Whitestone@Granado Espada (Fam Lvl 60)

Honey Bees of Ulstiur

2012-02-04T10:41:00.001+08:00

"Shush, be quiet now... be veri quiet.. or it wont come" Lionel whispered. Lying beside him, Ludin retorted," but I want to kill monsters!!.. not play hide and seek!"
Nevertheless, she managed to quieten down and stared through the leaves of the bushes that covered them. Minutes passed... the summer heat of Ulstiur Zona burned their backs and their perspiration pooled in the soft ground beneath them.

"buzzzzz... buzzzz.."
"Its here!" Lionel thought, and risked a peek. Indeed, right in front of them a honey bee hovered, so very tiny, one tenth the size of the Eripmav hornets that buzzed around. Very carefully and slowly, Lionel peered into the sight of his Elite Serpent Rifle and the world magnified to the maximum resolution afforded by the rifle sight. Taking care to hold his breath, he aligned the crosshairs of the sight onto the bee and fired!

A single shot flew through the air and hit the bee, knocking it out off the air. It fell onto the ground dazed and the animal trap activated, firing electrical boltz into the air paralyzing the bee. "Yes! We did it!" Lionel exclaimed in delight.
"What??? Thats the monster we are hunting the whole morning!!??" Ludin cried in disbelief.. "omgggg Lionel!! I'm so gonna kill you!"

Shiny Crystals

2011-12-31T11:31:00.002+08:00

"Faster, yer dogs, move yer feet!" growled Olaf as men of the Second Company hastened to load a dozen wagons with chests full of Shiny Crystals. Lined up and ready to move, the supply train waited as the loading continued.

"Hurry," a rescue knight urged, "the skeleton hordes are coming again led by General Aritos. Our men are holding them off but we must leave soon." The squad of rescue knights hurried back into the ruins of Castilla Relic. Once inside, the squad reinforced the rest of the company. 50 Rescue Knights armed with Elite Black Dragons and Serpent Rifles loaded their weapons and hunkered down behind pillars and fallen stones, readying themselves for the next assault. And then it came.
Hundreds of skeleton warriors emerged from the dark corridors that lined the walls charging at the line of knights that guard the entrance to the cavern. "Hold," Romina ordered, "let them come closer. We are low on ammunition so make every shot count!"
200m apart..
150m ...
100m. "Fire!"
A deadly volley impacted the first ranks of the horde and shattered bones. At close range, many of the shots simply went through and right into the second and third ranks. The knights fired volley after volley, crushing the momentum of the horde's charge.
80m. Over two hundred skeleton warriors covered the floor, their corpses piled high and obstructed the movement of the following warriors. Then a towering presence entered the chamber. General Aritos was huge. His large bulk towered over three metres and his roar thundered across the cavern. Covering the distance in but a few leaps, he crashed into the ranks of the knights.
"Swords!" Romina ordered. Twenty of the knights lined up beside her and raised their Altairs. "Honor and Glory!" they whispered and charged the General...
The sounds of battle urging the men, Olaf finally finished the loading the wagons and led the supply train safely away. Another 50 chests of shiny crystals raided from the Relics! A worthy prize indeed!

2011-12-21T13:17:00.001+08:00

Streak of Bad Luck continues ...

2011-12-20T22:51:00.003+08:00

Log of work done on 20th Dec

"+7 ... Failed, back to +5, +6 ... Failed, back to +4, +5 Success, +6 Failed, back to +4, +5 Success, +6 Failed, back to +4, +5 Success, +6 Success
+7 ... Failed, back to +5, +6 Success
+7 ... Failed, back to +6
+7 ... Failed, back to +5, +6 Success
+7 ... Failed, back to +5, +6 Success
+7 ... Failed, back to +6
+7 ... Failed, back to +5, +6 Failed, back to +5, +6 Success
+7 ... Failed, back to +5, +6 Success
+7 Success!"

Staring at the newly enhanced armor, Rio mulled the costs of this latest venture ... 440 boosters, 10 +5 vet imperviums and 18 +6 vet imperviums ... 517.8k gpts ... spitting in disgust, he stuffed it into a bag and left the shoppe ...

2011-12-19T09:43:00.000+08:00

Vegas was furious. Tired out after a long voyage, he had awaken only to receive news that his squad commander had perished, together with his entire squad in their first night on this accursed land. He summoned his company 2IC.

"Sir, intel reports that assasins of the guild have been spotted in town!"

" -.- .. yes, I know" Vegas endured the obvious and queried, "what else?"

"Apparently the guild recruits young women, widows and orphaned, trains them in the use of the crossbow. They move in groups of three, usually two crossbows and a scout or wizard. Our squad was ambushed by two of their groups last night."

"Good work. Find their hideout. They must have one in this town."
"Yes Sir!"

2011-12-19T09:28:00.000+08:00

Raucous laughter filled the bar as the sweet scent of freshly roasted boar choked the air. Pioneers and soldiers are everywhere. The port is especially crowded tonight as the 9th Fleet has just came in and unloaded hundreds of new pioneers. The men of the 3rd Royal Regiment stood out in their crisp blue uniform. Come the next morning, they will march for the City of Auch. While their orders are to reinforce the growing city, they were also there to hunt. Disturbing news had come that a secretive guild of assasins had formed and were responsible for the recent assasination of Lord Kurok in his courtyard.

"Hey you, stop there!" an officer shouted, pointing his finger at a young woman clad in black leather. Ignoring his summons, she turned and ran. "After her!" the officer screamed, rallying his squad of twenty as he pursued. Cael sprinted, readying her Elite Silver Crossbow as she ran down an alleyway, into a dead end!

"Arrest her!" the officer grunted, panting from the chase. His men bunched forward.

"Bolt Sequence .... " A voice whispered in the dark shadows. Five hooded figures appeared in the windows that lined the alley, all of them clad in the same black leathers as Cael.
"Fire..."
The air filled with deadly steel bolts. The 2nd Squad of the 1st Company, 3rd Royal Regiment had no chance to find cover. At short range, the bolts tore through their bodies and buried inches into the ground. In a matter of seconds twenty one bodies fell to the ground.

Nodding to her comrades, Cael deftly scaled the walls of the alley and joined them as they disappeared into the dark of the night.

2011-11-11T17:46:00.001+08:00

The Great Fordoi

2011-11-01T17:38:00.003+08:00

"Whrrrrr.. THUMP!" A huge axe lodged itself into a tree trunk after narrowly missing the rescue knight. Growling in anger, the Vordoi charged the knight. Sidestepping, Destiny swung her Altair in a diagonal arc which loped off the Vordoi's arm as it began its axe swing. Blood spattered and the Vordoi screamed in pain.

Looking up, Destiny saw the rest of her squad holding off the horde of Vordoi but slowly backing towards the huge metal structure atop a grassy knoll. Then it came...
A Great Fordoi appeared, towering over 10 feet. It gave a guttural growl and charged into the ranks of the knights. Three rescue knights raised their Elite Black Dragons and released a volley of steel bullets into the Great Fordoi but it barely flinched. It barreled into the trio and threw them into the air with a mighty sweep of its tail. "Take it down!" Fate shouted, as she moved to face the Great Fordoi. Two other knights followed. Blocking its claws and massive strikes, Fate struck again and again with her enchanted Altair, but the blows seemed to only increase its fury. It tore into one of the knights and shredded her armor.

The vordoi sensed their victory and swarmed in greater numbers. Only eight remained of the patrol that was twelve strong. Backed against the metal structure, the knights prepared their last stand. Suddenly the sky turned black! Shrieks of agony filled the air as black bolts rained from the sky and assaulted the pack of Vordoi. As the killing darkness faded, Storm faded into being, her cloak of invisibility melting away. The dark wizardess levitated in front of the Great Fordoi and dark bolts of magic fired from her Dragon Rod and tore into the beast. The Great Fordoi roared in anger and swung at Storm, but to no avail. Its claws could not reach the wizardess. "Now!" Destiny shouted, sensing the opportunity. The knights charged the beast from behind. Enraged by the wizard, the beast was oblivious to the knights. Finally, its wounds brought it down, and with its demise, the rest of the Vordoi fled.

As the knights tended their wounded comrades, Destiny looked for the wizardess whose appearance had saved the day but she was gone. "Sure is good to fly" Destiny muttered as she sheathed her sword...

Rio's Fiasco

2011-10-04T05:43:00.004+08:00

~ Log of work done on an accursed piece of armor ~

1st try to +7 - Fail, back to +5. +6 Fail, back to +4. +5 passed. +6 Fail, back to +4, +5 passed. +6 passed.
2nd try to +7 - Fail, stayed at +6,
3rd try to +7 - Fail, back to +5, +6 Fail, stayed at +5, +6 Fail, stayed at +5, +6 Fail, stayed at +5, +6 Fail, stayed at +5, +6 Fail, stayed at +5, +6 passed.
4th try to +7 - Fail, stayed at +6
5th try to +7 - Fail, back to +5, +6 passed
6th try to +7 - Fail, stayed at +6
7th try to +7 - Fail, back to +5, +6 fail, stayed at +5, +6 fail, back to +4, +5 passed, +6 passed.
8th try to +7 - Fail, back to +5, +6 passed
9th try to +7 - SUCCESS!

Total: 9 tries to +7 (20eb, 2 +6 imperviums each time), 14 tries to +6(20eb, 1 +5 impervium each time), 4 tries to +5 (20eb each time) resulting in 18 +6 imperviums, 14 +5 imperviums and 540 eb = 578.8k gpts ...

2011-09-29T14:19:00.000+08:00

The Elementalist's Headache

2011-09-19T18:35:00.003+08:00

~ Handbook of Elements, for the budding rookie dabbling in the occult magicks ~

Choice of Bracelets
- normal attack
1. If you are fighting against a mob with equal mental/elemental resistances, occult assistance is the stance with the strongest damage (ie 2 LOE bracelets). This difference can be up to 20% more, depending on the mob's mental resistance.
2. If the mob is weak on a particular element, occult magic is the stance with the strongest damage (ie 2 elemental bracelets corresponding to the mob's weak element).

- skill
3. Generally, for skill attacks on a mob with equal mental/elemental resistances, Occult Magic has skills with the greatest damage.
4. The relative damage between the various skills depend very much on the mob's elemental resistance. Thus if the mob is weak on a particular element, choosing the right skill can have a significant impact that is multifold.

- rumins
5. You may be surprised, but the difference in skill damage between using Great Elemental Rumin, Great Obsidian and Great Spudomene is minimal, less than 1-2%. Further, compared to not using any rumins, the difference in damage ranges around 5%.
6. Against a mob of equal mental/elemental resistances, the choice of an elemental rumin is irrelevant. All has the same damage. Naturally, if the mob is weak against a particular element, using a matching rumin will produce some effect.

- in a nutshell,
1. If the mob has no particular elemental weakness, any elemental rumin works just as well, but if it has a particular weakness, then the matching elemental bracelet should be used. Thus, matching the elemental rumin to the elemental bracelets is a good idea.
2. If the mob is particularly weak against an element, use Occult Magic with matching elemental bracelets and spam the relevant elemental skill (forget about Occult Assistance apart from the initial buff).
3. If the mob is equally strong on all elements, elementalists perform poorly. But if you must use one, use 2 LOE bracelets, and skills for Occult Magic or normal atk on Occult Assistance.
4. Finally, dun just stand there and mull over your options... You'd be DeAD by the time you decide!

2011-09-07T08:21:00.001+08:00

Rio's Log

2011-08-17T21:18:00.003+08:00

Log 17th August -
"Jaz came by today and left me two pieces of +6 armors and a bag of gold. Said to +7. After deducting what he owed me the last time I did some work for him, there's barely half a bag left. Good enough to trust him I guess...
2015 .. +7 ... failed, went back to +5 ... 2018 .. +6 .. passed. 2019.. +7 .. failed, went back to +6. 2021 .. +7 ... failed, went back to +6 ... 2023 .. +7 .. failed, went back to +5. 2027 .. +6 .. passed, 2030 .. +7 ... SUCCESS!
ok, now for the second armor...
2038 .. +7 ... SUCCESS!

total cost : 12 (+6 vet impervium 13.2k gpts), 2 (+5 vet impervium 10.6k gpts), 160 (enhancement boosters 0.5k gpts) adding up to a total of 259.6k gpts

hmm lucky for him, a stroke of luck on the second armor leaves him in the black, but that about wipes out his entire bag of gold ^^. Ok, will wait for him to come by tomorrow to pass him back the armor."

Torsche's Basement

2011-07-14T11:43:00.002+08:00

"Now!" Emilia shouted as she dashed through the doorway. Bernelli raised her shotgun and took careful aim at the doorway. Barely seconds passed as a horde of Lloyds streamed into view. Her Dragon Shotgun fired in a thunderous roar, filling the air with shards of metal sharpnel. The entire group of Lloyds were shredded to pieces instantly. The few that remained were quickly busted by Brunie in a stream of bullets. Emilia ran forward to check the bodies, finally found a key in one of them.

The trio moved from room to room in the huge mansion, repeating the process. Emilia running in, luring the mobs to the guns of Bernelli and Brunie. At the end of the corridor, Emilia retrieved her seventh key and they dashed back down the corridor towards the entrance where another parallel corridor awaits at the southern wing of the mansion. Working their way down this second corridor in the same manner, they collected another seven keys before a portal appeared. They entered the portal.

They found themselves in a large room. A Victor spotted them and charged. Retreating to a corner of the room, Emilia rushed to cover the team with protective spells as Bernelli and Brunie loaded their weapons. The Victor reached them in seconds, only to be greeted with a hail of gunfire as Brunie unloaded an entire magazine of bullets right into its chest.
"Mortal Wound!" she grinned as she spotted cracks appearing in its armor.
Taking the cue, Bernelli fired into the same spot, 20mm slugs punched into the Victor, throwing its heavy bulk back. It roared with anger and charged again, its great strength sending it crashing into Bernelli. Bracing herself against the wall, she jumped and planted her feet into its shoulder and plunged her shotgun into the hole in its chest and fired. At pointblank range, the slug punched through the Victor's body and exited through its back in a huge gaping hole.

The Victor trembled and fell onto the ground.

HeartBreaker

2011-07-03T05:16:00.002+08:00

"Quee.. Quee .." crickets added their sounds to the dark night. Three shadowy figures crept along the rooftops, moving steathily towards their target. They reached their destination and stared down into the courtyard where a lone master scout is training with his dagger.

Quietly, the trio moved in unison, fitting a steel bolt into their Elite Silver Crossbows.
"Heartbreaker," whispered the leader. With a nod, they took careful aim. Their skill is perfect. The bolts streaked through the air with hardly a whisper and penetrated the scout's armor.

"Assasins!" He tried to shout, but his throat was thick. He managed to throw his dagger at the assasins before his limbs grew too heavy. But it was too late. Against the flurry of bolts that came next, he could do no more than stare in defiance at his killers.

"Shadow Dawn" The leader ordered. The trio unleashed over 50 bolts at the hapless master scout. Invincible in battle, the master scout was knocked back across the yard. He was dead before he touched the ground. Satisfied that the incident had gone smoothy with no witnesses, the trio withdrew into the shadows of the night again...

2011-06-15T14:31:00.001+08:00

2011-05-21T11:11:00.000+08:00

2011-05-20T23:16:00.001+08:00

2011-05-06T20:56:00.001+08:00

Arsene Basement Raid

2011-04-26T17:00:00.004+08:00

"Arrgh, I hate patrolling! Nothin ever happens anyway" grumbled Tudo, flopping himself onto a barrel of wine and throwing his spear aside.
"Ok, let's take a break then," grinned Tutu, "and you should be grateful nothin happens on your watch. Just a month before you came, there was a raid in our secret warehouse!"
"o.O, tell me about it Tutu,"
"Well, it was after midnite when they came, two assasins and a scout..."

Six shadowy figures creeped into Arsene's warehouse and split into two teams, each moving stealthily down two corridors from the room. Team A comprising two assasins and a scout. Team B, an elementalist, a wiz and a swordsman. Team B moved first, raising quite a ruckus as they did. The wiz wove magical shields around each of them, making them invulnerable to the spears of the guards that swarmed around them.

Down the other corridor, the assasins wreaked havoc, firing fiery bolts at the squads of guardsmen that tried to rush them, they leaped high into the air unleashing a maelstrom of fire, incinerating masses of guards. The scout went for the captain, downing one with a dagger thrown from range and paralyzing another with a wild slash of his dagger. They moved down the corridor with amazing speed, leaving behind a wake of dead men.

The entire raid took less than eight minutes, leaving behind over a hundred dead.

"wow.. " Tudo managed to gasp, reaching out for his spear with trembling fingers "erm lets start patroling again.. "
"sure!" Tutu grinned.

2011-04-09T22:58:00.001+08:00

Rio's attempt to +7

2011-03-27T08:51:00.004+08:00

Log of work done on 27th March 08:30 This morning I decided to enchant an armor that Jaz left with me. Herewith logs my attempt, 0830 - Current State +6 0831 - First attempt to +7 failed back to +4 (20eb and 2 +6 vet impv used) 0832 - +5 success (20eb used) 0833 - +6 failed back to +4 (20eb and 1 +5 vet impv used) 0834 - +5 success (20eb used) 0835 - +6 success (20eb and 1 +5 vet impv used) 0836 - Second attempt to +7 failed back to +5 (20eb and 2 +6 vet impv used) 0837 - +6 success (20eb and 1 +5 vet impv used) 0838 - Third attempt to +7 failed back to +5 (20eb and 2 +6 vet impv used) 0839 - +6 success (20eb and 1 +5 vet impt used) 0840 - Fourth attempt to +7 SUCCESS! (20eb and 2 +6 vet impv used) Bill for Jaz : 8(+6 vet impv), 4(+5 vet impv), 200 eb Total cost - 258k gpts hmm hope he drops by today and picks up his tab. End of log

Great Obsidian or Great Spuds?

2011-03-13T08:32:00.009+08:00

Dawn. Golden rays pierced through the dusky blue of the early morning. A slight breeze sent ripples across the waters, gently rocking the ships that lined the horizon. Wheelton gazed upon the wide expanse of blue that lays before him, a magnificant view that he enjoyed each morning as he stands guard on the towers that spiral high into the sky.

Looking down, he watches as the streets of Byron came to life. Merchants hustled across the open plaza as the sailors arouse from their drunken revelry.

"You never tire of your duties do you," Rafael said as he came up beside Wheelton and leaned over the parapet to take in the view.

"Ah Rafael, what brings you here so early in the day?" Wheelton asked.
"Been wondering about what rumins to use to enchant my mates' weapons with." Rafael answered. " They just dump their weaponry and expect me to enchant them to perfection ~.~"
"Its no easy choice indeed ^^" Wheelton grinned,
Lute - Great Obsidian (stance has no inbuilt pene, even if add great spud, will be canceled by immunity defence)
Rod - Great Spudomene (lowers magical res for better chances at debuff)
Staff/Bracelets/Bishops - Great Obsidians (when used in Madness stance)
"Yea, I knew that. Its the melee stuff that I am mulling over" Rafael replied.
"Ah yes, well, for

Greatswords/Polearms/Crescent/Tonfa -put great obs for atk/race wpns to use in raids and bypass any immunity defence, for pvp, will need Great Spuds if against chars with eva but if fighting those with block, Great Obs is better since the skills mostly ignore block already and will bypass immunity defence.

Javelin/Rapier - they mostly for pvp and thus will need Great Spuds if fighting against chars with block but if fighting those with eva, using Great Obs will bypass their immunity defence and give greater damage.

Crossbows-pump great spuds since assasins hits 100+ penetrations, high enough to overcome most ppl/boss immunity defences and have enough leftover to cancel all eva/block. Assasins will love you for doing that."

Rifles, Bayonets, are used mostly on Raid bosses which may have some immunity and relies on skills to exert damage, so Great Obs will bypass immunity defences and hit hard.

"o.O, go on, I'm all ears!" Rafael perked up.

"Hmm, as for dps weapons like sabres, shotguns and pistols, its an even bet, but since they are used more on mobs which seldom have immunities and when used on raids, depends on status multipliers, I'd go for spuds for better general performance and status hits"

Taking a breathe of seabreeze, Wheelton continued,
"As for armors, its pretty straight forward. Put great spuds on pvp armors, they will provide a basic amount of immunity to offset the effects of most expert stances. For pve armors, great obs will be much better as they will be able to reduce damage whether or not the mobs/bosses are applying penetration attacks."

"Sounds like a game plan" grinned Rafael, "will get to it right away! Enjoy your mornin and tks!"

2011-03-12T14:38:00.000+08:00

2011-02-27T22:52:00.000+08:00

A Magic Glove

2011-02-04T08:05:00.002+08:00

"Hey Jaz, why are you looking so down?" Karja asked, giving Jazuit a nudge as he walked past her stall.

Heaving one huge sigh, Jazuit said "look Karj, I got this MaGiC GlOve recipe yesterday from the old man at the bounty guild, but I cant figure out where to get one of the ingredients, been running all over town to find it!"

"LOL, why didnt you look for me!" Karja laughed
"o.O, do you know about it?"
"Of course! My friend crafts it for a living, head on to Zeia to find her. Oh wait, take this with you, she'll need it" Karja passed Jaz a bag as she said it

"Wow! Tks Karj, whats that?"
"Its tough leather, something I picked up from Arsene's basement"

"Ooohh, oki, I'll get going right away! Thanks a bunch sis!" Jazuit grinned as he ran off.
"SIS!?? Since when am I your sis!" Karja snorted as she turned back to her stall...

2011-01-22T15:49:00.000+08:00

2011-01-04T18:18:00.002+08:00

2011-01-03T15:35:00.000+08:00

Grinding, and more grinding

2010-12-18T08:02:00.003+08:00

"Grinding! Its the soldier's life!" proclaims Porthios to his squad of fresh recruits standing in the plaza outside Queen's Gate, his newly minted Captain's badge flashing brightly under the hot morning sun.

"Today we march to Rion Prairie and into the Rion Hollows. There we shall face endless hordes of wild beasts and dogs, enough to weary your arms till you shape up!"

"How about the vets? Do they train there as well?" asked a curious recruit.
"Nay," Porthios answered, "they grind in the Frozen Fields, facing endless hordes of wild bears and bigger monstrosities!"

"Woah," the recruit answered," and how about you sir, do you still grind"

"Of course! Its the soldier's life to grind!" Porthios retorted "For experts like me, we grind in the underground cave, facing endless hordes of wild fish and the undead!"

"O.O fish?? Piranhas? Sharks??"

"Eh erm... Anyway, even when you reach master, you still grind. But this time, heheheh" Porthios paused for effect. Happy with the recruits awed faces, he continued in a whisper
"in the hallowed halls of the dead far within the Castilla mines, they face endless hordes of ancient warriors, souls of the living dead!"

The recruits mouths gaped, and their eyes grew round as saucers

"Odds of twenty to one you will be facing!" Porthios said in a loud and as stern a voice he could muster, "Twenty spears thrusting at yer face!" He suddenly shouted, thrusting his face into a particularly timid recruit whose knees promptly gave way and slumped to the floor.

"Alright," convinced of having made a suitable impression, Porthios continued "lets get started then. Forward March! To the Hollows!"

Elite Le Noir

2010-11-05T05:05:00.005+08:00

There are now multiple ways to get your ELN,
i) King Henry, Castilla (very decent chance just that somehow not many pioneers seem to be going for it)
ii) Novia, Ice Wizard Tower (goodness.. if only this is an instant raid too)
iii) Einwind, Gate of Lightning (yep, this definitely needs to be an instant raid as well)
iv) Joaquin Prison Raid ('supposed' to have a decent chance at it..)
v) Victor, Torsche Basement Raid Treasure Chest (saw a glimpse of it in the roulette before..)
vi) Shaman, Daemonic Occulta Bounty Hunt (well not out in this version yet ~.~)
vii) Arsene, Warehouse Raid (rare appearance.. in the roulette..)
viii) and some other impossible raids...

2010-10-21T05:53:00.001+08:00

2010-10-18T18:36:00.000+08:00

Arsene Raid

2010-09-16T14:06:00.001+08:00

"Fate! Des! Come gather, orders from Grandice has arrived!" Romina hollered as she stomped into the hall, her long traveling cloak leaving a trail of dust on the creaking wooden floorboards.

From the rooms down the corridor, a pair of twins emerged, dressed in shining Schvarlier armors with the emblem of the Rescue Knights emblazoned across their breastplates.

"What orders? We just returned from the front!" Fate asked.

"Yea, and my Altair's still dripping ogre blood…" Destiny added cheekily.

"Enough of your grumbling! Our spies have identified Arsene and his circus troupe as mercenaries hired by our enemies. Information on our deployment have fallen into his hands. Tonight we raid his home and stop him before he sends this information on. Lets go!"

Having said that, the Captain walked over to a cupboard, opened it and took out the Dragon's Winged Blade, a rare blade that sports a red dragon entwined about its pommel. "Bring your Altair's. We are hunting humans this night!"

As twilight beckons, the trio traversed the Culverts of Reboldeux and came to the cellar door that leads to Arsene's Mansion. Fate deftly 'unlocked' the door and they stepped into the cellar. Turning to the right, they moved down a long corridor and entered a dark room. Suddenly, the room flashed with a blinding light and a high pitched voice resonated across the room "ooh what do we have here, a pack of rats looking for cheese?"

"Hurry!" Romina cried, and the trio quickly left the room and charged down the corridor, hoping to be able to still find and surprise Arsene and his cronies before the alarm was raised. Charging into the next room, they came upon Frost, a huge man dressed as a clown, wielding an even larger scythe. Snarling, he charged the knights, barreling into Fate and his scythe cutting into Destiny. Gripping her Altair with both hands, the blades scrapped across each other, the scythe slammed into her breastplate and left a deep crescent cut. Seeing the way open, Frost charged past the knights and fled into the corridor, screaming for the guards as he did.

A platoon of polemen appeared around the corridor, spotting the knights, they charged. "Leave them to us, " Fate smiled. "Yep, just six to one, no problem" Destiny added. Giving them a quick nod, Romina rushed up the stairs and onto the second floor. .. where a second platoon of polemen are gathered!

Blocking one spear thrust and sidestepping another, Romina ran past them and charged into the room at the end of the corridor and found another of Arsene's Lieutenants. Charging, Romina made a quick step off to the right, deftly ducking her blades and spun around, swinging her dragonblade in a merciless strike slashing deep into her back. She collapsed onto the floor. Wasting no time, the captain backed out of the room and fought off another duo of polemen and cut quickly into another corridor.

In the next room, another of Arsene's lieutenants pounced on her, wielding a pair of steel claws. Swinging wildly, the claws caught her blade and pushed her against the wall. Romina stepped back. As the lieutenant fell forward unexpectedly, Romina turned and pushed her blade backwards, right into the surprised lieutenant's gut.

Running through the corridor, now chased by an entire platoon of polemen, Romina reached into her pouch and pulled out a potion. Taking a quick gulp, she suddenly vanished! Making a quick turn, she entered a hall and encountered Mario, the largest and strongest of Arsene's lieutenants. Invisible, she easily left him groaning in pain, blindly throwing bombs all over the room as she opened a metal door and entered Arsene's room.

"Arsene! Come out and face me!" Romina challenged as she strode into a large room. "Kill her!" Arsene cried from the back of the room and four of his lieutenants charged.

Raising her sword, Romina uttered a quick prayer and holy light enveloped her as she charged. They met in a great clash and the lieutenants rained blows upon the knight, leaving great gashes on her armor. Her defence never faltered. Blocking blow after blow, she returned each strike with equal vigor, growing ever stronger. With a mighty leap into the air, she fell the last of the lieutenants in a mightly sweep of her blade.

"Face my wrath! Captain!" Arsene cried and he raised his staff.

Magical bolts assaulted the knight. Beads of magic threatening to tear her into shreds. Then a mysterious blue flare emanated from her neck where she wears a magical necklace of protection. The bolts dissipated.

"This is the end of your treachery Arsene! " with that, she thrusted her blade into the wizard, penetrating his magical shield. Grievously wounded, Arsene gave a desparate cry and vanished into the darkness…

2010-09-15T20:34:00.001+08:00

2010-08-27T23:24:00.000+08:00

2010-08-27T06:13:00.000+08:00

2010-08-22T09:09:00.001+08:00

2010-08-07T11:32:00.003+08:00

I wan to be ImBaaa

2010-07-11T13:39:00.004+08:00

What can one do to get stronger? A nice place to start is from the hardware. Looking at the character screen, these include armors, weapons, earrings, necklaces, belts, gloves, boots, rings and of course, costumes and wings...

Armors and weapons are really too much to dwell on, so lets skip that.

For earrings, I'd go for Hope of Argus for melee chars, Will of Argus for sct/magic users and Silver earrings for range chars. Farm Magical Amethyst/Liquified Gas from Tierra or Arsene's Warehouse.

For necklaces,
Cut Mental Resistance necklace recipes drops in Tierra, Occulta Fortress, Underground Cave and Cabeza.
Cut Physical and Fire Resistance necklace recipes drops in Capybara Plantation.
Cut Fire and Lightning Resistance necklace recipes drops in Ferrucio Wall
Cut Ice and Shot Resistance necklace recipes drop in Scorching Plateau
Well, you may be wondering how to get those enhanced resistance necklaces since abs only has some of the types... there's a hunter that came in town recently with some exotic enhanced necklaces to sell and he got some griffon feathers stuck on his boots... rumors also of hunters getting these recipes from Vergo and Rafflesia.

For belts, Garim's belts the choice for the wealthy, alternatively,
HQ Metal belt recipes drops from bahamas swamp maps or the plains of Ice Wiz Tower
HQ belt or leather belt recipes drops in Isle of Fire or Katovic/Frozen plains

For gloves and boots, most will go for veteran class ones that can obtained from Arsene's raid or mobs in Sacred Dungeon. But there has been talk of Artisan class level, for that, try the mobs within the Ice Wizard's Tower.

Rings, well they drop from boxes ... and of cos rarely, from mobs. Rumors has it though that the thieves of Topolo are really rich and most of them own rings... Rings can also be robbed from Dilos Lamtern of the Arenas.

Wings often adorn the backs of veteran pioneers, especially those that splurges on wing coupons. Few pioneers however makes use of costumes with stats. Well, probably cos most are poor as a church mouse like me...

Then there's also the software, stances, special team bonuses, buffs ... ok, maybe another day. Lisa's wild boar roast is almost ready and waiting...

2010-06-19T15:59:00.003+08:00

Elemental weapons

2010-05-30T11:41:00.002+08:00

Outside the window, the sky was dark. Strong winds howled across the plaza at the quay side. Beyond the plaza, silhouttes of merchant ships being tossed about in the churning ocean waters flashed as streaks of lightning tore great jagged lines across the horizon.

Inside the inn, the air was blessedly warm. Jazuit was seated by the window and he looked happily at the plate of steaming hot venison in front of him. "Nothing beats this! Especially in this weather!" he noted, contented.
"Aye," Claude concurred as he downed a mug of beer and raised his hand for another.
"Claude," Jazuit asked, "about Romina's sword, how is it that it jolts my shield arm numb when it hits?"
"That's no ordinary sword." Claude nodded. "It came from the Gates of Lightning, known to pioneers as the Einaptor's Sword. When it hits, it sends jolts of electricity into the opponent, numbing him and leaving him defenceless."
"Gates of Lightning?" Jazuit wondered.
"Aye, there exists three elemental Gates in which minions cursed with elemental magicks wander. For those brave enough to venture forth, if they survive, they can bring forth elemental weapons from its depths."
"Wow, that means.. Romina has been there?"
"Most likely. And she has even defeated Einwind, a most remarkable feat for a warrior!"
"But beware, of all the weapons that one may claim from the gates, only the sword and rifle holds the ability to burn, shock or freeze."
"Wow! I am setting off tomorrow then, to get my sword. I want an ice sword!" Jazuit happily proclaimed.
"Ah, you seek then the Elfbleed. But there is one exception though, of the ice weapons, there is one other weapon that can freeze, the Glacial Eglanche, which is also the weapon most favored by the mistress of the Ice Gates"
"Oh, so I have to fight a woman to get ElfBleed? Haha, I'll be gentle then!"
"o.O, that woman Jaz, is also known as the ice wizardess, or known to men as .. Novia..."
"WAT!.. NoViA???... " .. * choke*..

2010-03-15T07:21:00.002+08:00

"Hey Lorch, great summer morning huh?" Bernelli called out a warm greeting as she walked across the wooden bridge. It was indeed a bright and cheery morning. The waters of Thueringen river was a beautiful crystal blue. A light breeze sent the fragrance of sunflowers into the early morning air.

Looking up, Lorch smiled and continued polishing his crystal shotgun.
"Nice shotgun," Bernelli commented as she took a seat on the wooden bench beside Lorch by the riverside.
"Aye, just enchanted it to +6 this morning. Its a mean one, strong attack, fast and burns right through the undead," said Lorch
"You don't seem too happy though, whats up?"
"Panfilo came by to visit yesterday," Lorch replied, "he had disturbing news, said that he heard rumors that my dad and bro has gone bonkers and has been hurting pioneers"
"What! C'mon then, lets look for them and get this sorted out!" Bernelli replied
"Yeah, right, btw, my bro carries a cannon that vomits 10 inch shells and my dad burns twin shotties that spews 50mm rounds.."
"O.O!.. "

2010-03-09T18:59:00.001+08:00

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2010-02-06T23:31:00.000+08:00

101 Reasons to use that NPC

2010-02-03T18:20:00.002+08:00

Its amazing how every other pioneer you meet have some secret ability that sets them apart. Its even more surprising how Sir Lyndon seems to know so much...

In fact, right in City Rebolduex, the humble town cook Panfilo is not just the pretty boy that has every girl in town falling for him. He also happens to be the only sabre user that dons metal armor. Considering that the sabre is the heaviest damage dealing melee weapon that can be wielded at maximum speed, that cook can be really nasty with his Low Guard. He also has a habit of cooking his preys on the spot with his fire spitting tricks.

And in the busy port of Coimbra, who would have thought that the unassuming little girl that sells her medicinal herbs and wares at the quay would turn out to be the ultimate buffer, skilled in not just magical defense, but also advanced tactics...

That also reminds me of an afternoon scuffle I had some time back with the local town guard. Thinking him unskilled in the expert stances, I had swaggered confidently into a duel with him, only to be beaten soundly by his Pommel skill that bypassed all my defences, ending with a resounding.. and painful.. knock on my head.

2010-01-24T14:54:00.000+08:00

Okay, where do I go to hunt??

2010-01-07T13:10:00.002+08:00

On a Sunday morning, I was lazing around at the fountain in City Rebolduex when Brunie came by to chat. It wasnt long before she started talking about her latest exploits in her treasure hunting and there she taught me how to hunt. Surprisingly, many pioneers didn't really put much thought into this and just camped at whichever map they happen to be leveling at.

Rule One: First decide which treasure you are searching for,
Rule Two: Next, scout around to find out which mob drops that treasure, and the rates of the treasure dropping from the mob
Rule Three: Find out about the mob's spawn times, places where it appears, before deciding on a suitable team and weaponry to put on the hunt.

Thats easy to say, I remember retorting, and then I grabbed the opportunity to ask her how then should I hunt for one of the most expensive items on the market, the DragonHeart recipe. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to share about it,

The DragonHeart recipe drops from several bosses,
i) The undead King of Greed, that spawns in Underground Cave of Bahamas, (one spawn spot) as well as the special dungeons (four possible spawn spots), 2% chance of drop
ii) The elusive beast, Swamp Frogfish, that spawns in Bahamas Swamp of Darkness and Peril, 2% chance of drop
iii) The Sacred Vespanola Soldiers of Sacred Chaos Requiem Dungeon, 0.003 % chance of drop
iv) The Avalanche Apparition that resides inside the Katovic Colony, 2% chance of drop

I realised then how this information can make my hunts more focused and effective. How about the Constellation Symbols? She replied quickly that these symbols all have a 2% chance of drop, its all about finding out which boss drops the respective symbols and where to find them.
"The Symbol of Aquarius?" I interjected,
"You need to hunt the General Guard deep within the Secret Tower, or Dilos Lamtern in the Arenas..."

Ok, I am really impressed now, and so I asked the final question.. "Brunie, can you tell me.. where to get all this information?"
She paused, stared at me in the eyes, and replied,
"The lores of the treasure hunter is in written form, if you want to find this tome, ponder then these words,

wordwood of merseine"

With that, she laughed and sauntered off...

Enchanting, Enhancing and Socketing

2009-12-17T10:42:00.004+08:00

I remember one of the first things that grumpy old Claude shared with me over dinner was that the strongest and mightiest weapons are never found in the marketplace but in your own cupboard. What that means, is that you really have to get down to crafting and enchanting your own dream weaponry and armors. It can be really expensive, but the ancient magicks will never fail to surprise you.

However, the costs can be brought down quite a fair bit if one abides by the following guides,
A) Always try to enchant the desired options onto the weapon before attempting to enhance the weapon to a godly glow or to open sockets on the weapon. But if the weapon is easily available, you may want to +5 or +6 it without boosters first before starting to enchant it.

B) It can be really cost effective if your raid weapon happens to be the same as your pvp weapon as in the course of chipping, the first good options that come along is usually atk/race instead of atk/human or atk/ar. Its a real horror if you had to wash off a godly 40atk/100daemon option simply because you only need pvp opts on this weapon type.

C) Choose your base weapon with care before investing in enchanting it. However godly the options, the weapon isn't going to be worth much if the base AR, or base attack score is low.

D) Gather a few hundred chips and if possible, a few of the same weapon before starting to chip them so that if you come across a good option, you can put that weapon aside and use another to continue. If you only have one of the weapon, you can also try to find a trusted friend who has the same weapon (clean) and borrow it while you are chipping so that you can hang on to a nice set of opts that came up along the way on the spare weapon while continuing to try.

E) Many pioneers have their lucky charms and rules but no matter what rules you follow, chipping, enhancing and socketing are going to be extremely expensive and if you aren't willing to pay the cost, it will be better to just settle for 2nd rate items off the marketplace.

F) This is just my personal opinion but what are the options to aim for? For raid weapons, 40atk/100race bonus would be great. As for the other options like critical, accuracy, atkspd, magical attack, you really need to see what stance and char is using that weapon. Dont forget that the three rumins you can put into the sockets can help to make up for some options. +5 is great, +6 looks magnificent and +7 .. only for the very rich and die-die-must1HkO types. Some people are duellists while others are raiders. But there are really other ways to down an opponent; use stackable skills and you can get it done with simple weapons. And here, I remember what Adelina the feisty pirate told me,

"With the mightiest of weapons, even a noob can kill but it takes a true master to kill with simple tools"

2009-12-12T17:27:00.000+08:00

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2009-10-03T03:29:00.000+08:00

Path to grow strong

2009-10-02T12:03:00.004+08:00

Herewith lays in front of you, the writings of one who has wandered the sands of the new continent for a thousand days past.

Many pioneers steps upon the docks of Coimbra, awed at the immense architecture of the port and quite at a loss of what to do. So was I.

My first mates, were a fighter, a scout and a wizard. It was not a strong team, but you could level without spending too much on those bullets and potions. With that, I managed to save up quite well as I do not have much expense. I focused on all the quests given by the local inhabitants, especially those issued by the mayor to pioneers. These quests earned me precious glaziums with which I traded for pioneer weapons that were of a high quality. It wasnt long before I earned quite a reputation amongst the locals with all the questing I did. I also made a lot of friends, and gained many more soldiers in my barracks.

By the time my first team became veterans, I had quite a pot of gold stored away and a whole array of weapons and armor, most of them pioneer standard equipment but a lot of them, worthy loots as well. I am now ready to train up my first soldiers; Angie and Catherine the Summoner. I had a really hard time getting Catherine to join my barracks. Took me weeks of training at Dr. Torsches but she's really worth the effort. Leveling them at the Isle of Fire made me my first fortune. The chips I farmed sold well. I sold them all; invisible potions, chips, weapons. By the time my Catherine received her promotion to veteran, I had earned enough to buy off a couple of veteran scrolls off a fellow pioneer.

The next couple of months, Catherine assumed the role of chief trainer, and under her tutelage, the rest of the soldiers got up to speed amazingly fast. Takes only three days to get a pair of them to level 100, compared to the three months I spent on my first team (but that was also due to the questing). My fortune has ballooned. I have a hundred million by then and three dozen soldiers in my barracks; the craftsmen, the martial artists, the constructionists, the elementalists and even the noble knights.

It is time to form my first raid team. I need them to get into the action - the raids that really brings in the moolah. For that, I chose Idge the Battlesmith (she hits hard and takes in the blows), Bernelli the gunsmith (her skill in rifles are unmatched) and the noble knight mistress Romina.

These boss raids yielded me very nice weapons which I sold for a tidy profit at the markets. I also managed to get some quests under my belt and as they became experts, I was also able to wander new lands, from the icy snowfields to the dangerous swamps. All manners of monstrosities came with my new adventures; Gerero that stalks deep in the prisons, Hellbreaker that roams the Toubkal mines, the fearsome and secretive Swamp Frogfish, the Dreamblade that tramples the wildlands, the Avalanche Apparition that steals across the icy fields.

It was then that I heard of the portals. A portal of Fire, another of Lightning and a last one of Ice. I began to train a team of elementalists. With the right elemental bracelets, the destruction and power they wield in these portals are unmatched. It didnt take long before I faced and downed Lavaleaf. It was a long and fiery match but his treasures are definitely worth it. My wealthy multiplied. Einwind was harder. Much harder. It will be a long while before I will be able to face Novia, the Ice Wizard. Definitely not alone.

The new lands that lay before me are now filled with fearsome beasts. I need weapons, many of them, enchanted with race options and well socketed. My fortunes dwindled. The weapons I sought cost me hundreds of millions, entire fortunes gathered over months of raids spent in a single day. But having found the weapons I needed, I ventured into the Secret Tower, to seek a treasure. A treasure of untold prowess, that is most rare. And here you will find me. But before that, young pioneer, you need to take your first step. Wait no more! Sir Lyndon awaits!

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