Beyond the Beyond: Update 103: Another Side, Another Story (The Abyss pt. 3)

[ladyabaxa]

Beyond the Beyond: Update 103: Another Side, Another Story (The Abyss pt. 3)

When last we saw the team they had just exited the Abyss having made the long walk down to the Statue of Light at the bottom. That's half the task completed but the other half will be just as time consuming.

First though the team has to restock. Only one Angel's Ocarina cracked on that trip which is good because although it only costs 666 gold to repair each one that adds up fast. Repair cost is always a fraction of an item's buy price.

You're sure you can fix this?
Yep!
I think a better question is "Who makes these things?"
That's one question I know better than to ask.

I've been deliberately bleeding off the team's remaining stock of basic herbs. Their time has passed but they might as well get whatever use out of them that they can. Healing Herbs make for decent patch heals when I just have one character who's been beaten up and I don't want to spend MP. The Abyss is something of an MP management test but after so many dungeons that demand the same thing it should be habit by now.

The hike back to the Abyssal shrine is uneventful. There's no dragon spam this time around. The entry causeway just beyond the first sealed door looks like it could be a bridge over what should be a chasm but it could also just be a raised upper layer resting atop a solid floor. The backgrounds are usually good at making such things clear. None of the floors below do much layering (think Arawn's Palace) which makes the maze puzzle much simpler.

I hope it holds up. We just had it fixed.
Percy's gonna be a master of the ocarina after this!
A master? I sound terrible whenever I try to play these.
The magic must be tone deaf or something because it never cares.

Now to find out how long this one unfortunate ocarina holds up to the wringer it's being put through.

I still think there should be a foot stool or something. How did the designer expect anyone to reach this?
Maybe they weren't human!
Or just didn't care if humans could reach it.
I don't think this is supposed to be easy, Finn.
Yet for all the danger of the Underworld the path wasn't outright sealed with no key. Someone clearly wanted it to be possible to get through.
But not easily, as I said.
The worlds aren't supposed to mess with each other. That's the agreement, right?
But don't worry because they will anyway.
I know, sis. None of this stopped the Vicious Ones.
If we unseal this then die who knows what Shutat might be able to bring out of the Underworld.
Us? Die? Not gonna happen!
I wish I could share your enthusiasm.
If an army of monsters hasn't killed us then Shutat alone has no chance.

Key Item Orb of Darkness got!

B1, north side

I do like that the aura around the angel statues is different than those that surrounded the demon statues. The demon aura is bright red-orange while the angel one is a pale white-blue.

I managed to avoid the horde of Red Dragons outside but the Abyss itself is replete with them.

You know how we were wondering why the number of monsters never seems to go down?
What about it?
What if the undead priests run around reviving things when we're not around?
Sounds like my kind of luck.
Doesn't seem to help the monsters when priests are with them.
You usually attack them first with a vengeance.
'Cause Miss Annie doesn't like 'em muscling in on her territory!

B1, south side

Well there's the staircase down into the maze proper. I would say it's the team's last chance to turn back but they already use magic to beat a hasty retreat when things to turn sour. Any point is thus a chance to turn back. I mean, so long as they don't trip a cutscene.

Anyway, this is for reference as a starting point of the path of darkness.

And then an unfortunate Necromancer was run over by Annie. This is the kind of fight that doesn't even qualify as a speed bump.

B2, south side

The team can search the demon statues that were previously warded but neither has anything of value. This feels like it's supposed to be a quiet tutorial of how the puzzle works. With two statues of each type both orbs cause a reaction but the statues are just far enough apart that their auras don't block off this hallway.

Finn continues to defy all expectations of breaking 200 attack power but he has reached a critical threshold by reaching 40 Speed. What makes it critical is that 40 Speed is enough to pre-empt Necromancers in turn order. It is amazing how long they've been showing up. It feels like a third of the game even though I know that it hasn't been that long. That whole time only Annie has been fast enough to get a hit in before they get their turns which is quite a lot of pressure to put on any team member. With Finn's help she has a real chance to kill a Necromancer before it can move rather than hope to hurt it enough that they heal themselves.

Heading north the team approaches the door to the central shaft. Deciding where to go on the second half of the puzzle is rather simple: just go the opposite way from the first half. There is some overlap but most of the time the puzzle doesn't allow the player to traverse the same routes.

Lest anyone worry that the game might relent for a moment it is fully in "beat up person who takes most damage or has least VP" mode. Annie continues to soak quite a beating. I'm glad she has all that LP!

To the north across the main shaft is a chamber that continues north.

I hate this place.
How much longer could we be stuck here?
I don't want to know. I already have a splitting headache.

Further north the game offers a false choice. It looks like there might be east and west branches but both just lead to dead ends that are off camera in the screenshot above. It's all about making the player wander around a little longer to set up more random encounters. Instead the team passes between two demon statues that would bar their path if they had the Orb of Light.

When Necromancers show up split across two groups like this Finn's increased Speed immediately comes in handy. He attacks one while Annie targets the other. If they were in the same group the game would likely have one Necromancer subject to both attacks. Outside of critical hits and double attacks neither Necromancer is killed with that tactic but the point is to keep them busy long enough for the rest of the team to get turns.

Gah! What are you doing?!
Not listening to you, obviously.
*giggles*
I feel like I'm being sabotaged.

I just love spending 10 MP to scratch at one enemy for less damage than Tont could have inflicted by attacking... said no one, ever. And here I was worried that all the monsters he summoned for the remainder of the game would always do useful things!

Alas even the best laid plans are easily derailed when attacks are blocked. Well there's the Titan 1 spell animation again! It could be worse though. Of the four actions these two Necromancers had in the opening round two were spent on using Healing Herbs and the third was a rather useless physical attack. One Titan 1 spell, which is resisted by the team, isn't that bad.

On the northern end of the chamber is a staircase down and a treasure chest containing the Hero Scale. Hmm, now I wonder who this might be for?

The Hero Scale offers Finn another three Defense, bringing him up to 68 total, but would probably be vital if I had missed the mithril sidequest.

Is it really such a great idea to wear armor found in the Abyss?
Well Edward's not here so I can't ask him about it.
Finn's a risk taker!
None of us would be here if he weren't.
A whole bunch of risks I never wanted!
And the armor?
A perfect fit.

B3, north side

Does this look familiar to anyone else?
Uh, maybe?

Because of actively-warded angel statues it is necessary to walk around. This is another reference screenshot because the team has been in almost the exact same spot before. It actually isn't necessary to walk this far south. There's a one-tile opening around the statues that can be used.

To the south, across the main shaft, are a pair of angel statues completely blocking off the path. This is clearly not where they should be.

I guess this does look familiar.
It also looks like you're not going any further.

The answer is to go around the angel statues on the west side followed by going around or through the demon statues on the east side to reach this staircase leading down. Technically speaking the demon statues don't actually block access to the staircase while carrying the Orb of Light. For that path this staircase is optional (but I took it anyway). For the path of darkness it is required.

No problem. Always down into the Abyss.

B4, north side

Downstairs are twisty little corridors that all look the same. Oh well.

Since I went south the last time the team was in this area I opt to go down this staircase on the west side instead. Again, it's all about picking paths not previously taken.

B5, north side

On the next floor the team finds a long string of demon statues that would have been impassable in the last update. This is serious overkill in blocking one staircase.

I'm surprised none of the statues have tried to attack.
Do we really need to give Shutat and Ramue any ideas?
They're not there to hear it, so sure!
So you're saying I need to scatter animated statues around my lair?
I bet they could put up a good fight.
I think Lorele's getting bored.
I'll have plenty of work when I return to Barbaros.
Well you guys could try to clear out the valley around Quamdar...
Of the neverending army we can't ever seem to make real headway against?
What? You'd never run out of enemies to fight!

Oh and there are more demons for the nuking quota.

Speaking of enemies, this is going to hurt.

I take that back. THIS HURTS!

The damage dealt by Royal Guards would feel remarkable if half the monsters in the Abyss didn't hit just as hard. Attacking is all they can do and they are reasonably good at it.

Revenge!
They don't seem to be intimidated.
They will when I'm done with them.
But they'll be dead.
They'll remember it when the priests get around to reviving them.

Alas Undhine is also resisted by Royal Guards. As long as there are two or more other monsters to hit with the spell I suppose it's worth the MP.

Aww, Miss Annie gets the last laugh.
I am beyond sick of demons punching me. BEYOND. SICK.

Annie gets thrashed once again but she dishes pain out just as well. Not exactly what one expects from the team cleric but this is Beyond the Beyond and it does what it does.

To the south are a line of angel statues. These are the statues the team saw and walked through when they first arrived on this floor in the last update. This actually isn't much of a diversion. The door to the main shaft to the south is necessary on both paths.

B5, south side

And here we are. There's only one staircase descending to the sixth floor so the paths must converge. This doorway remains a welcome sight.

I think this is the right way.
I guess we'll find out soon enough.

HURK!
I'm gonna go deaf because of these things!

The sight of Barrogs is another sure sign of being on the right path but having one scream four fifths of the party into paralysis is a bad start to any fight.

Don't worry though. The second Barrog immediately lets loose its own scream and paralyzes Percy. Why settle for four fifths when you can get five fifths? He wasn't going to accomplish much being the only team member who could act but the game has decided he can't even do that.

Well that's bad.
*makes a variety of squeaky noises*
What did he say?
Probably something about how he wishes he could move.

Now there are ways to remove paralysis but this is a demonstration of why those aren't all that helpful. Paralysis wears off on its own but I must note that being knocked into groggy status won't clear it. The character recovers VP but remains paralyzed. All in all this situation isn't nearly as dire as it might seem. For one thing Beyond the Beyond doesn't auto-game over if the entire team is paralyzed. Everyone will end up spending some LP, which they have plenty of, while waiting for those timers to tick down.

This is the final dungeon. If they weren't pushed to spend LP now and then I'd be seriously concerned about the game's difficulty curve.

Ow, ow, ow.
Are your limbs all tingly?
I'm not sure that's how I would describe it.
Focus, you two.

Alas Percy and Tont's recovery was short lived. Another scream sent both back to paralysis leaving Sir Samson to hold the line while Finn shakes cobwebs from his brain. At least Sir Samson hits hard enough to make his turns worth it.

I wish we could do something.
We can't teleport to them so, uh, no.
Maybe if we shout they'll snap out of it!
Can you not? My ears are already ringing.

Then an irate Annie recovers.

Am I wrong in thinking all of these assholes are in need of a beatdown?
As long as that doesn't include any of us I'd say yes.
Okay. Just making sure before I decide what to do first.

Half the team might be in desperate need of healing but Annie's gotta put her turn to use in case more screams are incoming. Thus she opts to use Holy Light 4. It only hits a single target, a major downgrade from level 3, but deals 53 damage to one Barrog. Combined with Sir Samson's previous attack that's enough to equal one dead demon.

I suppose that's one way to find a chance to show this spell rank off.

Then Finn strikes down the other Barrog.

Feel better, sis?
A bit. My eardrums are happier.

GRAWRR!
Are your eardrums still happy?
Sure. Sir Samson's battle cries bring me joy right now.

The dragons still have to be dealt with but their sitting in the enemy back row can't protect them from critical hits from the team's frontliners.

The eastern and western sides of B5 perfectly mirror each other. There's one statue on the northern row, standing next to the inner wall, that belongs to one path with three statues belonging to the other occupying the other three spots. When carrying the Orb of Light the team had to go through the west side. Now that they have the Orb of Darkness they must pass through the eastern side. Balance!

B6

One staircase down and a short walk brings the team to the end of their fetch quest. They have but to place the Orb of Darkness in its matching statue.

Last time. Hopefully.
Stand still for a moment will ya, kid?
Oh, sorry. I'm just happy to have this almost over.

With both orbs in place the sealed door opens. Given that there's a point of no return just a few steps on the other side the team will not be entering it just yet.

Time to cast Escape!

We're not going in?
And give Finn a new reason to freak out?
I just... have this feeling that we're not ready for whatever's on the other side.
Still no sign of Shutat.
or Ramue.
Cowering somewhere hoping we can't get that far.
Maybe they'll come up and see us in Quamdar.
They already would have if they wanted to.

Selling old and redundant gear like the extra Seraphic Cane the team found helps recoup some of the costs of restocking. Only one Angel's Ocarina cracked (the same one the team had to repair at the start of this update) so I suppose my resource management has been working.

Then I buy a Goddess Robe and Athena Ribbon for Annie and a Cloak of Light for Tont. It might not be much of a defense boost but Annie will definitely put it to use.

 

Next time on Beyond the Beyond - final prep!

Update One hundred and two | Index | Update One hundred and four