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Mercury [Ragnarok Online]

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[x] Keep going until you find whatever it is.
wdango threw 2 4-faced dice. Reason: 1d4+3 km / hour Total: 4
2 2 2 2
wdango threw 2 6-faced dice. Reason: 0.1 * 2d6 XP to LUK Total: 7
4 4 3 3
 
It's apparently impossible to update during weekend shifts. Monday I will.

Also you guys get XP to LUK for following your gut.
 
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ARC I : Nostalgic Symphony
  • Threadmarks
    • 10th Midautumn 1091
    «Prontera» ⇒ «Geffen» [23.0km/107.6km]
    ♫ : [ I Miss You ]
    ​
    You remember the last time you had a feeling like this. It had been several months back, when the frost of winter had just begun melting away for the early spring blossoms. You had followed an obscure trail into the forest north of Prontera, which eventually led you to the Lunatic Card now slotted into your blade.

    Adventurer wisdom passed down from one of your mentors tells you that gut feelings always bear fruit. All great adventurers have gotten to where they are by following their instincts regardless of logic or reason, but... Many have also met their untimely demise by being too ambitious, too greedy.

    You walk until the setting sun gives way to silvery moonlight, and the wilderness around you becomes cast in eerie monochrome.

    It's not the first time you've travelled at night, but a flash of intuition bids you to keep your weapon on hand. You summon the dirk into your right hand, and allow your fingers to clasp tighter around its hilt, and not a second too soon.


    10th Midautumn 1091
    «Prontera» ⇒ «Geffen» [28.2km/107.6km]
    ♫ : [ Away from Home (piano) ]
    ​
    Slowly, a mellow melody makes itself known to your ears, cutting through the noise of the night. A harmony of violins, punctuated by the melancholy of a raspy voice singing a wordless tune to the lazy rhythm.

    Despite yourself, your heart is moved by the music.

    The song is thin wisps of cloud against a golden moon. It is the crunch of autumn leaves under heavy boots. It is the trickling of a creek, meandering amongst the smooth pebbles upon a shallow bed. It is the sleepy blinking of a baby's eyes, and it is the slow descent of fat teardrops against pale cheeks.

    It is the nostalgia of a gentle kiss, like a breeze upon your lips.

    Your heart beats faster, and goosebumps raise upon your skin. Your eyes grow damp, and your eyelids heavy. You grip your dirk a little bit tighter.

    Beyond a short ledge, an orchestra of Rockers are barely visible in the moonlight. The usual chaotic screech of their strings are quietened and harmonised, and the reason is evident. Conducting their chorus and singing by the edge of the water, a Vocal hops quietly in place.

    The vivid red of its exoskeleton is reminiscent of freshly shed blood, dark enough to seem almost black to your eyes.

    ⇒ [x] Listen to the music. Let yourself be lost to your emotion.
    ⇒ [x] Your experience whispers to you to attack now. Take the initiative while you still have it.
    ⇒ [x] Turn back towards the campsite. It's a long walk, but you're in no condition for a fight.​
     
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    • wdango said:
    Beyond a short ledge, an orchestra of Rockers are barely visible in the moonlight. The usual chaotic screech of their strings are quietened and harmonised, and the reason is evident. Conducting their chorus and singing by the edge of the water, a Vocal hops quietly in place.

    The vivid red of its exoskeleton is reminiscent of freshly shed blood, dark enough to seem almost black to your eyes.
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    Unless these actually are a group of antiquated British youths on motorbikes being conducted by a piece of sung music, there is very much not enough to go on here for those of us who never played Ragnarok Online.

    One could wiki-dive to figure out what is going on and what to do, but the quest would be improved if it gave us at least a rough idea of what is going on without the need for that. :V

    So, yeah, one wiki-dive later, and apparently rockers are Aesopian lazy grasshoppers with violins, and are level 15.

    Vocals are Basically the same thing, but level 18, and can apparently actually sing for shite.

    So enough level 15 insects to make an "orchestra", and a level 18, who I gather is a boss monster?

    By contrast, we are level 52, but not a combat class.


    Can anyone that played RO tell me whether its one of the games where a high-level thing can easily murderise an almost arbitrary number of lower-level things?

    @wdango, I'm a little short on context. Mind if I pick James' brain a bit?

    1) As a rough ballpark, how many of them are there?

    2) Do we think we could take them? How hard would we guess it to be?

    3) Why might we wish to?

    4) Why might we not wish to?

    5) How likely are they to shank us if we get lost in the music and drop our guard?
     
    Bugs. Singing bugs, but bugs nonetheless.

    I'll show 'em a bit of modern music.

    >raises machinegun

    >dakka dakka dakka dakka~
     
    For looking up monster information I recommend db.irowiki.org.
    The Vocals information and drops in particular are shown below in two different primary RO mechanics, Renewal and Pre-Renewal.
    iW Database - Monster Info - Vocal
    iW Pre-Renewal Database - Monster Info
    Since this is a quest and not an MMO, I can assume there will be some differences to both mechanics, but the Vocal fights pretty similar in both of them.

    If we choose to fight, we should use Mammonite at the beginning and try to end the fight as fast as possible. In RO, battle flee from high agility is mitigated in increments for every monster you fight at once after two.
    If we don't want to fight, then I'd recommend leaving since I don't think listening to a hostile mobs concert is necessarily the healthiest option to choose.

    If you guys have any RO related questions feel free to ask. I've played this game for quite a bit and still play it to this day whenever my guild decides to join in on a server.
     
    Xult said:
    If we don't want to fight, then I'd recommend leaving since I don't think listening to a hostile mobs concert is necessarily the healthiest option to choose.
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    Only psychological effects apply. It won't actually kill you to listen. But it does shift your mood and your morale.

    Skewfiend said:
    Unless these actually are a group of antiquated British youths on motorbikes being conducted by a piece of sung music, there is very much not enough to go on here for those of us who never played Ragnarok Online.

    One could wiki-dive to figure out what is going on and what to do, but the quest would be improved if it gave us at least a rough idea of what is going on without the need for that. :V

    So, yeah, one wiki-dive later, and apparently rockers are Aesopian lazy grasshoppers with violins, and are level 15.

    Vocals are Basically the same thing, but level 18, and can apparently actually sing for shite.

    So enough level 15 insects to make an "orchestra", and a level 18, who I gather is a boss monster?

    By contrast, we are level 52, but not a combat class.


    Can anyone that played RO tell me whether its one of the games where a high-level thing can easily murderise an almost arbitrary number of lower-level things?

    @wdango, I'm a little short on context. Mind if I pick James' brain a bit?

    1) As a rough ballpark, how many of them are there?

    2) Do we think we could take them? How hard would we guess it to be?

    3) Why might we wish to?

    4) Why might we not wish to?

    5) How likely are they to shank us if we get lost in the music and drop our guard?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...


    This is a Rocker lol. It's not that strong. It's hardy for its level, and it's on the fast side despite not being able to hop too fast, but its individual attacks don't really pack a punch.

    1. You count about 10 of them in total. A bit less.
    2. You're not sure. You've murderised an Eclipse and its horde of Lunatics on your own before, and at a lower level, but conditions were more favourable than they are now. Plus, if you kill too many of its minions, it can summon more.
    3. Because XP and loot. Bosses give really good XP, and typically drop at least one piece of rare loot. Plus, if you leave it alone there's a chance it might demolish the lower-levelled adventurers that typically travel this map. Death is permanent, after all, and this *is* one of the maps where even Novices pass through.
    4. Because it might kill you if you lose in battle. It's always good to pick your fights. Plus, because you listened to their music, your morale has dropped a little bit. Also, it's dark, which also reduces your combat effectiveness slightly.
    5. Low chance to get attacked if you don't do anything stupid to reveal yourself. It's a dice roll with good odds to escape notice.

    I recommend either finishing off a couple of the mooks before focusing on the boss, or ignoring the mooks entirely and start with the boss on the get-go if you're going to ambush them. A Vocal *can* and *will* summon more Rockers if you kill off too many mooks. It's safer to leave 3-4 alive.
     
    Xult said:
    If you guys have any RO related questions feel free to ask. I've played this game for quite a bit and still play it to this day whenever my guild decides to join in on a server.
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    If you would be so kind. (or Dango could answr. either or.)

    1) Are gold drops a thing?

    The expected return of the vocal's items is around 1208 Z*, but given that most of that is dependent on high-value, low-odds items, and mammonite costs 1000 Z, we would stand quite a decent chance of making a loss if there are no gold drops, even when the rockers' paltry drops are taken into account.

    2) How huge a boost is 1056 attack, and how many attacks are we likely to be able to land in 4 seconds?

    wdango said:
    I recommend either finishing off a couple of the mooks before focusing on the boss, or ignoring the mooks entirely and start with the boss on the get-go if you're going to ambush them. A Vocal *can* and *will* summon more Rockers if you kill off too many mooks. It's safer to leave 3-4 alive.
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    3)Do minions summoned in such a fashion provide XP and loot?

    More for future reference than anything else.

    4) How are the rockers and vocal spatially arranged? Does it look like we would have a chance of reaching it undetected/unmolested to alpha-strike it?

    *Understanding probability: saving you money since whenever.
     
    Skewfiend said:
    1) Are gold drops a thing?
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    Not as far I recall
    Skewfiend said:
    2) How huge a boost is 1056 attack, and how many attacks are we likely to be able to land in 4 seconds?
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    Depend on ASPD (value derived from AGI and weapon type)... ASPD - iRO Wiki

    Edit: calculating using (pre-made) Excel it pans out to 1.35 attacks per second. Assuming 1056 damage per hit (too lazy to do proper calc) that's DPS of 1427

    Skewfiend said:
    3)Do minions summoned in such a fashion provide XP and loot?
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    Well, I would presume so but only the GM really knows for this quest.
     
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