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Mystic Knight - 07 
Today there won't be much wit or lame puns, this is the update of pain.
First, no pictures of the Barrier Tower since I left my mouse cursor it and the first couple attempts at Atomos.
Here's a general recap:
Aside from the Red Dragon, every enemy is susceptible to drain, most to petrify. The tower can be steamrolled through at Mihnwu's 38 levels.
Grabbed the Drain sword (trivial), and the Gold Hairpin (irrelevant). One of the first encounters with a Reflect Knight yielded the Wall Ring.
Now, the first under-card.
Since Mihnwu is shirking the Fiesta and getting a little ahead, I'll post the scripts of Atomos.
code:
At(o)mos
LEVEL: 41 EXP: 0
HP: 19997 GIL: 0
MP: 10000 SPEED: 36
ATTACK: 10 MAGIC POWER: 80
ATT. MULT: 10 MAGIC MULT: 16
EVADE%: 0 MAGIC EVADE%: 20
DEFENSE: 14 MAGIC DEFENSE: 20
ELEMENTAL IMMUNITY: None
STATUS IMMUNITY: Dead, Stone, Toad, Mini, Float, Poison, Zombie, Darkness,
Aging, Paralyze, Charm, Berserk, Mute, Image(2), Image(1), Wall, Armor, Shell,
Stop, Haste, Slow, Invul, Regen
ELEMENTAL ABSORB: None
CAN'T EVADE: None
ELEMENTAL WEAKNESS: None
CREATURE TYPE: Heavy
IMMUNITY: Control, Catch
INITIAL STATUS: Haste
SPECIALTY: Critical
SPECIALTY EFFECT: None
SPELLS: Wormhole, Pull, Slow2, Old, Demi, Qrter, Comet
CONTROL: Can't
BLUE MAGIC: None
CATCH: Can't
DROP (ALWAYS): Dark Matter STEAL (COMMON): Ether
DROP (RARE): Nothing STEAL (RARE): Flail
AI SCRIPT:
Condition:Status:Party Member1:Dead & Party Member1 Position=80{
Change Target:Party Member1
Wormhole
}
Condition:Status:Party Member2:Dead & Party Member2 Position=40{
Change Target:Party Member2
Wormhole
}
Condition:Status:Party Member3:Dead & Party Member3 Position=20{
Change Target:Party Member3
Wormhole
}
Condition:Status:Party Member4:Dead & Party Member4 Position=10{
Change Target:Party Member4
Wormhole
}
Condition:Status:Party Member:Dead{
{Pull,Pull,Pull}
Pull
Pull
{Pull,Pull,Slow2}
Pull
{Pull,Pull,Demi}
Pull
{Pull,Pull,Qrter}
Pull
{Pull,Pull,Old}
Pull
{Pull,Pull,Pull}
Pull
{Pull,Pull,Demi}
Pull
{Pull,Pull,Qrter}
Pull
}
{Comet,Comet,Nothing}+{Comet,Comet,Nothing}
In a normal fight, you would probably not notice the true cruelty of Atomos. The Pull effect hits all dead members simultaneously.
He starts the battle hasted, so by the time he gets to the "Quarter / Graviga" Wormhole takes effect and the script drops straight to the bottom.
Double Comet. Each hit ranging between 400 and 1600 points of damage.
If you didn't check my stats in the first screen shot, look below and understand just how stacked the deck was against Mihnwu.
If Mihnwu had an average roll to double comet, he's dead. Only the very best luck would allow victory at Level 38.
I forgot, the second attempt also included a Slowga that hit. This was just Mihnwu channeling Trump's samurai sense of honor and not giving up.
This was a lucky roll, but that just meant death was merely slightly delayed, but absolutely certain the next turn.
Take 3, still level 38. Mihnwu has switched to the elf cloak and Ninja suit for extra agility. Dancing Dagger also adds agility, but the main draw is possible quadruple damage.
Atomos is vulnerable to sleep, so Mihnwu will put him to sleep if he lands a normal attack or a Sword Dance.
!Dance is an odd duck. The 4 of them are not technically physical attacks, but Sword Dance still procs a weapon's effects. So if Mihnwu was unGodly lucky, he'd able to keep him asleep.
He was not that lucky. Only some TAS shenanigans would allow that.
Mihnwu is about as fast as Atomos, but just can't deal with the RNG rolling heavy comets on his head.
He needs at the very least more health, an extra attack multiplier is nice.
The problem though, the next Multiplier shows up at Level 40, but still doesn't give too good a margin for sucking on comets.
There's an enemy that can cast Level 5 Death.
There was a lot of running between Level 40 and 41.
Same setup, just extra oomph where it counts.
At some point, after you get some good licks in it's better to forgo the chance of quad damage for the guarantee of keeping this guy locked down. As mentioned, with agility boosting stuff, Mihnwu is able to knock Atomos out of sleep, eat a couple average comets, and put him back down for a quick healing session.
The only problem is when he tossed out two of these.
Let's cut to the final push.
Pointless.
Terrifying. Anyone thinking of letting Mystic Shell trigger and halve the damage is in for a disappointment. Comet pierces through it and reflect.
He looks so horrifying when he's asleep 
Time to Hi-Potion to full.
And withstand a freight train of pain.
Finally, it is over.
Final Level - 41
Total Deaths - 8
For some reason the game makes a point of showing us carry Galuf's lifeless husk, like its some sort of strange occurrence.
So after standing around for a thankfully shorter period of time it took Cid to bust into our cell, we've got the sub 
First order of business, new shops.
Honestly, could skip the shield, but Mihnwu isn't using it for anything else. There's also diamond armor, but Bone Mail is currently the way to go.
The air knife is much sought by other classes. It's got niche uses for Mihnwu.
Here, dear friends is what makes Atomos all worthwhile. Their impact won't be seen for a little while. Right now it's just a stronger heal if Mihnwu wants to Firaga Sword himself in the face, rather than sustained drain swords.
The sub let's you get back to the Sage's cave.
One-time trial and error puzzle.
Here's niche#1 for the air knife. Metamorphs are weak to wind.
Crazy old men have the power to change into crazy old men.
Constant Vampires aren't worth it.
Boco has a character portrait, but the sage Guido Anchovy doesn't, despite the fact that one dialogue box of his is more than all the times Boco "warks."
We were robbed of a wonderful 
turtle picture.
Gil, or Ghido gives us a stick, we leave the same way we came back.
Here is a demonstration of the wonders of the -aga swords.
The front Mammon is already dead.
Mini Magicians can osmose your MP and cast mini on you.
Firaga sword on a fire vunerable enemy gives approximately 0 fucks. My instruments can measure femtofucks.
As long as the enemy isn't heavy, no numbers show up. The monster is eliminated regardless of any buffs or debuffs.
It isn't "death" per se since the undead are affected. Its more along the lines of Zantetzuken or X-zone.
Firaga sword isn't all sunshine and roses. There are... repercussions of using it in a forest.
If you blink and miss this, you get the fire shield. If you really need to free up an accessory slot for fire absorption, it has its uses. But you can get another later, the Aegis has uses that can not be replicated elsewhere. Get it!
On the way to the second boss of this update, these guys can be kind of a nuisance, but die on one hit.
These four nameless crystalline blobs don't give any titanite upon defeat. At the start of the fight, they will only do physical attacks. Mihnwu is too well defended to take damage, even from their criticals.
A full party that splits gear or has squishier classes may have difficulty at this phase. The gut reaction would be to try and wipe them all out as soon as possible. Your gut is on acid. Don't trust your gut.
Because once they reach lower health, they begin laying out party nukes. The upper one casts Firaga, which gives Mihnwu a full heal every turn. The front one uses Splash.
It wasn't very effective.
The back casts Aeroga, good for about 1000HP.
The bottom casts Earth Shaker, it's just as strong as Titan's was. But Mihnwu is over twice as durable now.
Once the others are gone, the top is handily beaten.
Final Level - 41
Total Deaths - 0
Since Galuf was a Samurai from last update, he's still one now. I toss the Tempest on him for a lark. Then start tossing money at the problem since I didn't want to plink away at him for 50 or so damage at a time.
Mihnwu now begins carrying around another member of the nobility. I've heard this game has a pretty heavy handed environmental message, but not a socialist or communist one.
The crystals were just a palette cleanser, to help forget that Atomos was a thing.
New play session, this time I actually remember to re-enable the dead cheat before going too far.
All of these guys are vulnerable to break.
Reflect Mages aren't really dangerous to Mihnwu, they do some -ra spells and status ailments that bounce harmlessly off the Bonemail.
Hellraisers, or A Rage's are one of a very few that will not go down from stoning. They'll restore any dead enemies (including petrified) when killed, so get rid of them first.
I mean, this guy gets a portrait, and all he did was play grabass with Mihnwu.
...And reveal Exdeath's castle for the Body Horror that it is. But that was a team effort from all the other Force Ghost Jedi.
Break
The golem can be petrified, but he's already petrified so it just does damage. Mihnwu switches over to drain for them since I don't know if breaking an enemy like that full heals it too.
Drain Sword, yawn.
Should have made a right turn and Albuquerque.
Oh well, this guy wants to party!
Let's light one up.
Get Stoned.
code:
Gilgamesh (ExDeath Castle)
LEVEL: 53 EXP: 0
HP: 55000 GIL: 0
MP: 2000 SPEED: 65
ATTACK: 60 MAGIC POWER: 1
ATT. MULT: 12 MAGIC MULT: 4
EVADE%: 0 MAGIC EVADE%: 30
DEFENSE: 10 MAGIC DEFENSE: 15
ELEMENTAL IMMUNITY: None
STATUS IMMUNITY: Dead, Stone, Toad, Mini, Poison, Zombie, Darkness, Aging,
Sleep, Paralyze, Charm, Berserk, Mute, Stop
ELEMENTAL ABSORB: None
CAN'T EVADE: None
ELEMENTAL WEAKNESS: None
CREATURE TYPE: Human, Heavy
IMMUNITY: HP Scan, Control, Catch
INITIAL STATUS: None
SPECIALTY: Critical
SPECIALTY EFFECT: None
SPELLS: Hurricane, FrogSong, Time Slip, Sonic Wave, TinySong, Strange Dance,
Flash, Rocket Punch, Flash
CONTROL: Can't
BLUE MAGIC: FrogSong, Time Slip, TinySong, Flash
CATCH: Can't
DROP (ALWAYS): Nothing STEAL (COMMON): Hi-Potion
DROP (RARE): Nothing STEAL (RARE): Gauntlet
AI SCRIPT:
Condition:V00=01{
{Sonic Wave,Fight,TinySong}
{Strange Dance,Fight,Specialty}
{Flash,Fight,Specialty}
{Hurricane,Fight,FrogSong}
{Time Slip,Fight,Specialty}
{Rocket Punch,Fight,FrogSong}
The main risk comes from those last 3 commands. Hurricane is the same as always. Time Slip can inflict sleep. Fight will kill you if the first two hit.
You can see where this was going.
Oh well, he deserved one win.
ONE
Add kill stealing griefer to the list of Exdeath's crimes.
Final Level - 43
Total Deaths - 1
The true goal of evil, the dreaded bro-hug.
Now, the main event.
code:
Exdeath (Exdeath Castle)
LEVEL: 66 EXP: 0
HP: 32768 GIL: 0
MP: 32768 SPEED: 50
ATTACK: 58 MAGIC POWER: 0
ATT. MULT: 20 MAGIC MULT: 4
EVADE%: 10 MAGIC EVADE%: 85
DEFENSE: 25 MAGIC DEFENSE: 25
ELEMENTAL IMMUNITY: Poison
STATUS IMMUNITY: Dead, Stone, Toad, Mini, Float, Poison, Zombie, Darkness,
Aging, Sleep, Paralyze, Charm, Berserk, Mute, Stop
ELEMENTAL ABSORB: None
CAN'T EVADE: None
ELEMENTAL WEAKNESS: Holy
CREATURE TYPE: Heavy
IMMUNITY: Control, Catch
INITIAL STATUS: (Always) Regen
SPECIALTY: Vacuum Wave
SPECIALTY EFFECT: HP Leak, 1.5 * Damage
SPELLS: Fire3, Bolt3, Ice 3, Dispel, Slow, Slow2, Haste, Meteo, Condemn,
Dynamo, Earth Shaker, Hurricane, Zombie Breath, L3 Flare, Gravity 100, Demi,
Flame, Bio
CONTROL: Can't
BLUE MAGIC: Condemn, L3 Flare
CATCH: Can't
DROP (ALWAYS): Nothing STEAL (COMMON): Elixir
DROP (RARE): Nothing STEAL (RARE): Staff of Judgement
AI SCRIPT:
Condition:HP < 16000{
No Interrupt{
{Fight,Specialty,Nothing}
{Fire3,Bolt3,Fight}
}
No Interrupt{
{Fire3,Fight,Specialty}
{Ice 3,Fight,Nothing}
}
No Interrupt{
{Ice 3,Fight,Nothing}
{Bolt3,Fight,Specialty}
}
}
Condition:HP < 7000{
{Meteo,Meteo,Fight}
{Fire3,Ice 3,Bolt3}
{Fight,Fight,Specialty}
}
{Fight,Condemn,Condemn}
{Dynamo,Dynamo,Specialty}
{Gravity 100,Demi,Fight}
{Fight,Fight,Specialty}
{Earth Shaker,Earth Shaker,Fight}
{Flame,Fight,Specialty}
{Hurricane,Hurricane,Fight}
{Zombie Breath,Zombie Breath,Specialty}
{Fight,Bio,Fight}
{L3 Flare,L3 Flare,Specialty}
React:Physical{
Change Target:?
{Dispel,Nothing,Nothing}
}
To break this down, the first half of the fight is the main problem. Every 8 turns he has a chance of inflicting Doom. Doom ignores Bone Mail's undead state. It will kill anyone and ruin a solo challenge. 2/3 fights end in a reset. Everything else in this routine is manageable on their own. If things go south (hurricane and zombie breath) all bets are off.
The first 6 attempts are immediately over with Doom.
A wonderful sight.
Now for me to realize my mistakes.
1 - The SNES command Dynamo is known here as Reverse Polarity. Unlike the previous similar effects that pull into the front row, this one switches rows. It is wise to start in the back row to force him to waste a turn or save you one.
2 - Forgot to use the Wall Ring, rather than the flame ring. It is not a problem for the first phase.
Sword Dance from the back row. Good damage, but I need to get rid of 16k+ before Doom rolls around.
What proceeds is a string of Jitterbugs, Temptangos and Mystery Waltzes.
This was the last attack before he was going to reloop to the Doom line. I may have done 4500 damage at best. I press on because.
And was rewarded with this. Roughly 11% chance of him skipping Doom a second time.
I switch back to the great sword, but fail to realize my first mistake I listed above. Aegis shield blocks the second reverse polarity (probably shouldn't equip it for this fight) It won't last.
Oh yeah, this jerk has innate evasion, and if you buff yourself, can counter with dispel.
I was shocked when I survived the second loop, not surprised when the third cycle started with Doom. 7 deaths.
Another death, and I begin to consider grinding. Sulla did this at a higher level (no reference, but Carbuncle's screenshot showed ~600 more HP than Mihnwu), so higher multipliers and everything. It'd be another few levels before I get another multiplier.
I decide to press on.
Another 10 (18 Total) later.
Survived 3 loops. Doomed on the 4th.
3 more instant resets, one with one complete loop, one with hurricane based death. One more instant reset.
24 deaths, no longer
Let's skip down to the next level.
On paper, this is a lot scarier than the first phase. In practice it is equally scary since I'm lower level. The trouble is I had a lot of Vacuum Waves, rather than consecutive -aga spells. Reflect took care of them. But with the Bone Mail there's no way to heal aside from drain. I shift to the back row to reduce the damage and rely on self inflicted magic to do the heavy lifting.
Somehow... the third phase of Meteors did not show up.
No audio, game or voice. No loss there, since it'd be me gibbering incoherently
Final Level - 43
Total Deaths - 24
I think that's the last real RNG monster left besides the final boss.