2.11: Clan Battles: Round 1

Because team sizes were limited to four members per team, it meant our entire clan, including the NPC’s, would be able to participate. After the clan all voted to make me leader, I set the arena as a waypoint and we left the castle in a large group. Portals had been set up in each area to make travel faster, and we marveled at the towering colosseum as we made our way inside. Formidable guards wearing ancient suits of magical armor lined the corridors and they looked like they would take me out in a single hit if I tried something. I registered our clan and we divided into three teams based upon skills and class. Aeryn, Scythe, Tifa, and Areandra on the first team; Emelia, Jade, Tesrif, and Judas on the second; and Braylon, Ikelos, Ghost, and I on the third team. We all moved into the waiting area and chatted quietly until a large display popped up on one of the walls.

Welcome to the first Holy Damnation Clan Battle Tournament.We are excited to have all of the teams sign up so quickly! Before we move onto the prizes, let’s go over a few rules:During each round each member has a single life. Once you are killed, you are eliminated for that round. Your team can still advance to the next round, and you will be able to rejoin them if they are not one of the teams eliminated.Being killed during the tournament will not put the death timer on you, so don’t worry about resetting.Before each battle begins, you will be allowed to see the classes of your opponent(s) and the Paths they have chosen, but skills or abilities will not be displayed. Any Skill or Ability that is level dependent will be set to level 30.

The objective for the first round:

VIP:One squad member will be randomly nominated at the start of the round as the VIP. The objective for both teams is to eliminate the enemy VIP while protecting your own. Each round will end once one of the two teams has all of its members eliminated. Killing the enemy VIP will earn your team +20 points. Killing a non-VIP member of the enemy team will earn your team +5 points per member. Each non-VIP member of your team that survives will earn +5 points per member. If your entire team is alive at the end of the round, your team will earn +50 points. If your VIP is killed your team will lose -20 points. Each member of your team that is killed will cost your team -5 points.

After three rounds, the top 4 scoring teams will advance to the fourth and final round. Teams from this point will separate and battles will be 1 vs 1 elimination bouts.

Prizes:Competing in the tournament will award each competitor with a single use Level Up! item. This item will grant an automatic level up to the next level. It cannot be sold, traded, transferred, or discarded.4th Round PrizesEach competitor that makes it to the fourth round will be awarded with an additional single use Level Up! item.Each competitor that makes it to the top 8 will be awarded 5 single use Level Up! items and 1000 Gold Pieces.Each competitor that makes it to the semi-finals will be awarded an enchanted jewel set with enchantments based upon their class and 10,000 Gold Pieces.Each competitor that makes it to the finals will be awarded 1 skill point and 20,000 Gold Pieces.The 2nd place competitor will earn 2 skill points and 50,000 Gold Pieces.The Tournament Champion will earn 2 skill points, 1 World Tier Skill or Spell of their choice available for their chosen class, and 100,000 Gold Pieces.

Good luck to all teams, and thank you for making Holy Damnation the most played game of the month!

After reading everything a few times, every player was given an item that listed all of the rules and prizes before everything around us shimmered and we were all teleported out of the waiting area.

For a moment all I could see was complete blackness with a small display in front of me.

Round 1

Diablo’s ChosenKel-Vana- Enchanting Sorceress- Arcane PathKysar- Dark Crusader- Might Path/Arcane PathViskeld- Berserker- Might PathAvelle- Spiritblade- Might Path/Command Path

I looked around and saw the rest of my team around me. Lucifer flitted above Ikelos’s head and scanned the area. We were in a heavily wooded area, and I was surprised to see so much green. It was a stark change from the desecrated, scorched, barren wastelands I had become accustomed to seeing.

“Lucifer, can you fly up a bit and see if you can see anything? Use the foliage for cover so the enemy doesn’t spot you.”

The little pixie studied me for a second, and I could tell she wanted to argue, but she nodded slowly and flew up into the treetops. After a moment she fluttered back and landed on Ikelos’s shoulder.

“At first I couldn’t see anything… but I think I saw a group of Demonspawn a couple hundred feet that way. I saw a bunch of heavy armor on a couple, but couldn’t really make out much from the others.”

“Good thing our VIP is a complete badass who looks like a fucking model in that school girl’s outfit. They are going to have no idea what the hell hit them.”

I pulled up the party menu and laughed a little as I saw the VIP icon next to my name. My character currently looked like a tall statuesque Demonspawn wearing an extremely revealing school girl’s outfit with a pair of sword sheaths that would hang off my hips. I had asked Judas to make me a distracting disguise for the tournament, and the others had agreed it would definitely be a huge distraction. The enemy would have been able to see my class and the Paths I had chosen before the battle, but all they knew was that I was a Paladin Commander and I had opted to take skills in every Path. My demonic body and full range of abilities it afforded me would be a complete unknown to them.

Because I was the VIP I would be the most likely target for them to take out first. Ghost was another high value target simply because he had opted to choose the class name Dark Priest. The enemy would have identified him as our group’s healer and would probably take him out if they could. Thinking about it… the enemy would probably go for him first because he was the group’s healer. Attempting to take out a tank character like a paladin would be nigh impossible if their healer was alive.

“Bray, glue yourself to Ghost’s side, he is most likely going to be their first target. Ikelos, summon your hounds and have them hide amongst the brush in the direction of the enemy. If anyone gets close to them, have them howl to let us know their location. My demon warriors will act as our first line of defense and keep the enemy off you so you can cast the rest of your summoning spells as the need calls for it. Ghost, for now… focus on enchantment spells and keeping yourself at full health. Use your healing spells on the others only if they drop below 30%. Lucifer… if you remember any of your spells, feel free to cast them without holding back. Any questions?”

No one said anything and they all moved into position and prepped for the incoming enemy. I was slightly disappointed that I could only summon 15 demon warriors, but they were far better than not having them at all. Once I summoned all the demons I could except my enchanter, I devised a simple strategy that would have the greatest chances of taking out the enemy while keeping our entire team alive.

“Warriors, form a circle around our group and only attack things that get close to you. Maintain gaps in the formation to allow for ranged casting to attack from behind. Mages, focus on ranged enemies and any threats that move to attack the warriors. Priestesses, maintain the warrior’s health at 50%, but otherwise conserve your MP. Paladin… I haven’t had the opportunity to review your skills yet… so beyond defending the others within the circle of warriors I’m giving you free reign to do as you see fit. Assassin, stick to the shadows until you find an opening on either the VIP or one of their spellcasters. If you see one of them using healing magic, take them out the second you find an opening. Let’s do this guys!”

My demons moved quickly, taking up their various positions and drawing their weapons. My assassin moved into a shadowy area and faded from sight. The Paladin stood in the dead middle of everyone and looked rather formidable in his slate gray armor that covered him from head to toe. He had his shield drawn, but had left his heavy spiked mace hung on his belt to keep a hand free for casting spells. I focused my hearing to see if I could pick up anything from this distance, but I only heard the sound of leaves rustling in the slight breeze. I was about to suggest something when one of Ikelos’s hounds started to howl to our right. The warriors readied themselves and the mages began casting spells in preparation.

A host of ghostly apparitions flew out of the trees toward us, and my warriors raised their shields to defend against them.

Spirit magic. Shit! Physical offenses and defenses were pretty much worthless against them, but they were very weak to magical attacks.

“Mages, defensive spells, NOW! Don’t let those spirits hit anyone… they’ll tear them to shreds.”

The demon mages cast ice and earth spells to shield the warriors and the spirits wailed as they struck the barrier. I heard the sound of movement behind us and I turned quickly and focused on the sound.

“Mages, defensive spells behind us. More spirits incoming! Ikelos, summon your bats and send them in that direction above the treeline.”

A swarm of dark brown and black bats appeared and flew upwards. I heard a voice whispering and I faced towards it and listened.

“Take out the dumb bitch wearing that stupid outfit. Can’t believe she’d keep wearing that being their VIP.”

“If you want to kill me, come and get me, asshats!”

The others looked at me in confusion as I yelled out, and I spoke very quietly.

“Two people planning on coming after me that way. Wait… scratch that… three people. My disguise is working better than I hoped.”

A massive fireball crackling with sparks of electricity hurtled towards me while a trio of spirits flew at me from the side. My mages blocked the spells and countered with their own. The clash of steel against steel sounded and I saw my warriors engage in close combat with two heavily armored enemies. The third was lightly armored, and zipped around after each attack. Each time she withdrew from combat she would cast a series of spells, sending spirits soaring ahead. One of the warriors wielded an enormous hammer and he smashed through two of my warriors with ease. My paladin moved to engage him after drawing his weapon, and I drew both of my blades in preparation.

“Mages, focus your spells on the spirit mage. Warriors, move to engage the enemies in close combat. Bray, stay on top of Ghost, but take out anything that gets close. Ikelos, armor and mount up and kick some ass. I’m going to take out this dumbass with the hammer, the rest of you focus on the other heavy!”

“I’d like to see you try, bitch!”

I focused on my body's speed and hurled myself at the enemy who was swinging his hammer wildly. As I rushed him it was if he was moving in slow motion and I thrust my sword towards his chest in an attempt to impale him. My sword bit deep into his armor but the sturdy mail held up against my attack. I focused all my energy on my strength and pushed the blade in deeper. As he realized I was close enough to him to grab, he wrapped his arms around me and started to squeeze. I felt his grip actually tighten as the blade was driven further into his chest and I was beginning to struggle to breathe. I gave one final thrust with my sword and his iron grip on me slackened all at once. His lifeless body slumped and he fell to the ground. Warmth surrounded my body and my HP bar filled steadily.

I waved my hand to whomever healed me without turning and scanned the area. Without my level advantage over the enemies, I was going to have to be much more cautious with my attacks. I also realized that my demonic abilities were taking far more stamina than normal, so the removal of my level was causing my body to not be able to withstand the immense power required to use them. These battles were designed to test each combatant thoroughly, so I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me that I wasn’t going to have as easy a time as I thought.

The other members of the enemy team had retreated, and my demons regrouped while priestesses healed each of them with a flurry of spells. I cast my summoning spells to refill the warriors ranks and set about devising a new strategy.

At the moment, our numbers were far superior, but both the spirit mage and the sorceress had proven to be quite adept at keeping us on the defensive. After we proved our superior close combat abilities, they will be forced to rely on long range to inflict damage. Our team is better geared to close combat, so getting close enough would be difficult unless…”

“Bray. If we buffed you up significantly with enchantments and such, would you be up for a supercharged ‘Wrecking Ball?’”

“Uhhh… OK.”

I had expected at least a little resistance to using him as a half-human projectile, but I grinned at him and told him what I had in mind. I summoned my demon enchanter and had him cast a plethora of enchantments on Bray; along with several from Ghost, I figured it should be enough to keep him alive for the near suicidal all-or-nothing attack. I spread my wings and hovered above the massive warrior for a second before grabbing him by the back of his armor and his belt. It took a great deal more strength than usual to carry him, but I managed to get high enough to where I thought would be most effective.

“O-OK Bray… now comes… the supercharged… p-part. B-Brace... yourself.”

I closed my eyes and willed my body to give me every ounce of strength it could muster. I held tightly onto Bray as I started to twist and turn my body in mid-air, pumping my wings as hard as I could to keep me aloft. I spun faster and faster, Bray’s huge body and heavy armor helping me build up more and more momentum. It was hard to focus on the ground as I spun, but I allowed my enhanced senses to guide me as I spun a final time and released my hold on the massive warrior.

Bray shot towards the ground like a bullet, yelling loudly as he plummeted down.

“SUUUUUUUPEERRRR FAAAAAAAGGGG ATTAAAAACK!!!!”