Once again, Dolswe has activated his special skill, and unsurprisingly, we find ourselves entangled in yet another predicament. The combination of our character's ignorance, the Black Spirit's greed, and Dolswe's curiosity unfolds four additional tales in our journey through the Land of the Morning Light.

These four tales consist of:

1. The Tale of Duoksini
2. The Tale of Bamboo Legion
3. The Tale of Geuseunsae, and
4. The Tale of Changui.

While, personally, I find these newly added tales less impactful compared to the previous four, they nonetheless contribute significantly to our journey, offering a compelling experience and, of course, handsome rewards upon the first clearance of the Black Shrine bosses

As always, remember to replenish your healing supplies from the general goods vendor in the Land of the Morning Light and activate your buffs.

Up to this point, only two bosses have been added to the Black Shrine for us to challenge: Duoksini and Bamboo Legion. Here is my strategy:

Bamboo Legion

True to its name, the Legion is formidable and seemingly indestructible. Engaging a horde of enemies without investing in defense is reckless, yet it presents a challenge due to the inevitable damage from the horde. I recommend allocating 8 points to AP and 2 points to DP for melee characters, and 7 points to AP and 3 points to DP for ranged characters.

During the fight, the Lieutenant's powerful attacks are visibly telegraphed and dodgeable, making the boss relatively less difficult for me, likely the easiest among all. The area has three lanterns, requiring you to extinguish them and eliminate specific units for a smooth challenge.

Character: Melee preferred (I use Hwaryeong).

• 1st Phase: x20 - x16 Simple enough, reduce the boss's HP to a certain level to trigger the next phase. Identify and eliminate elite/titled soldiers, especially ranged units. Be mindful of the damage you receive, as it accumulates quickly.
• 2nd Phase: x15 - x11 The goal is to minimize unit respawns while continuously damaging the boss. Achieve this by positioning your character behind one of the lanterns, luring melee units towards it to damage both the units and the lantern simultaneously.
• 3rd Phase: x10 - x6 Unfortunately, I lack sufficient data for this phase, and it appears little changes from the 1st to the 3rd phase. This might be intentional by the developers to keep the mechanics straightforward and emphasize the "Undying Legion," or perhaps I didn't pay enough attention while fighting. However, the Lieutenant's skills are clear, and highly powered spells are always announced.
• 4th Phase: x5 - clear In the final phase, perform at a higher level than in previous phases, as the battle intensifies, and the damage dealt to you significantly increases. Move between lanterns while dodging the boss's attacks. Avoid lingering too long, or you'll run out of time.

Tips:

• Each lantern buffs specific units with fortitude (Swordsmen, Spearmen, and Archers). Lure these units to their respective lanterns for efficient elimination and prevention of respawns.
• Stay away from the fog area to prevent the Lieutenant from regenerating HP.
• Using a mobility class is advantageous in this challenge due to durability and mobility. The Lieutenant's attacks are slow, allowing for simple dodges.
• Invest more points in DP if you lack confidence while gradually increasing the difficulty.

Duoksini

Ah, Mr. Kim, beware! This boss can grab and slam you to the ground with instant-kill damage. Exercise caution. Duoksini shares a similar vibe with the Golden Pig King but introduces additional mechanics. He's a king like the Golden Pig King but seemingly delusional, akin to Songakshi, perhaps?

This boss poses a greater challenge than the Bamboo Legion, so ensure you engage him when he's in a weakened state. If you feel confident, go for it.

• 1st Phase: x20 - x16 Lower his HP to x15 as quickly as possible to preserve time.
• 2nd Phase: x15 - x11 Duoksini summons entities with whatever the names are and creates areas of effect with lightning strikes. Avoid these areas and eliminate the summoned creatures. The blue one clears the fortitude buff, and the yellow one stops the healing.
• 3rd Phase: x10 - x6 Duoksini enters a confusion stage, appearing indecisive between being nocturnal or diurnal, praising the God of the Sun or the God of the Moon (Okay, I certainly made that up). While uncertain, you can stun Duoksini by eliminating the Dokkebies. This is when things get spicy, as you must avoid being grabbed by Duoksini while maintaining a safe distance from him. Neither too close nor too far.
• 4th Phase: x5 - clear This phase resembles the 3rd but on steroids. Duoksini enters rage mode, dealing significantly higher damage and spamming skills at a faster rate. Dodging becomes crucial, so having five evasion charges and some evasion cooldown buffs will greatly assist. Maintain your distance while eliminating the Dokkebies periodically.

Tips:

• Maintain a safe distance.
• Avoid unnecessary dodges.
• Invest a point in resurrection for a chance to come back after making a mistake.
• Don't get grabbed!

That's all from me. I'll provide more detailed explanations after the server maintenance, as I'm currently out of passes. If you have better explanations, please share them below.

As thrilling as these challenges are, don't push yourselves too hard. The only advantage of pushing your limits lies in stage clearance rewards, as the loot drop rate is unaffected by the difficulty.

Good luck, and have fun!

Asia - Voldsthum