Stop The Rampage Before It Begins

Nimin wandered throughout the Red Zone for a bit before coming across a few enemies. Firing at them he began to kite them away to slowly chip away at their HP. Sol found himself glancing towards Nimin's hands, attempting to see what a 700+ Aim Rating looked like during actual play.

To his immense disappointment Nimin's hands were methodical but slow. Dealing with brainless mobs didn't require intense playing. They might be strong to the average player, but Nimin was naturally not an average player. He constantly kited them around while performing several headshots, and quickly defeated the Red Zone enemy. The wandering ones weren't much of a threat.

It was the Elites that gave real trouble.

Elites were a special kind of mob. They usually looked like a bigger version of their normal counterpart. Equipped with higher stats it took longer to defeat, but what made them the most troublesome was the fact that they were rarely, if not never, alone. Always surrounded by normal mobs an Elite was not without its squadron.

This made Elites essentially impossible to take on solo. You would need a significant level advantage to be able to farm the Elites alone and consistently. If not you would rapidly become overwhelmed with attacks, and be torn apart in seconds!

Nimin was looking for these Elites in hopes that smaller groups were attempting to take it down. Then he would watch how they would perform and if anyone of interest was among them. If he found someone, he would figure out how to convince them to join his team afterwards.

Sol suddenly spoke up, "Oh, there's a squad trying to lead an Elite out of the Red Zone."

"What?! Are they new?"

"Dunno. . . they're almost out too."

"Might be trolls, we're going to have an incident now. Can you stop them?"

"Yeah but they'll target me."

"Give me the coordinates I'll head over to help."

Leading a Red Zone Elite outside of the Red Zone would trigger a mode the players called 'Rampage'. Non-Elite mobs would turn into their Elite counterparts, and already existing Elites would become very ferocious in stats and speed. Additionally, Rampaging enemies would not drop any rewards.

In older servers this wasn't much of an issue. If there ever was a rampaging mob a higher leveled player could still handle it with ease depending on the level difference. Even in the max level zones it rarely happened since kiting away an Elite without being spotted was near impossible. It had only happened twice in reported history.

Nimin sprinted towards the given coordinates, not caring about stamina consumption. He did not want to have to deal with a rampaging Elite so soon into his grinding session. As he ran he watched Sol's screen.

Sol's hands moved with patience. A simplistic pale-blue suit began to form around Raging Torch. Mechanical parts whirred and clicked together as it encompassed his body. It held a slim look, almost like Raging Torch was an android instead of someone wearing a suit. Exhaust ports began to glow a darker blue, and the helmet clicked together to finalize the process. On Sol's screen two new bars appeared next to his HP, Stamina, and SP bars.

Power and Durability. The crutch of the Mecha class! Depending on the suit specifications, the bars would vary. If any of the two were depleted, the suit would fall apart and leave the character exposed. Power would reduce the more the Mecha moved and used Skills, while Durability would fall the more it took damage.

The exhaust ports began to glow brighter and flames jettisoned out. Acting as a propulsion the suit began to slide forward at a speed that could rival many mounts! Two engines appeared at Burning Torch's elbows and a flame spat out. Accelerating forward Raging Torch slammed two palms into the Elite and sent it stumbling further into the Red Zone.

"Hey! This guy is trying to steal our kill!"

Sol pressed a button and retorted, "You're trying to lead it out of the zone. Not letting that happen."

"It's just one guy! Kill him!"

Jets whirred to life as Raging Torch slid back. Moving both arms forward the suit clicked as two barrels extended out of each wrist. They all fired once, oval shaped projectiles spinning across the field and embedding themselves into the ground.

"Nice shot idiot!"

Boom-!

The projectiles exploded and dirt rose into the air. A high pitched whir entered the player's ears as the suit rushed forward with its propulsion. Sol's hands clicked the keyboard and Raging Torch came to a dead stop. Two weapons slashed where he was about to be, but only hit the falling dirt.

Nimin's eyes shone upon seeing this. The timing, it was always the timing with this guy!

Raging Torch stepped forward, flames igniting at his elbows. Throwing a punch forward he connected a solid blow to a player's face. Sol moved his mouse and Burning Torch spun, the same fist hitting the other player as well.

Nimin continued to chase down the coordinates, "How many are there?"

"Four. No healer."

"No healer? Brave."

"We're doing the same thing."

"Can't argue with that."

A player leapt forward and swung a Photon Katana downwards, neon lighting moving like water. Sol's fingers typed smoothly and the back engines suddenly burst with flames. Just for a few frames the propulsion engines were set to full blast, the flames smacking into the falling Phaseblade, and knocking them back.

A Mecha Skill! {Force Propulsion} would use the propulsion engines to knock anyone behind the suit away! It didn't last very long for a Skill, and was quicker than a standard attack. However its range and damage was low in return. This Skill was exclusively to prevent anyone from getting behind a Mecha. To utilize it while someone was attacking from a distance required good timing.

As Nimin ran, he wrote something down in his journal.

Raging Torch's engines continued to whir as he glided across the floor. The strongest class Mecha was a dominating force in the hands of the capable. Although Sol's Aim Rating was low, he was still accepted into the camp!

Sol wasn't confident in taking on all four players with just the standard unspecialized suit. The power of this suit wasn't enough for extended battles, while he could dominate with his skill, once the suit was done for so was he.

In this case, he wasn't alone however. The Elite was still aggroed with the four players, and charged forward! A giant mantis-like creature tore through the ground with its forelegs. Covered in a heavy armor they seemed like shields instead of weapons, but their crushing power was still dangerous!

The Phaseblade who was knocked away failed to recover and slammed into the ground. The Elite stood over them and rose one of its massive forelegs and slammed it down onto the Phaseblade.

Out of Raging Torch's forearms two long whips extended out. Grabbing ahold of them they quickly lit up blue with a crackling electricity. Swinging them forward Sol grabbed two players, one whip each. The electric whips wrapped around them and prevented them from moving. Swinging downwards sharply Raging Torch channeled the last of the electricity down the whips. The blue energy visibly turned off, as if traveling away from the suit. Upon reaching the two players it exploded in electricity.

A clunk and a steaming noise came from the suit as the whips ejected out of Raging Torch's forearms. Nimin praised, "Double grab? Nice stuff!"

"I practiced that one a lot."

This whip was actually a grab Skill! Grabs had the highest priority, and could beat basically any Skill in a direct clash. Even if put at a type disadvantage. The Mecha's {Electric Whip Grasp} had the capability of grabbing two players, but required extensive practice to properly pull off. Aiming two whips in different directions was comparable to Nimin's dual wielding aim. Meaning it was on the level of Pros!

Although not a technique only Pros are capable of pulling off, Nimin felt that he was seeing a different side to Sol. The impeccable timing, and the show of high skill. This wasn't anything like the hesitant Sol he saw during the Aim Ratings.

Perhaps. . . Sol was someone he should stick on his team?