Sagitarius looked over the party of six. In other games, a large party like that wouldn't have been all that necessary. This game was a bit different. "You all look like you have a pretty good party going on. You'll be dealing with alot of wolves, and they are pretty tough, so you'll definitely need to be careful. They may be just wolves, is probably what you guys are thinking, but they are pretty tough regardless on their own and in a pack they can be quite deadly since they are pretty skilled at working together".
In a sense, what he merely said was not to underestimate the enemy. After all, pack mentality was with these wolves. As such, they probably focused on flanking tactics and may go after whoever they can take down the quickest rather than the basic RPG rules of whoever deals the most damage gets the most damage. Aggro was much different in VR Games like this after all thanks to much more intricately made Artificial Intelligence.
When Rumeus asked that question though, about how he kept Melee fighters at bay, the archer raised his eyebrow. "Ah, I take it you and her had a talk about min/maxxing huh?" Sagitarius chuckled softly now, acting as if this wasn't his first time explaining something like this to a new player. "I use neither a specific Art or Skill. Instead, I use Items. Items are good for covering your weaknesses without the need to spend points or time grinding anything specific. After all, while its good to have Items to boost your strengths, you may want things to boost your vulnerabilities. Mine is melee fighters and, for example, yours would be Endurance" he looked at Rumeus as he said that last part, still noticing that his Endurance was still 6.
It made sense the way he said it calmly and precisely. He proceeded to gesture to his belt that he was wearing around his waist, pulling up a little petal piece that was over the center of his buckle to reveal a silver, glowing gem beneath.
"This is a Skill Gem, a Skill put into a Gem. Normally you use them to learn Skills as you would books, getting them from taking a Skill from something else or a Mason can make them. Skill Gems, if you have a Gem Slot on any item, can be put into said slot and used without the need for learning or being able to learn the Skill. This one contains a Silver Ether Skill known as Dome Push, which performs Knockback on all adjacent targets. The only downside..." he began to say, scratching his head as he read through a window now, "is that Skill Gems cannot differentiate friend from foe, Level up very, very slowly and do not grant the Skill's Passive Bonus to you".
That was a definite option to consider, acquiring a Skill as an Item and slotting it to a piece of gear to utilize it.
"Of course, that is my Knock-Back mainly for multiple enemies. If I am dealing with a single enemy..." he paused, showing his right hand now, both of them being clad in tight leather gloves probably meant for archery. He touched the back of the glove, a small rune shimmering on it for a few moments before it faded. "I use this. Its an Adept Knock-Back Rune. If an individual enemy gets too close I just give them a good shove" he pushes his hand in front of him, as if to illustrate just striking an opponent with his hand, valuing hitting the opponent rather than dealing damage.
"My Accuracy is pretty high. I don't need to deal damage with the hand attack, as all I need to do is hit so I don't need the Fisticuffs Sense. If I hit, then the Rune will activate performing Knockback on them to send them flying back, allowing me to quickly fire a shot even if they weren't sent back that far. This is how I deal with Melee fighters".
Essentially, this was his way of using Items to cover his vulnerabilities. It was a good strategy, allowing him to save points and time not needing to grind things that weren't congruent to his strengths.
"This game values strategy and preparation more than most other Games. Your Gear is incredibly important, and not just the gear that you are wearing to boost your strengths, but also utility Items or gear you need to cover your vulnerabilities. This is why Anti-Shadow Items are so useful, as they do just that. Cover the areas that you are vulnerable or weak in".
He then suddenly remembered something, clapping slightly in realization.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Speaking of gear..." he reached into his own bag upon his back, pulling out a sack and handing it to Rumeus once again. It appeared to be full of... raw meat.
"Those Wolves most likely didn't get anything to eat in this most recent attack. While it seems like they are going more for causing chaos and carnage, that doesn't mean that they aren't hungry. You all should take a piece each, use it to either try and set up an ambush or, if during the fight, use it to distract a wolf for just a moment by throwing it to get in the decisive strike that you need, as long as they fail to resist its allure of course". It made sense. Wolves loved meat, so throwing a piece while fighting one to create an opening for a well placed strike or two, or allowing a strategic retreat, wasn't a bad idea.
"Again, while you don't necessarily need to spend time preparing as not everyone does, there is nothing wrong with bringing along a specific type of Item meant for fighting a specific form of enemy. Like meat to fight wolves or Green Ether Shards to allow the pacification of Lost Ones. Of course, this game doesn't pull a having 2352 different specific items that all have one specific function, but nonetheless you'll find that most items can be quite useful in and out of combat. So taking some time to prepare, even if you don't want to spend alot, isn't a bad idea".
So there was a value to inventory and proper preparation then. Not 100% necessary most likely, but definitely valuable. A sort of Monster Hunter, for those of the group who remembered that series, vibe.
"Anyway, with that being said, you guys should probably get going unless you have anymore questions or preparations you need to make?"
