Narration Room: Buddy Rush: Raid Mode, Ivardark

A mini update introduced after the Seventh Wave came with a new Raid, Ivardark, which is available to characters of level 100 (and above). Despite the pink apron and matching bunny ears, I assume Ivardark is a 'he'.

Update 30 October 2012:
After today's Mini-wave, Ivardark is now available at 95. His set items may now be equipped at level 95. This article may have obsolete information.
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Update 21 December 2012:
Ivardark has 6.0M HP after the mini-wave mentioned in the Update above (30 October 2012).
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Despite how he looks, it's 7.0M HP.

As with the previous Raids, the player brings along two buddies and selects another two from his/her characters for a total party size of five. It appears that characters of level lower than 100 may still join the Raid.

Some of my characters were below level 100.

The Raid takes place in an arena with the dreamy setting of the Prologue, and with the Bootomb theme as the background music. The back of the arena is beautifully decorated, though players would likely be too busy to notice.

Too busy to admire the scenery.

There are three holes in the ground near the center of the arena. Once in a while, a gem appears out of one of the slots. Picking up a gem may give any of the following bonus or penalty:
* Attack Power up
* Defense up
* Defense Down
* Speed Down
* HP Regen
* MP Regen
* Wake up!! Buddy!

'Wake up!! Buddy!' is very helpful as it can bring KO-ed buddies back into the Raid.

There are also totems that appear once in a while in the game. These look like small pillars and may be activated by touch. When activated, the totem may have any of the following damage effects:

* a yellow cloud that does damage to targets in a large area.

* a frost field with snowflakes that slows (Wizz's Freeze).

* an expanding white cloud effect that does damage to targets in a large area (Flow's Earthquaker).

* spinning blades (Aikilu's Blade Typoon).

Ivardark may also activate a totem to damage the player and his/her party.

Ivardark does not get dizzy.

Ivardark's regular attack is at melee range and is capable of hitting multiple buddies. The regular attack may also inflict Stun. In addition, he has three special skills, which he uses quite often.

The first is the Spin Attack. He will pull his chainsaw a few times before attacking. This skill does damage to all buddies who remain within a short range.

Ivardark's second special skill is Jam Spill. He will shake his jam bottle first before raising it above his head and splashing jam all around him. A buddy standing on the jam initially takes little damage. However, the damage increases rapidly if the buddy remains there. Using a Golden Potion likely will not be enough to save that buddy if he/she does not flee.

The third special skill is a Roar. Ivardark will convulse for a moment before releasing a wave that damages buddies within a medium range. This skill has a high chance of causing Stun.

All of Ivardark's skills require time to prepare before the actual attack. There is plenty of time to run out of range. In the case of the Spin Attack and Jam Spill, the attack range is so short that range buddies can do damage to the Raid Boss while remaining out of danger. This includes Vivich despite her shorter range.

Be vigilant when fleeing Ivardark's special skill. A buddy may run back into the danger he/she has just fled from. Sometimes, a buddy may not run at all if he/she is stuck performing a special skill.

Update 14 May 2012:
It may be a good idea to flee Ivardark's Roar, even if the area of effect cannot be escaped. If caught Stunned at the edge of Roar's effect, Ivardark has to walk up to attack, giving extra time to recover from Stun. That is much better than being Stunned next to him when he can immediately attack.

Alternatively, attack and hope to Stun and/or interrupt him until he gives up attempting his Roar.
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What a waste of food... though it is likely worse than Toxy's cooking.

The extras in this Raid are large Oblins who dual-wield axes. These Oblins attack by melee and they have a spin attack. They also have low HP (considering the high damage buddies may do) and may release lots of orbs on KO, and/or a treasure chest.

Ivardark trapped while the buddies recover.

Ivardark's attacks have limited reach. As such, it is best to bring buddies who attack at range. Ivardark is immobile while performing his special skills. Buddies may just hang out of his reach and attack. This is not applicable for Ivardark's Roar, which has a longer range.

Having a party of all range buddies also gives the player a head start in fleeing Ivardark's special skills. Keep the party together so that it is easier to order them away from the Raid Boss. Be ready to flee always, especially since Ivardark uses his special skills often.

Because of the limited reach of Ivardark's attacks and the fact that there is plenty of warning for his special skills, it is easier to avoid damage by hanging out of reach with range buddies. As such, HP and Def are less important. It is even possible to survive the Raid without a healer buddy and rely on potions, red orbs (from the extras) and gems (from the holes in the ground).

Interrupts (Wolfgang's bite, Vivich's Lotus Slap, Wizz's Z-flash, Nagne's Leaf Slash - if anyone dares to bring Nagne) may keep Ivardark busy when he is playing with his skills. This may buy a few seconds when the Raid Boss will not be doing (effective) damage. If the interrupt happens while Ivardark is doing the Spin Attack or the Jam Spill, the party has a few extra seconds to hang out of reach while throwing things at the Raid Boss.

With the many red and blue orbs released occasionally when an extra is KO-ed, a main character with high HP and MP is good since the party will get more HP and MP from each orb. As such, Bangbang's set with its high HP and MP bonus is a good set to equip on the main character.

Botherella is good as the main character. She has high MP and she has Wolfgang with his bite special attack.

Update 1 June 2012:
With the second mini-wave of the Seventh Wave, the extras seem to release a whole lot more orbs. Thus, having high HP and MP is even more beneficial.

Update 4 August 2012:
I tried using the strategy I used with Genzir the Storm. That is, the party with Skully, Botherella, Worrier, Aikilu and Healury. This party does more damage. However, it relies heavily on Stuns and interrupts to stop Ivardark's skill-spamming. If unlucky and Healury does not have shields up, Ivardark could wipe the party up with his Jam Spill. Fruity death for all!

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Skully's 'Don't move!' can keep Ivardark away for a few seconds so he cannot do damage.

In this Raid, Vivich is more suitable than Healury since the former has a range attack.

And of course there is loot for beating the Raid:

Purple!

The following is the loot I have received from the chest after beating the raid (the number after is the number of tries):

Staff of Blessing (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 9

Shiny Brooch (green!?) - 8

Swordmanship Text Special Edition (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 8

Sword Master Vol. 3 (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 7

Ivardark's Chainsaw (purple!) - 7
Staff of Blessing (green!?) - 7
Ivardark's Mask (purple!) - 7
Black Dragon Hat (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 7
Black Dragon Hat (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 7 (again!?)
Black Dragon Hat (red) - 7 (now it's red)

Soccer Shoes (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 6
Shiny Brooch (green!?) - 7
Ivardark's Grape Jam (purple!) - 7
Staff of Blessing (green!?) - 7
Soccer Shoes (red) - 6
Golden Glass (green!?) - 7
Helm of Courage (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 7
Devil's Staff (red) - 6
Helm of Courage (red) - 6
Golden Glass (green!?) - 7
Sword Master Vol. 3 (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 6
Staff of Blessing (blue) - 7
Ivardark's Grape Jam (purple!) - 7 (May 25-28 Raid Epic Drop x2 Event)
Ivardark's Mask (purple!) - 6 (May 25-28 Raid Epic Drop x2 Event)
Dragon's Pendant (blue) - 6 (May 25-28 Raid Epic Drop x2 Event)
(Updated 28 May 2012)

The following is the loot I have received after the second mini-wave of the Seventh Wave:
Pearl Necklace (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 6
Shiny Brooch (blue) - 6
Ivardark's Mask (purple!) - 5
Swordmanship Text Special Edition (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 6
Dragonskin Kung-Fu Gloves (blue) - 6
Black Dragon Hat (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 7
Helm of Courage (green!?) - 6
Staff of Blessing (green!?) - 6
Staff of Blessing (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 7
Helm of Courage (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 5
Black Dragon Hat (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 6
Golden Glass (green!?) - 6
Shiny Brooch (green!?) - 5
Black Glasses (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 5
Pearl Necklace (blue) - 5
Ivardark's Mask (purple!) - 5
Feather Fan (green!?) - 5
Pearl Necklace (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 5
Soccer Shoes (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 6
Sword Master Vol. 3 (green!?) - 5
Soccer Shoes (blue) - 5
Staff of Blessing (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 5
Pearl Necklace (red) - 5
Inventor's Trophy (green!?) - 5
Ivardark's Chainsaw (purple!) - 5
Helm of Courage (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 5
Shiny Brooch (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 6
Shiny Brooch (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 5
Ivardark's Apron (purple!) - 5 (Completed Ivardark's set! 2 July 2012, 54 tries.)
(Updated 2 July 2012)

The following is the loot I have received after the third mini-wave of the Seventh Wave:
Soccer Shoes (red) - 4
Black Dragon Hat (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 4
Inventor's Trophy (green!?) - 4
Shiny Brooch (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 4
Black Glasses (blue) - 4
Inventor's Trophy (green!?) - 4
Devil's Staff (green!?) - 4
Feather Fan (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3
Sword Master Vol. 3 (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 4
Pearl Necklace (blue) - 4
Staff of Blessing (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 4
Black Glasses (red) - 4
Inventor's Trophy (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Ivardark's Apron (purple!) - 3 (Completed Ivardark's set! 4 August 2012, +14 tries.)
Golden Glass (green!?) - 2
(Updated 13 August 2012)

The following is the loot I have received after the 8.1 hotfix (1.7.1):
Ivardark's Grape Jam (purple!) - 2 (Sept 21-23 Raid Epic Drop Rates x2 Event)
Dragonskin Kung-Fu Gloves (red) - 1! (Sept 21-23 Raid Epic Drop Rates x2 Event)
Dragonskin Kung-Fu Gloves (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1! (Sept 21-23 Raid Epic Drop Rates x2 Event)
Golden Glass (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1! (Sept 21-23 Raid Epic Drop Rates x2 Event)
Staff of Blessing (green!?) - 2
Rare Inkstone (green!?) - 2
Helm of Courage (blue) - 1!
Dragonskin Kung-Fu Gloves (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1!
Swordmanship Text Special Edition (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Staff of Blessing (green!?) - 1!
Dragonskin Kung-Fu Gloves (green!?) - 2
Shiny Brooch (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1!
Shiny Brooch (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1!
Swordmanship Text Special Edition (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1!
Ivardark's Chainsaw (purple!) - 1!
Golden Glass (green!?) - 1!
Swordmanship Text Special Edition (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1!
Black Dragon Hat (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1!
(23 October 2012)

The following is the loot I have received after the Daily Quest mini-wave of the Eighth Wave:
Rare Inkstone (green!?) - 1
Staff of Blessing (red) - 1
Dragonskin Kung-Fu Gloves (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Rare Inkstone (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Ivardark's Grape Jam (purple!) - 1
(Updated 28 January 2013)

The following is the loot I have received after the Ninth Wave:
(something so insignificant that I forgot to note) - 1
(another insignificant blue item I forgot to note) - 1
Ivardark's Chainsaw (purple!) - 1
Ivardark's Chainsaw (purple!) - 1 (Mar 1-3 2nd Anniversary Epic Chance Event, x2 Epic Drop)Dragonskin Kung-Fu Gloves (green) - 1
(Updated 10 March 2013)

The following is the loot I have received after the Challenge Mode mini-wave of the Ninth Wave:
Soccer Shoes (blue) - 1
Sword Master Vol. 3 (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Soccer Shoes (green!?) - 1
Golden Glass (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Pearl Necklace (red) - 1
Helm of Courage (green!?) - 1
Dragon's Pendant (blue) - 1
Ivardark's Chainsaw (purple!) - 1
Rare Inkstone (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Pearl Necklace (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Inventor's Trophy (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Swordmanship Text Special Edition (blue) - 1
Pearl Necklace (green!?) - 1
Dragonskin Kung-Fu Gloves (green) - 1
Rare Inkstone (blue) - 1
(Updated 25 April 2013)

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