Charakter

Greetings, Challengers.

Only the Normal Mission of Palace of the Dead (PotD) remains in Season 3. Thank you all for your participation.

Since Lyre Orpheus was unable to join due to illness, I, serving as moderator, handled all mission adjustments this season.
As a result, some missions may have ended up rather unbalanced. With permission from the Admin, I would like to provide an explanation of the adjustments and the design intent.

1. Special Missions

Each Special Mission was given a subtitle by me.
In addition, to mitigate excessive RNG elements, the use of Affluence and Fortune was strictly limited.

1-1. PotD: How to use: Resolution, No Spin

The first point to note is the restricted availability of Serenity.
In particular, on floor set 19X, countermeasures against item penalty are extremely limited: “Tank,” “Sleep,” "Steel", and "Resolution".

The mission was designed under two expected patterns:

“Time-constrained but stable Tank”
versus
“Time surplus but insufficient tools for DPS.”

If spinning was allowed, this balance would collapse, which is why Summoner, melee DPS, and ranged DPS were restricted.

For tanks, the landmines on B18X’s latter floors were meant to allow just barely enough time. Lust and Witching were included specifically for them.
For casters, putting Gourmand to sleep, or using Resolution before teleporting, created opportunities. The challenge was to balance the timing of these “tools,” with, of course, a degree of luck involved.

Cleared by AngelusDemonus, who displayed extraordinary knowledge and composure in handling enemies—his execution was simply too refined, showing the peak performance of a top streamer. That last Steel was probably superfluous, he would have managed just fine without it.
However, due to DC-region issues, Angelus declined to register his clear, and Wakaba later completed it. His bold approach, using pomanders without fallback, reflected the style of a top score-runner. A must-watch run.

Including BRD was a mistake.
My reasoning was that if a BRD could withstand the pressure of defeating Behemoth, Spin should be permitted as well. However, I overlooked the fact that Behemoth itself can be Spun.

1-2. HoH: The Inconvenient Petrification

To avoid making every mission about spin restriction, I designed a different constraint.
Still, since limiting to “only spin users can clear” felt wrong, I kept Steel and Purify fairly lenient.

Most DPS jobs lack ranged AoEs, and without Conceal or Sight, pre-mapping reconnaissance is impossible. Coupled with the large-room issue limiting trap-clearing, the key became how effectively one could employ Petri.

I assumed RPR and PCT would be the popular choices, with healers included mostly because I like them.

Cleared by Noriponta, a veteran of challenge runs, who traced a calm, steady path to victory. When I saw him obtain two Flight and one Magcite before floor 84, I thought, “The match is already over.”

1-3. EO: Abolishing RNG

This mission stirred much debate, reminiscent of P8S Phase 1 (Savage).
The adjustment principle was straightforward: given only limited pomanders, how to distribute and use them to break through.

The clear method was shown on Day 1 by Finh.
Dread could be used across two floors (10+5 enemies) or concentrated on one floor plus applying debuff on the boss. But essentially, that approach defined the run.

The issue arose in whether one could, after exhausting all Affluence and Fortune, reach B90 with full pomander stock. This turned out more difficult than I had expected, which in turn raised the difficulty of B9X challenges overall.

For mitigation, I ensured players could always hold full pomanders at B90, and also added one Sight and one Alter, since “claiming to abolish RNG but forcing landmine/corrigan RNG” seemed contradictory.

Yet Noriponta cleared without using a single landmine. Completely unforeseen. He managed to trigger three consecutive low-kill sets (only 5–6 kills required). How many attempts it took him to draw that, I cannot imagine. Likely he never needed the mitigation in the first place.

1-4. Special Missions Overall

The intended difficulty ranking was:
EO > PotD > HoH

The standard of adjustment was “Can Two Wasabit imagine themselves clearing it?”
As a result, PotD and HoH ended up slightly easier than prior seasons, prompting more concern over whether EO was too demanding. If the other two had been a little harder, the balance would have been better.
PotD and HoH should also have been tuned closer to a “Can you even clear this?” level.

As for the Champion Mission: compared to EO’s Champion Mission from Season 2, I deliberately made it easier. Instead, I used selective pomanders to require players to think a bit more during the climb.

2. Normal Missions Overall

All were based on the Specials. Solutions are essentially the same.
Since mimics increase in proportion to treasure chests, the number of Purify required is also higher.

Difficulty order:
PotD = EO > HoH

The baseline was “for players who cleared the 3 DDs,with 2–3 roles: Tank, Healer, Melee, Caster, or Ranged”

2-1. PotD Solution Notes

Among the Normal Missions, PotD remains uncleared. As in the Special, Resolution is the key.

DPS jobs are recommended: PCT, SMN, MCN.

Steel is the lifeline. Make liberal use of Affluence and Fortune to accumulate them.

Be aware that some enemies remain manageable even under item penalty. Knowing which can be handled with Sprint, Heavy, Bind, and Sleep is essential.

Once you hold two Serenity, always assume the next set could be item penalty. Ideally, Floors B94–96 with item penalty should be handled using Steel only. For B97–99, use Resolution before taking the Passage.

If you enter an item-penalty floor already in Resolution, target Keeper first. Then stun-susceptible enemies, recover some HP, and return to Keeper. When Resolution expires, turn to Wraiths, Knights, and Gourmands to obtain keys.

This is among the hardest of the Normal Missions.
Given Angelus’s flawless handling of the Special, his VODs could be the closest reference for a successful clear.

3. HEALER’s Foray

This was my personal indulgence—I love Scholar.
Healers are still a minority among DD runners. I designed this category hoping to draw more attention to them.

While adjusting, I had Aurora moon in mind constantly, so seeing him run this was very gratifying.

The standard was “a bit easier than the Specials.”

It was meant to bring tension but also carry a festive spirit. Perhaps lowering both difficulty and prize money would have encouraged wider participation.
Even so, the fact remains: even under these pomander restrictions, healers can solo-clear.

4. Closing Remarks

I had a great time. If you enjoyed it as well, I’m glad.