. I'm not enjoying myself at all.
>>30496466The one where he got away after nearly beating us to death because our meter gain wasn't fast enough?yeah
>>30496444We go to the arena the same way we fought Ogre. The same way we fought Kraken the first time. That's the 1v1 system.
>>30496354"Good." Kraken's voice is cultured, almost soulful - The sophisticated, casual speech of a man who's forgotten how many souls he's taken, who pities the world that must contain him. "-Very good.""No-one should die afraid." Coral spines, seething with crackling charge, push from Kraken's shoulders, like the threat-display of a predator. They flare with discharge, and bioelectric lightning - Blinding in it's intensity - scorches across the distance. Valkyrie thrashes as the scourging bolts rip into her: The sooty, pealing blast that follows, as she detonates like a short-fused grenade, is fed by all her ammunition exploding at once.A breathless silence descends, the air bleeding with contrails of energy. The only sound is the dry *scrape* of Distortion Haze dragging Palladium Rook to safety: The low, buzzing hum of the devourer swarm scuttling across the riven forms of Jet Lancer and Meridian Hand, larva crawling through hollow eye-sockets.(Continued)
>>30496482Both of us ended up pretty ragged. It was almost completely even.
>>30496466>amano-amano
>>30496499IT'S THE BOTTOM OF THE NINTH, THE BASES ARE LOADED, THE TEAM IS DEAD OR DYING, AND RED JOKER'S BACK IS AGAINST THE WALLIT'S GO TIME
Also, god damn, I just realized how bloody clever the smilers are.With rook as a double agent, they would have done this with our without us - but its obvious the don't have perfect control over him.If we hadn' tand he just led pretty much all of the neutral mercenaries and half of argent's men into a trap, and killed them all with minimal smiler losses.Then the next phase of their plan involves fucking an understrength argent
>>30496351>>30496391The railgun takes time to form, like all of the big guns. We used it on him last time. The second he saw that shape coming up he was going to transpose Zoauve in front of himself.>>30496421Plasma Vulcans. Also codebursts.>>30496444We can guess. They've got Bardiel's essence signature. Same process they use to make Silencers: Take Essence, wipe signature, plant new signature. Wait a while for reconstitution and you have one partial Bardiel.>>30496482He got away because Alura crashed the game as we fired the railgun at him.>>30496487...We can't issue challenges. Never have throughout the entire quest to this point.>>30496499I'd say I was disappointed, but this was telegraphed from the teamkill.
Guys can we stop arguing and focus on killing kraken, we ARE going to die at this rate.
>>30496499Please OP for the love of god don't waste time talking or cracking wise and just fucking WASTE HIM.
>>30496444>You have no basis for anything in there. We don't know how Bardiel keeps coming back.>We have NEVER been able to take Kraken 1v1. We NEED teammates.ts not bardiel. Its ALL the smilers. And not knowing, while being able to ask questions with Reap, is a case in the favor of interrogation!
>>30496531>We can't issue challenges.Actually, we did when we tracked down one of the Smilers who ambushed us at the art gallery.
>>30496531>The second he saw that shape coming up he was going to transpose Zoauve in front of himself.And we still would have killed Zoauve but at least would have hit Kraken.
>>30496499And Kraken even gets a badass moment.Really rubbing it in, aren't you OP?
>>30496537OP is killing off team mates to extent our plot armor. Once they're all gone, that's it. We're on our own.
>>30496547Really?Show me another Smiler that's come back.Go on. I'll wait. Take your time going through the archive. Preferably until the end of this thread.
>>30496528None of Argent's people are here except Rook. Even Silver Cross is just someone who works with Argent on occasion.>>30496552I think he panicked and challenged us. He started freaking out right before the transfer.>>30496567We hit Kraken with this attack. It just didn't do much.
>>30496587Div-E Sepid. He and his buddies were also part of the first Amaglam.
This is depressing.All of them dead.I wanted to save the booster but now I wonder if we could have saved the two if we used swarm.
Can we PLEASE stop arguing and just fucking talking about how we're going to kill Kraken?
Man, why didn't we recruit Enfer? We had all the time in the world.
It sounds like Haze is sobbing, under his breath. A low, psychotic-fugue moan of oh god oh god oh god...-Neither you nor Kraken spare him another glance. The Immolator is in your hand, as you rise to your feet. Black oil oozes down your wrist, beading across your crimson plate: As he turns, you shoot him. Three times. The first shot smashes into his left pauldron. The second splinters the crest of coral spines rising from his shoulders. The third one strikes the pitch-black blade of his axe, and shatters. Your Vulcan spins up, as you level it at him, across the distance - Your sensors fighting to find a lock. Something about Kraken's form - The composition of it, perhaps, organic rather than metallic - defies natural targeting; It's as if he barely has an Essence signature, something that dopplers in and out of detection."-Is there anyone else, Joker?" Liquid flame flickers, gnawing into his carapace. Thin wisps of smoke sobs from the barrel of your Immolator. "Who's next? I *know* I haven't killed you all.""Not yet."HP: 129.8%COBALT BOOSTER: 70%ASSAULT SHROUD: 0%METER: 77%YOU HAVE CONTROL
>>30496609That's not "coming back." That's whatever process created Amalgam.Again, we don't know how the Smilers are doing it. That and Bardiel's return both.>>30496651Are you fucking serious OP. Put the goddamn Immolator away and bring out the big guns already.
>>30496651Tachyon Disintegrate."I've got time to kill, Kraken."
>>30496651Is the Mauler in our heavy weapon slot?
>>30496651FIRE EVERYTHING
>>30496587>Show me another Smiler that's come back.Rust kaiser.Like five times.And bardielAnd resurrecting phantom edgeNecromancy is what the smilers DO
>>30496651EXEC_HARROW to lock on.Then Tachyon Disintegrator or ANY OTHER HIGH POWERED WEAPON.
>>30496687(The Revolve Bazooka is in your Heavy Weapon slot, but you can summon the Mauler.)>>30496700>>30496678>>30496541(I understand, but please clarify what you intend to hit him with.)
>>30496651Would you suffer the penalties for reactivating the Carnifex in level 1 OP?
>>30496651No more fucking around, carnifex/mauler/missiles. END THIS NOW
>>30496730I say we activate the Carnifex lvl 2 and summon the Mauler and pump him full of lead.
Defies targeting? Fuck you, HEXMARK.and also fuck you OP for your incredibly lax and random voting protocols.
>>30496740(Thinking about it: My apologies, but I would say yes in this instance. Otherwise, there would be no effective penalty to being 'knocked out' of Carnifex mode.)
>>30496651Launch bits and a couple of missiles to harrass him.When he evades, Tyrant Burst lvl 1 (not more than 10%) and then send a unboosted chain mine to him.Engage Carnifex and bath him in blue fire while wielding the crisis arm and sinistral for defence.
>>30496707Rust Kaiser plain doesn't die.>>30496687>>30496743Mauler takes too long to summon. Nova Cannon his face while Tachyon Disintegrator gets ready to fire.
>>30496651If we tear him out of the timestream, it might bring back the people he just killed.I'm voting for the disintegrator. I feel kind of bad about the teamkilling, and the fact that Kraken just mulched them all like nothing.
>>30496759But it already reduces our cap.
>>30496651EXEC_HARROW, ARGUS SYSTEM. TARGET LOCK.FIRE THE DISINTEGRATOR
>>30496684>>30496723>>30496771I agree. Use EXEC_HARROW to reduce the firing time and while its charging, engage with the tau gun trying NOT to hit the Harrow mark.
No mauler, you shiny toy FUCKTARDS! It takes too long to summon!
>>30496799>FIRE THE DISINTEGRATORI don't want to blow up the stage.I want to veto the harrow, because we need the booster and its a giant waste of itWe have a gun we're forgetting about, that's perfect for this kind of close range situations.Boosted plasma casters.Bring out the armor piercing shotguns. Both of them.
>>30496832It won't blow up the stage.It will rend a 15 foot radius column out of it.
So whats our plan again?Its everywhere
>>30496799>>30496808Fuck harrow, just use the argus.Same difference at this range, and harrow is overcosted for what we need.Also, vetoing the mauler because >>30496832
>>30496759Alright then. No Carnifex.IGNORE EVERY MORON CLAMORING TO SUMMON ANY OF THE BIG GUNS. THEY TAKE TOO FUCKING LONG TO SUMMON FOR GODS SAKE. THINK PEOPLE.
>>30496785(You're right - However, your HP returns to a total capacity of 260% when the Carnifex isn't engaged. I was referring more to the 35% HP penalty when you activate it.)(Gentlemen: I'll give about ten to fifteen more minutes to come to a consensus.)
>>30496651Gotta go with EXEC_HARROW and disintegrator hereI really want to hit him with the tachyon disintegrator.
>>30496832I'm also vetoing the disintegrator.>>30496840And destroy everything of Kraken.His essence will be ours.>>30496808No harrow please. We need the booster for a last run of carnifex.
This smells of so much fucking samefag it's not even funny.
I veto the Disintegrator and vote to use the plasma casters.
>>30496799>>30496808>>30496843>>30496854Use both the Argus and the Harrow to reduce time, engage with tau gun.
>>30496858You don't get essence from the tachyon beam.
>>30496622Because we don't know how to find him? Because he still believes in their mission? Because we can't trust him not to turn if they said he could come back?>>30496651Goddamn it. I knew this wasn't the real one.Time for the Disintegrator I guess. I'm willing to take the chance, though I think it'll fail.>>30496808It doesn't explode on contact anymore. We control when it detonates by snapping a finger.>>30496841Tachyon Disintegrator, using the Argus System to lock on to Kraken. In the meantime we keep him occupied with the Immolator and Cobalt Boosted Vulcan shots.>>30496851Oh, is that so? That wasn't made clear. Good to know.
>>30496873Which is why I said I didn't want it!
>>30496854This
>>30496851The 35% penalty is tacked back on but we don't lose anymore HP is that what you're saying?
>>30496858Are you completely genre incompetent. If we do anything remotely half-hearted this will go south.And OP said we will take penalties from using the Carnifex again.
>>30496871Okay, thinking about it. We HAVE to use the Carnifex, because Kraken is an incredibly deadly combatant. If he can't match his speed, he's going to kill us.Using the Disintegrator is a bad idea, because it's slow and nothing happens during the time while it's charging. It's a nice surprise, but we have to stay alive until then.I vote that we activate the Carnifex and use our weapons at range, then prepare for close combat.
>>30496905We can't spare the HP
>>30496851Hit him with Harrow or the Argus system, or both, whatever has the most votes and fire the Tachyon Disintegrator. While it's charging, fight him with the Tau Gun
>>30496867Cybele was samefagging. There are one or two people repeating themself here, but nowhere near as many as that clusterfuck.
>>30496888(My apologies: I meant that the 35% penalty is a constant of the Carnifex, but you lose 35% of your current HP to reactivate it. I'm aware that this is a harsh decision - However, there would otherwise be no penalty to reactivate the Carnifex once you're knocked out of the initial activation. I may revise the rules after this session, if it proves to be too crippling.)
>>30496684It takes up to SIX TURNS to fire the Leukocyte. If we burn all of our meter to fire it, I'm not sure we have the resources to keep Kraken away long enough for it to come down. And then it fires WITH KRAKEN CLOSING TO MELEE RANGE WITH US.Though I would really, really like to know what happens if we fire the Leukocyte and accidentally hit ourselves with the AoE, erasing ourselves retroactively from the timestream, thereby UNFIRING THE LEUKOCYTE. A paradox almost worth suffering horrible death to unravel.And we're WAY underground, so we don't even know how effective it will be.As excellent as un-killing our allies by erasing Kraken might be, it's not even a guarantee. It's the all-or-nothing plan, pure and simple. It might very well be time for the all-or-nothing plan, but it should take some consideration first.>>30496730The Mauler is a terrible plan right now because it takes both "a substantial time" to summon, and also takes time to spin up.>>30496832Dual shotguns leave us with too much downtime between shots, I think.I think I actually like the Revolve Bazooka here. It's high-caliber, explosive (but with low AoE so it doesn't work against us if he attempts to close distance), armor-piercing, and takes no meter aside from Cobalt Booster to prime. And can be one-handed if necessary.>>30496905If we're ever going to activate the Disintegrator during the fight, we need to do it ASAP so the countdown is going sooner rather than later
>>30496924Are you fucking retarded? We do not have the time to bring out the big guns. he will be on us quicker than a fly is attracted to shit.Once again, veto any of the votes wanting to use any of our two handed weapons.
I vote that we activate the carnifex, and ABUSE THE HELL OUT OF THE OVERBOOST MODE. Hit him with missiles and the plasma shotgun, then melee when he rushes us.
>>30496932>Time ParadoxJoker gets the last laugh.
>>30496867>This smells of so much fucking samefag it's not even funny.Agreed>>30496871Alright. Order of battle...Bits Out - we learned last time they're actually good when they got a kill by themselvesMissiles to Yes. Lets start with four.Plasma Shotgun on one arm.Second arm: sheathe the immolator, second plasma shotgunPreserve booster - fight normally.If it comes to melee - Sinistral at L2 + Crisis arm.If kraken does his electricity attack again, L3 the sinistral and reflect it back at him, temporarily taking one shotgun out of it.
>>30496902It's worth it. The Carnifex gives us so much of a boost it's not funny. How the hell are we going to fight a melee-specced player otherwise? With DM fiat and shonen willpower?
>>30496932Less than six if you've a target lock. We can make a target lock in two ways. I think the chance is worth it, though I absolutely expect it fail.>>30496924Too long of a windup time.>>30496962OP just said it's another 35 HP. We're already mostly dead.>>30496975No bits except when burning Joker is going. That's what we learned.
>>30496962WE CAN'T SPARE THE HP DAMNIT. READ THE FUCKING THREAD AND OPs posts.Yes I'm mad. Also, you're samefagging hard. Vary up your posting pattern already or get bent.
>>30496975>Plasma Shotgun on one arm.>Second arm: sheathe the immolator, second plasma shotgunWhy the shotgun again.They been useless most times we drag them out.The immolator would be better and its actually out.
>>30496932By using Argus and EXEC_HARROW, the firing sequence will be greatly reduced.
>>30496932>>30496941>The LEUKOCYTE has a substantial delay between targeting and firing, of up to six turns. However, painting the target with the laser designator - Or using the ARGUS SYSTEM/EXEC_HARROW to establish a target lock - can substantially reduced the delay. >However, painting the target with the laser designator - Or using the ARGUS SYSTEM/EXEC_HARROW to establish a target lock - can substantially reduced the delay. >Or using the ARGUS SYSTEM/EXEC_HARROW to establish a target lock - can substantially reduced the delay. >can substantially reduced the delay.
Uh, why don't we hit kraken with DISRUPT? Yeah its all of our booster, but we really need to level the playing field.
We can't spare the HP for Carnifex.We don't have time for two handed weaponsEXEC_HARROW, Argus Scan and Disintegrator seems like the best option, though we could also go for a straight up firefight - I think we'd lose.We need to kill him quickly.
>>30497015He has nothing to disrupt. He just has that goddamn axe, but everything else is organic.
>>30496999It one shotted Ixion.I'm more confused as to why he thinks we have two.>>30497015Disrupt is 75. We have 70.
>>30497006READING COMPREHENSION NUMBNUTS.I said Two-handed weapons. That means the Tau Gun which the chucklefuck wanted to deploy.
>>30497003>By using Argus and EXEC_HARROW, the firing sequence will be greatly reduced.I don't think you english at allHowever, we DONT WANT OT BLOW UP THE STAGEso vetoing the orbital cannonsave it for when its -needed-. Blowing up a target on the surface.
>>30496975We can't afford to spare booster or meter. This is the boss fight of this encounter. Blow everything.The Leukocyte takes time to fire, minus the lockon bonuses. Use that time to build more meter for when it goes off using charged tau gun. Hit him with whatever we have left after Leukocyte fires.
>>30497006I wasn't saying it WILL take six turns, just that it's not an immediate thing, and thus will have a reality-erasing airstrike beacon on Kraken.Who will then be attempting to get in melee range of us.And we'll have zero meter left to hold him off. And no way to call off the strike.It's RISKY. I'm not 100% against it, but you guys have to realize what you're getting into.
>>30497034Sorry, I quoted the wrong post
>>30497048I honestly can't agree with using the Leukocyte. We are:i) Underground.ii) Near an incredibly volatile device.iii) Knee-deep in the shit.iv) Facing the risk of potentially depleting all of our meter, leaving us to fight kraken in close-combat. I have to veto the Tachyon disintegrator, because it's going to fuck us over for the fight.
>>30497054We can still fight while it's charging, building up meter. It won't get us to, like, the chainmine, but we will still build. And we'll recharge cobalt booster
>>30497047We're not talking about Leukocyte's stage destroying weapon. We're talking about the surgical single target weapon, with the admittedly high chance of failure.If we're lucky we're not it'll just hit Kraken.
Uh why don't we just fucking hit him with Napalm missiles already? it worked the first time.Lock him with Argus, boost the Triskellions, fire the plasma caster.
>>30497054We're at an extremely heavy disadvantage here.I think the Leukocyte is genuinely the best option.
Seriously guys, FUCK using the leukocyte. There is absolutely no guarantee it will reach all the way here.
>>30497066>i) Underground.>ii) Near an incredibly volatile device.OP said there's still a good chance of it penetrating.And the blast radius is 15M, I'm not worried about setting off the tower
(Gentlemen, I hate to interrupt: But I'm locking in for now, and I'll be writing the next segment. I understand tempers are running high, and that many options are mutually exclusive, but rest assured that I'll try my best to accommodate the majority.)
>>30497062That's fine. I'm just fanny flustered over all of the samefagging that very well might get us a GAME OVER.
>>30497094>We're at an extremely heavy disadvantage here.What? No we're not. We've taken some HP damage, but we -regenerate- now, and have a shitton of meter
>>30497101Oh thank god.At least this clusterfuck of an argument will be over
>>30497101Okay.It's over.
>>30497101>(Gentlemen, I hate to interrupt: But I'm locking in for now, and I'll be writing the next segment. I understand tempers are running high, and that many options are mutually exclusive, but rest assured that I'll try my best to accommodate the majority.)Honestly, I kind of wanted to suggest a break - the usual planning isn't here, people are swearng all the time, the planning from last thread has evaporated, and everyone is demanding to use the shiny new toys that don't make sense.Its kind of a shitshow, and this is a critical moment.I'd rather do it right, then let arguing and bad decisions drive the joker bus.
>>30497101>accommodate the majorityOh great so the guy samefagging to activate the Carnifex/deploy our two-handed weapons/shoot the disentegrator gets the final say. That's wonderful.
>>30497117I'm sorry anon but we really are.>>30497114We'll it is the current highlight of Red Joker career.We're on this ride till the end, anon. I'm excited, worn-out and scared. Have some popcorn.
>>30497130Planning has evaporated because we're panicking.On account of being at low HP, no Shroud, no backup, and facing the big boss who is still relatively unscathed.
>>30497135Dude, quit accusing people of samefagging. It's never been a problem in this quest before and you look like an ass.
>>30497101I'm sure I'll enjoy the ride either way.HAHA, TIME FOR A BAD END
>>30496991>No bits except when burning Joker is going. That's what we learned.But cobalt joker and burning joker are the same thing where boots are concerned
>>30497154>Dude, quit accusing people of samefagging. It's never been a problem in this quest before and you look like an ass.Normally, Id agree, and normally don't even give a fuck but.....Some people have -really- distinctive posting styles, favorite swears, and typing habits. That's all
>>30497177You're not a linguist, this is 4chan and this is a high-emotion boss fight thread.Let it rest.
>>30497130>>30497143>I'd rather do it right, then let arguing and bad decisions drive the joker bus.Let's be completely fair: Planning never lasts more than one thread in anything, and Joker Quest is not an exception. The shiny toy thing is a similarly universal problem, but there's not much anyone can do about that.>>30497163Are they? The effects from Burning Joker seemed extreme. Could just be narrative build up, of course.
You say nothing. There is nothing left to be said. "You know, Joker. This place i-"You move. So does he. A strange sense of familiarity descends - Something, you're almost certain, Kraken is aware of too. He moves *the way you do*; With the same ease born of a hundred years down in the dark, with the liquid fluidity that turns your armour into a second skin. There is something eerily symmetrical in the first clash - More than simple survival, more than one Player versus another...-It is an echo, an expression, of a fundamental conflict...Of a story, you can only intuit, left unfinished.Red against white.Winner take all. Kraken unleashes his lightnings, as the Carnifex's crusher snaps into place. Blue flame - A swirling mantle of it - engulfs you, and you leap in the same instant your Tempest Scrander flares. The bolts jag past, so close the ozone prickles flares of static across your HUD: The Immolator banished, the Tau Gun shimmering into existence as your Triskelion launchers spin up...Your Argus system chimes with a golden target lock, as the missile barrage roars forth.(Continued.)
>>30497154People admitted to samefagging cybele in qtg. I remember one guy saying he did it to spite watashi.
>>30497197Well mechanically, cobalt booster weapons appear to be the same as carnifex booster weapons in the descriptions.I suppose melee weapons would benefit from the increased speed of Red Joker himself.
>>30497197>Are they? The effects from Burning Joker seemed extreme. Could just be narrative build up, of course.>(tl;dr - When the Carnifex is activated, your Cobalt Booster begins to deplete at a constant rate of 20% per round - With the enhancement effect applying to all of your weapons and Relics in the process. This has the side-effect of creating a nimbus of photonic flame, which expands in direct proportion with your level of activity.iunno, it says constant booster, not better booster.There's a reason I've been saying we should use boosted bits more - the cost to boost em is = the cost to use em, and 10% booster is pretty darn cheap for the effect we get out of them
>>30497242>Using the CarnifexWe're deadIt's been fun, guys.
>>30497250The qtg is a festering sack of shit and should be disregarded at all costs.
>>30497242>used the CarnifexFUCK ALL OF YOU. I'm going to go look for a dragon dildo thread.
>>30497250>People admitted to samefagging cybele in qtg. I remember one guy saying he did it to spite watashi.Fuck, seriously?I was wondering why nobody even TRIES To look for hecate when we know she's alive, and hey look that feeling of throwing water under the bridge to make way for someone relationship preferences (which can't be threatened at all by, say, bringing another lady into it), suddenly make a lot more sense.
>>30497242Maybe Kraken *is* the White Joker?Think back to what Trisagion said. It could easily have come from Kraken.
>>30497280Thing is, how?How do we go about it. We've come up to a dead end with the hospital and short of filling up the nihl sphere, I'm not sure where else to start looking.
>>30497242>>30497289It's a possibility.Hey, JQOP. If we get stuck in a tight spot, like grappled by Kraken tight spot, can we shank him with the Misericorde?I'm not saying go out of our way to do it, just have it as a contingency
>>30497280Another Anon pointed out that we're extremely passive and only do shit when it comes to us. Plus there's just so many sub-quests and sub-plots to complete that we get distracted by the bigger picture.>oh hey we've got Akira in our apartment he needs our help>NOPE LOL TALK TO CYBELE
>>30497242>Tau GunI wonder why it is I'm more upset by this than the lost chance to undo the mistakes of the first 200 posts?>>30497250That's... really sad.>>30497280Anon, what would you have us do? We literally tried everything we could think of. We didn't stop because we moved on, we stopped because there was nowhere else to go.>>30497289He's not. He was in the Hive at the same time Red Joker was. This has been suggested since we met him.
>>30497306>How do we go about it. We've come up to a dead end with the hospital and short of filling up the nihl sphere, I'm not sure where else to start looking.Ask the smilers with Exec_Reap.Hell, work it into taunts in the middle of combat.If she was taken, she's probably here - maybe check the manifold towers controls if we survive to take the place.The best thing we can do is beat up smilers who were at Dreamland, who saw what happened after, and steal the information from them directly.
>>30497320Six missiles, guided unerringly by the hard-wired target lock. Kraken vanishes in a supernova blast, a blue inferno that echoes the one that sheathes you: You hear him burning, the crackling roar of the fires scorching into him, engulfing him in a personal holocaust...-And then there's a ripple of disturbed space, that bends the fires away; That churns around him, as he rises out of the inferno. Kraken is suddenly, inexplicably, mantled in gleaming steel. His eyes burn blue, as if the fire is within him - His bladed tentacles accelerate into speeding maces, into bludgeons, into battering rams...You move between moments, with fluid speed. The first two sear past you, and slam into the ceiling: Choking dust rains down, pausing when it contacts the slow-time envelope of your kinetic barrier. Your speed surprises him - That much is clear. The third one falls short, the lethal edge keening through the air with a razored hiss - When the last one whiplashes towards you, you abandon the half-formed Tau Gun...-And catch the tentacle in the superdense fist of your Crisis Arm.(Continued)
>>30497320>Anon, what would you have us do? We literally tried everything we could think of. We didn't stop because we moved on, we stopped because there was nowhere else to go.We've tried approximately shit because of >>30497317>>oh hey we've got Akira in our apartment he needs our help>>NOPE LOL TALK TO CYBELE factor.We should have been pulling a Batman, and wrecking the smilers we saw there for information - i think we had hints from the question pool, and could maybe use the sphere to find pathways to what we want.
>>30497327>-And catch the tentacle in the superdense fist of your Crisis Arm.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQs48dvebck&t=1m33sThat's so metal
>>30497322Wait, why would she even be here?
>>30497327Aw fuck he's used his own super mode.
>>30497327So hes armoured now...And folks were clamouring for shotgun.Now boosted shotgun makes sense.
>>30497365Thats what the smilers do..They shove players in the cradlevats here and turn them into abominations like the silencers and amalgams.They take and capture players and use them for shit like this.And pazuzu HATES hecate for what she did.
>>30497327>Carnifex>Tau GunIs JQOP trying to use every single voted measure?Is there still hope for the Leukocyte?
>>30497379And this is why I was saying ' don't shoot the cradles' earlier
>>30497379Well I guess we could do it with a smiler we find later.For now, lets kill Kraken. And since we're trying for side-3 blasting, I guess we'll not have a chance to ask him.
>>30497385No, we lost that when we fired the missiles.
>>30497392The cradles were being filled with that stuff. If she was in there I think she'd been long gone.
>>30497322Reap only works when you get a kill. It's not "ask any question whenever", it's "Ask them as they lie broken and dying". We also only got it a day ago in-story. How were we supposed to do that before? It costs more than Disrupt, meaning any amount of Cobalt Booster use could render us unable to access it.Also, the only Smilers we know who saw what happened to Hecate were Bardiel (dead), Pazuzu (unavailable) and Rust Kaiser (unkillable by us).>>30497343Smilers we saw at Nara Dreamland, in order of introduction: Push Dagger (killed then), Pyrite Arrow (killed then) Pazuzu, Locke (killed then), Rust Kaiser, Bardiel (unnamed at the time, killed later).This is another dead end. I'm as frustrated about that as anyone, but this is not a lead.
>>30497242>A strange sense of familiarity descends - Something, you're almost certain, Kraken is aware of too. He moves *the way you do*; With the same ease born of a hundred years down in the dark, with the liquid fluidity that turns your armour into a second skin. There is something eerily symmetrical in the first clash - More than simple survival, more than one Player versus another...Comment on it in some manner. JQOP, you can probably verbalize this better, but after the initial exchange - we seriously need a running bossfight dialogue.Something like"You. You were the other player trapped in the hellhole beneath this world. Weren't you? *insert name here, that I forgot*"
>>30497398Well, fuckGuess we lose. We can't outlast him in a straight fight. Maybe if we were fresh, but we're not.
>>30497427Except JQOP specifically said Joker believes the time for talk is over. Apparently Kraken agrees after that shot.
>>30497398>>30497433Still some hope since we have the meter accel upgrade.
>>30497422>Bardiel (unnamed at the time, killed later).You know he's still flying around outside, right?I don't think he was actually finished off.>>30497422>Reap only works when you get a kill. It's not "ask any question whenever", it's "Ask them as they lie broken and dying". We also only got it a day ago in-story.That's.... kind of proven false by how the White Joker used it though. He had a head he used as a data storage/recovery unit.Like, long-term, accessable, players-head-into-an-artifact type deal. I think we could use Reap on someone not ready for it, by maintaining eye contact - and it certainly makes interrogation a lot easier.Also, this whole conversation of 'but we tried to save hecate!' is kinda bullsiht, because people don't even make the effort to run down leads. They just say that while voting to fuck cybele, and going 'but we tried!' later.
>>30497385Votes for "Anything but the Leukocyte" surpassed votes to use Leukocyte. I imagine we're going with that.It's probably too late anyway, Leukocyte erases minutes of time at most. If we fired it now we wouldn't get the people Kraken killed back.
>>30497456I saw a bunch of votes for "Anything but the carnifex".I'm holding out hope that JQOP is just getting us to fire everything.
>>30497485I'll be fine with that even if it drops our meter to zero.
>>30497454He was one of the abominations.
>>30497327"What-" The sound is an unalloyed hiss, a sharp exhalation of surprise - The blazing wedge of your Sinistral trembling against your left arm, as you *wrench* with all your strength...And smash Kraken into the far wall. It cracks, from the impact - He rebounds, reverses, as hailing shots from your Vulcans smash into him, denting the new metal of his cuirass; The Plasma Caster shimmering into existence in unfurling neon lines- Kraken's blue eyes flare. They bloat into one, then separate into several, obliterating the rest of his face. Killing radiance stabs forth: Scorching beams of brilliant colour, lancing across the distance in burning lances. They hit the Plasma Caster, and smash it to flinders before you can fire - The next blast slams into your Sinistral, and scatters into a thousand splinters of fractured light. Not energy beams, but force beams. The blast smites you from the air - But you arch your back, the Tempest Scrander's jets flaring, and you hit the ground in a perfect three-point landing, thrusters burning, leaving contrails of blue flame in your wake. His tentacles are segmented steel serpents, eyeless skulls giving way to snarling maws: Like the many heads of a hydra, they *hiss* at you in vox-corrupted staticky snarls as Kraken straightens - His axe held loosely in one hand, encased in gleaming steel as you face off across the narrow distance. They echo the humming orbit of your Interceptors, circling you in defensive velocities - Blue light running in glowing traceries across the hovering drones, seeking a target.Symmetry, once again. Parallels and echoes. (Continued)
>>30497530Guess we aren't using the disintegrator.Damnit. We're gonna die.
>>30497530> "You. You were the other player trapped in the hellhole beneath this world. Weren't you?"He laughs. It's a rich, nasty laugh - The sort of laugh a man would utter, if he's playing games and likes a little rough stuff. "-You can do better than that." Kraken turns his great axe, as violet fire streams across the blade; The sound suggests a dying god impacting an electrified high-tension wire. "Come on, Joker...*What* a fight we're going to have."Uninterrupted, your left fist gives way to the blunt, snub-nosed shape of the Plasma Caster: Blue flame venting from your shoulders in a swirling cloak, distorting your targeting outline. An emerald glow emanates from Kraken's free hand - An echo of the Hyades mark on your pauldron.HP: 87.1%COBALT BOOSTER: 53%ASSAULT SHROUD: 0%METER: 65%YOU HAVE CONTROL
>>30497530>it wasnt even his final formYeesh.
>>30497550>>30497560>>30497456Guys, why are you all being so pessimistic? This fight is fucking metal.
>>30497551aaa. what.shit.Restart the sinistral, use our vulcans and the immolator and the crisis arm if we're forced to.Build up that 10% and fire the disintegrator.Don't use our meter weapons till we fire.
>>30497551Right, well, now that we're done fucking around with the worthless little shit that got us nowhere and lost us a plasma caster to boot, CAN WE BRING ON THE BIG GUNS YET?!
>>30497594>lost us a plasma caster to boot,What. We didn't lose any plasma casters
>>30497594Dude, he's as *good as we are*. Going for the quick fix is clearly going to get us killed. This wasn't a bad exchange, we're going to have to fight him tactically.
>>30497551>"Come on, Joker...*What* a fight we're going to have.""Before we do this, I have one question for you""The woman I was with at the Dreamland. What became of her? I'd imagine Pazuzu was furious with Hecate."A brief glance at the tanks below, as if to give away our guess.>>30497594>Right, well, now that we're done fucking around with the worthless little shit that got us nowhere and lost us a plasma caster to boot, CAN WE BRING ON THE BIG GUNS YET?!Fusion Annihilator time? Pretty please? We haven't used its upgraded form yet.
>>30497551I don't know. This is bad. We need a trump card, but we already gave up that option.
>>30497592At this point, charging meter to get to the Tachyon Disintegrator will get us killed. We lost that argument. We don't have the time to waste getting there and then charging and firing it.Chainmine the fucker, bring out the tau gun and just blow meter and cobalt booster.He WILL outlast us in an extended fight. He is fresh, we are not.
>>30497621>I don't know. This is bad. We need a trump card, but we already gave up that option.As much as I hate to say it.... Drop barrier and let the booster recharge. We need to get more of it, and start healing, asap.>>30497551This is a small break - heal up a little bit. Use meter. 5-10%? Fix bits on our back first, so kraken can't see what we're doing.
>>30497551Okay, save up the meter. We need the disintegrator. We can't win a battle of attrition.
>>30497611>They hit the Plasma Caster, and smash it to flinders before you can fire -
>>30497551Target his hydra heads with the chain mines.
>>30497631>>30497619Those, but instead of tau gun use the Fusion annihilator.
>>30497454That's not Bardiel. The Scourge are Correctors patterned after him. We killed Bardiel and fed his corpse to the Nihl Sphere. Bardiel the human Player who saw Hecate die is dead.It's like, the Smilers took a sample of Bardiel's blood, and whenever they want flying Correctors, they splice that sample into Corrector DNA. Except with Essence instead of blood.Furthermore, Vertigo Trisagion was NOT the White Joker. he was a messenger FROM the White Joker.The head he handed us was NOT made with Exec_Reap. We have no idea how he made it. Exec_Reap works in a specific, proscribed manner. Do you know how programming works? Codebursts are individual lines of code. They do exactly what the programming language says they do. Maybe with a BUNCH of them you can do something like the head, but not with just Reap.So no, Reap works ONLY when you kill someone.Please, if you have a lead we failed to follow up on, say so. If you saw something we missed, say so. If you just want to complain about things not going your way, that's fine, but please don't act like the rest of us didn't try.Also Cybele was a terrible decision, as I've said.>>30497581Eh, honestly I'm not feeling any interest in the fight.
>>30497551Order our interceptors to kill his bits.Missiles out, give him more smoke, when he emerges, tyrant lvl 1 and chainmine (unboosted) the fucker.
>>30497594We can't 'lose' any of our weapons except the relics. Everything is summoned anew when we need it.
>>30497618Seconded. with the little hp we have, we have to be very careful. We might even need to retreat if he's stronger
>>30497631>Chainmine the fucker, bring out the tau gun and just blow meter and cobalt booster.>He WILL outlast us in an extended fight. He is fresh, we are not.Actually, that's a point in our favor - we have higher tier weapons and he's fresh, he hasn't had a change to buildup too much.He has more HP but we have bigger guns.This is a battle of attrition, and the onyl way we're gonna win is by using our newfound meter-gain powers to regenerate midcombat, as we do damage. That extra 20% per hit will go a long ways towards increasing our survivability.There IS a third option, btw.We can blow the roof off this place with the leuokocyte's KEW, and call the tristars in with the garm via the beacon.
>>30497631I'm definitely not against a Argus Chainmine, but wasn't the tau gun half summoned and than abandoned? Also, What do we do when we hit below 50% health? Try to heal up? Should we leave some meter for that?I for one do not feel it is wise to stay in this room.
>>30497594(My apologies: You didn't 'lose' a Plasma Caster. He destroyed it before you could fire, and you've simply created another one.)
>>30497551Oh hell, incoming codebursts. Back OFF. Need breathing room to deploy the Tau Gun. The Vulcans aren't doing shit even while in SUPER JOKER plus he shreked all over our shotgun. Shoot a chain mine to distract him while we take the precious seconds to get our coil gun deployed. Bring our Interceptors into a close orbit and have them scythe down any tentacles that wonder too close.
>>30497592>>30497644It will be 2 rounds before we get to the disintegrator and then less than 6 before firing. That's way too much time to not be using meter. Adapt to a changing battlefield. We lost the option for the disintegrator, we need to make do with what we have now.
>>30497659>tyrant lvl 1Vetoing the trant due to 'lets not waste cobalt booster', but otherwise this loooks good.>>30497680>Oh hell, incoming codebursts.Well shit. Keep the barrier up then.
>>30497680>Oh hell, incoming codebursts.>>30497692>Well shit. Keep the barrier up then.Uh..I know its low, but diverting nihl sphere to barrier might just save us here if he hits us with BIG shit.Its super low, but even an effective 5-10% on the sphere could be the difference between life and death here
>>30497657>Eh, honestly I'm not feeling any interest in the fight.Why? I like that it's something we can't just bulldoze our way through.
>>30497692We need to blind him.Carnifex is going to last 2 more rounds and we have 13 left over booster.If we use 5%, we stun him in place for the chainmine to hit. We can't afford for it to not hit.
>>30497680>>30497692It's not a codeburst, it's his Hyade power. Keep barrier off.
>>30497692How is tyrant a waste of booster ? Did we ever try itt on Kraken previously ?Vetoing your veto
>>30497709>Why? I like that it's something we can't just bulldoze our way through.So much this>>30497364also I ~really~ like that picture for some reason
>>30497680I'm going to support this because it's more comprehensive and rooted in a reality that isn't>USE LEUKOCYTE>NO DON'T USE LEUKOCYTE
>>30497716Because if Blue Joker mode ends, we are going to be in a very bad position.We don't have booster to waste.
>>30497680Deploying our tau gun will take too long. Use the annihilator. Rapid fire.
>>30497680>Shoot a chain mine to distract himsir, this is a very expensive distraction.
>>30497716I thought it was super expensive and never does much?also i'm really disappointed we didn't get the Cobalt Booster upgrade - if we leveled it up midfight, it may have recharged somewhat.Also, the booster is armory guardian tech. We have yet to unlock its personal shielding mode.
>>30497742Tyrant level 1 is 5-15%. We can use the lower powered version.
>>30497716We did. He's got an inner eyelid that renders him immune to tyrant burst 1. Before this gets silly, I support not using tyrant burst.>>30497709Dunno, it's not grabbing my attention. Could just be tired.>>30497742See >>30495503
>>30497740>>Shoot a chain mine to distract him>sir, this is a very expensive distraction.However, its a -homing- distraction
>>30497740He tanked vulcan fire. Boosted vulcan fire. Armor piercing vulcan fire. We need bigger dakka.
>>30497551>HP: 87.1%Guys, we need to heal asap.The only question is: how much are we spending to do so?I think booster is maybe more important than meter at this point
>>30497754>>30497752Ideally, I would like our vulcan to be the distraction while we feed him the chainmine. Since that can likely hurt him
>>30497751>We did. He's got an inner eyelid that renders him immune to tyrant burst 1. Before this gets silly, I support not using tyrant burst.Fair point.Voting against Tyrant level 1 too.
>>30497735This.Also end Barrier and DON'T USE CHAINMINE.
>>30497768see>>30497754he's immune to vulcans, lets not use vulcans!>>30497794>>30497735>Deploying our tau gun will take too long. Use the annihilator. Rapid fire.Seconding.If the chain mine is hands-free or we can do it at the same time as the annihilator, do it.
>>30497794We ended barrier at the same time we got the level up.
>>30497794...why>>30497751votin against level 1 theni hope you remembered correctly watashiwa
>>30497808> Kraken does not stagger. He doesn't slow. Nictating membranes - Evolution in fast-forward - means he doesn't even blink, as his axe carves through the air, in a headman's swing. The Tempest Scrander kicks anyway, lifting you into the air; For a moment, there's *two* of you, one locked in place, the other struggling free...
>>30497808The Tyrant Burst system FLARES, an eye-searing illumination that bleaches all color to nothing. It flashburns the shadows away, rendering everything momentarily monochrome-Kraken does not stagger. He doesn't slow. Nictating membranes - Evolution in fast-forward - means he doesn't even blink, as his axe carves through the air, in a headman's swing. The Tempest Scrander kicks anyway, lifting you into the air; For a moment, there's *two* of you, one locked in place, the other struggling free...-You almost clear him.Almost.The swing meant to take your head chews into your leg instead.
>>30497823>>30497834case made good sirsthank you for your assistance
>>30497841> "Before we do this, I have one question for you"> "The woman I was with at the Dreamland. What became of her? I'd imagine Pazuzu was furious with Hecate."A pause. Fire cycles in and out of you. Kraken exhales, with a low, shuddering sigh - A sound of the deepest satisfaction."Ah," he breathes. "-Love."There is something infinitely ugly, infinitely *gloating*, in his voice. >>30497642The pellucid green glow shimmers through you. It doesn't replace your Interceptors, but schematic lines overlay the damage that's been inflicted - The groan of overtaxed actutators changing pitch, replaced by freshly corded muscle and pristine crimson plate- >>30497659Your Interceptors spit scorching lines of energy as Kraken's tentacles uncoil, lunging across the distance - You hurl yourself aside, as the first writhing hydra-head smashes down, lines of damage splintering across the ebony floor; The drones flit towards Kraken, knifing through the air, carving into him with their scalpel beams. He flinches, as his armour glows cherry-red beneath their particle rays - Cancelling whatever he was trying to do, the emerald glow fading: He puts up his palms with a snap of his wrists, and new orifices extrude from the flesh beneath the steel. With a puff of discharge, long spars of sharp bone clatter into the air: You hear an electronic squeal as your first Interceptor explodes, the second banking and weaving wildly through the air as a snapping tentacle pursues it- Kraken staggers back as your Plasma Caster discharges, just once - The blast echoing thunderously in the confines, high-velocity scattershot punching ragged holes in his armour; He reels from the impacting spread, as you catch him center-mass...And finds himself looking down the barrel of your Fusion Annihilator. (Continued)
>>30497882You cycle one charge. Two. There's no time for more, as Kraken lurches into motion.The wrist-thick beam of searing azure force scorches towards him, shot through with writhing lightning - As his tentacles interpose themselves in the way and- Kraken *roars*. It's a sound of agony, his good humour banished - The blade of light shears down, shears *through* two segmented-steel tendrils as he wrenches himself to the side: The edges of the clean cut glow molten, the severed lengths thrashing weakly as they pitch to the ground - His remaining limbs drive against the floor, and *propel* him forward with awful velocity - He descends like a steel thunderbolt, swinging his axe across in a great, cleaving chop- ...As the Tau Gun sketches itself into existence in your left hand. HP: 110.2%COBALT BOOSTER: 33%ASSAULT SHROUD: 0%METER: 51%INTERCEPTORS: 0/5YOU HAVE CONTROL
>>30497895"FUCK.YOU.KRAKEN!"
>>30497895>Kraken *roars*. It's a sound of agony, his good humour banished - The blade of light shears down, shears *through* two segmented-steel tendrils as he wrenches himself to the side:YEAH FUCK YOU KRAKEN
Rolled 7 + 6>>30497895We can evade faster. Evade, use our sinistral to deflect the attack partially away from us if hes got the measure of our speed.Depress the first trigger at point blank.Then kick him away or kick away from him while depressing the second trigger.
>>30497895SHOOT HIM. If we can't shoot him, RIDER PUNCH
>>30497882>And finds himself looking down the barrel of your Fusion Annihilator.>>30497895>...As the Tau Gun sketches itself into existence in your left hand.Holy shit, we can have both guns out at once?Gatling mode on the fusion. Swap from beam, try out the new rapid-chambering gatling blaster mode.a la>After encountering and activating the Manifold Tower, your Fusion Annihilator has been upgraded with armoured feeder cables and three linked accumulators. Now, the Fusion Annihilator accumulates energy faster and is significantly less volatile as a weapon - Allowing you to 'hold' charges without penalty.>Furthermore, the Annihilator can now discharge individual blasts in rapid succession, as an alternative to unleashing a single focused beam.But, be prepared to bring up our Sinistral at L3(dropping power from the tau gun for a moment) if he gets to melee.And.... shoot out his method of transportation - legs and tentacles - with the tau gun, and go for distance with our jetpack
>>30497895Quickly, use the tracing beam to cut his axe handle. Headshot this fucker end him now.
>>30497882>There is something infinitely ugly, infinitely *gloating*, in his voice.If we can delay him more with his gloating,that's good. Continue talking about Hecate or other things that may cause him to gloat
>>30497895Maybe laugh a bit.I, for one, can see the funny side of this situation.
>>30497931>We can evade faster. Evade, use our sinistral to deflect the attack partially away from us if hes got the measure of our speed.>Depress the first trigger at point blank.>Then kick him away or kick away from him while depressing the second trigger.This.
>>30497940>>30497931No punching. he WANTS melee.We have a jetpack! We have our heavy weapons out!USE THEM! play for the midrange, unleash hell on him.Interrupt his charge with a wel-placed missile.If he's galloping on tentacles, the blast may nt do a lot of damage, but by god it can kick his thin flimsy feet out from under himm.
>>30497895Shoot him ONCE and then dive AWAY from him on our jetpack. He's affected by gravity. He's made the singular mistake that just saved our asses this round. Once he lands shoot him AGAIN if our coil gun has recharged. Don't give him quarter.
>>30497968>Shoot him ONCE and then dive AWAY from him on our jetpack. He's affected by gravity. He's made the singular mistake that just saved our asses this round. Once he lands shoot him AGAIN if our coil gun has recharged. Don't give him quarter.This! So much jetpack.>>30497957>>30497940Guys, the heavy weapons we have out are VOLATILE and EXPLODE if damaged. BOTH of them. One less so since the upgrade.do NOT melee if we can avoid it! This is ASKING to get us killed!Thankfully, we CAN avoid it, due to Jetpack.>>30497968
>>30497895Use the lightning bolt to halt his charge.Then blow off his arms with the Tau Gun.Then blow off his tentacles with the Fusion Annihilator.Then walk up to the amputated torso. Reach up to his face and caress it. "Scream."Tear out his eyeballs.
>>30497895Fire and fly backwards.Full rack of missiles.Charge the fusion annihilator.
>>30497967> kicking away from an opponent so we dont get caught in the blast is 'punching'
>>30497895Whatever we do, stay out of his reach.No punchy punchy.
>>30497895"What's wrong? I thought you said this was the part you were looking forward to.">>30497968This guy is at least somewhat right; Kraken's comparatively landbound, and he has a harder time using his extra limbs if he has to use them primarily for locomotion rather than just melee attacks.If we're keeping with the Tau gun, aim for his tentacle limbs; it's the part of him he will have the hardest time moving out of the way of the rest, is mostly in center-mass, and helps take away his speed of movement.
>>30497983>Use the lightning bolt to halt his charge.Now is a wonderful time to use the Tempest Cannon technique :3If it didn't come at the opportunity cost of our jetpack.>>30497988>letting an opponent get close enough to punch you ~when you can fly~
>>30497983>Scrander CrashI'm not sure, if we're going all in we may as well go all in. Can we recharge the Scrander's charge?
>>30497967>No punching. he WANTS melee.Seconding. In melee he will grab us with tentacles so we can't escape, and leisurely tear us apart.
>>30497983>Then blow off his arms with the Tau Gun.>Then blow off his tentacles with the Fusion Annihilator.>Then walk up to the amputated torso. Reach up to his face and caress it. "Scream.">Tear out his eyeballs.I like all this.Combine it with.>>30497986>>30497943>>30497967and others invoving halting his charge by blowing his locomotion off
>>30497986ThisWe have two rounds left. We need to empty our meter
>>30497882>A pause. Fire cycles in and out of you. Kraken exhales, with a low, shuddering sigh - A sound of the deepest satisfaction.>"Ah," he breathes. "-Love.">There is something infinitely ugly, infinitely *gloating*, in his voice."I see you've found a hyades, kraken. Do you think she'll save you from me? "
You get off one shot from your Nova Cannon. The antimatter ground strikes Kraken head-on; The gleaming steel of his cuirass bulges, expanding outwards...And then it *explodes*, erupting in a lethal spray of riocheting metal shards, blasting a fist-size chunk from the flesh beneath. It's a deep gouge, liquid gore geysering from the crater, becoming smoke, becoming steam, even before he hits the ground- It doesn't stop the blow from falling.His axe slows, fractionally, as the burning edge sears into your Inertia Field - It mows through the air, carving down, as you wrench your Sinistral into the way, sweeping it out to deflect the executioner's swing...Your supercharged Sinistral meets Kraken's axe. The axe wins. The Sinistral's hard-light field detonates, with a point-blank thunderclap: Kraken's tentacles whip back, as if flung by a strong wind - But it hacks *through*, without being deflected, and carves into the Sinistral's emitter bracer even as your Tempest Scrander howls to life at your back...-With a nasty crackle, an explosion of sparks, the Sinistral dies. The great axe doesn't quite shear through your limb, but it hacks into the myomer fibre and endosteel skeletal structure beneath. Suddenly, from your elbow down, your left arm goes dead - But you still have your right arm, and the Crisis Arm gains acceleration rings as you wrench it back...And smash the superdense fist into Kraken's skull, with every iota of strength you can muster.In a word: WHAM.(Continued)
>>30498062Oh for god's sake, it's Alura. He's the "white one" associated with her.
>>30498065Did Kraken just axe us a question?
>>30498065>WHAM>Two strength upgrades>Carnifex removes limiters from our body>Cobalt Booster adds strength to that unlimited strength>Crisis Arm adds even more damageThis has got to at *least* create a concussion.
>>30498065>Your supercharged Sinistral meets Kraken's axe.>The axe wins.We need to upgrade that thing sometimeAlso, THIS is why i was voting for left-hand friction axe in close combat underneath the sinistral.Because when the shield goes down - we can still parry with a weapon in hand.Shame we lost it tho.
>>30498105The shield is mounted on our bracer.There is no possible way to parry something that has already broken through the shield.Also, the friction axe is 100% inferior than our Crisis arm and probably wouldn't scratch Kraken much
>Waking up>Seeing the thread with about 250 posts>Getting more and more pissed off because everyone is whining and NO ONE is making actual suggestionsI'm thankful that you regained your ability to actually suggests actions towards the end of this thread. Those exchanges were painful to watch.
>>30498105It's a hard light shield held together with a prayer and Argent's coagulated corrector juice. What the hell do you expect?
>>30498017Knowing Kraken,he will probably regenerate like a Zerg. don't start gloating until he's in little burning pieces.
>>30498127Zerg regenerate hella slowly.
>>30498065Azure fury discharges with an eye-searing flash. You don't quite punch Kraken's head off his shoulders - His internal structure is more robust than you'd expect, reinforced with layered steel, bulked up by dense muscle and the exoskeleton of a deep-sea leviathan. But you actually see his face deform, from the impact - His helmet...His *head* crumples inwards like a can compacting, with an audible *crump* that sends a shockwave rippling through the chamber. It's a seismic event, like a minor earthquake: The entire chamber actually skews downwards, a shudder racing through the burning rig - One of his polished steeples of horn snaps off, as your powered fist deforms his jaw in a wet ripping *crunch*-It catches him full on the right temple, and fans black ichor spray into the air. It turns his head and sends your fist on past, taking most of the side of his face with it - His fingers spasm on the grip of his axe, as Kraken goes sprawling- He doesn't fall down. But it's a close thing.(Continued)
>>30498105We couldn't, actually, the shield is on the arm. And now said arm is chopped mostly through.And axes are terrible blocking weapons, seriously.>>30498127I still don't think this is the real Kraken.
>>30498130Queens quicken the regeneration.And Kraken collects Meter with our help.
>>30498117>There is no possible way to parry something that has already broken through the shield.False. The shield covers a large areas - if something is breaking say, the leading edge of it, and you're holding a sword or melee weapon in that hand above the bracer - its actually pretty much at the same spot.AndThe friction axe is superior to the crisis arm in one regard: We can use both at once. The arm is limited to the right arm only.
>>30498130>Zerg regenerate hella slowly.Like a Terminator, then. Anyway you get the point right ?
>>30498141And now DON'T LET GO.Perforate him with a fury of punches in our right and plasma caster in our off-hand.
>>30498141There is the battle of the titans taking place just above our squadmates and they're stuck down in the shit fighting for their very lives. Jesus.
>>30498163Oh, wait, I just remembered that our arm is fucked.Heal it with meter. We currently are in a position to do so.
>>30498152This would have obliterated a friction axe, anon. Or a Phase Blade, or the Apex Blade, or any weapon we might have laid hands that isn't the Crisis Arm. And that's a definite maybe.>>30498163Left hand's broken.
>>30498141Begin regeneration process on our left hand - pay meter. Get it up and running asap, while he's recovering
>>30498152Let me rephrase. If something is strong enough to break through the shield, we are not strong enough to parry it.And the crisis arm actually hurts things, whereas the friction axe is a fucking Hollow Sun knockoff weapon.
>>30498142The point is, even if he is, he might have some of Kraken abilities. Like the speed and the silencing effect of the silencers fitted the Thief, thematically. Despite the fact that he's Kraken-Light, he can still very easily fuck us up.
>>30498177>Left hand's broken.See >>30498176We have a round of opportunity and our meter isn't the limiting factor right now.However, our booster will run dry in two rounds. We need to end this now.By the way, gotta love our GUARD upgrade. It's awesome.
>>30498177>This would have obliterated a friction axe, anonI think you're confusing parrying and blocking, anon.If you redirect a blow properly, it doesn't have the force to obliterate anythin.That being said>we are not strong enough to parry it.That's the point. We're hella strong when booster and carnifex is going - if something's going to blow through the shield, its going to be blunted somewhat, and we ARE that strong.its just that the sinistral is kinda weak.
>>30498178Yup, let's fix it asap. We might be able to plasma caster his candy ass with it in time.
>>30498203Next upgrade, charging point then.Allows us to use it at level 2.
>>30498199I was terrified it was going to be an activated ability instead of a passive one. If it was activated and ran off meter, we were screwed.
>>30498176>Heal it with meter. We currently are in a position to do so.Only if we can continue fighting while doing so. Otherwise, he will quickly recover with a deadly counterattack.
>>30498204What is stronger:- Plasma Caster- Sinistral cutting field?Actually, can't we use both? The Caster doesn't need a charging element.
>>30498217Well, yeah, that was the idea.Punch his face in while getting our off-hand back up running to punch him even more with plasma.
>>30498204also, we should rip out his Hyades emblem - his in in his hand - before she has a chance to Recall him.>>30498215that was supercharged, anon, at level THREE - not two.We need the cobalt booster frame upgrade next. Booster is our sole limiting factor now, we just need more and more of it.>>30498219>What is stronger:Some of the other guns/weapons we have.
>>30498203Red Joker doesn't have that kind of ability. He's not a weapon expert, at all. His skills are punching, eye-gouging, and shooting. Anything not related to those three is a crapshoot at best, and the question should always be "Why did you get into a position where you have to parry something"?Stay at range, shoot guns.>>30498215This was at level 3, or at least was Cobalt Boosted. Having the charging point wouldn't have helped.
>>30498232>Some of the other guns/weapons we have.I'm talking specifically about a situation where backblast can kill us due to being in melee.Another contigency:If he shakes us off, use the thunderbolt and punch him again for another staggering round.
>>30498203Dude, IT'S A PIECE OF SHIT HOLLOW SUN WEAPON.It will CRUMPLE against something like Kraken's axe. It'd be like trying to parry a sword with larp weapon.
>>30498219>- Sinistral cutting fieldI think this one. Plus the fact that Kraken might be very resistant to ranged plasma weapons.
>>30498232>Booster is our sole limiting factor now, we just need more and more of it.Booster increases our high-end. Charging elements increase our low-end.It's a matter of taste, but I prefer the latter.
>>30498203You are wrong, moving along.If it's not too late, we should capitalize on the ground we've bought, boost backwards and gain some air before firing the nova cannon or fusion annihilator again
>>30498254If we end up leveling in a non dire straits situation, we should go for both.
>>30498245>Dude, IT'S A PIECE OF SHIT HOLLOW SUN WEAPON.>It will CRUMPLE against something like Kraken's axe. It'd be like trying to parry a sword with larp weapon.>>30498245Could be true. Hollow Sun weapons worked pretty goodmin the raid though. Let's ask Tyrian when we have the time
>>30498257Considering that his front armour is gone, the immolator might be a good idea now.Burn his vulnerable insides up.
So, the plan now:- Heal off-hand with meter while punching his face in- Use Sinistral and Plasma Caster on off-hand once healed and alternate punches and cuts and plasma shots until he's a pulpy mess- If he throws us off, use a lightning bolt to get right back in his face and repeat
>>30498254>Booster increases our high-end. Charging elements increase our low-end.I'd disagree with that. Booster helps ALL our end-tiers, and it only appears to not help the low end because we usually spend it to get to the middle/high first, and then go 'staph wasting it' all battle long.Ideally, we get an upgrade for it that gives it a seperate battery, and lets it recharge a flat 10/turn -while- in use.>>30498271>So, the plan now:Is wait for the update.
>>30497895(Gentlemen, be aware that your Sinistral is disabled for the duration of this fight - But will be repaired by the next one.)The side of his head is opened up like a bloody flower: Shreds of dark and fibrous tissue, clots of meat, throbbing and pulsing within. His mutilated head jerks around as dark, steaming gore splashes down the tatters of shimmering steel, smoke wisping from the splintered ruins of his helm...Kraken's maw wrenches opens, and he *howls*. The sound is deafening, inhuman - It tears through the air, his distorted mouth wrenching open in a raw, carnivore's rictus...A continuing roar of bloodlust and vented pain, teeth the size of fingers sprouting from bruised, torn jaws. >>30498178The sound he makes is deadly, inhuman - His free hand clamped to the side of his helmet, holding in the thick, clotted morass...One eye burning through the remnants, as your left arm is overlaid by glowing schematics...>>30498062> "What's wrong? I thought you said this was the part you were looking forward to."It's a mistake, as your Triskelion launchers cycle up. He might be half-blind, but he can still hear you. One hydra tentacle ploughs across the distance, and smashes you in the chest. The impact is bruising: It hurls you back, as the razor-talons at the end - Four of them - close around you in a vicing grip. It slams you into the wall so *hard* you rebound - so hard that your reforming arm shatters in motes of emerald light, your crimson armour crimping as he begins to apply pressure- "Jokkkkkkkerrrrrrrrrrrrr-"It's a low, feral snarl. Kraken's voice is rasping, slurred through his mangled skull - Unlike you, he has to form works through throat and mouth, not through his voxponder. Your right arm is out and to the side, your back scraping against the ebon wall, drawing sparks, as he drags you higher..."-I can *still kill you.*"HP: 86.8%COBALT BOOSTER: 11%ASSAULT SHROUD: 0%METER: 74%YOU HAVE CONTROL
>>30498265>If we end up leveling in a non dire straits situation.In the current "Endgame"situation, that won't happen much
>>30498292God damn it.No more mouthing off to the bastard.Tempest Crash him into the next wall.
>>30498292(My apologies, a quick addenum: Your flame mantle will cease to function at the start of the next update.)
>>30498292HE IS BLINDTHAT MEANS HE CAN'T DODGENAIL HIM WITH THE RAILGUN
>>30498062Anon. I hate you.You just HAD to mouth off.
>>30498292ELECTROCUTE HIM AND FIRE EVERYTHINGWe need to increase our fire. Do this by using EVERYTHING. That will burn the tentacles or at least be very painful for him.
>>30498292Lightning bolt, railgun. Then we keep shooting until we run out of energy.
>>30498267The raid participants were mostly lower level Players for whom the Hollow Sun weapons were an upgrade, or at least excellent complements.For the Red Joker, the Friction Axe is weaker than the Sinistral, no light gun in the armory is superior to the Vulcans, and so on. The Graviton Cannon is the one thing that Joker's built in arsenal doesn't surpass.>>30498292OP, we're on fire. He's not doing that.
>>30498292Feed him the charge from our Scrander. It'll get us too, but he's basically set himself up for this. Begin repairing our arm AGAIN. Get that functional. While he's twitching on the ground, shoot him with the railgun.
>>30498327>>30498316...Fuck.Well, then.Fire our thunderbolt right down his tentacles and use our right arm for...Which weapon would be most appropriate, guys? We need quick draw and one-handed shot.
>>30498292LIGHTNING BOLT, MISSILE RACKS, CHAIN MINE, RAILGUN. FIRE EVERYTHING.*EVERYTHING*
>>30498342Plasma Caster into the ruins of his face.
>>30498353Even the kitchen sink?
>>30498357YES
>>30498353>MISSILE RACKS, CHAIN MINE, RAILGUNDoesn't work while tentacled.Once we are free, though, I agree with the sentiment.>>30498354Meanwhile, use this in addition to the lightning bolt.
>>30498316JOKEROP, clarification please.Is our arm free from the tentacles or is it clasped to the side of our body?And is it possible to manipulate the Fusion Annilator in a manner to cut the tentacles in this state?
>>30498292Let's see, try to cut that tentacle somehow, attempt healing up arm again.Blast him with non boosted Argus guided chainmines.If we can't cut or rip the tentacle with the Crisis Arm, we should undeploy it temporarily and shoot him with the fusion Annihalator, in quick succesion. Try to cut or shoot of the tentacle with the healed up hand and move away.How does this sound?
>>30498292ELECTROCUTE HIM WITH THE SCRANDERREPAIR ARM IMMEDIATELY WHILE CONJURING RAILGUN. SHOOT CHAIN MINE.SHOOT CALAMARI TWICE WITH RAILGUN.
>>30498363>>MISSILE RACKSActually, anon, those are hands free.We COULD fire them all.
>>30498371Yes, but they are on our back.That's dangerous for us.
>>30498363That's why we use the lightning bolt first.Lightning bolt frees us, then we fire absolutely everything at him in a mad dash to annihilate him before Blue Joker ends.
>>30498353Stop, you're not helping. Think before you post. How do we do this when we're in his grasp?We need to free ourselves first before he crushes us.>>30498371Yea but the tentacles are wrapped around us. Its possible a misfire can happen if they're crushed or damaged.
>>30498364(Free from the tentacles, at present. It's out and to your side. Your left arm is still dead, unfortunately.)
>>30498362We need to make this happen.The Red Joker needs a gun that shoots kitchen sinks.Just feed into RJ's ridiculous legend. "He's not just the Grim fucking Reaper, he'll kill you with a kitchen sink gun."
>>30498292I kind of want to call down a Maser Bombardment (35% meter) and make sure he dies hard enough that he can't get a Hyades evac at the last minute.It specifically states that it generally isn't interrupted by material standing between it and the target, but I'm not sure if this counts when we're talking hundreds of feet underground.Even if this isn't reasonable, once we're free we should concentrate on disorienting him so he has a harder time of tracking us. Explosives and the like.
>>30498365I don't think you understand, anon.We're out of time. This is our last round of flaming joker mode. We have to go all out.
>>30498378>before Blue Joker ends.It ends at the beginning of next round.Addendum:If the lightning bolt and plasma caster don't break use free, use our last bit of Cobalt Charge to increase our arm strength and break the tentacles.
>>30498392It cuts out AT the very start of the new round pal.
JQOP if we summon the rail gun, will we be able to fire before the flame mantle runs out?
GUYS, WE JUST NEED TO FREE OURSELVES FROM HIM.SINCE HES BLIND, ONCE WE GET FREE, WE CAN SHOOT HIM TO DEATH.>>30498386Use tyrant blast LVL 2.Cut a hole infront of us, break the encirclement.If we can use the fusion annihilator as a blade to cut the rest, even better.
>>30498368>ELECTROCUTE HIM WITH THE SCRANDERThis. And then het the hell out first. And NEVER get near him again. Maximum distance
>>30498379>Stop, you're not helping. Think before you post. How do we do this when we're in his grasp?>>30498386>(Free from the tentacles, at present. It's out and to your side. Your left arm is still dead, unfortunately.)Is this fusion time? I think its fusion time!GO DOWN GUNS BLAZING>>30498368Veto that, since we have the fusion gun out.we: Have one turn of blue jokerwe: have a rack of missiles loaded but not firedwe: have a fusion annihilator deployed, and in cobalt boosted mode.we: have the scrander crash as an asset.I think that's our play.Tempest crash, fusion it up, and then unleash the missiles as he drops us
>>30498421Good point.Too bad that we can't fly once we are free. But that's the price to pay.Fusion Annihilator will work wonders for that situation, with rapid-fire mode.
>>30498423And I'm saying that if he gets any attack, his first instinct will be to slam us into the next wall.We need to kill the tentacles first or we will be dead.
>>30498292Alright. Tempest Lightning to free us.Six missiles.Chain mine.Two railgun shots.That's everything we have. Takes us down to 6% meter.
(Gentlemen, I'll be working on the next segment, now. I'll lock in the current suggestions.)
>>30498432Tyrant level two on the tentacles infront of us can free us almost immediately or destroy at least one tentacle.
>>30498423Our charge runs out THIS ROUND. We have no more SUPER JOKERWe can't shoot missiles because we're being constricted.We do not have shit in our hand.We have the jetpack as an asset and should fucking use it.
>All these votes for 'FIRE EVERYTHING'I'm trying to decide which Revengeance theme fits this scene best.
>>30498292>One hydra tentacle ploughs across the distance, and smashes you in the chest. The impact is bruising: It hurls you back, as the razor-talons at the end - Four of them - close around you in a vicing grip. It slams you into the wall so *hard* you rebound - so hard that your reforming arm shatters in motes of emerald light, your crimson armour crimping as he begins to apply pressure-Hm. We still have our legs, actually, and the red joker is instinctively athletic.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPlSdns_n1E&t=0m35sDo something like Link Related - use our legs to wrap the tentacle up, a foot pressure to take the slack out of it, and then crisis arm it off as we fall
>>30498441>We do not have shit in our hand.Yeah, we do. You're wrong on that one>JOKEROP, clarification please.>Is our arm free from the tentacles or is it clasped to the side of our body?>And is it possible to manipulate the Fusion Annilator in a manner to cut the tentacles in this state?> Joker Quest OP>(Free from the tentacles, at present. It's out and to your side. Your left arm is still dead, unfortunately.)
>>30498465>I'm trying to decide which Revengeance theme fits this scene best.dat spanish guitar>>30498436please do something with our legs - since its o
>>30498473If only we had a Joker Kick, like that second episode of Bokurano.
>>30498497>If only we had a Joker Kick, like that second episode of Bokurano.You know, I bet that's what that Primary Melee Weapon unlock we keep ignoring is.There's no WAY jqop didn't work a rider kick into this game somehow
>>30498436"Rook, you asshole, get up and *HELP*"
>>30498535I cannot believe there are so many people in this thread who can't take a hint.He's out for the duration.
>>30498545Your mantle of flame gutters out - But a moment later, new fire blooms into existence. Kraken's talons ignite with a violet flame that sears into you, as the spikes crunch home; Setting your armour aflame, incinerating it's way through the rents in your cuirass to boil you alive from within-Kraken has a hand extended. A *realness* gathers, around the symbol emblazoned on his palm - A rose arising from thorny vines. It seethes, with emerald radiance, shaping itself into a blast meant to wipe you from the face of the earth...He means for this to be the final moment. Warning lights flicker on your HUD, as his talons gouge deeper - Your Cobalt Booster's light guttering out, cracks skittering across the glassy surface, as you raise your right hand...Electricity gathers. Myomer fibre tears as lightning crackles, with the sullen rotation that threatens a storm; Azure and emerald, flaring in equal and opposite reaction- The lightning wins. When your Tempest Scrander goes dead, the seething arc of electricity leaps across the distance - Red, like the most malignant hatred, shot through wtih snakes of yellow and coral-pink. It hits Kraken head-on, and aftershock lightning flares out in a crown of thorns - A jerking, kinking coil of energy that links you together, in a point of impact brighter than a welder's torch. It slashes into him, locks his muscles, makes him convulse - His white exoskeleton shatters, cored through with a splitting sound like an axe through wood; Steaming gore fountains out, voiding in a cloud like smoke...As the arc of electric shears down through his shoulder, and through his great axe.(Continued)
>>30498545But... you know oddly. it'll be find to watch him suddenly swing around looking for another attacker.
>>30498551>Cobalt booster cut out at the start of the roundWe didn't know that, OP.
>>30498585He flat out started it before
>>30498585Yes we did.OP mentioned it before and other anon's mentioned it multiple times afterwards.
>>30498585Yes we did, OP said so. >>30498316>Your flame mantle will cease to function at the start of the next update>startThe guy who talked about people racing to post making mistakes? Spot on.
>>30498589>>30498591>>30498606My apologies.I'm tired.
>>30498551It takes a *lot*, to destroy a Relic. You don't know what Kraken's axe is made of, only that it has the razor edge of obsidian, and the consistency of black steel. Perhaps it's some chance interaction between unknowable powers, or perhaps the clash with the Sinistral left some great, invisible flaw within the haft- Whatever the case, Kraken's axe - Calamity, though you will never know the name - makes a hell of a bang when it explodes. The detonation is the last capstone in a battle filled with explosions; It births a brilliant flash of red, like a star going supernova - Splinters of black steel expand in a seething ring of slicing destruction. A crack of thunder. A flash of light - A scream of electric agony. Kraken reels back, his tentacle wrenching you in a vicious, scraping arc before it unclenches, explosively; A shard of the great blade drives itself into the wall, writhing as it dissipates - It squirms, shudders, as muscular and deadly as a snake. The air shifts under the fell burden of the sounds, a furious heat-haze shimmering with crimson light...Jagged fragments glitter against Kraken's exoskeleton - Driven in place, like a fistful of razored glass. There are shards in you, too; Your left arm hanging by a thread, a great spike impaling the cracked orb of your Cobalt Booster-(Continued)
>>30498616Maybe you should stop voting, then?Just a suggestion.
>>30498622Aww man I wanted that axe, I hope we get something sweet if we win.
>>30498632We could just nap part of it and use it as an component or something.
>>30498622Grab the piece in us. We're going to need an offering for the old man.And something to cut out Kraken's heart with.
>>30498632Grab the pieces and feed it to the Joker Cave. We can rebuild it. Bigger. Better. More shootyI'm getting to the point I don't even want to post anymore. Fucking captcha.
>>30498622Now everything depends on our current condition.Best case, heal left arm with meter and use Fusion Annihilator with right.
>>30498622That armor upgrade is paying off in dividends I see.
>>30498669Yeah and our defensive ability is just the right thing against Kraken.
>>30498622Feels like I'm watching two gods going at it.Christ, Haze must be pissing himself.
>>30498688>haze somehow reattaches his hand>nukes us both>levels up 15 times
>>30498669>>30498682I didn't agree with it at first, but man, it is.
>>30498706You're forgetting that Haze doesn't get experience from his kills with the superweapon.
>>30498622You can't get up. It feels like every iota of your body is on fire, and you lack the strength to scream. Kraken's hand - His fingers ended in jointed talons - *scree* against the ebony floor, as he makes it to one knee, crumples again..."Hhhhhhhhhccchhhhhh-" The Fusion Annihilator shimmers into existence, around your right hand. The barrel is pressed to the ground, as you use it to lever yourself upright - You hear the chiming sound of obsidian shards falling to the ground, as new flesh pushes out of the great wounds in Kraken's form...-One last rally. It's a race in slow motion. Static buzzes across your optical sensors, as you haul yourself up: The chambers of your Fusion Annihilator cycling...You hear a hitching rasp, a choking, coughing sound - A gurgling, a choking, like a man dying of some foul toxin.Kraken's *laughing*. Ichor streams from the side of his mangled face. "Keep...*going*..." he retches out - "...Come *on* - Jokkkkerrrrrr..." -And abruptly, he stiffens. His arm falls to his side, as the light in his eyes dim - Kraken seems to...curl in upon himself, his tentacles falling to the ground with a metallic *clang*. Like...Like a puppets with strings cut.He falls forward, but he never hits the ground. The White Player's form compresses, distorts, becoming light, becoming shadow, and then...-He's gone.(Continued)
>>30498706I just hope Palladium doesn't kill Kraken and steals out kill.
>>30498669I can't wait to get the Regenerative Plating (or is it adaptive) plating in the hollow sun.Best part of the anchor?Its been collecting xp for the battle this entire time.
Every single thread someone acts stupid and when called out, complains about being tired. Maybe you should go to sleep?I'm working the night shift. What's your excuse?
>>30498717>-He's gone.What.Wata was right?FFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
>>30498717GOD FUCKING DAMMIT OP IF AFTER THIS CLUSTERFUCK OF A THREAD YOU CHEAT US OUT OF A KILL YOU ARE A CUNTThat strings cut bullshit had better mean he's dead, not some other cop out.
>>30498717MOTHER FUCKER GOD DAMN HE RAN SHIT.
>>30498717WATASHIIIIIIEXPLAIN THIS BULLSHIT, YOU CRYPTIC FUCKER
>>30498717>>30498734>>30498739>>30498742At least Kraken won't have such an overpowering weapon like the axe next time.
>>30498717>The barrel is pressed to the ground, as you use it to lever yourself uprightThis is not the first time we did this.
>>30498734Right about not killing him, wrong on the why. Looks like he was pulled back when he was close to death, but that was really Kraken.Poor show OP. I'm actually disappointed.
>>30498717...Seriously?
>>30498759Whatever could you be talking about Anon?
>>30498717>You can't get up. It feels like every iota of your body is on fire, and you lack the strength to scream. Kraken's hand - His fingers ended in jointed talons - *scree* against the ebony floor, as he makes it to one knee, crumples again...Well.Dump everything to heal.We can't give up now. We need to take care of rook. we need to claim the manifold towerGet up, joker.Get Up!
>>30498717>He falls forward, but he never hits the ground. The White Player's form compresses, distorts, becoming light, becoming shadow, and then...>-He's gone.Seriously?Seriously.SERIOUSLY?!
>>30498756Grab a the biggest piece of what's left of it.After that, see if any of the other guys inside are alive. If not, and their bodies are there consume them. Can't have them go to waste even if it is a borderline dickmove.
>>30498783Yeah, heal up and go to the Manifold Tower.
>>30498763>Right about not killing him, wrong on the why. Looks like he was pulled back when he was close to death, but that was really Kraken.I KEEP TELLING YOU GUYS the smilers recall their dead when they're close to death, only to resurrect/improve them later, but all those naysayers sayin it can't be possibleNext Time: SHoot The Fucking Emblems Offa Him.Component damage is a thing. its happened to us, we can do it to other people, and his emblem is on his -hand-. Thats possibly the easiest to remove of all.
>>30498763I was actually looking forward to finally killing one of these fuckers for good.
This is such unbelievable bullshit.I'll be back when you learn to read your audience OP. This encounter desperately needed catharsis.
The silence that descends is deafening. His absence is a palpable thing, over the low crackle of the flames; Vapour steaming from the rents in your armour, your limbs locking up at last with a groan of servoes. An eternity passes. Another. Outside, the snap and crackle of gunfire, the hunting calls of Correctors, have faded to the occasional snatch of sound...Like the echo of a long-ago war. Dimly, you wonder who's winning. Then - A thin, reedy voice:"Joker-"It's hesitant, low. Bombard Valkyrie's charred corpse continues to smolder - Ivory Zoauve's burning husk dwindling further. Everything - Everyone else - in the chamber is finally and definitively dead. You reach out, taking hold of the pitch-black blade that jags through you. You pull - And, with a sickening slowness, it gives way. It doesn't hurt, but it's deeply uncomfortable - When it hits the ground, it's already dissipating, as you stagger; Slowly, oh-so-slowly, to your feet. "Joker-"Haze. Close by, the Manifold Tower hums. As if it has all the time in the world..."...Shuya's not waking up." There's an edge of hysteria, to his tone. "-He won't...He won't *wake up*-"[ ] "-Let me see him."[ ] "I need...The Manifold Tower. Get me there."[ ] "He's still alive?"[ ] "Haze...Not *now*."[ ] Free.YOU HAVE CONTROL
12/10Kraken escaping sure trolled me good.
>>30498804"His avatar hasn't vanished away so he isn't dead. Now help go to that damned tower.
>>30496547>>30496587>Really?>Show me another Smiler that's come back.>Go on. I'll wait. Take your time going through the archive. Preferably until the end of this thread.I TOLD YOU GUYSI TOLD YOUI TOLD YOU SO HARD>>30498804>"...Shuya's not waking up." There's an edge of hysteria, to his tone. "-He won't...He won't *wake up*-""I need the manifold tower. Get me there. Bring rook too. He had a corrector buried inside him its...probably tied with whatever they were doing here."
>Everything - Everyone else - in the chamber is finally and definitively dead.Yeah, except the primary target that we wasted an entire thread arguing about, you cunt.Who the fuck gives a shit about Haze's problems.Blow up the tower and walk out of here.What a goddamn waste.
>>30498804>[ ] "-Let me see him.""He should still be alive, even if weakened. That procedure wasn't exactly clean."
>>30498804>[ ] "He's still alive? Then let him be for a while longer. I've got a bad feeling about the tower.">[ ] "I need...The Manifold Tower. Get me there."
>>30498804Scream in rage.
>>30498804Fuck you, Kraken. Fuck you.Fuck you too, Haze. Get to the tower already.
>>30498804Pimp slap his ass if he doesn't cut stop being hysterical.
>>30498817>Blow up the towerUSE the tower.
>>30498804Call down the tachyon disentegrator on our own position. Maybe if we cease to exist than this abortion of a thread won't have happened.We didn't even kill him? Fuck you, OP, fuck you.
You know what's funny?Joker has an instant death condition. And he's the MC.The Smilers don't.Ask Tyrian if he can upgrade the Tri-Star emblem with a recall feature.
>>30498817>Blow up the tower and walk out of here.>What a goddamn waste.Vetoing blowing it upwe have a void anchor planted, remember? We're NOT wasting it again.ID lock the place to the joker armor, slave it to the hollow sun, call it a day.Release captives, figure out what they were doing, etc
>>30498804Put them both out of their misery, claim the exp, and let's never revisit this plotline again.Tell Argent Prominence he was absolutely right about not coming down here.Holy fuck, this is so frustrating.
>All that rageHoly shit. Stop whining.You spent half the thread not even making suggestions. Be glad that we at least survived.
>>30498804Laugh. This has all been a fucking joke. Kraken never had his life on the line at all. Everyone is dead. Red Joker is torn to bits. Flew through hell, and then Kraken had the motherfucking gall to throw up an emergency beamout.So yeah. Laugh like a madman, because this whole operation has been a joke, and this is the punchline.Drag ourselves over to the Manifold Tower while we're at it.
>>30498849>You spent half the thread not even making suggestions. Be glad that we at least survived.I was seriously expecting this to turn into Kraken Is The Red Joker quest btw
>>30498846Theres a fucking war still going on outside, this is still contested territory.
>>30498756Because the axe was the reason he was so powerful. He'll have something else next time.>>30498785No.>>30498795It's called a Tether, we've seen them before. Had one ourselves, not that it helped.>>30498814And I told you, Bardiel is actually dead. Div-E Sepid is actually dead. They just have Bardiel's essence on file, so they can make copies of him.>>30498804Fuck it, help Shuya. The Players outside aren't any less dead.You guys know what the best part is?Using the Disintegrator would have killed him.
>>30498804Hit the All Clear button to the rest of the squads if we ever made one.Check to see if we got all of the shit out of Rook. If not say;"There might be a vitruvian device around here that'll fix 'em up. Plus if I can gain access to this tower, I can level up my SysAdmin privilege and maybe hack out whatevers still in there."
Whatever we do: Use all energy to fully heal us during this downtime.
>>30498804>[X] "-Let me see him.">[X] "I need...The Manifold Tower. Get me there.">>30498849This guy is totally right. I can't say i'm that i really like Kraken escaping, but goddamn, am i glad we are still alive.Some of you people really are a bunch of retards, clamoring to use the Leukocyte again and again.
>>30498854>Laugh. This has all been a fucking joke. Kraken never had his life on the line at all. Everyone is dead. Red Joker is torn to bits. Flew through hell, and then Kraken had the motherfucking gall to throw up an emergency beamout.Actually.Actually.Aaaaaactulaaaally.Cybele can teleport players places when they have enough energy?The hollow sun can also teleport-deploy things.Lets go after him while he's weak. We just need to find out *where* he went.Probably to that smiler club we stole the laptop from.Also, we have used a Tether to escape death before. The NPC's using shit we have is pretty fair.
OP, this isn't a fucking shonen manga where you can just keep pulling "he gets away."Your players are obviously seriously fatigued from this thread and you're not doing yourself any favours
>>30498804>[X] "I need...The Manifold Tower. Get me there."Hey, Haze.Want to hear a joke?Everyone is dead. Everyone except Kraken.Hilarious, ain't it? Really makes you want to just lie down and laugh 'till you can't hear anything else.
>>30498865>Using the Disintegrator would have killed him.we never unlocked it though
>>30498877Good point.After we activated the tower, ask Cybele if she can locate Kraken.Then crash his party....Eh, wait. He has Phantom Edge on his side.
>>30498889We had a choice in the first action to use it.I don't regret not using it, but I'm still pretty mad right now.
>>30498865>Using the Disintegrator would have killed him.No FUCKING kidding.The next time half the thread is insisting on a fucking alpha strike to take out the single hardiest fucker we've met, how about we do it.
>>30498804"Cybele, if you're watching.... try to see where kraken went. I need to take care of some stuff here, now. But I want to finish him off while he's weak, if we can get to him. Do you have enough power to send me after him?"
>>30498865>Using the Disintegrator would have killed him.Same for CONSUME, the black hole gun, etc.Basically, anything that removes our chance at making a hat out of him.
>>30498903Hands and knees.Hands-...then knees. You rise, shakily. Green energy swirls around you, in glowing traceries. Before you, the alien technology of the Manifold Tower glows, as you take the first stumbling step forward...Then another. >>30498813"But-">>30498828You look back at Haze. Something in your gaze makes him shut up. There are steps, beneath you. Ebony tiles, pushing through the ground, as oozing blackness trickles away underfoot. Another step...There's a hum. Raised pylons of silver metal rise through from the podium, arching with seething sparks. Your gauntlets close on them, complete the circuit...Energy flares. The rig shudders. Violet light is in ascendency. You are enervated, as the power surges through you: It lights you up from within, as scrolling lines of code flicker across your HUD, faster and faster and *faster*- Your Helix Gauntlet irises open, the Nihl Sphere sparking with violet energy. A deep groan comes from somewhere distantly, yet impossibly close...All the lights go out at once. All of them. Everything. All except the glow of the Nihl Sphere as it gathers charge; As the snaking veins and traceries seethe with rising power...Grey shading to clear quartz. To royal purple. To blazing violet.(Continued)
>>30498889Actually....>>30496651>METER: 77%
>>30498903>The next time half the thread is insisting on a fucking alpha strike to take out the single hardiest fucker we've met, how about we do it.>TIER FOUR (AVAILABLE AT 100% METER) >QUANTUM SINGULARITY CANNON:
>>30498903>The next time half the thread is insisting on a fucking alpha strike to take out the single hardiest fucker we've met, how about we do it.It was so painful to read as a latecomer.>"Guys, we need to alphastrike!">"I DON'T CARE I PREFER TO WHINE!">"GUYS WE NEED TO ALPHA STRIKE!">"I DON'T WANT TO MAKE ANY SUGGESTIONS!">"GUYS I WANT ALPHA STRIKE! NO I WON'T TELL YOU *HOW* WE SHOULD ALPHA STRIKE!"Not one of those fucking guys actually made any suggestion at all. Everyone just whined.
>>30498916I fully fucking agree.
>>30498916Different weapon. The Tachyon Distintegrator has much the same effect, at a cost of 75 meter.
>>30498916I genuinely hope you are making a joke, anon.
>>30498915>>METER: 77%That looks an awful not like 100% watashi
>>30498929Tachyon Disintegrator.No use crying over it now, though.
>>30498915We would be dead if we didn't use our meter to fight him.I know how much you love fellate the Disintegration but we would actually have to fight of Kraken WITH 2% METER WHILE IT CHARGES.
>>30498922Are you infuckingcapable of reading all the suggestions for Tachyon Disintegrator, including the ones with suggestions to offset the charge time and zeroing of meter?Or are you the one who posted before about whining and not making suggestions?Either way, you're a faggot.
>>30498924It's also an AoE weapon that erases more than just the target. And we were in a close-combat engagement with allies nearby.The Disintegrator would have been very problematic. However, we had multiple rounds to build up meter and we didn't use that chance.
Guys, stop whining.Let's proceed with the story. I want to see what happens.Seems like the NIHL Sphere will be charged.
>>30498912>To blazing violet.Jesus fuck!That is some reward. i get the feeling we're going to need it
>>30498922>no suggestions>>30496799>>30496772>>30496924>>30496876>>30496854>>30496771>>30496723>>30496684>>30494950>>30494279
>>30498922>. Everyone just whined.Same as you are doing now. And you didn't read the thread. >Chain Mine>Scrnder Lightning >Missilesetc. There was a fuckload of suggestions, people just disagreed on the weapons
>>30498971The suggestions came after a few of OP's posts.The beginning of the thread was all whining.
Due to JOP's posting style, we almost never get the chance to build up enough meter unless we have some nooks to burn through first. There's ALWAYS just one more post with a meter-dependant weapon to work in, isn't there?Hell, the one time we fired the black hole gun was due to author fiat.
>>30498922>no suggestions>>30497085>>30496832>>30496962>>30496905>>30496761>>30496756>>30496743Shut the fuck up.
>>30498977i stand corrected. Came in late, went straight to the last 10% to not miss what's going on now.
From outside, you hear shouts. Yells. Surprise, relief; You are the eye of the storm, as power ripples up and across the surface of the Manifold Tower. A new glow awakens at the corners of your vision, as you glimpse the embattled Players outside - A tiny, defiant ring, weapons firing outwards - shimmer out of existence, as the wave of invisible power washes over them. It slams out in all directions, as the walls of the innermost chamber shatter outwards. "What-" Haze has Rook's form cradled against him, in his remaining arm - Even as the onyx surface begins to fray, to crack; He's fading, too, dissolving in the backwash of power, the great cataclysmic sound of the Smiler base succumbing to entropy coming across in *KOOM-KOOM-KOOM*s of breathless destruction...(The NIHL SPHERE is now at FULL CHARGE.)You are seeing colours you could never, ever imagine. You burn in the eye of a new sun, as the power fills you. You can't let go of the metal pedestals, as chains of data coil around you - The one point of solidity in an ever-shifting world, as the base falls to pieces on all sides.YOU HAVE UNLOCKED: EXEC_POWER TRANSFER> From this point onwards, you can freely use your COBALT BOOSTER as your METER, and vice-versa. (i.e. You can fire Meter weapons with your COBALT BOOSTER - *And* enhance them further with your Booster - as long as you have unlocked the appropriate tier of weaponry.)And then the light gives way to the darkness of absolute oblivion, and you leave the Red World behind.(Continued)
>>30498983*mooks to burn throughFucking phone
>>30498998Cool.Still doesn't save the thread.
>>30498998>dissolvingLeaving the red world, or dying ?
>>30498998>And then the light gives way to the darkness of absolute oblivion, and you leave the Red World behind.That's.... a little disappointing. I wanted to take the place.Guess we take the phone and call rook though. make sure he made it out alright.
>>30498998>EXEC_POWER TRANSFERSo is this a codeburst or a passive ability?Holy fuck, the frame upgrade will be even better now. And this makes the Meter Boost far more useful, because booster can't unlock weapons.
>>30499016Important question. If there were any survivors in the cradles, I hope they logged them out
>>30498998>And then the light gives way to the darkness of absolute oblivion, and you leave the Red World behind.I hate you so fucking much.
>>30498998Time to get to the Joker Cave and buy a bunch of upgrades like the emulator chip.
>>30499011I know, right?
>>30498983>Hell, the one time we fired the black hole gun was due to author fiat.At one point we fired sixteen missiles. Arguably we could have spent it better
>>30499011You, and about half of the morons on /tg/ that participate in quests need to learn to take things a lot less personally, fucking hell. Or at least be patient, we're going to get another fucking chance to kill Kraken, and it'll be all the more satisfying after his escape here.
TIME TO SEE HOW BADLY SPAGHETTI-SAN DID AT FINDING MIO.OR HOW DEEP IN ENEMY TERRITORY SHE IS. BECAUSE FUCK JOKER OP.
>>30499062Aye.You know, i have no idea how much percentage the hollow sun has now, but we should look into developing more hellions before the co-school musical.
>>30499086And R&D.The module to redirect the command class hellions will be important.
>>30499016(Leaving.)>>30499025(It's an inherent ability.)A great fall, into the endless black. The bitter tang of dead suns- Of copper. Of blood.Footsteps, one after another. Each one a century after the last. A slow walk, into a dark place.A sound, like a great iron door slamming in the depths of hell...-You awaken. The air smells of metal and electricity, the concrete of the ground cold against your cheek. There's a low hum in your ears, the beginnings of a migraine pulsing at your temples. Where are you?It's dark. Cold, too - The air is wet, condensation beading against your skin. You're...underground, in a dim place. A sound filters from far away; A frantic hammering, faster and faster, the drumroll of a pounding heart. You lie face-first on the concrete floor of a granite corridor, steel shutters forced apart...A sign, above you: MAINTENANCE. Behind you, a flight of stairs. Before you, the long corridor - Darkened alcoves, on either side. A sliver of light, shining across the floor, through a half-ajar door.The hammering continues, from somewhere ahead. [ ] Free.YOU HAVE CONTROL
>>30498998>nihl's sphere at full charge>cybele's face whenWe tell no one you understand? FUCKING NO ONE
>>30499107Okay, what the fuck is going on now?
>>30499092Yes!Really, ever since we got attacked during that rehersal, i've felt like the crowd that will be there will be targeted and massacred unless we had an army of ourselfs, doubly so after that smiler cunt made sure they know our identity.
>>30499107Look at what's on the other side of that door.By the way, we've got an Alura parasite stored in our NIHL sphere.I wonder if the Hollow Sun can process that essence signature...
This entire thread was a mistake. I know op you wanted to make our decisions have consequences, but you chose a terrible time to make it happen. Let's start with the start: You moved too fast. The discussion was just getting started when you ran with the choices offered, before people could veto, argue or suggest alternatives. Then you changed partway through in response to criticism. That was worse. The inconsistency threw players off, and you gave them Kraken vanishing at the end was the worst part. People are upset over that, and rightfully so. It's bad storytelling. Is the villain allowed get away? Sure, in a setting that doesn't have the loser dying in every other situation. You cheated op. You established that losing fights means death in all but the most extraordinary circumstances. This guy got a free pass twice (and that's exactly what this is). And the last time we had people escape this way, we still got a shot at them.If you're going to let the dice fall where they may like you implied last thread, fine, but be consistent for fuck's sake.I doubt I'll be following the quest anymore. It's not just this thread, but a bunch of little mistakes in the last few that really got to me, capped by this thread from start to finish. Thanks for the last year.
>>30499107Follow the sound, I guess.
>>30499107Laugh
>>30499107Realize that you're at page 7 and dropping.
>>30499107We pat ourselves down, make sure we weren't mugged during autopilot. Check to see if we have a signal on our phone and give Rook a ring. If not, get the fuck out of there and try to call him then. We need a status report.Check to see if the sphere is doing anything extremely finnicky since we finally fucking charged it.
>>30499120We're almost definitely in the Real-analogue of the Smiler complex.>>30499107>A sliver of light, shining across the floor, through a half-ajar door.Check this out, then attend to the frantic hammering.Which I can't help but feel like might be someone freaking out about coming to locked in a Cradle.
>>30499131When the fuck did people get so whiny about quests?When QTG became a regular thing?
>>30499107Follow the sound.Check the Nihl sphere. Is there anything different about it now?This was one of those things that might actually lead to a clue about where hecate was.
>>30499092At this point, I have to wonder: for what?I had this vague idea that it was going to be useful for the endgame or the final battle or something.But now its becoming clear that we probably won't know when that is because of all of these false start fights and we'll end up blowing our army early.We'll have some bigass showdown with Pazuzu and the smilers, call out the dudes and then it'll be "lawl, new enemy appears" and there goes our army.It's just... what's the fucking point?
>>30499142That is exactly it.People need to stop giving that shitheap any attention, but that's never going to happen because anons like to argue and wank too much.See this fucking thread.
>>30499142People are allowed to air complaints without getting called whiny, dude has a point.
>>30499147Oh go fuck yourself you insufferable cunt.We wouldn't even be able to release the Hellions if there was no fucking point to it. I'm sure it'll be horribly fucking obvious whenever the fuck we need to.
>>30499107Stab ourselves with the Misericorde, delete the save file on this game and sell the it on ebay and never come back to it.Christ I wish quests were like videogames.
>>30499145What if we concentrate hard on Hecate? It's full charge. It might work.
>>30499128>>30499132Forward. Your footfalls are soft, and make no sound. >>30499140You reach for your phone - NO SIGNAL. Deep underground, then. Or a jammer? You can taste the ozone in the air - The ozone and the electricity, on the tip of your tongue. >>30499145Your fingers curl around the Nihl Sphere, lift it from your pocket. The light - The violet illumination - is brilliant, enough to make your eyes water, enough to draw a rasping breath from your throat. There's just enough light to see the dark by; It throbs against your fingers, as you pad forward step by slow step...-And turn the corner. Beyond...The room is full of Cradles. (Continued)
>>30498998>(The NIHL SPHERE is now at FULL CHARGE.)Great. Is it still broken?
>>30499177Like it was obvious this was going to be our real fight with Kraken, even in HIS OWN WORDS?
>>30499166Probably, I'm just mad as fuck and sick of seeing people complain when things go wrong, both in quests and in QTG.
>>30499187>The room is full of Cradles.Well, this is intriguing.
>>30499187Pick up something solid, open the cradles and start bashing whoever's inside to death.
>>30499194Well yeah. The only one who could even fix it would be Argent or Pazuzu.
>>30499131The only thing I'm annoyed about is Kraken.This fight has been hyped up so hard, for so long. The entire playerbase has been looking forward to going one on one with Kraken and squaring this debt. One fight ended in a tie, and we were eager to taste it again. And you let us savour the buildup, like aging a fine wine. Except then you proceeded to uncork the bottle and drop the wine all over the floor, and you forced us to watch.Kraken really should have died, or Joker should have died. One of the titans in this battle should have been killed. It would have been a great, cathartic ending to what has been a very tiring arc. Instead, what we get is suffering and bitterness. Maybe that's your intention? It isn't even good suffering and bitterness. I can appreciate good suffering, but this wasn't it. This was kicking the players while they were down.I'm still going to continue reading, because I really like the way you write and the setting you've created, but I need to say this, OP. I need to explain exactly why I feel so mentally exhausted.
>>30499215Stop being such a humongous bitch.I get you're upset. Either: Shut up and stay, Leave, or contribute.
>>30499187One has to wonder how the fuck our real body even got there.Not that I'm complaining.
>>30499218>Well yeah. The only one who could even fix it would be Argent or Pazuzu.The hollow sun probably could do it, actually
>>30499225This is exactly what I was talking about with fatigue. It's been a hell of an argument with no pay-off.
>>30499247I'd like to imagine we just unconciously walked through there base, people's bodies working on autopilot on whatever. Occasionally people'd drop dead as Joker advances through the building.
>>30499241I am contributing. I think this is a perfectly acceptable means of destroying the Smilers equipment since we're apparently not getting anywhere in the Red World with that either through plot armour or just bad planning.Though, you're right. Once we've killed whatever is inside them, we should probably destroy the cradles too.
>>30499187What's the banging sound?
>>30499187>inb4 Mio is in one of the Cradkes
>>30499194(My apologies: I don't recall stating that it was broken. At present, it's at full charge.)It's a large room, a power room, and the Cradles fill it from wall-to-wall. The fluid in each one is black, opaque behind smoke glass; There is the vaguest suggestion of shapes within, like the waters of a darkened aquarium. The hammering is very close, now. -One of the Cradles is open and empty. Black oil drools from it, spurting from the drain-taps, cascading over the floor; At the side, electrodes hang loose, the banks of machines giving a long, droning note - The monitor displaying a flatline, a weaving trail leading across the chamber, in spatters of black ooze, reaching to the door at the far end. When the next *thump* arrives, it's only a little further down - One of the Cradles rocks, from side-to-side. The readouts are spiking, black oil frothing and oozing, trickling from the cavities as the smoked-glass surface buckles - You hear a CRUMP as a great blow is delivered from the other end; Cracks spiderweb against the glassy surface. [ ] Free.YOU HAVE CONTROL
>>30499225You know what really gets me? Everything's going to go back to the way it was. The Smilers will be evil and mysterious and undiscoverable, Red Joker will have no forward momentum and no clue what to do next. This arc could have been a major shift, but in the end it's all going back to the way it was before.My god, it's like this is Princess Guard Quest. Actually it's worse, because I had hopes from this quest.
>>30499285The black oil is flammable, we found that out last thread.Set the place on fire, destroy it, get out.
>>30499285Look inside, but be prepared to jump away if necessary.
>>30499285Oh fuck.Get the hell out of there, hide and observe.
>>30499285Hide behind a cradle or something, make sure whatever gets out of that doesn't see us, but make sure we can see it.Position us in a place where we can get the hell out of dodge if it really is needed.
>>30499285>>30499296This, we know the shit's flammable and this is Smiler territory.Burn, fuckers.
>>30499285>(My apologies: I don't recall stating that it was broken. At present, it's at full charge.)>After your reconciliation with CYBELE, the Nihl Sphere's charge has been entirely exhausted, reduced to the dull grey of cracked quartz.When we got it from Hecate, it was described as being cracked as well.
>>30499285>[ ] Free.Get those people out of there!Those people are clearly trying to get OUTAlso announce our presence"Hey! Hey! I"m here to help get you out! Two thumps if you can hear me!"
Guys, have you ever considered the possibility that one of those Cradles might be containing Hecate or something?Or that the empty one contained Kraken?
>>30499295Stop samefagging already, Jesus. You whine like a little girl, when you don't get your way.
>>30499317I don't really disagree with this, however, i think we should wait before doing that. Hide first, and observe.
>>30499325More with the accusations of samefagging.Do shut up.
>>30499285Follow whatever it was that got out, I guess.
>>30499285Jackpot. Find a spot to observe.We may have finally found hostages to justify this entire clusterfuck of a mess.
>>30499295Look, neither PGQ or JQ are your thing. If you seriously expected PGQ to change after 100~ threads, or Joker Quest after 82, it's quite obvious neither of them are for you. Please just drop the quest already.
>>30499324>Or that the empty one contained Kraken?That is PRECISELY why I'm in favour of burning the place down.
>>30499350It can go either way.First collect information.
>>30499324WAIT.Smilers aren't actually legitimate players. They enter the Red through the Cradles.
>>30499358Fine, hide and see. Pending that, help people or burn the place down.I am pretty sure these things are how Smilers store Essence
>>30499285Ready carnifex.Just in case.
>>30499381Also a good idea.
>>30499285>The monitor displaying a flatline, a weaving trail leading across the chamber, in spatters of black ooze, reaching to the door at the far end.Chase down whomever escaped. If something got out of here, either they're inhuman, or they JUST went in and are fucking scared shitless and need a hand. Either way, we're the best one to deal with it - figure out who got out! call after em.Whomever's geting out now will see us anyway.
I just realized something about transfer:It grants us extra rounds of super mode. We can pop the Carnifex, murder everyone around us until we gain 40% meter, let our Booster charge for two rounds while we use meter instead and then go back to using Booster.
>>30499394Get dat survivor! Go Go Go>>30499395What about multiple uses of verbatim?
>>30499394Good point.Look how far the trail leads. If it's short enough, find that person.Otherwise look at the one who's trying to escape first.
>>30499381Good thinking anon.
>>30499314(My apologies: That was a reference to the colour, not to the physical state of the Nihl Sphere - By 'cracked quartz', I meant that it was an extremely dull grey.)>>30499297>>30499299>>30499306There's something increasingly desperate in the pounding - A terrifying rhythm that grows louder, louder by the moment, more frantic...Enough that you feel the hairs raise on the back of your neck, as you duck behind a Cradle - The next blow shatters the glass, black oil gurgling as it oozes out...-And then comes the shriek--A bloodcurdling, awful shriek, from the very depths of hell itself- A hand punches through the glass. It has claws. It has *metal* claws, sprouting impossibly from skeletal fingers - Tatters of steelPlayer armourembedded in the braiding flesh - The flesh that is sloughing right off the bone, a chunk sliding to *splat* underfoot; The Carnifex is cold and slippery in your hand, as more dents craze the glass, the frantic rhythm reaching a crescendo...And then it stops. The hand goes limp, as vapour coils outwards from the shattered edges...It sinks black, into the slime, the froth that bubbles to the surface churning with the consistency of rendered fat on the black oil-black tears You feel your gorge rise, and you have to turn away. (Continued)
>>30499429>You feel your gorge rise, and you have to turn away.Take a photo on our phone.Dis Shit is the answers argent may, just maybe, be looking for.
>>30499429Are they... are they trying to bring players into the real world?
>>30499429Jepp, hunt down the one who escaped.It's pretty clear that the rest can't survive in the real, but this one might.
>>30499453Amaglams actually. Distribute the Cradles around the city and whenever they're ready they have weapons of war ready to kill for them.
>>30499296>>30499311>>30499350Fire - You need fire. Your pockets have...-A lighter, marked with the namesake of the Cross Counter. >>30499447Your handphone - The flash is fever-bright, in such a dark space; It's enough to make your eyes water, as you snap the photographs. Three of the Cradle - Wide-angled shots of the place around around...And then you touch the lighter flame to the black oil pooling at the base of the nearest Cradle.Flames, sour, blue-hot, roar up. It's fierce, swirling - A sudden inferno, as each Cradle becomes a tower of fire. The heat plucks at you, scorches the air from your lungs, as you stagger outwards...You stop. -There's a dead body on the ground. It's a boy you've never seen; His leather jacket scuffed and ragged, his fingers adorned with rings, some of them set with cracked grey stones. His head is down, resting on his chin - An abstract pattern on his red shirt, a pattern that spreads...-Wait.That's not fabric at all. Someone has cut his throat. (Continued)
>>30499509....FUCK.YOU KNOW WHO GOT OUT OF THAT CRADLE? WHOEVER PHANTOM EDGE IS NOW, WITH ALURA IN TOW
>>30499509>Kraken was killed in the real and that is why he disappearedOh shit...
>>30499509>It's a boy you've never seenNot Kraken's human form then. Sigh.
>>30499524side note - this is why the fatal abyss awsn't ascending the theif. It couldn't because phantom edge was alive at the time
>>30499535...Nah, it can't be. Right?
>>30499556I'm pretty sure we've seen Kraken's human form before.Even if it is, it doesn't feel satisfying in the slightest.
>>30499509>set with cracked grey stonesNihilbits?
>>30499548Maybe? I don't see it though. I think it's more likely that he was made to believe the Fatal Abyss could cure his condition, when it fact it cannot do anything of the sort.>>30499556We've seen Kraken's human form. If we don't recognize this guy, it's not him.
>>30499577>We've seen Kraken's human form. If we don't recognize this guy, it's not him.Well, unless that encounter was just a red herring.
>>30499509Hunt down whatever got out of that cradle and put a Carnifex-boosted brick through its face
>>30499590Considering Alura was hanging all over him? Doubtful.
>>30499611Alura was holding hands with PE too.
>>30499614Joker OP stated that it was akin to holding a small childs hand, leading it on.
>>30499509It is a clean cut, straight across - Delivered with unflinching skill and incredible sharpness, like a new smile. His chin lolls against his chest; From the little you can see of his face, his expression of surprise is utter and complete, his lips cracked at the sides. Fire roars up from behind you. Your foot kicks against something, something that glitters and chimes as it skids against the floor. -Something of incredible and painful sharpness.A knife-No, not a knife. Not with that tiny blade.-A scalpel?Flame spits and crackles behind you. The trail of black oil leads the way, as the chamber behind you crumples upon itself, in devouring arcs of flame - It's catastrophic, like a house of cards giving way, and for a moment you wonder what you've unleashed...And then the trail ends, as you emerge from an abandoned subway station. Your footsteps echo hollowly on the steps, as the smell of smoke clings to you; As you stagger up and out, red pokers jabbing your lungs from within. Outside. It's night. The air is cold, and clear. From all around, the cyclopean facades of abandoned shophouses peer down at you; Your flesh adhering to the cold metal of the handrail, paint flaking away at your touch. -You're in the Old City. A single streetlight flickers fitfully, askew at a crazy angle, blinking on and off with a low buzz of sound. It's dark, dreary - The sky above is still choked with dust, the rasping winds scraping the cracked streets and battered roads.-But now, as the Nihl Sphere warms beneath your touch, you have a star to light the way.JOKER QUEST EPISODE 83 TO BE CONTINUED
>>30499614Edge is her baby. The next time we meet, she'll have modified him to be a real monster. Probably worse than Kraken.>>30499642Hm. Naoya?
>>30499642>-But now, as the Nihl Sphere warms beneath your touch, you have a star to light the way.Maybe it would have been smart of us to focus on charging it....I wonder how Hecate managed to keep it charged.
>>30499665>NaoyaOh fuck.So we were right with suspecting the guy.Should we prioritize Mio or Hecate?
>>30499673>Maybe it would have been smart of us to focus on charging it.You know, our interactions with Cybele drained it more than anything.Can I remind everyone how much of a terrible idea that was, both times?
>>30499642Thank god it's finally over.I'm chiming in with weary anon up here >>30499225You played this thread incredibly poorly, OP. Ignoring valid attack strategies for more-or-less identical simplistic votes, killing every single one of our allies in the most bitch-like methods, giving Kraken such badass lines, and then not allowing us to kill him.Power Transfer my ass. This is the fucking booby prize.
>>30499679Neither. It's killing Kraken, Alura/Phantom Edge and then everyone who gets in our way to Pazuzu.
>>30499642>-But now, as the Nihl Sphere warms beneath your touch, you have a star to light the way.WE'RE COMING!Whatever feelings on issues aside, thanks, as always, for running.
>>30499679Mio of course. Mio might be in danger right now. Hecate might be dead.
>>30499673We should gouge out our own eye and jam the sphere in there instead.
>>30499690Go back to QTG.
>>30499679Hecate
>>30499679The one we know was alive as of two days ago.
>>30499688>Can I remind everyone how much of a terrible idea that was, both times?It was a good idea the first time.
>>30499707no u
>>30499694Next time we meet Kraken.No one liners.No firefight.Argus lock, Harrow, Tachyon Disintegrator. He doesn't deserve a noble death after that fucking bullshit beamout.Unless he's already dead in which case FUCK EVERYTHING. You don't just take a villain who your audience is incredibly excited to finally beat and kill him off-screen. I really, really hope that the corpse isn't Kraken.
>>30499642(Gentlemen; My sincerest apologies, but it's extremely late. This looks like a good place to pause, for now - I doubt that I'll be able to keep up the same level of writing if I continue from this point onwards. I'm aware that you might not be entirely happy with how this chapter played out. I feel that you fought both valiantly *and* brutally, and I congratulate you on the victory; The entire sequence was meant to be an extremely challenging encounter, and I was prepared for the eventuality of your demise - This episode in particular. Again, it's not my intention to upset anyone - However, a reliance on the dice and the Quest format means that things have the tendency to play out in unexpected and surprising ways.I'm aware that certain elements might be frustrating, but rest assured that there are coherent explanations - However, I am unable to reveal them at present. I will say, however, that setbacks are a natural occurrence, and not necessarily a cause for frustration.Good night, and God bless: You've been a wonderful audience, and I hope to see you again soon.)
>>30499724Dude.Better idea.We level meter Booster. At level 4 it should unlock Quantum Singularity Cannon from the beginning of the match.Then we spend the 100% Cobalt Booster for one-shot kill without any limitations such as silly six round lock on times.
>>30499700While I don't exactly agree 100% with the reasoning, this is still pretty much right.Deal with the short-term problem first.
>>30499642Thanks for the thread, OP, but I really think you need to reflect on a) Your pacingb) How you're going to convey information about the importance of a fight and how that's going to affect your players perceptions of that fightc) How you translate player suggestions to narrative. It seriously looked like you were trying to please everyone in that fight, minus the people wanting the Tachyon Disintegrator.d) The fact that you seem to be willing to overlook storytelling for the sake of your plot.
>>30499739>and I congratulate you on the victoryCan't win a fight that does not find its conclusion...
>>30499766>c) How you translate player suggestions to narrative. It seriously looked like you were trying to please everyone in that fight, minus the people wanting the Tachyon Disintegrator.Actually, it looked more like he tried to create a sense of urgency by taking any suggestions in between his posts.So while you dudes bickered, he didn't wait and instead just took your suggestions. Because this is a fucking boss fight and fuck you if you contemplate your navels instead of acting.
>>30499714It really wasn't.>>30499739OP, something to keep in mind above all else: This wasn't fun. Whatever else you were doing or trying to do, no one had a good time.Thanks for running. See you next session. Well, maybe not me personally depending on when it is, but in general. Take care!
>>30499690>Ignoring valid attack strategies for more-or-less identical simplistic votes, killing every single one of our allies in the most bitch-like methods, giving Kraken such badass lines, and then not allowing us to kill him.Oh wow, it's almost as if HE WAS KILLING THEM THE SAME WAY WE WERE KILLING THE SMILERS.
>>30499739>>30499766These are mostly all fairly well-considered suggestions and should be worth thinking about in at least some capacity.
>>30499788>This wasn't fun.This point deserves repeating.
>>30499739Yeah no, you're going to have to respond to some of this criticism man. There was absolutely no closure to something YOU built up with specific language and choices.What happened to Kraken?What happened to the Tower?Fine, there may have been some reason, some bullshit "coherent explanations" that you are "unable to reveal them at present." Sure, fine, whatever.But YOU made the choice to pull us out of the Red while whatever happened to the Tower happens in the background. A shitton of players died, a shitton of our allies died for some ephemerous goal and you teleport us out before we see it to its conclusion?No "reliance on the dice and the Quest format" explains the fact that you have COMPLETELY denied us ANY catharsis to this encounter whatsoever.
>>30499820>>30499821Agreed.This whole thing could have been handled much better OP.
>>30499821>But YOU made the choice to pull us out of the Red while whatever happened to the Tower happens in the background.Actually, he implied that everyone was logged out.
>>30499739>I congratulate you on the victoryEntire issue is that it doesn't feel like a victory. It feels like a kick to the teeth delivered right when we were stepping up to the podium to receive our medal.Thanks for running, I guess
>>30499821>>30499894Its already over. Put down the keyboard and take a break from the internet.
>>30499821>>30499858>>30499820(I understand - And I appreciate - where you're coming from. I will, however, state that most of the answers are in the thread and that several theories are on the mark. I'll also state that the other Players didn't perish - They were logged out, as were you when you activated the Manifold Tower.) >>30499766 (In all honesty, I thought that you would come off significantly worse during the fight. This was meant to be an extremely difficult encounter.) >>30499690(I can only say - In this instance - that you were dealing with an opponent of close-to/greater equivalent power, in a similar context as your performance in the first part of assault on the base.)
>>30499739>I'm aware that you might not be entirely happy with how this chapter played out. I feel that you fought both valiantly *and* brutally, and I congratulate you on the victory; The entire sequence was meant to be an extremely challenging encounter, and I was prepared for the eventuality of your demise - This episode in particular.What would have happened if we had won?WOuld we have followed the new red joker, or taken the pov of our former allies?I think ou handled it pretty fairly. This was a *brutal* arc, and the thing was?it would have been WORSE if we hadn't gotten involved.Looking abck on it i can see just how badly it would ahve gone if we weren't there
>>30499821>But YOU made the choice to pull us out of the Red while whatever happened to the Tower happens in the backgroundI don't agree with all that posts points, but yeh, some choice in the matter regarding the tower would have been nice
>>30499929addendum: Its like all the NPCs get to make those choices, but we don't have the same agency to make world-altering choices like stealing a tower and repurposing it to do something neat
>>30499910(To conclude, I'll reiterate that setbacks are part of the natural course of things, and not necessarily a cause for frustration. I'll strive to address the issues you've brought up, but I also have to ensure that I don't make things too difficult or too easy.)
>>30499910You /always/ says that you're surprised how well we did with this difficult encounter.I'm starting to discredit it.
>>30499910>>30499946Dude, you are not listening.It's not that we survived a really hard encounter. Many of us could tell this was going to be a hard fight. It's not an issue of difficulty or balance. It's an issue of things going on behind the DM screen that are not being adequately communicated.It's the way you handled it, described it, ended it.Continuously telling us "You won a hard fight!" is not addressing the fact that it was not fun. The outcome of the fight was made entirely irrelevant by the way it was delivered.
>>30499942But we're a schoolboy. Argent Prominence has been doing this for EVER, and the bad guys are part of a massive and far-reaching suicide cult. How the hell are we supposed to do something like that? That makes no sense whatsoever.
>>30499960Yeah, honestly, I would have preferred going down fighting to this ending. That would have at least followed the established narrative.
>>30499946Hey, JQOP.I think you should worry a little less about difficulty and instead think about the players you're writing for. It sounds like you're a little too caught up in the mechanics at the moment.
>>30499739Sure, OP. Thanks.Let me ruminate for a second on why I think this was a bad thread.The arguing was not your fault, but was annoying nonetheless. It genuinely felt like this was the endgame, or at least *an* endgame, and the moods of the players reflected that. We were panicky, paranoid, and incredibly stubborn.But the main thing is how this entire raid, which has been ramping up and up and up for like 6 threads now, sort of just... Stopped. There was no climax. The final boss logged out, got killed in the real, had an emergency evacuation, whatever. It wasn't a satisfying conclusion. Then, the Manifold Tower. I was expecting something big, something flash, something which would have a huge impact like every single previous Manifold Tower we've seen. Instead, I got a half post description about how it was logging everyone out and we woke up in the asshole of nowhere. You followed that spectacularly failed climax with an extremely dull section. It would have worked, had there been some sense of catharsis, some sense of release from the Kraken fight.But the players go hungry. They ran, and they ran, and they ran, chasing their prey through the twisting tunnels, and then just before they were able to catch it, after so much effort, after so much suspense, to finally be able to savour the sweet taste of victory... You had them slip and fall on their face. They got up again, but their quarry had already vanished, and would not be returning.
>>30499946For what its worth, i think a lot of the new players are used to other quests that have post-game meta-discussions (shadow quest especialy) where there's time to talk about and address things, mechanics, tidbits of information players have gained and forgotten about - and aren't used to your style of holding your cards close to your chest.
>>30499975THANK YOU, that's exactly what I was trying to say, simplified.
>>30499679Hecate.>-But now, as the Nihl Sphere warms beneath your touch, you have a star to light the way.
>>30499910>that several theories are on the mark.Oh god. I know you've at least heard of F/SA, please remember that people throw fits about when AC-Guy said that exact same thing. It's not kind, encouraging or helpful, it's frustrating, paranoia inducing and unhelpful. Unless you intend to debunk or confirm a rumor or supposition, don't remark on speculah.>>30499942That's just fine, we don't have the knowledge in or out of character to work with it. It's the fact that whatever happened, happened automatically that really gets on my nerves. The last two towers we activated had some kind of input on our side. This one did not.
>>30499975Yes, OP. You should totally pander to the complaining faggots. Give them everything they ever wanted on a platter, and let them walk into the sunset with a bitch on each arm.
>>30500017That is not what I was talking about, not in the least. I'm asking for a little moderation, to take one or two steps back and to do a little contemplation of the source of all the complaints.
>>30499976While wordy, I was kind of hoping for some payoff. There's been a lot of buildup - you mentioned we were gonna ahve to recruit everoyne by hand before you made the abridged version - and.... lots of good ideas.Players trapped in the cradles, being able to use the manifold tower interface to examine exactly what was being done hereI think the dissappintment was this: We gained two levels and a nihl sphere charge, but what we really wanted was STORY and EXPOSITION and being able to FEEL a tangible rewards for making a difference by being proactive instead of reactive....not stats. >>30499975 which i think called itI'd like to buy a levelup option for Story Exposition. To know what happened and how we changed. (you write an amazing world JQOP, don't take me wrong - i'm willing to accept your reasonings for things happening, but I'd like to see them too, sometime. Especially, since you've hinted elsewhere, this quest may be nearing completion)(I would have liked to pull hecate or mio or even one of argent's people out of a cradle, saving one person's life, I would have liked to have taken out/control of the smilers ability to clone their players, I would have liked a datadump on just what exactly they were doing here )
Yeah... I'm sorry I cursed at you so much, JOP. I'm just invested in this and feel like I got kicked in the face one too many times. Hope to see you again soon.
We have more than 700 posts.This is insane.I wonder what the score on sup/tg/ will be like. Likely infested by bots.
>>30499946Stop thinking about the mechanics and balance, and start thinking about the emotions your writing is inducing for a second, and you might actually understand what your players are feeling.
>>30500129>The fight with Kraken begins, and /tg/ *loses it's shit*.
>>30500131I can't begin to imagine the shitstorm that would ensue if we died.
>>30499946>(To conclude, I'll reiterate that setbacks are part of the natural course of things, and not necessarily a cause for frustration.>I'll strive to address the issues you've brought up, but I also have to ensure that I don't make things too difficult or too easy.)thanks for your considerationI"m also willing to bet that it being super late on your end - its way past your usual quits time - had something to do with the way it ended. usually you give us options in that kinda situation.I thinnk the best thing we could hope for is a slight re-wind, and retelling once everyone's had some sleep. Because..... i do hope you address things, but if its at the end of the next arc, it'll be even further away and fatiguing.
>>30500158I think QTG"s have bene the worst thing to happen recently - all the shit players have caught wind of this quest, and made their way here.I miss the days when it was just me and watashiwa, and like the two other guys who stayed up all night to play.
http://pastebin.com/0k1StLBDalso, since its likely we're getting hollow sun energy from this, I"m reuploading the review so peoplecan muse over itMy votes, roughly in order, for the near future, depending exactly how much energy we got - and hopefully the sun can go above 100%Emulator ChipChoir Beacon Communication NodesEssence AssimilatorTwo Void Anchorsreactive platingEssence Miner projectHeavy Fusion Cell
>>30500160I'd have been okay with it, if it hadn't come in the exact circumstances of this thread. This has been a real clusterfuck no matter how you see it. I don't think any resolution would have been satisfying after the pummeling started.>>30500176We had our share of bitchfits, like Watashi not admitting that Akira had to be the Thief. Still better than this, though.
>>30500169If JQOP did drag the 'addressing' of things out, it would be the dealbreaker for a lot of players, they are justifiably right to be pissed off, this thread was extremely poorly handled and even JQOPs handling of the criticism was poorly done, it honestly seems like they misunderstood the criticism and anger and confusion and thought they could charge on through, which just made things even worse.It does not matter how the fight went, how it ended was unacceptable and was an unsatisfying kick the the balls while your players were already down JQOP, very poor showing.
>>30500195Or you faggots voting to kiss Mio days after Hecate died.
The archive sits at +2 after 10 votes, your players are not happy (and they are right to be) and the best you can say about your abortion of a thread is >but I also have to ensure that I don't make things too difficult or too easy.Well done completely ignoring everything they've said rationally and well thought out, and screamed at you, fucking well done...
>>30500191>Essence AssimilatorNeeds to be higher on the list.>Essence Miner projectFuck that, the inevitable trade offs won't be worth it.>Heavy Fusion CellThe Light version is a wash, no need to spend more energy on just developing it.We need the Panopticon Array. We killed Bardiel by making him emerge from his cover. We don't want to make his mistake.One Void Anchor at a time, too.>>30500211Not me, both me and the namefag bitched people out for that.
>>30500206>>30500243Well, they lost me as a player, and I'm betting a few others after this unsatisfying clusterfuck of a trainwreck, and right at the climax too, thanks for nothing JQOP.
>>30499946for what its worth, JQOP, i love your writing and characterization and something you said in Youma Quest stuck with me. That you liked magical girl stuff, but couldn't figure out how to play in a game of one done right. I'm in a group that's starting one, and some/most the players are foreverGMs being rescued from not being able to play - and I thought of you. We.... may have a slot open if you're interested [/spoilers]
>>30500160I'd have been more satisfied with that than the reality, to be frank.
>>30500247Void anchor: The second one's for the tristars to plant, though. One for us, one for them.Miner project: Depends entirely on what it takes, since its still being theorized. Best case scenario - it take some space in the transport compartment and that's that.Heavy fusion cell owns, man. Owns. No-booster graviton cannon.
>>30500257oh no they don't, they don't get to walk out and leave like they forced Kraken to do, not until this shit is dealt with good and proper, and from the responses from OP in this thread, they don't even have the faintest idea what they did wrong, let alone how to fix it, which is fucking abysmal and hilarious at the same time
>>30500176qtg is just a scapegoat.
>>30499976>But the main thing is how this entire raid, which has been ramping up and up and up for like 6 threads now, sort of just... Stopped. There was no climax. The final boss logged out, got killed in the real, had an emergency evacuation, whatever. It wasn't a satisfying conclusion. Then, the Manifold Tower. I was expecting something big, something flash, something which would have a huge impact like every single previous Manifold Tower we've seen. Instead, I got a half post description about how it was logging everyone out and we woke up in the asshole of nowhere. You followed that spectacularly failed climax with an extremely dull section. It would have worked, had there been some sense of catharsis, some sense of release from the Kraken fight.There's a lot of angry screaming from the samest of fags, but that bit right there is pretty well written and mirrors my feelings pretty well, better than I could have put them down.Its been a wonderful ride, but just ugh. dat cliffanger
>>30500277Quite so, the qtg is a festering sack of shit and should be disregarded and not mentioned at all costs.Let us never speak of it again.
>>30500274Until we lose the cannon, and we ALWAYS drop our weapons, and then we're out the manufacturing cost plus the dev cost.And the Tri-Stars won't be planting VAs for us, they don't fight often enough.
>>30500276I'm fairly sure JQOP went to bed and crashed. Usually he's quit and stopped paying attention like, two hours ago.I guess our duty is to keep the thread around until he wakes up and can actually read it>>30500294>And the Tri-Stars won't be planting VAs for us, they don't fight often enough.corrector kills count tho.Regarding heavy fusion cells, tho - I was thinking we could get a Talon, and hook the Heavy Cell up to the talon. That way, it empowers whatever's hooked up to it, and when we want actual weapons we just jettison the cannon - the talon doesn't get in the way if there's nothing in it, and keeping the cell in the talon saves us from losing it with the weapong.Speaking of which...I wanted to go back and grab our light fusion cell, and/or kill the rest of the hive for xp. Yet another option that was stolen from us :(
>>30500276Have you considered that he was in the cradle? And he, you know, punched the emergency release or something?
>>30500319Cells are equipped to a weapon. I suppose they could be kept in the Player inventory, but that doesn't avoid the problem of losing the weapon in battle. The fusion cells were a dumb idea from the start. If we hadn't gotten them we could have taken Red Comet into the Hive.Not any Corrector: A serious Corrector, like the giant worm we fought when we found Natsumi, or the Corrector train. You can't shoot one of the bats and set up a Void Anchor. I bet the Silencers aren't enough themselves.Also the thread is deep into autosage, it'll fall off the board in an hour or so.
>>30500355>Cells are equipped to a weapon. I suppose they could be kept in the Player inventory, but that doesn't avoid the problem of losing the weapon in battle. The fusion cells were a dumb idea from the start. If we hadn't gotten them we could have taken Red Comet into the Hive.Well, i think its less of a problem nowHave you seen kamen rider W? and how they swap memory sticks around?We can do that with the muletta now.Here's the major redeeming quality of fusion cells:They don't need charging elements.We can be Spawn, and blaze away with them in cloak-hands.
>>30500385Muleta just makes swords, I'm pretty sure. Did you notice that we never used it in melee? Didn't matter the situation or who asked, or what they specifically said to do, it was always "Fire the shroud!"Regardless, it won't work like you think it will.
>>30500355Geez, guys. The Cells are like 5%. The hollow sun weapons come in shitloads, there's no shortage of them. We went into the Hive with a full load of weapons, and we did well with 'em.
>>30500430He means if we hadn't spent the charge on the cells, we could have made a third Hollow Sun device for the raid. Like the thing that summons the tank.
>>30500402You need to read more.All of the 'use our shroud to manipulate something' posts have been mine, because>In addition to launching flechettes, the user can control the Shroud as an extension of his own bodyThat's why we got it. Its another hands-free weapon that doubles as a manipulator - for, say, swapping artifacts or pulling something out of the Arsenal Beacon and moving it to hand - when it ISNT being used to stab.Shrike blades aren't what the muleta does - its a side effect of being able to control it directly.Also.The more I think about Capa, the more I absolutely love it. The ability to launch explosives isn't that great - its the ability to turn any bit of other nanomaterial into explosives that's amazing.Shrike blades that can now explode? CheckMuletta stabbings leaving behind explosive tips that break off?Decoys we can remote detonate later?Fortress mode on someone offensively, and blowing the whole thing up on them?Its hilariously flexible
>>30500402We have, actually. When the Corrector was on our back, we stabbed it in the face with blades.
>>30500455I know what it SAYS in the description, the problem is it hasn't WORKED like that.Ever play DXHR? Capa is the Typhoon. No more, no less.>>30500464Read again: They fired off.
>>30500402>"Fire the shroud!"that's backwards. We fired the shroud precisely once - every other time its come up its been to do OTHER things, like grappling allies to save them
>>30500487And every other time it's come up, the shroud has fired the flechettes.Again, it's not what we've asked OP to do but it's how OP interpreted the commands.
Wow, someone in the QTG actually made a well reasoned honest post.>Disappointing fight, disappointing losses, incredibly, destructively poor resolution to the arc/thread/event. No one's happy.Exactly my feelings, why the fuck did I waste my time for this?
>>30500522That was me.And we all wasted our time because we expected better.
>>30500533>because we expected better.Fucking this.
>>30500522>>30500533yep, screw this waste of time and effort, I'm out.
>>30500533>>30500542>>30500550If one of you is not a same fag, please show proof. Cuz damn.that raging, that post style, that 1 minute between posts.You're just stirring up shit on purpose at this point.
>>30500550Good riddance.
>>30500581No idea if you'll accept it, but I'm only 30500533.And I'm not raging, I don't think, just let down.
>>30500617eh, only half as bad as expected, faglorg
I confessI voted for the Tachyon Disintegrator twice. It didn't matter in the end, but after that bullshit, I'm kind of sad I didn't samefag harder. I could have saved this.
>>30500617It's probable that more than one anons are raging at the same time.While it's not impossble, let's stop the discussion about it. If an anon feels the need to samefag, that's his problem.
>>30500581just goes to show how colossaly JQOP fucked up and how bad they made their players feel
guys i just had a thought.So if our suspicions were right, and naoya kidnapped mioand naoya was in dat pod and got out, slicing his way out with his doctor scalpelthen we just burnt mio alive in one of those podsthere was a fucking reason I was telling you to check them and let people out!
>>30500176>I think QTG"s have bene the worst thing to happen recently - all the shit players have caught wind of this quest, and made their way here.Difficult to prove that that is the reason (or the most prevalent one) If so, I might be to blame because I mentioned JQ in a qtg once.
>>30500782Why did we set the pods on fire, again? No, really. Why did we do that?
>>30500782That's a batshit insane theory
>>30500828Because we had to kill them with fire.
