Part 14: This Update Tends to Drag-On

: "I just don't understand why you're so upset. I even went through the portal one last time to make sure he stays alive. He should be THANKING me."

: "You aren't having any existential thoughts about the meaning of life and death right now?"

: "Not really, we needed the money to hire Norbert back on."

: "Aye, and I thank ye for it. Yer sending me kids through college!"

: "You have kids?"

: "Well, by kids I mean beer, and by college I mean my stomach."

: "This is why we keep hiring you, Norbert."



As I mentioned last update, this guy next to where Spatter was is one of the last runners we have yet to see.



Steelflight sells himself as a Decker, but if you have the money to hire him, you have the karma to upgrade your Computer level to the max of six. He's also a damn good gunslinger and weighs in at 100 HP. He'll also hang around for 70 battles, like Norbert. 70 is also the highest amount of battles anyone will put up with aside from Kitsune's score of "Forever".

: "An Elf of my skill does not come cheap!"

He MEANS this. Last update I mentioned he wants 5000 nuyen to join up, but even with negotiation maxed, he wants 4000. Frankly, I never hire him because he's not super worth the price tag, but this is a 100% completion and 0% skill LP, dammit.



He's also sort of a prick.

: "You make it sound simpler than I'm sure it is! I'll do it for 4000 nuyen."

: "Fortunately I ganked Vlad one last time to afford this."

: "Excuse me?"

: "Forget it, you'll get into the swing of things soon enough."

Also just a note, the Jagged Nails is now officially patronless.



We introduce Steelflight to the team the Armitage way.



: "But first it's nap time."

: "Yeah no worries, Drake isn't going anywhere."

: "Your sarcasm fuels me."



63 Karma is quite a bit. We finish upgrading Freeze, and knock a few points into Body and Magic, satisfyingly ending us at zero karma.

Just kinda keep that in your head that we're at zero karma. No real reason. Zero Karma.



: "So hey new guy, how do you feel about volcanos?"

: "I can't... say I'm particularly a fan."

: "Can you at least SAY volcano?"

: "That was NOT my fault, don't put that on me."

: "I don't need to worry about you calling me names since no one said it in bold."

: "I'm starting to think I should have charged the full five thousand"

: "Har, that be a BIG pile t'roll in!"




: "Heeeeyyyyy buddy."

: "Oh hey, I figured my best chance at survival was to hang out until you... finished your business."

: "Wow, you're the only smart person Drake has employed."

: "Also Drake never leaves his volcano, while you're specifically pointing a gun at me at the moment."

: "He never leaves the what?"

: "By the way, you mind NOT pointing that gun at me?"

: "Whoops, sorry, force of habit."



I swear they did this on purpose just to drive the point home.

: "The Drake Volcano? It's YOUR funeral! Climb aboard and get that gun outta my face!"

: "Woah you turned surly all of a sudden."

: "Yeah well I didn't think you'd want me to fly you straight to my boss, the dragon, so he can see I specifically brought you there."

: "Would it make you feel better if I told you we're going to kill him?"

: "...Actually it would, the severance package for people who quit is usually a shallow grave."



: "I've been on a lot of vehicles tonight."



: "Make sure you confirm your kill. I'm going to be filling out an application for Ares while you're in there."

: "Cool, we won't be long."



: "Gotta give Drake credit, this is kind of awesome."

: "Who would have thought a place like this even existed?"

: "Any decent fortress would have flooded this with magma by now. I'm not impressed."

: "Honestly I wouldn't be super surprised if that happened."



Drake Volcano is way different from Drake Tower. Where the tower was just a straight fight upward, the volcano is winding and maze-like. It's not as bad as the ship, but it also has way more respawning enemies than the ship did.



Sub-level 1 is a pain in the ass because it also leads around in a circle with multiple rooms branching off. Each floor is similar to the tower, where you need to hack a computer in order to open the elevator downwards. The other floors have mostly straight lines dotted with side-rooms, floor one is just a straight up guessing game.



Troll Deckers are a normal enemy now, by the way. I can't tell if they're neutered from the first one in the arena, or if I'm just overpowered and bought friends, but frankly they're no big deal.

However, one very important thing to do is to watch your runners' health. Kitsune has 50, and Norbert has 60. Each enemy does minimal damage due to spreading the hits among our four people, but that can compound pretty quick. Steelflight is sitting pretty at 100, so you don't have to watch him as closely.



: "I'm hoping we can keep it on the down-low for a while, and get the drop on Drake that way."

: "Someone must have heard us shoot that troll a second ago."

: "You need to abandon logic if you want to understand Drake's goons. We could probably put a few rounds into some of them before they notice us."



: "Well that guy noticed."

: "I almost ran face first into that guy before he opened fire."



The damage output on these trolls is kind of embarassing. These are Drake's best of the best. This is from both of those trolls by the way. I didn't heal in between.



: "Uh, uh, I'm the volcano's cook."

: "Wow."



So this happens any time you enter a room on the first floor. The alarm means trolls will constantly respawn any time you enter a hallway. You can turn it off through one computer on the floor, but it's not honestly that big a deal.



You CAN kill any of the scientists in the complex, but honestly, they're going to be unemployed pretty soon. Their day is already going bad enough.

: "Get out of the way, I want to hack that computer behind you."






At this point, hacking is a bit dangerous. IC naturally doesn't give a shit about how much armour you have, so while the trolls are lucky to get a one damage, IC can do up to a maximum of Fourty Eight damage at this point in the game if you're really unlucky. It rarely ever does that much, but even tens and twenties build up a lot over time.



The systems in Drake Volcano also tend to be a bit more winding and longer than usual, so it becomes a bit of an endurance game. If we didn't have Kitsune, this might be a bit dangerous.



Our goal once again are these green diamond fellows. They control the elevators.



And with that, we can head to floor 2.



: "Dude, I'm not planning to kill you, but keep this up and I might rethink it."



: "Alright, let's bounce."



This red filter blinks on and off during the extent of the alarm. It makes screenshots look a bit wierd, but it's a cool effect. It's nice knowing we're finally getting the respect we deserve.



Floor 1 is honestly super short if you know what you're doing. Getting lost can end up wearing down your health and magic, so just getting through this quick gives us an advantage.



Floor 2 is a bit more straight forward, as you'll see.



: "Two levels down and not a single sign of magma."

: "I imagine this volcano is inactive. Who would build a fortress in an ACTIVE volcano?"

: "You make me sick."



This scientist usually kills himself by throwing a bunch of explosives. He didn't get a chance to this time.



The door on the left contains the computer we need to hack.



...So we hack it. Floor 2 is really boring okay?



Although we do meet THIS enemy. Unlike the sentry guns we blew up on the roof of Drake Tower, these ones are invincible. However as you may have guessed, killing the operator stops it from shooting. Kill the engineer before sapping the sentry, this is basic stuff.



The problem is it can be tough to get the right shot. This is even WORSE if your runners aren't all in the same spot, since when they rotate to shoot at each runner, your shoot cursor does NOT lock onto them, since they technically aren't moving.



Your runners, thankfully, don't have this issue, but since Jake is the primary damage output, having the scientist rotating around like an asshole can end with your runners getting hurt bad.



It's also merciful that we only had to deal with one. Later on we'll see up to three at once.



: "I wonder how much a place like this costs."

: "It feels like with a bit of basic planning, it would cost a lot less. This is the least space-economical place I've ever seen."

: "When yer a dragon, ye can pretty much afford anything."

: "Wait, was that pilot serious when he said his boss was a dragon?!"



Floor 3 is another fairly linear one, although it also has some very important and missable things.



This scientist actually managed to throw a bomb at us.







: "Uh, hello gentlemen. "

: "Don't shoot!"

: "Are you planning to throw bombs at me?"

: "Bombs?"

: "Nope, no bombs, no guns, we're unarmed, don't hurt us."

: "Cool, then just step aside, I need to use your computer."



: "Er, wait, can I save my work first?"

: "You won't need it. Also I'd copy your resume to something soon, just a heads up."



This is a rather large network. Floor three in general is fairly hack-heavy.





I don't care if it's mostly trash data, this is super satisfying.



And so is that!



We also jack one of Drake's e-mails. Let's see who's saying what.



: "Pfffhahaha Drake's getting yelled at by his boss!"

: "Haha!"

: "Har har!"

: "Heh... but seriously is he actually a dragon?"



Sentry guns are infinitely easier to deal with when they're between Jake and the 'camera', since they're wide open to be aimed at by the cursor. Fuck logic.



It's VERY important to go straight through the door ahead, otherwise you can miss out on some stuff.



: "Hello."

: "Ahhh!"

: "I know, I know."

There are THREE hackable computers in this room.



This one contains money!




This one over here contains a data file! "WHATEVER YOU DO MAKE SURE JAKE NEVER GETS THIS PHONE NUMBER, ALSO HERE'S THE PHONE NUMBER." Drake is the worst dragon, seriously.



And in computer number three...



We're priority one! The one attempt is referring specifically to hiring the Rust Stilettos. Let me run down the plan they came up with:

Step One: Send two guys, including the only gang member with the key to our hideout, to kill Jake at the subway.
Step Two: Spray paint "UM" all over the hideout.

You're a fucking dragon, Drake. Hire Golgo 13 or something, you HAVE the money.



In the next room is the computer we need to hack. I'm skipping most of the hacking sequences since they're mostly the same now.



God damn sentries.



In any case, that's Floor 3 down, we're onto the last floor.



Maximum Security



: "Huh, I wonder what that was"

: "Oh my god, I thought I was joking about being able to shoot them without me noticing."

: "It'd be depressing if he weren't gettin' what he deserved."



THIS ROOM IS A CLUSTERFUCK. It's not so bad now, considering we can cheese it slightly by knocking off that one guy who didn't notice the four people shooting him, and slowly revealing the others one or two at a time, but there are a TON of enemies. Be extremely careful with your runners here.



You might be able to run and tank enough to get to the top right corner, which is a place you'll want to be anyway.

: "See I like this. Long hallways usually mean treasure."

: "Or a boss monster."

: "What are the odds of--"



: "Lame."

: "Oh god it's happening AGAIN!"

The Naga, despite being just as goofy, is significantly weaker. It got off one attack, which hit but didn't damage Jake.



And then died slightly off screen. Cool.

: "Alright, long hallway AND a boss monster. That definitely means treasure is up ne--"



: "Oh come ON."



It's literally the exact same naga again. I don't remember if this one even got a shot off.



In the THIRD hall is a Golden Naga. It has twice as much health as the other two. Which means it lasts about four seconds instead of two. Whoo.



I still love how goofy these things look. :3 Just look at him. Him and that "Hey Kiddo!" Orc should do a show together.



: "Long ass hallway. Three 'boss' monsters. This is going to be amazing."

: "It must be something good, if Drake had three nagas guarding it."

: "Damn right, we EARNED this. Let's see what we get!"




















































































































































































































































: "Kitsune"

: "Yeah?"

: "You saw we went down a long corridor."

: "We did."

: "You saw we fought three nagas, including a pallet swap."

: "We did."

: "Now it looks to me that this is an empty room with an unhackable computer."

: "It looks that way."

: "And an empty room implies no treasure."

: "That's what it implies."

: "That is what that implies."























































































































: "...heh heh, see, now it's on."

: "Are you... okay?"

: "No, no I'm not okay. And neither is anything else."

: "Jake you seem... worse than usual."

: "See, killing me was alright, annoying, but whatever. The constant hitmen pissed me off. Getting stuffed in the caryards, kind of infuriating. Cortex bomb, the Rust Stilettos, the vampire bullshit, even the volcano keyword fiasco. All pissed me off, but I got over it. Do you know why?"

: "Why?"

: "Because it was fair. I suffered, I overcame, I got prizes. That's how it works. I fight an enemy, I get money. I fight a big enemy, I get presents. But this. This isn't playing fair."

: "Maybe it's some kind of punishment for exploiting Vlad?"

: "They want to see exploit?! I'll SHOW them Exploit."

So this is it. This is the big one. The game slapped us in the face, so we're going to burn it's god damn house down. You think farming Vlad was cheating? Vlad's not even on the same map as this.

See, there's a familiar quirk with the gold naga. It drops a spell reagent, which much like Vlad, means it's programmed to spawn as long as you don't have the item.

"So you can farm the gold naga? big deal" you say. First of all don't interrupt me. Douche.

Second of all, the gold naga has another quirk. It expects you to come from the front, a reasonable assumption.

However if you come from the back, the gold naga doesn't spawn quite right. It takes a quarter of a second to reach full health. But no one is good enough to shoot it THAT fast.



Except for your runners, who open fire the second anything spawns. As long as you have a runner that uses guns, the gold naga will get one-shot every single time.



And say you entered this room again, then went back, you don't have the spell reagent, therefore...



: "Yes. YES! YES."

You can do this forever. As long as you never pick up the scales, the naga keeps spawning. As long as you have a runner with a gun (Since Kitsune's magic attack takes too long to charge), you can get another 6-7 karma in seconds. You can leave the volcano, rehire a runner, come back, and continue farming this son of a bitch.



I only did this for about two minutes, since I honestly felt a little bad for the game. Two minutes to get 132 karma.

: "The lesson is simple. Give me the prizes I'm owed, or I will take it.[/b]"



I did pick up the scales, by the way. We've got some running around to do for Dog later on.



This room is even worse from this entry. That sentry dude up top keeps rotating around and is nearly impossible to hit. It's generally worth it to just run and heal your dudes in the next room.



Much better. There's a couple trolls in here, but you'll likely activate them one at a time unless you're running around like an idiot.




In the next room are some bomb chucking scientists. You know how to handle them by now.

: "There better god damn be something good down THIS path."

: "Who the hell dares t-- Armitage!"

: "Oh that'll do just fine."



Holy shit it's Drake

Drake is easily the hardest battle yet, and without preparation, this could be a game ender. He starts off the fight by dropping ice blocks on you, which freeze you if they hit, just like the Rat Shaman's freeze spell.

: "You have NO idea how long I've been waiting for this."

: "I could say the same to you. I'm impressed by how you managed to evade my agents. But this is where your journey ends!"



: "Drake, it sounds like you need to COOL OFF"



: "What the hell?! You have the power of magic?!"

: "CHILL OUT"



: "ICE TO SEE YOU"



: "COOL PARTY"



: "STAY FROSTY"



: "OH JESUS, JESUS SWEET GOD THE PAIN LIFE IS A NIGHTMARE"



: "Are you alright Jake?"

: "I'm good, I just need to COOL DOWN"

: "Stand still you son of a bitch!"



: "DO YOU KNOW WHAT KILLED THE DINOSAURS?!"



: "THE ICE AGE"







: "Did we just kill a god damn dragon?"

: "Did he just turn into stone?"

: "How the hell do you know that many quotes from the worst Mister Freeze rendition ever?"

: "Holy shit it's over. Drake is dead."

: "We did it! Yarhar!"

: "How does it feel?"

: "Honestly this feels... wierd. I still don't remember anything from before I woke up in the morgue, and planning to kill Drake is really all I had."

: "Nothing aside from ancient movie references, anyway."

: "I wonder if anyone is even going to believe this. Even I barely do."

: "We should check out the door over there. It's gotta be somethin' important if it's right beside Drake's chamber."

: "One sec, let me make sure of it."



: "WHAT?"

So in case you're impressed, using the freeze spell basically neuters Drake for 30 seconds at a time. Even with it, it took four freeze spells worth of straight up wailing on the dude to bring him down.

Also for some reason shooting his corpse will dock you karma.



Through the door to the north is... a dude. and no treasure.



Holy shit it's Pushkin.

If you forgot, Pushkin is the dude who was supposed to get the Anti-AI in Jake's head and go ruin Aneki's day. The only way that plan could have gone worse is if Kitsune decided to ignore Dog and go get loaded instead of saving Jake's corpse in the intro.

: "I have been kept a prisoner like a caged animal. Drake is after an ANTI-AI program professor Raitsov was meant to send me. The courier never arrived."

: "What an asshole. What the hell was with Drake anyway?"

: "Drake is working for Aneki. Aneki has developed an AI computer that can dominate the whole Matrix. If they succeed, they will control the world!"

: "What?!"

: "THAT'S what the AI is for?!"

: "...Er, fer us less knowledgeable about the matrix, how bad is that?"

: "Imagine one corporation being able to control all digital communication worldwide. Not only that, but everything running on the matrix would come under their control too."

: "Cameras, databases, hell even street lights run on the matrix nowadays. Aneki could seize control over the entire world overnight."

: "Oh, that IS bad."

: "The AI also has the ability to directly attack anyone connected to it, much like a black IC. I see the two of you have datajacks, so you can surely understand how grave that is. That is why I had Raitsov create a program to destroy it. But without that program..."

: "Well I might have a little surprise for you in the ol' head computer."



: "Then there's still time."

: "How long do we have?"

: "Not long. Hours at the most. Drake was holding me here so I couldn't interfere with the final stages. They're going to make their move very soon."

: "Well we have the solution. I nearly had my head explode trying to fix this datajack, I'm not about to let the Matrix get destroyed so soon afterwards."

: "Let's get back to the chopper. We can let the pilot know he can send in that application now."

: "You three go ahead, I must speak with Armitage for a moment."

: "Right, let's go."

: "We'll meet you topside."








: "So what's the big deal, doc?"

: "I feel that you should know what you're getting into."

: "I have questions for you, about my past, but I can save them for after we save the world."

: "I mentioned before that the AI has the ability to attack anyone decking into it. That will include when you upload the ANTI-AI. This isn't going to be just a matter of uploading the program and leaving. You're going to need to be fast, and frankly, lucky."

: "I've been having extreme bouts of luck today, extremely good and extremely bad. Let's hope for the former."

: "You should also know that... Aneki is very protective of what's theirs. I intercepted messages from an Aneki representative to Drake. They've wired their entire system and building to self destruct if the AI is destroyed."

: "...You're not giving me much good news here."

: "For the sake of my conscience, I need you to be aware. Once you jack in to where the AI is located, whether you upload the ANTI-AI or not, you may not be able to jack out. And if you do, it's extremely unlikely that you'll be able to escape in time."

: "So... this is a suicide mission, is that what you're saying?"

: "I'm afraid so. I may be able to assist by simulating a massive attack on Aneki's network, drawing attention from their security and giving you a bit of breathing room, but even then, there's not much I can do about the self destruct."

: "...Well, I don't plan to just sit by and let Aneki have their way. I'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

: "You are an admirable man, Jake Armitage."

: "Don't you dare say that in front of Kitsune. She might get the idea that I'm a decent person."







: "What took so long?"

: "Nothing, Pushkin just gave me the run down on how to upload the Anti-AI. Let's head to Aneki."

: "I think I remember seein' that building near that Maplethorpe' fella's place."

: "Let's go smash us an AI."