Chapter Three - Duality

Everything exists in balance; the two sides of a coin, night and day, order and chaos.


Not only do they exist with each other, they exist for each other. That which casts light defines itself by illuminating that which does not, and that which casts shadows cannot do so unless it blocks light.

However, this balance is perceived and skewed in its perception. Thus exists those who wish to disturb it; it is not because they wish to create imbalance, but because they wish to establish their own sense of balance.

It is for this reason ... why we disagree, why we idolize, why we shed blood.

Rho tossed and turned that night in her sleep. It was hard to appreciate the comforts of Souhonzan, although the cause of her unrest would be more aptly placed on the events unfolding as of late.

It was the feeling of chasing the wind: one felt its direction and its strength, but could not know where it was going or if it had already gone, simply following a trail of rustling leaves.

Rho woke up with a sudden jerk, soaked in cold sweat.

A quick shower will cure this, and a trip to the terminal.




Guess I'm starting the day early.

Rho palmed the stone in her pocket, double checking that it was with her.

What is so important about this stone? Perhaps Doukan sent me on a wild goose chase.




First things first: Arcadian Archives.




Home sweet home.

Aaro: "Yo!"

Rho stared at the man waving at her, but still couldn't help pointing at herself.

Me?

Aaro: "Yeah~ You!"



Aaro motioned for her to come.

Aaro: "Judah is expecting you."

One of Judah's goons.

Rho: "Tell him I have no reason to meet with him. I'm still chasing ghosts."

Aaro: "You'll have to tell him that yourself."

A stupid smile on his face.

Rho: "Who are you?"

Are you like me?

Aaro: "I'm just a librarian, and a philoso-"




Rho: "Please don't touch me."

You're nothing like me.

Rho: "A librarian? Perfect, you're coming with me."

Aaro: "Wha-? ...okay."




The Arcadian Archives.

Rho: "I want everything in the database that makes a reference to Setsu."

Aaro: "Setsu?"

Rho: "Yes, are you familiar with that name?"

Aaro: "Not at all."

He disappeared between the bookshelves.

And what about this stone; what secrets does it possess?

Aaro: "Are you aware of the Seven Philosophers?"

He had wandered back to Rho, holding a few books under his arms.

Rho: "As in The Progenitors?"

Aaro: "Yes, as in the organization who fathered this society. The creators of the Homes, of Arcadia, of Souhonzan, even of Shinjuku Babel."

Rho: "And what do they have to do with what I asked you?"


Aaro: "Setsu is the descendant of one of the Seven, the man who created the Innocents."

Rho: "The archives show this?"

Aaro: "Yes, and personally I think Setsu is probably an Innocent himself - the first of its kind! The prototype."

Some librarian.

Rho: "You sound like you've got more to say."

Aaro: "Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.'" *

Rho: "You are referring to the Tower of Babel."

Aaro: "Yes! Genesis 11:4." *

He was absolutely excited now.

Aaro: "God, seeing what the people were doing, came down and confounded their languages, and scattered the people throughout the earth. It had been God's original purpose for mankind to grow and fill the earth."

Rho: "Books really come to life for you, don't they."

Aaro laughed.

Aaro: "It's one thing to read about it, and another thing seeing it come to life. Shinjuku Babel, the cradle and center of our civilization - and what are we waiting for? Tokyo Rebirth! The act of God that will give the world to man."

Rho contemplated for a minute. She then removed the stone from her pocket.

Rho: "What can you tell me about this?"

Aaro stared in amazement.

Aaro: "A Kingdom Shard."


~ End of chapter three
~*+ Rho

*Information on the Tower of Babel was ripped off Wikipedia. >_>
Aaro Note~ : *sigh* Do it properly, Rho.
* Wikipedia (2009) Tower of Babel. Available: <here>

Pearz' Story Time (And FC Review)

First off: if you haven't seen it, here is a link on How To Make 1mil In 5min. Just in case you guys wanted quick cash. God, this guy is so full of fail that I don't even know where to start. It might get its own blog post soon, so watch out for that one.

I am now into Week 4 of Dominion Hunting. Up to 80ish Dominions now, and can't stop... Sigh~

Some other stuff:

25kAP for Shadow Voucher. Weee~

Why I believe that Class 9 attack is actually better than normal swipes.

Also, why Rho should be a GS. FULL SUPPORT !!!11!1!!

So, here's the Story Time, continuing where Rho left off:

Aaro, with his massive Gabishi, ran around pwning all the Angels to sacrifice in order to resurrect some guy. Pearz came in and went, "PEW PEW," and killed Aaro. Then, Rho cried in the corner in fear. Everyone worshipped Pearz and Rho was forgotten. The End.

Pearz Disclaimer: If you don't like it, then too bad. It's your quick fix until Rho posts. (This is also why I shouldn't and don't write stories, and why you shouldn't whine to me about Rho not posting.)

Aaro Disclaimer: The above was the imaginings of the delusionally-creative Pearz. It is not affiliated with the actual Saga in any way, and all similarities are purely coincidental. Also. Telling Rho directly that you want more pl0x will have good results. I suggest it. IGN is Rho and forum name is RhoRho. She's usually on all day, just afk, so feel free to PM her in-game.


So, here we have the FC preview, as posted by a GS. To start, I feel bad for Just_here2, who posts it every week and you don't see it getting stickied. C'est la vie.

A first note about FCs: apparently, they were changed up 'cause the ones we were "supposed" to get this week were all consumables, and they knew we wouldn't like it. So, instead, we got the following.

Butterfly Zero FC - 300AP
Zero: rare but novelty; Duftach: tons being sold 'cause of Flame Horn; Scatter: tons floating around; Butterfly: WTF beastly?! I guess the 3x EXP+Stat Incense isn't too bad, since you get three. It's the same price you pay for 3x EXP Incense normally, but now with stats. The earrings are pretty much useless, and the single versions of the incense is brutal for 300AP. Otherwise, half-baked fillers, with some WTF top prizes. I guess if these float your boat = 5/10.


Cherries FC - 600AP
Some new stuff here. The problem with the yukatas is that they are for the working class. (Rho told me this.) Notice how the sleeves are pulled back, so they don't get dirty when you're slaving away. I'm not so into looking lower class. Poliahu Spear is not worth it, since there are tons floating around for cheap, ever since people started crafting the trident. Conviction and Death are decent, if you're into that stuff. The real gems here are the new Int+3 petals, and the other boast (Aaro Note~ : It's "boost", Pearz.) rings for Rush and Shot. Cheaper equivalent than Wog and Fasolt rings. The other rings and petals are crap, for the price tag - and the Bead of Chain? The items in this FC aren't bad; it's mainly that 600AP price tag. Are those items you get in this FC really worth 600AP? Yes, there are a lot of decent things, but is 600AP decent? Sure as hell wouldn't want a Lithium Ring worth around 100k Macca for 600AP = 4/10.

~Pearz

Late FCs and Stuff

To start off, we added in a new form that you can fill out for our PVP event. You can now fill out a second form if you're a single player looking for a partner, since we noticed that most people want to join but can't find a teammate.

If you're wondering why the FC Review has been late: it's 'cause I've been playing Devil Survivor for the DS. It's really good, though I still haven't beaten it cause I'm n00b in that game. (It's also why I've been in like no PVP matches all week.)

Alongside of my DS-playing, I've been mass-hunting Dominion every New Moon. I'm up to roughly to 75ish Dominions in 3 weeks and still no second Scales Rune for my Class 7 Hammer. It is getting a little irritating, doing this for nothing. Sigh~

Just a reminder: according to GMs, the Hourglass of the Lost will be removed on August 4th - but only from the shop, not the files. So, you can stock up now in case you might need a one or two, in the future. (Though, I must point out, Fifi said that on the Jap Server, they were totally removed, so you couldn't stock up.)

Cody has been unbanned, if you've already seen him running around again. We successfully got him back from the Evils of Aion. Xandamere was quick on the reply; he also noted that if you have any issues with this kind of stuff, then you should send it to Megaten Issues instead of Billing. Xand can see the RT Tickets and get it hurried through, rather than sending it to Billing, who have no clue what they're doing and give generic responses.

If you guys haven't noticed, there is actually a new chatbox at the bottom of our page. You can occasionally find us there. It was originally added to find Cody, but too many people found it, so it's permanent for now (since we can use it to see how many lurkers we have D:).

So, on to the FC Review; here is the player version of the FCs.

White ? FC - 350AP
Nothing really special here. The top prize is something Aeria threw into the Item Mall, and that killed the price. Some half-baked fillers. Of the stuff here, the Napalms are actually not bad, and Balms aren't bad, too. Other than that, the other stuff is really more stuff to leave in your bank, that won't really sell. 2/10


Beautiful FC - 600AP
Actually not a bad FC. People can get a chance at those elemental extras that are grossly overpriced in the Item Mall. A new black version of Bella Set that I'm actually starting to really like. The only real "bad" thing here is maybe getting spammed with the pink set and the Rein Earrings. Everything else actually seems pretty decent. So, if you like the big fluffy dress, then it's definitely a decent FC (other than the price tag attached). 7/10


Now. Back to my DS.


~Pearz

What Can Aeria Do For You?

Rain is a very small clan (in terms of amount of players), so when one player poofs on us, it's very obvious that something is up. After a 2-week hiatus, we finally got back in touch with one of our members, Cody, with the newly-added shoutbox here at our blog (at the bottom of the page).

With his account, payed10000fold: if you try to click to see his profile, it's access denied. So, what happened, you may ask? After finally talking to Cody, we realized that his account was banned for billing fraud. Now, anyone that knows him also knows that he regularly buys a lot of AP to spam FCs - so what changed? Apparently a deal went down wherein he was offered large quantities of AP recharged on his account for him for rare items. As most people that see a good deal, he took the offer and proceeded to play the FCs with this AP he aquired. Through the FC, he acquired more rares that this buyer bought back for more AP. A couple days later, his account was banned for billing fruad since the payment (via credit card) bounced.

So, what does this story have anything to do with anything? Here is where I started asking around, and THIS is what was the huge surprise. The player that traded with Cody, using the names Cuddle and Dazed, has done this before. I was ASTOUNDED to find out that this player has used this method MULTIPLE TIMES on different players, and YET IS STILL AROUND. Just how competent is Aeria if this one player could use the SAME trick multiple times and get away with it?

They seem to have no problem banning multiple accounts that were recharged this way and scammed. The sad part is that the GM team has realized this is occuring, yet CLAIM that without solid evidence, they can't do anything. Do you know what they consider SOLID evidence? Screenshots of the chat. With their AMAZING GM tools, they could easily check their database to see where these items from the AP frauds were going. Even checking some of these scammed players' AP history, you would see a hugely different recharge pattern and card number than usual. The GMs would rather ban these accounts that have been frauded instead of going for the root of the problem.

Maybe it could be even more simple. You may or may not have seen two new players by the names RainingAutumn and FreezingWinter who seem to be exploding with AP, and came out of nowhere. How hard would it be to check these insta-rich players' in-game recharge history? Players don't show up with large amounts of expensive gear overnight, unless they spammed AP. Where is all this money coming from? Are our GMs even trying to do something about this? I mean, there are players like Fifi that are just screwing around with rules 'cause its fun, but then there are also malicious players like these - and the GMs still don't seem to be able to take action. Just how competent are our GMs?

All I can do is hope that most of you who read this are now more well-informed and will spread it amongst your guildies and friends. When another player offers to buy your items with AP recharged on your account, maybe you should consider this issue. And I would definitely not trade with Cuddle/Dazed. Also remember to enable chat logs so that you can at least fall back on those.

~Pearz

Chapter Two - The Generals


Pearz laughed.
She must have found herself very amusing, as her heaving breaths threaten to burst her breasts from that shame of a dress.

Rho: "You call me a snake when you can barely keep your own forked tongue in your mouth."

Pearz hissed playfully.

Pearz: "And what brings you to my fair city?"

Powers to be.

Rho reached forward, gently placing her fingertips on Pearz' Aegis. Pearz understood.



Few friendships are worth risking your position and your life for; this was one of those. Time and time again, they have called upon each others' talents.

Pearz: "Have you eaten?"

Rho: "Not since I left Arcadia."

Pearz: "Good. I know a place. It's close to home. It's a sit-down; you'll like it."


Wading through the crowds, they arrived at the place: Asian Legend; funny name. The bell rang as Pearz pushed open the door. A heavy scent of meat and soy sauce ran about.

A waiter looked over, and then followed with a traditional greeting. Pearz raised two fingers. They sat down by the window.


It was always the people of a city that got to you, darting here and there, busy with their own ends and rounds. People had always fascinated Rho.

A thick puff of steam knocked Rho out of her daydream; there was food on the table. Pearz gestured to eat.

Pearz: "I suppose you being here has no correlation with what happened to Ogami?"

Rho: "Of course not."

Pearz: "Then you obviously wouldn't care to know this name: Setsu."

Rho: "Setsu?"

Pearz: "Don't repeat names you don't care about."

Setsu.

Pearz: "Something to do with the Rebirth of Tokyo. I'm sure there's more in the church's records than what we have."

Before Rho could even reach for her Macca, Pearz had already placed a note in the waiter's hands.

Pearz: "Not here you won't."

As they existed the shop, the waiters called out the traditional goodbye.

Rho: "Thanks."

She bowed lightly; such formalities were more for stray eyes than each other. After all, Pearz is still the Beast of Babel.



Rho: "It's good seeing you."

Pearz: "Yeah. Oh by the way: Yamamoto wants to see you."

Bitch.

Rho: "So that's why you paid for the food."

She was still glaring at Pearz.

Pearz laughed, holding out her hands like she was fishing for a hug.

Rho: "Apology not accepted."

They shared a quick hug; soon after, Rho disappeared down the Terminal steps.

It was good to see her again.



Although the Central Control Room was always busy and brightly lit, it was the flickering of the monitors and the constant droning of keys being struck that gave feeling to the place.

The ominous glow of the screens created an eerie outline of Yamamoto; coupled with those beady black eyes, one wondered if he was human or demon.


Yamamoto: "Good Evening, Rho of Arcadia."

Dangerous.

Yamamoto: "When such an important guest comes to my city, I am obligated to greet them."

Rho: "I'm honoured to be considered important."



Yamamoto: "I am also obligated to ask the purpose for which you are here."

None of your business, old man.

Rho: "My business here is personal, not official. However, you will here from us for the latter purpose soon enough."

Yamamoto: "Oh? And what would that be about?"

Rho: "Recently your Busters partook on a mission to stop Ogami."

Yamamoto: "To my knowledge, that mission was a success."




Rho: "Letting that heretic live does not entitle a success! You, standing at the centre of it all, should know just how delicate of a balancing act we do every day! You sent one of your best Busters for the job, so am I to believe that the result was on purpose?! For what goddamn reaso-"

Calm down! Breathe.

Rho: "Excuse my outburst. I'm just a knife, not a pen; I cannot hope to draw webs like you. I will excuse myself before I insult myself further."

Yamamoto: "You are still young. Although you have been allowed to witness a great deal of things, you do not yet understand the consequences of them."

Rho bowed slightly and turned towards the door.

Yamamoto: "Ogami is but a piece of the puzzle. The balance would will not tip because of her alone, nor will it stop tipping with her gone. There are far more reckless powers at work."



Rho: "Thank you for your wisdom."

Rho exited the Central Control room, and a cold evening breeze cleared her mind.

20:30. Just in time.

If there was ever a place of true neutrality, then it would be the shops of the magic dealers. They collected and sold all items of magical value. They were an essential part of a Buster's life.

In addition to stones and beads, some - for a select few customers - also dealt in information.


Robed Man: "Are you a customer?"

Rho: "Of course. だけど物を要らない。" *

The owner pulled out a pocket watch and placed it on the table, face down.

Robe Man: "君が早いですね。" *

Rho: "ワインじゃない!教えって。売るか?それとも売らないか?" *

The owner opened a drawer behind him, and from it he produced a small wooden tablet.

Robed Man: "これがOgamiの・・・" *

Rho reached for the tablet.

Robed Man: "Don't touch it!"



Rho jerked her hand back.

Robed man: "只一人がこの招牌に君を与えます。" *

Rho: "Who?"

Robed man: "Doukan."

Rho placed a couple of Macca notes on the counter, along with the folded paper.

Rho: "Thank you."

Next stop. Souhonzan.



Gaian Priest: "You are now entering Ueno."

Rho showed him her acknowledgement.

No shit.

Everywhere she went, she just got more questions - or answers, for which she had no question.

What is so important about Ogami?
What is Yamamoto hiding; what is he planning?
What is Doukan's goal in all this?
Who is Setsu?




Souhonzan was the City of Chaos - though a poor excuse for one, at that. The dusty air only settled at night, revealing a crispy clean panorama of stars.


The markets of Souhonzan were as you would imagine it to be: filled with tonnes and tonnes of junk, of every purpose you could imagine. Stall after stall, it filled the tables and lined the walls - but there was always room to haggle.



The castle of Souhonzan rested atop a hill at the back of the city; a castle is a bit of an understatement because it was more like a fortress...an armed fortress.

That was for good reason: Chaos had many enemies, most of whom had been made on purpose.


Doukan, the Messiah of Chaos, Master of House Souhonzan.

Rho: "Master Doukan. Thank you for allowing an audience with me."

Make no mistake: the ease of being granted gain audience with Doukan was because he had nothing and no one to fear; there was no other reason.

Touching the floor with knee and hand was common courtesy to show the Master of House Souhonzan.


Doukan: "This is about Ogami."

It was not a question.

Rho: "You are correct."

Doukan: "Last I remember, I don't answer to the church."

Doukan looked amused.

Rho did not rise from her courtesy pose; there was much purpose behind this. Different people required different tactics for harvesting information.

Rho: "Although I am here for my own gains, I am here to deliver information rather than request it."



Rho: "Ogami had something in her possession belonging to you. In fact, it was something that could only be given by you. I worry for your good name, Master Doukan. I feel it is imperative that you knew of this the moment I confirmed it to be true."

Doukan continued to look amused. That was a good sign; tempting his patience was a dangerous game.

Doukan: "I've heard a great deal about you, Assassin of Arcadia. You do not disappoint me in person."

Rho bowed slightly. Praise was good.

Doukan: "I will give you answers, but there are things even I do not know. After all, an uneasy alliance is still an alliance, and we help our allies."

Rho: "I could not ask for more."



Doukan tossed a shiny piece across the floor, and it slid to a stop in front of Rho.

Doukan: "I've given nothing to Ogami - however, what she had was indeed mine. I'm sure everyone else you've spoken to said the same things about her. I will instead tell you something you don't know: Ogami is one of many who share the same goal. They are harbingers of a coming storm. Don't lose that."

Rho pocketed the trinket.

Doukan: "You already know more than you should. You may leave now."

Rising to her feet, Rho bowed one more time to the Master of House Souhonzan before leaving.



Who would share Ogami's goals?





~ End of chapter two
* Aaro Note: Fledgling multilinguals with Beginner Japanese knowledge are bound to make mistakes.

~*+ Rho

Chapter One - The Gathering Clouds


Rho: "Father."

Judah: "Welcome back, child."

Taking a quick look left and right, her gaze met with the Templar at the door. The Templar looked uneasy, not understanding why the attention had shifted to him.

Judah: "Please, let us be alone."

Templar: "Yes, of course, your lordship!"

The Templar stumbled out the door, as if his life was in danger otheriwse. It is.

Rho: "Ogami failed, and yet she lives. Yamamoto should be hanged for his incompetence."

Silence.

Rho: "She speaks of the church's hypocrisies, none of which I can refute. She speaks about the lie that is the Millennium King-"

Judah: "The church has as many deeds as it has crimes, as does any organization of man. But what would you have me do, child? Send an army after an ant? No. The mountain does not move for the wind. Ogami is but a part of a wave that will crash upon our shores and wash away."

Silence.

Rho: "Forgive me, Father. I speak out of line. I am simply the bloody hand the church does not have, and should know my place."

Judah: "Chi- Daughter. If I am stern it is because I love. Try to not resent me for showing you the real world behind the masks."

Rho: "Father."

She turned around.



Rho: "There are no more innocents to protect. The sooner you realize that, the sooner we can start this war."

Lord Judah said nothing, but Rho could feel his oppressive gaze like towers on her shoulders. The man was her godfather, and had been, for as long as she could remember, a mentor and a friend.

However, the world was changing now - that, or Rho was. When the time comes and the powers to be fight for their place, there would be no cross for her to hide behind; she would have to act first, or-

The door creaked open to reveal the Templar, standing guard. A hint of panic flushed his face before he pulled back the reins.

Rho: "What are you waiting for?"

She stepped onto the illuminated bridge leading into Arcadia. The heavy doors closed behind her with a thud. It's going to be a grey sunset.



Sunset in Arcadia always had a tinge of sin to it. As the light of day was slowly snuffed behind the Holy Walls, the deep reliefs cutting into the marble seemed like wounds oozing shadow. It was disgusting.


Messian: "Have you come to make a donation to the church?"

Of course not. But you had to say it.

Rho: "I can't offer much."

She handed over 50k note.

Messian: "Every Macca is appreciated. Please accept this blessing."

The messian handed Rho a folded piece of paper. A blessing indeed.


Rho: "Always happy to help."

Shinjuku Curious. New Moon. 20:39. It was written on the folded paper.



Shinjuku Babel. It was mankind's greatest achievement, and greatest mistake. It was also a neutral city, a breeding pit for sin. It almost made you admire the man responsible for keeping the place intact - almost. Yamamoto the Steel-Willed was a man who commanded great respect. And Yamamoto, like all men of power, behind his beady black eyes and solid posture, had his own fair share of secrets.




No doubt he kept tabs on anyone and everyone who entered his city.

I would not like to deal with him today.

The streets of Babel were always filled with hustle and bustle during the day. It is convenient for those who did not wish to be found. However, seldom do we get what we wish for.



Pearz: "Snakes of the church are not welcome here."



~ End of chapter one
~*+ Rho

GM Q&A Event

Before I start on GM Q&A Event stuff, here's just some shameless promotion of my PVP event. Hope to see you guys join; I'll try and pair you guys with someone around your skill levels so you won't get overwhelmed at the start.


So, today there was a GM Q&A event. If you missed it, no worries; I didn't. I'm also here reporting less than an hour after the event, with what you missed.

So, we got confirmation they're "working" on these Acts, but will be ready nowhere in the near future. That reminds me: I'm currently building a Time Machine. It is being worked on, but won't be ready in the near future. BUT, I assure you that once I finish it, I will move us all forward in time so we don't have to wait anymore for these acts.

Still more waiting on Runestones, too. Considering that in 2-3 weeks, it's already early/mid-August, let's hope that they at least humour us with a new excuse of why that's still not in. Hearing the same thing over and over again is boring.

So, GMs have no clue how about Magic Control works, and neither does anyone else here, really. If you guys want to really raise Magic Control, use Curse of Wretched. Just spam that on a lot of mobs to level it fast. DD is gives less "chunk" then COTW, but can be spammed more. Only problem is you kill yourself and the mob and you have to actually watch the screen.

So close. A GM almost got a gameplay knowledge question.
There was also a question on Protopia (missed screen), where GMs didn't know how to get there 'cause they teleport everywhere.

Zouchoten DCM: okay, granted that that one is a bit more difficult - but still not hard to find out if you poked around for 2 minutes.

So, what do we have here? We learn that the GMs have nearly no knowledge of the in-game mechanics (which is why they can't brief their GSes, to make sure at least they can answer questions). They also can't seem to give any answers about releasing content, as they have no control. They can't control FCs, 'cause Cave does everything. Then, exactly what questions can they answer?
Answered almost instantly, pew pew.


On a last note, I SUPPORT Fifi's movement to TAKE OUT ROYCE.

CLEARLY this is another image of Royce with Lilith at the GM event. OMGIWARDS. Either Royce is hacking or she's the snitch for the GMs! BEWARE.

BAN ROYCE!11!!11!

~Pearz

Indi is a Poltergeist-Sacking Sadist!

So, this is what Indi does when there's nothing to do: abuse demons. During a random Suzaku Cavern Run, I decided to catch a Deformed Poltergeist just because it was so darn cute. Before I go any further: this was before I joined Rain, when I PVPed just to play rock-paper-scissors and Gae Bolg Pearz. So, I got bored and wanted a new toy to play with (and to use on Pearz). Initially, this Poltergeist had no more reason to be caught other than for being cute. When I negotiated it, it BLOWED me up. This led me to thinking that suicide-ing a Poltergeist onto Pearz during PVP would do massive damage!

Oh. How I was sadly mistaken. D:

So, I took it to PVP and suicided it. It performed a spectacular one damage! It wasn't until a few matches later that I realized I had been getting/stealing Spear of Thrud and Shield of Thrud trophies. So, I tested it out and my Poltergeist was doing my work for me! I didn't even have to shank anybody for low damage, either!

Sacrifice!


And I stole Rho's top damage. :O


~Indicative

Super-Delayed (and Cheating) FC Review

So, I was gonna post this earlier - but every time I looked at this page, I didn't want to push down my lovely post with the Emperor Sword.


So, anyway, I'm going to cheat for this FC Review and do this:

By Xaero (and Aaro!edited!) -
Changing Faces FC:
The (main) items in it aren't good at all. You get a bag that's just for looks and some masks that no one is ever going to wear. The fillers are not that great at all either; you have 3xEXP incenses (more then enough has been flooded into the game already) and the (M) healing items are kind of useful, but not enough to come close to saving this fortune. The Napalms/Suginami Ticket thing is just trash, since most people will either sell it for dirt cheap or just discard, and then get angry that they even bothered to try this FC. The Repair Tools are about the same as the in-game shop buy rate, so nothing special there either.

Anti FC:
C'mon? A WORSE version of the original Anti-Demon FC? The only thing about the old Anti-Demon FC that made me even think of trying it was the Holy Anti outfit and now you're going as far as to only offer the Blessed one? Overused fillers + lack of variety on top prize = bad fortune card.

Okay, so if you wanted a specific number rating for these FCs, 0/10 on Changing Faces, and 1/10 on Anti FC. Simple review: they suck and I would be surprised if anyone was spending AP on it. I was actually expecting them to drop Abyss Raffle/Top Spender with this so people will be forced to buy absolute garbage to get a chance at the over-hyped Abyss Set. Good news is: Aeria seems to want to really push off the whole "we want to help casual players more than top spenders" vibe going on at the moment.

I find it coincidental that the week I post that Aeria has yet to get the second half of an FC pair (talking about Anti FC, and how there's a 60 and 30CP version, but we never get the second version) is when we promptly get the second version of the FC. Coincidence? Or maybe Aeria has a bigger hand in the FCs, like posted earlier.

So, you may or may not know, but in about 12 hours from this post will be the Q&A thing Mahouto posted. I wonder if anyone will even show up. Rho and I will be there so we can watch the tumbleweed blow by.

If you haven't noticed that we have a shoutbox now: you can drop random messages there and we will read it.

Rho and I were brainstorming, and we (mainly Rho) came up with a great idea and then I helped refine it for Item Mall. If you wanna know more details, I'll probably post the idea in the player promo thread in a couple days when I'm less lazy. (Since I have to spend effort forming sentences and stuff.) The idea itself we both think is amazing and really fits in with the whole "give casual gamers a chance at stuff"thing.

On to the last matter: Mahouto asked Indi to comment on his comment, but instead I will do it. All we did was point out the truth we saw before our eyes; if our observations are wrong, please "enlighten" us of your real motive.


~Pearz

EMPEROR SWORD!!!1!1!ONE!1!

(Aaro Note: That title hurts everything I stand for, Pearz.)




I was going to do the FC Review today, but this was so epic that I knew it needs its own blog post. You can get the FC Review later; for now, you can ogle the blade.

Edit. Stats for the blade, by request:


~Pearz