Buddy Rush: Raid Mode, Genzir the Storm

The third mini-wave of the Seventh Wave brought Genzir the Storm as a new raid boss. Supposedly Genzir the Storm is the upgraded version of Genzir.

Genzir the Storm may be available at level 100 but he is way much more difficult than Ivardark. With very high Def and a good amount of Att, this raid boss is clearly for players who want a real challenge. Or lots of frustration.

12.0M HP is not much, if he did not have such high Def and Att.

In face, even before facing Genzir the Storm, there are four tough Oblins guarding the entrance. Anyone who has trouble handling these Oblins is not ready to face Genzir the Storm.

He hired a few tough front-door guards.

The raid takes place in the dark Bootomb setting with Oblinium crystals decorating the background and matching Bootomb theme music. As with Ivardark's raid, there are three slots around the arena where purple gems may appear from time to time. There's a purple gem on the left in the following screenshot:

Wolfgang goes for Genzir the Storms neck!

Picking up a purple 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. And with Genzir the Storm's Att, it is very likely that someone will be knocked out.

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).

Genzir the Storm may run after a totem and use it to damage the buddies.

Two digit damage!

The biggest problem with Genzir the Storm is his high Def. This is shown by the huge difference in damage done to him compared to the damage done to the extras that appear from time to time.

Because of the high Def of the raid boss, attacks will hardly do damage to him. And he has 12 million HP. As if that were not enough, as mentioned earlier, he has good Att and can easily KO buddies with low Def. His regular attacks already do decent damage with the chance to Stun.

Genzir the Storm pulls out special skills quite often. His newest special skill is his Call Lightning, where he summons three waves of lightning. Each wave comes with three to five bolts, one of them usually directly targeted at a buddy. It is possible to dodge the lightning. It is also possible to Stun Genzir the Storm to stop the lightning. However, the first wave is hard to prevent.

If all three waves were to hit the same buddy with a bolt each, that buddy will likely suffer huge damage. That should be avoid, especially if the targeted buddy has low defenses.

Now it's three digits.

Genzir the Storm still has his Butt Slam, only now with Added Lightning. He will jump high up before slamming into the ground and dealing damage to buddies nearby. In addition, he creates a large lightning field to continously deal even more damage.

Genzir the Storm has an improved version of Genzir's other special attack: Hammer Slam, with Added Lightning. As with Genzir, this skill takes time to perform, allowing the buddies to Stun or run. Hammer Slam will deal major damage to a small area with a good chance to Stun. And it will create a small lightning field that does serious damage. Woe to buddies Stunned by the Hammer Slam!

Once in a while, two extras, nice dual-axe-wielding Oblins, will appear from the back. On KO, these Oblins may release lots of HP and MP orbs. They may also drop a treasure chest. Strangely, so would Wolfgang or buddies when they are KO-ed.

Muahahaha, four digits!

It is possible to play safely with Genzir the Storm by hanging together with range buddies at the back. That way, the buddies will be ready to run if the raid boss pulls out a special move. However, with 12 million HP and high Def, it will take a long time to defeat Genzir the Storm.

The other strategy is to rush him in a full assault. Equip lots of Stun and interrupts to stop Genzir the Storm from pulling out his special moves. Position buddies around him so that if he does successfully perform his Call Lightning or Hammer Slam, the damage is reduced since he will not hit all the buddies. However, this formation also makes it harder to disengage and run away.

The best party I have found for this second strategy so far is Skully, Healury, Aikilu, Botherella and Worrier.

The idea is for Botherella to Curse Genzir the Storm and reduce his Def. I am not sure if Arpu's 'Causing Curse' is as effective. Aikilu and Healury can buff Att. Skully is the main damage dealer, although Boorseye can substitute her in this role.

Defensively, Skully is more Stunning (in both sense) than Boorseye. Also, her 'Don't Move' skill has a good (not guaranteed) chance to Stun Genzir the Storm. Worrier is there to provide his Blunt Aura, which boosts the chances of Stun, and to draw Genzir the Storm's attention long enough for Healury to cast her 'I Hate Getting Hurt' and provide shields for everyone. Healury also provides heals. Aikilu's Shooting Dumpling can Stun the raid boss too. Finally, Botherella can Curse to reduce the raid boss' Att. She also summons Wolfgang who can interrupt.

It seems that Genzir the Storm is more vulnerable to Stun than Genzir. But that may just be because of all the extra Stun bonuses the buddies have from skills and equipment.

Update 24 August 2012:
With the Eighth Wave, Genzir the Storm is now immune to Stun! That increases his damage potential by a lot!

He is still vulnerable to interrupts though. Thus characters with interrupts like Vivich is important. VIvich's Sanctuary also reduces damage done by Genzir the Storm. The new Ultimate Skills help bring Genzir the Storm down fast.

Red and blue orbs are still released in large numbers by the extras.
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Finally, the loot (or lack of it):

(dot dot dot)

The following is the loot I received after beating the raid. The number after is the number of tries.

Devil's Staff (red) - 14

Feather Fan (green!?) - 21

Rare Inkstone (blue) - 14

Sword Master Vol. 3 (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 10

Black Dragon Hat (blue) - 8

Pearl Necklace (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 10
Inventor's Trophy (green!?) - 7
Shiny Brooch (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 8
Bracer of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 10
Tooth of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 9
Helm of Courage (blue) - 8
Black Dragon Hat (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 8
Golden Glass (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 7
Inventor's Trophy (blue) - 5
Staff of Blessing (green!?) - 4
Devil's Staff (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3 (Bangbang and Ivardark sets really help!)
Devil's Staff (blue) - 3
Chainsaw (red) - 3
Shiny Brooch (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3
Inventor's Trophy (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 5
Sword Master Vol. 3 (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Feather Fan (blue) - 3
Staff of Blessing (green!?) - 4
Soccer Shoes (green!?) - 3
Golden Glass (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 6
Devil's Staff (green!?) - 4
Soccer Shoes (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3
Rags of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 3
Dragonskin Kung-Fu Gloves (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 4
Soccer Shoes (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 4
Pearl Necklace (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3
Feather Fan (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 5
Staff of Blessing (green!?) - 3
Inventor's Trophy (green!?) - 3

(Updated 23 August 2012)

The following is the loot I have received after the Eighth Wave:
Rags of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 2
Rare Inkstone (green!?) - 2
Dragon's Pendant (blue) - 1! (Legendary Magic Scroll helps!)
Hammer of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 1! (Completed Genzir the Storm's set! 24 August 2012, 38 tries.)
Black Glasses (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Pearl Necklace (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1!
Swordmanship Text Special Edition (blue) - 1!
Tooth of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 1!
Staff of Blessing (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1!
Bracer of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 2
Tooth of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 2
Swordmanship Text Special Edition (red) - 2
Sword Master Vol. 3 (blue) - 1!
Rare Inkstone (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1!
Rare Inkstone (green!?) - 2
Inventor's Trophy (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Sword Master Vol. 3 (red) - 2
Staff of Blessing (green!?) - 2
Helm of Courage (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1!
Rare Inkstone (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Helm of Courage (green!?) - 1!
Black Glasses (green!?) - 1!
(Updated 11 September 2012)

The following is the loot I have received after the 8.1 hotfix (1.7.1):
Rags of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 3
Helm of Courage (blue) - 3
Soccer Shoes (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Helm of Courage (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Tooth of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 2
Black Dragon Hat (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 3
Inventor's Trophy (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Rare Inkstone (green!?) - 2
Devil's Staff (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Soccer Shoes (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Hammer of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 2 (Completed Genzir the Storm's set x2! 21 September 2012, +29 tries. During Sept 21-23 Raid Epic Drop Rates x2 Event)
Swordmanship Text Special Edition (blue) - 3 (Sept 21-23 Raid Epic Drop Rates x2 Event)
Hammer of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 2 (Sept 21-23 Raid Epic Drop Rates x2 Event)
Rags of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 2 (Sept 21-23 Raid Epic Drop Rates x2 Event)
Bracer of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 2 (I think I completed the set a third time - too lazy to keep track. During Sept 21-23 Raid Epic Drop Rates x2 Event)
Rags of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 3 (Stopped raiding for a while, got out of practise and got this. Guess Genzir the Storm missed me!)
Black Dragon Hat (green!?) - 2
Sword Master Vol. 3 (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Staff of Blessing (green!?) - 2
Helm of Courage (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Sword Master Vol. 3 (red) - 2
(Updated 18 October 2012)

The following is the loot I have received after the Daily Quest mini-wave of the Eighth Wave:
Staff of Blessing (green!?) - 2
Tooth of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 2
Rare Inkstone (green!?) - 2
Sword Master Vol. 3 (green!?) - 2
Helm of Courage (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
Golden Glass (green!?) - 2
Staff of Blessing (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1 (A Scroll and Refined Equipment helps!)
Hammer of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 2
Swordmanship Text Special Edition (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 2
(Updated 22 January 2013)

The following is the loot I have received after the Ninth Wave:
Black Dragon Hat (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Shiny Brooch (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Rags of Genzir the Storm (purple!) - 1
(Updated 11 February 2013)

The following is the loot I have received after the Challenge Mode mini-wave of the Ninth Wave:
Swordmanship Text Special Edition (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Inventor's Trophy (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Black Glasses (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Soccer Shoes (blue) - 1
Rare Inkstone (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Helm of Courage (green!?) - 1
Dragon's Pendant (blue) - 1
Soccer Shoes (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Black Glasses (green!?) - 1
Soccer Shoes (colorless!!!?!?!?) - 1
Dragon's Pendant (blue) - 1
(Updated 22 April 2013)

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Play with me, again!