1. John decided to abort the racism post series at Pt 1. The reason why being that it's a poorly conceived idea. Attempting a post on phenotypes without an actual plan? At least this isn't about goblins. Oh, and one more thing: John L'Otter is pro-life even though he cares about justice.
2. The reason behind the post title was due to something Goblin Slayer said. In ways more than one, it was a right-in-your-face moment. However, the Goblin Slayer series has gotten for itself quite a massive controversy. Hence, John is unable to up the relevant YouTube video. However, he's able to up something else. Namely, the song being played during one of the many goblin raids (and attempted rape).
"You're no lord. You're just another goblin."
Note: This has got nothing to do with NUS, Sammyboy Forum, and a Malaysian doctor because Goblin Slayer DID say the above quote. And besides, the reason why this BGM was upped was that John really likes the song.
So what this post will be all about?
Nothing much by John's estimation. This post is about whatever very little he can offer strategy wise. Quite obviously he's no Goblin Slayer. Otherwise, he'd win the gods hands down when it comes to rolling the die.
Riding the buggy (as always)
We all know what to expect come a new mod. Undermountain is no exception. In other words, glitches. Out of all the new mods played so far, Undermountain has gotta be the buggiest ride.
If there's anything John is waiting to be fixed, it'd be locked loadout for his Arbiter Cleric. But it must be pointed out that this is more of a random chance situation spanning more than a mod or two. Given the need to iron out the kinks, John won't be surprised if fixing the locked loadout glitch would take the devs quite some time. And yes, John did try the whole unequip+re-equip trick. Doesn't work.
Making your life easier
Because difficulty level of the game has increased in this mod, it's strongly recommended that you get the Barovian gear instead of sticking with the previous Primal gear. Seals exchange now goes one for one instead of one for three, so it shouldn't be that difficult. This is not to say you can't run the labyrinth of insanity with Primal gear (or just about any gear lower level than Barovian). Rather, that'd make your life easier. Especially for the dps builds.
The AI in this mod is currently done in such a way that using augment companions can pose a risk when it comes to open world. Unless you're running as a tank, it's not advisable to use this companion type. When John had his first taste of action via an invitation to the live preview server (pretty sure the devs wouldn't mind him leaking this since Undermountain is already here), running solo with an augment companion means the aggro would have only one target. Namely, you. This is very important because mobs no longer allow you to utilise muscle memory to outlast and outfight them. While damage output from the individual enemy is arguably lower, combat advantage now results in high-end damage escalation. This is effectively dealing with goblins in the world of Goblin Slayer. You know those things don't and won't play it nice especially when it comes to women, local Singaporeans or no local Singaporeans.
In constricted space, it's not a problem. But such terrain is never a major part of the gameplay. More often than not, you'll have to fight the Undertakers, Xanathar Guild, and pretty much everything else in either open space or a large room. This gives the mob plenty of space to manoeuvre and zerg. Even if you're running as a tank, attracting aggro all around you is asking for trouble. Trust John, he tried that in preview server and he was forced to think of a better alternative. Namely...
Ever wondered why Goblin Slayer is such a difficult guy to deal with despite never being the most powerful character in the series?
Back against the wall
There are two ways to define the term.
1. You got yourself into trouble. Basically, you've got no one to blame except for yourself.
2. You use it as a legitimate tactic against those attempting to zerg you, goblins or no goblins. Basically, this is called using your imagination.
It's not just the Undermountain mobs. It's pretty much the case in every zone. However, Halaster's titular base is a good way of honing your tactical sense. The reason why being that it's a cavern environment. So what this means would be walls, walls, and plenty of walls.
Not really. Okay, it's not.
Currently, John has reached Terminus. Basically, this means Arylos has cleared the Catacombs, Twisted Caverns, and Wyllowwood. The first two weren't a problem. Catacombs zone has plenty of narrow space. This makes the back-against-the-wall strategy extremely effective. But that alone won't make you become a Goblin Slayer. Twisted Caverns zone is all about large caves. However, those stoned kuo-toa won't pose a problem. Seriously, if you can't take these stoners down, there's no way John can understand how you're able to survive mobs of Undertakers and Xananthar Guild guildies.
While Arylos has yet to take on those heavy death metal horrors in Terminus, Wyllowwood proved itself to be the first actual challenge. Catacombs zone was all about warming up his tactical senses while Twisted Caverns was there to maintain the sharpness (the aboleth boss fight was surprisingly easy even though John was just messing around with the atomic slime created by some kuo-toa named Einsteiner). Wyllowwood was quite okay, but the boss fight against Arcturia was the stuff of metal. Basically, guano loco worshippers of Malar would be out to zerg rush you. And this is where your tactical class shows itself to be (somewhat of) a Goblin Slayer or... well, otherwise. John isn't gonna elaborate here.
A dummy's guide on how to slay like a Goblin Slayer
Before John gets to Arcturia, here are a few tips on slaying stuff apart from those murderous and horny goblins.
Behold your beholder(s)!
For some funny reason, it seems that those abominations tend to spawn randomly in expeditions. Either way, there are two types of beholders: The big one and small ones. No, this isn't meant as a joke.
Small beholders tend to be part of any mob. As such, it's very important to take them down asap. The biggest challenge in doing this may not be due to the dps value, but rather the AoE bombing. If you're out to take down even 50% of the rest first instead, then good luck trying to run about and not getting yourself killed. One single daze from a beholder is like getting zapped with a taser gun. You won't die, but the mob will make sure you die. In the event the unthinkable happens, just run. Not to run into another mob but rather run around in a circle. You'll get hit, but at least don't let them nailed in one clean hit after another. This is where deflection and critical avoidance come in. The combination of both stats should ensure at least a decent chance of survival. Beyond that, there's nothing you can do apart from waiting for the effect to wear out.
If you're to ask John, small beholders don't pose a challenge since Arylos (and Sheallyn) never got tasered by them. The big beholder is the real pain in the cranium. There's only one mob boasting a combination of small beholders and a big one. This means a massive AoE mayhem involving hitting any target close enough to attack while attempting to nail the small beholders first. Now this fight was done solely the Left Hand of Kelemvor (i.e. Arylos the Warden because the Tel-quessir are never his people and Corellon Larethian is never his god), so there's plenty of space to trial and error for Myrreas (Whisperknife), Cyrea (Arbiter), Sheallyn (Arcanist), Kariss (Hellbringer), Bhaasmond (Oath of Protection), Wolfhawk (Sentinel), and Doyle (Iron Vanguard).
This is the kind of fight where you'll have to kill the small beholders asap. If this was your first try, there's nothing to be ashamed of if you made the wrong call to target the big (beholder) boss first. Since there should be nothing wrong or shameful with actual repentance in real life, why should a fictional game matter more? If Plan A doesn't work, just make sure your Plan B is a better plan.
Of course, targetting the small beholders is something easier said than done. After all, one of the roles of the big boss is to make sure its underlings don't die. Kill the small ones and the big boss will be in trouble. This type of fight will take quite some time, getting drunk on healing potions, and moving about until the end of the fight. Not to mention dodging the AoE bombing, be it literally (if you're anyone but a tank) or not (if you're no one else but a tank).
Apart from the Arcturia boss fight, this has to be the most metal clash done so far. If you're not confident enough for this type of high tempo fight, please get at least a couple of Scrolls of Life.
Big Boss Thing
At the end of every expedition stands a boss. A big one. Literally. This isn't hard so long you have a dps companion. Or even better, a BFF like Man-at-Arms, Adbar Shield Maiden, or Wild Hunt Rider ("I am the most dangerous game."). If you're using a healing companion, then you better be a tank. There's no point using a dps build with a healer companion. Let alone a healer build. So long the dps momentum is fast enough, taking down the Big Boss Thing shouldn't be an issue. Combat advantage is your BFF here, so better treat it like your BFF stat.
For Arylos, fighting the every Big Boss Thing requires only two main components.
1. His role as the alpha wolf
2. A blue rank combat advantage bling dawg named Reus
The role of the alpha wolf refers to Aspect of the Pack where one nearby companion alone is enough to give combat advantage free-of-charge. Just make sure you don't use an augment companion because the class feature won't accept this loophole.
As for Reus, he's a Blink Dog. Although to be fair, John is pretty sure a green rank one would do nicely.
Note: Yes, John knows Reus sounds Teutonically cool. In other words, this got nothing to do with another Reus named Marco. That one doesn't belong to the Feywild.
The gods roll the dice, you won the fight
Okay, this is a personal experience. As for whether it's a personal achievement, that's something subjected to debate among post-modernists.
This involves two things.
1. The fight against Arcturia
2. The big beholder fight mentioned earlier
Let's talk about the Arcturia fight first. We all know how mad Halaster Blackcloak was. At least Raistlin Majere decided not to be a god. And we all know Caramon's cynical anti-heroic brother never attempted planting his own Garden of Eden. But Halaster? Well, he's crazy enough to play a god. Literally. Actually, we're all like that. It's just down to whether we end up like Raistlin or Halaster.
This fight involved four waves of bloodthirsty worshippers of Malar. They're not gonna care which god you worship. They just want to make you pass through the fire. Which is a very sick way of killing a life. Okay, that's a lie. They just want to disembowel you while hearing you scream until you're too dead to make any noise.
Anyway, this fight was interesting as in the initial dps momentum wasn't going fast enough for Arylos while fast enough for those bloodthirsty terrorists. If things don't improve after two pops of healing potion, it means you'll need to do something to throw off-guard these fang crazy Johnnies and claw crazy Jennies. Thankfully, there's a way. It's called a rock.
No, this isn't a joke. John is talking the truth here. So how this worked was very simple. The rock was no ordinary rock. It's a sloping rock. What this means was that Arylos just climbed up the rock as high as possible. Sounds familiar? By doing so and staging a "last stand", the horde of Malar failed to win the nearest thing to the Battle of Camlann. It's actually that simple, but you'll need to hold your nerves and use the correct level healing potion.
After defeating the men, women, and livestock belonging to Malar, it's Arcturia's turn to be pwned. Turned out the dps momentum was insanely high for a duel. In other words, Arcturia got some sort of Arcane Power Field which only the likes of Elminster Aumar, Khelben Arunsun, and Alustriel Silverhand could outdo. Again, this was a fight where a mind of steel and usage of the correct (level) healing potion were a must. Unlike the fight against Malar's mooks, however, you don't need to move about. That is unless you're interested to know the territorial limits of Arcturia's nuclear radiation zone. John won't advise it, though.
It's a dps game where if you can survive the fight with Arcturia's HP bar down to half while your HP bar is also at around the same range, then it should be an indication of a winnable fight. Seriously, you don't need to be a righteous faker because she's no Artoria Pendragon. Let alone Gilgamesh.
This comes to the part on the big beholder boss. The Arcturia fight was a case of deja-vu. The reason why being that the HP bar would always be the first in the line of fire. Against Arcturia, the onus was for her to drop down dead before Arylos ended at the other side. Upon getting tasered by the big beholder, it's a closer call. Unlike the Arcturia fight, there's no way to use a healing potion since everything got locked. Actually, the big beholder fight might be the reason why Arylos got the nerves of steel to dish it out against Arcturia. This was a Goblin Slayer moment for Arylos as it might have involved the gods rolling the dice.
Some ending notes
John L'Otter is going to end this by pointing out what you should do in random queuing. Yes, a lot of players are now complaining over an unplayable mod. But that's because they've never had to endure that ground zero called Elemental Evil. There's a difference between that Elemental Evil and this Undermountain. Mod 6 nuked the gear system. Period. As a result, the gamers were mistaken for a guy named Daigo.
In Undermountain, you don't have to be Daigo. You don't even need to be a genius in strategy and tactics like Goblin Slayer or Emiya Kiritsugu. You just need to understand the importance of critical avoidance when using it as a synergy stat with defence. This is vital to survival because every sane-minded guild should be having the stables guild building for a reason. If your guild doesn't have one, please destroy a guild boon building of your choice and replace it with a stables guild building. After all, it's very easy to complain about dying easily until you realised a wizard managed to outdo you in surviving your previous Master of the Hunt skirmish.
This comes to another point. It's more of a controversial call from the devs if you're to ask John. In the random intermediate queue, there's something seriously off with the auto-matchmaking code. While this may not register in most of the RIQ raids, the same couldn't be said for Manycoins Bank Heist skirmish. Until the devs said something, John strongly discourages players without a good set of level 80 gear from queuing the RIQ. The reason why being that at least for this particular skirmish, the standard rule of 1 tank, 1 healer, and 3 dps doesn't register. In other words, you can end up with 4 dps and 1 healer. If it's a Devout, your party is most likely screwed. If it's a Soulbinder, then there's a decent chance of getting bronze. Albeit it may require divine intervention to get any reward higher than that. If it's 1 tank and 4 dps, the risk would be too high because combat advantage now results in high damage escalation. Which is bad news for both the tank and dps. Simply put, the only way to have a decent chance of winning this (or just about any other skirmish format RIQ raids like Merchant Prince's Folly and Throne of the Dwarven Gods) is to get the correct roll of the die. Otherwise, you're better off waiting until having a pure Spy Guild gear set. Or something like that.
So does that mean rough astral diamonds are now unearnable? The answer is no. You have the random levelling queue, right? Start from there. The enemies are now harder to kill, but at least that'd keep you alert instead of relying on muscle memory. Actually, there's nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to relying on muscle memory so long you recognise the severe limitations. After all, Goblin Slayer didn't need to graduate from any university to be called... well, Goblin Slayer.
P.S: The mention of letting the gods roll the die and a mere mortal winning reminds John L'Otter of a super metal scene in Goblin Slayer where there's this scenario of two dice being rolled and a super wrathful revenant of a boy standing up like a man. While John didn't watch the anime, he did see the YouTube clip. And yes, the Japanese are still known to be more insane than H.P. Lovecraft himself. Don't believe John L'Otter, go ask the Notorious UBG.
Apparently, this song is unrelated to Goblin Slayer. But John L'Otter still likes it. Now if only he can find the lyrics translated in English on Google.
