Winter's Requiem Reworked Pt 2

http://republicofotters.blogspot.com/2018/08/reworking-winters-requiem.html

Currently, John is planning to write the next chapter for A Requiem From Winter Past. In fact, he's already started on it. But there's a problem: A monkey on this otter's back. Therefore, the only way for the great (?) bastard (?!?) John L'Otter is to get this part done asap. Because this post is also known as the digital monkey jumping up and down on this otter's back.

Oh, and two more things:
1. John has just finished watching the first episode of Sirius the anti-Darwinistic Jaeger. Therefore, he may want to do an analysis post first.

2. Ditto for the next Neverwinter post on Yishun Barovia. At least until John finishes off the Ruins of Berez. Also, the thorny debuff icon caused by the Korean strawmen actually gave you a healing reduction debuff and not the 10 stack stun job done by the German ghouls. Apologies for #fakenews done in the name of visuals. [Source of (mis)information here]

Before John starts this post...

There's something wrong today when John checked his hits. Was it supposed to be some joke from Google? Or was this something coming from North Korea for whatever absurd reason possible?

There's something about Unknown Region. Yes, John did experience moments where one or a few hits were unaccounted for in terms of where. But Unknown Region has to be the King of Crazies instead of King of Heroes, King of Knights, or King of Conquerors listed in this video below.

And no, despite the GAR craze, Archer is never a king. Terms like King of Swords and King of Steel should be seen as fan logic. Interestingly enough, any plot listed in this vid with the 正義の味方 trope involved the number seven instead of six. Seriously, we have Emiya Shirou, Emiya Kiritsugu, and Sieg. Do a simple count and you'll notice a 777.

Allow John to make some crazy speculations on why something like Unknown Region and hits unaccounted for location wise is possible.

1. Unknown Region, in this case, refers to North Korea. More specifically Pyongyang and the one and only somebody there.

2. Unknown Region may also refer to China. After all, China did/does have some major beef with the big brands like Facebook and Twitter. Let alone Google. That's why names like Weibo and WeChat are needed as alternatives. After all, it was all Deng Xiaoping's credit/fault, not Mao Zedong.

2. Unknown Region is fake news. And Google should be held culpable for this. After all, even Facebook had to be grilled by the likes of K.Shanmugam and the U.S Congress.

3. The hits unaccounted for came from countries where usage of the internet is both legal and allowed. If so, then such nations are most likely monocultural countries with superior infrastructure. Quite likely nations where the regional equivalent of Athena and Idun can be found.

Note: Believing things minus proof is never recommended even if you're an American supporting either the Republicans or Democrats. What you read here is what you get.

Add note: Finally discovered a simple hack to overcome the seemingly eternal loading time. At last, John can watch Sirius the anti-Darwinistic Jaeger. Also, Unknown Region now got 2 hits. Which means it's (most) likely not North Korea. This is getting scary...

Updated note: This is getting weirder instead of scarier. Then again, maybe not.

Apparently, Google seems to have some problem identifying the ISP instead of something more straightforward like this. By John's own guess, that is. Either way, there's no way the likes of Athena, Idun, and Euterpe will take notice of a talking/typing otter. Also, everything from here and above was written @11/8/18.

Weapon attack and item usage

For Weapon attack, there are two variations. Standard attack is faster but less damaging. Heavy attack is slower but more damaging. At the same time, heavy attacks can only be done if the Triangle button is held for at least a few seconds. The longer the button is being held, the more damage it deals and the faster it comes out. Standard attacks can be chained up to five times in a row depending on the weapon type used. Heavy attack, however, cannot be chained. Depending on the weapon type, a heavy attack may involve shorter maximum charge time and come out faster at the cost of damage.

As for item usage, only one type can be used during combat. To choose which item to use during combat, press any D-pad button outside combat. To browse, use the directional buttons. To select the item for usage, press Cross. If that item can be used outside combat, a dialogue box will pop up asking you whether you want to use it now. Press Square for Yes or Circle for No. Items usable during combat includes potions, bombs, and throwing knives. Once the selected item is used up, another item will take its place. To set the order which the correct item is able to replace the one used up, hold down Cross and move the directional button accordingly. Once you reach the item of your choice, release Cross. A dialogue box will pop up asking you whether to go ahead. Press Square for Yes or Circle for No.

Magic usage

There are two types of magic available. The first is thaumaturgy, the other is metallurgy. Both require Adrenaline to trigger, but metallurgy requires a weapon as well to activate. Thaumaturgy powers can be crafted via the Yggdrasil. Which happened to be the first non-combat zone in-game. Please understand that there's NO way John will include this part in the actual story. Not because he doesn't want to, but because he's unable to. Yes, there's a difference between game and story. It's called the outcome of a headshot.

To enter Yggdrasil, the player must spend the night at any other non-combat zone. By this, John means any town/city in the game. After all, inns always exist in fantasy fiction in the same way hotels exist in the real world.

Crafting thaumaturgy powers involve elemental residue. The higher level the power is, the more amount of elemental residue is needed to craft it. The good news? You don't need any crafting recipe. The catch? Character level serves as the limit cap. Elemental residue can only be dropped via one source: Killing demons. Yes, John knows this sounds terribly Berserk.

Thaumaturgy powers come in different forms, but a nigh accurate statement description wise would be imagining what a force of raw power would look like. John won't call this something pretty. Unlike J.K "not J/K" Rowling's Harry Potter, magic in the form of thaumaturgy is never the Beauty. Rather, it's the Beast without the Beauty. De-romanticising magic can be fun. Very fun. Just ask the blokes and ladies doing the Warhammer world, 40K or the original one which officially ended. Literally.

Metallurgy, on the other hand, increases weapon damage by 40% against non-demonic enemies. Against demons, the bonus also includes a 15% bonus in critical impact chance. Unlike thaumaturgy, metallurgy lasts for the duration of combat.

Thaumaturgy powers can be used up to five times in total during a single day (more on how this work in a later post) while metallurgy can only be activated once per day. At the same time, no same thaumaturgy power can be used in a single day.

Note: Magic requires 10% Adrenaline to use. After every usage, Adrenaline buildup will be disabled for 10 seconds if no other magic power is used in the next 3 seconds. If metallurgy is used in this way instead, the 3-second rule will be ignored.

Signature move, Overdrive, and Grail trigger

Signature move is a power specific to the individual character that requires 5% Stamina usage. Each character can only have one such move. However, Signature moves are more powerful than any Weapon attack but less so than magic. Such power can be used in the same way Weapon attacks can be done so long enough Stamina is available.

Overdrives are not upgraded version of Signature moves, but rather a separate type that is more powerful. To trigger an Overdrive, all five thaumaturgy powers must be used in succession. Once this happens, the character will be able to perform an Overdrive. However, this ability/move requires at least 30% Adrenaline and 50% Stamina to use. Like the Signature move, every character can only have one Overdrive. An Overdrive can only be done once every three days.

Grail trigger is what one would call the most powerful attack available. To activate a Grail trigger, certain condition(s) must be met. Like Signature move and Overdrive, only one Grail trigger is available for the given player character. Unlike Overdrive, Grail trigger doesn't require all five thaumaturgy powers to used successively. However, condition(s) for executing a Grail trigger can be stringent. At the same time, Grail trigger requires holding down the Square button once the player character's portrait started flashing blue. Unlike Signature move and Overdrive, only specific characters can use a Grail trigger. A Grail trigger can only be used once every seven days.

Next up: Sellswords, mercs with a mouth, or whatever you wanna call a Serbian gun for hire.

P.S: Seriously, Rift is testing John's mental focus and physical endurance for days. More than ever, John L'Otter felt like that Servant of Steel officially known as Archer. Either that or Emiya Shirou of the Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel story paths.