Saturday, May 14, 2011

Buddy Rush: Raid Mode, Genzir

A section on the changes in Update 1.3 has been added further below.
Update 19 July 2011: I have completed Genzir's set after 61 tries and therefore am less likely to try this raid again (61 times! -> sick of him!). However, this article may still be updated from time to time since it contains basic information about Raid mode.

Update 16 December 2012:
The mini-wave update 1.7.2 on 30 October reduced Genzir's HP to 0.1M and made the raid available to characters of level 20. Genzir's Set has also been downgraded accordingly. The old existing set have been renamed with a 'Antique' prefix.

Also, for those who have not played in Wodearm for a while, the theme music has been remastered to a more upbeat version. Well, it seems that way to me.
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I tried out the new Raid Mode. Genzir is the first Raid Mode opponent that is available to level 65 characters. He looks like a level-up version of Hugeblin, the end-chapter boss of Chapter 1. The battle with him is on green plains similar to Wodearm (Chapter 1).
That is not a shield he is carrying.
Basically, in Raid Mode, the player brings a large number of buddies to beat up one boss who has lots of HP. There is a time limit per try, so it is unlikely that the player defeats the boss in one go. However, the boss' HP remains the same after each try so the player should eventually win.
Calling in Reinforcements.
In addition to the main character, two highest-level characters are selected among the player's other characters that meet the requirements (level 65 for Genzir) to join in the fun. I guess that the same applies to the characters of buddies. However, there may be the added requirement that the buddies' extra characters be at a level equal or less than the player's. This is to be confirmed. I have not any buddies with three level 65 characters. :(

Update 15 May 2011:
Oops, I made a mistake. I remembered the Third Wave trailer wrongly. I thought I had seen 9 characters in the trailer, but after reviewing it, I saw only 5. Either they fixed the trailer or only 5 characters can be brought - 2 buddies and two of the player's highest level characters that meet the requirements.
1 Million HP is not really that much.
Battle is basically the same as during missions, only with extra characters versus one tough boss. Potions affect all the characters as usual. So do character skills and buffs. Once in a while, two nice dual-axe-wielding Oblins will appear to deliver HP potions. Just beat them up for it. Those Oblins may instead drop treasure chests with equips, so save some inventory space.

Occasionally a gem will appear from a hole in the ground (bottom left of the screenshot). Picking up the gem gives a random bonus or penalty for a short amount of time. These are the gems I have seen so far:
* Attack up 
* Defense up
* Defense Down
* Speed Down
* HP Regen 
* MP Regen 
* Wake up!! Buddy! (Revives KOed characters)

In addition to that, there is a pillar that occasionally appears like the one in the screenshot (top half of the screenshot, slightly right of the center). Touching the pillar activates a skill such as:
* Botherella's Thornbush
* Wizz's Fire Field
* Wizz's Freezemall
* Aikilu's Blade Typhoon

The effectiveness of the pillar's skill depends on the player's character's Atk, so the pillars can be really helpful when activated by characters with damage-dealing-builds. However, Genzir can also activate the pillar to do damage to the player.

Update 16 July 2011:
Pillars may do little damage, but they are good to get in a few extra hits and criticals - useful when certain characters is the main character, such as Nagne and his forgetfulness.
Battlefield Chaos!
If the player's main character is defeated or time runs out, the boss' remaining HP is kept for the next try.

I find that Boorseye is still the super damage-dealer, even after rebalance. It is even better if he is the main character, so the player can choose the best time to use all his skills, like while Genzir is Cursed and while Roar and 'Attack up' are active. Then after that, Boorseye has to run because Genzir will be after him, looking for payback.

I also find that the AI plays Betty Jr better than I do. The AI is better at spamming skills while I am more conservative. Also, I have to leave combat once in a while to pick up goodies while the AI does not need to. Plus, Betty Jr is durable enough to stay in direct combat with Genzir.

Vivich is good to have as she helps reduce consumable use with her healing abilities. Also, Sanctuary reduces damage taken.

Botherella's Curse, although it affects Genzir for a shorter period of time, it still helps reduce damage taken as well as increase damage done. This can be very powerful if used at the right time.

Aikilu's Roar buff everyone's attacks. Since there are more buddies, it is more effective than during the usual missions.

I guess tanks are not suited as the main character since their place is right next to the big Oblin for as long as possible, and thus there would not be time to go grab goodies. Having a support character as main is a good option. After using support skills, there is plenty of time to grab stuff, and run from counterattacks. Against Genzir, I find the best character to control would be a skill-focused damage-dealer (not a passive damage-dealer). I get to choose the best time to unload all the hurt. And I collect the goods (and run from retaliation) while waiting for the skills to cool.

Update 26 May 2011:
I took two Botherellas in a raid against Genzir. They did well. Two Wolfgans distract Genzir a lot. And Curse comes out more often too. With Vivich along in the fight, the only consumables I used were MP Potions (the Hyper-sized ones).

Update 1.3
Update 23 June 2011:
Raid bosses now do more damage, potentially taking a huge chunk of a character's health with his/its special attack. Genzir's Hammer Slam is especially dangerous, doing damage to a small area with a chance to Stun. I think it has a chance to Critcal [sic] too since once in a while, the main target of its attack loses lots of HP. Having decent Def mitigates this risk by a lot. 

The extras in the raid seem to go down easy. When defeated, they release red HP and blue MP orbs that will fly straight to the character. Sometimes more than one orb is released. Each HP orb restores health equal to ~5% of the main characters Max HP. Thus, having a main character with high HP will result in more healing for not just that character but also the rest of the party. The same may also apply with MP orbs and the main character's Max MP.

The effects of activating a pillar (or totem as the IGN guide calls it) has been changed. Wizz's Fire and Botherella's Thornbush effects have been replace with a yellow cloud that does damage to targets in a large area, although there is no additional damage over time. Aikilu's Blade Typoon effect is still the same. Wizz's Freeze effect is the same except that the penalty to attack speed is less.

Activating a pillar may also conjure up an expanding white cloud effect. The white cloud does little damage to a wide area and is more smoke than fire. It is different from the Freeze effect - the Freeze effect has the ground covered in frost for a while with snowflakes in the air while the white cloud dissipates rather quickly.

The 'Wake up!! Buddy!' gem is still there but it rarely appears. It is more likely to appear when the player does not need it.

Update 3 July 2011:
Genzir appears to have some resistance to Stun. Stun of 5% does not seem enough to cause the effect on him.

Genzir's Hammer Slam is particular damaging to the object of his attack as it does an additional attack on the poor target, in addition to area effect damage and possible Stun.
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Finally, the reason many play Raid Mode, the loot:
Sweet loot!
Some of the loot I have received (the number after is the number of tries):
Hyper Size Composite Potion - 6, 4, 3 (Not the purple I was looking for -_-*!!)
Scimitar (red) - 6, 5, 3, 3, 4 (Enough already!)
Shaman's Wand (blue) - 5, 3!
Prove of Power (purple!) - 5

Leopard Cloak (red) - 5
Genzir's Golden Tooth (purple!) - 6, 4, 5 (How many teeth does he have!?)
Genzir's Pants (purple!) - 4 (I beat his pants off! :) )
Staff of Sage (red) - 3

Marble of Guardian (purple!) - 5, 4, 3
Genzir's Gigantic Hammer (purple!) - 5

Shaman's Wand (red) - 4
Tiara of Guardian (purple!) - 4, 4, 4
Tae Go (red) - 3!, 3
Leopard Shirt (red) - 3!
Monkey (red) - 3, 5
Monkey (blue) - 5, 3
Jade Stamp (blue) - 3 (I'm tired of the non-purple loots. I'm going to beat up Farjegnon a few times.)
Chain Sickle (red) - 4, 3
Iron Mask (red) - 3
BulletProof Vest (red) - 3, 3

(Updated 14 June 2011)

The following is the loot I received after Update 1.3:
Hyper Size Composite Potion - 5, 5 (Again!? So far it is always the first item I get from a raid after an update.)
Leopard Cloak (red) - 5, 4 (I want Genzir's Flag!)

Genzir's Golden Tooth (purple!) - 4, 4
Shaman's Wand (blue) - 4
Jade Stamp (blue) - 4
Tiara of Guardian (purple!) - 4

Tae Go (red) - 4, 4
Tiger's Claw (blue) - 4, 4, 4 (Enough already!)

 Leopard Shirt (red) - 4
Genzir's Pants (purple!) - 3!
Jade Stamp (red) - 7
Prove of Power (purple!) - 4

Chain Sickle (red) - 3
Staff of Sage (red) - 3
Prove of Power (purple!) - 4
Scimitra (red) - 4
Genzir's Flag (purple!) - 4
(Completed the Genzir set on 16 July 2011, after 61 tries!) 
(Updated 16 July 2011)

The following is the loot I have received after the Daily Quest mini-wave of the Eighth Wave:
Genzir's Golden Tooth (purple!) - 1
Staff (blue) - 1

Leather Boots (blue) - 1
Amulet (blue) - 1
Genzir's Pants (purple!) - 1
Leather Boots (blue) - 1

(Updated 4 February 2013)


The following is the loot I have received after the Challenge Mode mini-wave of the Ninth Wave:
Axe (blue) - 1
Staff (blue) - 1
Genzir's Pants (purple!) - 1
Leather Armor (blue) - 1
Axe (red) - 1
Amulet (blue) - 1
Leather Armor (blue) - 1
Genzir's Gigantic Hammer (purple!) - 1
Axe (blue) - 1
Staff (blue) - 1
Leather Armor (red) - 1
Genzir's Flag (purple) - 1
Genzir's Gigantic Hammer (purple!) - 1
Genzir's Pants (purple!) - 1

(Updated 4 April 2013)
Notice that there is no Gift button.
Buddy Rush: Contents
Play with me!

1 comment:

  1. Completed his set in 7 tries, you must have lots of bad luck for after 61 tries. By the way, I brought along one of my friends' level 16 Arpu and he survived Genzir.

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