Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Across the Snowy Mountains
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[Title]
Isn't the difficulty balancing for the new 'Ice Crystal Tower' expansion a failure? (+559)
[Content]
Is this seriously the difficulty for a solo dungeon?
Considering the Tower of Training in the plains, they'll probably give a new skill at the end of this one too, but there's no way to clear the 9th floor with current specs.
You can brute force your way up to the 8th floor since there's no enrage mechanic, but the 9th-floor boss, 'Ice Ogre King,' is the problem.
I have full temple gear and an Elite+ attack echo, but if you don't pump out some seriously artistic DPS, he enrages before 60%.
And it's an AoE enrage pattern that you can't ignore with invincibility frames.
He freezes you with an AoE and then smashes down, one-shotting you.
Managed to go crazy on DPS and get him to 60%? That's when another problem starts.
He uses an 8-hit consecutive AoE freeze pattern.
You can use i-frames for this one, but you can't let up on the DPS even for a second while dodging.
Oh, and by the way, the intervals are short, so you absolutely have to plan on using the Tower of Training skill's invincibility frames in between.
The Tower of Training skill has super short i-frames, so you'll have to try a ton of times to get it right.
And you know that even if you mix in the Tower skill to get your 8-second invincibility off cooldown, you can only resist 5 hits at most, right?
Don't even think about trying if you didn't get the cooldown reset bracelet from the dwarf village.
And even if you succeed in resisting, your DPS will be too low at the current level.
The entry level is 45, but the level cap for this 'Par Snowfield' area is 45.
But the Ice Ogre King is level 50. The level difference means your damage won't stick.
Looks like fully farming the elite dungeon in this area is the bare minimum requirement to even attempt it.
Otherwise, you'll probably have to level up more after the next area opens to beat him.
I complained in the title, but I don't think they designed it to be cleared right now anyway.
There are some people trying to see how much health they can shave off, calling it the 'Ogre-Pang Challenge' lol. Don't waste your time, just try again later.
[Comments]
- The lore hounds and sub-quest maniacs found it and spread the info, so everyone's flocking there lol. It's way over a high mountain, so it's obviously not meant to be attempted right now.
ㄴ Yeah, the entrance to the basin is on the other side. You're supposed to enter after reaching the next area, but it seems like someone brute-forced a route lol.
ㄴ Seriously? So if you exit that way, can't you get to the next area now?
ㄴ What have you learned so far? If you don't fully farm the previous elite dungeon, you won't survive the mobs in the next area ganging up on you. They only managed to clear the Ice Crystal Tower because it's 1v1 and there's no enrage mechanic until the 8th floor.
ㄴ Did they make the entire expansion map in advance?
ㄴ Yeah, but even the developers probably didn't expect someone to brute-force a route like that.
ㄴ More importantly, there are already quite a few people who've hit level 45? lol, do you guys even sleep?
- I know how to reduce the number of resists for that 8-hit AoE frost eruption. When he hits 60%, 8 fields appear on the ground, right? You can throw the torch objects on the tower walls to clear the fields. If you throw 5 and clear 5, the Ogre King only absorbs 3 fields. Then you only need to resist 3 times.
ㄴ Seriously? Then you don't have to grind reputation with the dwarf village to farm the bracelet.
ㄴ But you can't do any damage while you're doing that lol. You need to keep up the DPS even while resisting. You'll probably trigger the enrage pattern while trying that mechanic.
ㄴ Yeah, you absolutely have to level up to reduce the level difference penalty. Your DPS will probably still be too low even after the elite dungeon for this area opens and you farm it all. The level difference is just too brutal.
- Someone posted a screenshot on the official homepage of a Mage who got him down to 40%. They said they tried for ten hours and succeeded with the 8 resists just once. Seems to be the current record.
ㄴ Mages are so broken lol.
ㄴ When are they gonna nerf Mages?
ㄴ What about Swordsmen or Fighters? What are Death of Death and Whitey doing? Whitey might be able to beat it with his legendary weapon.
ㄴ Probably haven't hit level 45 yet.
ㄴ Whitey plays the game quietly. Even if he beats it, we'd have no way of knowing. If it were an elite dungeon, at least there'd be an announcement.
- Speaking of Whitey, there's a new hotspot where you can meet him. You can see him if you wander around the Ice Troll grinding spot.
ㄴ Is he leveling up? Can you talk to him if you meet him?
ㄴ You can talk to him if you hang around nearby lol.
ㄴ Yeah, I talked to him yesterday.
ㄴ What'd he say?
ㄴ 'Spot taken' lol.
ㄴ That's so cute lol.
ㄴ For real... If Whitey says 'spot taken,' you gotta move...
ㄴ Who taught him something so weird?
ㄴ He doesn't really say anything even if you just grind next to him. Seems like he moves if he feels uncomfortable.
ㄴ Don't bother Whitey... Give him the spot...
ㄴ Wow... He even shot a commercial. Our Whitey is a real celebrity now.
ㄴ I've been watching Whitey since his newbie days in the Orc Warrior zone. I knew he was destined for greatness.
***
Lately, I've been running into a lot of people.
"It's strange."
The 'Par Snowfield' is quite vast.
Even just the snowy hills where the 'Ice Trolls' I'm hunting appear have enough space for hundreds of front-runners, who have already fully farmed the temple gear, to grind comfortably.
And yet, I often see other players nearby.
Lingering about.
"Oh my, it's Whitey."
"Wow, he really was grinding here."
This time, it was two women.
My social skills have improved lately. Maybe it's because I've been talking frequently with the players I meet in the grinding zones.
Now, I can even initiate a conversation with a stranger.
I approached the two women who were lingering where the Ice Trolls respawned.
Most people move if I speak to them first.
But it's not like I rented out the entire hunting ground, so sometimes I need to negotiate through conversation.
"Excuse me, were you planning to hunt here?"
As I chirped, the women's eyes began to sparkle.
"Squee...! Just listen to that pretty voice! This is the first time I've ever heard Whitey's voice!"
"Whitey—no, Rain-nim, do you want to party with us and hunt together?"
I shook my head.
The experience efficiency of party grinding while leveling isn't bad, but I preferred hunting alone.
There's only one person who can level up with me.
"Grrrrr!"
Hoo, hoo.
With an enraged snort, a red-haired Yin-Yang Master began to appear from below the snow-covered hill.
Yin-Yang orbs spun around her, and the talisman clutched in her hand was imbued with a red aura. She was in full combat stance.
I spoke to the women urgently.
"Uh, my party member is here. It might be dangerous for you to stay."
"Gasp...!"
"It's Chris!"
Whoosh!
The women who had offered to party with me hastily disappeared from my sight.
Pitter-patter.
No longer surrounded by the women, I greeted Chris cheerfully.
"Chris, I saved a spot with lots of trolls for you."
"Hehe, thanks to you, Rain, I'll level up quickly."
Chris's expression softened as if she'd never been angry, and she smiled bashfully as she stroked my head.
"...But, were you really going to attack them? The penalty for PKing in a normal field is huge, isn't it? It's not like they did anything that wrong."
"Hmph, trying to hit on you is a serious crime, Rain."
"...Hit on me?"
I'm not prey.
Flash.
Kaaack!
Each time my sword flashed with a silver light, the Ice Trolls spewed green blood and collapsed.
Kwakwakwang!
Kiiik-!
Chris's talisman landed where an Ice Troll stood, forming a sealing circle. The ensuing explosion tore the troll's body apart.
"Alright! Level 44!"
"I'm level 45 now. But when did you get to 44?"
Chris's level was already 44.
Chris can barely log on during weekdays, so when could she have leveled up?
"Haa, I have been getting off work pretty late these days. I had no choice but to cut back on sleep to level up."
"Ah, please don't overdo it."
Chris certainly looked tired. She must have been leveling up on her own while I was asleep.
Chris looked at me with a curious expression.
"You leveled up slowly in the last area, but you were fast this time."
"Since it's a new expansion area, I wanted to hit 45, the entry level for the next dungeon, first and then look around. And there's somewhere I want to go first once I hit 45."
"Could it be...."
"Yes. I'm going to challenge the Ice Crystal Tower."
"You know that's originally a dungeon for the next area, right? Then again, it's you we're talking about."
I nodded.
I can overcome a penalty from a level difference.
As long as there's an accessible route, nothing can stop me.
"The path there is through a completely snow-covered mountain range. I heard it's hard to advance because of the strong blizzards and deep snow. I guess it can't be helped since it's not the official route."
"...That's a real problem. Rain, I'll have to go with you."
"......?"
It would be cold, of course, but I had the 'Ignition Stone' I got from the dwarf village.
The in-game outfits provide good insulation, too.
It shouldn't be a big enough problem for Chris to worry.
As I crossed a valley piled high with snow, I realized why Chris had been worried.
Poof.
My body sank into the snow, all the way up to my waist.
"Th-This is...!"
I was very angry.
Fwip-fwip-fwip!
I furiously swung the starlit Astaroth to clear the snow and began to move forward again.
Poof.
Before long, my body sank into the snow again.
I was on the verge of tears.
Just then, a pair of hands reached me from behind, sliding under my armpits.
Those hands lifted me up in a flash.
Dangle, dangle.
I looked back while dangling from those hands.
"Chris."
"Hehe. It's hard to go alone, isn't it?"
"Don't you need to be leveling up?"
"It's fine. Being with you is the most fun I can have, Rain."
Chris picked me up.
She supported my bottom with her arm and rested my head over her shoulder.
"U-Uhm."
This is embarrassing.
I couldn't help it with Iseulbi's immobile body, but to think I'd be held by her even in this world where I can walk freely.
"Ehehe."
Chris let out a silly laugh while holding me.
Rock-a-bye.
I crossed the snowy mountains, clinging to Chris's body like a cicada.