This week, we set out on a mission to upgrade our gear by acquiring copper ingots. The plan? Simple enough: unlock the foundry, and to do that we needed to clear out an "bugbear" encampment, and take down whatever was in our way. Of course, with our group’s history of misadventures, things never go quite as planned. What should have been an easy win turned into a fight against two massive bosses—a giant with a big sword and a bugbear. It didn’t take long for things to go sideways.
The Giant’s Resetting Health – A Battle in Futility:
Our first big challenge was a giant near an ancient bridge, guarding what we thought was a hidden treasure. We had no idea that defeating him was the key to progressing the quest—so we spent way too long running around, searching for an item that didn’t exist while trying to keep the giant distracted.
We set up a plan where Myles took position in a tower, trying to lure the giant away so Dave, Zaph, and Craig could search the area. It felt like a solid plan… until it became clear that nothing was working. Not only were we dying repeatedly, but the giant had this lovely mechanic where he would retreat back to his starting point and fully reset his health.
After a few too many deaths and frustrations, we gave in and checked the internet. That’s when we learned the truth: we weren’t supposed to be looking for treasure. We were supposed to kill the giant.
Once we knew that, it still wasn’t easy. The giant was several levels ahead of us, and we were barely holding on. Myles had the ability to summon skulls to fight alongside us, and we just started throwing everything we had at the giant. After chipping away at his health, and nervously watching to see if he’d reset again, we finally got him to about halfway and realized—this is it, we’ve got him. If he’d reset again, it would’ve been heartbreaking, but this time he stayed in the fight, and we managed to take him down. It was a hard-earned victory, but we finally got the reward.
Facing the Bugbear – A (Surprisingly) Easy Win:
After the struggle with the giant, we braced ourselves for the next boss, a creature we’ve dubbed the “bugbear boss.” Given how tough the giant had been, we assumed this would be just as brutal. But surprisingly, the bugbear boss felt like a breeze in comparison. We figured out his moves—a stomp here, a dash there—and managed to dodge pretty well. Unlike the giant, the bugbear didn’t reset, which was a huge relief.
It turns out this fight was more our speed, likely because it was better matched to our level. Nobody died, though we took a few hits figuring out his patterns. After a few well-timed dodges and some coordinated attacks, the bugbear went down easily. Compared to the giant, this felt like a nice reward for all the chaos we’d already gone through.
The Group Dynamic – Organized Chaos:
After twenty years of playing these games together, you’d think we’d have the teamwork thing down. But truthfully, we’ve settled into a rhythm of organized chaos. The game allows us the freedom to explore, and it’s not uncommon for someone to peel off and investigate something while the rest of us stick to the plan—or try to, anyway (Not naming names, you know who you are).
When the big fights hit, though, we manage to rally together, even if it’s a little messy. We’ve learned to embrace our chaotic style. That said, after the experience with the giant and his frustrating resets, we’re definitely more mindful now. If a boss starts resetting on us, we know it’s time to rethink our strategy instead of brute-forcing our way through.
We also upgraded our gliders. Here's Zaph looking at a speck in the sky, which is Dave flying in. Now we can really fly so serious distance.
There was a lengthy scenario to get to Zaph's loot at the top of The Pillars Of Creation. The "Sabertooth tiger" was brutal, and not to be faced alone.
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