Part 48: Day 23 - Gameplay

Day 23: Gameplay

Music: neutral 1


Tiphereth's researches are all introducing a new gameplay mechanic-bullets. We'll get into them later on today, but basically each bullet is a shield against a specific damage type.

Physical Intervention Shield: Red damage shield

Trauma Shield: White damage shield

Erosion Shield: Black damage shield

These will let us mitigate damage of specific types, and since almost all of the Ordeals in are Red damage…



Red shields it is.




Some slight reshuffling.



Who's that?

I hired on a new agent to work the Woodsman.

These stats are terrible!

That's the point.





You guys had better not screw up!

Just don't do anything dangerous.

Hm… is it just me, or is my interface a little different today?

With the completion of the Central Command department's research, we have managed to successfully activate our automated turrets.

Ahh, I see…



Hello ma'am! Agent Gaia, reporting for duty, ma'am!

Easy there, new guy. No need to salute.

Sorry ma'am! I'm just a little nervous about my first day, ma'am!

Alright, well how about for now you start by working with the clock.



It won't… move…!

That's perfect. Keep failing just like that.

Some of you in the thread mentioned (or guessed) this already, but sending a level 2 Agent at Backward Clock prevents it from gaining any lights, but still counts as a work. We could max it out by just sending Gaia at it 5 times. So we do that.



Wait, we have TURRETS?!

Ugh! You've had their technical specs on your desk for a week, Manager. They're only installed all over the facility, geez.

So why have we been having to beat Ordeals by putting our agents in danger?

Conventional weapons are not effective against Abnormalities, X. These turrets are not capable of using the E.G.O gear required to properly face an Ordeal.

So the turrets are useless. Great.

Spoken like a true amatuer. Just you wait and see, Manager!



Okay, team. Let's take a close look at the new Abnormalities before we act.



Remember to keep in mind that both of these Abnormalities are very dangerous… wait. Are we missing someone?

I wouldn't worry too much about it, sir.



Oooh… this cutie feels… different? It's like you're missing something. Don't you worry, li'l fella, I'll complete you~

It seems mostly inoffensive… I'll have Boksi work with it.



MANAGER!!

huh-what?!

This cutie... This cutie!

What are you on about?

That face! That body type! The way it tries to copy whatever it sees! And that super deep breathing… I call absolute dibs!

I think she likes it, sir.

...let's just let her do whatever she wants. How's it going with you, Boksi?



No need to worry about me, sir. I'm going to show off why I'm an elite.

We should be fine here, Sir.

Manager!

Malkuth? Something wrong?

I noticed that you haven't provided any orders to any of the upper Sephirot yet! You've been focused entirely on Central all day!

Oh, yeah. We've got three Abnormalities I need to get figured out, and I'm on a time limit today so I'm focusing on them.

So… we're not doing anything today?

Nope. Don't need you. Work meltdowns if you get any, but that's it.

......I understand, manager!

Since we're on a strict time limit and WAW/ALEPH gear is very expensive, I'm playing very differently than normal today, using exclusively our unresearched Abnormalities in Central outside of working meltdowns. I don't like doing this because it completely stalls training for every Agent aside maybe 2-3, and with Nothing There taking up Mizu's day that leaves just Gaia and Boksi to get training-with Talow occasionally switching in to cover should I need to. We should just be able to get all of the gear from the Abnormalities we're missing today in exchange, provided nothing goes wrong. Given that we're still well over the normal stat curve this feels like a good trade for right now, but I don't plan to make a habit of it.

It also takes longer than my usual play style, and makes for kind of boring footage. I got over an hour of video this time and 90% of it is the same 3-4 Agents working the same 3 Abnormalities.

Speaking of, Tiphireth. Have Gaia get to work on the Woodsman.



Hello, ma'am! I didn't expect to see you outside of the cell, ma'am!

You're a newbie, and this thing deals White damage. I'm just here for if you lose it.

Oh… yes ma'am.



Oh, come on! This time I sent someone with a low Temperance, it shouldn't have been an issue!



As I mentioned in the Abnormality Roundup, Woodsman reduces to 0 on a Bad result as well, and for an Agent like Gaia working anything but Temperance, we have a ~50% chance to hit a success on any given box. Since it has 18 boxes and counts 8 successes as a Bad, we only need to get a little unlucky to wind up in this position.



Manager, you should have known better.

It's not like I planned for it! I hired Gaia because he sucked, I didn't think he'd be that good at it!

Oh well. I guess that's going to be a restart. Looks like I win again, Tiphereth.

Aww.

Like hell. Put him to work on All-Around Helper. We'll get something out of this yet.

Huh? That's cheating!

No it's not, you never said I couldn't keep going after making a minor error.

Hmph!

I believe in you, Manager. I'm sure it'll be fine. We just got the reports on the two new Abnormalities, after all.



Yin is an Abnormality which has a preference for Insight work, but also a decent enough success rate with Repression and Instinct to be usable for three different stats. Since it deals Black damage, it's also very good for all three of them. It's a nice, basic Abnormality with no weird escape conditions for right now-we just have to not get Bad results, and its threshold is very forgiving. This will change.



As for Mizu's new friend Nothing There… It deals big Red damage (enough to leave Mizu at ~half health after a mediocre work), and while it has decent enough Instinct work rates, its rules are… to make a long story very short, we only want to work it with Agents who are at Fortitude and Justice 5 anyways. Justice 5 because otherwise it loses a QC, and Fortitude 5 because it has a similar hidden effect to 1.76 MHz-but while 1.76 gives a 1.2x multiplier to base work rates when an agent has Fortitude 1, Nothing There gives a 0.8x multiplier to base work rates when an agent is at Fortitude 4. This would get even smaller if they were at Fortitude 3 or less, but those Agents just immediately panic instead so it doesn't matter. As long as we throw a Fortitude 5/Justice 5 agent at it, though, we can use it to farm up Temperance.



Slow day…

The Manager's in one of his moods, it seems.

We should still do our part! We have meltdowns to work! Hod, Sephiroth needs Justice, send him to Repress Blue Star immediately. Yesod, your team has a number of agents who the mirror barely affects! Send one of them to handle its meltdown.

You're being too loud, Malkuth… Keep it down.

This isn't the time to be asleep, Netzach!

Manager's not even looking up here. That's the perfect time to sleep.



Quite the day, but nothing for one with a pedigree such as myself.

I haven't worked this hard in forever. Ah, wait for me, cutie! I'll be back soon to whisper in your ear once more!

You've really got a thing for that Nothing There thing, huh?

Can you blame me? It's like if you took six Ppodaes apart and sewed them back together as one creature! That's ultra cutie level!

That's… technically true, I guess.

Hey! Don't just ignore me!



Meanwhile, Gaia is having a close call with All-Around Helper.



Could you try not getting my agents killed, Manager?

I'm fine, ma'am! Just a little bit julienned, ma'am!



Violet Dawn.



You know, I can't help but feel like we should be doing something.

Like a party?

No, not like a party. Has Malkuth seemed… off to you?

No?

Oh. Maybe it's just me, but she's seemed even more high-strung than normal.

I'm sure it's no big deal.

Mmm… maybe I'm just being paranoid.



That's the Ordeal, everyone. Back to work, Boksi, Mizu and Gaia.



Cutie Here's given up all its secrets!

Like with Blue Star, the weapon costs 222 and the suit is another 120. Since I've dedicated an entire day to focusing on this thing, we'll be trying to get both today.



This guy's really tricky to deal with..!



Holy shit! Gaia, how are you still breathing?!

Just… doing my job… ma'am..!

Here. Lean on me. We'll get you back to the main room.

Yes, ma'am..!

...y'know maybe I should get him some Instinct training.



Ah, a Green Noon. This will be a perfect test, Manager!

For those bullets?

Exactly.



Tylana's facing the enemy now. Go ahead and select the coordinates you want to fire at with that cursor.

Like this..?

Yep! Just confirm, and the nearest turret will take care of the rest.

*BANG*

What the crap?!

There is a satisfying 'bang' sound every time we use a bullet, it's pretty great.



Ignore the explosion, Tylana! Just fight!

Oh, now the buzzsaw doesn't hurt at all.

Bullet shields are the key to making Green Noon (and Red Noon to a lesser extent) nonissues. Each one tanks 50 HP worth of damage of the relevant color, and allow even relatively soft employees to deal with them without a risk of dying. Green Dusk will remain a problem for a while yet as 2-3 Noons at once could still overcome our ammo stocks. Each bullet also uses 1 of the 10 we get right now, but these are refilled every meltdown level so there's not any reason to hold back.

Anyways, we Red bullet everyone and for the first time have absolutely no trouble with Green Noon.



...that was awesome!

I know. If you want more? Don't screw up.

I never do, but wouldn't that mean you lose the bet today?

Oh! Well… Shut up!

It's okay, Tiphereth. I hope he succeeds this time, too.



Done getting Yin's information together. You're welcome.

Good work… but I don't know why you're showing this to me.

Someone needs to run it up to Information.

...right, I'll go take care of that.



Hey guys, we just got the last bunch of new data we'll be getting for the day.

Ooooo… Dataa… Lemme seee…

All yours.

Hooraay…

So… If that's it, what do we do for the rest of the day?

There's not much else left to do for now.

In that case, why not have some fun?

But… I have iinteresting iinformaation right heere..?

You can read it later, kiddo. We've got some spare time on our hands, and we should throw a party with it.

And where would you be holding this party? I'm don't want any more cleanup on my plate at closing time.

Why don't we have it in Safety? Netzach doesn't seem like he'd mind.

Hm… Hey, Netzach. My team wants to have a party in your department. Any objections?

zzz…

I'm not hearing a no.

Alright then. But… try to keep it down. It'd be terrible if he were to be woken up by accident. And make sure the meltdowns get worked.

Alright. I'll call Control.



What's going on?

Party in Safety. Bring everyone in the Upper departments.

A party?

I knew today felt like a party day!

Your sixth sense is developing nicely.

Do we have permission for that?

Yesod was okay with it, so long as we don't let the place go to hell.

Good enough for me.

Is something going on?

We're holding a party in Safety, since nobody's doing anything anyways.

A party..?

Yep. Sending the call out now.

Well… Alright! I'll take care of the rest of the work up here.

Alright. See you later, boss.



...what's going on? It's too loud to nap in here… and why's everyone outside?

HAHAHA! We're having a party!

Cool. Pass the enkephalin.

We don't have any!

Then it's not a party. Did you at least bring beer?

I grabbed some from the vending machine on the way over.

Toss me one. You guys woke me up, it's only fair.





...Hod, where are our agents?

Um… I got a call sending them all to Safety. They're having a party, since there's nothing to do?

I need someone to get hit by Punishing Bird. It doesn't care about clerks. _{Also, someone save me some cake.}

One of you guys, take care of it!





I should pick up some cake on the way back. You want any?





X, the equipment extraction is complete.

Great. I'm going to have some cake. Wrap things up for me.

For safety purposes, managers aren't allowed on the work floor. It could be dangerous if an Abnormality were to escape, and it's unknown if you could mentally withstand the strain of seeing an Abnormality without the perception filter.

...this job sucks, Angela.

You have my sincerest condolences.



...And that's the story of why I never open my eyes.

How iinteresting..! I didn't knoow that you could naavigate with an EEGO suit…

I'll have to try that.

Be careful. Tenebrais tried it and it didn't work at all… so I figure it might not be something just anyone could do?

Hey everyone, I'm getting the signal that the workday's ending. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.

Alright team-let's go wrap things up!



Good first day, Gaia. You pulled it off-even if it was dicey.

Thanks, ma'am. I just wish I'd gotten that thing's gift like Seyser did.

Just keep it up, you'll get one someday.

SeyserKoze getting the All-Around Helper's E.G.O Gift gives me a chance to talk about its special ability: It's supposed to add 3% to your success rate on any Insight works. Due to a coding bug, it instead adds 3 to an Agent's Work Success stat when working Insight (which does nothing unless it brings an Agent's stat past the next 5 or 0). There is a mod to fix this, and I will be using it.



Good work today, everyone. We made it without a problem.

Of course we did. My work with Yin was exactly what should be expected of a person with my pedigree.

Even though I had to cover for you when the overload got too high.

That's not important! Any good leader knows the value of delegation.

Today was super refreshing! I haven't worked with a cutie like that in forever~



So, did he wind up waking up?

Joined in, actually. Just wanted a beer.

...Ah, of course.

Don't sound so disappointed, boss.

Let's just finish things up for the day.



That's pretty good. How about… Our lives are a difficult road, but we must climb them until we reach the top.

It's a little choppy. Maybe "We must walk this path regardless." Climbing makes me think of mountains.

As expected, you're very good at this.

……...what are you two even doing at this point.

We're working on our dark, mysterious sayings for when we show up and save the day.

It's important that we match all your talents if we want to survive around here.

That's not one of my talents. Shouldn't you be working?

Everything's all done again.

Malkuth finished it while we were out, and went to her office.

...did she say anything?

She was muttering something, but I wasn't really paying attention. Didn't seem unusual, at any rate.

Mm… Well, good work, everyone.



Hey… I won?

Hmph! Dumb luck, that's all.

Sure, let's go with that.

Congratulations to Medea on joining the maxout club.

Music: never frozen bottom flows


T-02-43: Unsurprisingly, not a single employee volunteered to retrieve the corpse of their cocooned colleague.
D-03-109: ...and my dear employees, I do hope you all put on the gas masks we distributed to you before we enter.
O-02-101: Those who succeed in the hunt are granted with one of the very feathers that countless hunters once yearned for.

Three entirely new Abnormalities today. We'll start with -43, a nonbreaching Instinct trainer that's a TETH level. It requires a minimum of 2 Prudence to work, and is entirely unremarkable otherwise. A bit weak for where we are, but it's a safe pick. Then there's -109. This one is… special.

Another community unfavorite, -109 is an ALEPH who nonetheless people still like anyways. It acts like a plague when worked, infecting other members of the facility and turning them into drones-if we're going to work this thing we'd have to keep whoever's working it apart from everyone else in the department to avoid having them infect anyone. While Central is actually the ideal location to do this, I'd rather not deal with it until we get a little further and have a couple extra researches.

That leaves -101, which is a WAW-albeit a rather tricky one. It requires Bad results to get its QC back up and prevent escapes, and because it deals Red damage we need to make sure to send someone with good Red armor to deal with it. It's also interesting in that its weapon is only available by suppressing it. I might try for this, we have Red bullets now to negate the worst of its effects and our facility can deathball decently well already.



So yeah, I take -101 given the other two options are both bad. But hey, we have one more pick!



Except we don't. Remember how we picked Yin yesterday, and I mentioned that 'predestined choice?' That's this. It doesn't give us a selection quote, and we can't get out of selecting it, so…



Let's see what Yin's other half has in store for us.

Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation: Cactus.

New Guidelines

Yin
Nothing There

New Gear


Requirements: Level 3, Temperance 3
*Not affected by Attack Speed


Requirements: Temperance 3


Requirements: Level 5, Fortitude 5


Requirements: Level 5, Fortitude 5

New Story

Backwards Clock
Yin
Nothing There (Part 1)
Nothing There (Part 2)
Nothing There (Part 3)
Nothing There (Part 4)