[OP-F1] PSA - Duel: Mack & Xion - New Combat Tutorial - COMPLETE!

[Mack 0]

OOC: There is NO SET POSTING ORDER for this thread.

Mack stood within the massive confines of the main amphitheater in the City of Beginnings on the first floor. It seemed like ages ago that he and the Seneschal of the Crimson Blades, Xion, had agreed to a duel. At the time the Crimson Blades hadn't even existed as a guild, but today they were finally going to engage in that duel. With the advent of the new combat system, it would be important for all the players to see the system in action and to understand how the system worked now. Likewise, it would be important for all of the Blades to see the new system in action and to understand how it worked and how everyone's stats had changed. All in all, it made for the perfect storm in terms of excuses for Mack and Xion to finally fight their long awaited duel.

As he stood in the middle of the amphitheater the bright sunshine pouring down upon the crimson cloak with gold trim that signified Mack as one of the leaders of the Crimson Blades, the hulking axe man stood silently with the butt cap of his weapon planted on the theater's stone dais, his forearm across the top of the axe's head. He could hear the sounds of people filing into the amphitheater and, similarly, he was also waiting for Xion to arrive. Between the two of them they would be able to showcase two of the most significant aspects of Sword Art Online's new combat system. First, the incredible damage output that could be achieved by players who dedicated themselves solely to an offensively minded build. Second, the incredible amount of damage that a player with a tank build could now withstand.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Mack remained in his statuesque pose. The duel wasn't to start for another fifteen minutes and he wanted to make sure that as many people who wished to see the duel and learn about the new combat engine in the game through observing the duel would be present to see it. There would be time enough for introducing the combat to the assembled players once the appointed time for the commencement of the combat had arrived.

Edited September 22, 2015 by Mack

[Shirosu 0]

Shirosu had heard that Mack and Zion were doing a dual in the amphitheater to display and show others how to use the new combat system. She had already been playing with it herself, but a visual of others trying it out would be helpful, that, and she personally thought it would be fun to watch Zion and Mack beat each other up in general.  Exiting her shop she walked towards the theater, which wasn't to far away from her little home base on her shoulder her almost constant companion, Gin the three tailed fox, was making conversational little sounds, as if he wanted to listen to Shirosu talk, but she simply pet him and continued on her way.  Finally reaching the amphitheater she went down the steps until she was in the first row, and seeing as only Mack was their she smiled and hollered by way of greeting,"Hey Mack!, this sounded interesting so i thought i would come watch"  showing interest in the arena Gin hoped off her shoulder and almost into the arena before she caught him in mid air and scolded him"No, that is not a place for foxes, stay on my shoulder" with a strange huff he reseated himself around her neck and watched the theater mournfully. 

[Rebekah 0]

Maybe this is interesting? The blonde had heard all about a new duel that was going to take place on the first floor. As it stands, she was intrigued at all the other sword skills that are out there, even though, she herself is a grandmaster rapier user. More importantly she had heard a lot about the infamous Mack, and wanted to know if he was actually the real deal, a single player who had the highest damage ability in the game. However, she did not know at all if this was going to be interesting to start with. Besides, she was already counting a number of players in her mind, the ones who will be eventually taking on the boss in a few week's time, and that was going to take some time, maybe there are some new front liners this time, or not.

With that in mind, she made her way to the back of the arena in the stands, and she was not going to stand out today, unless someone notices her. There was no real reason to, unless someone else she knows just so happens to watch it happen. Besides, duels are so rare nowadays, that it is interesting to see one.

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan was to the side watching the fight, though when you are a man with a tall height like Mack with long flowing red hair and ominous equipment, it was kind of hard not to stand out. Tristan himself seemed to be one of not many players who could truly tank, but he has had to sacrifice his damage potential in consequence from it. He decided this would be the perfect opportunity to see the power of the new sword arts from the top end, seeing as his focus was on absorbing damage. Thus this exhibition match was rather intriguing for him to watch. He also wanted to see how his tanking protoge Xion was progressing, seeing as they were the exhibition tank for this fight. "Let us hope this is a fight worth watching for the demonstration of the changes." he said to himself as he waited.

[Koumori 0]

(two of my favorite peeps how could I resist)

I had been there when Xion originally challenged Mack to a duel and I was very happy to hear it would finally be carried out. I couldn't wait to see Mack lose. But when I heard it would be in such a public and over the top setting I was a little ticked. He claimed it was for instructional purposes, but you hardly need and amphitheater for that. Typical Mack, what a show off. In any case, I decided I would go. I had no interest in whatever they were teaching, I was more than capable of learning myself, but I did want to see the duel. I made my way to the location and entered the theatre. Many people had already come in. Looking around I noticed familiar white hair in the front row and immediately identified it as Shirosu. Great, I'd have someone who could make this fun. I made my way down to where she was sitting and plopped myself down next to her. "Hello gorgeous is this seat taken?" I said in the cheeky voice she was all too familiar with, smile already formed. I turned back to the stage and in the same tone yelled out to him with a wave, "I hope you lose buddy!" I leaned back in my chair and made myself comfortable. "This should be interesting."

[Takao 0]

It was difficult to miss the amassing crowd that had started to gather around one of the popular dueling locations on the first floor, which was an amphitheatre reminiscent to the one he had watched Mack spar in some time ago. A growing crowd at such a location was typically a tell-tale sign of some organized fighting, which Takao would occasionally stop to watch. He glanced to his familiar that trotted along on the ground beside him. "Wanna see what's goin' on?" he said to the monster, who shrugged its shoulders in response and refrained from displaying any real indication of interest. Takao mirrored the shrugged shoulder gesture and positioned himself at the back of the theatre, leaning his shoulder against one of the large stone columns that dotted the outer edges of the oval building. From his elevated position, he had a clear view of Mack, as well as some of the other more characteristic individuals that stuck out among the audience. He could tell Koumori was present as well, having heard him well before seeing him.

[Opal 0]

A crowd of people always meant men and a fighting arena meant sweaty men. She could not resist when she traversed floor one and sought out the noise in one of the many dueling stadiums in the area. She took a peek as she climbed into the rows of seats and noticed that it was Mack and Xion who were about to duel, "Oh man...not even...close..." She thought there were gonna be some really hot good looking guys throwing down in this battle but it just turned out to be the Guildmaster and the Aegis of the Blades. 

Sighing to herself, she decided to stick around and watch them beat the crap out of each other anyway. It would be an interesting match to watch as Xion was known for being the guild's tank and Mack being the brutish damage dealer. She had also heard of the new sword art system and was specifically told a day ago not to spend her points on anything new. Master Myoga had sent her a message claiming it would ruin her training and the build he had planned for her to use. 

Well, she could do little more than just watch. She had two days of freedom remaining until she had to march up the mountains to the Temple of Myoga. As she scanned the area she noticed a few others taking part in watching as well. A tall red haired fellow who seemed to give off a powerful presence. She bit her lower lip...another hotty was here after all. Then there was a golden hair woman she had also never met before, she got that same ominous presence from that woman as well. She pouted lightly, with her meager equipment, she probably wouldn't even be able to compete with the other girl. She sighed...well, can't win them all? Then there were two others perched together. Shirosu, from what she could tell from the almost snow white hair and Mori, a recent friend she had met not too long ago. 

Opal decided to keep to herself, everyone was pairing up. How was one of the hottest girls in Aincrad left out like this? Where was her date?

Edited September 10, 2015 by Opal

[Azide 0]

"Ever get the feeling that this place isn't quite as big as it appears?" asked Azide. He spoke without turning his head, as the social norm dictated, but rather kept his attention on the massive man standing at the center of attention. Assuming the grapevine wasn't simply pulling his leg, he'd gathered that this fellow must be Mack. With a stature like that, the player's bulk and size were apparent even from all the way up in these stands. "Not the kind of guy I'd like to meet in a back alley, that's for sure."

A few swipes and taps sufficed in generating a few different windows- mostly blank, but a few templates and headers were visible. His eyes darted to the time, and upon confirming that the duel had yet to commence, finally looked over to the young lady beside him. A nod of the head and a warm smile served as his greeting of choice. "I always seem to run into the same bunch, one way or another." 

He enlarged each window before enabling Cardinal's handwriting recognition system; the mechanics behaved similarly enough to the Sword Arts skill-assist feature, translating approximate motions into more exact ones. It was somewhat of a shame to see his own handwriting converted into a generic font, no matter how much neater it looked this way. In any case, it wasn't game-breaking, and he had learned to live with it.

After logging Mack and Xion into the appropriate fields, he minimized the windows before looking back to Rebekah. "Not to say that I mind it, of course."

[Lawfer 0]

The arena was trembling in excitement, the golden haired spearman could feel the energy pulsating through out the amphitheater. This was going to be one for the books. Lawfer had known about each of the respected contestants power, but he had never seen them clash before. He himself was excited to see how the other would fair. Could the ultimate damage dealer of the guild beat the perfect crimson blade shield? As he searched the amphitheater for a place to sit, he couldn't decide. He had seen others from his guild that had made themselves comfortable in the front row, however, he didn't really feel like joining. He was their comrade but at the same time he felt as though he was a bit of an outcast being one of the lower level players. He noticed many seemingly strong players in the midst, their equipment had given them away. "I guess everyone is curious about this match." He stated to himself in a low town. 

As he looked over his left shoulder, he noticed Opal standing there like a prom queen without her king. The thought had made the warrior chuckle a bit, gesturing a wave and a wink as the two locked eyes momentarily, the man continued down the amphitheater steps to find a seat of his own. He hadn't planned on staying long, however, this was the perfect opportunity to learn about the new system. He himself had experimented with it, but was still learning the ins and outs of his new build. "Axe or shield?" He asked himself. "I'll put my money on axe..." He concluded. His some biasedness because he two would be trying to create a DPS build. Taking his seat, he pulled up his interface and withdrew a water. Taking a sip of the canteen he placed it at his side eager to see the battle to come.

[Xion 0]

The arena was already filled with people by the time that Xion had arrived, looking on in awe of the majesty of the building. While he was admiring the building, his face was one of pure determination, the face of a man who will not stop until his goal had been achieved. He locked his eyes onto the hulking form of mack as he entered the amphitheatre. Xion himself was encased in his Maelstrom armour, with his usual crimson and gold shoulder piece/cloak on his left  shoulder. He looked around at the spectators, many of which Xion knew, and was glad that they had turned up, even Tristan, SAO's grand aggro tank and officially the best fighter in aincrad had  even turned up, along with many others such as Koumori, Opal and Shirosu, as well as Lawfer, one of the newest Crimson Blades members. 

 

"Mack...so the time has come..." he said, planting his shield in the ground as he faced off against his guildmaster. Well, Mack was more than that to Xion, he was a brother in arms, someone whom he would trust his life with, who he trusted and respected. "I hear that you're the best damage dealer in the game now, too bad I'm not suddenly the best tank...But anyway, I've waited for this. Let's make this duel an honourable one, and one that those who have gathered to watch us will remember for many days to come"

 

Thorns does not proc per hit with a multihitting sword art. Thorns only hits once against a sword art. -Tristan

Edited September 10, 2015 by Tristan Delaney

[Mack 0]

"Agreed, Seneschal. There will be no hard feelings on my part after I mop the floor with you," Mack replied, throwing back the hood of his guild cloak and offering an ever so slight smile in Xion's direction. "Time to address the crowd," he muttered out of the side of his mouth, before turning to face the assembled players and holding both of his hands up in the air in, what he hoped, was a gesture that would indicate that they should all quiet down and listen though he truthfully had no real way to force them to be quiet.

"I'm sure many of you have noticed that the Game Masters, in their infinite wisdom, have patched the combat system for Sword Art Online," Mack began, not wasting anyone's time with introductions. After all, that information had been put out on the invitations that the players had been received, so repeating it would be redundant. "What they mean by "patching the combat system" is that they've completely re-written, re-balanced, and re-done the whole thing," the hulking axe-man continued, his voice booming out in the way only a military non-commissioned officer's could. "Everyone has considerably higher HP totals now, everyone lost a few levels here and there, our damage outputs have all been altered and new Sword Arts have been introduced," Mack continued, explaining everything. "This also means that all of the mobs have deeper health pools and hit considerably harder, which makes the front lines that much more dangerous. Now, more than ever, joining a Guild is important and the Crimson Blades are always recruiting. We will take anyone, yes... even you Koumori," the blonde man continued, leveling a finger in the direction of the brown-headed youth. "There are other Guilds as well including the Azure Brigade," Mack continued, nodding to Tristan who was in attendance. "The Velvet Room and the Guardians of Aincrad. I can't speak for their admittance policies, of course, but if you're not in a guild already I strongly suggest you find one."

"That having been said, in order to be safe outside of the towns and other safe zones now, you must understand how the new combat system works and the way it has redefined primary combat roles. With that in mind, today I'm finally giving my Second-in-Command his fondest wish... a public duel. We will showcase the new combat system and how it specifically affects two popular player builds, Xion as a tank and myself as a DPS player or, more colloquially, a glass cannon. This will be a half HP duel, neither of us has any desire to kill the other." His introduction completed, Mack took up Guillotine in his hands and turned to face Xion.

"Ready," he called to the blonde swordsman, sending the duel request and waiting for the timer to tick down as he shot a salute in the direction of his opponent.

ID: 31067
BD: 7 (6+1)
Mack: 71/75 (Energy: 10/17) (-4 Thorns)
Xion: 35/49 (Energy: 11) (-14/49 Damage, Mitigate: 35)
Skill: Crescent Avalanche (7 hit Combo (7x1), Cost: 7 Energy, Damage: 49)

As the timer ticked down to zero Mack crouched and locked in his biggest sword art skill. He'd already crunched the numbers on the math and, while it ordinarily would have been a one hit kill move to hit Xion with it, because of the tank's mitigation he would be in no danger of being killed. But, that didn't mean that Xion wouldn't still feel the impact of the blows.

"Crescent Avalanche," Mack bellowed, exploding forward towards Xion in a furious frenzy of motion. With the first strike, Mack lashed out towards Xion's head with the butt cap of Guillotine, but the tank was ready and he deflected the strike up and over his head. Continuing the assault, Mack used the force from the deflected blow and swung Guillotine underhanded in an uppercutting motion towards Xion. This blow too was also deflected. With each miss, Mack could feel the thorns enchantments on the tank's armor stinging him, but he ignored it. Reversing his grip on the mahogany haft of the bearded axe, Mack tomahawked the blade down towards Xion's head. Again, the shield was there to meet the assault but it left a small opening in Xion's defenses that Mack was quick to exploit.

Stepping into the opening, Mack slammed his shoulder again into the tank but this time the shield wasn't all the way there and Mack was able to brush it aside and slide through Xion's defenses as he slid his hand up the wooden haft of his axe. With his right hand protected by Guillotine's bearded steel head, Mack delivered a solid right cross to Xion's mid-section and, as the force of the blow rocked the tank backwards a few steps, Mack dropped his level and swept Xion's legs out from under him, spilling the blonde man down to the floor of the amphitheater. "Your turn, Xion," Mack rumbled in a low enough tone that only the blonde tank would hear him, stepping back from the man to allow him space to get to his feet unopposed. After all, this was a duel for honor but it was also meant to be an instructional tool for the other players.

Edited September 10, 2015 by Mack

[Xion 0]

ID: 31073

BD: 8 (GUESS WHO'S GETTING PARALYSED GOOD SIR) 

 

Xion grunted as he moved his shield to blow every blow that he could, Mack's health being chipped at as he did. But finally the blonde axe warrior found an opening in the tank's guard, before sweeping his feet from under him, forcing him to the ground. As Xion fell her heard the thud and chink of metal colliding with the floor, before Mack said that it was Xion's turn. 

 

"For a man who is bound by honour..." Xion said, his words laced with anger. "That was a disgraceful trick...!" he yelled before charging towards Mack with surprising speed for a tank, ramming his shield into the warrior before turning to strike him with the Slicing Maelstrom, driving the blade into the side of Mack's body as electricity surged from the blade to him, the man's body becoming limp and lifeless as he did. "Never, underestimate the power of a Maelstrom..." he said, staring into Mack's eyes with an uncharacteristic...fire, one which any ordinary man would have mistaken for passion. 

 

Mack: 70/75 (Energy: 10/17) [PAR]
Xion: 31/49 (Energy: 10/11) 

[Beoreson 0]

Beoreson walks out from the shadows. Anyone that had bothered to look over in the corner he was in would have easily saw the man but, he had reappeared finally. The man had gone AWOL for a week, with only a note on his door that read,"Gone Hunting. Be back in a week." The warrior had been watching the fight for the whole time, and shouted rather loudly to Xion,"All is fair but, nut shots in my option!"

[Mack 0]

Mack: 70/75 (Energy: 11/17) (+1 Energy Regen.)
Xion: 35/49 (Energy: 10/11)

"I only exploited the new sword arts system," Mack said, gazing up at Xion from his position on the ground. Predictably, the tank had used his weapon to paralyze Mack. Not that Mack had really expected Xion to not use that tactic. Still, he knew very well, that the blonde man had put all of his skill points after the respec into his heavy armor skill so, while he could mitigate a significant chunk of the damage that Mack could dish out to him it would literally take the blonde swordsman the better part of an hour to actually whittle down half of Mack's considerably larger health bar, by which time the thorns that imbued the Angelic Sheath would have worn down Xion's health to the point that, even if Mack remained Paralocked he would still win the duel. Of course, the Grandmaster had known that from the start. Part of why he had finally agreed to the duel in the first place was because his Seneschal was getting a bit too duel happy and Mack thought that his second in command could use the lesson in losing. Not that Mack would ever admit that to Xion.

[Xion 0]

ID: 31146

BD: 6 (1 DMG) 

 

 

"I meant sweeping my legs from under me, and also the fact that you waited until, you had no way of losing to duel me" he said, his voice shaking a little "I wanted to fight you as equals, to have a battle of strength and skill. NOT SOME GLORIFIED BLOODBATH THAT SERVES ONLY TO BENEFIT YOU!" he yelled before driving the blade into mack's body once more, dealing a tiny amount of damage. "See? if I didn't know you better I would call you a coward...but that's not true...not even close..." he said, as he backed off. There was no way that he could win, he could only wait for the inevitable. 

 

Mack: 69/75 (Energy: 11/17) 
Xion: 31/49 (Energy: 10/11)

[Shirosu 0]

When Shirosu heard a cheeky voice that she knew all too well she grinned from ear to ear and laughed,"We'll, if it isn't my favorite troublemaker, here to steal my imaginary friends spot huh?" she was actually quite glad to see Koumori, she knew this would highlight the fight for her. On her shoulder Gin noticed who had sat next to her and got very excited, sliding off her shoulder he hopped onto Koumori's lap and yipping licked his face a few times to show that he was happy to see the guy,"Traitor" Shirosu muttered under her breath before turning her golden eyes upon the arena.  She sucked in a gasp of air when the fight begun, really thankful that it wasn't her in that field, seeing as she would have been KO'ED on the spot with her meager HP.  Shirosu was torn on who to cheer for seeing as both were friends and guild mates, maybe she would keep her mouth shut and stay neutral, that was a safe plan. leaning over she asked,"Did you come just to bug Mack?" she figured it was as good a guess as any. 

[Opal 0]

Opal watched as the battle between the two started. She had caught a glance at Lawfer who didn't even come by to sit next to her, "Well, fine...I guess I can sit by myself..." Giving a defeated sigh, she watched the two collide, Mack clearly getting the upper hand. That honestly wasn't surprising, a man that big and with that much ambition to start an army, he would be one of the top dogs in the game right now along with the several others that seemed to show up. She wondered how they were judging this match. 

She felt a bit sorry for Xion, his flame seemed to be extinguished by the chosen words he used. She didn't think it was in him for him to say things like that, was he just frustrated from the duel or maybe it was some deeper in meaning. Living under the shadow of a person like Mack might cause some jealousy, but she didn't think Xion, the Second in Command would be brought down like that. It was probably just the intensity and raw emotion brought about the duel. 

Opal shifted in her seat, lifting one leg over the other as it bounced lightly. She noticed Kourmori and Shirosu were getting pretty close down there where they sat. They looked like a cute couple to be honest. Couple...she thought inwardly. She would love to just snuggle up with someone right now and ease her tension. This was one of the last days she had left before leaving for her two month training session, and her time was quickly running out. 

Grave didn't make any appearance, perhaps her was not interested. Jomei, wasn't here either. She had only just recently met him, but already she felt a sort of chemistry between them. She sighed once more shaking the black locks of her hair and her head shooing away the constant running thoughts.  

[Mack 0]

ID: 31409
BD: 7 (6+1)
Mack: 69/75 (Energy: 11/17 [+1 Regen, -1 Used]) (-4 Thorns)
Xion: 34/49 (Energy: 11) (-1 Damage, Mitigate: 35) - STUNNED
Skill: Grand Destruct (1 hit Combo (1x1), Cost: 1 Energy, Damage: 7 + Stun)

"As you'll recall, I offered you a fair fight," Mack said, getting back to his feet and rolling his head around on his shoulders as he tightened his grip on Guillotine in the wake of the paralysis wearing off. "Did I, or did I not, offer to fight you unarmed with no enhancing gear provided you took the same restriction? I believe I did," the Grandmaster said easily, considering his sword skill options to pick one that would be the most instructive for the audience. Something with stun seemed to be in order. "You rejected that offer in favor of full gear. Well, this is what full gear is for me now. I had nothing to do with Kayaba's re-writing the combat engine, but this situation is entirely of your own making since I offered you an unarmed duel."

His mind made up on choice of attack, Mack brought Guillotine up over his head and felt the sword skill lock into place. "Grand Destruct," he bellowed, leaping forward as he shouted the name of the skill. Guillotine slammed into the ground at Xion's feet, releasing a shockwave of energy that shook the amphitheater. Since he'd used the skill before, Mack was prepared for the effect and he was pleased to see that it left Xion teetering on the spot, unable to move his feet or react in any way because of the stun.

"This is a new weapon effect called stun," the blonde man called out to the crowd, turning his back on Xion for a moment to address them. "It mimics the effects of paralyze with the caveat that once a target has been stunned they cannot be stunned again for at least two rounds in combat."

[Rebekah 0]

Unfortunately, her attempt at trying not to be notice in the crowd did not work as Azide looked right at her, and finding her out of nowhere. "Well, what do you think of the skill of them in the duel?" she spoke, seeing how it was somewhat overmatched with Mack holding a lot more health than Xion. It was those two kids from the boss raid meeting, which she wanted to know if they were as strong as they claimed to be. As she watched, she was getting bored, no big fancy moves have been used so far, just simple combos that last 1 damage. Maybe they were not as powerful as they seem, and thought this was an afternoon wasted when she could have been out there training on the front lines, just before the raid. But since Azide was here, she did not want to leave now, so she decided to stay behind and finish watching this duel. She sat down in a seat now that she did not need to hide in the back of the arena.

[Azide 0]

"Man, it's hard to get a warm welcome these days," said Azide, with a sigh. His fingers danced across the virtual screen before him, taking note of every skill, effect and change of health that resulted from each exchange. After narrowing down an admittedly vague range of possible damage and mitigation values for each party, he jotted down his final thoughts for the moment before looking back to his former guildmate.

He grasped the point of his chin and cradled it for a moment between his slender fingers- ones that would be more at home around the base of a pen than the handle of a sword. "To be honest, I haven't seen anything yet that really blows my mind, although it never hurts to keep an eye out on how everyone else is performing." A certain something sparked in his eyes before settling back into the familiar chestnut-brown. "You never know when, or how it might come in handy."

Just as the words left his mouth, a tremor shook the whole arena, if not the very floor itself. Azide shifted his gaze back to the combatants, raising an eyebrow as he witnessed the aftermath to the hulking man's latest maneuver. "Grand Destruct?" he spoke, under his breath. "I'll have to remember that one," he thought, noticing the technique's stunning effect.

As the shaking came to pass, he found himself speaking again before he'd intended. "I'm sorry for leaving like I did," spoke the brown-haired youth. The words had left his lips without much delay, and he shifted slightly in his seat, looking as if he'd suddenly realized that he hadn't studied for an approaching exam.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Azide