Chapter 144-1: Core of the System, Striving to Cross Upstream (1) |
Primordial Altar.
An information stream produced by players swept rapidly through Qi Sheng’s mind.
After three days of exploration, the newbie players had basically learned part of the background and settings of the Monster World.
Exploration routes on the map also began to diverge.
Some players went to the mining area of the Emperor’s Mound Village scene. After buying pickaxes, they earned the sacrificial power needed to improve their strength through mining. At this time the mining area had already been upgraded to level 3, the quality of spiritual ore produced had improved, and with the spiritual energy nourishment of the Emperor’s Mound Village scene, newbies could also gain body tempering experience while mining.
Some newbies mixed into veteran teams and became tag-along exp babies to head to the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range to contend with the Black Tide and the Swarm.
There were also newbies who went to the Colorful Mist Coast space to hunt low level Monsters in a comfortable environment.
More newbies were battling the Purple Tide army in the Rimewinter Snowfield region.
Newbie players each began their growth steps in the way they preferred.
A large number of eliminated weapons and equipment found use.
For example, low-quality weapons purchased from the item shop would be consigned to the Trading House at a discount and instantly snapped up by newbies.
This was a happy event for veterans and also for newbies, who could obtain beginner gear at prices lower than the item shop.
Such weapons were in short supply. After all, there were only thirty thousand veterans, but seventy thousand newbies.
Many newbies called out to veterans on the forum, urging them to eliminate the gear they were currently using to sponsor a wave of benefits for newbies.
In addition to item shop weapons, a great many veteran-crafted pieces of equipment were also purchased in bulk.
For example, fishing rods eliminated in the early phase by fishing players would be sniped immediately if the price was right.
There were also the earlier generations of weapons from the Arms Dealers. Veterans had kept them in their packs taking up space, reluctant to discard them. This time they could sell them to newbies in exchange for sacrificial power income.
The debut of newbie players brought a new wave of equipment upgrades for veterans.
Sacrificial power prices also skyrocketed during this period, reaching 1:320 when converted into Human credit coins.
The culprits behind the soaring price of sacrificial power were the Arms Dealers Guild and the Apothecary Alliance. As if they had suddenly struck it rich, they spent lavishly. As long as someone had large amounts of sacrificial power to sell, the price could be negotiated, constantly pushing the price higher.
Paying players complained bitterly about this.
But what price to pay for sacrificial power is a personal freedom. Besides complaining, paying players had no means to restrict it.
Some players did propose on the forum to dump sacrificial power together and try to drive the price down.
At the time a good number of players responded. In the end the sacrificial power sold was gobbled up by the leaders of several major guilds in one go and could not affect the upward trend at all.
The biggest change brought by the debut of newbies was the boom of the forum.
Daily new posts more than tripled. During this period a large number of old guide posts were dug up and pinned to the top, and a group of newbies exchanged guide content in those posts.
For example, the Gargoyle damage output-capping guide, Owl-Headed Fiend spell-guided build, Venomous special-effects build, and so on.
Guides that veterans already considered outdated were newbie handbooks of world exploration in the eyes of newbies, helping them take shortcuts to growth.
During this time, two Primordials were successfully contained.
They were:
[Spell Tower (Third-Generation Primordial)]
Primordial trait introduction: Consumes mental power to generate an energy Spell Tower. The tower can be controlled with mental power to conduct energy beam strikes on designated targets, or it can be set to free-attack mode to attack any targets that approach. The existence time, attack strength, and attack frequency of the Spell Tower are affected by one’s own mental power intensity and inherited soul level.
The Spell Tower inherited soul was contained by veterans while exploring the Rimewinter Snowfield region.
It was another powerful inherited soul that suited spellcasters.
After testing by the forum’s guide-party players, it received unanimously high evaluations, and a new spellcaster branch star vein build was derived.
This build was called the Tower Defense Placement build on the forum.
Among them, two star vein combinations received a large number of likes from players.
With the Spell Tower inherited soul as the core, the most upvoted build was proposed by the forum player Dark Archmage: Triple-Element Tower.
The matching inherited souls were: Spell Tower, Bonefire (Inkflame), Thunderburst, Mud Fiend (Dissolve), Qi Eater.
In the demo video, after the Spell Tower received combination enhancements from different inherited soul traits, the damage beam it released carried threefold elemental damage of Inkflame, lightning, and Dissolve. A single level 20 Spell Tower inherited soul could last 5 minutes and 30 seconds, and mental power could be continuously injected during that period to extend the duration.
In terms of damage output strength, with the Spell Tower inherited soul’s blessing, damage intensity was extremely high.
The only drawback was that the Spell Tower’s defense was not high. Without team protection it was easily destroyed by external forces.
The second most liked star vein build was proposed by the forum player Darkness Approaches: Tower Defense Construction build.
The matching inherited souls were: Spell Tower, Bonefire (Inkflame), Flowing Shadow, Light Shield, Qi Eater.
This star vein combination performed extremely well in the demo video.
At the start, Flowing Shadow clones were used to build five Inkflame Spell Towers around oneself. After that it was all Spell Tower damage output, letting the towers protect oneself while one provided Light Shield to protect the towers, forming double protection.
This star vein combination build had extremely high room for future expansion.
In theory, as long as one possessed enough star vein slots and body tempering level, one could build multiple mixed-element Spell Towers, focusing on winning by numbers.
In the guide post he published, Darkness Approaches also provided a reinforced version: Elemental Torrent Tower.
The inherited soul combination was: Haina (uncontained), Qi Eater, Spell Tower, Inkflame, Flowing Shadow, Light Shield, Thunderburst, Darkness (uncontained), Divine Light (uncontained), Water Burst (uncontained), Mental Thrust (uncontained), Mental Interference (uncontained)…
The characteristics of this combination were mixed-element attacks plus spiritual level impact, with damage output efficiency maxed out.
In the demo scene, Darkness Approaches placed three Elemental Torrent Towers and then summoned several thousand Monsters to launch a siege.
But the three Elemental Torrent Towers used only three rounds of damage output to kill all the several thousand Monsters of the same inherited soul level.
But this combination is only a prospect for the future. At the current stage, players’ star vein levels, body tempering levels, and even the number of inherited souls already contained cannot build such a super star vein template.
The second inherited soul to be contained was:
[Mark (First-Generation Inherited Soul)]
Primordial trait introduction: By focusing one’s gaze to mark a designated target, all ranged attacks can, by triggering the mark, achieve an automatic trajectory correction effect (mental power is continuously consumed while casting Mark).
In testing, the Mark inherited soul was very suitable for ranged physical players and spellcasters.
Apply the mark, throw a skill behind you, then after activating the Mark trait it can still hit the target precisely, though there is a possibility of interception en route.
After Mark is activated, every second that a spell or an arrow flies while changing its trajectory will consume mental power.
The farther the distance, the more mental power consumed.
It suits high-damage output use, ensuring precise hits on designated targets and reducing ineffective damage output.
After testing, the forum’s guide-party players also developed a weak point strike tactic. Apply Mark to a monster’s vital area, such as the head, then continue striking at the weak point, even achieving kite-like precise strikes while moving.
In terms of strength, it was classified as T3 tier in the current version, and for now no very powerful star vein combinations have been developed.
The opening of the new exploration scene brought an acceleration in inherited soul containment.
But for newbie players, star vein combinations are meaningless. What they care about most is first raising the level of a single inherited soul, then raising body tempering to level 1, so that they can fight in primary form with inherited attributes.
After all, players who run the monster build are ultimately a minority. The vast majority of players prefer, and are more accustomed to, primary-form combat.