Part 110: Day 44 - Gameplay Again

Day 44: Gameplay Again

Music: neutral 3




So that's Binah… She's a troublesome opponent.

But you have a plan, right? Like, "when she attacks, you need to not be there!"

One of her attacks goes across the entire facility, so that's… not a great plan. I have a theory, but it's going to require some tight timing.

In that case, do the thing and see if it works, and if not you know for next time. I'm sure nobody really minds dying if they don't remember it. Heck, I do remember it and I'm pretty sure it feels kind of nice now.

Alright, let's give it a try and see if it works the first time.

Retry count: 16

It didn't. We'll get into that later.



Music: Second Trumpet


Last time we covered all of Binah's phase dialogue, so I won't be copying it again here.

You've already returned...

I'm not that easy to keep down anymore.

I see…



Then I shall greet you in the appropriate manner.

Hello to you, too.

Last time I showed off what Binah can do in broad terms, to give a general idea how the feel of the fight works. This time, we're going to keep her from even getting to play the game. So, let's take a look at Binah.



In Phase 1, Binah only has one attack that can hit the entire facility-her initial one, which comes out once a minute at most. While Pillar and Fairy are both dangerous, her AI will never use them unless she's in the same room as an employee. This gives us some time before we need to worry about them.

Much like with WhiteNight, there are three broad strategies for how to deal with Binah:

-Engage with her mechanics as intended. We tried that last time, and I proved very bad at it. Still, Binah is completely defeatable if fought properly. My failed run involved me trying to salvage it by doing it the "right" way, and would have succeeded if not for D.A.D. dying right at the end.

-Build a facility to be as safe as possible, so that no matter what Binah does she doesn't cause too much trouble. This would mean no Clerk's Rights Abnormalities, and nothing that is complicated to handle. Doing this can actually help with both Binah and Hokma's suppressions, but it requires building our facility from scratch to this end. Since we're not going back to day 1, this isn't an option. That leaves us with:

-Introduce something to the mix which somehow disrupts the intended flow of the fight.



Step 1: We slow bullet Binah. It's important that we keep her in Extraction.

Delaying me will not stop the inevitable tide of reality from crushing your aspirations.

Huh. I expected another story.

I see no reason to bother. This time, you came with a plan. I will see your full might, and I will crush it.

Also she only knows one story. Now poems…

This is not the time for poetry, Mizu.



Step 2 is to deal with her initial attack. We do this by spending our bullets on clearing Clerks standing on top of the bubbles. I should really only need two bullets to accomplish my plan with Binah, so this gives us 20 shots to play with for Clerk removal. Healing our Agents won't be necessary if everything goes to plan.



So you intend to keep the Bird and Mountain asleep?

Big Bird getting out would be too much of a problem to handle on top of everything else.



I eat through most of our ammo supply to do it. With one shot having Binah's name on it, this gives us six left after I restart time.



The rest of the setup is simple. I set Agents to work, and order them to stand in separate hallways and elevators so that only one Agent will be in any given place. This will cut down on the possible damage from her next resonate, and keep us from losing anyone.



When we unpause and the spikes strike, Big Bird's QC stays the same. We lost fewer than 5 Clerks, which is perfect.



Planning such bold actions even now… do you think I haven't caught on to your idea?

Whether you've caught on or not doesn't matter, the question is if you can stop it.

After unpausing, I count to nine and pause again. The reason for this is simple:



Slow bullets last for 10 seconds, and I want to be sure.

You think yourself my equal… interesting.

Don't you have a nap you should be taking?



...

...Looks like she does! I thought we weren't allowed to sleep on the job, though.

You're not. Let me show you why.

This is the moment we've been waiting for. Once Binah is asleep, we move forward with the main thrust of our plan.



Myo.

Something the matter, Manager?

One of my employees is causing problems. I need you to deal with her.

Can do.





I told you, she's my employee.

Good enough for me. Time to graze!

Binah is countered very effectively by the Rabbit Team. Their lockdown prevents her from leaving Extraction, and since Extraction is the department being suppressed it's immune to her walking meltdowns-this lets us ignore that part of the fight entirely. Moreover, since Binah's defenses are the same for each damage type the Rabbits can pile it onto her en masse. The Slow bullets were used in order to make sure she didn't leave Extraction before she was asleep. This is because Binah's first attack doesn't have a cooldown, which means she can start a Fairy attack if we call the Rabbit Team immediately. Since her stun phase doesn't interrupt her mid-attack, this means that she'd have a 50-50 chance to kill a large chunk of the team before she's stunned.



Binah's stun phase lasts for 30 seconds, and after it's over all of her cooldowns reset. This means the rabbits will have ~50-55 seconds to wail on her before she's done.

This seems super unfair, manager!

She said she didn't care about methods, so I'm taking her at her word. We'll never pull one over on the Head if we don't play unfair some of the time.

Oooh~! Okie-dokie, boss!

What's all this about pulling one over on the Head?

Wish I could tell you. Apparently I'm part of some big plan that'll do it somehow? Binah there thinks so, anyways.

And you think it's a good job to just say as much to someone working at another Wing?

Well, you're losing your memory after this, so…

...Heh. Guess you're right. Long as there's a battlefield it's not like I care much anyways.



The glut of works means that Parasite Tree is assured to try and draw someone in, and since it's a Clerk I just get rid of them. Five bullets left. As for WhiteNight, I'm following the same strategy that I did with Hokma: Every time work with him ends I immediately have the same person work with him. Today that person is Talow.



I wake up to see you hiding behind another Wing? I suppose such a tactic is to be expected from you, Manager.

My memory may be fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure you do the same thing. What between the Claws you worked with back then, and the L-corp Abnormalities you try to use now.

Ooh, Claws? Miss Binah knows about Claws?

I'm quite familiar with them, though not as much as I used to be.

Introduce me! I've always wanted to meet one!

Perhaps another time. I've none I can call in this place.

As I mentioned before, the Rabbits trap her in Extraction. Binah tries to leave for the elevator…



Only to be warped back to the start of her corridor.

These spatial locks are quite the problem…

Why thank you.



With the Rabbits keeping the pressure on Binah, I aim for some double kills on our Clerks.

Music: Jukai


You seem to be getting ahead of yourself, Manager. Can you afford to take your eyes off of me?

I really don't have a choice, do I?

It could be said that you always have choices, Manager. Your ability to always make the wrong one is what has led us here.



Binah starts Phase 2 with another Resonate, but now that our Agents are spread out none of them are in any actual danger from it. She also adds on her Waves.



I mentioned earlier that Red defense was the most important one in the early game and Black took that spot for the late game, and this fight is pretty much entirely why. I focused our equipment today on gear that resisted Black damage, so these attacks aren't a meaningful threat.



I burn one bullet on removing a Clerk who was going to get spiked, and set everyone to work on handling the 18 meltdowns across the facility. Meanwhile, our foresight pays off.



If we're unlucky, we could have to deal with Woodsman melting down 2+ times over the course of this fight, and we have no choice but to work them. Dimi was created expressly to handle this problem. After today, she's allowed to have Temperance.

You haven't thought about what happens after this, have you?

I have not, no.

I was expecting some kind of sophistry. So you admit to having no plan?

I don't know what's going to happen. When it does, I'll deal with it then.

You won't be able to accomplish anything on your own.

Well… I certainly can't argue with that.



I don't think I count as 'alone' anymore, though. Goodnight, Binah.

...

Manager, that was super inspirational!!

_{Please stop hugging me.}

The phase change triggers an attack, which resets Binah's attack cooldown timer. Since our Agents are so spread out, we can work all of the Abnormalities within 20 seconds. This knocks Binah out, so the Rabbits can keep up their attack.



Worth every penny, wouldn't you say?

I'd say you're worth a lot more than the nothing we're paying you.

Huh?

I called you before we'd collected any energy. And 25% of nothing is…

Bupkuss!

Yes. Very good, Mizu.

This whole day's just been corner cases with that damn contract of ours, hasn't it?

Seems that way.



I use our last bullet on taking out this hypnotized Clerk. We should be clear on Parasite Tree, now.

You are quite skilled after all, Manager. To have pushed me so far, so quickly.

I just figured out how to use the right tool for the right job.

How... nostalgic.



It appears you've left me little choice. Rather than simply crush you with those creatures called Abnormalities, it seems I will have to attack your crutch.

I can walk just fine.

Before Phase 3 happens, I pull the camera all the way out and take a deep breath. What we've seen so far is the easy part.

Music: Haunted Streets


That remains to be seen. Try to stand on your own two feet.

Phase 3 uses the same on-screen quotes as Phase 2. The only difference comes when we try to pause.



Not this shit again.

You seem off-balance. Good.

Mrgrgr… Rabbit team! Don't let up!

Like we ever would!



In Phase 3, Binah disables pausing entirely and introduces a new trick into the mix. We'll get to that in a moment.



As with the other two phases, Binah begins this one with another wave through the facility. The spikes fail to kill anyone once again.



This time, we get her final type of special meltdowns: The Meltdown of Pillars. She spawns 8 of them across the facility, though only 7 are visible in this shot. These meltdowns apply a -20% success penalty, and have a base 45 second timer. It's vital that we handle them, because if we don't Binah will be able to launch her attack. She's also invincible until the attack resolves, so we can't beat her down before it fires.



She summons these eight pillars around herself one at a time, and when the meltdown timers have ended she fires them all off. They deal damage according to the glow around them, and will trigger more meltdowns just like her normal pillars do. Working all of the meltdowns will clear the pillars out and stop them from firing. However, Scarecrow wound up escaping instead. This breaks things so that we just have a group of pillars hanging there in midair for the rest of the fight. They're harmless, though, so there's nothing to worry about.

You really handled them all at once?

I had a lot of practice dealing with meltdowns when I couldn't pause. You can thank Hokma for that.

Well, as they say. Once is a fluke. Twice is a pattern.



We'll see which you have.

A few steps later, she fires off another wave. This one comes with spikes as well, so it's important to keep Agents spread out throughout this phase-we don't have time to drag them around to dodge anymore.



I set our Agents to work as quickly as possible, while Binah summons the pillars into existence.

Even if your plan succeeds, it will be meaningless in the end.

There's no way of knowing that for sure. At the very least, something will change.

The Head will endure. You're not the first upstart to try and force change, and you won't be the last. All you'll do is cause more suffering.

If that's the cost of breaking mankind out of this death spiral, then it's worth it.

Such idealism. I take it you inherited it from that woman.

Maybe. I don't really know.



Since she didn't set up her usual meltdowns, Binah's defenses remain at 0.8 through this phase. After her second Pillars, her attack cooldowns return to normal, so there's at least 20 seconds before she can attack the Rabbits again. However, all the Rabbits are pooled on the far right side of the room, and when Binah reaches the end of the Rabbit corridor…



She's warped right back to the start. Binah only attacks if she recognizes an employee near her, and while the Rabbits count for her AI, they're too far away for her to register them now.

I have underestimated you. To think it would be possible to grow so much in such an ephemeral amount of time.

Our manager this time around's really awesome, Miss Binah!

Yes. So it seems.



I thought you a puppet, enacting the will of another. But there is more to you, it seems.

At this point, bringing all this to a close is what I want more than anything else.

And that desire is what let you stop even me.

That desire, and your neighborhood R-corp defense contract.

Yeah, you did good.

Then I suppose at last you have reached the starting line. Where you shall proceed from here, who can say?

I'm not sure I follow.

Even in the end, you cannot seem to grasp anything without it being spelled out for you... Very well.



In the end, she goes down before a single Rabbit gets killed.

You've proven yourself. I shall witness you with my eyes.

Good job, Manager! You did the thing! ...Do I get to find out why we needed to do it?

Can you keep it to yourself?

Probably not!

Then no.

Aww…



I thought we established it wasn't an Arbiter.

We did, but nobody ever said that'd apply to after-hours banter. The guys are gonna' freak over this story.

Weren't you wiping your memory the second you left?

…

…

...

Son of a bi-!!



And that's Binah. She's a worthy challenge just before we hit the endgame, and while she's punishing she also doesn't waste your time. After Hokma, I can appreciate that in a boss.

...Soo… we did it. Binah's suppressed. What's that mean, exactly?

In her case, I have no idea. She didn't really get any more unstable, she was just… always like that.

Then I hope she stays like that! It really feels like she gets me, and I kind of like the tea and the cuties.

It's time for you to go home, Mizu. The… the cuties. Might miss you if you're gone for too long.

...Ohmigosh, you're right. You're right! They may have forgotten me! Hold on, cuties! I'm coming!

...That girl is terrifying.

That does seem to be the usual sentiment towards Binah, A. Still, you have done it.

Heh-I did, didn't I?

Music: neutral 4


Any objections before I fall asleep for a week?

You are not currently approved for time off, Manager.

Right. I'll make it one night, then. If you can use TT2 to stretch that a bit, I'd appreciate it.

This workday was much shorter than normal. You should not be this fatigued.

I know it seems that way, but every minute of it felt like ten. I don't expect you to get it.

...Of course, A. Good night.

Yeah. Night.

Next time, on Lobotomy Corporation: We hit 90%.

Bonus

VIDEO: Binah Core Suppression