Once Upon a Comic Con

04 / Harley

Medusa was unlike any foe we'd faced before in our time playing Eden's Gate Online, the developers really upped the difficulty for this patch. I stood at the forefront of the party, with my greatsword driven into the ground. It was my job as the tank to protect my friends, and although I was struggling to decipher the mechanics of the fight, it was my duty to hold the party together.

The first half of the fight had been a walk in the park, a simple case of lowering her health as quick as we could while avoiding her attacks and mitigating the debuffs. Not even the minions she threw at us made any difference, but I suppose it helped with us all grinding to max level and having the best gear you could obtain.

But this second half, I couldn't even fathom what the boss had in store for us. Niolivin might have some idea from all the theory crafting he was doing, mumbling to himself in the voice chat. I don't think the rest of the group had paid much attention, but I found it comical to listen to him.

Once the transition came, I saw an opportunity to take a little heat of our healer and cast my own shield on the party. Thankfully, my intuition paid off when the boss released area wide damage. Nahla'li backed me up with a quick regeneration spell, topping up our health as a debuff hit us.

Medusa had shed her trident and oval shield and replaced them with a gilded staff, seeming to have shifted from a melee to magic-based move set. I glanced behind her, noting the marble steps leading further up into the clouds. My bets were on that was where the finale of this story might lie, along with the promise of a big reward should we finish this quest.

Terunao: Same strategy as before, I will continue to draw her attention. It seems she's stationary north, I will take her left to the side, try and avoid this direction.

The party followed my lead and sure enough I'd been correct in assuming the boss would be rooted to her position north. This meant the party could focus on their damage output rather than optimising positions to maximise their move combinations. Players could focus more on their playstyle than worrying about the rotations of their move set, giving our party the upper hand in battle.

Niolivin: Has anyone noticed the difference in her abilities since the phase transition?

Neya: What are you suggesting?

Niolivin: Appears she's more on the defensive and using more magic-based attacks than physical.

Diana: Which likely means we'll be dealing with an increase of debuffs. Let us know if you need a hand with mitigation, Nahla'li!

Nahla'li: You just leave it to me.

I smiled. I loved it when the team pulled together on the game. This is why I'd played with the group for so many years, for the sheer enjoyment I shared playing with each of them. I noticed Bonnie seemed to have cheered up since our conversation earlier. In the back of my mind I wondered if she'd spoken to her boyfriend about the situation we'd discussed, but while we were in the middle of a trial it didn't feel like an appropriate time to press her on the details.

Medusa's health bar was dwindling slower than it'd done in the first phase of the fight, but when we got to the halfway point, the boss disappeared, leaving three winged minions in her place.

A'sher: More adds? Give me a break.

Neya: There might be a midpoint raid wide afterwards, stay on your guard.

Terunao: Neya has a point. I'll draw their focus, just be sure to burn them down quickly.

Diana: Anyone notice the gauge filling up at the side?