[GM Note] Hero of the Black Shrine, an Interview with Asrie!

GM Notes [GM Note] Hero of the Black Shrine, an Interview with Asrie!

Black Desert 2023-11-20 00:00

Hero of the Black Shrine, an Interview with Asrie!

Greetings Adventurer!

Thank you for joining us for another 'Hero of the Black Shrine' interview. This is a series focused on showcasing the incredible prowess of exceptional players in our community who have conquered the daunting bosses of the Black Shrine at the highest difficulty: Calamity 7.

Today, we would like to feature the Dazzling Witch who has subdued Apex Changui. [GM]Vaha has treked into the Land of Morning Light's Beombawi Valley to meet up with this Magnificent Mage, Asrie, to ask a few questions. We hope to gain some perspective on their thoughts & insights concerning these Boss Blitz battles to see if we may learn some tips & tricks against the feral spirit, Apex Changui!

[GM]Vaha

Hello! I am so honored and excited to meet your acquaintance! Could you please briefly introduce yourself?

Asrie

Hello! It's a pleasure to meet you too, I'm excited to be here! My name is Asrie. I mostly enjoy PvE, some lifeskilling (if it doesn't get too complicated!), and spending time casually with members in the community. I've been playing since 2016 on and off, but mostly and primarily since Console came out.

[GM]Vaha

Is this class your main and how long have you been playing on it? (History about previous classes is welcome as well!)

Asrie

I've only and always played Witch! I can't imagine myself playing anything else xD

[GM]Vaha

Thank you for the wonderful introduction, Asrie! thats something i'm noticing from y'all C7 boss busters, class loyalty from the very beginning. Thats great to hear and very respectable to see y'all have stuck with your day one's ever since!

[GM]Vaha

How long did it take you to triumph over Apex Changui in Calamity 7? (and then How long did it take to lock-in a top time?)

We have also seen that you are amongst the players that holds some of the first clears for Bari, and the Bamboo Legion. Congratulations! How would you rate Apex Changui's difficulty compared to the other Calamity 7's you've beaten?

Asrie

Thank you!! Honestly after defeating the Calamity 7 Bamboo Legion Lieutenant, I found it refreshing to fight in a smaller battle. I went up to Calamity 7 on Apex Changui within an hour or so of attempts, and it took around 2 hours after that to finally secure a defeat. I came very close during the first hour, where he had no health bar left at all but I somehow died haha!! It was frustrating at points, but it made the journey all the more thrilling lol. I went through a lot of Draughts and Spirit Perfumes I hope I didn't spam my guild members chat too much with all the deaths. Bari was really wild with all kinds of effects and attacks going off everywhere!! I didn't know what was going on at times lol but I was thankful for the PvE iFrames to get past them. The most difficult part was getting accustomed to the Black Shrine in general. I'd say the most challenging boss of the 3 was Apex Changui though, since I absolutely had to approach him strategically in order to win

[GM]Vaha

Ooo, that's quite fast! You are a quick learner Asrie! Ahaha all those consumables, hopefully it didn't break the bank too badly..
I'm sure the guildies were rooting for you the whole time hehe, knocked down but never never knocked out, we always stand back up!!
The glory that comes from securing one of BDC's first clears is forever!
I see I see, Apex Changui definitely had just a bit more going on during his fight that requires that extra bit of focus.

[GM]Vaha

Did you approach the fight blind, so that you may encounter and figure out all the mechanics on your own? Or did you utilize a guide?

Asrie

At first approached the Black Shrine blind, but found out very fast that it was going to require more than that to defeat a Calamity 7. I'm incredibly thankful to my guild Margoria Pirates, who has particularly exceptionally experienced PvE members that are amazing and easy to approach for guidance! I don't think I would have had the confidence to approach such a big fight without them. Also, thank you to those who created the YouTube video guides from PC, which helped overcome some important details of the fights

[GM]Vaha

Ahh, thats good that you got some trials in, and once you got serious about it it's so nice to hear that friends could help ya out! They gave you that extra 'umph' you needed to push it over the finish line! And yes!! the BlackDesert creators were definitely cookin' up some awesome BlackShrine guides so I'm glad that even such a seasoned adventurer as yourself had found some valuable knowledge from their content!

[GM]Vaha

The fight against Apex Changui is quite chaotic and the onslaught of monsters can be quite confusing, How do you discern which of his summons are more dangerous so that you are not being overwhelmed?

Asrie

I focused on positioning to best avoid the boss's attack animations when necessary, and staying as far away from him as possible while I killed the 4 Gulgaks. I typically would continue going in a circle baiting explosions and avoiding the spawns while trying not to damage the boss past 50% until the Gulgaks were gone. Everything else after that was mostly ensuring I had optimal DPS and utilizing my awakening buff versus the final big summons at 20%

[GM]Vaha

Thank you for the breakdown Asrie! Being mindful of positioning and moving around the arena in a circular path while avoiding the lil' bombers and focusing down the Gulgaks, got it got it! I'm sure adventurers will find your strategy to be very helpful when challenging Apex Changui themselves.

[GM]Vaha

Now that you've mastered the fight do you have any tips about certain mechanics that have fatal consequences if not addressed correctly?

What was the most difficult mechanic during this boss fight in your opinion? and do you have advice on how to best handle it?

Asrie

Sure! After fully discovering and understanding PvE iframes, I found that if you abuse them too much then you can lack the DPS to finish a boss before the required time. For example, I came very close to defeating the Calamity 7 Sangoon, but couldn't ever quite get him below 15% before I got insta-killed.

The hardest part was getting past the exploding summons that charge and jump at you while he was above 50% health. They either easily burned through my frontal guard or would somehow explode behind me! I also wasn't fully aware of how the PvE iframes worked at the time, so I felt blessed when I actually survived lol. Keep moving gradually as needed in big-wide circles so that you're making good space for yourself!

[GM]Vaha

Ahh, so there is a time crunch that the fight adheres to, min-maxing efficiency is definitely something to pay attention to during this battle! But we must also be mindful of our character's available resources! I see that you've even broken the fight down and gauged how to best use all the tools in your class' arsenal to push out maximum damage output while also pushing limits with tanking out damage when needed. This also means managing our stamina pools wisely as we will need to be swift about maneuvering out of danger's way when we've reached that limit to stay alive during the fight!

[GM]Vaha

Can you give some advice on when there will be a good timing window to push for damage on the boss?

Asrie

It's very important to take some risks to get the DPS out, and to position as many attacks as possible while you have stamina for it with your iframes behind the boss. I found it equally as important to always utilize your frontal guards first while you have at least 30-40% of frontal guard remaining still.

[GM]Vaha

What motivated you to keep striving towards overcoming the highest difficulty of this boss?

Asrie

BDO has always been so beautiful and stunning, I've always looked forward to more immersive PvE content though. I found this to be a great opportunity to use all that pent up energy I've had from such a PvP-centric game! I'm really enjoying these new features

[GM]Vaha

I'm so glad to hear that the fantastical world of BDO has been able captivating to you for this long! There are so many things to do in BlackDesert that sometimes certain aspects of the game might not have received the love it deserves.. So I agree with you as well, I do hope that we are able to see more challenging PvE content added in the future alongside the other contents as we continue to build upon the great foundation that we have established already!

[GM]Vaha

What are some tips & tricks for shaving a few seconds off the clear time for those of us out there shooting for a place on the leaderboards?

Asrie

Carefully tanking an attack or two through super armor attacks can be really efficient DPS.. but at times dangerous! And then of course cycling PvE iframes as needed for emergencies, recovery at low health, and to rinse and repeat the process between big boss attacks is definitely a great way to gun for the fastest time possible!

[GM]Vaha

Before we wrap things up, do you have any Shoutouts for friends or guildmates that have provided you great support throughout your journey to victory?

Asrie

I would like to thank my friend Paladin_Katiya from BDO PC, for Demacia!!! He specifically recommended Apex Changui and provided a great deal of help. And also once again, the invaluable and amazing support from my guildmates in MagoriaPirates, and last but not least! my fiance, Asrei. They are truly the best, Thank you everyone!

[GM]Vaha

Thank you so much for your time, Asrie, and Congratulations once again on your achievement! I really appreciate you participating in this very informative interview!

Asrie

Thank you so much again!! It's been truly amazing to be here with you, and this has been an incredible experience
BlackDesert is an astoundingly robust game. I still believe BDO has the best mechanics, especially for the combat. And with what has been shown in the boss fights against the BlackShrine, I look forward to seeing what is to come!

Once again, We would like to sincerely thank Asrie for taking time out of their day to join us for this interview.

You are truly amazing and we can't wait to see what other impressive feats you will accomplish in the future!

We hope that everyone had a wonderful time reading this interview and maybe some of the tips shared by our outstanding adventurer will come in handy when you are challenging the Black Shrine!

Good luck out there, see you in the next interview!

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