Secret of Evermore Part #10 - Salabog? More Like Salapunk

Part 10: Salabog? More Like Salapunk

Welcome back, everyone! Last time, we made our way to the top of a volcano, and learned the formula of Levitate, so that we could enter the volcano through the catacombs beneath. However, one of the ingredients we need for the formula is quite rare, so we have to brave the swamp to find a Mud Pepper. With that said, let's boogie.

They're to the east of where we were. We could have wandered over this way as soon as we came around here, but there isn't much point to doing so.

And we get a very friendly reception upon entering the swamp.

Zach gives it back in kind.

Over on the left is a new enemy, the Frippo. They--

More on that in a second. A plant just ate my dog.

There we go.

Anywho, the Frippo is a pretty common enemy in the Swamp.

They have 40 HP, and drop 12 EXP and 19 Talons, which...Sucks. That's a terrible reward. If you've forgotten, the Widowmaker gives 40 EXP.

Bloodsplosions are the end of them, and they also have the fun property of your partner's hit-rate being lowered against them.

There's Water all over the swamp. Surprising, I know, but hold your gasps until the end.

And I have no idea if I was just looking in the wrong spots, but Zach didn't sniff out anything and I couldn't find shit around here.

In short, fuck this screen.

This is one of the best ways to take out the Frippos. Or any enemy around here, really. These guys might be weird looking little froggie things, but they have higher attack power than Thraxx's arms did. Really, only the Vipers, the Viper Commander, the Raptor, and the next couple of bosses have higher attack. It's...Kind of weird.

Attacking them from the side like this is a pretty good way to get your ass beat. They're quick little shits, but if you attack them from above or below, you have far less chance of being whacked by them.

These lily pads act as sort-of bridges around here.

There are other, regular, bridges around here, too.

I'm trying to get the Horn Spear to level 3, and when you can just wing it across the map, it's pretty easy to do.

I should be saying something here, but I'm not sure what.

Hey, that one dropped something!

...I'm not sure 20 Talons was worth digging through a pile of Frippo guts. I'm going to go wash my hands, for York.

Alright, what'd I miss?

Frippos also have decent magic defense, but my Hard Ball is leveled enough that it should reliably one-shot them.

Even if only barely.

...I wonder if I'll ever use Flash again. Before writing this caption, I had to take a moment to wonder what I use Wax for. There's a formula later on that it'll be in, and I'll probably use the shit out of that formula, but until then, I'll just continue building Wax supplies.

Alright, see that Frippo up there? It's on the bridge above us.

I'm not sure why, but the spear throw doesn't seem to give a shit about elevation.

I'd reckon it has something to do with the spear being thrown, and it has to be able to traverse height and terrain to do so.

I'm sure someone reading the thread can explain it better, and if they can, I'll be sure to edit it into the update.

Occasionally, upon killing a Frippo, a new lily pad path will appear in the water.

This lets us cut back across to here and up the wooden bridge we saw earlier.

But, first, let's ruin that Widowmaker's day.

I'm beginning to sense a theme in this update.

For a better showing of what I was talking about earlier with the spear giving little-to-no shits about elevation, look at this sequence.

Never mind that this attack missed, but it still shows my point very well.

I think I feel guilty about what I did to that mosquito. I mean, I did do 121 times its max health in damage, with a single attack.

This area isn't too visually interesting, but I hope you've clicked the Tindeck link. That does wonders for this place.

Little bastards hit like sons of bitches, don't they?

I go back to clear some space so I can charge the spear, and find this Widowmaker below us.

And we throw a spear right into its face. I don't know why it works, but I'll be damned if I don't like the effect.

As for this little assclown, our revenge comes swiftly.

Hey, free Nectar!

Though, considering how nicely Heal levels up, I might not ever use this.

Heal immobilizes you during casting, but it also makes you invincible. As would using Nectar, but Heal will continue to grow stronger, while Nectar will remain static.

Something kind of neat regarding the Frippos that create new lily pad paths is that as long as you kill the required Frippo, the path will appear, no matter where it is on the map. I'm sure that's a "no shit" kind of statement, now that I've written it out.

That's only slightly north of where that Frippo was, but I still think it's cool.

And now here's a shot of Zach teabagging a Widowmaker.

How close is our Horn Spear to level 3, you may be wondering.

Quite close, actually. Nine more enemies would do it.

Since this swamp is boring looking and I'm not crazy about it, I'm not going to cover every last gourd and path.

So let's go fight the boss.

Boss fight video! Click a duck to watch it!

Well now, what in the hell is that?

And those. What are those?

I'm not sure what this is, but I don't like it. No, sir. Don't like it.

Hey, bud, you've got a real bad infestation of something around your hut.

Do I look like the protagonist of a SyFy original movie? What makes you think I'm qualified to handle this sort of thing?

Then again, a Marty McFly ripoff that loves B-movies and fights overgrown bugs...Hell, I bet that script is in the works. And if it isn't, I'm pretty sure I've just found a career as a script-writer.

Meet Salabog. He's what you could call a "roadblock boss," in the sense that a lot of new people probably get stuck on him their first time through.

For one thing, he has 2,000 HP. Which is just a stupid-high amount for a boss at this stage of the game.

He also is the type of boss that disappears, only to reappear elsewhere in the arena. Thankfully, there's only these areas on the left and right, as well as the one in the center that he'll pop to, so he's not constantly teleporting around, making it difficult to hit him.

He also has little cronies that he can summon; meet the Will o' the Wisp.

They have 40 HP, and drop 4 EXP and Talons. Unlike the Maggots with Thraxx, these guys don't have anything they can drop. At least in that fight, they could potentially give you a Petal or a level if you needed one desperately, but here? These guys are here only to annoy the shit out of you.

They don't hit hard enough to be a true threat, but combined with the damage that Salabog can dish out, they can quickly become more than just a nuisance.

They also explode when you kill them.

Considering the amount of health that Salabog has, we need to even the odds.

Eight Hard Balls is a good start for that.

Seven hit at once, with the eight doing its own thing. Even so, that's still 449 damage, and out of 2,000, that's not an insignificant number.

In case you were wondering where the Wisps came from, Salabog barfs them out.

Alright, so, look at this shot. Salabog is coming in to bite your ass off. This is important because, if you don't have the Horn Spear at level 1, or don't have any offensive alchemy equipped, this is your only chance to hit him. He also has the property that lowers your partner's hit rate. Salabog also has very high attack.

Yeah, he can do a quarter of your health in a single attack. It's not hard to see why Salabog can be such a bastard if you're either unprepared or don't know what you're doing.

However, this is a very

sort of message.

We've gotta charge it up two bars now, but, hey, it's a very powerful attack, and works quite well in this fight.

And one of the best things about the Horn Spear's level 3 charge attack is that it will pierce enemies.

I can't tell you how many you can take out with the same throw, but I've seen three Wisps and Salabog be hit by it before.

As for the climatic finish...

An entire 2 damage finishes off the Salabog.

Oh, yeah, and Salabog goddamned explodes upon death.

Bask in your glory, York. You've earned it.

What movie are you going to reference, York? Beavers Gone Ballistic? Yaks Of The Yucca Flats? Outrageous Ostriches of the Outback?

Eh, that works too, I guess.

I don't know if I'd be relieved if I saw a huge snake explode outside of my home. Then again, I s'pose that's better than the corpse just laying around.

: Thanks to you, it's sunk for sure! Good job!

: Uh, no problem.

: You can call me 'Blimp.' I work with Swamp Gas and Fume Bugs.

: Oh! That explains the stench!

I wonder, if working in a slaughterhouse, you get the same effect. I know working in fast food long enough will do that to you.

To the point where you don't realize how much you smell like stale grease and old french fries at the end of the day.

I'm so glad I don't have to do that anymore. I did my tour of duty there.

I wonder how sweet the gig for the interior decorator of these huts were. Seriously, just throw the same shit in there, and they're all happy with it.