>>43273352
>By drawing upon the memories of previous hosts, you gain access to Protocols, the weaponskills utilized by - and formerly exclusive to - Gaunt-class Players. However, you suffer a Lachryma surcharge on all Protocols utilized in this manner.
Hmm. I wonder what card the Gaunt class represents?
Anyway, no way of knowing how useful this is if we don't know the restrictions.

>INVICTUS
Huh. That seems really useful, but I wonder how far the definition of 'status effect' ranges?

There is a primal majesty to Rook's descent, as he falls. To see something so vast, so unreal - A blurred shape, half-real, burning with immaterial energies, smouldering emissions pouring from his form like steam from a forge - land with such final and bone-crunching impact-

When he hits, twisted fleshmetal bleeds unholy light, like an ember's dying glow. The hissing of the unnatural forces buoying him up spit and crackle, vulture's wings ragged now; there are tatters in Rook's form, great holes gouged in his substance. Liquid gore geysers from the craters, becoming smoke, becoming black vapor even before it hits the ground - You hear wing struts and bones snap when he hits the ground, tangled amongst the devastation of the tumbling beast; If anything, he seems even more ragged, now - sparks coiling from each bladed pinion, carrion features splitting along a raptor beak to release a hissing shriek of agony, of *insult*-

Alura follows. She hovers, walking on air. The filaments of her exquisite mask, of her fibre-optic hair, trail behind her like a puppet's strings - Light bleeding from her eyes, mingling with the twists of priceless metals in her quicksilver form.

In her right hand, she holds fire. The flames are fiery serpents, twisting around each other, hissing and rattling and spitting. The blood-red light they cast do nothing to illuminate the shadow the holds them, the sounds they make like a whisper:

How much do you hate?

She gestures, with her left hand. Born aloft in his own personal storm, Calcite Arrow is pulled forward - Alura's Emblem glowing bright and awful, his visor sealed shut. Only a tiny spark of illumination flickers with his optic visor; A constant buzzing, buzzing, his bow clenched in one hand as he echoes Alura's gesture-

(Continued)

>>43273580

(My apologies: I meant Players like Bishamon, Phantom Edge, Abyss and other primarily sword-wielding Players.)

A great fang of jagged stone leaves his orbit. Like a stake, it plunges down - punching right through the tatters of Rook's wing. The tiles splinter beneath the impact, as the thing that was Rook rills, shrieking with fury - blitzing the air with sound. Smoke oozes from his burning eyes; indistinct tendrils writhe from his back, flexing, biting at the air...

Something stirs, in Rook's shadow. A battered form, gripped in one great fist, cradled close. As if in response, the bladed pinions of Rook's remaining wing unfurls, a spreading canopy of night-

-As Calcite begins to fire.

He moves numbly, without a word. His motions mechanical, precise - Drawing and releasing with blurred speed. Charged with impossible force, his arrows hiss out; so fast, so *brilliant*, they are mere lines of light, zipping across the distance faster than the eye can track. The first two missiles puncture Rook's wing, shattering metal with grinding cracks of impact. The third punches through it entirely - the fourth and fifth spear through Rook's back, hard enough to embed themselves into the splintered tiles beneath him-

Daegal half-turns. Closer, he sees something you can't, something that makes him start.

And he says:

"*Haze*-"

(Continued)

>>43273647

You intuit all of this in an moment - the blank instant between Ascalon's blinding discharge and the thunderclap of Rook's impact. Fragments of memory crystal riochet from your armor, in a flaying storm; Rust Kaiser's fists punching handholds in the great column ripped free from the stone-

He rears back, massively. The scraping shriek of stone-on-stone draws sparks, the memory tower's splintered edge like a disc of knives. That fractional hesitation, the split-second pause before Rust Kaiser swings, comes from one source only: He can't decide who to kill first.

He chooses both.

The air churns. Your sensors detect the distortion in the air before you see it - swirling threads of corrosion on the fastest wind, building the rotation that threatens a storm-

And that is all you see, as Rust Kaiser sweeps the column towards you. Shreds of superheavy plating spin away from his ruined arm, burst from within by the brutal rotation - It *rips* at you, a torus of weird energies crackling from the splintered haft, soiling the air with rank vapor.

HP: 98.9%
COBALT BOOSTER: 76%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 24%
METER: 74%
ENCROACHMENT: 9%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>43273755
...Am I the only one here? Fuck. Please tell me I'm not, I'm not good at planning.

>>43273876
Just caught up on the opening posts.

>>43273876

No worries, I picked a bad time - I had to go to Kuala Lumpur, of all places, because a package was quarantined. I could always start next week at an earlier time.

>>43273755

>Finally catch a JQ thread after years of reading the archives

YES

Alright, let's see... If we leave Haze and Rook alone they're probably dead.

Fuck, miss the Scrander. Use the Jets to move away from Rust's swing, and fire the Tau at Calcite Arrow.

>>43273876

I have no idea what I'm doing

>>43273755
Dodge back out of the way with the Abruption Jets. Send a Dirac message to Daegal to use the Adamant's ability to negate physical strikes. SMITE Kaiser with the Nihl Sphere, switch from Catoblepas to Havoc Launcher and shoot two Maser Grenades at Bell Zephyr.

>>43273876
I was busy figuring out what the hell to do.

>>43273915
>>43273922
These plans are vastly more sensible than mine.

I was going to suggest hitting the pillar with the Crisis Arm.
It sounded cool.

>>43273876
I'm catching up right now.
Was on a walk through a park.

>>43273922

Oh thank fuck there's someone who knows what they're doing

>>43273922
>two Maser Grenades at Bell Zephyr
Does one Maser for Zephyr and a Void for Kaiser sound sensible?
Bypassing his ridiculous armour would be nice.

>>43273942
That was also my initial idea? But I figured it'd be too risky.

>>43273964
SMITE already bypasses armor and with Nihl's boost will deal monstrous damage.

>>43273964

I'd rather finish that bitch off first. We won't kill anything if we spread our damage too thin.

>>43273979
>>43273983
The question is:
Who of the two is easier to hit with what?
SMITE is instant. Grenades can be dodged.
So maybe we should use grenades on Kaiser and SMITE on Zephyr.

Also, remember that we got Harmonia. If we are lucky, we can later restore some NIHL charge.

>>43273580
>Huh. That seems really useful, but I wonder how far the definition of 'status effect' ranges?
Anon, that would be a third automatic lachryma effect. I don't think we need more of those.

>>43273647
>(My apologies: I meant Players like Bishamon, Phantom Edge, Abyss and other primarily sword-wielding Players.)
Huh, so they get their skills from essence upgrades?

>>43273964
>Bypassing his ridiculous armour would be nice.
I don't think Kaiser has much armor left.

>>43274015
SMITE isn't instant. The distortion before the strike is visible and can be avoided, hence why I'm betting on hitting Kaiser with it when he's enraged, weighed down by the pillar and stumbling from Daegal's block.
The Grenades meanwhile have a larger AoE and can be detonated at any moment we want them to. Zephyr is currently partially crippled and too worried about Kaiser to move well, so I think she'd have a harder time getting flanked by two grenades. She's also a lot more fragile, so I expect the maser grenades to have a greater effect on her than on Kaiser. Could also disable her fly storm.

>>43274069
True.

I agree with the plan.

>>43273755
>METER: 74%
Almost.


Wait, didn't Kazuya call Haze's name?
What if he's prepping the nuke?
Evasive maneuvers?

Say, in the last thread the QM alluded to the fact that Kaiser is now weak against flames. Would the grenades count or would the flamethrower function be a wiser choice?

>>43274095
Reread the post, anon.
>Something stirs, in Rook's shadow. A battered form, gripped in one great fist, cradled close.

>>43274095
>Something stirs, in Rook's shadow. A battered form, gripped in one great fist, cradled close.
He said it because Rook is protecting Haze.

>>43274105
Wouldn't the Vulcan suffice?

>>43274108
>>43274113
Shit, man's dedicated. I wish we could give him some protection.

Would it be a retarded idea to give him Fortress Mode or a SWARM against Arrow?
The latter is kinda expensive, but the former should be able to encase him and Haze for a while.

>>43273915
>>43273922
>>43273942

You *leap*. Your Tempest Scrander is a twisted ruin at your back - the charge expended, thrusters crumpled - but the Abruption Jets fling you high, hurling you in a parabolic arc. As you tumble, CHAGAN's mechanisms churn, whirring; releasing the Tau Gun, cycling into a new configuration-

Rust Kaiser turns into the coming attack. He braces, planting his feet - the massive arch of his shoulder shield, the pitted black metal scuffed and worn, braced to take the blast-

Except you don't fire at him.

You fire at Calcite Arrow.

The searing antimatter bolt goes wide. It doesn't hit him, not head-on; the personal storm that surrounds him renders Calcite a blurred, indistinct figure, the edges of his form distorted and warped.

Instead, you hit the mirrored tower *behind* him. The searing antimatter round *glows*, on impact - a vile unlight that filters through the tower. Flickers of energy, dark and unhealthy, flares like troubled synapses out from the disrupted area; coloured bursts writhing and firing out into the serene layers of the undamaged structure as it judders, convulsing, odd harmonics - like the low moan of static - rasp across the channels-

The tower explodes. The sound is a deafening cascade of crystal, a monstrous bang erupting forth in a concussive peal - huge fragments of mirror bound out in all directions, a glittering hail that pelts Calcite with fist-sized chunks of bounding quartz, splintering against him, splintering around him; the bow-wave of the blast picks him up, and he pitches to the side - tumbling down, down, *down* to a crunching impact that splinters the tiles into a sunburst, his arms and legs twitching and flopping in partial seizure as he convulses-

(Continued)

>>43274122
I sincerely hope so. Rust needs to die as soon as possible.

Also, where is the Thief?

By the way, the Chagan section on the equipment guide doesn't have a title, so it looks like it's part of the Rubicante & Cagnazzo section.

>>43274162
Well, I guess that's one way to score a crit.

>>43274183
>Also, where is the Thief?
Busy fighting Inox Fang. He's the superior swordsman, but her invisibility is a bitch to deal with.

>>43274212
>Well, I guess that's one way to score a crit.
It also teaches us that there's an equivalent of exploding barrels in this area.

>>43274162

Calcite's visor retracts - An appalled "Fuck!" hisses from his speakers, as he scrabbles to his feet, shaken.

> SMITE Kaiser with the Nihl Sphere

...And that's all you have the time for, your target piper humming as the Helix Gauntlet irises open, shedding the Nihl Sphere's light. Space shimmers, warping around Rust Kaiser like a phantom lens - a visible distortion, heralding the blast to come-

A part of you tears loose, and a flare of energy leaps out like forked lightning. It scorches the air like a welder's torches, as the world around Rust Kaiser erupts. The ground heaves: a blaze of insane geometry cut from liquid light fanning out into a teardrop, a vertical column, of pure and undiluted annihilation. The recoil shoves you back, the ground juddering as streamers of light bleed from the Nihl Sphere - the circuits of the Helix Gauntlet smoking as they draw on the sphere's power-

Rust Kaiesr howls. He howls like twisted metal. He staggers forwards, snarling - the blast rips the cloak of napalm flame from his shoulders, purple flames roaring up; noxious, infernal light boils around him as weird negative electricity crackles across the ground in barbed-wire wreaths. His entire form smolders, as his superheated armor - glowing red with EXEC_CASTIGATE's sigils - sears his tumorous flesh. This is the first time you've seen him stagger; smoke drifts up from his blackened, charred, subtly deformed helm, but his eyes are still alive: Red and black and streaming with acrid smoke, but still very much alive.

Why isn't he -

And then comes the howl of the fastest wind-

Not at you.

At *Daegal*.

(Continued)

>>43274297

A splayed column of corrosive air roars forth from Rust Kaiser's maw - A devastating horizontal storm, a razor's torrent of howling wind. Winds rage and shriek and gust, accelerating flaying black obsidian sand that tears towards Kazuya - ripping up the ground as it roars towards him, a powerful linear distortion that blasts apart anythin in the way like ashe in a gale-

> Send a Dirac message to Daegal to use the Adamant's ability to negate physical strikes.

The thread of your urgent communication flickers across the channel-

It's too late. Daegal simply doesn't have the time to raise the Adamant, to bring his neutronium shield to bear-

As the typhoon wind coverges on him, Daegal drives Ascalon into the ground before him - Gauntleted hands gripping the hilt - turning the blade to meet the roaring blast-

It slams into him. He slides backwards along the floor for a dozen meters, the autoreactive talons on his boots fighting to dig in; armor scraping up flurries of sparks, driven back, *back* by the hurricane-force blast-

"*Anon*-" Even across the channel, his voice is blurred to indecipherability. The rust hurricane *splits*, like a break in the storm - howling winds on either side, his Assault Shroud chewed to a tattered rag. Hairline cracks splinter across the lens of his helm, glowing fiercely green - his feet sliding, shrieking, trying to find purchase against the merciless, mauling pressure...

The peerless oriachulcum of his form - In the span of seconds, the flaying blast sends threads of corrosion fanning out across the gleaming metal, eroding the finish to a myriad of scarred plating. One pauldron actually *dissolves* beneath the effort, Daegal's wordless exhalation of effort mingling with the whirring shriek of overloading servoes-

"Can't-"

"-hold-"

(Continued)

>>43274448
Oh fucker.

I think a boosted chain mine would do wonders.

>>43274448
Goddamn. Would burning him with the Malefacter or smashing him away with a Concussion Grenade have a bigger effect?

>>43274488
>concussion grenade on Kaiser
Flamethrower should work, though.

>>43274448

As you hit the ground, CHAGAN unfurls. Your Triskelion Launchers go dead - neon lines jagging across your arm's brass frame, segmented plating *reconfiguring* like a schematic diagram in fast-forward; A bewildering array of filaments and hydraulics, augmetic cables and receivers...

-Converging into a smoothbore barrel, drum-magazine cycling as the autoloader feeds grenades into the cylinders.

Green. Radiation.

The launcher fires - the fat grenade arcing high, beginning to tumble on its downward path before detonating. There is no blast; Just a blinding *flash*, high-yield radiation blasting across your sensors-

Rust Kaiser's superheavy plating - that impossibly dense black iron that confines him, that restricts him, that gives him *shape* - is proof against it.

His arm is not.

His flesh explodes. Dark, steaming gore splashes down darker armor, as the meat *swells*, grotesquely - Boils and cysts erupting from within, a fibrous *foulness* boiling out from within him in sick tendrils of steaming matter, blistering beneath the blast; as the radiation wave blitzes him, mechanisms rupture *inside* him-

Another round. Black, this time.

Void.

Reality tears. A frigid blackness opens like a hungry maw - a yawning void you've glimpsed before, infinitely cold and dark, like a frozen mirror of onyx - shreds of armor, swirling motes of Essence wrenched from Rust Kaiser's burning form, drawn away in a sucking rush-

And he is *still standing*. That gale-force howl cuts off, abruptly - the churning storm diminishing, denuding to nothing - as the burning crimson cursor of his optics fix and focus-

(Continued)

>>43274536
Guys, he's got all this exposed flesh. Lets fucking boil him with Sotto Voce and a Maser.

>>43274448
Wait, JQ, what the fuck? You can't damage oor break oriachulcum and its immune to lasers, right? How come Rust Kaiser's acid storm is able to destroy a whole hand of it when nothing else can?

>>43274659
Jesus Christ, this guy just proves himself to be a bigger monster every time we see him.
Maybe we should have followed not!Mengele's advice and killed Megumi first to break his spirit.

>>43274710
IIRC he's just extremely resilient.

Our pimp hand was most likely effectively indestructible compared to our frame, while the not unlimited durability of it matters when your entire armor is made out of it.

>>43274788
His is entirely made of it though and though the flesh in the pimp hand could fail, the pimp hand itself could now.

>>43274764
What if we direct our weaponry her way again? Would we be able to keep him busy enough shielding her so that he can't advance on us or target Deagal anymore?

>>43274710

(It's not actually an acid storm. It's a rust storm, like being sandblasted at insane velocities. Daegal blocked the majority of it with Ascalon, but it's still grinding away his armor.)

>>43274659

(FATALISM activated.)

His legs move, a creaking werewolf cackle - servoes growling, tangled power cords tightening brutally. Gore streams freely from the wreckage of Rust Kaiser's arm; the flesh already knitting, radiation-burned tissue sloughing away like shedding skin as he straightens-

And then he comes for you.

Your Abruption Jets are dead. The fuming launcher's chambers rotate as you back away, raising the stocky weapon with a snap of your wrist-

You fire, as he starts his lurching run. Your right-arm Vulcans cycle up, spitting shots into his face as you back away - Just to give the bastard something to think about. Plasma rounds smash into his melted helm, riocheting from the metal as he takes one - *two* - powerful strides, halving the distance between you-

Your aim is good. You fire, and his left eye explodes - a burst of optic fluids splattering that warped, inhuman visage - and Kaiser veers to his right, not stopping but not coming straight towards you any longer as the next radiation blast sends static scratching across your sensors, glare-shields kicking in from that searing nova-

It's not enough. One huge hand rises, *rakes* out-

You hurl yourself to the side-

Rust Kaiser's fist closes. Pitted iron fingers rake across your left leg. Crimson metal crumples beneath that rending swipe, as he *rips*-

And you hit the ground, a desperate burst from your Abruption Jets sending you skidding out of reach, Scylla's maimed dendrites lashing against the ground in mindless fury. Warnings flare across your HUD, as the world lurches, sparks buzzing from splintered gash in your armor - A fistful of cables ripped from your side, webs of electricity crackling across your armor-

(Continued)

>>43274845
Good idea actually. I vote we go at her with the...Hmmm. Go at her with the flamer.

>>43274922
Not necessary anymore. He's on our ass now.

We need to obliterate the fucker. I would suggest Rubicante and Cagnazzo. Entropic shot might be armor defying enough to make the hit stick.

Unfortunately, that means not attacking any of the others.

I suggest sending out a swarm to Zephyr while she's on the ground.

>>43274969
I don't think we can use R&B yet. A chainmine would be good if we can get a bit of distance. Otherwise, we need to avoid him until Kazuya can get a backstab in.

>>43275007
Chain Mine and Flamethrower should actually give us a lot of use here.

Should we tell Kazuya to fuck Zephyr while she's still crippled?

>>43274969
We should use Sotto Voce on his exposed chest; he's pretty much all flesh dead center now, if I remember right. Best thing is, we don't even have to aim it...I think.

ALso, >>43275024 >>43275007 not bad.

>>43275024
>Should we tell Kazuya to fuck Zephyr while she's still crippled?
My, that's kinky.

>>43275024
I'd rather not. Don't want him as a target for Rust Kaiser.

>>43274911

And you hit the ground, a desperate burst from your Abruption Jets sending you skidding out of reach, Scylla's maimed dendrites lashing against the ground in mindless fury. Warnings flare across your HUD, as the world lurches, sparks buzzing from splintered gash in your armor - A fistful of cables ripped from your side, webs of electricity crackling across your armor-

Too fast. Lurching, his immense body lumbers towards you; the open blackness of his empty optic socket drooling dark, ichorous liquid. A strange, pulsing tumor pushes through the gap - A slick orb that looks like-

Like-

-an eye-

The vicious sweep of his remaining arm swats you off your feet. You bring up the Sinistral, and the blow shivers the fizzing shield into a million million fragments of energy - the effort almost rips your arm from your socket, as Rust Kaiser's tank-busting fist hurls you back-

This time, you hit a memory tower hard enough to craze the crystal. Your HUD radiates spinal damage, your limbs impelled into desperate motion as your Leech Module fights to stitch you back together; Bell Zephyr forgotten, Daegal stumbles forward, clutching Ascalon with both hands - He's so far out of his league it isn't even tragic.

He tries anyway. He levels the blade at Kaiser, and triggers the Barisage Cannon. The blast hits Kaiser in the lower torso, and actually blows him a few metres back - the sunflare burst a fury of heat and light -

"Anon-" Daegal's words are a rasp - His speakers are damaged.

"Anon, what the hell do we *do*-"

HP: 61.6%
COBALT BOOSTER: 85%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 5%
METER: 66%
ENCROACHMENT: 17%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>43275101

(Gentlemen, I hate to stop here. Unfortunately, it is extremely late for me: Today has not been a good day, all things considered, but I'm glad we managed to cover a few turns. Tomorrow is the start of a new work week, but I'll strive to run the next session at an earlier time.

Good night, and God bless. As always, you've been a wonderful audience - I sincerely apologize for the trouble.)

>>43275119

Thanks for running, boss. I'm really glad I finally managed to catch one of these. See ya next time.

>>43275119
Don't worry about it, I'm just glad you can still run despite all the work you've been swamped with. Take care.

>>43275119
No problem.

Now we have a good setup for planning.

>>43275101
Ok, our Shroud is is almost depleted, but we got a lot of Meter and Booster.
However, if our health sinks much lower, we get a game over.

Calcite Arrow and Alura are occupied with Haze and Rook, Inox Fang with the thief.

This means we have Zephyr and Kaiser to worry about.
Can we risk giving Rubicante and Cagnazzo to Daegal? In his hands it would be unstoppable and fuck over Rust Kaiser sideways.
With our flamethrower and a boosted chain mine, as well as one round of microwaving, we can buy some distraction. Fortress Mode could be sent out to Zephyr to keep her pinned for maybe a round or so.
During the distraction Daegal can then use Rubicante's ability to buttfuck Kaiser.

I would use a Swarm on Zephyr, but our HP and Shroud are too low for that.

>>43275119
No worries OP. Any thread is better than no thread.

>>43275119
S'alright dude

I'm just glad it looks like we're not entirely fucked anymore. If we can just kill Kaiser, the rest will fall into place.

>>43275101
I say we got with what we discussed mid-update:
>distract Kaiser by frying him with Sotto Voca
>follow up with a chain mine and Malefacter
>meanwhile send Daegal to take hostage/finish off Bell Zephyr

>>43275231

Give R&C to Kaz, let him buttfuck Kaiser with them. Meanwhile we finish Zephyr off to heal ourselves. Then we focus on Arrow and the Queen Bitch.

>>43275231
Doesn't using Rubicante and Cagnazzo cost hp per shot? I think it might work but i doubt it. Pretty much anything we throw rust Kaiser's way hasn't stopped him, although he reacted interestingly towards exec_smite.

>>43275328
>Doesn't using Rubicante and Cagnazzo cost hp per shot?
Only for the most powerful mode.
Ordinary firing just requires booster expenditure. I hope Kaz uses it properly without an explanation - OP can't be that evil, can he?

> Pretty much anything we throw rust Kaiser's way hasn't stopped him, although he reacted interestingly towards exec_smite.
Rubicante's ability is one of these crazy-ass effects that completely ignore armor, so it should be similarily useful to smite.

>>43275297
Finishing off Zephyr would be nice, but we need the distraction round.
We could send her a few missiles or an interceptor or two, though.
Fuck, this might be the first time in ages for our interceptors to shine.

>>43275231
Gotta hit Kaiser hard enough to put him down for good.

I'm in favour of activating Chernobog and then hosing him down using that in our mainhand and Rubicante in our offhand.

>>43275385
>I'm in favour of activating Chernobog and then hosing him down using that in our mainhand and Rubicante in our offhand.
R&C are a pair. They do not work if they aren't used at the same time.
Well, they do, but only at the power level of an ordinary real world revolver and uzi.

>>43275385
>I'm in favour of activating Chernobog and then hosing him down using that in our mainhand and Rubicante in our offhand.
Chernobog is a just a big machine-gun. Kaiser would tank it even if it left holes through him. And we can't use Rubicante without Cognazzo at the same time. since they're paired guns.

>>43275407

What if Kazuya uses one gun and we used the othe? It worked for Dante and Virgil in DMC3.

>>43275402
>>43275407
Bah.

Either way Chernobog seems to be armour piercing. Maybe throw an EXEC_HARROW his way so that we can keep the giant gun tracking him at all times.

Eventually he's going to run out of HP.

>>43275382

...wait, we still have our Funnels?

>>43275446
Anon, we have a time limit. We need to take him out before Alura finishes Haze and Rook off.

>>43275450
We should still have one or two remaining, or regenerated from leeching essence.

>>43275446
Anon, Kaiser doesn't have much armor left to pierce. His chest and one arm are completely exposed and anything else is too dense to give out under less than a round of continuous shooting. His quick regeneration also works well to keep him alive. Either we destroy the exposed flesh completely or vaporize him with the Fusion Annihilator.

>>43275481
Well, the other option is to hit him with another EXEC_SMITE and start throwing concussion grenades his way.

I don't know what's going to have higher damage per round, but we should go with whatever is highest. Rust Kaiser needs to go down like ten seconds ago.

>>43275101
Wait, did OP take the FATALISM cost from our Meter instead of Booster? So much for gaining charge for the QSC.

>>43275536
We could spam void grenades, but this fucker has an overabundance of essence.

Really, distracting him with firey goodness that counters regeneration, while Kazuya lines up R&C, is perfect. But only if we aren't distracted.

We've enough booster to use Harrow twice, what if we tag both Rust and Megumi? Activate on Megumi to distract Rust so Kazuya can snap an attack on him. When he's distracted we activate Harrow on Rust followed by one of our other heavy hitting attacks from us. How does that sound?

>>43275610
Harrow doesn't really do much in this situation.
We don't have trouble tracking either of them and Megumi has lost her mobility advantage, so we don't need the improved accuracy.
The only thing it does is allow us to do a minor explosion for a rather massive booster cost. There's more efficient ways to do that, like the chain mines.

What about radiation?

Or the Chagun Flamethrower

I wonder if OP will release characters statsheets, would be interesting to see everyone's abilities and numbers

>>43276203
>Rust Kaiser
>HP: Maximum
>Meter: Maximum
>Abilities
>Fuck You

>>43276023
That's what we've been talking about the entire time.

>>43276203
My guess is that White Joker can somehow absorb and utilize energy. It would explain the ice thing.
It would also be a direct opposite of our fire attribute.

File: 1434291733219.png (238 KB, 600x600)

238 KB PNG

At this point, the only lifelong partner that remains for RJ is Scylla

>>43276785
Scylla is also dead

>>43276927
Scylla can always come back from the dead with a small sacrifice.

>>43276785
What about Kura?

>>43277122
Kura is a yandere who'll get Joker killed if he gives her a hug.

>>43276785
>not Crisis Arm
>not Rubicante & Cagnazzo

>>43277158
>tfw Crisis Arm is so attached to us that not even DISRUPT can remove it

We did get parted from R&C already, just by losing our thumb.

>>43277205
>not even DISRUPT can remove it
Best girl right there.

>>43276785

I'M GOING TO BRING YOU BACK EVEN IF IT KILLS ME

>>43276785
>>43277759

HECATE BEST WAIFU

>>43277788
I still have no idea about her motivations.
Was she using us or wasn't she?

>>43277821

She planned to use us at first, but Joker's suave motherfucker status made her defect from the smilers.

I'm still fucking mad that she's gone.

>>43277821
She wanted to use Joker to destroy the Smilers. We never found out beyond that since Argent never told us what her diary revealed.

>>43278074
>made her defect from the smilers.
She had already defected from the Smilers by the time they met.

>>43278074
Only girl that wasn't batshit insane.

>>43278127
Should have trusted Argent more.

>>43278149
>Only girl that wasn't batshit insane.
You only think that because we didn't spend enough time with her for her abnormalities to become really obvious. We know for a fact that she engineered most of the Smiler tech, used to be Pazuzu's right-hand-man, took great enjoyment from watching Players kill each other and had become so detached from normal life that she viewed normal humans as meaningless NPCs.

>Should have trusted Argent more.
Wouldn't have done much, considering he died soon after. And getting more attached to Argent would have severely limited Joker.

>>43278388
>took great enjoyment from watching Players kill each other and had become so detached from normal life that she viewed normal humans as meaningless NPCs.
So like any Hyades?

>Wouldn't have done much, considering he died soon after. And getting more attached to Argent would have severely limited Joker.
I bet Daegal could have saved him.
But then we wouldn't have had Kazuya's broformation.

>>43278531
>So like any Hyades?
Unlike the Hyades she actually had plenty of human/player contact over the years and could even interact with the Real and its inhabitants while having the Nihl Sphere in her grasp.

>>43278648
The question is how long she had been a moratorium before she stole the NIHL, and how long she had had the NIHL before she met Joker.

What if a darwinistic attitude was the basis of becoming a Moratorium?

it'd be nice if JQOP gave us a rundown ofbhow each faction/notable player viewed RJ and his actions over the story, I wonder if any of our "allies" were deathly afraid of us due to RJ's unpredictability or planned to backstab us at some point.

Think about it, RJ shows up at some random place at some random time, blows the hell out of it, and each time he seems to bring new toys and weaponry and I doubt they know Joker's goals. We haven't shown them our true arsenal yet...

This reminded me, I regret not talking with Argent one last time. Yes, he was a close-minded Lawfag, but he was still a bro.

>>43278756
I really want to know if our attempt at hiding the Midas Gauntlet actually influenced anything.
I really fucking hope so.

>>43278756
>I wonder if any of our "allies" were deathly afraid of us
Well, obviously. Not just for the fact we had a shitload of weapons and kept getting more and more, but also for the fact the Red Joker is basically Mr. Bean.

>>43278880

If we ever get JQOP's notes, I hope they're crunch notes. I REALLY wanna know how the mechanics work, maybe format it all in a nice little .pdf for future use.

I'm sure /tg/ would love the fuck out of this setting.

>>43278969
I like how we basically approach everyone the same way, and how our interaction with Calcite Arrow is basically a parody of our standard procedure when it comes to diplomacy. We never really consider the people that we are talking to, but randomly hit the right buttons to convince them at least tentatively.

File: 139341400318.png (73 KB, 1399x228)

73 KB PNG

>>43278969
Hey, it got us to the endgame.

I mean, everything and everybody was ruined along the way, but it got us there.

>>43279022
>but randomly hit the right buttons to convince them at least tentatively.
Pfft. Remember the shindig where we had to convince the survivors of the school in the Red?
>Ayo, sup. I'm Red Joker, your local Eldritch Abomination that sometimes pretends to be a person. Don't pay attention to the tentacles, they won't bite unless I order them to. Which isn't that often, considering.
>Anyway, welcome to the Red. This used to be a hellish battlefield filled with murderous abominations like myself, and it's only gotten worse thanks to some other dudes.
>I'm gonna give it to you guys straight: you're fucked. Hell, I've been doing this for like a hundred years straight and I'm probably fucked as well.
>But I've also got less worse news! If everyone cooperates and follows the plan I and my motley crew of batshit insane lunatics and fascists can't even agree on, the odds you'll somehow make it to tomorrow in something resembling the state you started the day isn't zero.
Thank God Kaz took over.

>>43279101
>Hey, it got us to the endgame.
You mean the Smiler endgame. We still have no idea what the actual Red World endgame is.

File: 1423776902159.png (367 KB, 500x600)

367 KB PNG

>>43279185
Shit, we should have used those exact same words.

>>43279198
We only know that it should involve the Chalice Queen.
Who, right now, is three separate people, basically.

>>43279185
Moral of the story: Don't let the PTSD addled sociopathic murder-machine make the heartfelt speeches.

>>43279281
Hey now, the second part was at least semi-decent.

>>43279281
It's not that bad. He's only a partial sociopath.

>>43275101
If nothing else, you have to respect Kaiser for being so dedicated to protecting Megumi. He's undergoing some of the worst forms of torture in this fight and is still doing his best to beat down the enemies that threaten the only thing he still cares about.

>>43279617
Eh, I think he's protecting Megumi as much as smashing everything in sight.

>>43279617
But who are we protecting?

Who are we fighting fooooooor?!

>>43279700
Our ego, obviously. Two guys fucked with two of our waifus and almost killed our bro.

>>43279663
It's not like he can do much more than that, considering his build. Talking lethal attacks meant for her and killing anyone who is a danger to her is really all he can hope to do.

The really funny thing is that White Joker apparently spent shittons of time and effort to prepare for everything we could have done and so much of that was wasted because we're such a fuckup.

>>43279856
And yet most of his plans still went tits-up because not only did Joker turn Mio into the Chalice Queen, he did so by having her own mom posses her.

File: Red Joker Dance.gif (2.99 MB, 129x150)

2.99 MB GIF

>>43279856
If Red Joker has no idea what the fuck he's doing, then his enemies certainly cannot predict his moves.

>>43279617
Kaiser isn't even sapient anymore. He's a mindless killing machine.

>>43280194
He's still very aware of Megumi's presence and his desire to protect her. Why do you think he jumped to shield her from Catoplebas and started regarding Kazuya as an enemy when he blasted her?

He also recognized Imago's name and expressed his hate for him.

Did anyone archive this ep?

>>43282712
>Rust Kaiser is a fucking nuisance and Calcite Arrow continues being a jobber. OP leaves us and plans are frantically thrown around.

>>43276785

You might want to check out the new manga 7th Garden. The heroine looks so much like Hecate, it's uncanny.

>>43284029

>looks like Best Girl

PICKED THE FUCK UP

File: 7thgarden1.jpg (244 KB, 728x1059)

244 KB JPG

>>43284029

Holy shit, she really does.

I think a large part of Hecate's appeal was her characterization. You'd think she would be a complete vamp, but she was actually really inexperienced when it came to romance.

>>43284559
Comes with being a ghost since she hit the age where girls only start taking a serious interest in romance.

>Holy shit, she really does.
I think Hecate was flat, though.

>>43284802

At least we now know it's possible for her to have sex, so a relationship isn't necessarily doomed.

>>43284559

BEST GIRL LIVES