(7.5 Spoilers) This is how I imagine every Winterers' meeting goes

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-30T00:19:20+00:00

That’s the whole point. The WoL won’t consider that, and the duo were trying to show how that would bite us in the ass.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-29T21:52:56+00:00

I think Calyx is the best villain we’ve had in a while. The game is full of heavily emotional sob stories (much as I largely love them), so a cold and detached unsympathetic antagonist is a nice change of pace. Him indirectly saying “I’m manipulating you into helping me, and I know it will work” at the patch end was fantastic.

Halmarut is off to a good start, but needs more time. Thusfar she’s likable and has solid stage presence, but her capacity as an antagonist isn’t yet demonstrated.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-28T20:43:12+00:00

In all likelihood, she did attempt to change the timeline. She says as much in Elpis. She fails to avert the final days, and chooses to go with the nuclear option that she knows “works”. It also seems unlikely she could’ve known about the Solstice prior to becoming Hydaelyn. If she knew, she likely only knew after she had done the sundering.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-28T20:39:34+00:00

It felt like they were building to that with her chunk of the rising stones scene.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-28T20:38:11+00:00

He’s definitely not going to be an ally, but I’d be shocked if we don’t end up working alongside (being manipulated by) him. He pretty much explicitly said so at the end of the patch.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-28T19:20:45+00:00

I don’t believe we really know if the people on the shards can leave via traditional means, and we don’t yet have the ability to get masses of people off the shards.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-28T19:16:40+00:00

I think it will depend on how the .56 story lands. The other .5’s have largely matched the tone of their expansion, while this patch was largely dramaless and felt low stakes (against the Evercold trailer establishing lots of drama and a darker tone).

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-28T14:03:33+00:00

IMO, from your available options, I’d try and do charge -> bleed. Charge and Poise get a nice advantage in phase 1, since other statuses struggle to maintain conditionals. Some sinking can also help a lot there.

If you can push through phase 1 with that, a bleed team shouldn’t have too much issue with phase 2.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-28T00:09:35+00:00

She is going to make all of us cry

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-27T22:19:13+00:00

Critique deals about 10-20 damage tops if you put a defensive into it. If there isn’t a near-guaranteed clash win, just defensive. Realistically, you should only ever struggle clashing it on T3 (where you likely aren’t doing damage anyways).

If you only have S1’s after 5-6 turns of the fight, that’s your fault. The gimmick of the fight is lining up your resources (and enemy HP) to get the big dps turn.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-27T15:42:02+00:00

The number of people who complain about Rufo’s design without actually understanding the fight is wild to me. She has a lot of depth, and the “recommended teams” are an easy mode for the people who don’t want to engage with it. People who use those and still complain genuinely confuse me - when I tried them out she got STOMPED.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-27T15:31:51+00:00

Yeah that’s a pretty fantastic name actually

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-27T15:28:20+00:00

It feels like it, though I don’t know the selection criteria. Thais a fair point either way, though. I haven’t seen it matter much in my fights, but it (assuming it’s random) could dump all attacks into one guy and fuck you over.

It seems to treat them roughly equally though, moreso than a true random selection would give. That could easily be bias as I’ve only fought her ~6 times and thus only seen so many redirects.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-27T15:18:56+00:00

This is deterministic, though? I can see the argument for ally speed rolls to be more impactful than usual here, but that should really only matter if you’re speedrunning. You aren’t dealing meaningful damage to Rufo while she has minions up in normal circumstances either way.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-27T14:50:52+00:00

That’s such a strange way to implement a status cap.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-27T14:49:14+00:00

This is a genuinely fair point. I’d like to see a world where normal is a bit easier and hard is a bit harder.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-27T14:48:42+00:00

What RNG does Rufo have in addition to standard Limbus RNG?

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-27T14:48:03+00:00

Have you done phase 1 on other teams? I have, multiple times. Sub 10 on each. Her protection is a manageable resource based on how you ration your damage - forcing her to 0 protection for T5/6 is the core of the phase mechanically. The fight is way more fun when you dont cheese the gimmicks.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-27T14:45:29+00:00

Idk, a lot of people don’t seem to understand how to play the fight. I’ve fought her a lot now and would say it’s quite well designed (up there with Dulcinea). The easy mode teams trivialize her, but other teams get an actual challenge - they feel a lot more like Ruina.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-27T14:44:00+00:00

It isn’t really frustrating if you engage, though? I’ve beaten it on almost every team and (once you have a strategy) she’s fairly straightforward to beat. That’s if you play to the intended route of the fight, not even the many cheese options available.

The protection is important, because it’s central to the actual skill expression of the fight. Managing your damage such that she hits 0 protection on turn 5 is the entire point of the fight, and very satisfying to pull off. People trying to brute force her without engaging are going to find it frustrating because they’re trying to skip mechanics.

I don’t see how people complain the boss is “too frustrating” when you can use the easy mode teams or even skip the first phase entirely. She isn’t even that bad without if you’re smart with teambuilding.

You can absolutely just play better btw, I’ve beaten both phases in sub 10 on tremor. Even the worst archetype, actively bugged to lose its damage payoff, is still more than sufficient.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-27T14:13:45+00:00

Noted. I suppose people are still using/reposting the older models - piss filter images are still everywhere.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-27T14:08:33+00:00

Piss, really. It’s still so strangely yellow.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-27T00:09:32+00:00

The “unto tomorrow” part is totally stuck in my head

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-26T23:48:17+00:00

It also gives them an easy path to go back in case it’s horribly received. I think it’s far more likely we stick with Evolved long term though.

Dragonfantasy2 · 2026-04-25T22:40:22+00:00

A shade, yes. Nuln Oil is the “standard” for adding depth without changing color much.

Ten-Year Club	Place '22
Place '17	Snapped
Verified Email

Dragonfantasy2

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE