[PP - F13] Aftermath of a War, Planning of Another -- F13 Boss Raid Meeting

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Soon after the Unique Event Quest ended, Ariel summoned via PM a few of the leading figures that she saw on the battlefield, defeating Darkened Souls one after another, side by side. She didn't want to waste more of their time on properly organizing the meeting at her shop so she decided to hold it in front of the Cathedral. Inside the remains of what appeared to be a cafe, where seats and table are spread evenly around the place. She wasn't sure  who would join as she send a local widespread PMto those that had been here for the fight. It made sense to her as they were the ones that saw firsthand the power of Avarious, the Fallen Angel that exited the Cathedral and defeated Leothiel. Together they will have to discuss means to defeat him.

"Let's see who will show up" muttered the blonde as she sat down on a chair and kept watch over her sleeping companion, Kimba, the white lion that had been lightly injured during their scouting of this floor by a stray bolt and was now recovering. She was still angry by that fact but decided to hold this meeting nonetheless.

 

- Important -

 

• Those who want to be here just for the 1 SP and the IC ‘frontline experience’ can do so by coming, taking a seat and listening to what is discussed without interfering. •

• Only players that participate in the <<War of the Ancients>> event quest (have a thread up and going) are allowed to come to this meeting. As by merely surviving, they had proven their worth. PM me with the link to the mentioned thread before posting. •
• There is no set posting order. Feel free to post as often as you like, as long as you do not double post or bring 0 contribution to the main topic of discussion. •

• Those who want to argue or play mind games can skip this thread entirely. I want this to end quickly so we can get started as soon as possible. •
• The location is accessible for player-killers. •

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2015 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Amira 0]

Manta received a message inviting her to a boss raid meeting. She had been at the scene of the fight only a little while earlier, fighting alongside her guild mates against the Darkened Souls. She had been a part of the last boss raid, but had missed the meeting entirely, only joining in in the last few days before it started. She certainly hadn't expected another boss battle this soon after the last one. She wasn't entirely sure that she was prepared for another one, even if she hadn't actually had a chance to do any fighting the last time.

She walked over to the café, located near the cathedral, and took a seat in the middle area, not to far forwards, but not too far back. If she had ideas to share she would share them, but she definitely didn't consider herself to be one of the lead front liners. In fact, she was one of the weaker ones. A blonde haired woman was there, one whom Manta recognized from the last boss battle. She was probably going to be the leader of this raid as she was the only one there besides Manta. Obviously the person in charge would be the one there first after all. She'd never ben to a meeting before, so she wasn't entirely sure what would ensue once more people got there. Hopefully nothing to hectic.

[Zelrius 0]

Zelrius had left his comrades at the battlefield and headed out to the place Ariel said there would be the meeting. The boy was sure everyone on the floor had seen it by now, the NPCs even gave whispers about the Angel, challenging and taunting the players with every word. At this moment, the blonde boy had goose bumps, simply from the thrill of it all. This floor was truly something different and offered an experience Aincrad had yet given the Blonde boy. Things were new and unique here, just the way Zelrius liked it. Wandering into the cafe, the boy had both his blades and pendants stilled when he finally came to stop. If not for his hand stopping them, the various pieces of equipment would have made a terrible jingling noise with his fast pace, of which he would have been annoyed greatly by. 

When he arrived, Zelrius was rather surprised by whom was chairing this particular meeting. "It's been a while since we've spoken, Crowned Lion." His arrogant grin spreading across his face as he neared her and Manta, finding a seat and taking it.

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka had really hoped for a while to rest by herself in silence after that intimidating battle of the powers. However, her wishes were dashed away when she received a private message just as she was returning back to the first floor through the teleportation gate. Indeed, the flashing lights had already arrived when she heard the notification appear. With a bothersome sigh, she has teleported back the first floor where the day was light and lovely. She had a sense that the private message was going to be from some important, strong player and hence, her thoughts were answered when she saw the message. It was from one of Aincrad's most experienced tailors and she had personally bought armor from the female player. With a sigh of nervousness, she finished off the contents of the PM. Well, at least we are going through the floors with quite a bit of haste. She thought, trying to think of the positives. Shizuka then immediately went back to teleport to the thirteenth floor where an obvious contrast could be seen between the two floors. In the thirteenths floor, everything was dark... too dark for Shizuka's likings. She'd always preferred the lower floors as those tend to be a lot less intimidating than the other, beginning floors. However, she did not want to arrive at the meeting like a pissed off duck so she decided that she would wear the mask of a smile and soon, she found the cafe in which they were supposed to meet before entering quietly. She could see that so far, only two members had arrived... Zelrius, the blonde commandant and Manta Gaul, both Azure Brigade members. With a smile and a nod, she said, "I'll be sitting in the corner here... Probably won't be participating that much given my low level." And with that, she picked a seat in the corner of the gigantic table to sit down and relax while waiting for the others to arrive.

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a small sigh as he rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the small dark circles that had formed. Seeing the group forming at the front of the cathedral he gave a wave to the people that were already there, "Guess I still need to get some better sleep."

Of course, if he wasn't here would likely be at Teayre's side. Ever since she had become an orange player, he had not returned to the safe zones for anything more than gathering supplies, opting to stay out in the field zones to watch over her. "Already we're at the thirteenth floor boss planning. Things really are moving a long now. Hopefully this goes quickly."

Putting his hands into his jacket pockets he gave a small sigh before completing the trek over, "Looks like everyone's doing well. It's certainly been a while, heh."

Edited November 17, 2015 by Calrex

[Tristan Delaney 0]

Tristan himself came in also adorned in gear like Zelrius, ready for situations as per susual, though of the defensive kind with the unique blood splattered templar armor, achilles armor breastplate (he usually didn't have the plumed helm on except in larger fights) and the twinfire reflector on his back. He had considered the time of the hydra fight when he was just another guy among several, but in this he was on of the leaders, the crème de la crème as so to speak. It was an odd sensation when taken into retrospect and all, but he didn't decide to dwell on it too much, moving to where Zel sat beside him. Considering the ≪Hero of Aincrad≫'s smaller height but being utterly decked in unique weapons, he made a very interesting polar opposite in appearance to the ≪Invincible Warrior≫ which oddly rather matched due to how opposite they were in looks in just about every way. He nodded to Ariel in greeting and welcomed the others with a wave of his hand, waiting to see who else would enter before discussing more.

[Ssendom 0]

Ssendom entered the area that the meeting was held, since it was rather easy to track Zelrius since the boy never made any attempts to hide his presence. He looked around at everyone and already noticed that the God-Tank and the Golden Haired boy himself had already arrived, as well as two of the brigadiers. He noticed his now becoming good friend Calrex in the area. Ssendom wasn't in much the talking mood since he had awoken from a nap not to long before, he continued forward to one of the chairs and plopped his overly armored butt into it and leaned back, "Good to see you all." He grumbled in a tired voice.

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes got the pm and smiled.  A boss raid was something she was looking forward to.  If she wanted to make up for past mistakes,  this was the best place to start.  Opening the large door to the cathedral she looked around for her hist. 

 

"Aww Ariel,  and here I hoped we would be having a private party. " She said with a bow and a smile.

 

 Scanning the room she saw a handful of people.   Most she had fought with,  but when she saw Tristan she went to stand beside him.  Her gear was quite the opposite of her own built for defence rather than movement,  but she knew if she wanted to fight anything she wanted to make sure to have him on her side. 

[Opal 0]

Opal had arrived from the mass PM, thinking it might be a bit too much to offer any sort of advice to the veteran group of players she would soon see. She had now been in one floor raid and another event raid to give her some amount of experience. But even those were just bits and pieces; one she was actively enrolled in, the other she didn't get a chance to lift her blade. Having the information however would prove to be useful and she could craft accordingly for the Assault Team in regards to that information. With knowing that, Opal continued her trek until she reached the meeting place, a large cathedral of the new 13th Floor. Amber eyes studied on the members briefly, drinking in their presence like a cup of wine. Slowly analyzing who was here and who was not. Taking a seat off to the side, she would not speak to anyone. She would just keep er mouth shut and listen to the Ariel, but she was also representing the Knights of the Blood...as she was the only one clad in their colors. 

Was Vice Commander Azide not to appear before this council? Taking a seat, the woman pulled up on her menu to make sure she could take as much notes as she could of the upcoming raid. 

[Teayre 0]

Teayre lurked at the outskirts of the rubble of where the café was. Watching as players went in one by one she let out a heavy sigh before walking in herself, slipping into the back of the area and leaning against the wall. Setting herself away from people she looks around the room mentally checking off “Ari, Manta I think she got something from my shop, Blondie, Who’s that..” Her mental check was interrupted as her eyes rested on a girl who she had not seen before pausing for a moment the red head shook her head before continuing. “Callie-kun, Git, Dom, Wait is that... What was her name… Celes wasn’t it? Finally Opal. That’s a good turn out I think.”

Looking up her eyes met with Ariel’s for a moment before Teayre averted them, continuing looking around the room. Her eyes finally rest on the back of Opal’s head, despite the perversions of the girl Teayre did quite like her even though they had only partied a couple of times. Shrugging she walked over and leaned against the wall behind the girl clad in white and red. Catching her eye she nods at Opal before gently squeezing her shoulder and waiting for the meeting to start

[Amira 0]

A lot of people had filed in after Manta, many of whom she recognized an a good amount who she knew as they were members of the same guild. Zelrius had show up shortly after her own arrival, taking a seat near her, but not too close. Shizuka, Calrex, and Tristan had all come in and sat down as well. The meeting looked to have a good number of people in attendance so far, which was a good omen for the upcoming boss fight. She had expected to see Ebony at this meeting, but sadly that didn't seem to be the case. Maybe she just hadn't been here for the event quest.

It was too soon to say though. A good many people hadn't come yet, and who was to say that her friend hadn't taken the initiative and helped fight the darkened souls. She hoped that nothing bad had happened to her. She forced herself to stop thinking about what ifs, and instead concentrated on the other players, taking in all of the amazing looking gear. She was certain that a good bit of it was unique.

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

It's been about a couple of minutes since she had send the areawide PM and people already started coming. As she would expect since this place was next to the center of the actions that occurred during the Event Quest, namely the appearance of two angelical being, total opposites one of another from which one has died....no, its essence had been absorbed by the stronger one. What a shame that he was the enemy they will have to be facing. Before the cathedral gates closed once again, she caught a glimpse of the interior and needed to share what she saw with the rest.

First to come was a recent client of hers, she waved at the girl in greeting her. Then after came a slightly more familiar sight, clad in full battle gear as one would expect from somebody who just returned from a fight like the one just ended. "It has indeed, I see you got some new 'toys' as well" she said while glancing at the swords, partially wondering where the golden twin ones gone. Next a whole new range of people came, varying in level and gear but almost all seemed tired after the 'war' that just ended. She too was in the same state as her clothing was dusty and scratched in places. 

"We'll have to do that on another day." she replied to Celes. Before taking a look at all the members one by one. She then stood up and began moving towards a damaged portion of the cafe while talking, hands behind her. "There is one reason why I summoned you all here. I know it has been a tough battle for some... I was in the middle of the events nearby here when the two angels started fighting and those 'Souls' started spawning. I'm sure pretty much everyone had seen it but let me tell you the location of the boss room." She said with a smile as she reached the intended point in the room, then with a quick move she raised her hands like you'd see a TV show assistant present something on a board and said: "The Cathedral itself. Initially I thought it was just a another place like before since it had its doors tightly locked the first time I passed through this settlement. But when I returned this event started...sorry for all that got hurt." she said in a mild apologetic tone.

She made a pause to see if there was anyone surprised by her claim and continued." As for the boss, he made his appearance known at the start of the event quest when he exited the Cathedral. I had the 'luck' to see a glimpse of his stats and peek inside the building. His full name <Avarious, The Soulstealer> one of the Fallen Angels, apparently he's alone in his room... no dregs. With a mere 520 HP, he seems like a weak boss." she stopped to put emphasis on that particular word and continued. "And that is all I know of his stats. His appearance is well.... you've seen it I think. Tall, pale white skin and hair...His massive Two-Handed Sword <Despair> and his Light Armor Battle Robe <Soul Keeper> adorned. His 4 Wings spread out wide as dark purple eerie essence envelopes him. The room itself was dark, intensely so at first but it lid up in an ominous purple light the moment I took a step inside."

Her info ended there... it was barely anything beside the name and the fact that he was alone...and there were no apparent debuffs due to the environment. She clapped her hands and headed in front of the participants. She thought that there would be more and hoped that they were merely late... if that were to be true, somebody will brief them while they 'strategize'. "And that is the end of what I can tell you about the boss and the room. It not much but I think seeing the boss before the actual fight is a great plus... even knowing his weapon and armor is a great plus. The thing that sits on my mind is the purple glow...and the fact that at the end of the quest... Leothiel, the white angel didn't die... dissipated into polygons like all other computer generated beings in SAO but it seems his core..his 'soul' got consumed by Avarious. Also the HP is the one he had when he returned to the cathedral after challenging us directly. This will not be your typical mindless boss... Now let's hear you opinions, there is no such thing as a bad one but try not to go off track with things." 

[Zandra 0]

Zandra hurried to the cafe infront of the cathedral where Ariel was holding the next raid meeting. By her side she had her boyfriend Jomei. They both had participated in the war like event and Zandra was still tired, she mostly wanted to go home and sit down in her armchair drinking something warm.

When they arrived at the meeting Ariel was just started to tell them what she had learned about the boss. Zandra leaned on the wall a few meter from the door while she listened to her blonde friend. It seemed this time they wouldnt have to worry about environmental obstacles. It seemed like there was only one boss, the angelic creatire that have showed himself during the war. Except that she knew it health, weapon and armour it didnt seemed she got much information. Zandras brain started to work, she got several ideas, but kept quiet, for now.

[Opal 0]

Opal had turned to briefly look at the new comers who were joining in on the meeting. Opal was adamant on keeping her mouth shut while the blonde prepared to give her speech. An orange cursor caught her eye as Tearye followed suit with it. Before her training, Opal would have been weary of the player...but after so much that had happened, seeing an Orange Player was no more than seeing a green one. If she killed, she had reason to believe it was for a good reason. Everyone in this world has a right to protect themselves, and if their life was in jeopardy, then they should act swiftly and without hesitation. Feeling the palm on her shoulder with a light squeeze, Opal smiled and tapped the hand and then gestured to the seat next to her if she wished to sit in it. 

The commencement of the strategy meeting had then take foot as Ariel started to explain the situation. Amber eyes set on the blonde and the way she spoke, cutting to just the meat of the subject. So the Flood Boss was an odd entity that resembled sentient intelligence, something she had not come across of before unless you can call that ghost in the temple she had fought with Calrex that one time. Placing her thumb nail between her teeth, Opal began to surmise the situation at hand. She wondered if the souls could be saved. Was that even possible? Can you purify tainted souls? It came to question as of herself, she felt tainted from the inside and out. How many times did she subject her body to the ravages of men willing and unwillingly, how many times had she asked for forgiveness from God for her crimes against humanity? Opal drew upon those memories...but could they help the Boss find peace within his soul or will he be forever damned? She would like to help put him back on the Righteous Path...but was that just naive and childish thinking on her behalf?

[Calrex 0]

Calrex gave a nod to the people that came after him, taking note as he saw his wife enter the meeting, albeit on the outer perimeter due to her new status. Walking over he wrapped her up in a quick embrace, speaking in a soft whisper that was full of warmth and love for the person in front of him, "Good to see you. I'll be a over there for a bit. If there's any information that might be missed just let me know and I'll brief you on it."

With that he walked back over and listened to Ariel's explanation of her findings, giving a nod as he crossed his arms, his left hand reaching and forming a fist underneath his chin, "Hm...If he's wielding a two-handed then there is the chance that this boss is capable of using area of effect sword arts, as I'm sure many of the people here are aware of. That'll be possibly dangerous, especially if we're planning on using the same strategy we have for the past fights of letting the tanks take the damage. As for the wings and purple essence, it's possible those are linked to the quest that had appeared which involved the angel that had descended from the heavens, with the creatures we had to battle. If there's four wings, with 8 enemies per squadron on that quest, it just might be that we need to possibly defeat 32 to maybe weaken him. Also, If Avarious has the descended angel's soul, there is the possibility he can create Leothiel as a minion, which could turn this from a single boss battle to a double. The last thing I'm thinking of is it's relation to the Tagas quest. If corrupted people are capable of being purified, then healing abilities might serve multiple purposes in this battle."

With his initial concerns expressed he began to offer his solutions to the forseen problems, "Like Azide had proposed before the last fight, I think we should invest in at least one safeguard for each participant in this battle. If he can use AoE attacks, that puts everyone at risk whenever their turns come around. Should Leothiel appear and he can be purified, we should have healers focus on getting him back to our side. From there we should focus on the same things we have done in the past, keeping hate on the tank players while damage dealers wear the boss down as fast as possible."

Looking over at Teayre, Tristan, Ssendom, and Zelrius he gave a smirk and nod, "I feel like the last two should be a lot easier now than in the past."

Edited November 22, 2015 by Calrex

[Rebekah 0]

Rebekah had hurried to catch the meeting held by Ariel for the 13th floor. While she knew that she should have arrived a lot earlier, the girl was making some last minute preparations for their team's attempt at War of the Ancients, and that should have started, but it was going to wait. Furthermore, arriving at the wrong location on the floor did not help either. As she looked around in the room, she tried to be careful not to interrupt as they have already started. She needed to make sure to talk to someone to catch the first bit earlier. Rebekah quickly sat beside Opal, as they were doing the quest together with a bunch of other players who either are not showing up, or did not want to. Well, she waited for more information to be passed around between the groups, but the last two bosses have been disappointing, as she was so far down that roster, she was not able to do anything. Maybe this time it would be different, or the same trend ever since the new sword arts were released.

[Jomei 0]

It had seemed the two arrived at the meeting just in time, Jomei and Zandra. Ariel had just began to speak about the different things she discovered about the floor boos, who was present fighting another angelic creature as they were all distracted with the other enemies. It truly was hell, and he was happy that it was over and they were all alright. Jomei noticed Zandra lean up against the wall behind him, this would be her first boss meeting it seemed.. and with her new rank in The Velvet Room, she deserved it. It seemed, also, that Lowenthal was missing from the room as well. He had not been at the last boss fight, nor did he see him fighting in the small war they had up on Floor Thirteen. Jomei was happy he had shown up at least, so Velvet would not be completely left out of the fray. 

Taking a couple of steps forward towards the group, to get more in on the conversation, Jomei listened to the blonde woman go over what she knew, and any ideas she already had for taking on the boss. From what she gathered, the boss had a low health bar.. only a little over 500. This itself made Jomei feel entirely at unease with this guy.. Theres no way that they would be fighting an enemy with that low health.. unless its armor mitigation was through the roof. She also went on to mention that it was alone in its room, with no minions in sight, and he held a large two-handed weapon. Jomei brought his hand up to his chin in thought. "I don't like it.." he said shaking his head, "I mean, I know in the past we usually don't know much about what we are up against until we dive head first.. but this one.. I have a really bad feeling about him. Also, its minions.. or at least.. I think they were his minions that we all fought on Floor Thirteen.. They came up from the ground. Rose up like some undead zombies. So there is the possibility that we may see a return of them to sneak up on us, being you did not see anyone else other than the boss in this room." he let out a sigh, "I completely agree with Calrex, protecting everyone has always been a priority,and will be again for this fight. Safeguard potions are a must if that sword can hit all of us, especially if those hits are for max damage. Whatever the situation, I feel we must be weary with this one.. and take it out as quickly as possible before we can even learn what secrets he holds."

[Azide 0]

If anybody had taken the concept of a prompt meeting at face value, it would have to be none other than the Crowned Lion. A sideways glance revealed that only a few minutes had passed since that message had appeared in his inbox, and already, Ariel had dispensed the most vital of her information on the topic at hand. Not only that, but apparently everybody else had already arrived within the impossibly brief window of time; he wondered if everybody had already been standing around idly on this barren wasteland of a floor beforehand, as it certainly took more than a handful of minutes to transverse these broad locations. 

"I agree with Calrex and Jomei," Azide spoke, turning his eyes to each of the two as their names were called. The muted patter of his boots against the deadened ground came to a steady stop, and he folded his arms loosely across his chest, resigning himself to his position of choice before the massive cathedral which stood before them. "And not just because the former agreed with one of my own previous points. I believe it's very likely that Avarious just might be capable of bypassing our tanks through the use of area-of-effect techniques, which would be awfully inconvenient to those of us whose names aren't Tristan, Calrex or Daeron." Uncrossing a single arm, he raised forward an open palm. "Not only do I believe that we should make use of as many safeguard potions as possible, but I also agree with Jomei that we should look to eliminate this Avarious as quickly as possible."

Coffee-colored orbs flitted darkly over to glimpse the so-called Hero of Aincrad. "Therefore, I'd like to propose that we place Zelrius in the leading group as before, along with the majority of our tanks. As the only one capable of cleanly taking all five-hundred and twenty health points in a single move, he's more than capable of clearing the path for whatever trickery comes afterward. Because of this, I also suggest that we fill our next few parties with our next most capable damage-dealers, as I'm confident that this angel will be overstaying his welcome." Bringing his gaze back to the meeting's host, he tucked his arm beneath the other, before sharing a final musing. "However, I also believe that Jomei's theory just may have some merit. I think it would be beneficial to place at least one member capable of using AoE Arts in each of these groups, as well as positioning one of our tanks outside of the initial group, to prevent a blindside from unanticipated intruders."

Edited November 22, 2015 by Azide

[Celesmeh 0]

Celes listened intently and then sighed "Ok, so what I'm getting here is that the best way to approach this would be to have four groups. Three main  groups and then a backup group waiting outside. The main group should be High DPS and tanks, Led by Zel. The come in, generate hate, and then the DPS take as much off the top as possible. This gentleman" She says gesturing to Azide "Is correct in that we need a couple of dps side groups, each of these should consist of a tank, and some AoE dps to take in any minions that show up, Though in lieu of minions their job should be to attack the boss and provide support for the main group. Speaking of support the last group should be waiting outside, this should consist of two tanks and extra support, their job isn't to hit hard, but to come in and heal and get people out if things get hard. Does this sound good?" she said, stepping forward and looking at each of the players.

 

"Judging by equipment most of you are dps, some support. For this battle support will probably play a large role, considering how we had to heal the Corrupted, this will mean we need to divide our attack groups into task forces. This also means we need to prepare by making sure everyone can teleport out, if things get to heavy, and heal if our support is stuck healing any corrupted beings that may result from this fight."  She takes another breath, looking to each one of the players individually God these people are strong, I hope I can keep up...  " Why don't we set up group leaders, One for each tactical force. The main attack, where our tanks and dps will be. Our secondary attack forces, with AoE dps and support, and then our backup support group. each group can coordinate among themselves who they need to have, and then we can coordinate positions afterwards. Also talk to all of the cooks and alchemists you know, we need to be sure that we're ready for battle."

[Zandra 0]

Zandra have been standing quite and listened the whole time. She didnt wanted to interrupt. But now she have started to hear the talk and importance of safeguard potions. She had to say something. She took a few steps towards the table. "Ehm... As the leading alchemist in Aincrad I just wanted to say that I should be able to make one or two safeguards a day. Thou Im running out of ingredients. Im going on hunting trips but I cant be efficience enough to keep up with my consumtion. If anyone had any mats they want to donate I'll be very thankful. And I will definitly do my best to be able to made as many as I can. Please continue." She bowed and took a few steps back to lean against the wall.