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Update 45: Gatekeeper
Time to send that giant robot to the junkyard!
Here's the team that was chosen to come along for this fight. Let's go.
Here is my setup.
Everybody ready?
Yeah! Let's just get on with it!
I suppose I'll be ready as I'll ever be.
It is the dreadful Gatekeeper, whose name you have heard many times thus far. Now do battle with the fiend, for the sake of the Princess and the people of Armoroad!
Huh. So that's the Gatekeeper. How tough do you think it is?
You saw what it did to Kujura, right? Stay on your toes.
Showtime!
Video: Gatekeeper
Gatekeeper
HP: 10000
TP: 803
STR: 45
VIT: 42
AGI: 36
LUC: 36
TEC: 42
Attack Type: Strike
Exp: 25210
Item Drops:
-Normal: Crushing Arm - 100% Drop Rate. Unlocks the Dramborleg (Mace. Must be restocked.)
--Can smash bedrock and guard against bombardment.
-Gold: Giant's Core - Kill while arms are bound. 100% Drop Rate. Prevents normal drops. Unlocks the Deathbringer (Gun. Must be restocked.)
--Core containing two of the giants’ power sources.
Description: A stone giant that guards the Deep City, preventing the Deep Ones from invading.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 200% Strike: 200% Pierce: 200% Fire: 200% Ice: 200% Volt: 200%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 20% Confusion: 20% Plague: 20% Poison: 20% Blind: 20% Curse: 10% Paralysis: 20%
Bind Resistances: Head: 30% Arm: 30% Leg: 30%
Other Resistances: Death: IMMUNE Petrification: IMMUNE Stun: 20%
Skills:
Souha Stance: Does not use a body part. Charge skill. Doubles the power of Gatekeeper's next physical attack.
So here's the Gatekeeper. It's weak to all damage types, so if you have any strong attacks ready to go, launch them as soon as possible. Oh yeah, for some reason Gatekeeper is one of two bosses immune to Instant Death. I'm not really sure why.
Gonna start off by having Rose set up a Berserker Vow.
I have Sidney use Indomitable because he's the most fragile member out of all our front liners.
And also gonna increase his damage with Berserker Vow.
Cassandra will set up a clone.
And Faye will set up her heals.
Also gonna have Asteria fire this off now.
Nothing's gonna stop me from hitting my mark!
Watch out guys! I dunno what, but it looks like it's getting ready to do... something.
Gatekeeper will always use Souha Stance on the first turn, which will make its next attack deal a whole lot of damage.
You wanna play rough? Let's play rough!
We could use your assistance!
Greetings-
Before you ask, yes I cleaned my room! Now don't nag me about it!
...I actually wasn't going to ask about that, but thank you for finally doing so.
No pain, no gain!
Regenerate!
Frozen over!
And that's already 4575 HP gone.
Take a look at those healing numbers, that's how ridiculous Protect Order can get if a Monk is using it. And Faye doesn't even have Form Qi or Protect Order maxed out yet.
Now I'm gonna have our physical attackers Charge up.
If you have Aegis Defense ready to go, use it now! Otherwise, just have everyone defend.
If you're wondering why I'm using Line Guard even though I'm using Aegis Defense, it's because it's Cassandra's cheapest level 10 skill. Using level 10 skills (Not skills that max out at 5, level 10 skills) will cause the Limit Gauge to fill up at the fastest rate, so I'm gonna be doing that throughout the fight. I wanna have Aegis Defense ready to go as soon as possible.
Now Asteria will just be launching Etheric Charged elementals.
I'm gonna be using Cassandra's skills a lot, so gonna use Amritas to fill up her TP pool.
NO HARM SHALL COME TO YOU!
Extending Protect Order's duration.
On the 2nd turn, Gatekeeper will always use Tenchi Souha Sho. You can also see Aegis Defense in action here.
Not on my watch!
Oh my. That looked like a fairly strong attack. I really don't want to think about what could have happened if that hit us.
Tenchi Souha Sho: Does not use a body part. The Gatekeeper releases beams of light, dealing 120% Strike damage to the entire party. Has an accuracy of 120.
This is why I wanted Aegis Defense. It completely nullifies this attack, which is Gatekeeper's most dangerous skill. Now on its own, Tenchi Souha Sho isn't that dangerous. It'll take off a huge chunk of your party's HP, but no biggie. But the charge effect from Souha Stance takes it into total party wipe territory, so you want to make sure to defend against this.
Let's see... carry the one, don't forget the decimal...
I've got your number.
Locked and loaded! Hee hee hee!
And time to unleash our assault.
Chop chop chop!
Ooh, a total of 1624 points of damage!
The current flows!
And now applying Protect Order to the back row.
That was a nice magic trick there, Asteria. Here's mine!
I call it the exploding robot! 
...I suddenly feel inadequate.
Oh yeah, Sidney is pretty much our best damage dealer now. Just look at how much damage Front Mortar did compared to everyone else.
Huh? What the-!?
Okay, that's new.
Disperse: Does not use a body part. Dispels all buffs, debuffs, ailments, and binds from Gatekeeper. Gatekeeper then splits into Keeper Head and Keeper Body. Has an action speed of -50.
And here's one of the main gimmicks of the fight. On the 3rd turn, Gatekeeper will use Disperse, splitting into 2 new enemies that are more aggressive and have bigger defenses.
Keeper Head
HP: 5000
TP: 803
STR: 36
VIT: 36
AGI: 34
LUC: 32
TEC: 33
Attack Type: Strike
Exp: 12480
Item Drops:
-Normal: Clay Horn - 100% Drop Rate. Unlocks the Brionac (Spear. Must be restocked.)
--Sharp, heavy hown from the head of an automaton soldier.
-Gold: Magic Circuit - Kill while head is bound. 100% Drop Rate. Prevents normal drops. Unlocks the Orion Epaulets. (Zodiac's ultimate Clothes. Must be restocked.)
--Engraved with letters that receive power from its supply.
Description: The giant’s detached head. It is versatile and adaptable, and can deal with any enemy.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 100% Strike: 100% Pierce: 100% Fire: 10% Ice: 10% Volt: 10%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 20% Confusion: 20% Plague: 20% Poison: 20% Blind: 20% Curse: 10% Paralysis: 20%
Bind Resistances: Head: 30% Arm: IMMUNE Leg: IMMUNE
Other Resistances: Death: IMMUNE Petrification: IMMUNE Stun: 20%
Skills:
Heat Ray: Uses the Head. Deals 180% Fire damage to a single target. Has an action speed of -9.
Blizzard Breath: Uses the Head. Deals 70% Ice damage to a row. Has an action speed of +0.
Electric Flash: Uses the Head. Deals 120% Volt damage to a single target. Has an action speed of +5.
Focus: Does not use a body part. Dispels all buffs, debuffs, ailments, and binds from Keeper Head. Keeper Head then merges with Keeper Body to form Gatekeeper. Will fail if Keeper Body isn't alive. Has an action speed of -50.
Keeper Body
HP: 5000
TP: 803
STR: 38
VIT: 37
AGI: 30
LUC: 31
TEC: 36
Attack Type: Strike
Exp: 12390
Item Drops:
-Normal: Clay Plating - 100% Drop Rate. Unlocks the Azoth (Dagger. Must be restocked.)
--Automaton soldier’s armor that repels physical blows.
-Gold: Quake Leg - Kill while legs are bound. 100% Drop Rate. Prevents Normal Drops. Unlocks the Ascalon (Rapier. Must be restocked.)
--Can crack the very earth with its offensive thrusts.
Description: The giant’s detached body. It has thick armor and can crush its foes with overwhelming force.
Damage Resistances: Slash: 10% Strike: 10% Pierce: 10% Fire: 100% Ice: 100% Volt: 100%
Ailment Resistances: Sleep: 20% Confusion: 20% Plague: 20% Poison: 20% Blind: 20% Curse: 10% Paralysis: 20%
Bind Resistances: Head: IMMUNE Arm: IMMUNE Leg: 30%
Other Resistances: Death: IMMUNE Petrification: IMMUNE Stun: 20%
Skills:
Line Slice: Uses the Arms. Deals 80% Slash damage to a row. Has an action speed of +0.
Punching: Uses the Arms. Deals 130% Strike damage to a single target. Has an action speed of + 5.
Iron Claw: Uses the Arms. Deals 200% Pierce damage to a single target. Has an action speed of -9.
Focus: Does not use a body part. Dispels all buffs, debuffs, ailments, and binds from Keeper Body. Keeper Body then merges with Keeper Head to form Gatekeeper. Will fail if Keeper Head isn't alive. Has an action speed of -50.
While Keeper Head and Keeper Body have lower defenses statistically, their resistances are bigger than Gatekeeper's. Elemental attacks are ineffective against Keeper Head and physical attacks won't do much to Keeper Body. While physical attacks work fine on Keeper head and elemental attacks on Keeper Body, they won't do as much damage as if you used them against Gatekeeper, which is why I told you to unleash all your strongest attacks as soon as possible.
Gatekeeper, Keeper Head, and Keeper Body all share the same amount of HP. When Gatekeeper splits up, its current amount of HP is divided by 2, and then Keeper Head and Keeper Body are given that amount. When Keeper Head and Keeper Body merge back together, their current amount of HP is added together and the total is assigned to Gatekeeper.
Unfortunately, one of the big problems with Gladiators and Arbalists is that while their attacks hit hard, they cost a ton of TP. So they can't cast their skills much without any TP support through Dark Ether, or just being handed a bunch of Amritas. This is why Dark Ether cheese is a popular strat.
Now I'm not too worried about their single target attacks, but their row targets are the ones I'm worried about. So I'm gonna have one of the Cassandras use Line Guard, and the other use Anticold.
Dress warmly!
I'll protect you.
Now Gatekeeper is different from a lot of the bosses in the game that its AI mostly follows a pattern. It pretty much never deviates from it. And its AI doesn't change as Gatekeeper or its body parts' HP gets lower. The pattern is as follows:
Turn 1: Souha Stance
Turn 2: Tenchi Souha Sho
Turn 3: Disperse
Turn 4: Keeper Head uses a random elemental skill. Keeper Body uses a random physical skill.
Turn 5: Keeper Head uses a random elemental skill. Keeper Body uses a random physical skill.
Turn 6: Keeper Head uses a random elemental skill. Keeper Body uses a random physical skill.
Turn 7: Focus
Then it repeats from the beginning. This is why you want Aegis Defense back up as soon as possible, since it'll come out again in 7 turns.
I'm actually holding off on killing the Keeper Head, even though I can do so. The reason is because I want to kill both the Keeper Head and Keeper Body at relatively the same time.
Oh yeah, that's good enough.
Time to finish them off.
I broke your stupid crap, Abyssal King!
Nice! Now let's take out that other thing!
Incidentally, if you manage to kill one of the Gatekeeper's body parts on the turn that they use Focus, this happens:
But the reason you want to take them out fast, is because it does this:
Uhh, I don't like the looks of that!
Malfunction: Does not use a body part. Does nothing. A warning that it is about to cast Critical Break.
Shoot. I think it's about to blow! We need to scrap that headless bot now!
And if you don't take it out on the next turn...
Ow.
Critical Break: Does not use a body part. Keeper Head or Keeper Body self-destructs, dealing 200% Almighty damage to the entire party and denies the party exp and their item drop.
Yeah, it's a dick move. Not only does it deal a lot of damage, you miss out on the body part's item drop and you don't get exp for it! Oh and if it kills your entire party, that still counts as a game over.
Short circuited!
Fortunately, I killed it before that could. Now if I made that fight look too easy, well that's because it is. Gatekeeper is pretty much the easiest boss in the game. Despite the fact that the fight is fairly unique in terms of mechanics, Gatekeeper is completely predictable, and its only remotely threatening skill is Tenchi Souha Sho, which can be nullified with Aegis Barrier. And you don't even need that, you can just have everyone defend to live through it.
Something else I should also mention, you will only get the drops and exp of the form you actually killed. So you need to fight Gatekeeper 4 times to get all its drops. 2 if you're using Formaldehyde. It also doesn't start respawning until you reached the 16th floor.
Oh, and the form that you didn't kill won't get registered in the codex.
Yikes. That was close. But, y'know... I was expecting a tougher fight from a giant robot.
Seriously. They expected that thing to keep Deep Ones out? It couldn't do much against us!
At any rate, our mission is complete. Shall we report in to the Senatus?
Well, we need to find a way down, first.
I was being terribly inefficient before. This is much better!
Asteria got a level up, so I'm gonna start working towards a specific skill of hers. Etheric Return is a prerequisite for it, and it's pretty terrible. It restores some TP to the Zodiac if they kill something. Sounds great, but the amount recovered is miniscule (Caps out at 5 TP per kill.) And Zodiacs aren't actually gonna get the kill most of the time. Their job is to soften things up with their elements. At level 1, Etheric Return recovers 1 TP per kill.
Here's the way forward. We can't go back to talk to Kujura since he already moved onward.
Don't be too hasty to go down to the next floor, there's still more to explore.
This lava ride serves as a way out if you came up from the 13th floor.
And right here, we get another key.
Huh, another key. What do you think this opens?
I haven't seen any sun doors down here. What could it be for?
Hmm... Aha! What about those chests? Maybe it could open those up!
It might be worth a shot. It's not like we have anything to lose there.
So remember those locked chests from the earlier Strata? This key lets us open those. We'll do that later.
Anyways, we're finally done with the 3rd Stratum. Onto the next one!
You really should have a listen. The music for the 4th Stratum is fantastic.
Can't say I was expecting this after a burning hot cave.
Hmm, just what is this place?
I think Flowdia said it was the shrine of the Deep Ones or something. Hmm, wonder what this place was like before they took over.
Maybe the Deep City knows. We could ask-oh wait, we demolished their giant robot guardian. Ummm, ask Flowdia?
Oh, sup Kujura?
Kujura’s manner is friendly, but as he continues, it is clear that he has an agenda.
So... have you reported back to the Senatus yet? If not, you must hurry and inform the Princess.
It is doubtful that he will allow you to pass until you have made your report to the Senatus.
Sheesh. Not gonna let us take a little look around or anything?
Just go back to the Senatus and hand in your report.
Someone's pushy.
And now we can enter the 4th Stratum from Armoroad and the Deep City. Let's go back and hand in our report to the Senatus. Well, not before seeing what the townsfolk have to say.
I reeled in my line as fast as I could, but it took off with the bait... The ultimate “one that got away”... I’ll catch it someday for sure!
Uh, that's nice, kid.
Oh, uh, sorry... Welcome back to the inn, boss!
The Abyssal Shrine is a remnant of the long-since-sunk city... Imagine the rare artifacts there! My competitive advantage over my rivals all depends on you.
We only come here because it's the closest store to the inn we're at.
Let's look at what we unlocked.
The Brionac is unlocked by selling the Clay Horn. It's a Spear, which isn't that great of a weapon.
The Azoth is unlocked by selling the Clay Plating. It's not that great because the Roundel Dagger, which I've already unlocked, gives more attack power than this.
And this was just unlocked from the drops of the random encounters. Not great, considering that Pollux's Records is still Asteria's best weapon.
You did it! I am not knowing the details, but I heard that you killed a huge monster! To think you were once such novices, and now you are doing all this amazing stuff! You are going to reach the ruins at the bottom of the sea, yes? I wonder what it’s like.
Yo, Bongaro! What's got you down?
Of all the stupid mistakes...! I let an iron-barred gate fall right on my shoulder! There’s gotta be some some kind of system behind the opening and closing of those gates... Ahhh, I’m overthinking it. Real men solve everything, iron-barred gates included, with their fists!
We'll check out the quests later.
You hear the rumors of those sea monsters called Deep Ones?
Uhhh, maybe?
It’s not so widespread in Armoroad... But I’ve heard similar stories at several of the seaside countries and cities I’ve been to. If those other stories actually were sightings of Deep Ones near the waters... It could be that every inch of this vast sea is under their thumb.
Shoot! Not good! No one's supposed to know about or be scared of them!
Well we certainly did a fantastic job of keeping that a secret.
Oh yeah. Did more of them pop up or anything?
Well, thanks to you, the pirates in the south seas have all but disappeared. With the pirates on the run, the Senatus has decided to seek them out in the north seas. This is the North Banner. With this flag hoisted, you may defeat pirates and impound their cargo. But be careful… The pirates of the north seas are even more powerful! Black-plated armor on a pirate ship is a sign of an especially notorious pirate. Steer clear! Hopefully someday we can upgrade your cannon, and then you’ll stand a chance against them. For now, try to sink as many of those sea dogs as possible. We’ll be counting on you.
We get this after reaching the 4th Stratum.
It's like the South Banner in that it forces pirates to spawn and causes them to drop some cargo. But it works in the North Ocean instead. Let's see what the Harbormaster has to say normally.
Sometimes explorers need to lay down their swords and pick up something they’ve never tried. As you can tell, the sea is quite calm today. Perfect day for a voyage, isn’t it? Don’t pass it up!
I only want to see the Princess and His Majesty smile again... That’s all there is to it.
Wait what!? Y-y-you DON'T care about the evil fish people!? At all!?
Maybe we took the wrong side after all.
And the serial killers weren't? Nah, I doubt it. Faye, you got that report done, right?
Uh, yeah.
Got it right here.
Fade to black.
I’ve read Kujura’s report of your victory over the dreadful Gatekeeper... Now we may delve into the abyss where the Deep Ones dwell. I fear that from this point on, progress will become even more difficult... But if you cooperate with us, I have faith that we will eventually reach our goal! Ah, yes... It isn’t much, but please, take this. It’s from me.
The money and the exp is a nice reward, but that's not all.
Fade to black.
Second, this is for you. Kujura told me he’d be willing to leave it in your care. Whether or not you find it helpful all depends on how you use it, so consider it carefully.
Our real reward is getting access to a new class. And a pretty decent one to boot.
Oh, thanks for... whatever this is. I guess we'll be on our wa-
Hold on, I’m not quite done yet. About that Fourth Stratum we were able to reach, thanks to you... Now that we have access to the undersea shrine, I have a new favor to ask. By all means, make yourselves ready before you accept it! It’ll be impossible for anyone but you.
Alright, what do ya want?
The Abyssal Shrine is now a nest for the Deep Ones, but it was once Armoroad territory. After it was sunk into the ocean along with the Deep City, of course, it was lost to us. However... in that shrine grows a flower we had cultivated in Armoroad for centuries. It’s an odd sort of blossom, called an Amarantos, that never fades or withers.
Okay, so what does this flower have to do with anything?
...You may have noticed that the Princess is not well at all. She took very ill the other day, too... She is now convalescing in the royal forest. If we had the Amarantos flower, we could alleviate her symptoms.
Huh, your princess is sick and you need to cure her? Where have I heard that before? Hee hee hee! What are the odds I get to do something like this? Alright, we'll get the flower for you, lickety-split!
Eager to follow in the footsteps of your idols, huh?
Yeah! Those guys were heroes! Think about it. If we help out the Princess, we'll be heroes too!
Sheesh, I can practically see the stars in your eyes.
So you see its importance! We’ll discuss eradicating the Deep Ones when the Princess recovers.
Anyways, we got some level ups out of that, so let's spend our skill points.
Now that Sidney has Front Mortar maxed out, I'll be going after a specific skill. I need to get Bolt Mastery to a higher level to accomplish that. Right now it provides a 7% damage boost to regular attacks.
Now I want to max out Antivolt, because there is a jerk in the 4th Stratum. A very mean jerk that is a pain to deal with. Now it reduces Volt damage by 42%.
Protect Order now has a skill power of 195%.
Will Yggdrasil just fix it right away, or...? I hope this isn’t the start of something really bad.
Well, the Deep City definitely knows about what we did.
For the record, you're not barred from entering the Deep Cities or from using its faculties despite destroying Gatekeeper.
Huh, didn't realize you missed us that much.
Ahaha, well, don’t get the wrong idea. We don’t get many customers besides you folks. There’s supposedly a number of explorers from Armoroad here... I hope they stop by soon.
You have slain the Gatekeeper. You should never have come here.
Oh, are we throwing down? Cause I am so up for a throw down!
But a promise is a promise. Your freedom here is secure.
Oh um. Okay.
Know, however, that the Deep Ones are powerful. There is a limit to what humanity alone can do.
We can still assign subclasses here. Olympia will just get snippy if you talk to her. Okay, now that we can register Shoguns in our guild, let's have a look at them.
We now have a new option available to us, but since we didn't side with the Deep City, the other class is permanently unavailable.
Shogun
Ah, the Shogun. A serious Japanese themed-
Well that's a drastic change. Yeah, some palette swaps do more than just change the colors of the portrait. Some of them change details on the class, though it's really noticeable with the Shoguns. What with the 2nd one changing her expression and the 3rd one's evil eyes.
Anyways, Shoguns are kind of a bizarre class. They're a mix of both offense and support, and can do a decent job at either. If you though Arbalists were glass cannons, Shoguns are even more fragile. They have the ability to dual wield weapons, but that lowers their defenses even more, since dual wielding takes up an extra equipment slot, and that means you can't wear armor there. Speaking of armor, all they can wear are Clothes. So yeah, they can die to a stiff breeze. Still, they have their uses, and can be used to break the game wide open. Their support abilities are akin to being a commander on the battlefield. Commanding other allies to do things and buffing them.
Oh, Tidehunt! Perfect timing!
Eh? You need us?
The Senatus wanted me tell you something. They sent over their soldiers to help you out on your explorations. You can take however many you want into your guild. They're waiting just outside.
Oh, really? Neat! I guess we could use some more members. So are these their application forms? ...Uhh. Why are there so many of them? Just how many people did they send over!?
See for yourself.
Oh I'm sure it can't be... that... many... That's uh, quite the crowd.
Don't tell me that I have to interview each and every one of them! 
Well uh, good luck Faye! Hope you find us a good one!
Don't worry, Faye. I'll help you out. I don't expect you to do all that yourself.
Besides, we need to make sure our new recruit is a good one. Come on, let's get started.
Alright, so I'm gonna open up character creation again. Same rules as before. Come up with a name (Which has a 9 character limit), and choose which portrait you wish to go with (and if you want to use the Normal or Alternate color palettes), and a small bio detailing their personality or whatever. If you want a full body view of the Shoguns, click here. I'll choose the character that I like the best. If you came up with a character before, and it was accepted into the LP, you are not allowed to make a submission for this.