Part 17: Update Seventeen: An Ice Cave And Then Something Vastly More Interesting

Welcome back, folks! Last time, we tackled perhaps the hardest bonus dungeon in the game, and picked up a kickass new hilt for Sharpe. Today, we're doing an ice cave bonus dungeon and then we're going to do something that some of you probably won't see coming, so let's get crazy.



This is near Alhazred. It's eastish.



It's a cave made of ice.



I mean, what the hell else can I say about it? If you've seen one ice cave, you've seen 'em all.



Thankfully, there are no ice physics, so we won't be slipping and sliding around. And we don't have to worry about one of those dumbass puzzles where you have to slide ice blocks around a path and if one goes the wrong direction, you have to leave the room and try again.



There are some new enemies around here, too.



Nothing to worry about, though. We're pretty strong after that last dungeon.



We'll be killing her on principle.



I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen.



Oh, these bastards are my favorite in this dungeon.





Just like that, we're nearly done with this fight.



Also, if you were curious, this is what it looks like when Ember attacks.

He's a friggin' dragon. What do you expect?



And that's why Gold Wisps are the shit! They drop tons of EXP and Gold are about as easy to kill as a hemophiliac with polio.



I won't be too super in-depth here.



Mostly just about fights, since the layout isn't all that interesting.



Neither are these guys, truth be told.



I can't think of a joke for this.





Yeah...We're going to be crushing everything in our path.



Feh.



After the Gold Wisps, this is just...disappointing.





Alright, what's next on the chopping block?



Oh, hey, it's been a minute since we've seen statue enemies.





They can hit a bit harder than the other enemies around here, but we've more than enough firepower to drop them before they're even close to dangerous.





We're on a path to a treasure chest.



I'm going to guess we're not going to equip this.



I like the Agility boost, but the Master Hilt is too good.



Let's grab another piece of treasure.



I actually use this one!



I lose a bit on her Water/Ice magic, but those other boosts are pretty damned good. Ain't no Heroine Dress, but I do have the cash needed to afford that.



Speaking of which...







Just how sweet is it to kill eight of these guys? How satisfying?



It's plain goddamned phenomenal.







Cthulhu gains some stat boosts, making him faster and hardier.



While Umi gets a general upgrade.





While Paws grows stronger and faster.



Sharpe joins the action as well.



But with a small boost to Strength.



October, you too?



Yeah, we all know what I took here.







And let's snag another bit of treasure.



Ooh, new weapon for Cthulhu!



Intriguing. I like it. Let's slap this bitch on!



And a little ways from that, we snag some more potions.





A little late to the party, Dacre.



Slight boost to Agility and some more Magic power.



Alright, let's go finish this shit off.



In the usual tradition, we pick up the final chest and a boss fight comes with it.



A Fallen Angel. Huh.



And she's barfing. Fantastic.



Just 21,000 HP? Yeah, I definitely should have come here before going to the volcano.





Things are going quite well so far.



However, I've got to be careful of this attack. I never saw anything else, so I'm guessing this is her Insane tactic.



A few more rounds of our party laying the smack down and this fight is over.





Hey, Ember, I'm glad you...Well, he's a higher level, so he didn't really catch up...Ember, I'm glad you're staying comfortable ahead!



Shockingly, I take the Volcanic Aura here. Combining that with Cthulhu's Flame Strike would put it at over 3,000 damage, and combining it with October...Oh, Volcanic Aura, you could lead to some absolutely fucking insane shit.



Hey, October, now you've a free way to hit all enemies. You're pretty good for hitting an entire party.



But we're not done just yet!





We're heading back to Miskatonia. Or west of Miskatonia, rather.



...This is odd.



Uh-huh.



There's something oddly familiar here.









But these stairs are new.





...Well, now, ain't this something?



Uh-huh. Get ready folks, some serious shit is about to go down.





Alright, Dem, let's dance.





First things first, let's not boost his ass-kicking potential too much.



As that still hurts even by normal standards.



This might take a while.





Suck it down, skeleton man!



OH GOD HE'S MAKING CTHULHU SUCK IT DOWN



This happens on the fourth turn. Every time. But what is he preparing for?





Instant death. You have to beat Dem within five turns or he will drop enough damage to instantly annihilate your party.

Unless you get a bit clever and switch your party around.



We'll be taking down Dem with Cthulhu, Umi, Sharpe and Dacre.



And I'm leaving Dem insane. I need to be able to drop tons of damage on him as fast as I can, while boosting my combo count to the skies.



In hindsight, maybe this wasn't as useful as I was expecting.



However, this is key to my victory.









I could have eeked a bit more damage if I had let Cthulhu and Umi attack a little more often. And I could have dome some more boosting to my combo count.



To ensure that Dem won't be outspeeding us, I slow him down. I tried to Blind him, but he seems basically immune.







Dacre is here purely for support and to keep our asses alive.



Just to squeeze out a little more damage per turn, Umi poisons the skeleton. We're getting about 700 free damage a turn. If I let that kill Dem off, it would take...Oh, one hundred and twenty one turns.



This won't be nearly enough to allow us to survive his Finishing Move, but maybe his regular attacks.



Well, that was a close one.



Sharpe does have his own ability to boost his Strength by 50%, but I didn't want to not have him attack and not boost the combo count.



Umi is absolutely key to this strategy. Without her, I have no other guaranteed way of doing this.



Siren's Call will lock Dem down for this turn.



And while he's locked down, he won't be able to use Finish Move. And it resets his pattern, too, so it'll be a few more turns before Prepare comes up again.



And with this, I have all that I need to finish off Dem. Sharpe was also instrumental for my strategy. Dacre was extremely important, for the Strength and defense boosts, as well as his general kickassedness at keeping the party alive. Paws could sub in, with Potions, but I don't think that's quite as effective.



But, let's finish this off.



Doot doot, motherfucker.









Okay, so there were many, many levels here. I take H.B. Bane here, just to really stick it to those Lovecraftian monstrosities.





And a little bit more Strength.





I increase Umi's chance to jab her trident in the enemies' eyes and blind them.





As well as boosting her Sting Strike damage and the poison damage with it.





Sharpe grows a little tougher.



I don't even give a shit about the other choice, but let's see it.



Hmm, yeah, I'm going with the badass Wind Strike.



Oh, good, a level up I don't have to talk about.





And her electric skills all get a boost, since I use those more than Quake.





Paws grows more insanely quick.



Even more insanely quick, I should say, as well as a little better at other stuff.





While Dacre learns to rain divine intervention upon the entire enemy party.





Oh, Jesus, we're not done with levels yet!?

But at least he gained some more HP as well as defenses. And he only gained the one level.



Oh, Christ, Cthulhu wasn't done with the stat boosts!



I mean, dear God--Wait, what?



Well, I'll be goddamned. Doot doot indeed.

See you all next time. Maybe I'll actually continue the game then.